Author Archives: jcs

Org Mode Links to Git Commits

Posted on 2014-08-07 by jcs

One of the nice things about writing with the Org-mode mark-up language is the ability to easily add links to external sources such as HTTP links or mail messages. But what about linking to a Git commit? Happily, there’s a … Continue reading →

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Generating Graphs with Org and Dot

Posted on 2014-08-06 by jcs

When I want to draw graph-like pictures I almost always use dot from the graphviz suite. The language is simple and it’s easy to generate it programmatically. Still, I don’t do it every day and so I always have to … Continue reading →

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The Emacs *‍Scratch*‍ Buffer

Posted on 2014-08-05 by jcs

Many people consider the Emacs *‍scratch*‍ buffer mysterious. This is true even though, by default, it includes a message telling you what to use it for. I like it and use it often. Others, not so much. Despite that default … Continue reading →

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Speaking of Logical Conclusions

Posted on 2014-08-04 by jcs

Yesterday, I wrote about the logical conclusion of government surveillance in democracies. If you’re wondering what the end result looks like in the large, here’s the answer. The most horrifying part of the linked story is: Singapore’s program is modeled … Continue reading →

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Emacs in a Year

Posted on 2014-08-04 by jcs

Chen Bin, who you may recognize from the Emacs and ErgoEmacs Google+ communities or from his blog, has an interesting essay on GitHub about how to master Emacs in a year. The essay is really the steps that Bin followed … Continue reading →

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The Logical Conclusion

Posted on 2014-08-03 by jcs

I’ve been writing, recently, about surveillance abuses in the United States. Just in case my European pals are imagining that this is an NSA problem that mainly concerns America with a few residual casualties in Europe, consider this logical conclusion … Continue reading →

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A Medal for Edward Snowden

Posted on 2014-08-03 by jcs

Jon Evans over at TechCrunch makes the case that America should give Edward Snowden a medal. To many, of course, that’s a non-starter; Snowden is the ultimate traitor doing his best to harm his country. Cooler heads, including Evans, are … Continue reading →

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Spying on the Senate

Posted on 2014-08-02 by jcs

Last March, I wrote about revelations that the CIA was spying on the U.S. Senate. At the time, CIA head John Brennan denied the allegation and heaped scorn on the very idea. Now, Brennan has admitted that, well yes, they … Continue reading →

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Programmers’ Fonts

Posted on 2014-08-01 by jcs

The other day I wrote about Emacs themes. It’s amazing how much difference a well chosen theme can make to your peace of mind and productivity. Just as important is the choice of a programming font. Fortunately, Emacs can support … Continue reading →

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DWIM Narrowing

Posted on 2014-07-31 by jcs

The other day I saw a nice bit of code from Michael Fogelman that implemented a “do what I mean narrowing” function. That seemed pretty neat and I made a mental note to add it to my init.el. Then Artur … Continue reading →

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