July 13, 2022

Mostly Bits Newsletter - Issue #15

Tony's Pick

I was recently introduced the STAR Voting system. It’s an interesting alternative voting mechanism that combines score-based voting with runoffs. For use in capital-D Democratic processes, I’m not sure this is more grokable to the average voter than Ranked Choice, but I like the innovation. Maybe give STAR a try for your next roadmap meeting or group dinner?

She's so lucky, she's a star...voter

Kyle's Pick

I’ve always enjoyed Summoning Salt’s videos that go through famous speedrunning tricks and world record progressions. But The Algorithm™ introduced me to this series that walks through NES assembly code quirks and bugs. In this one, he explains how a skipped map trigger and an inverted conditional can lead you to “Minus World” in the original Super Mario Bros.

Diagnosing a plumbing issue inside the wall