Bonum Certa Men Certa

Gemini Links 31/05/2023: Bayes Filter and Programming Wordle



  • Personal

    • Cranes and rain 🏗️☔

      In Monaco the marshalls are pretty good at getting crashed cars off the track despite the lack of space. Cranes lift wreckage out of the way to be collected later. This year in practice and qualifying we had some clear views of the underneath of a couple of cars, a part that designers would prefer kept secret. Here's a web site with a couple of good photos.

    • Actually going places

      Had a shockingly busy weekend as I actually went places where there were people.

      I had to wear my kf94 the whole time: on public transit, in the open air market because it was crowded, inside the theatre, &c. but community transmission is low enough at the moment that wearing the mask the whole time pretty much means that it was safe.

      So what all did we do?

      Well on friday I actually saw coworkers in person, grabbing food while spread out at an outdoor table and kvetching about internal politics of [college we work for]. Since I almost never talk to any of these people outside the context of a structured meeting, it was nice to feel like I'm recognized as being a person outside what I do for them as the coordinator on this project.

  • Technical

    • My online experience would have been so much less without cURL

      Me too, but with emphasis on his having created a tool I couldn't have lived online nearly so happily without. I'm not at all interested in opinions on Gemini's technical details.

      [...]

      I've found plenty of wonderful writing in Gemini spaces, and rather enjoy that the people writing so often tend to be command line types. I also rather enjoy how aggregation volume such as seen at Antenna these days gives me the sense of something new starting.

    • Bayes Filter

      I'm enjoying just having one class to worry about right now. Gives me more time to focus and digest.

      I just finished a project in which I had to implement a Bayes filter in a virtual robot. I won't delve into the math here, as exciting as that would be, but the gist is that it's a way to estimate unknowns using knowns and probability.

      The robot has a map of the world but doesn't know its location in the world. By following movement commands and detecting walls with its sensors, it can start to get an idea for its location. The fun part is that sometimes it'll randomly ignore movement commands and go a different direction, and its sensor readings are only correct most of the time.

    • Davinci Resolve

      I'm still doing my YouTube experiment [1], but it's slightly paused as I spend time learning Davinci Resolve. Davinci Resolve is a completely free video editing tool for Apple Macs. I've spent the past week watching videos of Davinci Resolve techniques.

    • Programming

      • Programming Wordle

        Inspired by Ravi's program (see my last phlog), I decided to give programming Wordle a try. To make it "more fun", I'm coding in Swift on my Mac. The version I'm writing is just for the command line, but if I get comfortable with Swift, I may just try to implement it as a GUI.


* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.



Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM and Microsoft Hiding Layoffs in Similar, Overlapping Ways
Performance Improvement Plans aplenty
IBM is a Cancer That Attaches Itself to Everything
Red Hat should have remained an independent company
Plot Twist: Microsoft MSN Relays Articles Hinting at or Pointing to Mass Layoffs Soon, Other Gossip
the narrative from Microsoft's "PR bunny" (Shaw) is showing mold already
'Vibe Coding' is Not "AI", It's a Sewer, It is Junk
Linus Torvalds was wrong. 'Vibe coding' isn't good for anything.
GNU/Linux May be Approaching 10% "Market Share" in Montenegro
The surge started around 2021
More IBM Layoffs in India
If IBM cannot afford to retain workers in India, then something is truly "out of control" at IBM
Dr. Richard Stallman Has Done No Harm to the GNU Project or the FSF (He Had Benefited Both, Always, Even After the Attacks on Him Began)
Some people try to prevent Dr. Stallman from speaking or having a platform where many people can hear him
Microsoft Isn't Denying the Mass Layoffs
Still silence from Microsoft
In Western Africa GNU/Linux Flirts With 5% Market Share
there's a gradual increase in GNU/Linux usage there
Gemini Links 09/01/2026: Pro1 X Repair and the Mercury Protocol
Links for the day
No, Microsoft Did Not Deny the Q1 Mass Layoffs (Microsoft Can Delay These)
Maybe they disperse or delay the layoffs (changing plans), but the layoffs are going to happen
 
EPO People Power - Part XXX - New Year Starts, Cocainegate Still Discussed a Lot, António Campinos Desperate for Distraction From It
Why the sudden change or 'generosity'? [...] Actual cocaine addicts caused nervous breakdowns among sober people
2026 Might be the Year Microsoft Replaces Layoffs With Mass Firings (No Severance Payments to Dismissed Staff)
It's hard to "see" PIPs unless insiders blow the whistle
Links 10/01/2026: STV Layoffs (Scottish TV), “CBS Evening News” in Chaos (Culls and Censorship by the US Regime)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, January 09, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, January 09, 2026
Gemini Links 10/01/2026: Blackout, E-Waste, and Secondary Smartphone
Links for the day
Links 09/01/2026: Google and Character.AI Implicitly Accept Chatbots Kill Kids and GLP-1 ‘Slimming Pens’ Turn Out to be a Lot Worse Than Advertised
Links for the day
At IBM, "Employee Reviews" (or Appraisals in the UK) Are a "Trojan Horse" for RAs (Mass Layoffs), a Waste of Time
comments from IBMer serve to suggest that appraisals can be precursors
Links 09/01/2026: Technical Blogging Lessons Learned and Google's Gmail Getting a Lot Worse
Links for the day
Escaping GAFAM Colonialism Requires Homegrown Free Software
GNU/Linux now measured at 3% in Zambia
GNU/Linux at 4% in Saudi Arabia, Says statCounter
Some years ago Windows fell to a "market share" of just 11% there
Links 09/01/2026: Cambodia and China Extradition, "NATO’s High-risk Patrols Near Ukraine"
Links for the day
Only One Person in Charge of Fedora is Not IBM Staff
This is not a community project, it's just a way for IBM to onboard unpaid volunteers
This Is Not a Drill, GNU/Linux is Really Going 'Mainstream' on Laptops (and Desktops)
It is important to explain to people software freedom
IBM Albany Layoffs
not only did many in the site lose their job; there's more to come "and likely another one in February" (weeks from now)
EPO Workers' Industrial Action to Include Many Strikes, to Last Several Months
In some ways, The Hague and Bavaria are becoming almost indistinguishable from Moscow
EPO People Power - Part XXIX - Getting DER SPIEGEL, FAZ, Deutschlandfunk and Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) to Cover EPO Scandals
We kindly ask our readers to contact their local media and urge it to cover the scandals
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, January 08, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, January 08, 2026
Gemini Links 08/01/2026: "New Year, Old Plans" and Alex's "Butlerian Jihad"
Links for the day
LLM Slop About "Linux" Scarce and of Very Low Quality
At this rate, we reckon there may be one (or zero) per day by year's end
IBM's "Forever Layoffs" (to Bypass Warnings or Notices as Required by WARN Act)
There is a bunch of speculations about when the next "major round" of RAs will be
Attempts to Undermine This Site's Latest Series Using Intimidation, Threats, and Presumptuous Accusations
threatening language is less effective when everyone is an alibi
Links 08/01/2026: "Golden Smartphone" Scam and Riseup Account Issues
Links for the day
Links 08/01/2026: Possible "Collapse of NATO Over Greenland"; Journalistic Malpractice and "US Voters Hate Slop"
Links for the day
EPO People Power - Part XXVIII - A Sensitive Issue for Germany and The Netherlands
If Germans who read this series can communicate this to public officials or to their media, maybe they can strike a nerve and get the ball rolling
Age Discrimination at IBM Discussed Amid Mass Layoffs (Especially in the United States)
Workers are anxious. Are they next to face the axe?
Gemini Links 08/01/2026: Potentiometer Calculator, Power Outages, Why You Should Abandon Discord for IRC (e.g. Ergo), and Formatting Gopher Posts
Links for the day
Links 08/01/2026: More Software Patents Squashed, White House Repeats Misinformation From the Kremlin
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, January 07, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, January 07, 2026