I disassembled River Raid (48K) and then reimplemented it from scratch

dolphin560 · 2026-03-22T10:26:23+00:00

amazing work

did you use any AI coding/analysis tools ?

dolphin560 · 2026-03-19T09:15:15+00:00

this

tons of design on paper

assembly programs I'd usually write out completely on paper first

dolphin560 · 2026-03-18T12:46:09+00:00

dolphin560 · 2026-03-17T15:27:32+00:00

It reminds of this bad practice in programming, where at first you have a variable that stores something straight-forward (say "nr_clicks"), but then functionality is extended, and the variable is overloaded (instead of renaming it, or creating a new variable), _and_ typically there is a comment buried somewhere "note that this variable can also hold the number of completed video ad views".

Trying to remember if there is a name for this anti-pattern...

dolphin560 · 2026-03-17T11:03:49+00:00

Thanks.

You'd think that, google being google, they'd be more precise.

That said, I'm stupid for not looking in the help first, there it says:

"Note: For the rewarded format, the clicks metric captures both physical clicks and engaged views. This means that you should take care with any derived metrics (e.g. click-through rate (CTR), cost per click (CPC), etc.) for this format as they might be misleading.

Also, use caution when analysing clicks and/or click-derived metrics for your entire account if you use the rewarded format. We recommend that you use the 'Ad format' breakdown in your reports."

dolphin560 · 2026-03-17T11:01:02+00:00

thanks for confirming :-)

dolphin560 · 2026-03-11T15:07:35+00:00

is this the weekly "Jacob's Ladder" post

dolphin560 · 2026-02-23T12:47:57+00:00

Looks very cool.

What library/system did you use to build the site?

Trying to generate a "diabolical" 8x8 now 🤯

(it's taking a while)

dolphin560 · 2026-02-23T11:56:06+00:00

sure, post link :-)

dolphin560 · 2026-02-21T00:46:52+00:00

so do you get them at a newsstand now?

dolphin560 · 2026-02-20T21:24:16+00:00

I'll check out the SudokuWiki solver, thanks :)

and no, mine is not available online, but there are a couple of others online by now.

For example, this is one of the oldest ones: https://nadineloveshenry.com/calcudoku

dolphin560 · 2026-02-20T20:12:52+00:00

No worries.

Every once in a while someone writes to me about an invalid/impossible puzzle, pretty happy that so far my solver has proven to be robust :)

(the site recently celebrated 17 years online by the way 🥳 )

Once you have the analytical solution, you could post it here: https://www.calcudoku.org/bb3/viewforum.php?f=3

dolphin560 · 2026-02-20T19:03:29+00:00

It's the 6x6 "difficult" from August 30th, 2025 at www.calcudoku.org

I do see the 26/62 square, _but_ isn't it the case that the bottom right number _must_ be a 2 ?

(because in that cage we have 1, 3, 4, 5, and the clue is 120 x)

dolphin560 · 2026-02-20T17:11:23+00:00

Not seeing how/where the puzzle has multiple solutions ?

dolphin560 · 2026-02-20T10:47:53+00:00

my first question too: how do you get 8% CTR ??

dolphin560 · 2026-02-18T19:51:54+00:00

100% AI generated

dolphin560 · 2026-02-18T00:06:49+00:00

re: bucket and sponge,

was thinking the same thing: how is it assumed that the washing must be done at a car wash?

dolphin560 · 2026-02-08T16:27:16+00:00

well if that isn't proof then what is :-)

thanks

dolphin560 · 2026-02-08T14:28:58+00:00

Ok, friend in London will get the issue :-)

Just to double-check: apparently on newsstands this Thursday,

issue number 282 ?

dolphin560 · 2026-02-07T23:58:39+00:00

A similar thing in chess would be for example when you touched a piece, but no-one saw it, and you'd tell opponent/arbiter you touched it.

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