bashmelek (u/bashmelek)

bashmelek commented on How I learned Vulkan and wrote a small game engine with it (2024) edw.is/learning-vulkan/... · Posted by u/jakogut

tombert · a month ago

My opinions of Vulkan have not changed significantly since this was posted a year ago https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40601605

I'm sure Vulkan is fun and wonderful for people who really want low level control of the graphic stack, but I found it completely miserable to use. I still haven't really found a graphics API that works at the level I want that I enjoyed using; I would like to get more into graphics programming since I do think it would be fun to build a game engine, but I will admit that even getting started with the low level Vulkan stuff is still scary to me.

I think what I want is something like how SDL does 2D graphics, but for 3D. My understanding is that for 3D in SDL you just drop into OpenGL or something, which isn't quite what I want.

Maybe WebGPU would be something I could have fun working on.

bashmelek · a month ago

I followed tutorials for Vulkan. I liked vk-guide, until it updated to the latest version. People said the newer SDL is so much better, but I honestly had more fun and got things done back with Renderpasses.

I personally have just been building off of tutorials. But notwithstanding all of the boilerplate code, the enjoyability of a code base can be vastly different.

The most fun I’ve ever had coding, and still do at times, is with WebGL. I just based it off of the Mozilla tutorial and went from there. WebGLFundamentals has good articles…but to be honest I do not love their code

bashmelek commented on How to stay sane in a world that rewards insanity joanwestenberg.com/p/how-... · Posted by u/enbywithunix

grodes · a month ago

[flagged]

bashmelek · a month ago

I like the Bible too. It is unfortunate but not unexpected that it set off such a firestorm in the replies.

I would even go so far to say that even nonbelievers would find much value in it, just reading at least the top stories and passages the Old and New Testaments. These are foundational cultural texts that bridge centuries of peoples. And if you are a nonbeliever who wants to read beyond the popular well known parts, please do! But read with a mind to connect with others, not divide.

There are other good things to read too. Plato, Shakespeare, the Chinese Classics, Greek Mythology, folktales. Things that people share with those around them as well as their ancestors

bashmelek commented on Being poor vs. being broke blog.ctms.me/posts/2025-1... · Posted by u/speckx

ChrisMarshallNY · a month ago

I like this guy’s backstory[0].

I grew up in Africa. The poverty I saw, as a child, was foundational in my own personal development.

There are some places in the US, that have that kind of poverty, but I have not seen them, with my own eyes.

I have family that dedicated most of their life to fighting poverty (with very limited success). They believe that poverty is probably the single biggest problem in the world, today. Almost every major issue we face, can be traced back to poverty.

Income inequality is one thing, but hardcore poverty, as described by the author, is a different beast, and creates a level of desperation that is incredibly dangerous.

[0] https://blog.ctms.me/about/

bashmelek · a month ago

I live comfortably in the United States. I consider myself middle class. I worry about my job and increasing costs. But I’m okay.

I do feel like that we really could end global poverty if we tried, and that people like me ought to contribute.

bashmelek commented on Abandoned by Humans, Forsaken by Nature: The Plight of Pigeons (2024) adalinebenila.medium.com/... · Posted by u/thunderbong

bashmelek · a month ago

I used to see pigeons everywhere as a kid. Now they are very rare. I like these animals and many others, and I wish TFA went more into what can be done.

bashmelek commented on From web developer to database developer in 10 years notes.eatonphil.com/2025-... · Posted by u/pmbanugo

agentultra · a month ago

Great story! I always like to tell developers that they can do anything if you just stick to the fundamentals. It's not such a big mountain as it seems!

The type-casting part is relatable. It definitely feels like we're all being pigeon-holed by hiring managers and ATS systems that categorize us and rank us by keywords and work history. It can sometimes be quite difficult to switch from something like web development to embedded to databases. Good on you for breaking through.

I'm also looking to break into databases. But despite having worked on database libraries, general programming experience, and years of designing and operating systems using databases... there's at least hundreds of people who have been working in databases for years longer and getting one's foot in the door that way is tricky.

Keep sharing your passion, that seems to really help stand out. Not all of us might be in a position to found a company or run a user group in a major city (if it doesn't already exist)... but we can write blogs, attend those meetups, give talks, and help each other out on projects.

bashmelek · a month ago

Even when I was still in school and looking for internships I could feel this. In CS we learned more about compilers and operating systems, but companies wanted web developers, so IT and IS had a big edge. I did game programming on my own time, so companies would recommend interning with a game company. It was frustrating.

I’ve been working in web development for many years now. It’s okay. I still don’t know what I want to be in the future. I still don’t feel like a “real dev”. But still do some side learning. I’m happy it worked for the writer, and I hope it does for you too.

bashmelek commented on No Socials November bjhess.com/posts/no-socia... · Posted by u/speckx

bashmelek · 2 months ago

I ask everyone to never stop creating, never stop sharing. And when your friend shares, appreciate it, for what it is, that it is theirs, that they did it, and that it is them.

Draw, play an instrument, paint, write a poem, sing, cook, shoot hoops, talk about books over coffee. Be personal.

bashmelek commented on Programmer in Wonderland binaryigor.com/programmer... · Posted by u/BinaryIgor

bashmelek · 2 months ago

I do often feel like a Lost Programmer.

C# is my Blub. I use Visual Studio (and not Visual Studio Code). I also use some T-SQL and JavaScript, and sometimes C++ on the weekends. In all of these, my understanding is still rather shallow. And for my day job, and most of my hobbies, it works.

But there is a definite next level I haven’t pierced, the level of “real programmers”. I want to understand the code I see on GitHub, even contribute. I want to be capable of more. But it is hard when I can’t even tell what I’m seeing, when I’m just trying to Make It.

bashmelek commented on A simple habit that saves my evenings alikhil.dev/posts/the-sim... · Posted by u/alikhil

bashmelek · 3 months ago

For me, my real day starts after work is over. That is when the meaningful part happens. And if I am going to accomplish much that night, I need to arrive home knowing exactly what I need to start with, and do it. This is similar to Paul Graham’s saying that the people who get things done wake up knowing the one thing they need to do. Trouble with my evenings, though, is that my commute home and usage of the restroom have a way of draining all of my motivation and energy.

bashmelek commented on US cities pay too much for buses bloomberg.com/news/articl... · Posted by u/pavel_lishin

bashmelek · 3 months ago

I think a bigger problem is that, with urban sprawl, it makes it hard to service enough people with public transportation.

bashmelek commented on We may not like what we become if A.I. solves loneliness newyorker.com/magazine/20... · Posted by u/defo10

phendrenad2 · 5 months ago

I wouldn't worry about AI solving loneliness any time soon. AI right now feels empty, like a facade with no depth. AI will tell you what it thinks you want to hear, but it can't remember a conversation you had last week (and even if it sticks a summary of your conversations into the pre-prompt, it has no sense of importance and will probably overwrite your darkest secret with your favorite cocktail recipe if it runs out of space).

This "hollowness" is something I intimately understand as someone who used to play hundreds of hours of single-player RPG games. You can make-believe that this world is real, and it works for awhile, but you eventually exhaust this willpower and the lack of real depth eventually crashes into your world. Then I turn off the games and go walk around the mall, just to see humans doing human things again. I feel remarkably better after that.

Maybe we need AI as matchmaker and Master of Ceremonies, introducing people to each other and hyping them up to actually engage with one another.

bashmelek · 5 months ago

I really appreciate your last point. An AI that can improve one’s social skills, má good matches, facilitate human connection and relationships, could be great