The raccoon sounds are so cute!
Day 29,891
Off to get a procedure done, first of two this week. Old man stuff. Epidural for my back today, colonoscopy Thursday.
Current listen:
You’re Dead Norma Tanega 1966
I am always often frightened of being knocked out, and I guess that is the norm for colonoscopy? I thought it was a local, but i guess they don’t want folks awake for it these days.
Chronological seed – 570512014008
update, pic, all seems to have gone well
got some munchkins and an unsweetened Arnold Palmer after at Dunk’s. Love the view from the parking lot there.
especially this little patch above the blue spruce
Deer visit
Deer visit
Thank you, James Wilson.
The nervous system.
Here come the bears
Don’t Wurry
Recent backyard hubbub
Deer, cat, and etc
How to chat up a mathematician
9x – 7i > 3 (3x – 7u) solve for i
Solution: i<3u
EM97XH25AO
The string EM97XH25AO is a highly precise 10-character Maidenhead Locator (also known as a ham radio grid square).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maidenhead_Locator_System
When decoded, this alphanumeric code pinpoints a specific geographic coordinate on Earth:
Latitude: ~37.3150° N
Longitude: ~80.0665° W
Breakdown of the Code EM97xh: This is the primary Maidenhead Locator, which maps directly to Salem, Virginia, USA. The grid square covers parts of southwest Virginia and West Virginia.
25AO: This acts as an extended sub-grid modifier, defining a hyper-specific, pinpointed geographic sector within the Salem area.This string format is typically generated by amateur radio software (such as WSJT-X or ADIF log management tools) to pinpoint an operator’s exact broadcast or reception location during a contact.
Catduko upgrades
New graphics for Newt, Pye, Pearl and some other cats. Minor tweaks, 10×10 very hard mode added
https://svonberg.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/catduko_8_6.html
Win Celebration (Confetti)
Sound Effects: Added very soft, satisfying “bloop” sounds when placing an ✕, a gentle “meow” or pop when placing a 🐱, and a rewarding chime on victory. (With a mute toggle, of course).
Grid Entry Animations: When a new puzzle is generated, instead of the grid just appearing, the colored regions softly “bloom” or cascade into view from the center outward.
Floating Action Menu: On mobile, reaching to the top of the screen can be annoying. Moved the primary tools (Undo, Hint, Auto-✕) into a floating bar pinned to the bottom of the screen, right under the player’s thumbs.
Score one for Roanoke!
Roanoke and nearby Botetourt County face intense debate over data centers. While there are smaller private colocation sites like MFX Northern Virginia, the region is fighting new megaprojects due to high water and electricity usage.
The Roanoke City Council did not vote to completely ban data centers, but they did vote unanimously on July 6, 2026, to heavily restrict where and how they can be built.
Added bonus, fewer vape shops.
The city council voted unanimously to restrict vaping and tobacco stores from opening Roanoke. Vape and tobacco establishments are prohibited from opening within 2,000 feet of school, religious institution, childcare center, public park, or an existing vape and tobacco establishment.
The data center zoning changes were approved by the city council. The changes include data centers projects to be permitted by special exception in IPUD and data processing facility permitted in INPUD and IPUD
(IPUD most commonly stands for Industrial Planned Unit Development. It is a specific type of zoning category used by city planners to design and build planned industrial parks. Local governments, like the Roanoke City Council in Virginia, use this designation to oversee large-scale commercial and data center projects while protecting nearby neighborhoods)
Catduko experiment .4-.5 (.8)
(edit- more updated
https://svonberg.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/catduko_8_6.html
more hand drawn look, sounds, etc
https://svonberg.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/catduko.html
fixed some logic issues in .4
https://svonberg.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/catduko4.html
Making a little web app for BHK’s birthday, so she doesn’t have to wait for ads on the app.
Features:
Password to recreate the same puzzle to share or do again sometime
Hint system (incomplete).
Dynamic puzzle creation, checks to be sure purely logic based solutions should work, give iterations until a feasible solution was found. (Still testing, I think it works)
For debugging, may stay after – auto x incompatible cells after placing a cat
Highlight cats red if placed in an illegal cell
Should work on a smartphone
Dynamic css grid to make it scale
“pop-in” animations for emojis, shaking for errors, glowing for hints, and a pulsing loading overlay.
Automatically calculates thick and dashed borders based on the generated region map.
Share button attempts to copy the exact board code to the user’s clipboard.
highlights rule violations (cats touching, two cats in a row, etc.) by making the cells shake and glow red.
Things to consider – better ux, be able to “paint” with a finger swipe
Larger or different grids, different themes instead of pastels? Could this be played on hexagons or triangles?
Sounds
Auto-play?
Better “success” bubble
Nerd shirt of the day
Ref: widows peak, ep 2
