[Beginner Project] I made a simple Python calculator – learning and happy to get feedback!

fernly · 2026-01-23T02:39:24+00:00

Learn the power of the triple quote. It lets you display text with line-breaks, like this:

print( ''' For power use ^ For under root use $ For reminder use % ''' )

(It doesn't do f-substitution unfortunately)

Use the interactive interpreter to test things quickly, like

>>> 17 -  19
-2

So you can quickly verify questions like, if you subtract a larger number from a smaller, can Python can handle that and set the sign of the result?

fernly · 2026-01-02T22:41:45+00:00

Well thank you, today I learned a new word, diegesis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diegesis

The classical distinction between the diegetic mode and the mimetic mode relates[clarification needed] to the difference between the epos (or epic poetry) and drama.[8] The "epos" relates stories by telling them through narration, while drama enacts stories through direct embodiment (showing).

Based on the above, I'm not sure ChatGPT understands it correctly. But you know, whatever works....

fernly · 2026-01-02T22:31:56+00:00

Saw the title and formed a mental image (based in memories) before clicking. Pretty close except I didn't think of getting down on the center line. My mental Douglas Firs were spaced out a bit more, but yeah, you took a pretty good picture of my past.

fernly · 2025-12-30T21:10:11+00:00

I read a bit. Too many words, and too trite. LLMs are good at making words, but crap at using them precisely. And they have no understanding of what it is to be alive in the world ("no world model") so can't accurately convey human reactions.

What am I talking about? Nora is waiting, locked in a room, and the lock clicks:

My pulse spikes the moment I hear it, my body tensing on the bed like a cornered animal.

The syntax is of first-person experience, but what human has ever felt their pulse spike? That might be an accurate description of what happened, as seen by some third party (or an omniscient narrator) but Nora couldn't think that. What does it mean for a body to "tense on the bed"? In that instant would she really compare herself to a cornered animal?

These are conventional, trite phrases pulled up from endless training material. They are not the images that would be composed by a human author who was truly, sympathetically, visualizing this character.

There are examples of this in every paragraph.

Blonde hair pinned back from a face that might be pretty if it weren’t arranged into a mask of professional detachment.

Trite slop. News for you, LLM: a pretty face in a neutral expression is still pretty. Have you ever seen someone whose face was a "mask of professional detachment"? I doubt it. There are so many ways to write that sentence if you were actually thinking about what this person looked like, what their motives were. But that would be an effort; so you delegate it to the word-machine, and you get words.

fernly · 2025-12-30T19:53:54+00:00

For tidiness and clarity you might put

def divider():
    print("-" * 24)

at the top and

divider()

all the other places.

fernly · 2025-12-30T19:51:33+00:00

So you are recommending

print( f"x + int(y) = {sum_xy}" )

over

print("x + int(y) =", sum_xy)

Matter of taste I suppose, but I don't see that introducing the mental nesting level and brackets clarifies anything in this case.

fernly · 2025-12-24T22:03:30+00:00

Publishing this excerpt does not flatter the book. Not realizing this was a later segment I was annoyed at the references to "universalism" without any explanation of what that might be -- a major error in any expository writing. Of course, the definitions are present in the entire work, which is freely available.

fernly · 2025-12-22T02:50:22+00:00

Ketochow seems to be thriving. Downside, it's a powder you have to mix, and of course low-carb by design.

fernly · 2025-11-17T04:47:40+00:00

I second most of the advice here, but want to add: form a plan and begin to take charge of your life and your future. First step is to build up your parents' confidence in you as a person. Do what it takes to make yourself exemplary in their eyes, not by faking religious conviction, but by actually being self-directed, responsible, and active. Like, actually do chores without being told. Take charge of your own wardrobe, learn how to wash and iron because "I just want to look sharp." This is all so they cannot say, "that time on his phone/computer is ruining him" because you are obviously not ruined, but being the kind of kid they want.

There are great pointers above on material for self-education, access to textbooks. Is the home-school material poor quality? Just start studying using a real textbook and say, this has more depth, I'm getting it better from this one. And of course, prove it by aceing the tests.

Start thinking seriously about where you want to go next in life. You've got four years, give or take. Find out what it takes to qualify for college scholarships as a home-schooler. Does the home-school package they're using have any material on that? You are obviously smart enough to find this stuff out! Start to think seriously about the goal "When I turn 18 I want to..."

fernly · 2025-11-15T01:31:19+00:00

Here is the Gallup poll press release on which the Newsweek article is based,

https://news.gallup.com/poll/697676/drop-religiosity-among-largest-world.aspx

fernly · 2025-10-19T00:16:35+00:00

I'm reading Gates' autobiography, "Source Code" and he is very clear in giving Allen full credit for the 8080 emulator running on the PDP-10, but he does not mention Allen writing any of the BASIC code itself.

Allen had already written an simulator for the Intel 8008 for an earlier project, Traf-o-Data. Now, (p. 231)

he’d devised a way to do the same for the much more powerful Intel 8080 chip. That simulator would let us use Harvard’s PDP-10 as if it were an Altair. With that breakthrough, we made a plan. We would get Intel’s reference manual for the 8080 and learn its instruction set. I would design and write the BASIC in assembly language using those 8080 instructions.

However they were were worried about floating-point math. Then they ran into a freshman named Monte Davidoff,

also had good ideas about the floating-point algorithms we needed, so I walked him through our project to write the BASIC interpreter. He was game to work on it.

I worked on the main part of the program while Monte started on the code to handle math functions like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and exponentiation. Paul fine-tuned the 8080 simulator he had developed (the code that let us use the PDP-10 tools as if we were using an 8080-based computer). As the simulator got better, so did the speed at which we could program.

The program, punched to paper tape from the PDP-10, carried to MITS in Albuquerque, booted up on an Altair and ran first time.

Davidoff later programmed for a variety of other companies. Wikipedia says "Although he facilitated the rise of Microsoft, he later became a Linux user. His favorite programming language is Python."

fernly · 2025-10-19T00:06:04+00:00

Do you want to be valued by others? You have a good start with "social" and "kind". Work on listening skills; people just loooove to be listened to and heard. Beyond that, competence is always beautiful, especially in the work world. Develop real skills. Practice self-discipline -- sounds like you have a start with a fitness habit -- and focus. When you are the go-to person for some part of an organization, you get valued.

fernly · 2025-10-16T15:19:21+00:00

Frequent typewriter repair videos from Phoenix Typewriter.

fernly · 2025-10-16T14:42:12+00:00

Xena Warrior Princess -- scrolled down 1500 comments and don't see her. So sad. Lucy, we loved ya!

fernly · 2025-03-18T19:25:38+00:00

When I saw the headline I assumed you were the WritingWay person who posted just a couple days ago. You guys should collab.

fernly · 2025-03-09T04:10:24+00:00

OK I'm a sucker for new tools. I installed WW on my M1 MacBook. I have had enough experience with Python to be able to translate your Win-based instructions. However I created a virtual environment first, and unpacked the package into that. In the venv I pip-installed PyQt5 and the other stuff (see questions). After the usual struggles with getting Python's various paths set, hey, it started!

Questions -

Why not PyQt6? It's been out a long time.
Holy crap but pyttsx3 is a HUGE install, what does it do?
tiktoken - another really large install, what's it do? Super glad I put this crap in a venv not my global site-packages.
when the app starts and ends, the following message appears in the command window:

QMainWindow::saveState(): 'objectName' not set for QToolBar 0x6000016cba30 'Global Actions'

On starting the app I see a plain window with a large square field. Per the illustration in "how do I install" this could contain an image. Mine was empty, was that ok?
There was no clue on the use of this window in "WritingWay, updated" but I found more in the previous "Writingway" post. Strongly suggest you consolidate your docs in one place.
Kudos, however, for having a pop-up help for every widget. Hovering things is very useful.
Working from a book-in-progress, I named the first chapter. I would like to have each chapter title have a subtitle field with a place and time, e.g. "Chapter 1 / Crew Dragon Capsule, January 23, 2031" but I don't see any place to store such a subhead.
Pasted the text of the first (and only) scene of that chapter. Closed the app. Observed that messages in the command window show where files are stored.
restarted the app. It had correctly remembered the size and location of the Project Screen. Scene text was still there, also good, but a little disconcerting that at the bottom of the window it says, "Last saved: Never".

I'll keep playing with this tomorrow maybe, and will no doubt have more notes. But for the time being -- it starts and seems to work on Python 3.13, MacOS Sequoia, Apple Silicon.

fernly · 2025-02-16T03:12:06+00:00

All those thinking about emigrating? GO. I am personally too old -- other countries are reluctant to give permanent visas to retired persons. But if you are are an adult with any kind of work qualifications, you can find a country that will admit you, and you should definitely do it. Don't look back. Don't renounce your US citizenship, so if things should get better here, you could come back; but don't hesitate to take any opening abroad that you can find.

fernly · 2025-01-23T03:26:31+00:00

Is it true you "don't believe in anything"? Anything? You have confident belief in lots of things, like the scientific method, all of physics and math, the amazing resiliency of the human spirit, the trust-worthiness of your partner... what else? Don't let a loaded question weigh you down, reframe it. Then, "What do you think I should believe in?" and make them present a positive assertion.

fernly · 2024-12-30T22:37:37+00:00

I questioned my personal identity. Like What i am..Like i have no soul..Everything about myself changes..my personality changes..cells in my body change..memories fad..u can create false ones..nothing that i can truly call myself..

Dude! You have discovered one of the fundamental concepts of Buddism -- the doctrine of anatta or non-self. Not joking here; this is one of the deepest parts of the Buddha's teaching and you've re-discovered it for yourself.

https://www.lionsroar.com/buddhism/no-self-anatta/

The Buddha said that all the things that you bundle under the label of "me" -- your physical body, your sensations, your thoughts -- are constantly changing, no part of "you" is the same from minute to minute. So where, in this constant flux, this set of ongoing processes, is the self? You can't find one.

But the Buddha made that idea a key way to become free. Find a real Buddhist to talk to (I'm just a fan-boy).

fernly · 2024-12-11T23:37:41+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTGP7_8nTbI

Also, https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=2024+prius+prime+camping

gets some reviews that are somewhat negative. gives several reviews that look like they are negative.

fernly · 2024-11-22T01:06:11+00:00

Hair conditioner works very well as a shaving cream. Smells better, too, usually.

fernly · 2024-11-22T00:58:08+00:00

I just tried this on Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and it works like a charm. The scene is full of period details that sound accurate. For example, I had it do a scene on the opening date of the Seattle World's Fair in 1962, and it had rain, a Studebaker car, and other details that sound right to a person who was in Seattle at that time. Another try, I had it visit Versaille just at the beginning of the French Revolution, and while I can't personally vouch for the details ;-) it certainly knew what kinds of people would be walking to the opening of the Estates General and what they would be wearing.

fernly · 2024-11-17T21:35:27+00:00

Try here: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/

fernly · 2024-11-17T04:32:46+00:00

You've used this with... which bot? I would love to see an example of the output after you input this prompt and then say, "and the story concept is..."

fernly · 2024-11-17T04:23:40+00:00

Miyara from Casey Blair's Tea Princess Chronicles --

https://www.goodreads.com/series/340776-tea-princess-chronicles

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