Author Archives: jmischel

Let’s settle on a newline standard

Posted on August 29, 2023 by jmischel

We’re, what, 70 years into the “computer revolution?” By the late ’70s, we’d pretty much settled on one of two different character sequences to denote the end of a text file line. Either a single line-feed (LF) character, or a … Continue reading →

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It’s not a First Amendment issue

Posted on August 16, 2023 by jmischel

Anybody who tells you that the two indictments of Donald Trump (one Federal and one in Georgia, see below for links) concerning his unsuccessful attempt to defraud the American people by overturning the results of a free and fair election … Continue reading →

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Trump apologists are lying to you

Posted on August 3, 2023 by jmischel

Prominent Republicans, whether they’re Trump supporters, apologists, or announced candidates for the Republican nomination are speaking out against Tuesday’s indictment of former President Trump. In doing so, they’re deliberately missing the point, trying to couch it as a First Amendment … Continue reading →

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Initial thoughts on Trump indictment #3

Posted on August 2, 2023 by jmischel

I spent a large part of the day reading the latest indictment of Donald Trump, this one for his role in the fake electors scheme following the 2020 election, and then letting it marinate in my brain for a while. … Continue reading →

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Re-thinking the retry

Posted on July 25, 2023 by jmischel

(Originally posted October 30, 2018) A common pattern used when communicating with external services is to retry a call that fails. Stripped of bells and whistles, the typical retry loop looks like this: We can quibble about the specific implementation, … Continue reading →

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Rock Me Baby, ’til My Feet Come Off

Posted on July 20, 2023 by jmischel

Very early in our relationship, Debra and I got silly one night and were making fun of country music. I don’t know what prompted it but at some point I came up with a song title: “Rock Me Baby, ’til … Continue reading →

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No, AI won’t take your job

Posted on July 17, 2023 by jmischel

I can’t tell how serious writers and actors are about their concerns with AI. They’re asking for some unspecified safeguards on the use of AI, or regulations, or something. In general, some language to assure them that their jobs will … Continue reading →

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Credit scoring is a scam

Posted on July 11, 2023 by jmischel

I do a quick check of my credit score approximately on a monthly basis. I’m not sure exactly why I do that, considering that I’m comfortable financially, my life is pretty much the same it’s been for some time, and … Continue reading →

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Good riddance to rubbish writing

Posted on June 27, 2023 by jmischel

Stop wasting kids’ time teaching them the old cursive writing Continue reading →

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Translation difficulties

Posted on June 23, 2023 by jmischel

I get it: translation is hard. Heck, I’m a reasonably bright native English speaker and often have difficulty translating my own thoughts into understandable English. This is a message that was posted in a woodcarving group: “Hello, I am writing … Continue reading →

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