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_why's site is updated

391 points| feedward | 13 years ago |whytheluckystiff.net | reply

135 comments

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[+] milesf|13 years ago|reply
Amazing that a guy who disappeared almost 4 years ago can make it to the top of Hacker News, more than a few times, just by an obscure change to a basically defunct website.

I think it's pretty safe to say people love why the lucky stiff. He's funny, provocative, mysterious, strange, smart, creative... how could anyone _not_ want to see him back? We need more men & women in the world like _why.

[+] hkmurakami|13 years ago|reply
As a corollary, we need more men & women in the world who love and appreciate people like _why, so that people who are like him but are less confident about showing their character in public (or even just to their immediate peers) would be more comfortable with doing so.

In other words, to be more accepting and appreciate of each others' quirks and differences.

[+] milesf|13 years ago|reply
Summary:

Who's this guy _why? (also known as why the lucky stiff):

http://bit.ly/whytheluckystiff

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_the_lucky_stiff

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The site http://whytheluckystiff.net is being hosted on GitHub under this account:

https://github.com/cwales/cwales.github.com/

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The git repo for the site has seen activity today, and has sparked conversation:

https://github.com/cwales/cwales.github.com/issues

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The site is serving up files in PCL:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_Command_Language

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Here are the contents of these files converted from PCL into images:

http://www.gironda.org/pcl/SOLICIT.png

http://www.scribd.com/doc/135635255/DESOLEE

http://www.scribd.com/doc/135635189/Trumpets

http://www.scribd.com/doc/135650965/Caprice

http://www.scribd.com/doc/135658986/-why-Homework

[+] x__|13 years ago|reply
How did you find out which github account hosted the site?
[+] bmelton|13 years ago|reply
Any idea on what the erased bit on DESOLEE is after the end? Looks very clearly like something was written there, but I can't make it out.. something about 'three' or maybe 'there'.
[+] gabrielgironda|13 years ago|reply
Here are all the PCL files rendered to PNG:

http://www.gironda.org/pcl/DESOLEE.png http://www.gironda.org/pcl/SOLICIT.png http://www.gironda.org/pcl/TRUMPETS.png

[+] jeffgreco|13 years ago|reply
Very exciting: "It's very difficult to advertise one's self from exile - am I crazy to think it can be done?"
[+] enoptix|13 years ago|reply
the second image uses the word "exile" several times. Exile is typically associated with being cast out from one's group. The _why saga was before my time as a Rubyist but I always thought he vanished, i.e. left on his own accord.

Was there an "exile" event that I am not aware of? Or does anyone know what he's talking about?

[+] mijustin|13 years ago|reply
Text translations:

DESOLEE.PNG "This printer queue is going down for MAINTENANCE but will shortly return for a day I believe it will be on the day of April the 19th from like four o'clock to let's say twelve."

[+] joelmichael|13 years ago|reply
_why, to respond to your questions in SOLICIT, you don't have to play the _why character if you don't want to. Most of us are happy to see you, whether you act bizarre or not. We miss your insight and commentary and sense of humor. Experiment if you like, and ignore the jerks.

For everyone else, _why made some videos before, here is my favorite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXZ_htL1rOI

[+] davedx|13 years ago|reply
Wow, the guy was seriously funny. I remember reading the poignant guide to Ruby and finding it almost a bit much, but that video is fantastic.
[+] canadev|13 years ago|reply
haha, i am trying to decipher whether that video has any meaning or not; regardless i found it quite enjoyable.
[+] NathanKP|13 years ago|reply
Does anyone here know the tool or technique to convert the printer format on his website to human readable format on screen?

Edit:

So far I've discovered I can go to http://whytheluckystiff.net/SPOOL/TRUMPETS for example to download a file. Trying to figure out how to read the format at the moment.

Edit #2:

Looks like it is PCL format. I'm trying to find a decent Mac OS X program for converting PCL to image.

Edit #3:

Managed to generate this: http://i.imgur.com/AL9mSLr.jpg The quality is horrible though. I see now that some other people have already linked rendered versions in high quality, though.

It was fun trying to figure it out though. :)

[+] abbot2|13 years ago|reply
Looks much like printer escape sequences.
[+] milesf|13 years ago|reply
I've had April 18th in my calendar for weeks after the initial activity at whytheluckystiff.net. Forget the haters, Ruby's better with _why around.
[+] jrabone|13 years ago|reply
Yeah, because the scene totally needs more drama to distract us from the latest Bitcoin / Mtgox debacle...
[+] ericd|13 years ago|reply
For those who don't know what all the fuss is about, you should check out _why's Poignant Guide to Ruby (http://mislav.uniqpath.com/poignant-guide/book/). It remains one of the most enjoyable reading experiences I've ever had, not even just limited to programming books. It exudes so much joy and enthusiasm in its constant absurdity, it's unbelievable. The sidebars are legitimately laugh-out-loud funny. It's really hard to write humor well, but holy crap. I mean, just read this:

"At my local Barnes and Noble, there is a huge wall of Java books just waiting to tip over and crush me one day. And one day it will. At the rate things are going, one day that bookcase will be tall enough to crush us all. It might even loop the world several times, crushing previous editions of the same Java books over and over again."

or

"What I’m Going to Do With the Massive Proceeds from this Book

Anyone who’s written a book can tell you how easily an author is distracted by visions of grandeur. In my experience, I stop twice for each paragraph, and four times for each panel of a comic, just to envision the wealth and prosperity that this book will procure for my lifestyle. I fear that the writing of this book will halt altogether to make way for the armada of SUVs and luxury town cars that are blazing away in my head." (This is a completely free book)

Just wonderfully absurd.

[+] agravier|13 years ago|reply
I've made a Latex version of WPGtR, available here: https://github.com/agravier/wpgtr-latex . I think that it makes a nice printable version, but I welcome pull requests and would like to see some beautiful forks.

I started working with Latex again not long ago, so I'll maybe improve it soon, too.

[+] cresssandwich|13 years ago|reply
Am I alone in thinking that the obsession with this guy is a little on the creepy side?
[+] fsiefken|13 years ago|reply
_why's blend of programming with collages remind me of the blend tonke dragt did with children's novels and physics or michael ende's short stories to his father's surrealist paintings or experiments with interactive fiction.

a refreshing sense of adventure. crossing boundaries

[+] alpb|13 years ago|reply
Why does nobody think that the guy posted this here (@feedward) is _why himself?
[+] milesf|13 years ago|reply
Didn't consider that :) Maybe _why is feedward. The account has no other submissions and no comments. It was created on September 22, 2012. Does that date stick out as being significant?
[+] asciimo|13 years ago|reply
To respond to one of the questions posed in the second print job, yes, I think he is on the right track here.
[+] danielweber|13 years ago|reply
> Public Print Queue SPOOL/DESOLEE 2013-01-06T08:21Z SPOOL/TRUMPETS 2013-04-12T19:43Z SPOOL/SOLICIT 2013-04-12T20:10Z

Amen, brother.