Rachel Barker
@rachelplusplus.me.uk
Computing environmentalist, amateur musician, general-purpose nerd.
Previously worked on AV1+AV2 @ Google, now consulting @ Monocot. She/her.
Blogs at https://www.rachelplusplus.me.uk/
Previously worked on AV1+AV2 @ Google, now consulting @ Monocot. She/her.
Blogs at https://www.rachelplusplus.me.uk/
Pinned
Rachel Barker
@rachelplusplus.me.uk
· Nov 6
Evaluating Image Compression Tools - Rachel++
When I wrote the last part of my AVIF encoder series, I only did a very minimal comparison between tinyavif and other, more widely used, image and video encoders. Today we'll revisit that and explore ...
www.rachelplusplus.me.uk
A while back I wrote a couple of articles evaluating various image compression programs. My original methodology had some issues, so I took the time to dot all my 'i's and cross all my 't's. And now, at long last, the improved versions of those posts are up!
www.rachelplusplus.me.uk/blog/2025/06...
www.rachelplusplus.me.uk/blog/2025/06...
TIL a bunch of tricks for getting the most out of arena allocators, courtesy of nullprogram.com/blog/2023/09... . A couple of bits that are particularly interesting:
Arena allocator tips and tricks
nullprogram.com
December 26, 2025 at 2:36 PM
TIL a bunch of tricks for getting the most out of arena allocators, courtesy of nullprogram.com/blog/2023/09... . A couple of bits that are particularly interesting:
Reposted by Rachel Barker
For anyone who is out of the loop on that reference, I am a deeply uncool nerd
6:00
YouTube video by Dream Theater - Topic
youtu.be
December 24, 2025 at 10:20 PM
For anyone who is out of the loop on that reference, I am a deeply uncool nerd
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Six o'clock on a Christmas morning
Six o'clock on a Christmas morning
Six o'clock on a Christmas morning
Six o'clock on a Christmas morning
Six o'clock on a Christmas morning
Six o'clock on a Christmas morning
Six o'clock on a Christmas morning
December 24, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Six o'clock on a Christmas morning
Six o'clock on a Christmas morning
Six o'clock on a Christmas morning
Six o'clock on a Christmas morning
Six o'clock on a Christmas morning
Six o'clock on a Christmas morning
Six o'clock on a Christmas morning
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Reposted by Rachel Barker
I wish I were surprised to learn that Australia's ban on social media for kids under 16 was pushed by an ad firm to get the government to stop considering a law that would ban online gambling ads. skepchick.org/2025/12/aust...
Australia’s Social Media Ban is a Win for Gambling Companies
Transcript: Okay, so a huge content warning: this video is going to start out with depressing news, and it’s not going to get any happier by the end. Well, until the obligatory clip of my dog under…
skepchick.org
December 20, 2025 at 10:00 PM
I wish I were surprised to learn that Australia's ban on social media for kids under 16 was pushed by an ad firm to get the government to stop considering a law that would ban online gambling ads. skepchick.org/2025/12/aust...
Reposted by Rachel Barker
let he who is without sin approximate it with a taylor series
May 27, 2025 at 9:51 PM
let he who is without sin approximate it with a taylor series
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Congrats to Australia, this is really cool!
report.cervicalcancercontrol.org.au
report.cervicalcancercontrol.org.au
December 20, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Congrats to Australia, this is really cool!
report.cervicalcancercontrol.org.au
report.cervicalcancercontrol.org.au
Reposted by Rachel Barker
I was wondering why the Silksong codebase was using the word "antic" everywhere, like damn what antics are they up to
anyway I realized it obviously means anticipation lol
anyway I realized it obviously means anticipation lol
December 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
I was wondering why the Silksong codebase was using the word "antic" everywhere, like damn what antics are they up to
anyway I realized it obviously means anticipation lol
anyway I realized it obviously means anticipation lol
My "favourite" example of this was one time I went to log into a website, clicked out of the password field to use my password manager, and something to the effect of "whoops! Looks like you forgot to put your password in there!" popped up in red text. WTF?
www.joanwestenberg.com/uh-oh-the-in...
www.joanwestenberg.com/uh-oh-the-in...
Uh Oh! The Infantilization of Failure
When apps fail, when software breaks, you'll likely encounter a message constructed from a specific vocabulary: "Oops!" "Uh oh!" "Whoops!"
Sometimes you'll get the full nursery treatment: an "Oopsie-...
www.joanwestenberg.com
December 18, 2025 at 1:02 PM
My "favourite" example of this was one time I went to log into a website, clicked out of the password field to use my password manager, and something to the effect of "whoops! Looks like you forgot to put your password in there!" popped up in red text. WTF?
www.joanwestenberg.com/uh-oh-the-in...
www.joanwestenberg.com/uh-oh-the-in...
Reposted by Rachel Barker
"save systems should dynamically handle object IDs and automatically populate the serialized data of every object that requires save states, and then for dialogue progression it needs to-"
team cherry:
WRONG. 1400 hardcoded fields in PlayerData.cs
team cherry:
WRONG. 1400 hardcoded fields in PlayerData.cs
December 16, 2025 at 4:35 PM
"save systems should dynamically handle object IDs and automatically populate the serialized data of every object that requires save states, and then for dialogue progression it needs to-"
team cherry:
WRONG. 1400 hardcoded fields in PlayerData.cs
team cherry:
WRONG. 1400 hardcoded fields in PlayerData.cs
Reposted by Rachel Barker
I used to think X11/wayland compositors were these cool special programs with deep complexity. Shit’s just vibes, yo, there’s just a global variable called FB_ID that anyone can set and the kernel’s like “cool I’ll display that image to the monitor now”
December 13, 2025 at 10:57 AM
I used to think X11/wayland compositors were these cool special programs with deep complexity. Shit’s just vibes, yo, there’s just a global variable called FB_ID that anyone can set and the kernel’s like “cool I’ll display that image to the monitor now”
It has been 0 days since I got bit by loose typing shenanigans.
Specifically, Python will let you zero-pad a string, but it adds those zeros on the *opposite* side to how it zero-pads numbers!
>>> number = 12
>>> text = "12"
>>> f"{number:03}"
'012'
>>> f"{text:03}"
'120'
Specifically, Python will let you zero-pad a string, but it adds those zeros on the *opposite* side to how it zero-pads numbers!
>>> number = 12
>>> text = "12"
>>> f"{number:03}"
'012'
>>> f"{text:03}"
'120'
December 13, 2025 at 11:52 AM
It has been 0 days since I got bit by loose typing shenanigans.
Specifically, Python will let you zero-pad a string, but it adds those zeros on the *opposite* side to how it zero-pads numbers!
>>> number = 12
>>> text = "12"
>>> f"{number:03}"
'012'
>>> f"{text:03}"
'120'
Specifically, Python will let you zero-pad a string, but it adds those zeros on the *opposite* side to how it zero-pads numbers!
>>> number = 12
>>> text = "12"
>>> f"{number:03}"
'012'
>>> f"{text:03}"
'120'
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Jesus Christ, this age verification thing is going to be the most useless and annoying thing we’ve ever done to undermine privacy and democracy in the history of the world.
I vote that all in favor are banned from the internet.
I vote that all in favor are banned from the internet.
December 10, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Jesus Christ, this age verification thing is going to be the most useless and annoying thing we’ve ever done to undermine privacy and democracy in the history of the world.
I vote that all in favor are banned from the internet.
I vote that all in favor are banned from the internet.
Reposted by Rachel Barker
You can’t watch this and not smile. It simply cannot be done
Hey @erinbiba.bsky.social this doesn’t qualify as weirdtok but it’s too delightful not to share. Pure joy at one of life’s most wonderful experiences.
December 10, 2025 at 3:21 PM
You can’t watch this and not smile. It simply cannot be done
Extremely fitting that Games Done Quick's first Silksong run is awoo% :D
www.twitch.tv/videos/26379...
www.twitch.tv/videos/26379...
A Journey to Silksong - Hollow Knight Any% by @aksel_sk !hotfix !BAF !AGDQ !FF - gamesdonequick on Twitch
gamesdonequick went live on Twitch. Catch up on their Hollow Knight VOD now.
www.twitch.tv
December 8, 2025 at 5:45 AM
Extremely fitting that Games Done Quick's first Silksong run is awoo% :D
www.twitch.tv/videos/26379...
www.twitch.tv/videos/26379...
Today's random programming thought: As far as I know, no programming language has a "multiply/divide by a power of 2" operator for floating-point values, analogous to left/right shift for integers. Nor am I aware of any CPU architecture that has an efficient instruction for that.
December 7, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Today's random programming thought: As far as I know, no programming language has a "multiply/divide by a power of 2" operator for floating-point values, analogous to left/right shift for integers. Nor am I aware of any CPU architecture that has an efficient instruction for that.
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Join me at 8pm GMT for the grand unveiling of Cryfder, my third Eurorack module! :D Video kindly provided by the one and only DivKid.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCe0...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCe0...
Do more with your VCAs! (Eurorack Patch Tips) // Cryfder from Dwyfor Tech
YouTube video by DivKid
www.youtube.com
December 7, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Join me at 8pm GMT for the grand unveiling of Cryfder, my third Eurorack module! :D Video kindly provided by the one and only DivKid.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCe0...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCe0...
Reposted by Rachel Barker
I was supposed debug something to do with bevels but I keep ending up with some kind of mosaic art instead
December 7, 2025 at 1:16 AM
I was supposed debug something to do with bevels but I keep ending up with some kind of mosaic art instead
Oh wow, it was *quite windy* today here in Britain, and that pushed our record for wind power generation up by a full gigawatt!
Source: grid.iamkate.com , which pulls down the official stats and presents them in a super clear and nice way
Source: grid.iamkate.com , which pulls down the official stats and presents them in a super clear and nice way
National Grid: Live
Shows the live status of Great Britain’s electric power transmission network
grid.iamkate.com
December 6, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Oh wow, it was *quite windy* today here in Britain, and that pushed our record for wind power generation up by a full gigawatt!
Source: grid.iamkate.com , which pulls down the official stats and presents them in a super clear and nice way
Source: grid.iamkate.com , which pulls down the official stats and presents them in a super clear and nice way
Reposted by Rachel Barker
"Is Rogue a Roguelike?" - the greatest thread in the history of forums, locked by a moderator after 12,239 pages of heated debate,
really funny to see someone refer to a metroid game as "a metroidvania." oh word?
December 5, 2025 at 2:48 AM
"Is Rogue a Roguelike?" - the greatest thread in the history of forums, locked by a moderator after 12,239 pages of heated debate,
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Oh boy, you can bet we are cooking the coolest profiler for Python 3.15 👨🍳🔥
December 2, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Oh boy, you can bet we are cooking the coolest profiler for Python 3.15 👨🍳🔥
Reposted by Rachel Barker
The vaccine is pretty astonishing. Just look at that green line.
November 28, 2025 at 8:47 PM
The vaccine is pretty astonishing. Just look at that green line.
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Australia just recorded zero cervical cancer cases in women under 25 for the first time since records began in 1982. The amazing result of HPV vaccination.
November 28, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Australia just recorded zero cervical cancer cases in women under 25 for the first time since records began in 1982. The amazing result of HPV vaccination.
Reposted by Rachel Barker
Jebus, in just 2 or 3 years Pakistan has imported enough solar panels that, in some times in the coming year, panels will cover *all* the country's demand.
www.reuters.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Jebus, in just 2 or 3 years Pakistan has imported enough solar panels that, in some times in the coming year, panels will cover *all* the country's demand.