Rachel Barker
@rachelplusplus.me.uk
Computing environmentalist, amateur musician, general-purpose nerd.
Previously worked on AV1+AV2 @ Google, now consulting @ Monocot. She/her.
Blogs at https://www.rachelplusplus.me.uk/
Previously worked on AV1+AV2 @ Google, now consulting @ Monocot. She/her.
Blogs at https://www.rachelplusplus.me.uk/
Pinned
Rachel Barker
@rachelplusplus.me.uk
· Nov 6
Evaluating Image Compression Tools - Rachel++
When I wrote the last part of my AVIF encoder series, I only did a very minimal comparison between tinyavif and other, more widely used, image and video encoders. Today we'll revisit that and explore ...
www.rachelplusplus.me.uk
A while back I wrote a couple of articles evaluating various image compression programs. My original methodology had some issues, so I took the time to dot all my 'i's and cross all my 't's. And now, at long last, the improved versions of those posts are up!
www.rachelplusplus.me.uk/blog/2025/06...
www.rachelplusplus.me.uk/blog/2025/06...
Extremely fitting that Games Done Quick's first Silksong run is awoo% :D
www.twitch.tv/videos/26379...
www.twitch.tv/videos/26379...
A Journey to Silksong - Hollow Knight Any% by @aksel_sk !hotfix !BAF !AGDQ !FF - gamesdonequick on Twitch
gamesdonequick went live on Twitch. Catch up on their Hollow Knight VOD now.
www.twitch.tv
December 8, 2025 at 5:45 AM
Extremely fitting that Games Done Quick's first Silksong run is awoo% :D
www.twitch.tv/videos/26379...
www.twitch.tv/videos/26379...
Today's random programming thought: As far as I know, no programming language has a "multiply/divide by a power of 2" operator for floating-point values, analogous to left/right shift for integers. Nor am I aware of any CPU architecture that has an efficient instruction for that.
December 7, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Today's random programming thought: As far as I know, no programming language has a "multiply/divide by a power of 2" operator for floating-point values, analogous to left/right shift for integers. Nor am I aware of any CPU architecture that has an efficient instruction for that.
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Join me at 8pm GMT for the grand unveiling of Cryfder, my third Eurorack module! :D Video kindly provided by the one and only DivKid.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCe0...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCe0...
Do more with your VCAs! (Eurorack Patch Tips) // Cryfder from Dwyfor Tech
YouTube video by DivKid
www.youtube.com
December 7, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Join me at 8pm GMT for the grand unveiling of Cryfder, my third Eurorack module! :D Video kindly provided by the one and only DivKid.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCe0...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCe0...
Reposted by Rachel Barker
I was supposed debug something to do with bevels but I keep ending up with some kind of mosaic art instead
December 7, 2025 at 1:16 AM
I was supposed debug something to do with bevels but I keep ending up with some kind of mosaic art instead
Oh wow, it was *quite windy* today here in Britain, and that pushed our record for wind power generation up by a full gigawatt!
Source: grid.iamkate.com , which pulls down the official stats and presents them in a super clear and nice way
Source: grid.iamkate.com , which pulls down the official stats and presents them in a super clear and nice way
National Grid: Live
Shows the live status of Great Britain’s electric power transmission network
grid.iamkate.com
December 6, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Oh wow, it was *quite windy* today here in Britain, and that pushed our record for wind power generation up by a full gigawatt!
Source: grid.iamkate.com , which pulls down the official stats and presents them in a super clear and nice way
Source: grid.iamkate.com , which pulls down the official stats and presents them in a super clear and nice way
Reposted by Rachel Barker
"Is Rogue a Roguelike?" - the greatest thread in the history of forums, locked by a moderator after 12,239 pages of heated debate,
really funny to see someone refer to a metroid game as "a metroidvania." oh word?
December 5, 2025 at 2:48 AM
"Is Rogue a Roguelike?" - the greatest thread in the history of forums, locked by a moderator after 12,239 pages of heated debate,
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Oh boy, you can bet we are cooking the coolest profiler for Python 3.15 👨🍳🔥
December 2, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Oh boy, you can bet we are cooking the coolest profiler for Python 3.15 👨🍳🔥
Reposted by Rachel Barker
The vaccine is pretty astonishing. Just look at that green line.
November 28, 2025 at 8:47 PM
The vaccine is pretty astonishing. Just look at that green line.
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Australia just recorded zero cervical cancer cases in women under 25 for the first time since records began in 1982. The amazing result of HPV vaccination.
November 28, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Australia just recorded zero cervical cancer cases in women under 25 for the first time since records began in 1982. The amazing result of HPV vaccination.
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Jebus, in just 2 or 3 years Pakistan has imported enough solar panels that, in some times in the coming year, panels will cover *all* the country's demand.
www.reuters.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Jebus, in just 2 or 3 years Pakistan has imported enough solar panels that, in some times in the coming year, panels will cover *all* the country's demand.
Reposted by Rachel Barker
We did something different with the credits for Demonschool. We used this format: name, title, lengthy description of what they did. Often you see credits in games where you don't know what the credited developer was actually responsible for. We wanted to give people proper, actual credit.
November 24, 2025 at 10:23 PM
We did something different with the credits for Demonschool. We used this format: name, title, lengthy description of what they did. Often you see credits in games where you don't know what the credited developer was actually responsible for. We wanted to give people proper, actual credit.
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Python is such a cursed and beautiful language.
November 24, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Python is such a cursed and beautiful language.
Reposted by Rachel Barker
i don't know if i'd say that i "like" lua, exactly. but i respect the hell out of it and we have a truce that's held for some years now
November 24, 2025 at 3:03 PM
i don't know if i'd say that i "like" lua, exactly. but i respect the hell out of it and we have a truce that's held for some years now
Reposted by Rachel Barker
GARAMA!
pattern by Ami_amour (Instagram)
pattern by Ami_amour (Instagram)
November 24, 2025 at 5:36 AM
GARAMA!
pattern by Ami_amour (Instagram)
pattern by Ami_amour (Instagram)
Reposted by Rachel Barker
What I listened to today: "JPEG" / "CODE", Nadaj
Jungle will never die, Jungle is eternal. From 2020 some splintered D&B in the classic mode, smooth then rough. These tracks are unrelated except for that they flow well together
notnedaj.bandcamp.com/track/jpeg
notnedaj.bandcamp.com/track/code
Jungle will never die, Jungle is eternal. From 2020 some splintered D&B in the classic mode, smooth then rough. These tracks are unrelated except for that they flow well together
notnedaj.bandcamp.com/track/jpeg
notnedaj.bandcamp.com/track/code
JPEG, by Nedaj
from the album ERA9
notnedaj.bandcamp.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:30 PM
What I listened to today: "JPEG" / "CODE", Nadaj
Jungle will never die, Jungle is eternal. From 2020 some splintered D&B in the classic mode, smooth then rough. These tracks are unrelated except for that they flow well together
notnedaj.bandcamp.com/track/jpeg
notnedaj.bandcamp.com/track/code
Jungle will never die, Jungle is eternal. From 2020 some splintered D&B in the classic mode, smooth then rough. These tracks are unrelated except for that they flow well together
notnedaj.bandcamp.com/track/jpeg
notnedaj.bandcamp.com/track/code
Reposted by Rachel Barker
i fed my pitch sequence into a saw mod instead of into the oscillator frequency
November 22, 2025 at 11:26 PM
i fed my pitch sequence into a saw mod instead of into the oscillator frequency
Reposted by Rachel Barker
37C3 - Breaking "DRM" in Polish trains
YouTube video by media.ccc.de
youtu.be
November 21, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Those were beautiful #aurorae in the past days. A solar storm brought a lot of protons to Earth. Not only to Earth but also to #ESAEuclid – but does #Euclid notice? Oh yes.
www.euclid-ec.org/here-comes-t...
#ESA #Sun #SpaceWeather #space
www.euclid-ec.org/here-comes-t...
#ESA #Sun #SpaceWeather #space
November 15, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Those were beautiful #aurorae in the past days. A solar storm brought a lot of protons to Earth. Not only to Earth but also to #ESAEuclid – but does #Euclid notice? Oh yes.
www.euclid-ec.org/here-comes-t...
#ESA #Sun #SpaceWeather #space
www.euclid-ec.org/here-comes-t...
#ESA #Sun #SpaceWeather #space
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Remember that lovely aurora last week?
Well...um...this is what Euclid saw... 😱
🧵
Well...um...this is what Euclid saw... 😱
🧵
November 19, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Remember that lovely aurora last week?
Well...um...this is what Euclid saw... 😱
🧵
Well...um...this is what Euclid saw... 😱
🧵
Been feeling under the weather the last few days, and it's looking increasingly like some kind of stomach bug. Which is deeply inconvenient, but hopefully means it'll clear up by itself in a few more days.
November 19, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Been feeling under the weather the last few days, and it's looking increasingly like some kind of stomach bug. Which is deeply inconvenient, but hopefully means it'll clear up by itself in a few more days.
Reposted by Rachel Barker
use of "moving slightly" should be prohibited under international law
it's one of the deadliest WMDs across Pharloom, second only to "tiny creature tossing a small bell"
it's one of the deadliest WMDs across Pharloom, second only to "tiny creature tossing a small bell"
November 16, 2025 at 8:46 PM
use of "moving slightly" should be prohibited under international law
it's one of the deadliest WMDs across Pharloom, second only to "tiny creature tossing a small bell"
it's one of the deadliest WMDs across Pharloom, second only to "tiny creature tossing a small bell"
Reposted by Rachel Barker
math is probably my favorite metroidvania
November 15, 2025 at 1:59 PM
math is probably my favorite metroidvania
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Black Metal Without Distortion Is Just Surf Rock
YouTube video by Kevin Balke
www.youtube.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Reposted by Rachel Barker
I made a joke in my main Discord server about DOOM E1M1 being in a major key and @abigbagofkeys.sickonedude.com actually made it. Jesus fucking Christ listen to this hahahaha
November 14, 2025 at 1:47 PM
I made a joke in my main Discord server about DOOM E1M1 being in a major key and @abigbagofkeys.sickonedude.com actually made it. Jesus fucking Christ listen to this hahahaha