Alvaro Videla
@oldsound.bsky.social
Author of words and code. Sometimes I read books.
Pinned
Reposted by Alvaro Videla
Borges' "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote" is a story about promoting in enough context to get a latent space to throw up a recognizable chunk of output
I talked a lot of shit on "prompt engineering" but I'm going to admit that "feed a ton of context in before asking a question" is basically indistinguishable from prompt engineering
February 16, 2026 at 4:13 PM
Borges' "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote" is a story about promoting in enough context to get a latent space to throw up a recognizable chunk of output
Reposted by Alvaro Videla
Oh right, since ACM stopped being absolute dinguses and made the digital library open access, I can now point you Jean Sammet's "The early history of COBOL" absolutely free
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
The early history of COBOL | History of programming languages
dl.acm.org
February 16, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Oh right, since ACM stopped being absolute dinguses and made the digital library open access, I can now point you Jean Sammet's "The early history of COBOL" absolutely free
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
Reposted by Alvaro Videla
How Laurie Spiegel thought about Music Mouse in 1986-1987, from the introduction she wrote accompanying the software and an interview:
Here's Laurie Spiegel introducing Music Mouse in the 1980s - CDM Create Digital Music
Eventide has posted a fantastic archival video in advance of their remake of Music Mouse. In this 1987 episode of Midnight Muse, composer and programmer Laurie Spiegel explains the software and takes ...
cdm.link
February 16, 2026 at 12:06 PM
How Laurie Spiegel thought about Music Mouse in 1986-1987, from the introduction she wrote accompanying the software and an interview:
Reposted by Alvaro Videla
we live in the ruins of a greater civilization
February 13, 2026 at 3:12 AM
we live in the ruins of a greater civilization
This bookshelf is all you need to become a software developer
January 7, 2026 at 9:41 PM
This bookshelf is all you need to become a software developer
Reposted by Alvaro Videla
A man said to the universe:
“Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”
~Stephen Crane
“Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”
~Stephen Crane
Which lines of poetry live rent-free in your head?
December 7, 2025 at 3:19 PM
A man said to the universe:
“Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”
~Stephen Crane
“Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”
~Stephen Crane
I don’t remember a word from this boon but still I highly recommend it
October 27, 2025 at 5:41 PM
I don’t remember a word from this boon but still I highly recommend it
Reposted by Alvaro Videla
Promptend developer.
October 16, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Promptend developer.
When I met Ted Chiang
October 13, 2025 at 8:45 PM
When I met Ted Chiang
What we cannot speak about we must passover in silence
September 24, 2025 at 8:51 PM
What we cannot speak about we must passover in silence
Reposted by Alvaro Videla
So much for everyone who thinks these things are just cute toys that let parents take video of their kids discreetly. Meta is building facial recognition and AI into future models.
ICE is wearing Meta's camera glasses.
From yesterday and today: it certainly appears ICE in Chicago are wearing the Meta AI Ray-Ban glasses.
September 23, 2025 at 9:53 PM
So much for everyone who thinks these things are just cute toys that let parents take video of their kids discreetly. Meta is building facial recognition and AI into future models.
Esta traducción de Borges al inglés es tan mala. Siempre que se me da por leer algún cuento en inglés encuentro errores.
September 17, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Esta traducción de Borges al inglés es tan mala. Siempre que se me da por leer algún cuento en inglés encuentro errores.
“Semiotics studied everything that can be used to lie”
September 10, 2025 at 12:46 AM
“Semiotics studied everything that can be used to lie”
Some of my latest acquisitions
August 19, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Some of my latest acquisitions
Claude Lévi-Strauss I had heavily underestimated you. I’m sorry.
August 19, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Claude Lévi-Strauss I had heavily underestimated you. I’m sorry.
The amount of times books arrive like this in Switzerland is amazing. I do wonder if the Latino guy getting a lot of packages gets them nervous. “He was importing culture again, Sir”.
August 12, 2025 at 12:14 PM
The amount of times books arrive like this in Switzerland is amazing. I do wonder if the Latino guy getting a lot of packages gets them nervous. “He was importing culture again, Sir”.
I thought Uruguayan literature had peaked. I was wrong.
August 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM
I thought Uruguayan literature had peaked. I was wrong.
It’s not the AGI we wanted but the one we deserved (?)
August 8, 2025 at 3:56 PM
It’s not the AGI we wanted but the one we deserved (?)
This book belongs in the forbidden area of the shelves. “Cult of Truth. From Borges to Bocaccio” by Maria Rosa Menocal
August 4, 2025 at 6:55 PM
This book belongs in the forbidden area of the shelves. “Cult of Truth. From Borges to Bocaccio” by Maria Rosa Menocal
1970 magazine when “desktop” wasn’t yet a single word.
August 3, 2025 at 8:06 PM
1970 magazine when “desktop” wasn’t yet a single word.
Reposted by Alvaro Videla
Computer books? Yeah I have those
November 21, 2024 at 5:06 PM
Computer books? Yeah I have those
Soviet books for children
July 25, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Soviet books for children
One of my most treasured books in my library
July 23, 2025 at 6:01 PM
One of my most treasured books in my library