Create a shared task to deduplicate logic listing recent TILs

README.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ working across different projects via [VisualMode](https://www.visualmode.dev/).
 
 For a steady stream of TILs, [sign up for my newsletter](https://visualmode.kit.com/newsletter).
 
-_1787 TILs and counting..._
+_1810 TILs and counting..._
 
 See some of the other learning resources I work on:
 
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 * [Linux](#linux)
 * [LLM](#llm)
 * [Mac](#mac)
+* [Math](#math)
 * [Mise](#mise)
 * [MongoDB](#mongodb)
 * [MySQL](#mysql)
@@ -165,6 +166,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 ### Claude Code
 
 - [Allow Edits From The Start](claude-code/allow-edits-from-the-start.md)
+- [Distinguish Sessions With Different Colors](claude-code/distinguish-sessions-with-different-colors.md)
 - [Monitor Usage Limits From CLI](claude-code/monitor-usage-limits-from-cli.md)
 - [Open Current Prompt In Default Editor](claude-code/open-current-prompt-in-default-editor.md)
 - [Resume Specific Session](claude-code/resume-specific-session.md)
@@ -239,6 +241,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Check For Cached Site Assocation File For iOS](devops/check-for-cached-site-association-file-for-ios.md)
 - [Check The Status of All Services](devops/check-the-status-of-all-services.md)
 - [Check The Syntax Of nginx Files](devops/check-the-syntax-of-nginx-files.md)
+- [Cloudflare Allows CNAME For Apex Domain](devops/cloudflare-allows-cname-for-apex-domain.md)
 - [Connect To An RDS PostgreSQL Database](devops/connect-to-an-rds-postgresql-database.md)
 - [Default Rails Deploy Script On Hatchbox](devops/default-rails-deploy-script-on-hatchbox.md)
 - [Determine The IP Address Of A Domain](devops/determine-the-ip-address-of-a-domain.md)
@@ -406,6 +409,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Move The Latest Commit To A New Branch](git/move-the-latest-commit-to-a-new-branch.md)
 - [Override The Global Git Ignore File](git/override-the-global-git-ignore-file.md)
 - [Pick Specific Changes To Stash](git/pick-specific-changes-to-stash.md)
+- [Programmatically Grab SHA For Head Commit](git/programmatically-grab-sha-for-head-commit.md)
 - [Pulling In Changes During An Interactive Rebase](git/pulling-in-changes-during-an-interactive-rebase.md)
 - [Push To A Branch On Another Remote](git/push-to-a-branch-on-another-remote.md)
 - [Quicker Commit Fixes With The Fixup Flag](git/quicker-commit-fixes-with-the-fixup-flag.md)
@@ -467,6 +471,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [List PRs Awaiting Your Review](github/list-prs-awaiting-your-review.md)
 - [Open A PR To An Unforked Repo](github/open-a-pr-to-an-unforked-repo.md)
 - [Open File To Specific Line In Browser](github/open-file-to-specific-line-in-browser.md)
+- [Process JSON Output From gh With jq](github/process-json-output-from-gh-with-jq.md)
 - [Target Another Repo When Creating A PR](github/target-another-repo-when-creating-a-pr.md)
 - [Tell gh What The Default Repo Is](github/tell-gh-what-the-default-repo-is.md)
 
@@ -620,6 +625,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Get The Response Status From An Axios Error](javascript/get-the-response-status-from-an-axios-error.md)
 - [Get The Time Components Of A Date](javascript/get-the-time-components-of-a-date.md)
 - [Get The Time Zone Of The Client Computer](javascript/get-the-time-zone-of-the-client-computer.md)
+- [Get User's Preferred Language From Browser](javascript/get-users-preferred-language-from-browser.md)
 - [Globally Install A Package With Yarn](javascript/globally-install-a-package-with-yarn.md)
 - [Globally Install Specific Version Of PNPM](javascript/globally-install-specific-version-of-pnpm.md)
 - [Immutable Remove With The Spread Operator](javascript/immutable-remove-with-the-spread-operator.md)
@@ -732,6 +738,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Add A Bunch Of CLI Utilities With coreutils](mac/add-a-bunch-of-cli-utilities-with-coreutils.md)
 - [Capture Screenshot To Clipboard From CLI](mac/capture-screenshot-to-clipboard-from-cli.md)
 - [Check Network Quality Stats From The Command Line](mac/check-network-quality-stats-from-the-command-line.md)
+- [Clean Up Item Layout In Finder Window](mac/clean-up-item-layout-in-finder-window.md)
 - [Clean Up Old Homebrew Files](mac/clean-up-old-homebrew-files.md)
 - [Control Which Monitor App Switcher Appears On](mac/control-which-monitor-app-switcher-appears-on.md)
 - [Convert An HEIC Image File To JPG](mac/convert-an-heic-image-file-to-jpg.md)
@@ -749,6 +756,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Open Finder.app To Specific Directory](mac/open-finder-app-to-specific-directory.md)
 - [Prevent Sleep With The Caffeinate Command](mac/prevent-sleep-with-the-caffeinate-command.md)
 - [Quickly Type En Dashes And Em Dashes](mac/quickly-type-en-dashes-and-em-dashes.md)
+- [Read The Lid Angle Sensor For A MacBook](mac/read-the-lid-angle-sensor-for-a-macbook.md)
 - [Require Additional JS Libraries In Postman](mac/require-additional-js-libraries-in-postman.md)
 - [Resize App Windows With AppleScript](mac/resize-app-windows-with-applescript.md)
 - [Resizing Both Corners Of A Window](mac/resizing-both-corners-of-a-window.md)
@@ -764,6 +772,10 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [View All Windows Of The Current App](mac/view-all-windows-of-the-current-app.md)
 - [Write System Clipboard To A File](mac/write-system-clipboard-to-a-file.md)
 
+### Math
+
+- [Generate Permutations Of All Valid 9-ball Racks](math/generate-permutations-of-all-valid-9-ball-racks.md)
+
 ### Mise
 
 - [Create Umbrella Task For All Test Tasks](mise/create-umbrella-task-for-all-test-tasks.md)
@@ -1051,18 +1063,23 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Access Instance Variables](python/access-instance-variables.md)
 - [Access Most Recent Return Value In REPL](python/access-most-recent-return-value-in-repl.md)
 - [Access Variables Outside Loop Scope](python/access-variables-outside-loop-scope.md)
+- [Argument Defaults Are Evaluated When Function Is Defined](python/argument-defaults-are-evaluated-when-function-is-defined.md)
 - [Assert Is Only A Development Check](python/assert-is-only-a-development-check.md)
 - [Avoid Modification With Frozen Dataclass](python/avoid-modification-with-frozen-dataclass.md)
 - [Break Debugger On First Line Of Program](python/break-debugger-on-first-line-of-program.md)
 - [Check If Package Is Installed With Pip](python/check-if-package-is-installed-with-pip.md)
+- [Check Precondition Before Click Arg Parsing](python/check-precondition-before-click-arg-parsing.md)
 - [Control Passing Of Time In Tests](python/control-passing-of-time-in-tests.md)
 - [Create A Dummy DataFrame In Pandas](python/create-a-dummy-dataframe-in-pandas.md)
 - [Create A Range Of Descending Values](python/create-a-range-of-descending-values.md)
 - [Deduplicate A List Into A Tuple](python/deduplicate-a-list-into-a-tuple.md)
 - [Define Sequence Of Tests With Parametrize Decorator](python/define-sequence-of-tests-with-parametrize-decorator.md)
+- [Define Typed Class Interface With Protocol](python/define-typed-class-interface-with-protocol.md)
 - [Dunder Methods](python/dunder-methods.md)
 - [Easy Key-Value Aggregates With defaultdict](python/easy-key-value-aggregates-with-defaultdict.md)
+- [Enable Pyright Type Checking In Cursor](python/enable-pyright-type-checking-in-cursor.md)
 - [Get Absolute Seconds From `timedelta` Object](python/get-absolute-seconds-from-timedelta-object.md)
+- [Get Quotient And Remainder In One Operation](python/get-quotient-and-remainder-in-one-operation.md)
 - [Install With PIP For Specific Interpreter](python/install-with-pip-for-specific-interpreter.md)
 - [Iterate First N Items From Enumerable](python/iterate-first-n-items-from-enumerable.md)
 - [Iterate Over A Dictionary](python/iterate-over-a-dictionary.md)
@@ -1070,18 +1087,22 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Load A File Into The Python REPL](python/load-a-file-into-the-python-repl.md)
 - [Look Inside Pytest tmp_path](python/look-inside-pytest-tmp-path.md)
 - [Make Dataclass Sortable By Specific Field](python/make-dataclass-sortable-by-specific-field.md)
+- [Make Secure Temp File For Atomic Write](python/make-secure-temp-file-for-atomic-write.md)
 - [Override The Boolean Context Of A Class](python/override-the-boolean-context-of-a-class.md)
 - [Parse Relative Time To datetime Object](python/parse-relative-time-to-datetime-object.md)
 - [Reclassify Certain Packages As Dev Dependencies](python/reclassify-certain-packages-as-dev-dependencies.md)
+- [Set Up Pyright Type Checking In GitHub](python/set-up-pyright-type-checking-in-github.md)
 - [Skip Specific Pytest Test Cases](python/skip-specific-pytest-test-cases.md)
 - [Sort A List Of Dataclass Instances](python/sort-a-list-of-dataclass-instances.md)
 - [Sort Normalized Version Of Data](python/sort-normalized-version-of-data.md)
 - [Start The Debugger When A Test Errors](python/start-the-debugger-when-a-test-errors.md)
 - [Store And Access Immutable Data In A Tuple](python/store-and-access-immutable-data-in-a-tuple.md)
 - [Test A Function With Pytest](python/test-a-function-with-pytest.md)
+- [Turn Method Into Cached Property On Class Instance](python/turn-method-into-cached-property-on-class-instance.md)
 - [Use pipx To Install End User Apps](python/use-pipx-to-install-end-user-apps.md)
 - [Use `__post_init__` For `dataclass` Validations](python/use-post-init-for-dataclass-validations.md)
 - [Use Verbose Flag To Get More Diff](python/use-verbose-flag-to-get-more-diff.md)
+- [Validate Click Option With Callback](python/validate-click-option-with-callback.md)
 
 ### Rails
 
@@ -1137,6 +1158,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Customize Paths And Helpers For Devise Routes](rails/customize-paths-and-helpers-for-devise-routes.md)
 - [Customize Template For New Schema Migration](rails/customize-template-for-new-schema-migration.md)
 - [Customize The Path Of A Resource Route](rails/customize-the-path-of-a-resource-route.md)
+- [Define Conditional Routing Logic In Routes File](rails/define-conditional-routing-logic-in-routes-file.md)
 - [Define The Root Path For The App](rails/define-the-root-path-for-the-app.md)
 - [Delete Paranoid Records](rails/delete-paranoid-records.md)
 - [Demodulize A Class Name](rails/demodulize-a-class-name.md)
@@ -1167,6 +1189,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Get The Column Names For A Model](rails/get-the-column-names-for-a-model.md)
 - [Get The Current Time](rails/get-the-current-time.md)
 - [Grab A Random Record From The Database](rails/grab-a-random-record-from-the-database.md)
+- [Halt ActionMailer Delivery With Callback](rails/halt-action-mailer-delivery-with-callback.md)
 - [Handle Named Arguments In A Rake Task](rails/handle-named-arguments-in-a-rake-task.md)
 - [Hash Slicing](rails/hash-slicing.md)
 - [Ignore Poltergeist JavaScript Errors](rails/ignore-poltergeist-javascript-errors.md)
@@ -1552,6 +1575,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Update The Gemfile Bundled With Version](ruby/update-the-gemfile-bundled-with-version.md)
 - [Use A Case Statement As A Cond Statement](ruby/use-a-case-statement-as-a-cond-statement.md)
 - [Use dotenv In A Non-Rails Project](ruby/use-dotenv-in-a-non-rails-project.md)
+- [Use Rescue As Part Of Inline Statement](ruby/use-rescue-as-part-of-inline-statement.md)
 - [Use Tap For Better Test Data Setup](ruby/use-tap-for-better-test-data-setup.md)
 - [Using BCrypt To Create And Check Hashed Passwords](ruby/using-bcrypt-to-create-and-check-hashed-passwords.md)
 - [What To Do When You Don't Rescue](ruby/what-to-do-when-you-dont-rescue.md)
@@ -1700,6 +1724,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Curl With Cookies](unix/curl-with-cookies.md)
 - [Curling For Headers](unix/curling-for-headers.md)
 - [Curling With Basic Auth Credentials](unix/curling-with-basic-auth-credentials.md)
+- [Deduplicate List While Preserving Original Order](unix/deduplicate-list-while-preserving-original-order.md)
 - [Determine ipv4 And ipv6 Public IP Addresses](unix/determine-ipv4-and-ipv6-public-ip-addresses.md)
 - [Diff Two Files In Unified Format](unix/diff-two-files-in-unified-format.md)
 - [Different Ways To Generate A v4 UUID](unix/different-ways-to-generate-a-v4-uuid.md)
@@ -1793,6 +1818,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Print A Range Of Lines For A File With Bat](unix/print-a-range-of-lines-for-a-file-with-bat.md)
 - [Print DateTime Represented By Unix Timestamp](unix/print-datetime-represented-by-unix-timestamp.md)
 - [Print Milliseconds In Human-Readable Format](unix/print-milliseconds-in-human-readable-format.md)
+- [Print Out File With Bat Without Formatting](unix/print-out-file-with-bat-without-formatting.md)
 - [Print Out Files In Reverse](unix/print-out-files-in-reverse.md)
 - [Print The Current Date In Human-Readable Format](unix/print-the-current-date-in-human-readable-format.md)
 - [Produce A Lowercase V4 UUID](unix/produce-a-lowercase-v4-uuid.md)
@@ -2067,6 +2093,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Send A Message To A Discord Channel](workflow/send-a-message-to-a-discord-channel.md)
 - [Send A PDF To Your Kindle](workflow/send-a-pdf-to-your-kindle.md)
 - [Set Recurring Reminders In Slack](workflow/set-recurring-reminders-in-slack.md)
+- [Show All Linear Keyboard Shortcuts](workflow/show-all-linear-keyboard-shortcuts.md)
 - [Show Linting Errors In Zed](workflow/show-linting-errors-in-zed.md)
 - [Temporarily Hide CleanShot X Capture Previews](workflow/temporarily-hide-cleanshot-x-capture-previews.md)
 - [Toggle Between Stories In Storybook](workflow/toggle-between-stories-in-storybook.md)

Taskfile.yml

@@ -11,6 +11,36 @@ tasks:
     cmds:
       - task --list
 
+  browse:list:
+    desc: Print deduped, newest-first TIL paths
+    silent: true
+    cmds:
+      - |
+        git log --diff-filter=A --name-only --pretty=format: -- '*/*.md' \
+          | grep -v '^$' \
+          | awk '!seen[$0]++'
+
+  browse:
+    desc: Pick from 5 most recent TILs (fzf) and open in browser
+    interactive: true
+    silent: true
+    cmds:
+      - |
+        FILE=$(task browse:list | head -5 | fzf --prompt="Open TIL: " --height=40% --reverse) || true
+        if [ -n "$FILE" ]; then
+          gh browse "$FILE"
+        fi
+
+  browse:latest:
+    desc: Open the single most recent TIL in the browser
+    silent: true
+    cmds:
+      - |
+        FILE=$(task browse:list | head -1)
+        if [ -n "$FILE" ]; then
+          gh browse "$FILE"
+        fi
+
   notes:
     desc: Interactive picker for notes tasks
     cmds:

claude-code/distinguish-sessions-with-different-colors.md

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# Distinguish Sessions With Different Colors
+
+I sometimes have several Claude Code sessions open at once. As I bounce between
+tmux windows, it can sometimes be tricky to tell them apart at a glance. One way
+that Claude Code can help with this is with some light styling. You can change
+the accent color of a session with the `/color` command.
+
+Run it as is and it will choose a random color to set the session to.
+
+Or you can pick from any of the available colors which it will give you a hint
+for if you type a space after `/color`.
+
+```
+/color [red|blue|green|yellow|purple|orange|pink|cyan|default]
+```
+
+I can run the following to set it to cyan:
+
+```
+/color cyan
+```
+
+More details on this kinds of commands can be found in the [_Commands_
+docs](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/commands).

devops/cloudflare-allows-cname-for-apex-domain.md

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+# Cloudflare Allows CNAME For Apex Domain
+
+If you want to set up a custom root (apex) domain with an app hosting provider
+[like
+Heroku](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/custom-domains#add-a-custom-root-domain),
+you're going to need to work with a DNS provider that supports the non-standard
+`ALIAS` records (or something equivalent).
+
+In my case, I have my domain registered with Cloudflare. Cloudflare supports
+this kind of CNAME lookup of an apex domain through [_CNAME
+flattening_](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/cname-flattening/).
+
+Unlike other registrars that use a separate `ALIAS` record concept, Cloudflare
+allows you to set up a specialized `CNAME` record. Go into the DNS settings for
+the domain of interest, click "Add Record", and then select `CNAME`. From there,
+instead of entering a traditional subdomain like `www`, you put the `@` symbol
+which tells Cloudflare that this is a record for the apex domain. That record
+will still point to a target like `abc123.herokudns.com` as a more traditional
+`CANME` would do.

git/programmatically-grab-sha-for-head-commit.md

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# Programmatically Grab SHA For Head Commit
+
+When I use `gh browse path/to/some-file.txt`, it opens the browser to that file
+in GitHub. However, it targets the default branch (`main`) by default which is
+not very useful as a permalink because what that file looks like on `main` is
+liable to change.
+
+There is a `--commit` flag you can use to have it instead open to that file at a
+specific commit SHA.
+
+So what SHA do I pass as an argument to that flag?
+
+Often what I would like to grab is a reference to the current version of the
+file which is whatever it looks like for the `HEAD` commit. But `HEAD` is
+another moving target reference. The `git rev-parse` command can translate
+`HEAD` into a specific SHA though.
+
+```bash
+❯ git rev-parse --short HEAD
+3402428
+
+❯ git rev-parse HEAD
+3402428aadc02cfdc9825c8feb593443e72f50cd
+```
+
+Either of those will work. I can use a bash command substitution then to tie it
+all together into a single command:
+
+```bash
+❯ gh browse path/to/some-file.txt --commit=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)
+```
+
+See `man git-rev-parse` for more details.

github/process-json-output-from-gh-with-jq.md

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+# Process JSON Output From gh With jq
+
+The `gh` (GitHub) CLI is useful for accessing data about your profile and
+projects from the terminal. With the `--json` flag, we can access the data in a
+structured way which is useful for scripting.
+
+Here is an example of pulling a list of all my repositories, limiting each
+entity to just the `nameWithOwner` and `description`:
+
+```bash
+❯ gh repo list --limit 1000 --json nameWithOwner,description
+[
+  {
+    "description": "My personal site -- joshbranchaud.com",
+    "nameWithOwner": "jbranchaud/personal-site"
+  },
+  {
+    "description": "Private repo for the NOTES.md of my TIL repo",
+    "nameWithOwner": "jbranchaud/til-notes-private"
+  },
+  ...
+]
+```
+
+If I'm using the `--json` flag, then I can add in the `--jq` flag to apply a
+`jq` query for additional processing of the output.
+
+Here I convert it to a series of tuples:
+
+```bash
+❯ gh repo list --limit 1000 --json nameWithOwner,description \
+  --jq '.[] | [.nameWithOwner, .description]'
+[
+  "jbranchaud/personal-site",
+  "My personal site -- joshbranchaud.com"
+]
+[
+  "jbranchaud/til-notes-private",
+  "Private repo for the NOTES.md of my TIL repo"
+]
+...
+```
+
+Then I can add one more pipe to that `jq` query to turn it into _tab-separated
+values_ using
+[`@tsv`](https://jqlang.org/manual/v1.5/#format-strings-and-escaping):
+
+```bash
+❯ gh repo list --limit 1000 --json nameWithOwner,description \
+  --jq '.[] | [.nameWithOwner, .description] | @tsv'
+jbranchaud/personal-site	My personal site -- joshbranchaud.com
+jbranchaud/til-notes-private	Private repo for the NOTES.md of my TIL repo
+...
+```
+
+This is useful because I can then pipe it to another program, such as an `fzf`
+command like [this repo selector that opens the selected one in the
+browser](https://github.com/jbranchaud/dotfiles/commit/f964ca10c6c4db3475411c2991dc2f1dfd18c818).

javascript/get-users-preferred-language-from-browser.md

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# Get User's Preferred Language From Browser
+
+A great way to determine a user's preferred language if you aren't able to ask
+them directly is to look at the language setting for their browser's UI.
+
+We can get this from the instance of
+[`Navigator`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Navigator) in the
+user's JavaScript runtime within the browser.
+
+My browser's UI is set to US English, which I can verify like so:
+
+```javascript
+> navigator.language
+'en-US'
+```
+
+This is useful for all sorts of things like [formatting dates for
+display](basic-date-formatting-without-a-library.md):
+
+```javascript
+> const now = new Date();
+> Intl.DateTimeFormat(navigator.language).format(now)
+'5/14/2026'
+```
+
+Or for [formatting other kinds of units for
+display](formatting-values-with-units-for-display.md):
+
+```javascript
+> const milesFormat =
+    Intl.NumberFormat(navigator.language, { style: "unit", unit: "mile" });
+> milesFormat.format(1500)
+"1,500 mi"
+```

mac/clean-up-item-layout-in-finder-window.md

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# Clean Up Item Layout In Finder Window
+
+Sometimes while doing a bunch of manual drag-n-drop of files and folders in a
+Finder.app window, I'll end up with a visual mess. Compared to other folders,
+nothing is organized on the grid.
+
+I can tell Finder.app to clean that up with the _Clean Up_ menu option.
+
+While focused on the folder that I'm concerned about, I can go to _View_ >
+_Clean Up_ in the top menu. Everything will snap into place.
+
+On the specific Finder.app window, there is also a triple-dot actions menu that
+appears on the top right. The _Clean Up_ action is available there as well.
+
+There is also a _Clean Up By_ option which is a nice way to organize by some
+attribute, such as the type (e.g Folder/File and extension).

mac/read-the-lid-angle-sensor-for-a-macbook.md

@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+# Read The Lid Angle Sensor For A MacBook
+
+MacOS has a bunch of internal HID (Human Interface Device) data that can surface
+details about all kinds of "devices" that comprise your machine. Some obvious
+ones are the keyboard and trackpad as well as external mice and keyboards. The
+battery and power source details are another which is sometimes integrated into
+tools that display battery status (e.g.
+[`tmux-battery`](https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tmux-battery)), though it uses
+`pmset` directly). And many, many more.
+
+One example I'd never considered is that there is a sensor for the lid angle of
+the laptop that can tell the system whether the lid is open or closed and how
+open it is (i.e. at what angle). There is no public interface for this lid angle
+sensor, but people exploring all the HID devices have found the identifiers that
+correspond to it (e.g.
+[`pybooklid`](https://github.com/tcsenpai/pybooklid/blob/main/pybooklid/macbook_lid.py)).
+
+Here is a minimal script that uses `uv`, `hidapi` (python bindings), and
+`libhidapi` (shared runtime lib for those bindings):
+
+```python
+#!/usr/bin/env -S uv run --quiet --script
+# /// script
+# requires-python = ">=3.10"
+# dependencies = ["hidapi"]
+# ///
+"""Print MacBook lid angle in degrees."""
+import os, sys
+
+if sys.platform == "darwin":
+    brew = "/opt/homebrew/lib"
+    if os.path.exists(brew):
+        os.environ["DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH"] = f"{brew}:{os.environ.get('DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH','')}"
+
+import hid
+
+VENDOR_ID, PRODUCT_ID = 0x05AC, 0x8104
+USAGE_PAGE, USAGE = 0x0020, 0x008A
+REPORT_ID = 1
+
+def read_angle():
+    for info in hid.enumerate(VENDOR_ID, PRODUCT_ID):
+        if info.get("usage_page") == USAGE_PAGE and info.get("usage") == USAGE:
+            d = hid.device()
+            path = info["path"]
+            d.open_path(path if isinstance(path, bytes) else path.encode())
+            try:
+                data = d.get_feature_report(REPORT_ID, 8)
+                if data and len(data) >= 3:
+                    return float((data[2] << 8) | data[1])
+            finally:
+                d.close()
+    return None
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    a = read_angle()
+    if a is None:
+        sys.exit("sensor not available")
+    print(f"{a:.0f}")
+```
+
+These IDs and usage values are the undocumented values that allow the script to
+navigate specifically to the lid angle sensor and specifically to the usage page
+and value that represent the current lid angle reading.
+
+```
+VENDOR_ID, PRODUCT_ID = 0x05AC, 0x8104
+USAGE_PAGE, USAGE = 0x0020, 0x008A
+REPORT_ID = 1
+```
+
+I added [this
+script](https://github.com/jbranchaud/dotfiles/blob/cbc7196607d1d6b25885f5387ca85b658bd765de/bin/lidangle)
+to [my dotfiles](https://github.com/jbranchaud/dotfiles) and made it executable
+(`chmod +x bin/lidangle`) so that I can try it out. I first ran it while it was
+closed and connected to my external monitor (`0`), then I opened it as far as it
+could go (`129`), and then I tried angling it close to what I thought was 90
+degress (`92`, so close).
+
+```bash
+❯ lidangle
+0
+
+❯ lidangle
+129
+
+❯ lidangle
+92
+```

math/generate-permutations-of-all-valid-9-ball-racks.md

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+# Generate Permutations Of All Valid 9-ball Racks
+
+I wanted to produce a full listing of all valid rack arrangements for the game
+of [9-ball](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine-ball). The constraints on how a
+9-ball rack can be arranged are, first, that the 1 ball must be placed at the
+head of the diamond and, second, that the 9 ball must be placed at the center of
+the diamond. After that, all other balls (2 through 8) can be placed in any
+arrangement.
+
+Because each of those seven remaining balls can be arranged in distinct
+orderings where each ball is placed once, this is a
+[_permutation_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permutation) problem.
+
+> In elementary combinatorics, the k-permutations, or partial permutations, are
+> the ordered arrangements of k distinct elements selected from a set. When k is
+> equal to the size of the set, these are the permutations in the previous
+> sense.
+
+For this problem, the seven distinct elements can be arranged into `7!` (seven
+factorial) unique permutations. That is, 5040 permutations.
+
+I can use [Ruby's `Array#permutations`
+method](https://docs.ruby-lang.org/en/4.0/Array.html#method-i-permutation) to
+enumerate these 5040 permutations like so:
+
+```ruby
+[2,3,4,5,6,7,8].permutation.map do |perm|
+  [1, *perm[0..2], 9, *perm[3..7]]
+end.to_a
+=> [[1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 5, 6, 7, 8],
+ [1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 5, 6, 8, 7],
+ [1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 5, 7, 6, 8],
+ [1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 5, 7, 8, 6],
+ [1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 5, 8, 6, 7],
+ [1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 5, 8, 7, 6],
+ [1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 6, 5, 7, 8],
+ ...
+ [1, 8, 7, 6, 9, 5, 3, 2, 4],
+ [1, 8, 7, 6, 9, 5, 3, 4, 2],
+ [1, 8, 7, 6, 9, 5, 4, 2, 3],
+ [1, 8, 7, 6, 9, 5, 4, 3, 2]]
+```

python/argument-defaults-are-evaluated-when-function-is-defined.md

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+# Argument Defaults Are Evaluated When Function Is Defined
+
+When you define a function with any arguments that have default values, those
+default values are evaluated and stored at the time that the function is defined
+(i.e. when it is evaluated by the interpreter). This might feel counter
+intuitive if you are coming from another language, like Ruby, where these kinds
+of defaults are evaluated at call time. This is unremarkable for scalar values
+like `4` or `"fallback"`. It's much more interesting when your defaults are
+function calls.
+
+What if our default is something like `datetime.now()`?
+
+Here I've defined a `Timer` class that has a `start` and `stop` method. The
+`stop` method can be called with a specific `datetime` value otherwise it falls
+back to `datetime.now()` -- but when is _now_?
+
+```python
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+import time
+
+
+class Timer:
+    def __init__(self):
+        self._start = None
+        self._stop = None
+
+    def start(self):
+        self._start = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+        self._stop = None
+
+    def stop(self, at=datetime.now(timezone.utc)):
+        print(f"now: {datetime.now(timezone.utc)}")
+        print(f" at: {at}")
+        self._stop = at
+
+        elapsed = self._stop - self._start
+        return elapsed
+```
+
+Here I instantiate a timer, call `start`, sleep for 5 seconds, and then call
+`stop`.
+
+```python
+timer = Timer()
+timer.start()
+
+time.sleep(5)
+
+print(f"Elapsed: {timer.stop()}")
+```
+
+Here is what gets printed to `stdout`:
+
+```
+now: 2026-05-22 00:45:05.654878+00:00
+ at: 2026-05-22 00:45:00.649699+00:00
+Elapsed: -1 day, 23:59:59.999875
+```
+
+Notice that the actual _now_ (when the `stop` method is running) is about 5
+seconds after the value of `at`. That is because `at`, which takes on the
+default argument value, is `datetime.now()` as evaluated at the time the
+function is interpreted. It is for that same reason that `self._stop` ends up
+being just a hair earlier than the call to `start` which sets `self._start`.
+Which explains why the _elapsed_ time is a negative value.
+
+To avoid this awkwardness all together, set the default as `None` and then
+override `None` at the start of the function:
+
+```python
+def stop(self, at = None):
+    if at == None:
+        at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+
+    # ...
+```

python/check-precondition-before-click-arg-parsing.md

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+# Check Precondition Before Click Arg Parsing
+
+When setting up various [Click](https://click.palletsprojects.com/en/stable/)
+subcommands with options, I ran into an issue with the order of some validation
+checks. I was putting the same precondition validation logic at the beginning of
+several subcommands. I was also putting callback validations on specific options
+to those subcommands. Ideally the option validations could rely on those
+precondition validations. However, the option callbacks run before anything in
+the body of the subcommands.
+
+The solution was to move those preconditions out of the subcommand body
+(simplifying the subcommand) and into a `click.Command` subclass.
+
+To demonstrate that, I'll first show the `click.Command` subclass:
+
+```python
+class RequireActiveSessionCommand(click.Command):
+    def parse_args(self, ctx, args):
+        if ctx.obj.active_session is None:
+            msg = "No active session being tracked. Start a session first."
+            raise click.UsageError(msg)
+
+        return super().parse_args(ctx, args)
+```
+
+The only thing this subclass overrides is `parse_args` where it gets ahead of
+the standard arg parsing logic to first check the precondition. In this case, I
+check that there is an active session. If there isn't, then I can raise a
+`click.UsageError`. Otherwise, it delegates back to the super-class
+implementation of `parse_args`.
+
+This subclass then gets used for the commands that need to enforce this
+precondition. Two prime examples of that are the `stop` and `cancel` subcommands.
+
+```python
+@cli.command(cls=RequireActiveSessionCommand)
+@click.option("--at", help='Hours previous to end the timer, e.g. "2 hours ago"', callback=validate_stop_at)
+@pass_cli
+def stop(cli_ctx: CliContext, at: datetime) -> None:
+    # ... implementation omitted
+
+@cli.command(cls=RequireActiveSessionCommand)
+@pass_cli
+def cancel(cli_ctx: CliContext):
+    # ... implementation omitted
+```
+
+Other subcommands, like `start` and `status` that don't need to enforce this
+precondition use the `@cli.command()` decorator without passing in a custom
+subclass.
+
+This example is pulled directly from [this commit](https://github.com/jbranchaud/py-vmt/commit/505109b7a4013e05f085cded666c6b1ac7c3c250)
+of my [`py-vmt` time tracker tool](https://github.com/jbranchaud/py-vmt).

python/define-typed-class-interface-with-protocol.md

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+# Define Typed Class Interface With Protocol
+
+In [`py-vmt`](https://github.com/jbranchaud/py-vmt) I am defining different
+storage access layers for the CLI to use. I want a consistent interface that the
+core CLI logic can depend on regardless of whether it is a JSON file or a SQLite
+database. To achieve that I can define a class of unimplemented functions that
+inherits from
+[`typing.Protocol`](https://typing.python.org/en/latest/spec/protocol.html).
+
+```python
+from typing import Protocol
+
+class SessionRepository(Protocol):
+    def active_session(self) -> Session | None: ...
+    def write_active_session(self, session) -> None: ...
+    def append_session(self, session) -> None: ...
+    def all_sessions(self) -> list[Session]: ...
+    def clear_active_session(self) -> None: ...
+```
+
+Notice that none of these have default implementations. The `...` indicates that
+class implementing this protocol will define the implementation of those
+functions.
+
+Now, my `CliContext` class, which needs some kind of `SessionRepository` to
+function can indicate as much in `__init__`.
+
+```python
+class CliContext:
+    def __init__(self, verbose: bool, repo: SessionRepository | None = None) -> None:
+        self.verbose: bool = verbose
+        self.active_session: Session | None = None
+        self.repo: SessionRepository = repo or JsonRepository()
+        self.active_session = self.repo.active_session()
+```
+
+If `JsonRepository` doesn't define all of the methods specified in the protocol,
+then a type error will occur wherever it clashes with `SessionRepository`. Now
+as I implement `SqliteRepository` I have a standard interface to build against
+that I know I can seamlessly swap in.
+
+[source](https://typing.python.org/en/latest/reference/protocols.html#simple-user-defined-protocols)

python/enable-pyright-type-checking-in-cursor.md

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# Enable Pyright Type Checking In Cursor
+
+In most ways [Cursor](https://cursor.com/), a clone of VS Code, behaves like VS
+Code and uses the same extensions as VS Code. It even offers to clone all your
+existing extensions and setup from VS Code when you first install it.
+
+However, the Pyright type checking setup that I had in VS Code stopped working
+when I opened up the same Python project in Cursor. It seems that to get Pyright
+to reliably work with forks of VS Code, you need to use a compatible fork like
+[Based Pyright](https://docs.basedpyright.com/latest/).
+
+Once I installed _Based Pyright_ from the extension marketplace, I was able to
+enable it in `.vscode/settings.json`:
+
+```json
+{
+    ...,
+    "basedpyright.analysis.typeCheckingMode": "basic"
+}
+```
+
+I may have needed to restart Cursor at this point, I cannot remember exactly.
+However, once this setup was in place the helpful type checking errors started
+appearing as red squiggles.

python/get-quotient-and-remainder-in-one-operation.md

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+# Get Quotient And Remainder In One Operation
+
+While writing some custom code to transform a number of seconds into the
+constituent hours, minutes, and seconds, I found myself needing to get both the
+quotient and remainder from a division between two numbers.
+
+```python
+>>> import math
+>>> math.floor(3666 / 3600)
+1
+>>> 3666 % 3600
+66
+```
+
+Instead, I can use Python's built-in
+[`divmod`](https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#divmod) function to
+compute both values in one statement.
+
+```python
+>>> divmod(3666, 3600)
+(1, 66)
+```
+
+The result is a tuple with the first value being my quotient (in this case, the
+number of hours) and the remainder (the remaining number of seconds).
+
+This kind of operation is known as [Euclidian
+Division](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclidean_division).
+
+Here is a snippet of some actual code where I use this in
+[`py-vmt`](https://github.com/jbranchaud/py-vmt/blob/b9eae8b258e9fd720cfa3bb63b601225df352051/src/py_vmt/time_helpers.py#L14-L16):
+
+```python
+def format_time_delta(diff: timedelta) -> str:
+    total_seconds = int(diff.total_seconds())
+
+    hours, remainder = divmod(total_seconds, 3600)
+    minutes, remainder = divmod(remainder, 60)
+    seconds = remainder
+
+    # ...
+```

python/make-secure-temp-file-for-atomic-write.md

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+# Make Secure Temp File For Atomic Write
+
+Two types of failure modes that can occur while writing to a shared file on the
+file system are 1) a corrupted file due to a crash mid-write and 2) another
+process reading a partial file mid-write.
+
+One way I've handled this in [`py-vmt`](https://github.com/jbranchaud/py-vmt) is
+to perform the write operations on a secure temp file and then use the OS-level
+atomic `rename` operation. I do this by [creating a
+`contextmanager`](https://docs.python.org/3/library/contextlib.html#contextlib.contextmanager)
+that uses
+[`tempfile.mkstemp`](https://docs.python.org/3/library/tempfile.html#tempfile.mkstemp)
+and [`os.replace`](https://docs.python.org/3/library/os.html#os.replace).
+
+Here is what the `contextmanager` looks like:
+
+```python
+from contextlib import contextmanager
+from pathlib import Path
+import os, tempfile
+
+@contextmanager
+def atomic_write(path: Path):
+    # write to a tmp file in the same directory, then atomically swap it
+    fd, temp_file_path = tempfile.mkstemp(dir=path.parent, suffix=".tmp")
+    try:
+        with os.fdopen(fd, "w") as file:
+            yield file
+        os.replace(temp_file_path, path)
+    except BaseException:
+        os.unlink(temp_file_path)
+        raise
+```
+
+This explicitly creates a secure temp file in the same directory as the given
+path with `.tmp` as the suffix. I then open the file descriptor using the
+`os.fdopen` context manager (which will manage closing the file descriptor for
+me). The `@contextmanager` decorator plus the `yield file` are what allow this
+to be used as a `with` block. Once any file operations are done, then I use
+`os.replace` to atomically swap out the original file with the temp file.
+
+Here is how I use it to write updates to JSON data files:
+
+```python
+def write_active_session(self, session: Session) -> None:
+    with atomic_write(self.active_session_file) as file:
+        json.dump(session.marshal(), file)
+```

python/set-up-pyright-type-checking-in-github.md

@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+# Set Up Pyright Type Checking In GitHub
+
+As I get into more of a PR workflow with my development of
+[`py-vmt`](https://github.com/jbranchaud/py-vmt), I need to set up some basic CI
+checks in GitHub. For starters I want the same `pyright` type checking that I
+have locally to be run in CI for consistency.
+
+Though my editor is set up to do Pyright type checking as I work locally, I can
+also manually run it with:
+
+```bash
+$ uv run pyright
+```
+
+Pyright will look for the `tool.pyright` section in my `pyproject.toml` file
+which currently looks like the following:
+
+```toml
+[tool.pyright]
+include = ["src", "tests"]
+```
+
+I can get this same type checking in CI for PRs by adding the following
+`.github/workflows/typecheck.yml` file:
+
+```yaml
+name: pyright
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+  push:
+    branches: [main]
+
+jobs:
+  typecheck:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Install uv
+        uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v3
+        with:
+          enable-cache: true
+
+      - name: Set up Python
+        run: uv python install
+
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: uv sync --all-extras --dev
+
+      - name: Run pyright
+        run: uv run pyright
+```
+
+This adds a single `typecheck` job that installs `uv`, `python`, and my project
+dependencies, and then runs `uv run pyright` (just like I do locally) to perform
+type checking. If `pyright` discovers any type errors, the job will fail and I
+can view the output of the job to see what needs fixing. Once I have dealt with
+everything, the job will quietly pass with a green check mark.
+
+Here is [the PR](https://github.com/jbranchaud/py-vmt/pull/2) where I added this
+CI job.

python/turn-method-into-cached-property-on-class-instance.md

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+# Turn Method Into Cached Property On Class Instance
+
+I have a class that encapsulates a few things including a somewhat expensive
+data lookup from a file on disk. When this class is instantiated, it is
+short-lived and the data that gets pulled from the file on disk is considered
+fresh for the life of the instance.
+
+```python
+class CliContext:
+    def __init__(self, verbose: bool) -> None:
+        # ...
+        self.repo = JsonRepository()
+        # ...
+
+    def session_log(self) -> list[Session]:
+        return self.repo.load_session_log()
+```
+
+Because this method gets called from a couple places during a single lifecycle,
+this class would benefit from caching it via the [`@cached_property`
+decorator](https://docs.python.org/3/library/functools.html#functools.cached_property).
+
+```python
+from functools import cached_property
+
+class CliContext:
+    def __init__(self, verbose: bool) -> None:
+        # ...
+        self.repo = JsonRepository()
+        # ...
+
+    @cached_property
+    def session_log(self) -> list[Session]:
+        return self.repo.load_session_log()
+```
+
+Now `session_log` can be treated like a property instead of a method. That means
+when I want to load and access the session log, I can do `self.session_log` (no
+parentheses) like I would any other property. The first time I reference it, the
+method will run. Then that value will be cached and all subsequent references
+will use that cache.
+
+> Transform a method of a class into a property whose value is computed once and
+> then cached as a normal attribute for the life of the instance.
+
+Of course, anytime we use caching, we can create a footgun for ourselves. We
+have to be careful that our program doesn't evolve in such a way where the
+caching will create a subtle bug due to stale data.

python/validate-click-option-with-callback.md

@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+# Validate Click Option With Callback
+
+I have a [click](https://click.palletsprojects.com/en/stable/) subcommand in my
+[`py-vmt` project](https://github.com/jbranchaud/py-vmt) that includes an
+`option` specified with the `--at` flag. This is what it originally looked like:
+
+```python
+# define `start` subcommand
+@cli.command()
+@click.argument("project-name")
+@click.option("--at", help='Relative time in past to start the time, e.g. "2 hours ago", "33 minutes ago"')
+@pass_cli
+def start(cli_ctx: CliContext, project_name: str, at: str | None) -> None:
+    # ...
+```
+
+The value of `at` needs to be in the past. I need a way validate that it is or
+otherwise bail early with a useful error message. The optional
+[`callback`](https://click.palletsprojects.com/en/stable/advanced/#callbacks-for-validation)
+to `@click.option` plus `click.BadParameter` are a good way to handle that.
+
+First, I define a callback handler that does the validation. I even take it a
+step further and have it return the transformed value (`datetime`) that the
+subcommand logic will need.
+
+```python
+def validate_past_time(_ctx, _param, value: str | None) -> datetime:
+    now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+
+    if value == None:
+        return now
+
+    start_at = time_helpers.parse_to_datetime(value)
+
+    if start_time == None or start_at > now:
+        raise click.BadParameter("must be a relative time in the past")
+
+    return start_at
+```
+
+I ignore the first two arguments because I only need to work with `value`. Value
+might be something like `"33 minutes ago"` and I attempt to transform that with
+`dateparser` into a `datetime` instance. If it can't be parsed or it isn't in
+the past, then I raise `click.BadParameter` which presents the user with useful
+usage details.
+
+This callback can then be incorporated into the subcommand like so:
+
+```python
+# define `start` subcommand
+@cli.command()
+@click.argument("project-name")
+@click.option(
+    "--at",
+    help='Relative time in past to start the time, e.g. "2 hours ago", "33 minutes ago"',
+    callback=validate_past_time
+)
+@pass_cli
+def start(cli_ctx: CliContext, project_name: str, at: datetime) -> None:
+    # ...
+```
+
+Now I can expect the incoming `at` option to be a `datetime` which helps
+simplify several lines of logic in the `start` implementation.

rails/define-conditional-routing-logic-in-routes-file.md

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# Define Conditional Routing Logic In Routes File
+
+I ran into a situation recently where I needed to intercept the behavior a
+common public-facing route in an app. Broadly, the route is for company specific
+rental pages with query parameters that correspond to their available inventory.
+
+What I needed was a way to display a demo version of that rental page ignoring
+everything else about how the request would otherwise be processed, validated,
+and rendered.
+
+Instead of introducing a bunch of weird conditional logic into this already
+complex rental controller, I was able to intercept the request at the routing
+layer when `demo=true` is set and send it to a different controller.
+
+Here is what that section of `config/routes.rb` looks like:
+
+```ruby
+get "rentals/new", to: "rental_demos#show",
+  as: :rental_demo,
+  constraints: ->(request) { request.params[:demo] == "true" }
+
+resources :rentals, only: %i[new create] do
+  # ...
+end
+```
+
+This specifies a `constraint` on the `get` handler matching for a given request.
+If the constraint isn't met, then the route handling logic proceeds where it
+will instead find a match with the original new rentals resource routing.
+
+Now I can reference a version of this URL that includes `demo=true` as a way of
+having an always-available realistic-looking version of the rental page even if
+one of these companies doesn't actively have available inventory.
+
+Those requests will get intercepted by the first matching route handler which
+will send them to the `RentalDemosController` instead of the
+`RentalsController`.

rails/halt-action-mailer-delivery-with-callback.md

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# Halt ActionMailer Delivery With Callback
+
+`ActionMailer` supports callbacks, similar to `ActiveRecord`, like
+`before_deliver` and `after_delivery`. We can hook into the `before_deliver`
+callback to interrupt the delivery of an email that shouldn't go out.
+
+Here's the scenario: you schedule a bunch of payment reminders to go out to your
+customers that still need to make their latest payment. Let's say the daily job
+that schedules all of these reminders runs in the middle of the night, but
+schedules the emails to land in inboxes at a more reasonable time, like 10am.
+Between the time that the email is scheduled and it gets processed for delivery,
+a customer makes their payment. In that case, we no longer want to send that
+person an email reminder.
+
+To handle this scenario, we can have a `before_deliver` callback that checks the
+user's balance and raises `:abort` to halt the callback execution chain,
+effectively preventing the email from going out. We can even scope the callback
+to just the actions we care about using the `if` option and checking the
+`action_name`.
+
+```ruby
+class UserMailer < ApplicationMailer
+  before_deliver :abort_if_payment_is_current,
+    if: -> { action_name.in?(%w[payment_reminder past_due_invoice]) }
+
+  def payment_reminder
+    # ...
+  end
+
+  def past_due_invoice
+    # ...
+  end
+
+  private
+
+  def abort_if_payment_is_current
+    if @user.check_latest_balance.zero?
+      raise :abort
+    end
+  end
+end
+```
+
+See [Action Mailer
+Callbacks](https://guides.rubyonrails.org/action_mailer_basics.html#action-mailer-callbacks)
+for more details.

ruby/use-rescue-as-part-of-inline-statement.md

@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+# Use Rescue As Part Of Inline Statement
+
+In Ruby I typically think of `rescue` as block syntax that I can use to handle
+exceptions.
+
+```ruby
+begin
+  User.update!(password:)
+rescue
+  puts "There was an issue updating the password"
+end
+```
+
+The `rescue` keyword can also be used as part of an inline statement as a way of
+providing a _fallback_ value when the first part of the statement raises.
+
+For instance, if I'm trying to access some value on an array that happens to be
+`nil`, it is going to raise:
+
+```ruby
+> scores.first
+(irb):7:in '<main>': undefined method 'first' for nil (NoMethodError)
+```
+
+I can instead tack on a `rescue 0` which will give it `0` as a fallback value:
+
+```ruby
+> scores.first rescue 0
+=> 0
+```
+
+Of course, there are more idiomatic ways to handle this kind of situation in
+Ruby. Maybe something like this:
+
+```ruby
+> Array(scores).first || 0
+=> 0
+```
+
+Another way I've seen this inline rescue used is to print out the exception
+caused by that line of code, using `$!` (the global variable for the most
+recently raised exception).
+
+```ruby
+> scores.first rescue puts $!
+undefined method 'first' for nil
+=> nil
+```
+
+That is a one-liner for the following:
+
+```ruby
+begin
+  scores.first
+rescue => e
+  puts e
+end
+```
+
+The big caveat that goes with this is the same one that goes with any other
+blanket `rescue` block. If you are indiscriminately rescuing exceptions without
+being intentional about what you are rescuing and why, you could be potentially
+burying exceptions that you need to know about.

unix/deduplicate-list-while-preserving-original-order.md

@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+# Deduplicate List While Preserving Original Order
+
+Usually when I want to deduplicate a list coming out of some command, I'll reach
+for `sort | uniq`. This is a nice Unix trick where `uniq` removes consecutive
+duplicate lines which relies on `sort` first reorganizing all lines in
+alphabetically sorted order, bringing all duplicate lines together.
+
+The caveat to using `sort | uniq` (or even `sort -u`) is that it will reorder
+entries alphabetically. That means you'll lose the original order, which may
+have been important.
+
+```bash
+❯ echo "red green blue red yellow green blue red green" | tr ' ' '\n' | sort -u
+blue
+green
+red
+yellow
+```
+
+Another approach is to use `awk` which can deduplicate while preserving the
+order of entries as they first appear. This can be done with a pattern that
+records the count of each line in an associative array.
+
+```bash
+❯ echo "red green blue red yellow green blue red green" | tr ' ' '\n' | awk '!seen[$0]++'
+red
+green
+blue
+yellow
+```
+
+The above pattern accepts on the first occurrence of each line and rejects on
+any subsequent occurrences. That is done by adding `$0` (the current line) to
+`seen` (associative array that auto-initializes inline). If it doesn't exist in
+`seen` yet, then `0` is returned which is negated to a truthy value with `!`.
+That entry is then incremented from `0` to `1` via the `++`. As `awk` continues
+to process each line, `seen` is continually added to and incremented. The
+default _action_ for `awk` is to print the line. Those truthy lines are the ones
+that are printed.
+
+An example of where this might be useful is when creating a unique listing of
+all authors of a git repository while maintaining the order that they become
+committers. I wanted to show this with a high-contribution public repo that I
+worked on, so I referenced the [`egghead-next`
+repo](https://github.com/skillrecordings/egghead-next).
+
+```bash
+❯ git log --reverse --format='%an <%ae>' | awk '!seen[$0]++'
+Joel Hooks <joelhooks@gmail.com>
+johnlindquist <johnlindquist@gmail.com>
+John Lindquist <johnlindquist@gmail.com>
+William Johnson <w.alexander.johnson@gmail.com>
+depfu[bot] <23717796+depfu[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
+Evgeniy Nagalskiy <evgeniy.nagalskiy@gmail.com>
+Taylor Bell <taylorbell@gmail.com>
+Maggie Appleton <maggie.fm.appleton@gmail.com>
+John Lindquist <johnlindquist@work.local>
+Vojta Holik <vojta@egghead.io>
+Daniel Miller <dealingwith@gmail.com>
+jh3y <jh3y@users.noreply.github.com>
+Jhey Tompkins <jh3y@users.noreply.github.com>
+Josh Branchaud <jbranchaud@gmail.com>
+Lauro Silva <57044804+laurosilvacom@users.noreply.github.com>
+LB <barth.laurie@gmail.com>
+kodiakhq[bot] <49736102+kodiakhq[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
+dependabot[bot] <49699333+dependabot[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
+samuelhulick <samuel@samuelhulick.com>
+Ian Jones <jones58ian@gmail.com>
+Zac Jones <zacjones93@gmail.com>
+...
+```

unix/print-out-file-with-bat-without-formatting.md

@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+# Print Out File With Bat Without Formatting
+
+The [`bat`](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat) utility is my daily driver and
+replacement for anything used `cat` for before. I even have `bat` aliased to
+`cat` so that I never had to rewire my muscle memory for typing `cat`.
+
+Whether or not the creator of `cat` intended it, I'd guess that most terminal
+users' main use case is printing the contents of a file. `bat` does that way
+better with syntax highlighting, line numbers, and some layout formatting that
+puts lines around the output and a heading with the filename.
+
+All this formatting is great when I'm taking a quick look at a file. One way it
+gets in the way is when I'm trying to highlight and copy a few lines to my
+clipboard. Because the terminal is rendering lines, line numbers, and other
+formatting, all that fluff gets included on the clipboard.
+
+For this scenario, I can use the `-p` flag (or `--style=plain`) to print just
+the (syntax-highlighted) file contents without all the extra formatting.
+
+```bash
+bat -p app/models/users.rb
+
+# or
+bat --style=plain app/models/users.rb
+```
+
+Another way I could have approached this was to [ignore the alias of `cat` to
+`bat`](ignore-the-alias-when-running-a-command.md).

workflow/show-all-linear-keyboard-shortcuts.md

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Show All Linear Keyboard Shortcuts
+
+Linear, the project management software, puts an incredible amount of attention
+to detail into the UX and UI of their app. This includes making the app a power
+tool for power users with tons of keyboard shortcuts.
+
+I'm aware of some of Linear's keyboard shortcuts, but the discoverability of
+many of them is tough.
+
+A great way to list and browse through all of them right in the app is with
+`Cmd+/`.
+
+They are organized into sections that I can scroll through. There is also a
+search box at the top of this _Keyboard Shortcuts_ panel where I can narrow down
+the results to those that match a term.
+
+A few that I'm finding immediately useful are:
+
+- `gi` to go to my _Inbox_ in the current workspace
+- `gm` to go to _My Issues_ in the current workspace
+- `ow` to open a picker to switch between workspaces
+
+Note: the _Keyboard Shortcuts_ panel lists many of the letter-based shortcuts as
+being capitalized. I've found that these don't work when I hold shift. For that
+reason, I've listed the above shortcuts with lowercase letters.