Some people have asked me why I anti-recommend JavaScript for beginners on my website FAQ. This post will try to give a few reasons why. Some notes: I’m referring to base JS. I like TypeScript a lot for example (it’s high on my tier list of programming languages for beginners). And I know about eslint,… Continue reading Why Evan does not like JavaScript as a first language
Category: Hacking
SysRq on Arch Linux Mac Mini
This post documents my adventures of getting the SysRQ key working on my Mac Mini and Macbook (both running Arch Linux). The suggestions of loadkeys and keyfuzz that are the first search entries don't work for me, so some more sophisticated black magic was necessary. Remapping the Fn keys This step is technically optional, but… Continue reading SysRq on Arch Linux Mac Mini
DNSCrypt Setup with PDNSD
Here are notes for setting up DNSCrypt on Arch Linux, using pdnsd as a DNS cache, assuming the use of NetworkManager. I needed it one day since the network I was using blocked traffic to external DNS servers (parental controls), and the DNS server provided had an outdated entry for hmmt.co. (My dad then pointed… Continue reading DNSCrypt Setup with PDNSD
Shifting PDF’s using gs
Some time ago I was reading the 18.785 analytic NT notes to try and figure out some sections of Davenport that I couldn't understand. These notes looked nice enough that I decided I should probably print them out, But much to my annoyance, I found that almost all the top margins were too tiny, and… Continue reading Shifting PDF’s using gs
Git Aliases
For Git users: I've recently discovered the joy that is git aliases, courtesy of this blog post. To return to the favor, I thought I'd share the ones that I came up with. For those of you that don't already know, Git allows you to make aliases -- shortcuts for commands. Specifically, if you add… Continue reading Git Aliases
Arch Linux on a Mac Mini
This post briefly outlines the process of setting up a dual boot OSX and Arch Linux on a Mac Mini. This is mostly for my reference in the likely event that I will be doing anything similar in some years, so it assumes some competence; fortunately, the Arch Wiki's Beginner's Guide probably fills in any… Continue reading Arch Linux on a Mac Mini
PDF Compression
I always scan copies of letters into my computer before I send them out. So I had a bunch of large PDF's sitting around hogging my Dropbox space. One day I found this blog post which claimed that simply running (in Bash) the commands $ pdf2ps original.pdf temp.ps $ ps2pdf temp.ps new.pdf would decrease the… Continue reading PDF Compression
Email, JetPack, and Wintermelon
So I guess I can resume blogging now, seeing that I'm done with college applications (at last!). I'm not sure what I plan to blog about in general, but I figured I might as well put this domain name to good use :) I also realized that writing things out helped me clarify my thinking… Continue reading Email, JetPack, and Wintermelon
Power Overwhelming 