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TeaVMFan

407 karma · joined October 10, 2019

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TeaVMFan··on Emacs appearances in pop culture
Sample chapter here, DRM-free: https://frequal.com/novels/

The Amazon file is also DRM-free, I picked that option when self-publishing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GYCZJVGX

TeaVMFan··on Emacs appearances in pop culture
I chose the DRM-free route on Amazon for "Means & Motive" ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GYCZJVGX ) . Self-published authors can choose to be DRM-free on Amazon now. You can also buy it via Barnes & Noble (paperback), links here: https://frequal.com/novels/
TeaVMFan··on Emacs appearances in pop culture
Not exactly an appearance, but I definitely give emacs a shout-out in the end notes of my new novel: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GYCZJVGX
TeaVMFan··on I Bypassed Adobe and Microsoft to Build a Git-Tracked Book Production Pipeline
I have a related pipeline that is based on HTML, EPublish, and Calibre:

https://frequal.com/forwriters/

I used it for a recent novel: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GYCZJVGX

TeaVMFan··on I love my Bluetooth keyboard
I was about to recommend the excellent Plugable folding keyboard: https://plugable.com/products/bt-key3xl

I used it as a key part of my software engineer's writing toolkit for the first draft of a novel: https://frequal.com/forwriters/

Unfortunately the Plugable keyboard appears to be discontinued. Perhaps it can still be found used. It is quite impressive. It folds small for travel. The keys travel nicely. The case magnetically clicks into a phone stand. The battery lasts a month or longer. Truly a mechanical marvel.

I only wish I'd bought two.

TeaVMFan··on Show HN: I Dedicated 4 Years to Mastering Offline Password Cracking
I too would be interested in hearing about the writing and formatting process. I described my own process as a software engineer and first-time novelist here: https://frequal.com/forwriters/
TeaVMFan··on Project Hail Mary – Stellar Navigation Chart
For other software engineers thinking of following in Andy Weir's footsteps and writing a novel, I put together my guide to self-publishing using software tools and techniques here: https://frequal.com/forwriters/
TeaVMFan··on Almost there: Aptera has built five solar EVs on their validation assembly line
If you are interested in reserving an Aptera, you can get $30 off with a referral link. You can find them on sites like Electrek, or use mine: https://aptera.us/reserve/?referral_code=vcmbjXvJ
TeaVMFan··on Almost there: Aptera has built five solar EVs on their validation assembly line
Their FAQ says you can request a refund at any time, at least at present: https://aptera.us/article/how-do-i-cancel-my-aptera-pre-orde...
TeaVMFan··on Show HN: Amazon-ready books from simple HTML: EPublish
Poster here: ask me anything about EPublish or book publishing in general.
TeaVMFan··on Almost there: Aptera has built five solar EVs on their validation assembly line
This recent filing says Polar Asset Management ( https://polaramp.com/ ) is involved to the tune of 2.25M shares: https://ir.aptera.us/node/7511/html
TeaVMFan··on Almost there: Aptera has built five solar EVs on their validation assembly line
The first 5 Aptera solar EVs have been built on their validation assembly line. These are EVs that charge from the sun using built-in solar panels for up to 40 miles per day (you can plug in if you need more than that).

These validation models will be used for road testing and safety evaluation (crash testing, perhaps). They are tuning and improving the assembly line for minimum latency and maximum throughput (via pipelining).

TeaVMFan··on Curated list of 736 verified remote tech companies hiring (May 2026)
Empty/tracking/scam, please remove and block.
TeaVMFan··on Ask HN: What are you working on? (May 2026)
I'm working on a tool to let sfotware developers write well-formatted ebooks and printed novels: https://frequal.com/epublish/

Example book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GYCZJVGX

TeaVMFan··on I'm writing a history of Visual Basic, Chapter 1 is up
I couldn't open the chapter, but in case anyone else is trying to make a nicely formatted ebook, take a look at EPublish: https://frequal.com/epublish/

It's a software-engineer-friendly tool for converting HTML to EPUB. It handles all the annoying little details. Binaries coming later today.

A book created with EPublish: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GYCZJVGX

TeaVMFan··on AI slop is killing online communities
This bothered me so much that in my tool for HTML-native authors, EPublish ( https://frequal.com/epublish/ ), I automatically insert a no-AI-training clause on the copyright page. Not that it will stop the kind of executives who will authorize mass unauthorized downloading of books to train their LLMs, but we have to at least take a stand.
TeaVMFan··on Show HN: Software Engineer to Novelist: Writing a Book Like Coding
Thanks! It's available for Kindle Unlimited so if you subscribe to that, you can start reading right away, no checkout or payment required.
TeaVMFan··on Show HN: Software Engineer to Novelist: Writing a Book Like Coding
You're the second person to recommend Obsidian to me in a week, I'll take a look. For long-form writing, I'm very comfortable with my setup from article (html-helper-mode especially), but for notes I'll look at Obsidian.
TeaVMFan··on Show HN: Software Engineer to Novelist: Writing a Book Like Coding
Not open source yet, but I posted more information here: https://frequal.com/epublish/
TeaVMFan··on Show HN: Software Engineer to Novelist: Writing a Book Like Coding
I made a new post about EPublish itself here: https://frequal.com/epublish/
TeaVMFan··on After 20 years I turned off Google Adsense for my websites (2025)
I did the same and switched to Ethical Ads (no cookies, tracking etc.) on https://frequal.com

Ethical Ads: https://www.ethicalads.io/

TeaVMFan··on Deep dive into Turso, the “SQLite rewrite in Rust”
For the Java ecosystem, H2 fills this gap nicely, easily handling both in- memory and remote JDBC access:

https://frequal.com/java/TheBestDatabase.html

TeaVMFan··on The First Web Server
Sir Berners-Lee tells the story himself in this great memoir: https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/tim-berners-lee/this-is...

Lots of detail and inside stories about the work it took to keep the web open and free.

TeaVMFan··on Applets Are Officially Gone, But Java Is Back In The Browser
Applets are officially, completely removed from Java 26, coming in March of 2026. This brings to an official end the era of applets, which began in 1996. However, for years it has been possible to build modern, interactive web pages in Java without needing applets or plugins. TeaVM (https://teavm.org) provides fast, performant, and lightweight tooling to transpile Java to run natively in the browser. And for a full front-end toolkit with templates, routing, components, and more, Flavour (https://flavour.sf.net) lets you build your modern single-page app using 100% Java.
TeaVMFan··on Linux Instal Fest Belgrade
Typo in title: "Install" is missing an "l"
TeaVMFan··on It’s time to free JavaScript (2024)
The incredibly litigious company here is Deno. Deno sued on a whim, realized they were massively unprepared, then asked the public to fund a legal campaign that will benefit Deno themselves, a for-profit, VC-backed company.

This personal vendetta will likely end with the community unable to use the term JavaScript. Nobody should support this.

TeaVMFan··on Anthropic acquires Bun
Java runs in the browser currently, after a transpilation step (same as .ts):

https://teavm.org/

TeaVMFan··on WriterdeckOS
I like the idea of a distraction-free writing environment.

However, when I'm writing, I find I sometimes need to do research. I suppose for the best writing flow I should block time for research and time for pure writing. However, if I discover I need to look something up, a hard block on internet access would be a problem. Of course it's a slippery slope from researching something on Wikipedia to navigating to related articles. Timed access per hour?

TeaVMFan··on What Dynamic Typing Is For
I agree strong typing is a necessity in the front end. To prevent the language explosion issue, I recommend writing your single page apps in Java. The Flavour framework makes this quick and easy with complete maven tooling and powerful components.

Flavour book: https://frequal.com/Flavour/book.html

Flavour home page: https://flavour.sourceforge.io/

Example app: https://frequal.com/wordii

TeaVMFan··on Harvey Mudd Miniature Machine
Great school. All- undergrad STEM education. Professors teach the classes, not TAs! And you have full access to the facilities of the 4 adjacent colleges (Pomona, CMC, Scripps, Pitzer), each prestigious in their own right.
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