Build Ghost Theme Development Ghost upgraded their software and changed their Casper theme. I had previously adjusted the theme so I could get the visuals I wanted and add syntax highlighting, so it is time to fix
C++ Notes Date/Time Manipulations C++ provides std::chrono::system_clock::time_point that represents time, that works well with other classes such as durations (std::chrono::milliseconds, etc.). However, it isn't always sufficient for date time manipulations
Random Notes Symbolic Link With NTFS This command has been around for a while, but recently I used: mklink /J <link> <target> to create a directory junction, which is the NTFS way of creating a
Random Notes Building A Computer, 2017 Edition Ever since the Ryzen processors became available I've wanted one. I remember back in the Athlon days, AMD provided the much needed competition against Intel's expensive Pentium processors, and everyone benefited as a
Toys LEGO Cars I've been buying cars made from LEGO pieces. I don't get to build all of them, as my kids have now the understanding and motor skills to do that. LEGO releases new cars
C++ Notes JSON Parsing The library jsmn is a C library that allows parsing of JSON stream into tokens. License and Source Source repository is available here. jsmn is Open Source, license is available here, MIT. Usage
C++ Notes Web Socket Client The library libwebsockets is a C library that allows opening and two-way communication via web sockets. License and Source Source repository is available here. libwebsockets is Open Source, license is available here, LGPL2.
Game Notes Recore Recore has some serious issues that takes away from the nice character and robots that I really want to like. Slow Loading Times Nothing steals the fun away faster than a slow boring
Toys Mini Famicom It took a while, but Nintendo has finally decided to release a plug-and-play console with 30 games. Artificial Supply Shortage Nintendo is extra thoughtful and released two different versions to match the products
Game Notes Splatoon Takes a company like Nintendo to make a squad-based multiplayer shooting games so much fun and intuitive. Anyone enjoy Splatoon after just a few minutes. Many things I want to remember and incorporate
Game Notes Quantum Break I played Quantum Break an episode a day over several days. I thought it was very well made with good characters and stories. Beyond the excellent video presentations with branching storylines, it has
C++ Notes Debug Output and Logging Being able to log messages and object states is one of the best tools for a programmer. The target environment may not have enough memory or network connectivity, or your application is real-time,
Build Where Is My .lib? Previously in another article I tried to remember how to use shared libraries on Windows. Now I tried to build and ran into a minor obstacle. There in the build output directory is
Random Notes Cross-Platform Data Archives Zipping up a directory is one of the easiest ways to back up data and transport them via flash storage or network. But unexpected things happen when you use different operating systems (Windows,
Game Notes Guacamelee! Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition is a fun game with a lot of personality and interesting mechanics. Puzzles There is a strong puzzle platforming element to this game, centered usually around one of
C++ Notes Working with Memory I have been fortunate enough to learn programming languages that allow me to manage my own memory. I think it is shocking that computer science introduction classes have stopped teaching C/C++ and
Toys Rubik's Cube I used to like a page on WikiHow that taught me how to solve Rubik's cube. But the most recent edits made it much less useful, because the helpful diagrams for visualizing the
C++ Notes Variadic Templates From C++11 on, you can use variadic templates functions with the following syntax: template< typename T, typename... A > This, combined with function overloading (where the same named function taking different
C++ Notes ZeroMQ Subscribe-Publish Pattern ZeroMQ is a great message queue library that has been around for a while with well-documented APIs. One of the most useful setup is the subscribe-publish pattern allowing multiple processes or threads to
Game Notes Sunset Overdrive An Xbox One exclusive, Sunset Overdrive is one entertaining game that came bundled with my console. It is still installed and from time to time I still play this charming game. Transportation Mechanic
Media Format WebP Image Format WebP is a new image format from Google, which is using its ecosystem to push for adaptation. License and Source You can use libwebp to work with this format; source archive is available
C++ Notes Run Member Function in a Thread C++11 thread and Lambda function really beautifies code that works with threads. If I have a class MyObj with a member function DoWork(): class MyObj { public: void DoWork(); void Think(); }; It has
C++ Notes Ranged-based for Loop With C++11, operating on data sets is easy to do with highly readable code, as long as the container supports iterators. For example when dealing std::map: for( auto item : items ) { // item.
Toys User Interface for A Car Yesterday marked an important milestone for me as a driver. I finally replaced my trusted Honda Accord. I bought it in a hurry 3-days before I was to travel for business in 2004,
Game Notes Hearthstone This is a turn-based free-to-play card game that involves two players competing against each other. It is extremely easy to pick up and enjoy, and it helps that the game and user interface
