Read through much of this. Definitely started feeling like “a picture might be worth 1,000+ words”.
Readit Newstravisgriggs commented on Apple XNU: Clutch Scheduler github.com/apple-oss-dist... · Posted by u/tosh
travisgriggs commented on Claude’s C Compiler vs. GCC harshanu.space/en/tech/cc... · Posted by u/unchar1
The prospect of going the last mile to fix the remaining problems reminds me of the old joke:
"The first 90 percent of the code accounts for the first 90 percent of the development time. The remaining 10 percent of the code accounts for the other 90 percent of the development time."
I’ve always heard/repeated it as: “The first 90% is easy, it’s the second 90% that gets you. No one’s willing to talk about the third 90%.”
travisgriggs commented on We tasked Opus 4.6 using agent teams to build a C Compiler anthropic.com/engineering... · Posted by u/modeless
A C Compiler seems like one of the more straightforward things to have done. Reading this gives me the same vibe as when a magician does a frequently done trick (saw someone in half, etc).
I'd be more interested in letting it have a go at some some of the other "less trodden" paths of computing. Some of the things that would "wow me more":
- Build a BEAM alternative, perhaps in an embedded space
- Build a Smalltalk VM, perhaps in an embedded space, or in WASM
These things are documented at some level, but still require a bit of original thinking to execute and pull off. That would wow me more.
Curious if erlang/elixir isn’t the same sort of thing? Or am I misunderstanding the semantics of “pass by value”?
travisgriggs commented on Memory layout in Zig with formulas raymondtana.github.io/mat... · Posted by u/raymondtana
> I imagine just about any computer science major would have learned the rules of memory layout according to some kind of C-like compiler.
I have worked with a number of fresh grads over the last ten years. I can think of one who may have had a good handle on this. At best the rest range from “vague memory recall about this” to a blank stare.
On the flip hand, it’s something someone can pick up pretty quickly if motivated.
travisgriggs commented on Raspberry Pi Drag Race: Pi 1 to Pi 5 – Performance Comparison the-diy-life.com/raspberr... · Posted by u/verginer
About 7 years ago, we deployed a “gateway/orchestration” role device in ag tech. Power draw is a big concern for us (not a lot of free power out in the middle of fields). We used an SBC from Emtrion. I remember asking my EE counterpart at the time “why not a Pi? Surely someone makes hardened versions of those?” He was skeptical and I think the aura of “toy/hobby/maker” scared him off.
Fast forward. We’re getting ready to role out our next generation. It’s based on the Pi Compute Module 4 (the CMs are basically just the basic Pi and you put your own carrier board for peripherals under it). It is amazing. It has easily 20x the power, 20x the RAM, better temp specs and such, a great eco system, uses about 30% less power, and about 1/5 of the price. The only thing we’re not sure about yet, is the robustness of the BLE with the onboard radio chip.
It’s amazing how far these things have come. For low volume product builds, it’s hard to find a reason not to use one of the CMs.
I'm waiting for the "Can it do Management?" experiment.
I do not have a positive impression/experience of most middle/low level management in corporate world. Over 30 years in the workforce, I've watched it evolve to a "secretary/clerk, usually male, who agrees to be responsible for something they know little about or not very good at doing, pretend at orchestrating".
Like growing corn, lots of literature has been written about it. So models have lots to work with and synthesize. Why not automate the meetings and metric gatherings and mindless hallucinations and short sighted decisions that drone-ish be-like-the-other-manager people do?
travisgriggs commented on What has Docker become? tuananh.net/2026/01/20/wh... · Posted by u/tuananh
> [...] without being on a Linux system.
I'll add that needing to be on the "right" Linux system is another strike against Podman. Last I checked if I wasn't on a RedHat derivative I was in the wilderness.
Huh. I tried docker. Didn’t like the odor of enshittification, and so switched to podman (desktop). I use it on macOS, and deploy on Ubuntu. It’s been smooth sailing.
I found the signal to noise ratio better in Podland. As a newb to docker space, I was overwhelmed with should I swarm, should I compose, what’s this register my thing? And people are freaking about root stuff. I’m sure I still only use and understand about 10% of the pod(man) space, buts way better than how I felt in the docker space.
I miss when software engineering put a high value on simplicity.
The most important feature of public elections is trust. Efficiency is one of the least important feature.
When we moved away from paper voting with public oversight of counting to electronic voting we significantly deteriorated trust, we made it significantly easier for a hostile government to fake votes, all for marginal improvements in efficiency which don't actually matter.
Moving to internet voting will further deteriorate the election process, and could move us to a place where we completely lose control and trust of the election process.
We should move back to paper voting.
What if some level of efficiency (not necessarily internet) improves turnout and participation?
So where is the thought on mail in these days? It’s what we have in Washington and I rather like it.