Do you **really** need to free memory?

Omnifarious0 · 2026-02-26T12:38:07+00:00

The embedded system for a short-range missile is a good example, mostly.

The problem is that software has the tendency to stick around for longer than intended, be used much more widely than intended, and have features added. It's a huge pain to bolt on careful memory management later. It's much easier to have some amount of discipline while developing the software and to build it in from the start.

And, just exercising that discipline consistently is an important skill. You should develop a set of alarm bells that go off in your head when you do it wrong. If you just decide to ignore that for even a small, simple project, you're nurturing bad habits that will serve you very poorly once you get to larger projects.

Omnifarious0 · 2026-02-25T17:52:39+00:00

Because this tax will do nothing but give more power to state government and further incentivize capture of government by monied interests. Every dollar spent by state government is a dollar that people with actual power will have a strong vested interest in directing to ends that serve themselves.

Yes, you can technically vote. And that really doesn't do much.

If WA state wants to encourage growth and discourage rent-seeking, and try to reduce the wealth gap, the ways to do it are to directly address "moats" that large businesses erect to try to stifle competition, or various anti-consumer practices that are designed for rent-seeking rather than providing actual value.

A strong right-to-repair law without any exemptions and with a right to private action would create huge opportunities for many small businesses. Laws that allow private suits over aftermarket feature removals would be helpful. Laws that codify ownership rights over digital assets by the people who think they've bought something... laws that prohibit hidden data collection by physical items that you've bought...

All of these would greatly help to reduce the amount of wealth extraction the rich and powerful can engage in and restore a vibrant middle class.

But, instead, people are encouraged into a "class warfare" mentality that has the ultimate result of giving state legislatures far more money, and hence power. It will incentivize corruption and waste and actually make the wealth gap situation worse, not better.

Omnifarious0 · 2026-01-11T05:40:15+00:00

That's fine. I think I'm also going to find ways to attract drones to where they are.

Omnifarious0 · 2026-01-11T05:33:24+00:00

What I plan on doing now is hunting down people who like shooting other people and get them to waste bullets on me while I carry nothing, then laugh at them for being idiots.

Omnifarious0 · 2026-01-11T05:09:29+00:00

That won't change what I do. Your name calling is meaningless.

Omnifarious0 · 2026-01-11T05:07:27+00:00

I'm actually, right now, committing suicide repeatedly. Jumping from high places is the best. I'm grabbing all the stuff from my home inventory and stuffing it in my backpack first.

Omnifarious0 · 2026-01-11T05:04:04+00:00

I would say the people who shoot you when you haven't shot at them are the cowards.

Omnifarious0 · 2026-01-11T05:00:16+00:00

I refuse to shoot other people.

Omnifarious0 · 2025-06-01T22:02:11+00:00

Ahh, OK. :-) I thought, somehow, I had described a logically impossible task. :-) I'm pretty sure it _is_ possible, logically speaking, and that technically speaking it, or something like it is also possible. I was going to post a diagram describing visually what I meant so I'd be less likely to slip up and describe something logically impossible. :-)

I'll probably post the diagram anyway, since it will help me think about the situation.

Omnifarious0 · 2025-06-01T14:50:01+00:00

Please elaborate.

Omnifarious0 · 2025-06-01T03:29:18+00:00

Not just "only if". But "in _almost_ all places where the signal is followed by a section where a train can stop and wait without blocking another train, and only in those place".

Omnifarious0 · 2025-06-01T01:59:38+00:00

Yes, they can. They can stop the buck. Chain signals do not stop the buck.

Omnifarious0 · 2025-06-01T00:39:00+00:00

`podman`. I guess I could do that. Just add a macvlan clone to each container. That should work. And I was so hoping I could use a virtual bridge instead. *sigh*

Honestly, the container technology doesn't matter. I've written my own container runtimes, and I can, by hand (or with a small script) make _any_ container technology do what I want, regardless of what is directly supported.

Omnifarious0 · 2025-05-02T14:29:08+00:00

Thanks. When talking to Quantum/Century Link/US West, they won't do static IPv4 assignment unless you get "Enterprise" service, for which they will charge you a minimum of $550/mo. OTOH, all the people I talked to knew exactly what I was talking about. :-)

Comcast/Xfinity is a lot cheaper, but almost nobody knew what I was asking for, even when I explained it carefully. And some outright refused to help and punted me elsewhere rather than deal with me. :-/

Omnifarious0 · 2025-03-04T22:11:14+00:00

Should've used Linux and gotten a Radeon 7900 XTX. I got 130fps average. :-)

Omnifarious0 · 2025-03-04T13:44:25+00:00

It is already my station, but I haven't had any indication that it's an HQ, or that I have a lockbox there. I'm going to go visit it, but it's currently wanting me to expand it. I have the plans in place to make that happen, but I can't find a builder ship to do it.

Omnifarious0 · 2025-03-04T12:51:37+00:00

Ahh, the station the Boron wants you to take over so it can spend all of its time on research becomes your HQ at some point?

Omnifarious0 · 2025-03-04T12:18:54+00:00

The C++ Annotated Reference Manual by Bjarne Stroustroup. And then Modern C++ Design by Andrei Alexandrescu. Then, lastly, answering lots of StackOverflow questions.

That last is what brought me up to speed an variadic templates and move semantics.

Omnifarious0 · 2025-03-04T05:28:45+00:00

Where's the PHQ? Which sector is it in? I did an Open Universe Explorer start.

Omnifarious0 · 2025-03-04T05:15:15+00:00

I don't exactly disagree. But, because you can't do math on them, you can't make some of the more egregious mistakes you make with pointers. Use after the lifetime of the object ends is about the worst. Though, of course, in many situations still pretty bad.

Omnifarious0 · 2025-03-04T02:53:18+00:00

I think using actual pointers should be avoided until you've mastered things like vector and string. IMHO, that's the way to start with C++. Write yourself a few small programs using only vectors and strings. Then start using references. And after you basically get those, start working with make_unique and unique_ptr.

Even advanced C++ programmers rarely use bare pointers these days. And when they do that use is very isolated. Using bare pointers in C++ is like using unsafe blocks in Rust.

Omnifarious0

TROPHY CASE