The Nineteenth Byte

I particularly like his depiction of the pros and cons of working from home. The regression of social skills where it goes from regular conversation to the guy just grunting and peeing himself. Seems accurate.

Martin Büttner

@AlexA. lol yeah that was great

Alex A.

@MartinBüttner Wow, Picasso also used to be good!

orlp

@MartinBüttner I still posted my answer

still think a preimage attack is better than a collision :P

Alex A.

7:45 PM

For those who haven't seen it (the Oatmeal on working from home)

orlp

I had a very dirty example working before you posted, but had to clean up a lot and fix some bugs :(

Alex A.

Speaking of the Oatmeal, I forgot that I have a poster of Why I Believe Printers Were Sent from Hell to Make Us Miserable.

It was aptly hung above the printer in my last place. That printer no longer works.

Optimizer

I think j can do away with the initial L we always have to put in there. IS there really a use for that ?

Martin Büttner

Dennis used it to beat pyth on the recursive prime factorisation

it's really convenient for recursion with a classical base case for n=0 and or n=1. much shorter than including a switch in the recursive function

Optimizer

8:12 PM

aha, I could probably use j for Dennis' Domino tiling..

Optimizer

8:25 PM

j cannot be used outside of its block ?

Martin Büttner

no

Optimizer

what about inside a % ?

does it retain its cache ?

{L\{}j}%

Alex A.

Are you C jamming?

(CJamming?)

Optimizer

I am trying to post a CJam answer to a fastest code challenge

Alex A.

So yes. :)

Martin Büttner

8:29 PM

@Optimizer I doubt it

Optimizer

I am getting weird Long Long Long e[ not implemented. where that is not in code anywhere

Martin Büttner

but since you're not golfing, you can probably wrap everything in a j block with a switch on global that determines whether you're inside the loop or not

Optimizer

even stack shows it as ArrayList Long Long

I can only use j here to an advantage when going through each row, so cannot wrap it at global level

Alex A.

It sucks having to remember the keyboard shortcuts for compilation/execution for every single IDE. For Sweave in RStudio it's Cmd+Shift+I. For TeXShop it's Cmd+T. For SQL Server Management Studio it's F5. For the SAS Enhanced Editor it's F3. For Juno it's Cmd+Enter.

I can't be bothered to change it myself for each one. Clearly they should all agree on a standard.

feersum

every IDE i use uses only F-keys for run or debug stepping

Alex A.

8:40 PM

What OS?

feersum

so it's compeletly impossible

windoz

Alex A.

Gross

feersum

5 programs 5 f keys

Optimizer

@aditsu it would be nice if j worked globally. once defined, I should be able to use j anywhere in the code

Dennis

OK, user23013 just broke my fastest code challenge. The code I had took several minutes for 8 x 6, his took 0.1 seconds...

I really should have asked for 8 x 8.

Alex A.

8:45 PM

@Dennis Is he also the one who completely demolished the competition on your error quine challenge?

feersum

The computation is trivial compared to the printing...

Dennis

In C, yes. I was testing in Python. Serves me well.

@AlexA. Yes.

Optimizer

@AlexA. He's pretty good for a guy without a proper nickname

Alex A.

Seriously.

We should just give him a nickname.

Dennis

Technically DLosc got an even higher score, but he made a warning quine...

Alex A.

8:48 PM

Warning != error.

I wonder if one of the mods would be willing to abuse their power to forcibly change that user's display name to whatever nickname we all agree on.

isaacg

That would be really mean.

Alex A.

Yes it would.

feersum

I think of him as user-N usually

Martin Büttner

@AlexA. Jimmy.

Alex A.

Works for me.

Thus user23013 will henceforth be known as Jimmy.

8

We should start calling him Jimmy in comments and gage is level of confusion.

Optimizer

8:51 PM

Most probably, he is Chinese. So he won't get the joke

Lets call him Lee

Martin Büttner

@Optimizer racist.

Alex A.

Seriously.

dafuq brah

Optimizer

What? How is that racist ?

Alex A.

Chinese ==> won't get the joke

Optimizer

Jimmy is a common nick name for English people.

Alex A.

8:53 PM

I know Chinese people named James.

Optimizer

@AlexA. Well duh, if people start calling me John or something, I won't relaly understand that they are giving me a commonly used nickname..

isaacg

According to the userpage, he/she is Chinese.

Optimizer

@AlexA. like real name as James ?

Martin Büttner

sure

Alex A.

Yes

Optimizer

8:55 PM

rare

Alex A.

Not really.

Martin Büttner

at least in Hong Kong it's very common I think

Alex A.

Jimmy?

Martin Büttner

no, English names

trichoplax

I wouldn't be surprised if there are more people called James in China than in England

Optimizer

8:56 PM

theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/10/…

@trichoplax in China ? Doubt it

trichoplax

England is tiny

China is a quarter of the world

Optimizer

oh, well, if you just consider England

Alex A.

Did you mean English-speaking countries?

trichoplax

@Optimizer That is what I meant by England...

Martin Büttner

:D

Optimizer

8:58 PM

@trichoplax you can generalize that line then :P

trichoplax

@AlexA. I had to ping Optimizer because your question completely changed the meaning of my answer...

Optimizer

it made you racist :P

Alex A.

@trichoplax Oh I was talking to Optimizer with that.

Optimizer

race conditons

trichoplax

@AlexA. yeah I know but my answer just happened to land directly after it :)

Optimizer

9:00 PM

which timezone does xnor live in ?

trichoplax

Doesn't everyone live in UTC?

Alex A.

All of the timezones.

xnor is eternal.

Optimizer

any serious answer?

Alex A.

Not from me

trichoplax

Have you tried the profile?

Optimizer

9:01 PM

Have you?

trichoplax

Or an analysis of chat post and main post times?

Optimizer

20 secs ago, by Optimizer

Have you?

trichoplax

No - I'm not the one with an interest in people's timezones

Alex A.

Haha

trichoplax

Or nationality...

Martin Büttner

9:02 PM

nice... hit the rep cap... at -249 rep.

Optimizer

@MartinBüttner does it still count ?

Alex A.

@MartinBüttner You lost 249 rep in a day?

Martin Büttner

@Optimizer for legendary? I think that's tied to 200 rep, not the rep cap.

trichoplax

I take it that's a bounty? Not the lower limit rep cap?

Martin Büttner

^

@xnor I think xnor is Australian btw

so that should help you narrow it down

Alex A.

9:03 PM

I wonder if he and Sp3000 are bros.

Optimizer

so I was right about me being asleep

Alex A.

Riding kangaroos and shit.

Optimizer

^ stereotyping

Alex A.

Pretty sure no one in Australia rides kangaroos.

Martin Büttner

I also think you overestimate the size of the average kangaroo.

Alex A.

9:04 PM

But they aren't really present outside of Australia.

@MartinBüttner Yes

isaacg

xnor is from the US.

trichoplax

Also the amenability of kangaroos

Optimizer

everything looks huge to a magpie!

Alex A.

It was a thing called a joke. Pronounced "yoke," I believe.

@Optimizer Probably true

@trichoplax Also probably true

Martin Büttner

@isaacg oh, really?

trichoplax

9:06 PM

@Optimizer The majority of living things are smaller than a magpie

^ specist

Alex A.

That blows my mind

Optimizer

@trichoplax but overall things are larger than a magpie

(living + non-living)

^ thing-equality

Alex A.

Like lumping bacteria and buildings together?

trichoplax

Not by number

The majority of things are small

Alex A.

--> confused

Optimizer

9:08 PM

what ?

Alex A.

what ?

trichoplax

There are many small things. There are fewer large things

Alex A.

^ truth

trichoplax

There are billions of galaxies, but each one contains trillions of buttons

Alex A.

@trichoplax: Are you by chance a biologist? You seem to know all sorts of interesting stuff about microorganisms.

Optimizer

9:08 PM

@trichoplax no.

trichoplax

@AlexA. No, I'm just interested :)

Alex A.

:D

Optimizer

hes a makist - makes up things :P

trichoplax

@Optimizer :)

Alex A.

@Optimizer I wish I could make a living out of that.

trichoplax

9:10 PM

Maybe buttons is too much of an assumption (although just one intelligent species in the whole galaxy would probably cover it...) but replace buttons with grains of sand and it works

@AlexA. Plenty of people do...

Alex A.

Yes, but I don't. :P

trichoplax

No I mean you could

Alex A.

Alright. Let's get this party started. Misinformation ftw

trichoplax

Make up random things and post them to various publications

Alex A.

Hmm. First I should get a PhD from some shady online institution.

$9.99 gets you a PhD and a free umbrella

People will believe anyone with "Dr." in front of their name.

Then I will be supremely qualified to spread misinformation.

BrainSteel

9:17 PM

You can charge your phone by plugging it in to a banana.

trichoplax

@AlexA. How do you know I know about microorganisms? Have you been reading worldbuilding.SE?

@BrainSteel No I think that one's true...

BrainSteel

Wait, really?

trichoplax

I think it works with any fruit or vegetable - as long as you have two different metals to stick into it

You won't get much charge from one banana, but if you connect enough in series you could melt your phone

Shopping list:
- A few hundred bananas
- A few hundred off cuts of copper
- A few hundred off cuts of zinc
- Safety equipment

BrainSteel

I apparently do not know enough about my fruits and vegetables. What creates the potential difference between the metals?

trichoplax

My chemistry is rusty. I think it's the acid.

BrainSteel

9:22 PM

So it's literally a battery of some sort?

trichoplax

Yes, each banana forms a cell, and you connect them into a battery of cells

BrainSteel

I need a lot of bananas now. Out of curiosity, why do the two metals need to be distinct?

Optimizer

@trichoplax you know, a normal battery would be cheaper

trichoplax

Lemon battery

For instructions about building a lemon battery to light an LED, see Lemon Battery at Wikibooks. A lemon battery is a simple battery often made for the purpose of education. Typically, a piece of zinc metal (such as a galvanized nail) and a piece of copper (such as a penny) are inserted into a lemon and connected by wires. Power generated by reaction of the metals is used to power a small device such as a light emitting diode (LED). The lemon battery is similar to the first electrical battery invented in 1800 by Alessandro Volta, who used brine (salt water) instead of lemon juice. The lemon battery...

BrainSteel

Yeah, but not as disposable. Or edible.

trichoplax

9:26 PM

Incidentally, the popular culture section at the end of the Wikipedia article mentions charging a phone

Optimizer

@BrainSteel you would be willing to still eat it ? Even after all its electrons are extracted out ?

trichoplax

(that was fiction though...)

BrainSteel

That's... That's not how it works.

Optimizer

@trichoplax that's a potato!

trichoplax

@Optimizer And I almost got that past...

Optimizer

9:27 PM

past.. ?

BrainSteel

Okay, so, conveniently, my family (not including me) left this morning for a week-long trip. So I can buy a whole lotta lemons and they never need to know...

trichoplax

@Optimizer Past the misinformation screeners

They'll notice if you burn the house down. Start with small numbers and work up gradually...

BrainSteel

So, like, 100?

trichoplax

lol no idea - I'd start with 1 and bit shift

BrainSteel

Time to walk to Dillons.

Alex A.

9:34 PM

@BrainSteel ?

@trichoplax I've never been on WorldBuilding.SE, actually. I can infer from conversations we've had, particularly your description of what a trichoplax is and the fact that your current and previous user names have been references to such organisms.

trichoplax

I assume that's either a fruit shop or a hardware store

Alex A.

I really hope that's the case.

Or maybe it's like a Food and Stuff. "It's where I get my food. And most of my stuff."

trichoplax

@AlexA. Ah I see.

Alex A.

Also I'm a creeper who watches you while you sleep.

trichoplax

@AlexA. Oh that's you

Alex A.

9:38 PM

Yeah, you've probably seen me peering into your windows with a bag of popcorn.

Granted, my magpie nest is right outside your window. So it's less creepy.

trichoplax

I can no longer hear the word creeper without thinking of this game

Alex A.

(Attempting backpedaling now... must convince Internet community that I'm not a psychopath)

@trichoplax I think you forgot the URL?

@BrainSteel has gone silent. I wonder if he's actually walking to his local fruit shop and/or hardware store.

trichoplax

@AlexA. No - that was going to be only a moment's delay but my browser crashed at that very moment... :(

Alex A.

D:

Are you using Netscape Navigator?

I hear that's the best current browser.

trichoplax

Lol kind of

Alex A.

9:41 PM

Internet Explorer?

trichoplax

I'm using Firefox, which is a long lost grandchild

It normally behaves very well but I have messed around with the configuration to increase the script timeout so it may be my fault

Alex A.

Eh, blame Firefox.

No need to admit fault when you can blame technology.

trichoplax

No I like Firefox

I discovered Firefox because Internet Explorer came free with a previous computer

Alex A.

Internet Explorer: The best browser for downloading a better browser.

I use Safari on my Mac because a.) I like it, and b.) I don't care enough to download a different browser.

Optimizer

I wonder when we are going to see newer memes including Edge

Alex A.

9:49 PM

What is Edge?

Optimizer

Microsoft Edge

IE replacement in Windows 10

Alex A.

The next generation of crap?

Optimizer

its actually much better

I'd be willing to switch to it from Firefox as my main because of Cortana and other unique features

Alex A.

They probably just rebranded the existing IE codebase.

nderscore

they're moving in the right direction

their dev tools improved significantly in IE11, but its sluggish

Optimizer

9:50 PM

@AlexA. nope, 50%+ code is different

new rendering engine, new UI, better HTML5/ES6 support.

Alex A.

Hm.

Optimizer

and they are doing things like Firefox+ Chrome extension support to attract users

@nderscore I am assuming your main complain is the inspector, which they demoed that is significantly faster now

Alex A.

@Optimizer Do you work for Microsoft? :P

Optimizer

No, I am just a good-technology-change enthusiast

Unfortunately, MS does not have good dev positions here

Alex A.

Where are you?

Optimizer

9:54 PM

on Earth.

you ?

Alex A.

So... they have good dev positions nowhere where humans live?

Optimizer

yeah ..

Alex A.

Well, I'm in Seattle and they have tons of devs up here, given that their headquarters are here.

It's a True Fact™ that a simple random sample taken from the population of my town will contain at least 65% Microsoft employees.

trichoplax

@Optimizer My main complaint is that hovertext in xkcd disappears before I have time to read it. Firefox serves me well in that respect

Optimizer

so that's your main complaint!

Alex A.

9:58 PM

It's a legitimate concern.

trichoplax

:)

Alex A.

At least Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal has a big red button that will display the extra text per comic.

No hovering needed.

Optimizer

I see that breakfast food have done so much technological improvement and integration with websites.

so Sp3000 is awake. If xnor is Australian, he should be waking up soon.

Alex A.

@Optimizer What?

Also, Isaac already said that xnor is American.

Optimizer

your food has a button which can show extra text of comic in a website!

Alex A.

10:03 PM

smbc-comics.com

^ I do not eat this

or do you ?

Okay, you got me.

knew it!

@Optimizer the inspector and just the interface of the dev tools overall. it felt less responsive than chrome/firefox's

Alex A.

Would anyone be interested in a code golf where you have to compute the sample autocorrelation function (ACF) of a given time series and plot it in ASCII characters to STDOUT for the first n lags?

Without built-ins like R's acf() function.

Dennis

10:18 PM

@trichoplax Use xkcd2.com. Great for mobile devices.

Martin Büttner

on mobile I use xkcd viewer

(comes with a What If app as well)

@AlexA. it also has hover text though

Android?

@Dennis yep

Sweet.

@MartinBüttner Yeah I had forgotten about that. Realized it after I mentioned SMBC and then promptly forgot to mention that there is hover text after claiming there isn't.

BrainSteel

10:29 PM

Alright folks, lemons are expensive. How do we feel about clementines? I have copper wire and a multimeter at home.

Alex A.

Holy crap, I think he actually went to the fruit shop and/or hardware store.

BrainSteel

It's just a grocery store. And I needed cheerios, too.

Alex A.

@Optimizer @xnor is here