Published 2025-01-26
tag(s): #random-thoughts #failures
I was checking my emails, and meaning to then get to fix a patch that has (at least) two bugs, but then there was an alert for something at work. And now here I am, waiting for someone to reply, and I don't feel like the time is right to do a "dive" into some code.[1]
I do have a few minor things to write about, which could potentially become a post. Or maybe not. But instead of waiting to find out, I will throw them here as they come (and have time to write) and see what's the end result :)
I was chatting with a dev friend on Saturday and sharing how I went a bit extreme into removing all "distractions" from my programming setup (AKA my Emacs config), first with "Intellisense"[2], then any UI aids for completing names (as described first here and in the follow up post.
He made an interesting point, that the description of my process of "thinking about what I
want before invoking a command", can be compared to the TDD mindset of "write the tests first,
so you know what you need to achieve, then code".
I thought it was an interesting comparison. It is said that if you are working in TDD you have
to change your habits and mindset for it to stick, which mirrors my own change of attitudes
when switching my completion setup.
In a completely different topic, I made a few more runs of the Dead Cells board game, unlocking more permanent upgrade. I completely love how the game is designed to mirror the rogue-lite experience of the original platformer.
One of my birthday presents was the book Common Lisp
Recipes, which I had but was among the many victims of a burst pipe and subsequent flood a
couple years ago. I think I will find it useful as a reference for a few things I need to do
for my barely-started project of writing a (basic) cross platform dict server in CL.
I want this because the only local dict alternative on Windows is running WSL to then run an
existing server in it. And regular dict connections are blocked at work.
Checking out my bookshelf, I also realized I hadn't
finished Let Over Lambda, another CL book, this one a
bit more esoteric. Although being fair, I didn't get far enough into it to hit those meaty
parts, I was at the "using let and local functions" first chapters. And that technique
reminded me a lot of old-timey (mid 00s) JavaScript idioms to encapsulate things.
Yes, I am aware that it is likely the JS eminences spreading those patterns brought them over
from Scheme/Lisp :)
Anyway, those are books that should last me for quite a bit...on top of trying to finish the second Bridgerton novel >_>
I guess I will re-read this post later and (maybe) do some minor edits to fix grammar and spelling mistakes. I wrote it over so many little periods of idleness, that I am sure some parts at least will read disconnected.