Elan Ruskin
@despair.bsky.social
Using integers and making games. Also @despair on Twitter, @crash@mastodon.gamedev.place
Pinned
Elan Ruskin
@despair.bsky.social
· Dec 28
Normalize checking whether things are true before believing them.
Kinda wild how much faster Clang compiles compared to MSVC
February 9, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Kinda wild how much faster Clang compiles compared to MSVC
(Specifically, I was thinking of the Gracchi brothers: youtu.be/ODI1VOOoey0 )
The Brothers Gracchi - How Republics Fall - Extra History - Part 1
YouTube video by Extra History
youtu.be
February 3, 2026 at 6:32 AM
(Specifically, I was thinking of the Gracchi brothers: youtu.be/ODI1VOOoey0 )
Also when it comes to “the news should publish what the gestapo are doing”, he’s… kind of right?
February 3, 2026 at 6:29 AM
Also when it comes to “the news should publish what the gestapo are doing”, he’s… kind of right?
[friend sits down at lunch]: Wow, you looked deep in thought.
Me: ... hmm?
Friend: What were you thinking about?
[long
awkward
pause]
Me [truthfully]: ... the Roman Empire.
Me: ... hmm?
Friend: What were you thinking about?
[long
awkward
pause]
Me [truthfully]: ... the Roman Empire.
February 3, 2026 at 5:31 AM
[friend sits down at lunch]: Wow, you looked deep in thought.
Me: ... hmm?
Friend: What were you thinking about?
[long
awkward
pause]
Me [truthfully]: ... the Roman Empire.
Me: ... hmm?
Friend: What were you thinking about?
[long
awkward
pause]
Me [truthfully]: ... the Roman Empire.
Updated Visual Assist, now it nags me to make my code worse.
January 29, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Updated Visual Assist, now it nags me to make my code worse.
January 5, 2026 at 11:41 AM
Pro tip for anyone with fitness on their New Year’s resolutions: put an exercise bike in front of the PS5.
Roguelites are ideal workout length. I’ve played like 500 miles of Hades. Crank up the resistance during boss battles for extra verisimilitude.
Roguelites are ideal workout length. I’ve played like 500 miles of Hades. Crank up the resistance during boss battles for extra verisimilitude.
January 4, 2026 at 11:11 PM
Pro tip for anyone with fitness on their New Year’s resolutions: put an exercise bike in front of the PS5.
Roguelites are ideal workout length. I’ve played like 500 miles of Hades. Crank up the resistance during boss battles for extra verisimilitude.
Roguelites are ideal workout length. I’ve played like 500 miles of Hades. Crank up the resistance during boss battles for extra verisimilitude.
Why wouldn't it run on a Steam Deck? GTA6 will fit onto a PS5 and the Steam Deck is at least as capable. They can use the same tunings.
December 31, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Why wouldn't it run on a Steam Deck? GTA6 will fit onto a PS5 and the Steam Deck is at least as capable. They can use the same tunings.
AAA studios have the greatest need to reach the widest audience. Our games work on current hardware right now; why wouldn’t we keep them working?
December 31, 2025 at 10:55 PM
AAA studios have the greatest need to reach the widest audience. Our games work on current hardware right now; why wouldn’t we keep them working?
Why not? Console devs target the same hardware for many years.
December 31, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Why not? Console devs target the same hardware for many years.
We can keep making games for the current hardware.
December 31, 2025 at 9:35 PM
We can keep making games for the current hardware.
This was actually a plot point in the classic proto-cyberpunk novel “We”, written by Yevgeny Zamyatin in the first years of the Soviet Union.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_(nov...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_(nov...
We (novel) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
December 25, 2025 at 8:37 PM
This was actually a plot point in the classic proto-cyberpunk novel “We”, written by Yevgeny Zamyatin in the first years of the Soviet Union.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_(nov...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_(nov...
Dad shared that this was his job while working on the COMEX floor.
December 25, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Dad shared that this was his job while working on the COMEX floor.
Everyone’s got a favorite Christmas movie.
December 25, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Everyone’s got a favorite Christmas movie.
Do you ever think about how there was a period where the Earth had all the water that’s in the oceans but the surface was also like 700°C lava, so the air was mostly steam, which then condensed into rain in the cold upper atmosphere and boiled in midair on the way down?
That’s pretty metal.
That’s pretty metal.
December 14, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Do you ever think about how there was a period where the Earth had all the water that’s in the oceans but the surface was also like 700°C lava, so the air was mostly steam, which then condensed into rain in the cold upper atmosphere and boiled in midair on the way down?
That’s pretty metal.
That’s pretty metal.
I keep a reaction gif on hand to clarify why I care so much about the availability of market-rate rental housing to urban professionals
November 28, 2025 at 7:40 AM
I keep a reaction gif on hand to clarify why I care so much about the availability of market-rate rental housing to urban professionals
There’ve been a bunch of debunkings of that essay from people with numbers (eg, economistwritingeveryday.com/2025/11/26/t... ) but I think it’s worth asking WHY is housing so expensive. Food is so much cheaper than in the past; why is housing more scarce?
The Poverty Line is Not $140,000
A recent essay by Michael W. Green makes a very bold claim that the poverty line should not be where it is currently set — about $31,200 for a family of four — but should be much higher…
economistwritingeveryday.com
November 28, 2025 at 2:51 AM
There’ve been a bunch of debunkings of that essay from people with numbers (eg, economistwritingeveryday.com/2025/11/26/t... ) but I think it’s worth asking WHY is housing so expensive. Food is so much cheaper than in the past; why is housing more scarce?
I’d want to ask someone earning $100k whether they feel impoverished.
A few other things stuck out to me about the article:
- is the poverty line is higher when people spend less on food?
- should fewer people pay taxes?
- where are those housing costs coming from?
A few other things stuck out to me about the article:
- is the poverty line is higher when people spend less on food?
- should fewer people pay taxes?
- where are those housing costs coming from?
November 28, 2025 at 2:51 AM
I’d want to ask someone earning $100k whether they feel impoverished.
A few other things stuck out to me about the article:
- is the poverty line is higher when people spend less on food?
- should fewer people pay taxes?
- where are those housing costs coming from?
A few other things stuck out to me about the article:
- is the poverty line is higher when people spend less on food?
- should fewer people pay taxes?
- where are those housing costs coming from?
(None of this went into the jury deliberation bc I was only an alternate. This is just how I stayed occupied while waiting through sidebars.)
🔚
🔚
November 25, 2025 at 1:39 AM
(None of this went into the jury deliberation bc I was only an alternate. This is just how I stayed occupied while waiting through sidebars.)
🔚
🔚
After the trial I looked up NHTSA experiments on low-damage rear-end collisions. For ΔV = 11km/h ≈ 3.06m/s they measured mean acceleration 3.2g.
3.06² / (2 *.07) ≈ 67 ≈ 6.8g so my math is an overestimate vs experiment.
www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/ESV/Proc...
(3/4)
3.06² / (2 *.07) ≈ 67 ≈ 6.8g so my math is an overestimate vs experiment.
www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/ESV/Proc...
(3/4)
November 25, 2025 at 1:39 AM
After the trial I looked up NHTSA experiments on low-damage rear-end collisions. For ΔV = 11km/h ≈ 3.06m/s they measured mean acceleration 3.2g.
3.06² / (2 *.07) ≈ 67 ≈ 6.8g so my math is an overestimate vs experiment.
www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/ESV/Proc...
(3/4)
3.06² / (2 *.07) ≈ 67 ≈ 6.8g so my math is an overestimate vs experiment.
www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/ESV/Proc...
(3/4)
Acceleration = ΔV / time.
We don't know pulse time, but can estimate ΔV² = 2ax .
Wheel suspension communicates force to frame; compression travel ≈ 7cm in road cars ≈ x.
Acceleration ≤ (1.58)² / (2 *.07) ≈ 17.7m/s² which is 1.8g, about like a plane landing.
(2/4)
We don't know pulse time, but can estimate ΔV² = 2ax .
Wheel suspension communicates force to frame; compression travel ≈ 7cm in road cars ≈ x.
Acceleration ≤ (1.58)² / (2 *.07) ≈ 17.7m/s² which is 1.8g, about like a plane landing.
(2/4)
November 25, 2025 at 1:39 AM
Acceleration = ΔV / time.
We don't know pulse time, but can estimate ΔV² = 2ax .
Wheel suspension communicates force to frame; compression travel ≈ 7cm in road cars ≈ x.
Acceleration ≤ (1.58)² / (2 *.07) ≈ 17.7m/s² which is 1.8g, about like a plane landing.
(2/4)
We don't know pulse time, but can estimate ΔV² = 2ax .
Wheel suspension communicates force to frame; compression travel ≈ 7cm in road cars ≈ x.
Acceleration ≤ (1.58)² / (2 *.07) ≈ 17.7m/s² which is 1.8g, about like a plane landing.
(2/4)
Estimating via high school physics:
Parties stipulated collision at 3.5mph ≈ 1.58m/s.
Photos showed no damage to cars, so a mostly elastic collision: most momentum transferred to front car. Thus ΔV ≤ 1.58 .
(1/4)
Parties stipulated collision at 3.5mph ≈ 1.58m/s.
Photos showed no damage to cars, so a mostly elastic collision: most momentum transferred to front car. Thus ΔV ≤ 1.58 .
(1/4)
During my jury duty on a minor traffic accident case this week:
Attorney, to witness: "Do you know the delta-V in this accident?"
Witness: "No."
A: "Could you calculate the ΔV?"
W: "I've no expertise in that."
A: "Who could?"
W: "I wouldn't know."
[me, at that moment doing longhand arithmetic: 👀]
Attorney, to witness: "Do you know the delta-V in this accident?"
Witness: "No."
A: "Could you calculate the ΔV?"
W: "I've no expertise in that."
A: "Who could?"
W: "I wouldn't know."
[me, at that moment doing longhand arithmetic: 👀]
November 25, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Estimating via high school physics:
Parties stipulated collision at 3.5mph ≈ 1.58m/s.
Photos showed no damage to cars, so a mostly elastic collision: most momentum transferred to front car. Thus ΔV ≤ 1.58 .
(1/4)
Parties stipulated collision at 3.5mph ≈ 1.58m/s.
Photos showed no damage to cars, so a mostly elastic collision: most momentum transferred to front car. Thus ΔV ≤ 1.58 .
(1/4)
💯 The arithmetic I was doing was ΔV² = 2ax
November 22, 2025 at 3:33 AM
💯 The arithmetic I was doing was ΔV² = 2ax
During my jury duty on a minor traffic accident case this week:
Attorney, to witness: "Do you know the delta-V in this accident?"
Witness: "No."
A: "Could you calculate the ΔV?"
W: "I've no expertise in that."
A: "Who could?"
W: "I wouldn't know."
[me, at that moment doing longhand arithmetic: 👀]
Attorney, to witness: "Do you know the delta-V in this accident?"
Witness: "No."
A: "Could you calculate the ΔV?"
W: "I've no expertise in that."
A: "Who could?"
W: "I wouldn't know."
[me, at that moment doing longhand arithmetic: 👀]
November 22, 2025 at 12:54 AM
During my jury duty on a minor traffic accident case this week:
Attorney, to witness: "Do you know the delta-V in this accident?"
Witness: "No."
A: "Could you calculate the ΔV?"
W: "I've no expertise in that."
A: "Who could?"
W: "I wouldn't know."
[me, at that moment doing longhand arithmetic: 👀]
Attorney, to witness: "Do you know the delta-V in this accident?"
Witness: "No."
A: "Could you calculate the ΔV?"
W: "I've no expertise in that."
A: "Who could?"
W: "I wouldn't know."
[me, at that moment doing longhand arithmetic: 👀]
An early encounter gets revisted at the climax with all of the protagonist’s skills leveled to max. There’s a running gag that’s very Kojima (you’ll know it when you see it).
And “Predator: Badlands” stars a space creature with a wisecracking robot strapped to its back, so...
And “Predator: Badlands” stars a space creature with a wisecracking robot strapped to its back, so...
November 10, 2025 at 2:15 AM
An early encounter gets revisted at the climax with all of the protagonist’s skills leveled to max. There’s a running gag that’s very Kojima (you’ll know it when you see it).
And “Predator: Badlands” stars a space creature with a wisecracking robot strapped to its back, so...
And “Predator: Badlands” stars a space creature with a wisecracking robot strapped to its back, so...