About the Author
I'm Stephan, a Linux user with a passion for open-source, UI/UX design, and exploring what makes fiction work.
In my spare time, I focus on (and write about):
- Programming (mainly in Python and Rust)
- Retrocomputing (mostly DOS but, as of January 2023, I also own a machine running Mac OS 9.2)
- Reading and Reviewing Fiction
- The odd bit of UI/UX design or literary theory
For notification of significant updates to existing posts, consider following me on Mastodon.
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Category Archives: Geek Stuff
Designing a Better Rating Widget
After writing my previous blog post about calculating an average rating properly, it occurred to me that I’ve never really explained my views on rating systems and their relative merits. Now, first, let me say that I won’t be getting … Continue reading
Posted in Geek Stuff
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Calculating and Sorting by Average Ratings: A Literature Review for the Lazy
TL;DR: Read Bayesian ranking of items with up and downvotes or 5 star ratings by Jules Jacobs. I’ll get back to you on how to tune the priors and utility values. Years ago, when I first had the idea that … Continue reading
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Sneaking Around The Urge to Procrastinate
About four years ago, I wrote about an epiphany I had while learning Prolog. Well, now I’m learning Free Pascal as a more typesafe alternative to C for programming my DOS-based retro-gaming PC and a bit of supplementary insight came … Continue reading
Posted in Web Wandering & Opinion
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Beautiful Songs About Heartbreak and Regret
A couple of months ago, I ran across the Pentatonix cover of Hallelujah. It’s a beautiful rendition… except for one problem which really got under my skin: The lyrics are clearly about heartbreak, yet, just when the vocal line should … Continue reading
Posted in Music, Web Wandering & Opinion
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Tip: Removing Stickers (And Marker) From A Book
Updated 2019-05-08: Added caution about how using lighter fluid on non-glossy pages will render printing inks prone to smudging until it evaporates. Here’s a little trick I picked up after watching a store clerk do it. Step 1: Removing the … Continue reading
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USB RFID Reader on Linux: Proof of Concept
This morning, I realized that I’d never really done anything with the cheap Chinese USB RFID reader I picked up ages ago, so I decided to whip up a little proof of concept for practice: A mock timeclock for tracking … Continue reading
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Useful Info On Win16-Targeting Compilers… And a List of DOS/Win16 Resources
Updated 2023-03-14: Added link to guide for writing control panel applets in Delphi. See Also: Resources for Reverse-Engineering 16-bit Applications for DOS and Win16 debuggers and the rest of the Retrocomputing category for other useful resources like installer builders and unit … Continue reading
Posted in Retrocomputing
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