alp's recent activity
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Comment on Side projects that were actually good? in ~music
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Comment on ‘Wonka’ hits sweet milestone as musical tops $500m worldwide in ~movies
alp Link ParentI don't think that it's really trying to be associated with those other lovely films that you mention bar the occasional nod for triggering nostalgic feelings. Definitely not a fair comparison! I...I don't think that it's really trying to be associated with those other lovely films that you mention bar the occasional nod for triggering nostalgic feelings. Definitely not a fair comparison!
I saw the new film in the cinema recently; it's certainly a fun experience to just switch one's brain off and see a story vaguely about Willy Wonka. I don't know if I'd recommend that anybody rush to see it while it's still showing, but it's hard to leave it with any regret!
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Comment on Starting out making music in ~hobbies
alp LinkI think that the best advice that I can give is to avoid, if possible, the hole of pursuing equipment or software above the act of creation itself. It's easy to view one's current setup of...I think that the best advice that I can give is to avoid, if possible, the hole of pursuing equipment or software above the act of creation itself. It's easy to view one's current setup of hardware and software as "inadequate" and so constantly being on the lookout for new things to round out what you have. In reality in almost all cases the most basic of setups is no more and no less adequate than the most complex! We all know that limitation provokes creativity, and that very much holds true here. I started making music by downloading Audacity, the free software that (well, at the time) was very much not intended to be used for musical purposes, and viewed using it and it alone to construct an electronic piece of music as a challenge, and if it wasn't for that little challenge that I set for myself one day then I wouldn't have the style of music that I do and I wouldn't have my dearest hobby of creating and touring and performing.
Find the bare minimum for now and start actually making things! Only look to expand your setup if you truly believe that a particular (and I mean particular) addition can truly open up a new type of musical creation that's currently blocked for you.
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Comment on MangaLove, a series sharing thread: January 2024 in ~anime
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Comment on Threads is blocking servers on the Fediverse. Here's how we unblocked ourselves. in ~tech
alp Link ParentCan't we criticise somebody's opinions on something without immediately dismissing everything else they think a priori? That feels like a bit of a worrying attitude.Can't we criticise somebody's opinions on something without immediately dismissing everything else they think a priori? That feels like a bit of a worrying attitude.
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Comment on Falkland's sovereignty 'not up for discussion' UK leader warns after new Argentinian president vows to 'get them back' in ~news
alp LinkI'm really nervous about this. Of course almost every Argentine leader will hold this policy because it's a very popular one across the populace there, and yet despite his Anglophilia I fear that...I'm really nervous about this. Of course almost every Argentine leader will hold this policy because it's a very popular one across the populace there, and yet despite his Anglophilia I fear that Milei is unpredictable enough to actually make a diplomatic effort at some point in his tenure, even if not militarily. Things are dangerous at the moment, and I do worry for the Islanders so much right now.
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Comment on Grand Theft Auto VI | Trailer 1 in ~games
alp Link ParentI always wondered if this series' satirical views of parts of the U.S. were at all accurate, being British, so I'm happy to hear that they've clearly done some good research!I always wondered if this series' satirical views of parts of the U.S. were at all accurate, being British, so I'm happy to hear that they've clearly done some good research!
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Comment on Day 1: Trebuchet?! in ~comp.advent_of_code
alp LinkWhat a tricky Day 1 compared to previous years! Plus, as somebody using this year to try and brush up a bit on my old beloved C, it feels like today's second part was designed to make me sad :(...What a tricky Day 1 compared to previous years! Plus, as somebody using this year to try and brush up a bit on my old beloved C, it feels like today's second part was designed to make me sad :( While I completed today, I didn't get the second star thanks to a misinterpretation that I hope that I'm not alone in having read: given the input
6eightwo, my reading of the challenge led me to believe that the expected value therefor was 68, and not 62, and so that caused my final solution to be wrong. To change that I'd need to totally reïmplement, so I suppose that that's that.Anyway, as I haven't seen anybody else having a crack at C, I thought I'd post mine here!
Advent of Code Day 1 C implementation
```c #include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <ctype.h> #include <string.h>#define MAX_STR_LENGTH 128
// a lookup table of number spellings and numerals, grouped by spelling length
char* const DIGIT_NAMES[3][9][2] = {
{
{ "one", "1" },
{ "two", "2" },
{ "six", "6" },
}, {
{ "four", "4" },
{ "five", "5" },
{ "nine", "9" },
}, {
{ "three", "3" },
{. "seven", "7" },
{ "eight", "8" }
}
};// replace a substring at a given index with another
void insertNumeral(char* srcString, int startIndex, int endIndex, char num) {char builtString[MAX_STR_LENGTH]; // load up the leadin... strncpy( builtString, srcString, startIndex ); // ...sneak in our little numeral package... builtString[startIndex] = num; // ...and then top off with the rest! strncpy( &builtString[startIndex + 1], srcString + endIndex, MAX_STR_LENGTH - endIndex ); // donezo; now just copy back to the source :) strcpy(srcString, builtString);}
// pass through a given string, replacing spelled numbers with numerals
void sanitiseDigits(char* srcString) {for (int start = 0; start < (MAX_STR_LENGTH-5); start++ ) for (int numLen = 0; numLen < 3; numLen++) { if (!isalnum(srcString[start+numLen+2])) break; // get current substring to query char* srcSubstr = (char*) malloc( (numLen+3) * sizeof(char) ); memcpy( srcSubstr, srcString + start * sizeof(char), (numLen + 3) * sizeof(char) ); // check for numeral hits for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) if (!strcmp(srcSubstr, DIGIT_NAMES[numLen][i][0])) insertNumeral( srcString, start, (start + numLen + 3), DIGIT_NAMES[numLen][i][1][0] ); free(srcSubstr); }}
int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
// first, let's open up our input file... char const* const fn = argv[1]; FILE* f = fopen(fn, "r"); char curLine[MAX_STR_LENGTH]; // ..and finally we can iterate through its lines! int noOfDigits; char curTerminals[2]; int runningTotal = 0; while ( fgets(curLine, sizeof(curLine), f) ) { // firstly let's sanitise our spelled digits as a first pass printf("raw str is %s...", curLine); sanitiseDigits(curLine); printf(" and sanitised str is %s!\n", curLine); // now all there is to do is to extract the digits... int* curDigits = (int*) malloc(MAX_STR_LENGTH * sizeof(int)); noOfDigits = 0; for (int i = 0; i < (int)sizeof(curLine); i++) { if (!isalnum(curLine[i])) break; if (curLine[i]>='0' && curLine[i]<='9') { // (treat as single-character int by subtracting 0 literal) curDigits[noOfDigits] = (curLine[i] - '0'); noOfDigits++; } } // ...and build the calibrators! curTerminals[0] = '0' + curDigits[0]; curTerminals[1] = '0' + curDigits[noOfDigits-1]; runningTotal += atoi(curTerminals); free(curDigits); } fclose(f); // lovely stuff. :) printf("FINAL TOTAL IS %d. End.", runningTotal); return 0;}
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Comment on What are some corporate websites that you consider extremely reputable sources of information? in ~tech
alp Link ParentSurely a news source can have a slant while still being reputable? Is this not inherent to almost any journalism? I've always viewed such a slant to be an independent factor from how much I trust...Surely a news source can have a slant while still being reputable? Is this not inherent to almost any journalism? I've always viewed such a slant to be an independent factor from how much I trust a source.
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Comment on Doctor Who Special “The Star Beast” - Discussion Thread in ~tv
alp (edited )LinkOfficial link for the episode here, if that's handy: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001sx3h/doctor-who-2023-the-star-beast Such a fun episode! Upsetting "Series 14"->"Season 1" Disney...Official link for the episode here, if that's handy: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001sx3h/doctor-who-2023-the-star-beast
Such a fun episode! Upsetting "Series 14"->"Season 1" Disney shenanigans aside, I really had a great time with this. Although my enjoyment of the past few years of the programme possibly devalues this... The Meep was practically one of the coolest things that I've seen in this programme in years—the complex animatronics, the detailed puppeteering, wow!—and it was generally a story difficult to not enjoy. The final minute was also just a classic moment that really showed me that we're going to some great places in episodes to come.
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Comment on AlbumLove (November 2023): 1990-1994 in ~music
alp Link ParentIt's nice to see their early work being discussed! Of course people love to laud what they became, the Confields and elseqs and the like, and rightly so—they're still some of the most strange and...It's nice to see their early work being discussed! Of course people love to laud what they became, the Confields and elseqs and the like, and rightly so—they're still some of the most strange and beautiful and completely unreplicated works even two decades after the release of the former—yet there's such a beauty and innocent joy in the first albums by the duo. Such fun!
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Comment on The attraction of the center in ~misc
alp LinkWhile I think that Swartz was a fantastic individual, this blog post strikes me as a little bit ignorant and perhaps even mean-spirited in places. If I rightly interpret what he says, it appears...While I think that Swartz was a fantastic individual, this blog post strikes me as a little bit ignorant and perhaps even mean-spirited in places. If I rightly interpret what he says, it appears as if he pictures there to be two true schools of political thought—one of leftwing purity and another of rightwing purity, and the only explanation he offers for somebody holding a political outlook belonging to neither is that, rather than being capable of independent thought, they blindly choose ideas offered by each in an attempt to appear reasonable, without understanding such concepts. Chinese Room politics.
I don't know—as I type this I feel as if my interpretation of his point is just as uncharitable as I perceive his views therein to be—I'm just struggling a bit to find a nicer way of looking at what he's saying. Please do chime in to correct me!
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Comment on Lord Sugar documents east London’s rubbish mountains in ~life
alp Link ParentHe's one of the most famous people here in the U.K.—as a businessman he became a household name with his company Amstrad (whose cheap tech devices were unavoidable here in the 1980s and 1990s) and...He's one of the most famous people here in the U.K.—as a businessman he became a household name with his company Amstrad (whose cheap tech devices were unavoidable here in the 1980s and 1990s) and since then he's visible in a lot of other parts of life, perhaps most famously hosting our reality television series The Apprentice since it began in 2005 and being a common appearance in newspaper columns and the like.
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Comment on Tildes Minecraft Survival Weekly Thread in ~games
alp Link ParentI've been working on the very same thing! I found a valley that I think is just lovely (-225, -225ish) and got to work... I've only built a village hall thus far, but I've been looking forward to...I've been working on the very same thing! I found a valley that I think is just lovely (-225, -225ish) and got to work... I've only built a village hall thus far, but I've been looking forward to building some little cottages and a church.
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Comment on Planet K2-18 b has an ocean and atmosphere that could support life in ~space
alp LinkI'm not personally too fond of this headline. New observations have certainly been made that could, with great amounts of scrutiny and further investigation, potentially lead the way to making a...I'm not personally too fond of this headline. New observations have certainly been made that could, with great amounts of scrutiny and further investigation, potentially lead the way to making a positive conclusion of the presence of an ocean on this planet, however unless I'm misinformed we really aren't there yet.
And on the matter of it being able to support life, is that surely not an order of magnitude further down a hypothetical chain of conclusions still!
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Comment on Hearing aids, what's it like to have them? in ~health
alp Link ParentI'm glad that it isn't just me! Until the surprising resurgence of that way of using it in the past few years, it always felt quite awkward and forced to say it in that way.I'm glad that it isn't just me! Until the surprising resurgence of that way of using it in the past few years, it always felt quite awkward and forced to say it in that way.
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Comment on What are your favourite research papers? in ~humanities
alp LinkThis is hardly an obscure paper, but it's quite important to me. At 16 or 17 I was recommended by an academic to whom I very much looked up to read Turing's 1936/7 paper On computable numbers,...This is hardly an obscure paper, but it's quite important to me. At 16 or 17 I was recommended by an academic to whom I very much looked up to read Turing's 1936/7 paper On computable numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem. More specifically, I was recommended Charles Petzold's annotated version that guides the layman through the density of the paper.
Wow—that paper changed my life. Turing's delightfully creative approach changed my perception of mathematics and computer science so greatly! I emphasise so strongly the creativity: the paper had me laughing aloud at many points therethrough as Turing ventured to ways of thinking so clever, artful, unique that it's just silly. Of course, this paper and its definition of the Universal Machine changed the world, not just for its answer to the Entscheidungsproblem and the ramifications brought thereby, but through the definition of his Machines that laid the foundations of so much of today. Description Numbers in particular as a concept and their usage—wowee!
This paper gave me hobbies, education, and a career, and I love it so much. :)
Edit: I am ever so sorry—this is the humanities group! I got a bit carried away there and did not pay attention to where I was. Please excuse the irrelevance.
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Comment on Squabblr is now a free speech platform in ~tech
alp LinkWhile I too share your concerns about what this direction could perhaps mean for that service, I must ask if a title like this is really appropriate for Tildes? By all means express your thoughts,...While I too share your concerns about what this direction could perhaps mean for that service, I must ask if a title like this is really appropriate for Tildes? By all means express your thoughts, of course, but to make the entire title an immediately hostile political stance that not only presumes familiarity with what appears to be an interpretation/definition from online American leftwing circles, but also to presume that we all are on board with that interpretation reminds me of exactly the type of uncomfortable behaviour across Reddit that prompted me to leave that website some years ago.
Am I alone in these concerns?
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Comment on Black Mirror: Favorite episodes in ~tv
alp LinkI hadn't heard that there was any derision until I read what you wrote here; my personal experience and that of those around me has been quite glowing! It feels that Brooker is breaking free of...I hadn't heard that there was any derision until I read what you wrote here; my personal experience and that of those around me has been quite glowing! It feels that Brooker is breaking free of the chains of what Black Mirror "should" be that I feel perhaps particularly constrained the programme since it became American. I enjoyed all of the new episodes, but three stuck out to me as some of Brooker's finest work.
- Loch Henry was a truly powerful drama and cutting criticism that lanced ideas better than I had seen before through a truly well-told and expressed story.
- Mazey Day was the most refreshing ||werewolf|| story I've seen in a long time, and it did so with a beauty underlying its extent that really spoke to me in a way I've not yet been able to verbalise—truly one of those "right brain" stories!
- Demon 79 is an addictive watch too: it's so delightfully fun throughout its runtime I can't help but want to rewatch often.
Other than the new episodes...
- Metalhead as a perfectly executed thriller of which I can never tire of watching.
- Shut Up and Dance is quite the opposite; it's so excruciating to watch back... what a brilliant story, and what a gutting climax.
- White Bear and White Christmas have been mentioned a lot by others here, and I agree with all said on both. Wow.
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Comment on Campaign launched on Thursday to boycott the Faroe Islands over their highly controversial slaughter of pilot whales and dolphins in ~enviro
alp Link ParentThank you for the response—well put. It's an interesting point that you make regarding the placing of that threshold of acceptable deviation in normative standards across cultures. I'd be quite...Thank you for the response—well put. It's an interesting point that you make regarding the placing of that threshold of acceptable deviation in normative standards across cultures. I'd be quite interested to hear your position on the purpose of an ethical system in a given culture; perhaps our discord there could be the source of our different reactions to the idea of that deviation!
I suppose that personally, as one who considers virtue and agapē the most critical factors in how I interpret an ethical system, I'm perhaps more prone to view such a system as not only practical in guiding conduct but also, significantly, as a cultural artefact in itself, hence my (potentially irrational!) desire to preserve such things from the pragmatism of expanding "homogeny".
Two absolutely perfect suggestions; thanks so much. :)
Bright side, I don't think that there's any credence for The Smile replacing Radiohead; the latter will almost certainly resume when its members are ready, I'm sure! Not that I'm too impatient—we're so lucky to have just received an album on the level of Wall of Eyes. I haven't felt this giddy about a new release of this scale since A Moon Shaped Pool...