Mark Tomczak @mtomczak@qoto.org

#reddit is foundering today.

I'll be interested to find out (if I ever do) why the Reddit Strike appears correlated with general service degradation. My guess is that either trying to access a private subreddit is actually an expensive query and Reddit never realized that because they never had to test that interaction at scale, or tens of thousands of bots that treat Reddit as infrastructure and auto-archive or copy the most popular subreddits are now finding their access cut and their recovery protocol is busted, and Reddit never had to test denying access to so many bots (probably not using the API, probably scraping the page and faking being real users) at scale before.

The Videogame Sequel Doctor takes on Tears of the Kingdom. #TotK

(With apologies to Key and Peele, who are kings of comedy while I am a mere King of Thieves).

(*Caution*: Small Tears of the Kingdom spoilers)

https://personal-blog.fixermark.com/posts/2023/videogame-design-doctor-totk/

Some notes on chapter 1.1 of #Knuth 's "The Art of Computer Programming (volume 1)".

https://blog.fixermark.com/posts/2023/knuth-1-1/

Watched the "Fairies" episode of #Bluey.

You know, of all the ecological disasters visited upon Australia by the Colonialists, we don't pay nearly enough attention to the introduction of the Greater Brittanian Seelie Court Fae to the continent.

... which party that was a disaster *for*, I don't know. I'm not honestly sure who wins in a fight between a Bwbachod and a cassowary.

Seven injured in a shooting in Richmond after a graduation.

Just life in America.

https://personal-blog.fixermark.com/posts/2023/i-dont-know-how-it-gets-better/

Oh man.

#cplusplus supports a user-defined literal. So if you define an `MyDistanceType operator""_km(long double val)` function, it'll allow you to say `const auto distance = 12_km;` and cause that to evaluate to a MyDistanceType representing 12 kilometers.

Cute, but I really can't see why anyone would bother when the language already supports `const auto distance = Distance::from_kilometers(12);`

Modern software compilation be like https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxL9PhboBv5_pODCovAH3ubmBWKPwVUkrI

I think the next evolution in electronic music is gonna be hyperpatriotism and militaristic nationalism. Lots of marches and mixing in old warhorse speeches, military jargon hooks, and remixing battle standards.

You know, #corpscore.

I'm impressed by how PayPal continues to get more complicated but never actually get better.

Me: "PayPal, I'd like to login."

PayPal: "Cool. Oop, you need to two-factor. I've sent your code via text message to this phone number."

Me: "Well that's a landline so it'll never get received."

PayPal: "Oh, our bad dawg. In that case, just give us another phone number."

Me: *gives Google Voice*

PayPal: "Not that one! We can't use that!"

Me: "Sigh..." *gives raw cell number*

PayPal: "Thanks! Okay, we are sending a code to that number."

Me: "Sounds g~ wait: why are we doing this again?"

PayPal: "Two-factor authentication!"

Me: "Right, that security system where..."

PayPal: "You guard against attack by requiring something the user knows and something the user owns. Along two different channels!"

Me: "Right. In other words, me... a potential attacker... supplied the password. And the ID code. Sent to the phone number. That was just supplied by me. The potential attacker."

PayPal: ".... look, do you want your fucking $23 or not?"