timorl @timorl@qoto.org

OMG! I'm so excited to announce that through my work at @spritelyinst we've published A Scheme Primer: https://spritely.institute/news/the-spritely-institute-publishes-a-scheme-primer.html
Direct link: https://spritely.institute/static/papers/scheme-primer.html

This document manages to serve two purposes:
- As a quick skim, it's a reasonable intro to "how to start programming with Scheme with no prior experience". Hey, tutorials are useful!
- But also, in less than 30 pages we manage to compress a TON of computer science ideas in a way that I think is really, really approachable.

The document ends with a code example, and full walkthrough, of a Scheme interpreter written in Scheme... in a mere 30 lines of code! It's like 3/4 of Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs compressed into a document you could read in an afternoon!

I've discovered that you can in fact de-acclimatize yourself to advertising, largely from removing exposure fairly consistently over a long period of time.

The problem with that is the intense sense of alienation and distaste you get when exposed (for whatever reason) again.

Curating your own sensory inputs at the cost of being naturalized to the consensus human experience. Yikes.

made lentils and rice for lunch. I just really love lentils. they are the perfect food!

Miałem dziś ochotę strzelić sobie lufkę w miłym miejscu, więc poszedłem do pijalni. Niestety, okazuje się, że nazwa mnie zmyliła i pijalnia czekolady nie serwuje wódki… Czemu abstynenci nie mogą nazywać swoich miejsc jakoś bardziej oryginalnie i nie podszywać się pod standardy alkoholowe?

CW: This is going to be a thread about my experiences with miscarriage, physically and mentally, and how miscarriages affected by laws regarding abortions. It will contain details.

Had to take the bus into town today, and wore a kilt. Some Delores decided to take issue; which sadly I'm used to. "Why are you wearing a skirt?!" and so on. As I said, used to it (and big scary white dude, so I have some privilege to wield), so I'm calmly addressing it with her

But then she said "well how am I supposed to explain that to my kid?!", and friends, I didn't have to say a thing, because the most awesome Black lady jumped in. She turned to her kid (I'd guess roughly 13 years old) and said "hey, why is he allowed to wear a skirt?"

Kid: "he's grown enough to wear whatever the fuck he wants"

Mom: "see?! Ain't hard ma'am"

Delores huffed but that was pretty much the end 🤣

Woke up way too early as my dream got stuck into an internal monologue where I faced a hearing dad who's got a deaf toddler, and told the dad that he's wasting his boy's life by not teaching him sign language.

I got so annoyed at that fucking imaginary dad that I just got out of bed.
#Deaf

Recommendations wanted: cross platform relational database app.

I used HandBase for over a decade, starting with my palm pilot! It was a lightweight & powerful, intuitive app that made it easy to create relational databases that could either sync w/Access or its own desktop version.

It hasn't updated in years. Likely abandoned.

Anyone know of a similar product that will sync b/w android & windows?

I loathe software-as-a-service & would rather just pay for a program.

(Boosts welcome!)

You’re saying this clock works by attuning to the universal harmony of crystal vibrations? Lol okay 🙄

"They hang the man and flog the woman
Who steals the goose from off the common
Yet let the greater villain loose
That steals the common from the goose

The law demands that we atone
When we take things we do not own
But leaves the lords and ladies fine
Who take things that are yours and mine"

Someone made an app for blind people to check to see if their face is in the camera view, good for video conferencing. #a11y #accessibility

https://canyouseeme.app/

Apparently using they as a singular pronoun (to use instead of he and she) is hardly a new phenomenon. It dates back to 1375 in written records!

In fact, singular you is much more recent! Dating back to the 17th century! 😂

Oh, this quote’s fun, and it shows that our gender-related issues has been going on for centuries:

In 1794, a contributor to the New Bedford Medley mansplains to three women that the singular they they used in an earlier essay in the newspaper was grammatically incorrect and does no ‘honor to themselves, or the female sex in general.’ To which they honourably reply that they used singular they on purpose because ‘we wished to conceal the gender,’ and they challenge their critic to invent a new pronoun if their politically-charged use of singular they upsets him so much.

Source:
https://public.oed.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-singular-they/

I’d say it’s probably safe to use they in general. I do use singular they regularly and it’s the least fuss imo.

#English #Language #Pronouns #They