Niall's Weblog

I’ve been using the ViM and Vi editors for years, but I would not say I know all their short cuts or nifty features by any stretch. Here are three shortcuts (two for plan old Vi) which I learned just this week: – (Vi/ViM) shift-a puts you in insert mode and brings you to the [...]

One of the most annoying things about this whole weblog business is having to write your posts in the browser. I can’t stand entering any more than a few sentences in a web browser text area. Not only because web browsers are so unstable, prone to crashing, or that its so easy to press the [...]

A surprisingly complicated question on a UNIX system, in fact. UNIX files have three relevant execution bits. One for owner, group and other. To test if a file is executable at all, you can stat it, and simply test the mode bit-field – consider this short C program: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [...]

I am typically typing on a keyboard for many hours a day, and have been in this routine for many years. While I have never had soreness bad enough to prevent me from using a computer, unlike some unfortunate people, I definitely get some discomfort in my hands and wrists. This is pretty clearly a [...]

A few months ago I bought a ’90s Gibson SG, a really lovely instrument, however I only had a cheap amplifier on loan from my neighbour. I particularly missed my Fender Blues Deluxe tube amp which is back in Ireland. In any case, I was in the market for getting more guitar gear. Then a [...]