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                    JOURNAL FOR TUESDAY 3RD DECEMBER, 2024
______________________________________________________________________________

SUBJECT: A webinar, Advent of Code, some coding and writing
   DATE: Tue  3 Dec 23:58:26 GMT 2024

Oh dear! It seems last month was a bust with only one journal entry. Somehow I
don’t think my yearly review is going to be great for this year :(

Things in general have not been good for the last month. Too many things going
on with work and home lives, too many things going wrong or turning to crap.

On a brighter note, I’ll be the guest speaker this Friday doing a webinar for
the Institution of Analysts and Programmers. The talk I’ll  be giving is on
artificial intelligence: ai4all “Demystifying AI for Humans”.

I’ve been busy testing NUMA (Non-uniform memory access) changes[1] on an 8Gb
Raspberry Pi 4. Building the Go 1.23.4 toolchain went from 38m10s to 35m54s,
about a 6% improvement. There is a guide in the annex[2] for building Go on
Raspberry Pi.

I’m doing the Advent of Code[3] again this year. I’m solving the puzzles using
the new version of my programming language Mote. Last year I used Mere and
found a lot of bugs, performance bottle-necks and omissions. I hope to do the
same this year and improve Mote :)

What else have I been up to?

Well… I’ve started on another version of “The Cottage”. It’s plain Go and data
files are currently in JSON. I’m experimenting with using AI to assist with
creating more involved descriptions for everything. I might also try AI NPCs
again. I spent a lazy weekend afternoon shutting myself off from the world
coding and writing. By the end I had movement, GET, DROP, PUT, TAKE, EXAMINE
and INVENTORY.

The below is an example session from “The Cottage”:


  Welcome to The Cottage!

  [ Front Gate ]
  You find yourself on a meticulously maintained path, traversing through a
  beautiful garden. A gate adorned with a white picket fence is situated to
  your south, offering a glimpse into what lies beyond. On a post beside the
  gate is a mailbox. The path continues its journey northwards towards a
  cottage, inviting you to explore further.

  You see exits: north, south and west
  ? x fence
  You examine the fence.
  The pristine white picket fence sprawls endlessly to either side of the
  black iron gate. Its boards stretch taut, perfectly placed, each one smooth
  and gleaming. A symphony of stark contrasts plays out between the crisp
  white and the vibrant green backdrop of the cottage’s garden. Now and again
  a flower peeks through the fence, their tendrils trying to escape its
  bounds.
  ? x gate
  You examine the gate.
  The gate stands proud, confined on either side by a white picket fence. It
  is crafted from black iron, each rivet and hinge gleaming with an age-old
  patina. Its surface bearing the subtle marks of time — a few small
  scratches, whispering tales of decades spent standing guard at its post.
  Yet, it holds itself aloft with quiet dignity, as if forged in defiance of
  even the harshest weather.
  ? x mailbox
  You examine the mailbox.
  The mailbox is a charming testament to neatness and care. It stands proudly
  at the gate, its surface painted a deep, weathered green that whispers
  tales of countless spring rainfalls and autumn leaves. The mailbox itself
  is made of sturdy metal, with elegant scrollwork adorning the edges, giving
  it an old-world charm. The words “The Cottage” are tastefully inscribed in
  white paint, each letter perfectly rounded and spaced, inviting passers-by
  to imagine the cosy world that lies beyond the gate. It contains a
  postcard.
  ? t postcard mailbox
  You take the postcard out of the mailbox.
  ? x postcard
  You examine the postcard.
  The postcard shows a wide expanse of powdery white sand stretching out
  before you. A cerulean blue ocean stretches beyond, glistening with
  sunshine and dotted with gentle waves lapping at the shore. Palm trees
  stand on the edge of the picture, their fronds casting long shadows over
  the sand. The scene is bathed in the warm glow of a golden sunset, with a
  subtle pink hue bleeding across the sky.

  The back of the postcard has a tiny stamp with the word “Paradise”. A small
  caption below reads, “Come find your own piece of paradise”. A handwritten
  message simply reads “Wish you were here!” on the back.
  ? q
  Bye bye...


My intent is to make a more immersive little text adventure. Maybe something
Christmas themed and released in time for the holidays? Then again this might
not go anywhere, just sit on my file system like so much other code…

--
Diddymus

  [1] Raspberry Pi forums: NUMA testing
      https://forums.raspberrypi.com/viewtopic.php?t=378276&sid=0c8e00d14f90f45bbe342d88f660e543

  [2] Building the Go toolchain from source on a Raspberry Pi Zero:
      /annex/building-go-on-rpi.html

  [3] Advent of Code 2024: https://adventofcode.com


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