trim's recent activity
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
trim LinkFinished Dennis E. Taylor's entire works. So now it's on to... Book 1 of Spiral Wars, Renegade. Slow start in the first hundred pages but this is like a 10,000 page series so ya know. Got to do...Finished Dennis E. Taylor's entire works. So now it's on to...
Book 1 of Spiral Wars, Renegade. Slow start in the first hundred pages but this is like a 10,000 page series so ya know. Got to do some universe building. The plot is starting to plot now though (insight +1)
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Comment on Zig creator weighs in on the Bun Rust rewrite in ~comp
trim Link ParentIt was a great read, thanks for posting. I dabbled in Zig some time back on a journey to familiarise myself with a bunch of the "new" languages on the block. Zig, Rust, Go, Chef, that sort of...It was a great read, thanks for posting. I dabbled in Zig some time back on a journey to familiarise myself with a bunch of the "new" languages on the block. Zig, Rust, Go, Chef, that sort of thing. I can't think I'll have an actual real world use case for it though.
I do read / hear / watch a lot of stories about AI contributions to FOSS projects though, both direct contributions and bug reports, and almost none of it is positive.
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Comment on Of course viewers are giving up on Netflix shows in ~tv
trim Link ParentAh, but would it have been ending really? I was going for conclusion.Ah, but would it have been ending really? I was going for conclusion.
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Comment on Of course viewers are giving up on Netflix shows in ~tv
trim Link ParentSee I fundamentally disagree here. A story should have an ending, not simply cease. In todays world where a series might only have 6 episodes, it shouldn't be hard to make the series at least...See I fundamentally disagree here. A story should have an ending, not simply cease.
In todays world where a series might only have 6 episodes, it shouldn't be hard to make the series at least satisfyingly self contained. That'd be okay. Then you can do that again in the next series if people are interested.
Leaving folks with giant unresolved cliff hangers then cancelling the thing is just rubbish.
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Comment on Of course viewers are giving up on Netflix shows in ~tv
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Comment on Introductions | July 2026 in ~talk
trim Link ParentI've only ever heard "out of pocket" used as a business expense type. as in "The miserly payroll department wouldn't let me claim for my out of pocket expenses".I've only ever heard "out of pocket" used as a business expense type. as in
"The miserly payroll department wouldn't let me claim for my out of pocket expenses".
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
trim Link ParentI did kind of go all in. Won a lot of age bracket prizes. I have a lot of excuses for getting from there to where I am now :( Most of them not very good. Wish I'd stopped more gracefully, ramped...I did kind of go all in. Won a lot of age bracket prizes. I have a lot of excuses for getting from there to where I am now :( Most of them not very good. Wish I'd stopped more gracefully, ramped down and kept my diet in line.
A sudden stop, then eating off a bin lid was not a good combo for me
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Comment on The end of reading is here in ~books
trim Link ParentI grew up in the 70s and one of my earlier memories is of scouring book shelves in the library, aged about 7 or 8, looking for new or returned Dr. Who? books that I hadn't read. The first book I...I grew up in the 70s and one of my earlier memories is of scouring book shelves in the library, aged about 7 or 8, looking for new or returned Dr. Who? books that I hadn't read.
The first book I bought for myself with earned money was a hardback copy of Day Of The Triffids I found in a jumble sale.
Mum really encouraged my reading and it's stuck with me all this time.
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Comment on The end of reading is here in ~books
trim (edited )LinkBerkshire in absolute shambles. (sorry, couldn't resist the jocular response, especially on a post about Reading). Edit: Darn. I swear the original title used Reading capitalised :( Second Edit:...Berkshire in absolute shambles.
(sorry, couldn't resist the jocular response, especially on a post about Reading).
Edit: Darn. I swear the original title used Reading capitalised :(
Second Edit: It did! Someone changed it :(
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Comment on Stellantis to sell small Fiat Topolino electric vehicle for $13,995 in US in ~transport
trim Link ParentThat's incredible. The dolphin is like £22k in the UK, which is nearly $30k. I'd have been in the market for one at ~£10k though, no doubts at all.That's incredible. The dolphin is like £22k in the UK, which is nearly $30k. I'd have been in the market for one at ~£10k though, no doubts at all.
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Comment on Stellantis to sell small Fiat Topolino electric vehicle for $13,995 in US in ~transport
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
trim LinkI like most genres but am a bit of a folky at heart. Anyway. This isn't about that. One thing I do really like is Shaggy. And the way he sings and performs. So I've long been on a quest to find...I like most genres but am a bit of a folky at heart. Anyway. This isn't about that.
One thing I do really like is Shaggy. And the way he sings and performs. So I've long been on a quest to find the lightning in a bottle that is dancehall style reggae riddims with shaggy's voice on them. That isn't Shaggy.
I've attempted this a good few times over the years, and never really got anywhere. Sean Paul is great when he comes in on Rockabye, but doesn't do it for me elsewhere. Max Romero gets a bit of a mention but always it's missing that silky smooth deep laid back rhythmic vocal.
Honestly, I think it's an impossible task. Closest I got this time around was Mad Cobra. Pretty close. So mostly I have been listening to Mad Cobra.
Anyone with some suggestions feel free to pitch in, haha.
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
trim LinkJust finished Week 8 of the NHS Couch to 5k program. One week to go. I used to be very fat and unfit (140Kg) but lost that and became a pretty good runner, doing sub 90 minute half marathons, 19...Just finished Week 8 of the NHS Couch to 5k program. One week to go.
I used to be very fat and unfit (140Kg) but lost that and became a pretty good runner, doing sub 90 minute half marathons, 19 minute 5k etc, in my 40s! Dropped to 69kg. Then after Covid, excuses, excuses, stopped running, climbed to 107kg again. Boo!
I’m back under 100 now, trying to get to around 80
The couch to 5k program has been excellent. I get to be coached by Ella Toone, and I’m having a great time.
I’m never going to beat my lifetime bests ever again, and coming to terms with that has been instrumental in learning to love running again.
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Comment on Apple announces significant price increases for MacBooks, iPads, more in ~tech
trim Link ParentWrote COBOL in caps since doing it in college at the end of the 80s on ICL DRS20 equipment. Actually we had to write our programs in pencil on code sheets and send them to the punch room, where...Wrote COBOL in caps since doing it in college at the end of the 80s on ICL DRS20 equipment.
Actually we had to write our programs in pencil on code sheets and send them to the punch room, where the typists would type in the code, for better or worse, and we'd get an 8" floppy back with our code on.
We were allowed only 2 compiles before losing mandatory marks. The first compile should surface any logic errors, and the second would correct those and run clean. This was the only way to get a 100% mark, so the wise student checked /the heck/ out of the code on screen, then submitted any changes back on coding sheets again, and wait for the floppy disk to come back. Repeat until you're nailed on sure that the code in the file on disk is what you wrote.
Good times, man. Good times.
After that, upper case was mandatory for our work on IBM MVS/TSO with IBM COBOL2 and COBOL for MVS. Once the multi platform cobols became good enough on OS/2, Solaris, HP-UX, Dynix/ptx and AIX (and eventually GNU/Linux), the ability to have the much more readable mixed case was much appreciated by me at least.
I find it easier to read when the keywords are lower, and the identifiers are upper.
move 'Hello world' to WS-DISPLAY
vs.
MOVE 'Hello world' TO WS-DISPLAY
It's just easier for me to read. It's funny because in our shop some developers do, indeed, insist on upper case code. Sadly these developers sometimes pathologically uppercase everything except the literals, returning us to the 1970s and making an utter mess of the git diffs :( I'm not in a position to tell them not to do that though.
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Comment on Apple announces significant price increases for MacBooks, iPads, more in ~tech
trim Link ParentI like TS. I use it for building infrastructure orchestration rather than web pages, but I appreciate its improvements over JS.I like TS. I use it for building infrastructure orchestration rather than web pages, but I appreciate its improvements over JS.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
trim LinkSo after a highly enjoyable trip through the Bobiverse, I explored more books from Dennis E. Taylor. First up was "The Singularity Trap" Really enjoyed this, right up my alley. I find it hard to...So after a highly enjoyable trip through the Bobiverse, I explored more books from Dennis E. Taylor.
First up was
"The Singularity Trap"
Really enjoyed this, right up my alley. I find it hard to talk in a non spoilery way about books I've read so suffice to say it's my ideal blend of hard sf with a sprinkling of mil and a cast of characters with, well... character. Also the first fiction book I've read in the longest time that wasn't part of a series.
Next up was
"Outland". Again highly enjoyable for most of the same reasons. Good characters, and a totally different premise. Which led me to ...
"Earthside". Hey, another series, but sadly a dud. A total snooze fest. I'd give this one a miss and just enjoy Outland as sometimes I think that a rotten sequel can sully the text from whence it sprang.
It makes me a bit nervous for my current read
"Flybot"
But I'm only 1 page in to that right now so I can hardly form much of an opinion there :)
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Comment on Apple announces significant price increases for MacBooks, iPads, more in ~tech
trim (edited )Link Parentidentification division. program-id. hello. procedure division. a-main section. move 'trim' to WS-DEVELOPER-NAME display 'hello from ' WS-DEVELOPER-NAME upon syserr stop run. COBOL developer since...it’s like trying to find a COBOL developer.
identification division.
program-id. hello.
procedure division.
a-main section.
move 'trim' to WS-DEVELOPER-NAME
display 'hello from ' WS-DEVELOPER-NAME upon syserr
stop run.COBOL developer since 1994.
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Comment on Around twenty drown in France as French seek relief from heatwave in ~enviro
trim Link ParentIn any given room, wouldn't the warmer air tend towards the top of the room, and the cooler toward the bottom. So blowing air from the top, to the bottom would tend to make the seating warmer than...In any given room, wouldn't the warmer air tend towards the top of the room, and the cooler toward the bottom. So blowing air from the top, to the bottom would tend to make the seating warmer than it would otherwise have been. Apropos of the air movement which might help, but you could get that from floor fans.
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Comment on Steam Machine prices revealed, starting at US$1049.00 in ~games
trim Link ParentWhat kind of upgrades do you mean? I added a 4T thunderbolt drive to mine, and if you check out guys like DosDude on You Tube, it's possible to do other kinds of internal upgrades too.The inability to do any upgrades later
What kind of upgrades do you mean? I added a 4T thunderbolt drive to mine, and if you check out guys like DosDude on You Tube, it's possible to do other kinds of internal upgrades too.
I was wanting for ages to make an Amazon Echo Show-a-like device for my desk. I got tired of my Echo Show reeling stupid adverts at me. So I went ahead and got myself all the parts from pi hut, screen , stand, a pi board, and implemented the perfect thing using pygame.
It shows a carousel of my grandson pictures, a monthly calendar with day and event highlights, sunset and sunrise times, and a weather forecast.
I implemented an SDR based sniffer for my weather station senders on my little NUC server, and exposed an API for that, so the desk display shows some actuals, as well as forecast.
I implemented a sniffer for my TAPO wireless camera system, to hook when a camera event occurs, and stream that to my new desk display. The TAPO wireless cameras don't expose rstp, so I had to implement something to take the live video feed from the TAPO C200 hub, and transform it in to rstp so the pi could consume and show it.
Finally I bought a decent USB microphone with a mute switch, and added locally processed wake word and voice commands to the display. So I can ask it to dim screen, show camera, etc. when I need to.
I'm really, really happy with how this turned out. It's entirely bespoke to my needs and wants, and it works perfectly. It auto starts on pi board boot. Magic stuff.
Of course it's highly opinionated about my camera setup, my wireless weather station senders and whatnot, but that's okay. It's mine :)