Links

Demystifying Floating Points

gridbugs.org

Floating points are a way of representing numbers based on the idea that the larger the magnitude of a number, the less we care about knowing its precise value. If you’re anything like me (until recently) you use floating points regularly in your code with a rough understanding of what to expect, but don’t understand the specifics of what floats can and can’t represent. For example what’s the biggest floating point, or the smallest positive floating point? Or how many times can you add 1.0 to a floating point before something bad happens, and what is that something bad?

Weathering Software Winter

youtube.com

Here are some of Devine’s disjointed thoughts on the creation of a clean-slate computing stack based on the universal virtual machine strategy for digital preservation. As opposed to the seemingly natural trend in software, Uxn is reaching backward in time and making itself available further and further back in time, growing increasingly smaller.

No-Fly List Exposed

schneier.com

I can’t remember the last time I thought about the US no-fly list: the list of people so dangerous they should never be allowed to fly on an airplane, yet so innocent that we can’t arrest them.

I’m linking this solely out of appreciation (as ever) of Bruce’s way with words on the above. Nails the absurdity of it all.

BuildList.org

buildlist.org

A directory of on-demand manufacturers for your creative projects.

Each site listed has instant quotes / online ordering so you can upload your project files and immediately see how much it will cost and how long it will take to make.

Designing a simple DIY wallet (+ multitool card)

n-o-d-e.net

What really takes this multitool to the next level though is it’s modularity. Since all these little accessories are half sized USB, they can be doubled up for even more compatibility. The 2 little 3D printed braces simply push and hold the components together, so for example the Micro SD USB adapter also works for micro USB and USB-C, same with the power PCB, allowing you to plug all this stuff into a bunch of different types of devices without needing loads of separate cables.

The Siege of Gondor

acoup.blog

This is the first part of a six-part series I expect to roll out taking a historian’s look at the Siege of Gondor in Peter Jackson’s Return of the King.  We’re going to discuss how historically plausible the sequence of events is and, in the process, talk a fair bit about how pre-gunpowder siege warfare works.