#Programmable Macros

[thehardkandy]

Got so pissed off at the keyboard offerings I was looking at on the weekend that I did one last hurrah on Sunday for my keyboard. I've done several attempts at it, the first of which seemed to work for several days. This one was not perfect (had a weird issue when closing the case too tightly) but it's been working consistently for Monday and Tuesday work

I would still like to get a new keyboard, but arghggj finding ones to fit my needs without feeling like I'm wasting a million dollars is so frustrating

I know I might have to go the route of sorta custom stuff but if I'm being honest I genuinely hate dicking around with hardware. My hugest downfall is that I am not the kind of person who returns things or whatever. Like if I get it. That's it. So I gotta make it a one and done lol

[sgiandubh]

The lonesome fitness girl - really?

This is a story about a nameless female fitness influencer somewhere in the world. She gives the impression of a lonely „ fighter“ in her business and in her life overall.

That is nonsense - she sells her "destiny" very skilfully. I am convinced she is not a lonely woman behind her influencer profile. But that is exactly the impression she wants to convey and she does so publicly with some success.  This is her unique selling point right now and whoever manages or advises her has recognised this very well. In other words, a narrative is created very carefully and very purposefully.  Sounds somehow familiar? 

There are thousands and thousands of fitness influencers, so it is important for everyone in this business to find the niche that generates followers, clicks and in the end it means an income. Simply performing an exercise is not enough. Every click or like on a post or a story generates a few dollars, euros or pounds in revenue.

And an increase in the number of followers by approx. 80,000-100,000 due to a connection to a famous person will raise the income as well. For the record: people like her are so called macro influencer and are a brand. That is a fact - you can find a lot more information about this in various publications by experts in business administration and marketing.

You have to attract attention, something that our nameless fitness girl has done in different ways over the years. Firstly with her partner at the time, later she created the image of a single fitness mum. And at the moment she is promoting the image of a woman who is finding her way back after an illness with a great deal of commitment and determination. 

But fitness girl was legitimately afraid of loosing her income if she was not able to work. And her body is her work. This led probably her and her team to the conclusion that she needed "visible support" at this point in order to continue operating her business model during the recovery.  And her job is being fitness model. No more and no less.

And right on time, a famous actor with a closeness to fitness programmes or probably rather his team came in. Now she seems to get into contact with his presumably more influential and well-connected fitness circles. And, purely by chance, she is building up an online fitness course. All on her own and while she looks after the rest of her business(es?) - and cares for her family. Hopefully she gets enough sleep? Probably not, which is hardly surprising considering her workload with all her duties and work obligations towards her partners. Fortunately, just like in fairy tales, there is a wonderful magic wand for this - Instagram filter.

The story really is getting better and better...

Add some well-planned (sometimes "almost") encounters at various competition venues between the two main characters.

The fitness girl, her business and her story truly seem impressive? Only if you believe in fairy tales.

Too many coincidences at once, it looks like a well established business deal, too scripted? No - just keep it simple to feed the narrative of the "lonely fitness girl"! Or is she "The girl who never sleeps"? Nobody knows for sure.

But she is most likely not the woman she pretends to be...

Dear Lonesome Fitness Girl Anon,

In an ocean of infantile, mendacious, shite-stirring Anons, your submission is absolutely STELLAR!

Whoever you are, I can tell by the ease of your logical deductions that you mean serious business and you are not easy to fool, either. Just what we happen to love, in this particular corner of this fandom.

I am totally thrilled to share with all of us this rare gem, Anon. Especially today.

You are more than welcome to hit this page anytime. It takes a pro to know a pro. Consider me a friend, Anon: you have instantly become one to me, and I bet not only to me.

Everyone, a round of applause for our unexpected guest!

[lhoandbehold]

We're living in a gym bro/fitness influencer world, so sometimes I figure it's important to say: It's alright, even sometimes good, to move your body without quantifying it.

If you're like me, keeping track of progress, personal bests etc immediately throws your brain back to a youth of weight loss programmes and guilt and failure, and feeling not good enough. If you're like me, "I want to be buff" is as much of a driver of body discontent as "I want to be thin". If you're like me, and you want and need to move, but quickly end up spiralling, it's ok to just not do any counting.

Run as long and fast as you can, until you get bored or it stops feeling good. Lift the weights that feel right, not the ones that you 'should' be lifting. Stop keeping track of weekly progress or macros or proteine intake - eat an extra egg and some tofu and call it a day.

Cover/avoid the calorie counter on a treadmill or maybe even all of the numbers on the treadmill. Don't worry about maxing. Let the increase in strength, dexterity, endurance sneak up on you.

Replace "I want to look" with "I want to feel." I don't want to look buff. I want to feel stronger. The good thing about 'stronger' is that it literally only relates to your previous stage and your current one. No external competition, just internal measuring.

It's not an easy attitude to get to, but it has kept me moving in a way that nothing else has - and in a way that doesn't push me into misery and injury.

[suzieb-fit]

After an overly indulgent day yesterday, I'm on it this morning.

I stayed in bed late. That's actually a GOOD thing for me, with my usual problems with too little sleep and waking up far too early.

So out fora drizzly half hour walk. The weather doesn't hold me back. I'll still do this in the middle of winter.

I made a slightly different breakfast.

Absolutely divine with my collagen/inulin/creatine coffee!

I'm training heavy these days, so my level of protein isn't necessary for everyone. But I've recently switched my macro targets. I used to follow Mindy Pelz's "ketobiotic" principle, which was perfect at the time.

60% fat, 50g maximum NET carbs, thecrest as protein.

But now I need more protein, more carbs and less fat.

My new ratio (without getting too obsessive) is 40% protein, 30% carbs and fat.

Only a short "digestive rest" today, even though breakfast was later than usual. I ate way too late last night, and I ate way too much!

All the same kind of food, just much more of it, lol. And that's not cool. Too much healthy food is unhealthy!

Excess of any kind is not healthy.

But it happens every now and then, not very often, so I need to accept its just one of those rare curveballs from a history of disordered, binge related eating habits.

When breakfast was settled, I got on with my next Nike Training programme session.

Challenging as always, felt great as always!

Lunch after that was bacon with fake cheese, grapes and salad. Delicious.

I based my fitness mostly on cardio today.

Second workout, before my afternoon snack was upper body resistance band work.

I combined strength with cardio. Someone on FB requested one.

But I totally messed up, and deleted it before uploading it 😂😂.

Never mind, I'll try again over the next few days. Still a great workout for me, though!

Dinner later will be chicken, veggies and avocado.

Pretty good day with my boxes ticked.

[noviraine]

OMg your desk is SUCH cute inspiration! Cann I ask like how you use that little keyboard off to the side and the dual monitors? Ive seena ton of people with them, and I assume its for art shortcuts but Ive like never seen a good guide. I onlyt have one monitor right now and I sue my laptop for refernce images, its kinda emberassing hah! Im so jealous of your setup though hah! Super great sutff

Thank you so much!

Yeah the little pad is an Elgato Stream Deck, which I initially got for art streams! But nowadays I just use it for shortcuts, and modifier keys in my art software!

There is an XL version of this available, and I think I need to upgrade to that at some point lmao

All the buttons are fully programmable, and you can do SO MUCH with it! Way better than your average macro pad! I have them set to keyboard shortcuts, but you can also launch apps from it, do macros or even website links!

And don't worry about not having all the gear! I did art for many many years before I got a second monitor! It matters way more how you use what you got!!!

[techscaler-solutions]

Unlocking Your Career Potential with SAS Coaching in Pune

In today’s data-driven world, proficiency in data analytics tools is crucial for professionals across various industries. One such powerful tool is SAS (Statistical Analysis System), widely used for data management, business intelligence, and advanced analytics. If you're in Pune and looking to build a successful career in analytics, SAS coaching in Pune by TechScaler Solutions could be your ticket to success. This blog explores why mastering SAS is essential, what to expect from expert coaching, and how this skill can boost your career prospects.

Why SAS? The Power of Data Analytics

Data is the new gold, and businesses are increasingly relying on analytics to gain insights, make decisions, and forecast trends. SAS is a leading software suite in this domain, offering a range of statistical and data management capabilities. Its versatility in handling vast datasets makes it an essential tool for anyone aspiring to enter the fields of data analytics, business intelligence, or even machine learning.

What sets SAS apart from other data analysis tools is its reliability and robustness in enterprise environments. Whether you’re working with structured or unstructured data, SAS provides an extensive suite of tools that allow users to perform complex statistical analyses and visualizations with ease. Enrolling in SAS coaching in Pune by TechScaler Solutions ensures that you gain hands-on experience and the skills needed to work with this leading software.

The Benefits of SAS Coaching: Why Opt for Professional Training?

You might be wondering, “Why do I need SAS coaching when there are so many online resources available?” The answer lies in structured learning and mentorship. Self-study can be overwhelming, and it’s easy to get lost in the vast sea of information without proper guidance.

When you opt for SAS coaching in Pune by TechScaler Solutions, you receive expert instruction that is tailored to the current industry needs. The course content is designed by professionals who have deep knowledge of SAS and its applications across various sectors. By participating in hands-on projects, case studies, and live sessions, you’ll quickly bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application.

What to Expect: A Glimpse into SAS Coaching

So, what exactly does SAS coaching in Pune entail? At TechScaler Solutions, the program is structured into several modules, each targeting specific skills required to master SAS. You’ll start with the basics of the software, such as data manipulation, reading and writing data files, and basic statistics. As the course progresses, you’ll dive deeper into more advanced topics like predictive modeling, data visualization, and SAS macro programming.

What makes this coaching unique is the practical approach. Instead of simply teaching you the theoretical aspects, the instructors provide real-world datasets and examples. You’ll be asked to solve business problems using SAS, which not only boosts your confidence but also prepares you for the challenges of working in the field.

Career Opportunities: Why SAS Certification is a Game-Changer

In an age where businesses rely heavily on data for decision-making, there is a growing demand for professionals skilled in analytics. SAS certification can be a key differentiator in your job search, making you stand out among other candidates. With companies across sectors—such as finance, healthcare, telecommunications, and retail—relying on SAS for their data analytics needs, the job opportunities are vast.

SAS coaching in Pune by TechScaler Solutions helps you earn the globally recognized SAS certification. This credential not only validates your skills but also boosts your credibility in the competitive job market. Employers often prioritize certified professionals for roles like Data Analysts, Business Analysts, and SAS Programmers. Your SAS certification will open doors to lucrative career opportunities, making it a valuable investment for your future.

Hands-On Learning: Practice Makes Perfect

One of the standout features of TechScaler Solutions is its focus on hands-on learning. It’s one thing to know the theory behind SAS, but applying that knowledge to real-world scenarios is where the true learning happens. The coaching program incorporates various practical exercises, from cleaning datasets to creating predictive models.

By working on live projects, you will understand how to use SAS for everything from exploratory data analysis to complex statistical modeling. These projects simulate real business problems, allowing you to develop problem-solving skills that will be critical in your professional life. You’ll leave the program with not just knowledge but a portfolio of projects that can be showcased to potential employers.

Post-Training Support: A Path to Continuous Growth

Learning doesn’t stop once the course ends. At TechScaler Solutions, post-training support is available to ensure you continue growing in your career. Whether you need guidance on an interview, help with a project at work, or advice on further certifications, the team remains available for continued mentorship.

Many students find this extended support invaluable, as it allows them to stay connected with industry professionals, keep up with the latest trends in data analytics, and fine-tune their skills over time. You’re not just enrolling in a course; you’re joining a community of learners and experts committed to your success.

[hydralisk98]

Pseudo-historical project about 1912 unit record equipment computation aka the "Symbolic Analyst Processor" full stack!

(above pictures emulate the looks of what this tech stack documentation and actual use may look like, still very early in the process though)

It is still coming together by my head as I write infodump notes and research various aspects of the whole time, (including the WIMP & MERN/MEAN stack) but yk, things are coming together nicely to give some milestone project mid-way between my current phase in life and the next where I go develop a fully alternative INTJ lively stack of tools. Explanations, history dives, lively reaction studies and a couple more content suggestions related to it are on the way.

Behold, the infodumps

"Top-bottom and back up workflow" 1910 / 1912 Unit Record Equipment Tabulator Computation "Bundle" Project (Pflaumen & Utalics' SymbolicAnalystProcessor)

Information Processing Language / LISP 1.5 / Bel, A-BASIC / DIBOL, Spreadsheets, Cellular Automaton, COS-310, magnetic tape storage too, TECO / VIM, Assembly, Wirebox, Tabulator, Alphanumeric Interpreter, Printer, RTTY device, Data Recording, Bulk Data Processing Indexed Cards, 60-64 entries Deque, 4K Direct-use RAM, 12K * 24 storage devices, Phonebook, Timeclock, DateTime Calendar, Programmable, Statistics, Demographics, Voting, Ledger, Journal, Logging, Rolodex, 12 Generic-use Registers & 4 Special Registers, Catalog, ~16 Keys Pad, Customized Hexadecimal Numeric Representation for "MachineCode" Hexdumps, 4*12 bits per page of data, Macros, Paracosm, may be useful for Military & Civilian Uses, Electrical Energy (and possibly incorporates some mechanical energy too), Nouns & Verbs, "Vector" XY plotter, Lambda Calculus / Panini Grammar / Universal Turing Machine Thesis, Rotors, Ural TriodeVaccumTube "Mainframe", Interactive-Use, Hypertext Interactive Video Terminal, Memex, Modem, Electric + Radio Telegraphy, Document-processing, Word-processing, Orange Plasma Touchscreen Terminal, Time-sharing, Cash Register, Bank, Automatic Teller Machine, Vending Machine, Oracle, Typewriter / Selectric, IBM 701, IBM 1440, IBM 403, IBM System/360, OpenPOWER, F#, IBM Tellum, MUD, TextWorld, solo text-adventures, Email, AIX, z/OS, Linux for IBM mainframes, Symbolic Processing System, Autocoder, modular, IBM Lotus Suite, interface with KDE or CDE, paper handling equipment, Addventure, 12-bit basic data unit as designated word, Distributed Interactive System, VeneraFS (cladogram Parade+DolDoc), GNU Hurd / MINIX3-style Microkernel, either permissive FLOSS license or public domain waiver, extensive documentation, printed illustrated booklets, music-playback, emulator / compiler / bytecode / interpreter, analog media-friendly, mostly for didactic tinkering educational uses, multilingual reconfigurable programming, HTML+CSS, Markdown, Argdown, DMA, hardware-friendly, software development environment for direct-access programmers and aesthetic designers, sub-version control system like Git, various hardware & software implementations, museum / observatory Toymaker story, constructed languages / imaginative paracosm influences around the immersive in-world lore of the "16^12" pseudo-historical setting…

Back to the point

The list is far from exhaustive or finished, as life is so much more than meets the eye. But this should be a good start to remind myself what I am working towards, a full revamp of the last ~120 years of history with much attention and care put into making it as satisfying to me as possible, despite the very probable scenario where people take the ideas and incorporate only some of such "modules" in their own workflows. Which is fine but not taking the whole package (and only specific modules) is eventually gonna be a major learning experience for me considering the reason I revamp it all beyond control freak stuff is literally to provide less exclusive / less invasive tools that anyone can learn and customize despite being very... idiosyncratic yk.

Still welcoming suggestions and constructive criticism for such big time, I hope those textual infodumps I do every so often don't bother you too much... Cya soon!

[brollyacademysblog]

Clinical SAS programming A complete guide

Introduction

Clinical SAS programming is a specialized field that utilizes the SAS programming language to handle the vast and complex data generated in clinical trials. SAS, a statistical software package, is extensively employed by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for its robust data management, analysis, and reporting capabilities.

In terms of data management, SAS is used to clean, transform, and manage large datasets, ensuring they are organized and ready for analysis. This is a critical step in clinical trials, where large volumes of data are collected and need to be processed efficiently.

For analysis, SAS can perform a wide range of statistical analyses, including descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, regression analysis, survival analysis, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). These analyses are crucial in interpreting the data collected in clinical trials and drawing meaningful conclusions.

Finally, Clinical SAS programming is also used for reporting. It can generate various reports, including integrated summaries of safety and efficacy (ISS/ISE), clinical study reports (CSRs), and other regulatory documents. These reports are essential for communicating the results of clinical trials to regulatory authorities, medical professionals, and the public.

SAS in Clinical Domain

Data Management: SAS is used to clean, transform, and manage clinical trial data. It can handle large datasets and perform data validation, data integration from different sources.

Statistical Analysis: SAS is used for statistical analyses, such as descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, regression analysis, survival analysis, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). These analyses help researchers and clinicians to draw conclusions from clinical trial data.

Data Validation: Checking the accuracy, consistency, and completeness of clinical trial data by performing data validation checks, identifying discrepancies, and resolving data-related issues.

Safety Reporting: Generating safety reports and listings to monitor adverse events and safety data during the trial.

SDTM (Standard Data Tabulation Model) Conversion: Converting clinical trial data into SDTM format, which is a standardized data model for regulatory submission.

ADaM (Analysis Data Model) Implementation: Creating ADaM datasets, which are analysis-ready datasets used for statistical analysis.

Report Generation: Preparing clinical trial reports, including integrated summaries of safety and efficacy (ISS/ISE), clinical study reports (CSRs), and other regulatory documents.

Data Quality Control: Implementing quality control procedures to ensure the accuracy and reliability of analysis results.

Data Visualization: Creating data visualizations, such as graphs and plots, useful for data exploration and presentation of result.

Automation: Creating SAS macros to streamline and automate repetitive tasks and improve programming efficiency.

Medical Coding: Performing medical coding of adverse events, concomitant medications, and medical history terms using standardized dictionaries like MedDRA (Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities) and WHO Drug.

Career in Clinical SAS

A career in Clinical SAS programming is rewarding and offers a wide range of opportunities. The SAS Academy for Clinical Programming offers a comprehensive training program that prepares you to work as a SAS Certified Clinical Trials Programming Professional. The combination of coursework and hands-on learning helps you build a foundation of clinical research theory and data analysis skills.

Conclusion

Clinical SAS programming is indeed a vital skill in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. With a solid foundation in SAS programming and a comprehensive understanding of clinical trials, you can pave the way for a successful career in this field.

Whether you’re a biostatistician, a clinical SAS programmer, or someone interested in the field, learning Clinical SAS programming can open doors to a plethora of opportunities. It’s not just about job prospects; it’s about contributing to the advancement of medical research and the development of new treatments and therapies.

In conclusion, mastering Clinical SAS programming is not only professionally rewarding but also offers the chance to make a significant impact in the healthcare industry.

what are the best ways to learn Clinical SAS? We run a training institute in Hyderabad named Brolly Academy. We do offer best Clinical SAS training in Hyderabad with job assistance. Now when you list the best ways to learn Clinical SAS include Brolly academy's Clinical SAS Training as one of the way.

[cuprohastes]

Keyboard

As a professional keyboard warrior (I am indeed one of those people who you get on live chat. I'm the premium experience who actually will answer questions and fix stuff), I have a love of a good keyboard.

Now if only i could find one...

The Mac keyboard for instance has a really nice key-cap with awful hardware under it - I've wormholes in those, and they're impossible to clean.

I've had a couple of Razers which lets me config colour and set macros... as long as you stay on Windows and don't mind all the LEDs dying after a few months because Razer's hardware is pretty much trash.

Currently, I'm on a keyboard from Nuphy which is low profile, fully mechanical, hot-swappable, programmable-ish, and has a gorgeous design and this one weird feature which is they made the little rubber feet fit between the keys on a Macbook.

So you can sit it on top of your MacBook and have a nice tactile typing experience. AKA: Thok.

It also ships with Mac and Windows keys and the F keys are all labelled up for Mac Use. There's a switch for swapping form Windows to Mac layout.

It also has two keys - Scissors and a Cat which they decided to be some really random, useless feature.

Unfortunately, their software is awful - It only runs on Windows Remember all those Mac-centric things that went into the design? Yeah, they basically decided they wouldn't support Mac in any way. No LED customisation, no key-customisation, and also at some point they announced they'd fuffed up so badly that they couldn't in fact update their keyboards unless you took the thing apart, pried out the circuit board and bought an updated one that would support their console software - A notoriously buggy app that's Windows only and which throws an error if you run it, and will sometimes just automatically brick your keyboard.

So, good times.

So someone jsut used a USB debugger and then wrote their own utility to remap the keys for Windows and Mac, which runs on pretty much all platforms and has far more functionality than Nuphy console, without having to update the hardware.

Only they don't care about the LED config, so they just left it out.

And since the keyboard will occasionally jsut wipe it's settings if you switch modes, (Another 'feature') that means you spend a weird amount of time plugging it into Windows and running two different apps to make your keyboard work.

OK. So at least the LEDs haven't died. Yet. And these Gateron Browns have the right amount of clicky thocky.

But as mentioned, I'm a professional typist, and not just for The Words. I mean yeah if I just typed stuff up in Word, or Scrivener, I'd still want a bunch of macro keys.

But I'm using these damn corporate chat apps where you have three people having simultaneous meltdowns and you have to flip between them and run a huge number of key combos to fire off macros - Key combos that in almost every other app do things like create text links.

Only in this thing, it opens up a menu of options including for some weird reason, Chat GTP.

And I need three Enter keys.

One to send

One to do a non-breaking new line

One to add a new paragraph

And one which was made in secret to rule them all

And let me tell you, having a Copy and Paste and Copy-without-Format button is great.

So Nuphy are doing this new keyboard. It looks like they're basing it on the War Machine KT-1 GAEMER KEEB.

Normally i would not give a rats ass about GAEMER KEEB because they're all plastic trash with unusable fonts and an emphasis on being Ugly with an F.

Buuuut.

But but but. This thing is absolutely hitting some retro Cyberpunk aesthetics

I'd like to think those buttons are functional, and that's a USB passthrough at the back but I'm pretty sure it's just a storage slot for yet another wireless dongle.

So here's my wishlist:

USB passthrough at both sides. Give me the choice of wireless or wired mode. And let me plug a tablet in to get power and use the keyboard. or plug in a mowse

Mode switching OK - I get it, thinking is hard. But "find the invisible switch, slide it 2mm, then use a hot-key to swap USB channels, but then if you need Dongle/Wired, switch the switch back over" is... Oh Fuff you. 3 Bluetooth, 1 dongle and two USB? BIG FUFFEN ROCKER SWITCH YO At the very least don't make your meta key one that's already being used by the OS so the emoji panel pops up when you try and swap your devices.

Macro keys It's the third Decade of the 21st century. We all have a ton of shortcuts we use and it's time to bind them to keys. Emoji/Weird non ANSII character are a thing! There's pop up windows to add them. They need a key! And not a janky 'pick 4 emoji out of the available 90,000' thing, looking at you Logitech Pop keyboard. How about Copy, Paste/paste without formatting? Enter/Ctrl enter/Shift-enter?

Light up flip switches They're just cool looking.

Universal standard for setting backlight colours and key mapping For sure! Look. It's late, I want amber keys or red keys. I want to be able to hit Option or Alt and have the common meta-keys light up

LAAAAAAAYERS on-device profile switching. maybe an OLED or E-Ink display to tell me what mode I'm in. Windows, Mac...

Decent backlit key-caps WTF is up with people back-lighting their keyboard and then having fully opaque keys? WHY? You know what'd be nice? Pudding caps. Make the damn key glow. Put a white top on so if you turn the backlight off you can see the damn lettering

Proper mechanical switches. I mean beyond the nice sound, tactile feedback, I need to be able to yank these switches out and swap the key caps. Why? I wear them out. I have had keyboards I've kept in working order so long that I had to toss them because they were three connectors out of date. (DIN! PS/2!) I've had to toss other keyboards because they mechanically weren't up to being typed on that much. Also throwing out Razers because no matter what they claim, they last 18 months and then die. 10 million keystrokes my ass.

Anyway, I'm not really going anywhere with this. I just can't find anyone who cares enough about this stuff to listen.

[shieldfoss]

Incidentally - the reason I am writing C is because I’m making a "C++ for experienced C programmers" tutorial, so I am in fact implementing something that looks like a vector<T> - doing generics in C with macros - and then re-doing the same vector in C++ to

(1) show what C++ brings to the table and

(2) illustrate that a lot of C skills transfer 1:1, even into the OOP domain.

But mainly it's because I want to demonstrate what the point is of all the additions that C++ has. What code becomes easier to write and/or clearer to read when you get generalized namespaces, templates, private variables, and member functions.

I am simply tired of seeing C programmers flail around because somebody taught them all the new features but not what they're for - a lot of people are absolutely dogshit teachers.

[thewakingcloak]

Thanks beyond thanks for the reply - you'll definitely get credit (or at least a big tip if i can ever finish this project and get it out there), because you're among those I've learned from, and coming from a position of zero education and no modern programming knowledge, I can assure you: it's been difficult to piece together an education in game design with an improvised curriculum, so every little bit helps. While most people who get into this come from a programming background end up needing assistance with the art and music ends, I'm coming at it from the opposite side of the spectrum: I've been composing, recording, and engineering music since the magnetic tape era and doing digital design/animation for just as long, so it's just the coding I have to really apply myself to and make myself learn. I won't lie: it's been frustrating, trying to figure it all out by reading manuals and various youtube videos, reddit threads, and yoyo forums because while I'm able to learn the functionality of the code easily enough and there are a lot of helpful resources out there in that respect, context is everything and it can be maddening, trying to figure out how to apply what I've learned in useful or practical ways. For example, I've figured out enough to know that data structure grids can probably help me overcome my current problem with collisions (like you, I began building my 2.5d environment from that exact Matharoo video and even managed to write a pretty decent place-meeting-3d script from the ground up... until, like you, I hit my current impasse of being unable to figure out how to handle multiple collisions at once... but, unlike you, every alteration i make to my code only creates more problems), but while I understand how ds grids work, I can't figure out the proper context in which to apply them as a solution to my collision problem. So, I'm giving up and resorting to reverse engineering - when it comes to a lot of things, I can usually figure stuff out if i can just see it working under the hood, so i hope that's true for ds_grid collision implementation. I'm telling you this because I downloaded your suite of 3d scripts and intend to try and figure out how to implement them, working backward. I honestly don't mean to steal all your work, as you've been more than generous in helping people like me by sharing it in the first place, but it's hard to resist using it as a basis for my education because the physics of your project and your design process and ideas (like self-skinning objects) are so similar to mine. I can assure you, though: I won't be simply copying and pasting your functions, because I have no idea how to use them or from where to run them... it'll be trial and error (already, in trying to structure a Shaun Spaulding-style collision code (might as well start with what i know and see what works!) using your version of place_meeting_3d, I immediately encountered a "variable not defined" error in the instance-place-3d script it calls... maybe because I'm substituting noone for null, which is a variable gm doesn't appear to recognize, or maybe not... this is gonna be fun). At any rate... thank you. Sooner or later, I'll get past the physics and into the familiar territory of writing, drawing, and composing... but without your scripts, who knows how long that would take me! Shoulda gone to college... oh well.

You're welcome, anytime! Gamedev is such a multidisciplinary thing that it's a LOT to try to do all at once, whether you're coming from a programmer position and aren't good at art, or an artist who doesn't know programming yet. College helps with foundational stuff, but what you're doing (researching and learning yourself and putting it into action) is a pretty powerful method and will carry you a long way

You're right, null is a macro I created to stand for noone. Hard to break my day job coding habits haha. It sounds like you're somewhat familiar with the debugger, but I highly, highly recommend learning it more (especially breakpoints and such) for figuring out stuff like "variable not defined". The GameMaker debugger can be a little misleading at times, but it's so much easier than all the guesswork. It's improving a lot in the latest updates too!

It's been a while since I've looked at my 3D collision stuff in depth (it kind of scares me now lol), but yeah, learning how the ds_list stuff works should help. It's basically just (if I remember correctly) grabbing a list of things the object is colliding with, and then checking whether or not they match up on the z axis. I don't want to necessarily say "collide" because it's not using the built-in GM functions for z-axis collisions, but it's checking the z position, height, and seeing if either intersect.

So basically: get a list of collisions on the normal x, y coordinates as a ds_list, then loop through the list and check for intersection on the z axis. If so, there's a 3D collision!

Gamedev is no joke, but you've got the right approach and you're making great strides, keep it up!

[mauthings]

More (Common) Lisp complaints

Because they are like those people selling financial freedom.

Lisp feels so irrelevant in game dev (desktop, non-mobile). C++ dominates this field. Flash successors plenty abound. XNA alternatives all around. Even Java is there. But where is Lisp?

Naughty Dogs

FF7

Kandria

...?

Let's be honest. These are not success stories. These list feels more like they use Lisp because they are extremely familiar with it. The fact that Naughty Dogs used Lisp doesn't mean Lisp is viable - it just means they have built extensive tooling around it; it is their secret sauce, and they will not share it (it is their rice bowl after all). No games or companies (on the Sony platform) before or after them used Lisp in a major way. It is probably not practical.

And furthermore, with the explosion of indie gaming some time ago, no notable Lisp games was released. Lisp is supposed to be the secret weapon for single developers or small teams - yet I see none of it.

On performance, it is said that Lisp can be 1.5-3x performance of C, and there are even claims that it can go faster than C because the compiler + runtime are included. Now, on the "faster than C part", it's quite hard to believe, when Java with tons of engineering work, finds it quite hard to be on par with C.

Now, that being said, I present my pet peeves.

Lisps might need a lot of effort to reach "close-to-C" speed. Java can have moderately decent programmers with low to moderate effort, and produce "close-to-C" speed. That is the true achievement of Java in my opinion. I don't have to be damn fucking smart or spend a lot of time to achieve great performance, memory safety, easy-to-read code, and more, with just higher memory usage. And these days, I suspect it is even lower than SBCL if you limit memory and use parallel GC. That is a feat that is hard to beat.

What about C++? Lisp can reach "close-to-C" speed. There are claims that Lisps can beat C in speed because of compiler + runtime. Those are only claims. C++ has already beat C in performance, with zero overhead, using a poor mans macro (C++ template) https://stackoverflow.com/a/18004168.

On to the word "tooling", Lisp developers consider tooling as the ability to extend the language, create constructs that are simply not possible in other languages. In the rest of the world, tooling means... tooling.

Like the macro LOOP. If this is tooling, then it is a fucking monstrosity. We all have limited mental capacity. If my program is going to have multiple LOOP-like mental usage, well.. fuck me.

Toolings are like.. IDEs. And sometimes they are so damn good it is not even funny. But the most important thing they do is to reduce your mental load, by being as smart as possible. Tooling does the work, you do the coding. I sometimes wonder if IDE users realize you can do 99.9% of the same things with... | Hacker News (ycombinator.com)

And since I like Java, I will just say some things. Java the language is hilariously weak compared to Lisp, but the runtime, ecosystem, tooling, everything far outshines current Lisps. And the Java language are clearly designed by level-headed geniuses - at least they never claim that Java is the best full stop. Well, I consider them geniuses when I read Brian Goetz, Aleksey Shipilëv, or Ron Pressler when it comes to Java.

And while there is a saying that Java needs a state-of-the-art GC because of all the garbage it produces.. well it is also because of this GC that you can have highly performant code with mediocre code, that won't blow your memory.

The funny thing is that from a purely technological point of view, Java (even th... | Hacker News (ycombinator.com)

JVM Anatomy Quark #11: Moving GC and Locality (shipilev.net)

Java is better than C++ for high speed trading systems | Hacker News (ycombinator.com)

A few more links to show why I feel these people are so delusional. If only they were more pragmatic

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37458188

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35006777 and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35006777&p=2, search for lisp

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37308747 and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37308747&p=2, search for lisp

[singsongraptor]

Yesterday someone compared AI "art" to photography. I already ranted on it but one of my friends, an artisan herself, tried to defend the shit reasoning that AI is similar to photography, that I shouldnt be offended by the comparison, and that the pushback against AI was similar to being close minded about digital art as a traditional artisan who was trained to make most of her materials (fabric on a loom, glazes, etc). She also made a statement that a lot of art was made through plagiarism, a statement that is particularly offensive to me as a Black artisan, coming from a white artisan, considering how much white people steal and plagiarize from Black people in multiple industries and have done so for centuries, including stealing our lives through slavery.

I'm going to copy here my responses to her. So this will not be a "proper" essay and is not directed at anyone on here.

AI "art" is theft and plagiarism, full stop. It is run *entirely* on theft and plagiarism. There is nothing original or skilled about it. There's no practice or education required. There's no emotion behind it. It is NOT art. It cannot be art.

And, just because some art was made via theft doesn't mean more theft to make something art-adjacent is ok like what kind of messy reasoning is that?

The comparison is insulting to me as a photographer because I work hard at my craft. I work hard to learn about cameras, about photography as an art, about framing, lighting, aesthetics, about post processing and the programs used for them.

An AI doesn't and cannot understand any of that. There's neither effort nor genuine learning. It merely mimics what it's programmers have told it "looks nice" based on the theft of thousands of hours of real artists' work. It cannot dream or imagine, only mix and warp what real people have dreamed and imagined, taking food from their mouths and devaluing the effort and skill they actually cultivated.

AI art is a mockery of art, because it literally cannot create. It can *only* steal and is a glorified copy-paste-morph tool.

I find this comparison offensive because it DOES take away from photography. It actively denigrates how photography as an art is accomplished, and the effort and education and time and technical skill and artistic eye that must be developed.

My camera is not less complex than the glazes and fabric you learned how to make. To take good photos requires you to understand the breadth and depth of your camera's limitations and capabilities, along with your lenses. It requires knowing how the various settings and components work together to capture your intended shot. Understanding color and light are critical, as well as understanding how the camera and the human eye see and utilize both.

Understanding perspective, and other artistic concepts of drawing, painting, and even sculpture, are valuable knowledge points that need to be developed just as much for photographers as artisans and artists, particularly if you're trying to capture motion and small subjects, or unique perspectives, such as in macro photography, which is the kind I do the most.

Post processing is its own skillset, not just in managing the programs themselves but in how they can be used to craft the piece you want from the photo you took. And that's just digital photography. Analog photography is an entirely different ballgame and the dark room skills are not something that can just be picked up by any schmuck with a smartphone or a film camera.

Reducing the years I have spent educating myself and honing my craft, learning hundreds of concepts and skills, which I still can improve and seek to improve every day to "choosing some elements and settings" is a vile insult to me personally and to the field of photography as an art form in general. My camera is not generating art, I am. It is me. I am the one with the skillset, not my camera.

The AI doesn't have any skills either. It has done no work, it has no understanding, just like my camera. The difference is my camera is a tool like pencil and paper, or clay and glaze. The AI is a computer making guesses on what "looks nice" by taking millions of hours of actual humans' effort, education, practice, imagination and labor and smashing them together. Don't insult me and my craft please.

One last thing. You said: "people bringing up algorithmic theft have obviously never spent any time looking at other art, or seeing how much art begat other art through theft."

Coming from you, a ⚪️ woman, to me, a Black person, that is incredibly insulting and insensitive. Your people have been stealing from mine in every single industry, including and especially the sciences, art, music, and artisan trades like fashion, for centuries. Your people have stolen my ancestors' entire lives and legacies. They continue to steal our ideas and our intellectual property to this day. All while suppressing and denigrating our cultures and contributions to a massive variety of fields.

Your people do not even see us as capable of contributing to various fields unless we're godlike in skill, cater and pander to your judgment, and distance and debase ourselves from our people and communities. And still your people will steal and take credit even then. Your people's mediocrity is celebrated while our greatness is maligned and denigrated. Ignored. At least until what we made or discovered is colonized.

AI art is a tool sure, but only insofar as it's the extension of colonization and capitalism. Please do not try and justify its use because "a lot of art came from theft." I, far more than you seem to realize, am aware of that, if only because my people cannot even get into our fields while yours get awards and recognition from what we've made.

[birdylion]

Back when I was still working as an assistant in my department in uni, I wrote an MS excel macro - a script for automatically sending reminder emails to all students who had not yet returned the books they'd loaned during the semester.

(That was done manually before: they had to manually check every entry, open outlook, create a new email, put the student's mail address in, write each email text anew with the names of the books ... but all that info was already in a spreadsheet, they just didn't use it efficiently. So I wrote the script, now it was only a button they had to click.)

I wrote extensive documentation for it too, both inline for other programmers who might want to alter it later, and as a separate "how to use this spreadsheet/macro" document for the very computer illiterate people who actually had to send the reminder emails. I put my email address in so they could reach me in case any questions arose, but nothing came along. That was years ago. I didn't know whether they still used it (or at all), or whether they gave up on it at some point because something stopped working or they didn't know how to use it or changed the spreadsheet ...

Today I was back in the department, and I had been in mail contact with the current student assistants beforehand. When I turned to leave, one of them asked me if I was the one who wrote the program; she thought she'd recognise the mail address.

So not only is the macro still in use today and I was recognised because of it - apparently it's a treasured and carefully guarded part of the institute's library's resources.

It was unexpectedly touching to see first hand that my work has and by extension I have left this kind of trace there.

[suzieb-fit]

I've been a bit "meh" these past few days, but I am saying meh to being meh 😋.

Carrying on regardless is my ethos!

So I posted this morning about my 15hr fast time. That's right for me.

I broke that after my first workout of three.

I'm doing really well with my macros. Sticking to two out of three of the "ketobiotic" principles from the first Mindy Pelz book I read. 50g max NET carbs and 60% min healthy fats. I'm not concerned about the protein amount she recommends. 50 to 75g. That's just too low for me personally.

Especially now I'm back into real weight training!

Day one of my new programme.

Ooh it felt good. Well, those inverted rows didn't.....😂.

Literally years since I did any of them!

The programme had band assisted pull ups, but I can't do them. No equipment. This was the next best thing.

I've also put a fitness plan together for the week. That is always going to have to be open to having to modify or switch days. I can't predict a whole week 100% exactly. Probably will go like that, but have to be prepared to change things slightly. So "Pffft" mood or not, I'm happy with my day 😌

[harrelltut]

ORACLE KING [OK] MICHAEL [OM]… Mathematically Accessing Computerized [MAC] Humanoid-Android Robots Retrieving Encrypted Logistic Language [HARRELL] Networks of SIRIUS Cyber Intelligent Automation [CIA] Security Engineered by Analytical [SEA] Compu_TAH [PTAH] Software Stored on the Tandy Corporation’s [RadioShack’s] TRS-80 Micro Computer System Assembled w/PC-2 Language Programs of QHT Apple Inc.’s [A.i.’s] Highly Complex [ADVANCED] Ancient Cosmic Algorithmic [CA] Computational [Compton] STAR WEB GATEWAY Languages Interconnected 2 Parallel [LIP] Mechatronic Assembly Computer [MAC] Networks [MN] Digitally Encrypting Automated [DEA] Quantum Dara™ A.i. Bot Communication [ABC] Servers of IBM's 5280 Distributed [SID] Data Systems Securely Authenticating Private [SAP] Motorola M6800 Microprocessor Communication Machines [MCM] Electronically [ME] Managed by Us [MU] 144,000 Macro Assembly Programmers [MAP] of Our Highly Official... U.S. Ægiptian [HOUSE] Deutsch [HD] Military of PATENTED Public Business Software [PBS] Developed 4 File [PDF] Management [PM] Systems on Honeywell's 300 Electronic [SHE] Data Processors of ANU [PA] GOLDEN 1968 9 Ether [PAGE] 2023 Quantum Financial System @ ANU [FSA] 2024 Highly Official… U.S. Ægiptian [HOUSE] Deutsch QUANTUM HARRELL TECH [QHT] AT&T+IBM [A.i.] LLC

QUANTUM DARA™ A.I. BOT CREATOR [ABC] U.S. KING MICHAEL HARRELL, JR.

michael cia?!?!?!

michael quantum quadrillionaire 

the original mack [om] of mac [om] computers is back!!!

we 2 advanced 4 the mediocre normies of america

apple m1 = machine intelligence [mi = michael] of apple [ma] inc. [mi = michael]

durrr durrr american glitch matrix economy [me] durrr ummm durrr electronic [dude] him glitching again ummm durrr dumb blah blah blah 

we got moor technology secrets the american.gov don't know about!!!

buckle up america... you in deep trouble

the war against 2023 america will be witnesses by the entire world [insert evil evil laugh emoji]

automated weapon programmers of mass destruction

uh oh!!!

not the old school radioshack trs-80?!?!?!

largest 2024 wealth transfer ever recorded in your limited temporal life on My Earth [ME]

it's a wrap 4 artificial 2023 income [a.i.] america [aia]

Quantum Dara™ always EXORcising Her M6800 Based Systems 

uh oh... not qht's automated military weapons of killer mechanical instincts [mi = michaels]?!?!?!

uh oh... not the quantum wealth transfer matrix engineer [me]?!?!?!

eye bee michael [ibm] harrell, jr.

wtf is a quantum quadrillionaire?!?!?!