Author | Lightnews

Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 21h

Finished watching “Schitt’s Creek” on Netflix:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schitt%...

Amazing series with some great acting. So funny. 😂 Anne Murphy’s Alexis was…wow!

The last couple of seasons dragged a bit (like most American #TVSeries). Not a fan of Moira Rose. 😬

#TV #Comedy

Schitt's Creek - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 3d

Overuse of abstractions is a problem in Haskell, Java (annotations), C++ (template meta-programming), etc. – not just #Rust 😰:

“Everybody's So Creative!”, ‘daymare’ (daymare.net/blogs/everbo...).

Via HN: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4563...

On Lobsters: lobste.rs/s/kfjzta/eve...

#Complexity

Everybody's so Creative!

After 4 years with Rust, I love the language – but I’m starting to think the ecosystem has an abstraction addiction. Or: why every Rust crate feels like a research paper on abstraction.

daymare.net

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Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 3d

👆🏽 is a mind-bending long-read on #Forth and the genius of its creator Chuck Moore, with several interesting side-quests.

Well worth the time spent reading it due to its elaboration of (& pointers to) several mind-expanding concepts. 👌🏽

Highly recommended. Bookmark it.

Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 3d

🤯:

“Forth: The Programming Language That Writes Itself: The Web Page” [2023], Dave Gauer (ratfactor.com/forth/the_pr...).

Via HN: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4563...

On Lobsters: lobste.rs/s/xgq91o/for...

#Forth #ChuckMoore #PLDI #ProgrammingLanguages #ComputerHistory #Genius

Forth: The programming language that writes itself: The Web Page

An exploration of the evolution and meaning of the Forth programming language and its context in history.

ratfactor.com

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Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 4d

I can get behind this (for quite a while, I didn’t use syntax-highlighting & didn’t miss it; now I do):

“Why I Use Minimal Syntax Highlighting” [2019], Caleb Spare (ctrl-c.us/posts/highli...).

#SyntaxHighlighting #Programming #UX #Go #GoLang #Minimalism #Color

Why I use minimal syntax highlighting

ctrl-c.us

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Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 4d

So many counter-arguments in the comments 🍿:

“I Am Sorry, But Everyone Is Getting Syntax Highlighting Wrong”, Nikita Prokopov (tonsky.me/blog/syntax-...).

Via HN: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4559...

On Lobsters: lobste.rs/s/bkoa67/i_a...

#SyntaxHighlighting #Color #Programming #UX

I am sorry, but everyone is getting syntax highlighting wrong

Applying human ergonomics and design principles to syntax highlighting

tonsky.me

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Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 4d

Nice discussion:

“If You Could Redesign Linux Userland From Scratch, What Would You Do Differently?”, Runxi Yu, Lobsters (lobste.rs/s/ko5i9y/if_...).

#Linux #OS #OSDev #Userland #Unix #RewriteItFromScratch #OperatingSystem

If you could redesign Linux userland from scratch, what would you do differently?

118 comments

lobste.rs

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Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 4d

That said, most people crave for *some* concrete indication of career-progression (monetary and titular), so a system where most _cannot_ go beyond three levels leads to a workforce of discontents. 🙁

#Career #Work #Promo #PromoObsession #Promotions #Levels

Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 4d

I’ve given similar advice many times, but it falls on deaf ears in our promo-obsessed culture 😓 (only to be painfully learned later 😒):

“Waxing Asymptotic In Career Velocity”, Philip Su (molochinations.substack.com/p/career-asy...).

Via HN: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4556...

#Career #Promotions

Career Asymptotes

There's a terminal level for everyone. When would you like to reach yours?

molochinations.substack.com

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Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 4d

I didn’t realize for a while that Suman Sridhar (of “Khoya Khoya Chand” fame) and Susheela Raman (of “Yeh Mera Deewanapan Hai” fame) were two *different* singers who look & sound similar (to me).🤦🏽‍♂️😅

Terrible pronunciation of #Hindi words, but great voices.👌🏽

#India #Music

Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 4d

👆🏽 referenced from this 👇🏽 wonderful episode of the #Acquired podcast:

“Google: The AI Company” (www.acquired.fm/episodes/goo...)

which in turn is part 3 of a great trilogy:

Part 1 (www.acquired.fm/episodes/goo...)

Part 2 (www.acquired.fm/episodes/alp...)

#Google #AI #Alphabet #Search #Ads

Google: The AI Company | Acquired Podcast

The complete podcast (and transcript!) of Google and Alphabet’s AI history and business strategy.

www.acquired.fm

Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 4d

An early (and now amusing) article about the origins of #OpenAI:

“Inside OpenAI, Elon Musk's Wild Plan To Set Artificial Intelligence Free” [2016], Wired (www.wired.com/2016/04/open... or archive.is/w5G99).

#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Business #ElonMusk #SamAltman

Inside OpenAI, Elon Musk's Wild Plan to Set Artificial Intelligence Free

OpenAI wants to give away the 21st century's most transformative technology. In the process, it could remake the way people make tech.

www.wired.com

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Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 8d

Awesome!

“The Burrows-Wheeler Transform”, Robert Aboukhalil (sandbox.bio/concepts/bwt).

Via HN: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4553...

On Lobsters: lobste.rs/s/qar3sx/bur...

#BWT #BurrowsWheelerTransform #Encoding #Compression #RLE #Programming #Algorithms

Burrows-Wheeler Transform (BWT) interactive introduction

An interactive deep dive into how the Burrows-Wheeler transform works for compression and for genomics sequence alignment algorithms.

sandbox.bio

Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 10d

“Boring” in a good way:

“Is Odin Just A More Boring C?”, Dayvi Schuster (dayvster.com/blog/is-odin...).

Via HN: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4555...

On Lobsters: lobste.rs/s/vlreib/is_...

#Odin #Programming #C #ProgrammingLanguages

Is Odin Just a More Boring C?

Exploring Odin Through a Tiny Key-Value Store with Pub/Sub

dayvster.com

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Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 10d

“How I’m Using Helix Editor”, Artem Golubin (rushter.com/blog/helix-e...).

Via HN: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4555...

#Helix #Editors #Text #TextEditors #Vi #Vim #Kakoune

How I'm using Helix editor | Artem Golubin

My Helix editor config and how I'm using it

rushter.com

Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 11d

Not everyone will agree with the ratings (or the inclusions) here:

“Rating 26 Years Of Java Changes”, Neil Madden (neilmadden.blog/2025/09/12/r...).

Via HN: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4555...

#Java #JDK #Programming #PLDI #ProgrammingLanguages #Evolution

Rating 26 years of Java changes

I first started programming Java at IBM back in 1999 as a Pre-University Employee. If I remember correctly, we had Java 1.1.8 installed at that time, but were moving to Java 1.2 (“Java 2”), which w…

neilmadden.blog

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Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 11d

Sometimes the zero to one part is the exciting bit; when it isn’t, a #CodingAgent might help:

“Vibing A Non-Trivial Ghostty Feature”, Mitchell Hashimoto (mitchellh.com/writing/non-...).

On HN: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4554...

On Lobsters: lobste.rs/s/pkqgq6/vib...

#AI #Programming #Ghostty

Vibing a Non-Trivial Ghostty Feature

mitchellh.com

Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 12d

#Kakoune and #Helix are intriguing modal editor alternatives for #Vim:

“Notes On Switching To Helix From Vim”, Julia Evans (jvns.ca/blog/2025/10...).

On HN: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4553...

On Lobsters: lobste.rs/s/rahklm/not...

#Vi #Editors #TextEditors #TUI #Text #UX

Notes on switching to Helix from vim

jvns.ca

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Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 12d

😥:

“Liquid Glass Is Cracked, And Usability Suffers In iOS 26”, NN Group (www.nngroup.com/articles/liq...).

Via HN: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4554...

#Apple #Design #Accessibility #iOS #LiquidGlass #UX #HumanInterface #iPhone

Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

iOS 26’s visual language obscures content instead of letting it take the spotlight. New (but not always better) design patterns replace established conventions.

www.nngroup.com

Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 12d

So…convenience comes at a steep price, almost 3x the original amount , not to mention the money that #Swiggy makes via all the #ads it shows me at every step of the process. 😒

See Also: “10 Minute Delivery Is Fooling You”, Zero1 (youtu.be/ueSxzupyTiE)

#India #Bangalore

10 Minute delivery is fooling you

YouTube video by Zero1 by Zerodha

youtu.be

Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 12d

I shopped at the same Holige Mane outlet today for the same two items – I paid ₹45 (not ₹80) for Badami Holige and ₹25 (not ₹35) for Coconut Holige. 😠

#Swiggy charged me ₹145 (₹198, if I didn’t have One) for these, instead of the in-person ₹70. 😡

#Bangalore #India

Swiggy receipt for an order from Holige Mane showing ₹80 for Badami Holige, ₹35 for Coconut Holige, ₹10 for packing, ₹14.99 for platform fees, and ₹6.20 for taxes. Total ₹145.

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Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 12d

So true – some of the best developers I’ve ever worked with have zero presence on #SocialMedia & I’ve been terrible at keeping in touch 😬:

“The Illegible Nature of Software Development Talent”, Lorin Hochstein (surfingcomplexity.blog/2025/10/08/t...).

Via HN: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4554...

The illegible nature of software development talent

Here’s another blog post on gathering some common threads from reading recent posts. Today’s topic is about the unassuming nature of talented software engineers. The first thread was a …

surfingcomplexity.blog

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Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 18d

“C Is All You Need” (youtu.be/zqHdvT-vjA0), Eskil Steenberg on the Wookash Podcast.

👆🏽 led me to “Dependable C” (dependablec.org), a very opinionated guide on #C.

Also this discussion:

old.reddit.com/r/C_Programm...

on why Eskil doesn’t like #C99 & above.

#Programming

C is All You Need | Eskil Steenberg

YouTube video by Wookash Podcast

youtu.be

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Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 18d

Shōgun:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8...

is such a well-made #TVSeries. 👌🏽 All characters developed nicely; each episode moved the story forward; beautiful scenes.

Haven’t read the #book, so I can’t compare.

#Shogun #TV #Japan #Samurai #Edo #History #HistoricalFiction #Fiction

Shōgun (2024 TV series) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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Ranjit Mathew @rmathew4bs.bsky.social · 18d

As long as you keep the definition of “simple” here in mind (similar to #APOSD), this is sensible advice:

“Do The Simplest Thing That Could Possibly Work”, Sean Goedecke (www.seangoedecke.com/the-simplest...).

Via HN: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4506...

On Lobsters: lobste.rs/s/jx7r3c/do_...

Do the simplest thing that could possibly work

When designing software systems, do the simplest thing that could possibly work. It’s surprising how far you can take this piece of advice. I genuinely think…

www.seangoedecke.com