Top all-time · #8963
ntoll.org
Personal blog · ntoll.org/article · on HN as ntollprogrammingwriting
ntoll.org is a personal blog at ntoll.org about programming and writing. Since 2009, 8 different Hacker News readers have linked it 15 times, most often “MicroPython on the BBC micro:bit”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-03-08, and you can follow it by feed.
Too few sampled comments (3) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
HN readers link ntoll.org for posts on the Python community's governance disputes, such as the PSF, and on MicroPython for the micro:bit. The comments cite these posts as background rather than praising them.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 3 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Everything I say is false...
Most-linked posts?
- MicroPython on the BBC micro:bit3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2015-10-20
- Test Driven Development Cargo Cult2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2013-01-03
What Hacker News says?
Yes, the crypto identity aspect goes some way to address Sybil like problems. Regarding anonymity: you're only as anonymous as your association with your public key[s]. Given that items (k/v pairs) stored in the DHT are self-contained in terms of proving provenance it doesn't matter from what node they originate. Put plainly, there is no need for a node id (a SHA512) to be linked to a specific user (identified by th…
Comment linking /article/drogulus-questions-and-clarifications
on “Alternative Internet”Submitted MicroPython on the BBC micro:bit as a story · 154 points
HN discussionHi, I'm the originator of the drogulus. First things first: it's an unfinished work in progress and an experiment on which I've been hacking during my 40 minute train journey in to work. So, yes, "something something - Kademlia-like crypto-signed homoiconic datastore - something" just about sums it up. I can't spend a lot of time answering right now, but I gave a short presentation about the drogulus at this year's…
Comment linking /article/drogulus-questions-and-clarifications
on “Alternative Internet”Submitted FluidDB 101 as a story · 21 points
HN discussionI wrote about this, from a UK based perspective, 18 months ago: http://ntoll.org/article/teach-our-kids-to-code-or-not
Comment linking /article/teach-our-kids-to-code-or-not
on “Programming Is Not for Everybody”Submitted Test Driven Development Cargo Cult as a story · 3 points
HN discussionIt's a broad conflict, not just a specific action. These blog posts give a flavor of what is going on: * https://ntoll.org/article/psf-woe/ * https://ntoll.org/article/victorian-python-allegory/ Sorry for using vague terminology. I don't personally keep up with PSF dramas. My point was about communities in general, not just the PSF in particular. To be fair, the dominant group itself also uses vague terminology. The…
Comment linking /article/victorian-python-allegory/
on “Linus Torvalds muses about maintainer gray hairs and the next 'King of Linux'”Submitted Test Driven Development Cargo Cult as a story · 2 points
HN discussionThis got me looking into the Espruino JS project boards I like to use. I've seen announced[0] MicroPython for the micro:bit the bbc is making and a few weeks ago the Espruino JS engine was ported[1] to it. Nice to see this wifi chip also has a port[2] [0]: http://ntoll.org/article/story-micropython-on-microbit [1]: http://www.espruino.com/MicroBit [2]: http://www.espruino.com/EspruinoESP8266 After trying to hold int…
Comment linking /article/story-micropython-on-microbit
on “Kickstarter for funding Micropython port to ESP8266”Submitted How to Run an Awesome Code Dojo as a story · 1 points
HN discussionRelated: a very simple poetry generator connected to Amazon's Alexa for computer generated poetry recitals on demand... :-) http://ntoll.org/article/pod-bay-doors
Comment linking /article/pod-bay-doors
on “Recurrent Neural Net Poetry – Commitment”Submitted FluidDB is not CouchDB (and FluidDB's secret sauce) as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSome highlights: 1. Advanced REPL support with smart auto-indent and auto-completion for comfortable interactive typing pf Python code, easily switchable to paste mode to copy pre-made code snippets. 2. Support for client SSL connections. 3. upip, MicroPython builtin package manager, is now fully standalone thanks to SSL support. 4. There's new, elaborated API to access hardware features ("machine" module). 5. There…
Comment linking /article/story-micropython-on-microbit
on “MicroPython 1.5 (small Python implementation for IoT, etc.)”