@eniko When I started writing the code for PETI's firmware, I decided to do text mode display, because string manipulation is trivial.

Then I realized that C just natively doesn't really have strings per-se (I later found out that the standard library includes string utilities, but I haven't ported properly into using them effectively, and it shows in the code)

@eniko "if you *print* the text file on paper, you can *port* it wherever you want."

@eniko

Part of the underlying issue is that what is that there is no portable definition of “text file” and “line of text”, TBF.

@eniko it's easyksnejcjdndksnsbwjakka

@eniko wait until you get to portably (locale-independent) formatting and parsing floats :-D

@eniko I once was reading a thick compiler theory book which had like 1 page description of the SSA form; it had a whole chapter about how to read the source file into memory.

@eniko i think the answer is "have someone else solve the problem for you" (i.e. use a library)

@eniko I will

@eniko yeah, a (really really cheap) safe I had some documents I needed for the next day and I couldn't find the key, time for practicing the thing I watch on youtube! So I guess it counts as a practice lock.

@eniko
I get paid to pick locks in the wild. I'm essentially a professional burglar (locksmith), just call me Bilbo.

@eniko A coworker managed to lose the key to his office drawer inside the drawer itself (I don't remember how), so I tried to pick it and succeeded (it was a fluke, I never managed to do it again even though it's a very low quality lock).

That time the card reader on the office maglock malfunctioned and the backup control was inside the office was more interesting. I had to cut a wire to get in (I chose a red one for tradition), don't know if it counts as picking a lock or not.

@eniko 100 years ago, @steggy was doing geology field research (ok, she’s not THAT old, but it was a long time ago). There were these sample stations in a state park and we were supposed to drive up an access road to get to them and collect some readings. The park officials knew all about this (it was in conjunction with the local university). They were supposed to leave the gate unlocked at the beginning of the access road. They didn’t.

So it was either a several mile hike on foot, leave and come back later, or I could just pick the master padlock on the gate. It’s a master padlock. C’mon. So, yeah, a few seconds later we had the gate open and we went and gathered the readings. Left the gate locked, just like we found it. This was ok because it was in the name of science! 😛

@eniko Does exploiting a weakness in a suitcase's combination lock count? (Reducing the complexity from trying 10^3 to 10*3 things to try.)

@eniko not pin and tumbler locks, but I’ve successfully extracted the code from two different multiple-dial locks, one a Master padlock and one an official Xiaomi scooter lock. Just close your eyes, apply some pressure, and think really hard about what you’re feeling.

@eniko In school I once used a ruler to open the lock on a window in the second floor because the teachers did not allow ventilation of those rooms in the summer.. not sure if that counts as "picking" as I'm unsure wether that counts as "securing" something if I can open it with a ruler :D

@eniko I tried on a padlock but failed miserably. Then I bought another and failed again lol.

@eniko does finding the combination of a lock by feeling count? I have done this with lock around the house, including my father's briefcase.

@eniko Nice try, cops xD

@eniko I suppose using an angle grinder doesn't count as 'picking'? Then no, I haven't picked a lock.

@eniko I can't remember any instances of picking a wild lock, but I did cut (with a small file) a new front door key (5 lever lock) from memory and a bit of trial and error.

@eniko I'm voting practice locks, although some of that practice was on a locked door I had the key for

@eniko Yes, and I (we) succeeded.

My nephew had somehow locked an old door, so we took two pieces of scrap metal and fixed them inside, and after about 45 minutes of trying and even practicing on a sibling lock, we managed to turn it twice and it was unlocked. We even tried (while the door was ajar) to open it again, and learned more about the mechanism and succeeded in that too.

I might have done something similar earlier in life, but I don't remember.

@eniko We've touch decoded a code lock we thought was holding something but turned out it hadn't ever been set up and just had attachment brackets inside. That feels like an edge case on both halves of your question.

—🌔

@eniko

I'm the lockpicker of the building when neighbors lost their keys.

First they seem a bit scared. Now they'te grateful

@eniko Where does "my lock inside my home, picked because it was easier than locating the key" fall?

you're all delinquents!

i mean so am i but that doesn't get you off the hook

@eniko I've opened locks without proper picking, the usual super basic ones that use flat edge things to turn a barrel. So uh... not sure how *that* counts

@eniko next to my work is abandoned facility. Nothing interesting at all, also i worked there many years ago, so just "hold my beer" moment. Those locks are so beaten that i used just random keys to unlock.

@eniko i learned lockpicking for the sole purpose of not paying actual money for the laundry machines that were present in my apartment at the time lol

@eniko does taking an iron bar and just forcing it until it breaks count as picking a lock?

If not i think it should

@eniko A combination lock that I forgot the code for which wasn't securing anything but it wasn't for practice.

@eniko I grew up in a small town with an abandoned military base. Once my friends and I found a locked filing cabinet so naturally we picked it, hoping to find some exciting classified documents or whatnot. Nothing so cool though, I don't even remember what was inside other than disappointment. So yeah that's the one time I picked a lock in the wild.

@eniko Have you ever encountered door combination locks using touch screens? They're really practical. You never have to remember the PIN as the fat stains of peoples fingers are there to guide you every time. 👍

@eniko I have a box of padlocks I practice on. I call it the lockbox.

@eniko I haven’t picked a lock. I have opened doors by sliding a plastic card in the lock, though.

My doors. I’d locked myself out.

@eniko Does slipping a latch count?

@eniko The best I did was crack the 3 digit code on a lock in my dad's shed

@eniko picked/bypassed a couple of friends lockers after they lost the keys and picked my own garage gate lock because my key had gotten damaged somehow and wouldn't work. It can be a very useful skill to have even at a lower level like me.

@eniko Several arcade locks from games I bought with keys lost.

@eniko It hardly counts, as I was a teen at the time and I didn’t have any skills, but I popped an automobile’s door lock with a slim knife blade. Inserted blade into lock and turned. I figure I was just lucky or the lock wasn’t pinned

@eniko
When I was a kid I used to have this metal cash box in which I kept my valuables, like candy, cool rocks and sticks I had found, plastic miniature soldiers etc.

As it happens I lost the key so I had to pick the lock. Did it in a couple minutes with a butter knife.

@eniko I picked my front door lock of my old house back when I was a kid. I had to go there for whatever reason I don't remember now and I forgot the keys, so I looked around and made a pick from random things I found around... and somehow it worked.

@eniko I did pick (read: rake) my letterbox that one time I lost my keys. Does that count?

@eniko I lost the key to the padlock for the little in building storage unit for my apartment, and I taught myself to pick a spool pin on my practice lock so I could open it.

@eniko
How would you count locks being used as game mechanics in a live action game?

@eniko

Real picking? Just a practice lock.

Disassembly, removing some pins, and then putting it back for an easy pick later, that was decades ago

@eniko we do sleep in the same bed, but we bought a king size one a while back and I couldn't go back down size.
Also I understand that it is not uncommon to sleep in separate bed, room or both. I know 2 close friends couple where it is the case (for various reasons)

@eniko yes but with the kids alternatively crawling over the two of us

@eniko we shared a bed for about a week after moving in together and then switched to separate bedrooms and stayed that way for over a decade

@eniko My wife loves me more than my snoring is unbearable.

Same is for my father which sleeps light, and mother that snores a lot.

@eniko yes, and once you have kids cats the number of beings in the same bed tends to go up, especially during winter

@eniko Separate because my wife goes to bed and wakes up much earlier than me, and if I wake her up in the middle of sleeping, she has a very tough time getting back to sleep.

@eniko wife and i like to have lots of space...so we got two large double beds. also, she still claims i snore...

@eniko Had one before where we didn't because chronic pain and insomnia with separate sleep "schedules" made it difficult for either of us to get more than a few hours of sleep. As far as I can tell, it didn't effect the relationship.

@eniko Same bedframe, different mattresses and sheets

(they require extra firm concrete and I desire clouds)

@eniko my husband and I are both extremely light sleepers and wake each other up constantly, so we usually sleep separate.

@eniko I hate co-sleeping and my partner likes their space

@eniko even if I didn't grow up in this time of hell, looking at this in isolation I'd still be going, "Wow, this is really fucked. We shouldn't be allowing this shit." but my parents didn't raise an idiot either.

@jwz well, it gave me critical information about my health and DNA that none of the dozens of "healthcare professionals" I was working with for 4+ years ever did. (as you can probably understand, I have an entire team working on my stupid ass)

@jwz Just shut up and enjoy the show, Corey.

@jwz I’m stealing “slopfondler” and I’m not an AI.

@jwz I'm so close to buying this shirt.

Alt...

T-shirt bearing the words: "Do not talk to me about AI I will kill myself".

@jwz Dang are you buddies with the guy who gamified Q&A and then also gamified forums? Is he planning on gamifying AI?

@eniko I usually fall back asleep for a few minutes...

@eniko i refuse the awakened reality and substitute my own

@eniko I typically wake up over 15-20 minutes (with my alarm going off every 5 minutes and me hitting snooze) while cuddling cats. I do not like mornings, but cats help.

@eniko
Whatever the dog wants.

(Maybe less so in the recent years, as we bought her an automated feeder.)

@eniko get up straight away to go and check the sheep. I’d love to snooze in bed for another half hour though

@eniko Far more effective to use the laptop for failing-to-get-my-butt-out-of-bed tasks. Tiny phone screen is mostly reserved for when I'm out of the house.

@eniko I no longer bring my phone to the bedroom.
While I never used it in the morning, I kept wasting quite a lot of time in the evenings. Having it turned off and in another room has improved my sleep schedule a lot.

Currently I also don't have any other options than getting up right away. The cat demands a morning walk at sunrise every day, and will loudly complain if I try to sleep any longer.

@eniko It's either "get the fuck out of the bed asap" or "fall back to sleep", and there is no in-between 💀

@eniko hit snooze and cuddle blahaj with a mounting sense of dread

@eniko get out of bed in 5-10 minutes, prepare a mug of warm water and fuck around on my phone for half an hour in a bathtube 😉

@eniko
i think of it as "skidding", i often can't completely wake up right away so i'll fall back asleep and redo the end of the dream i was having again.

sometimes 5-10 times until my cat gets impatient enough to meow right in my face.

@eniko Feed the cat; return to bed.

@eniko I started reading first thing in the morning a few years ago and it made a positive impact for me. Depending on the book, the day of the week, mood, etc. it might be anything from 15' to 1h

@eniko I take my estrogen and fall again into the cozy

@eniko fuck around on my *laptop* for an hour (or more)

@eniko have a cat aggressively demand cuddles then fall back to sleep for half an hour with a cat in my arms.

@eniko I get out of bed pretty quickly. And then spend way more than half an hour fucking around on my phone while sat on the loo 😅

@eniko Get up, take the dogs out, feed them and the cat, make a coffee, get stuff out for my wife’s breakfast, take my meds, then go muck around on my laptop while I drink coffee.

@eniko On a day where I have an alarm set, the alarm is on the far side of the room so I have to get out of bed to turn it off, and there is no snooze, and no way for me to sleep though it. At that point I'm out of bed and shambling around.

On days where I have no alarm, I wake up at 10:00 (almost spookily to the minute) and get out of bed pretty much immediately.

@eniko it depends...

@eniko actually trying to figure out what's the best for me. either 5-10 minutes 'cause i'm saying goodbye to my wife and closing the door for her and deciding if i have the energy to start the day or go back to bed and start a stream on low-volume on my tablet-alarm and then limbo in there for an hour or four.

@eniko

I've always kept my phone in a separate room from where I sleep.

ETA: I should clarify for the Gen Z'ers who have only ever used their phone as an alarm that we have an actual alarm clock radio in our bedroom. 🙂

@eniko I fuck around on my phone while I'm at bed

@eniko weep

@grickle
The spearguns remind me of a Sherman's Lagoon cartoon week where Sherman's indolent brother shows up unannounced to stay at their place, much to the annoyance of Megan.

He soon winds up dead from a spear, and Sherman becomes Sherlock for an episode or two looking for clues.

The denouement comes when Megan confesses that she accidentally killed him while cleaning the spear gun.

"I had to clean it twice; I missed him the first time."

@nina_kali_nina I usually just jank it in two 🤣

@nina_kali_nina
No grab it with both hands and snap it in half against the curve?

@nina_kali_nina peeling from the tip is the most efficient way to remove all the disgusting strings
(if feel like this poll is subposting me lol)

@nina_kali_nina you peel it from the tip, and hold the stalk. Just like all the other great apes do.

@nina_kali_nina people....eat bananas?

@nina_kali_nina behold a borderline dissection for optimal preservation and observation of internal structures: cut the stalk and tip skin bits with a knife (see red planes pic1), then do thin cuts on the skin longitudinally at the right edges (blue dashed lines pic1) to remove the peel. The inside of the banana is made of three symmetrical parts (brown outline 2nd pic) that run along a central axis and that can be separated applying some pressure+pulling from the tip and through. It comes out easy if done right.

It's my favourite fruit. Perhaps I might have eaten too many of them.

Alt...

Simple picture of a banana with some dashed lines and planes indicating where to cut

Alt...

Simple picture of the inside of a banana. The overal tripartite structure has been outlined.

@nina_kali_nina My English is not as good as I thought it was. What’s a stalk?

I eat my bananas the human way, not the ape way.

@nina_kali_nina open it by breaking it in half like you would snap a small tree branch, and then peel and eat each half

@nina_kali_nina

Eating the peel. Nutrients++.

@nina_kali_nina

I eat bananas in banana bread and smoothies. For banana bread they are usually falling open stem end due to age. For smoothies I might open either end. Rarely I'll have bananas someone else has opened and prepared as banana chips or banana desserts like pudding or cream pie