Luddite Geek @Luddite_Geek@qoto.org
Luddite Geek resides in Northeastern USA with just one cat and a wife. He received his B.S.E.E. from a well-known technical university and has worked in the electrical industry since 1982. He specializes in Automation of CAD and Data Analysis. He does not have a Twitter account. His Myers-Briggs personality type is INTP.
blink-matching-parens is an awesome Emacs minor mode. But why can't I find something like that for matching quotes? Where are you blink-matching-quotes? #emacs
Finally I upgraded to Emacs 30.1. While that fixed the issue, I then got distracted by configuring a brand new init file and eliminating incompatible modes. (Who really needs visual-basic-mode, anyway?) Anyway, I completed Day 11 of #100DaysOfCode!
My #100DaysOfCode sprint turned into a crawl yesterday and today. The python-mode in my Emacs 25.2 couldn't indent match-case blocks properly, and no remedy worked. And yes, I did remember to remove all the python.+.el? files from my computer.
Today I decided to see if #Vivaldi has a command line switch that would open a folder of bookmarks. But all I had to do was press F2, enter the first few letters of the Speed Dial nickname and click it. F2 is the default key for Quick Commands:
https://vivaldi.com/blog/quick-commands-guide/
Completed Days 3 to 5 in the #100DaysOfCode yesterday and today. I'd love to finish in 50 days, but I'm aiming for 60 days.
I joined the #100DaysOfCode yesterday and completed Day 1 and Day 2. The tricky part in Day 2 is to ensure the per person cost always displays two decimal places by adding the format {:.2f} string. Otherwise, you get $33.6 instead of $33.60, for example.
I am proud to say that emacs.social is ready to go! Please sign up and lets see how it does. :) It is running the glitch fork that allows for markdown. Right now it is set for a moderator to approve signups. This is to help cut down on spam accounts. Let me know what you think! #emacs
There are a couple of features of #orgmode links in #Emacs that I think are underappreciated:
1. They work in all buffers, not just org-mode buffers! Bind org-open-at-point-global to a globally accessible key binding and enjoy org-links everywhere. For example, I like putting info links in comments in Emacs Lisp files, like info:calc#Graphics. Remember too, that file links can include a search string, for example file:~/.emacs.d/init.el::eshell takes me right to my eshell configuration. Shell links, that execute commands, are pretty useful too, for example <shell:zip source *.c *.h>.
2. It's super easy to create new link types (if you know how to program). For example, here's a new type of link for keyboard macros:
(org-link-set-parameters "kbd"
:follow (lambda (macro arg)
(kmacro-call-macro arg t nil (kbd macro))))
With that definition you can write keyboard macros like <kbd:M-a M-f M-t> and execute them with org-open-at-point-global.
Back in February I wrote about the good old days when employers would lay off non-essential or excess workers in order to remain viable. Another trend I see is that employers are off-loading benefits onto their employees.
https://ludditegeek.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-shift-to-employee-sponsored-benefits.html
I'm about 2/3 of the way into "Automate the Boring Stuff with Python Programming" on Udemy. I'm running it at 2X speed. I'm looking forward to Web Scraping and parsing files of the DOC, XLS & PDF variety -- I'm not aware of an Emacs approach to that.
https://gale.udemy.com/course/automate/l
In the good old days a company would lay off its workers. Now it seems that employers are too cheap to do that, and they find excuses to fire workers or put them on probation...
https://ludditegeek.blogspot.com/2025/02/longing-for-layoffs.html
For those who might be looking for a good introductory book to Emacs, here is a book that also is really comprehensive.
Waclena, K. (2024). _Use GNU Emacs: The Plain Text Computing Environment_. University of Chicago. https://www2.lib.uchicago.edu/keith/emacs/
You can browse the book in the web, or download it in PDF, ePub and Kobo ePub.
As I try to fulfill the requirements to maintain eligibility for Unemployment Insurance, I find that my stress level is ten times it was when I was working. I wonder if I could get paid for every broken link and misdirection I find.
Direct deposit makes it easier to get a paycheck. But be sure to download your "pay stub" and other documents from the payroll provider as soon as they're available. If you're ever fired or laid off, your access to those documents may be disabled.
https://ludditegeek.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-importance-of-payroll-documents.html
Just read the NY TImes' article on The Luddite Club (published Jan 30). But unlike the Luddite movement of the early 19th century, these folks simply are opting out of smartphones and social media, not destroying cell phone infrastructure. https://www.theludditeclub.org/
How do the candidates for USA President compare in terms of their views on technology matters? Stay tuned... https://sciencedebate.org/sciencedebate-presidential-2020.html
Luddite Geek resides in Northeastern USA with just one cat and a wife. He received his B.S.E.E. from a well-known technical university and has worked in the electrical industry since 1982. He specializes in Automation of CAD and Data Analysis. He does not have a Twitter account. His Myers-Briggs personality type is INTP.
