Test Your Emacs Themes In Black And White On macOS

A hardware and operating system implementer, whom I can’t recall, once quipped that using color on computer monitors added no value and was in fact a waste of memory. Interesting. NeXT monitors started out grayscale, I wonder why.

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(Emacs+Org-Mode) Two Ways To Reload File Variables Using A Hydra

It is works anywhere but it is easier to remember if you add it to an existing Hydra.

Here is the code.

("H" (lambda () (interactive) (hack-local-variables) (message "Local variables hacked")))
("N" normal-mode)

Here is the documentation.

_H_ hack-local-variables (see also normal-mode)
_N_ normal-mode (see also hack-local-variables)

(Emacs+Org-Mode) If You Go Insane Trying To Deal With Lisp Code Squashed Into One Line Then Read On To See The Fix

There are two situations where I end up with really important Lisp code that is squashed up into one un-readable and consequently painful line:

  • Reading Backtrace when toggle-debug-on-error is true
  • Using Lisp in a YAS template like this for example

The thing is that those lines are really important to me. I need to get them readable.

My solution had always been to manually re-indent them. Uggh. But after doing this way too many times, I ran into an issue tonight that demanded my full attention. Fortunately there is a really simple solution.

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(Emacs+Org-Mode) If You Enjoy Writing Even A Little Bit With Emacs Then Add This Em-Dash Code Now

The EM-DASH provokes mixed feelings mostly in writers, and maybe readers if they notice it (probably the writers are the ones noticing it while reading). But the EM-DASH is a really nice way to break up a sentence when a COMMA or a SEMI-COLON or a COLON just won’t do it.

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(Emacs+Org-Mode) Emacs 💘, A Great Place To Write A Program

As they say on the radio:

Emacs, you may not be perfect, but you are perfect for me 💘.

It is satisfying to perfectly configure a program for me to write any other kind of program.

Emacs is a great place to read man pages and write shell scripts. It gets simpler but not by much.

one-new-program.png

(Emacs+Org-Mode) How To Detect Duplicate Hydra Heads: I've Got Way Too Many And I'm Losing Track

abo-abo’s Hydra functionality makes it easy to build great GUIs. I like the head feature. The problem I’m running into is that I keep stomping on my head definitions. For example I define one Hydra as _R_esolve and then somehow I overlook the fact and I create another another as _R_emember, forgetting about the first one.

How do you make sure not to stomp on other Hydra heads when you forget?

(Emacs+Org-Mode) abo-abo's Hydra Makes You A Lightweight-Literate Programmer Hyper Boosting Your Productivity With About Ten Of Minutes Effort For Learning It

abo-abo’s Hydra functionality has changed both my learning and Emacs workflow. If you give it a chance with my workflow below you will get even more power-user type stuff out of it.

The Emacs workflow part is easy: it introduces a new logical namespace for function calls and brings a nice GUI along for the ride.

The learning workflow is that while I am learning a new package (or anything) I can stick everything that seems important into a Hydra for that mode. Instead of writing notes or worrying about settings keybindings for things that I may or may not use I just put it in the Hydra and keep reading along. The Hydra becomes the notebook. It is like super lightweight literate programming because it becomes executable documentation.

(Emacs+Org-Mode) Is There A Single Person Out There Who Can Remember All Of The Features They Have Configured In Their Emacs?

Is there a single person out there who can remember all of the features they have configured in their Emacs?

I sure can’t 😄(Joy)😮(Surprise)😢(Sadness).

Am I the only one?