Freakus @Freakus@gulp.cafe

I completely forgot to post to Mastodon that my game's demo date is September 2nd as part of SAGE!! So now I'm posting it!! There's gonna be lots to explore and tons of collectibles so I hope you check it out!!

Store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1522810/Shield_Cat/

It turns out that the tests that actually call my function are also run in the same environment as my tests are. I mean, they have to be, that's how they have access to my function. But the author of the challenge wanted to test submissions against the simplest possible answer, to prevent bugs. So the tests themselves are implemented with eval. That means that there still is a backup of eval present, but the way it's hidden is pretty devious. I'd never have gotten it without source access.

Remember when I said that __import__ was overridden, which fundamentally overrides how python handles imports at all? That wasn't just to ban some modules. They used it to smuggle things they needed into the test environment without giving access to the user. If you called __import__ with a specific string, instead of importing anything, it returned a pair of saved values. One of those values was the jackpot, the single function that trivializes the challenge.

My final submission:

def calc(expression):
# Thanks for the challenge, it was a blast
return __import__('extract.randomPassWord5752FFG2')[1](expression)

Surely, SURELY, you can see how much more fun this was than writing a function to solve math problems.

"You have freed me," the genie said. "As a reward, I shall grant you an obligation."
"Thanks, that's- Don't you mean 'wish'?"
"Would you consider it as carefully, were I to call it a 'wish'?"
#MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

If there's drama going on, and you're not a direct participant, it's often better to observe quietly than to voice your take on it -- the resulting game of telephone can end up causing more harm overall.

Everyone on this website went through a phase where you wrote &c. instead of etc. for a while after learning the origin of the ampersand as a ligature for 'et'

casual psa that twitter is actively designed to be harmful and full of dark patterns

don't use it

if you are only there for certain people then get in touch with them through other means

and if they can't connect with you through other means then they either need help or only cared about you number

twitter is purposefully designed to be an active ideological warzone

Wanna post about the Patreon on here in case any of you guys like my game and wanna support it 👀 if you wanna get your name on the demo when it comes out this will be your last opportunity to do so
https://patreon.com/lumi

A spaceship landed. A door dilated. An alien emerged, carrying a rectangular item.
They walked a little ways out, placed the item on the ground, then returned to the ship.
They observed the item.
Soon, a cat came and sat down on it.
The alien thumped the ship.
"Myth confirmed!"
#MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

does anyone know of any deep dives into the differences between different kinds of networks?

like whats the distinct nuances over server-authoritative, host-peer authoritative, and peer to peer connections

also are there any deep dives into distinctions and nuances between single platform and federated networks

im mostly interested in the design and technical sides, but still intrigued by social effects

looking for research material

boosts okay

Did a little doodle of the Finji weasel being a little rascal. What can I say, I have a soft spot for mustelids

Relatable.

The notion that CW-ing a sensitive topic makes it less visible, and therefore important but controversial topics are exempt from the convention, is absolutely incorrect. People open the CWs they want to see, and avoid topics they wouldn't engage with anyway. The only reason for not CW-ing something you know will upset people is that you want others to share in your bad mood.

This isn't Facebook. This isn't Twitter. We're not here to air our mental dirty laundry.

This is a good book.

anyways, I'm still just curious if I can get the chat to 500 people since it's really close now. in the chat we like otters and foxes, and it's a cool place to be I think
(this is the last time I'll post about the chatroom for a while lmao https://discord.gg/shieldcat )