Posts

  • LLMs as a component

    Source code: github.com/neolefty/madlibs. Large Language Models are everywhere, and programmers should all be trying them out. So here’s a really simple app! full screen view It’s just a chat UI with two additions: A framework can really help. This app … Continue reading →

  • Happy Quiltsgiving

    For Thanksgiving each year our family (my wife’s family really) gives small gifts, and this year we decided to make them handmade. What can I hand-make? Well, software. I decided to make an app for each person, but I ended … Continue reading →

  • Benchmarking JavaScript Collections

    Code for this post: github.com/neolefty/js-collection-benchmarks Hexerals uses immutable.js for its game state — could it switch to JavaScripts native collections? That would make the code more readable, but how would effect performance? Summary: In Chrome, object operations are much faster than … Continue reading →

  • Updating Hexerals!

    I’m updating Hexerals for modernity — I wrote it in 2018-2019 to practice React and TypeScript. I’m thinking: And behind the scenes: You can “play” the old version at hexpansion.io. Updates:

  • You can’t detect AI, but you can vouch for truth.

    Proposal: Add that browser padlock to long-lived documents. In an age of undetectable fakes, how do you know what is true? We can at least prove a source, and with a little work — and help from HTTPS — archive that … Continue reading →

  • UBI Coin

    A digital currency with built-in universal income, minimal energy requirements, and a bias towards equality. If you were designing a digital currency that could actually promote justice and equality, would would it look like? Here’s one approach. It is rather … Continue reading →

  • Minimalism: A Quilt Color Doodler

    Minimalism: A Quilt Color Doodler

    Try the doodler. Bahiyyih is making a quilt, and she was looking for someone to make a color sketch of her design. She said the word gradient, and had to do it. But I had to do it quickly because … Continue reading →

  • Belated Sigh

    Publishing negative results helps everyone learn. Here’s my negative result: Instacart didn’t work out in the end. I had a great time there, but the combination of legacy code, a 3-hour timezone difference, and an on-site team of 200 programmers … Continue reading →

  • The Middle Class and a Peaceful Planet

    Join the Middle Class. Have a life that’s good enough. This morning I was just sitting at my dining room table, playing Threes, when the concept of the Middle Class poked its elephant head in through a window and explained … Continue reading →

  • Macro-commuting

    I plan to start working for Instacart, in San Francisco, in a couple of weeks — my first day will be September 10. I’ll still live in West Lafayette — for the first three weeks I plan to fly out Sunday night … Continue reading →