The Autodidacts

Exploring the universe from the inside out


Hello. You’ve found the blog of three thing-building, self-educating, perpetually-experimenting brothers. It includes reports from the world of DIY neuroscience and Brain-Computer Interfaces, posts about some things we’ve built and programmed, and occasional philosophical musings on life and happiness. ¡Bienvenidos!
Screenshot of silver price API landing page with endpoints

My Free Daily Silver Price API is Live

What comes before alpha? … »

Dostoyevsky on his death bed, drawn by Ivan Kramskoy, 29 January 1881

Dostoyevsky isn’t difficult

Other than the names. The names are difficult. … »

Silver price history

I couldn’t find a free Silver price API — so I’m making one

Writing a web app because I want to do calculations in a spreadsheet … »

#100DaysToOffload

  1. I’m trying #100DaysToOffload
  2. Cerelog’s ESP-EEG is a new 8 channel biosensing board at a hobbyist-friendly price
  3. Filtering RSS feeds by tag
  4. An unsolved question in sleep science
  5. A list of public Wallabag instances that seem legit
  6. Patching KOReader Wallabag Plugin to add star support
  7. Sleep is a continuum
  8. Wallabag wins, despite its flaws
  9. Regex is horrible, yet regex is amazing
  10. Create custom filtered RSS feeds in Ghost, the easy way
  11. Script: export post as Markdown via Ghost Admin API
  12. How to Migrate Kobo eReader Books & Annotations to a New Device
  13. What’s the end game for Ghost newsletter sign-up spam?
  14. A Fish shortcut for rapidly appending clipboard data to text files
  15. Split Testing in ~50 lines of JavaScript
  16. Finally, an open-source dictation app for Linux that actually works
  17. And then there’s Readeck
  18. Human beings are waterproof
  19. The Benefits of Creating a Personal Shorthand of Symbols
  20. I couldn’t find a free Silver price API — so I’m making one
  21. Dostoyevsky isn’t difficult
  22. My Free Daily Silver Price API is Live

The Benefits of Creating a Personal Shorthand of Symbols

The Benefits of Creating a Personal Shorthand of Symbols

A guide to devolving your handwriting … »

A trail/river run/swim

Human beings are waterproof

Some exceptions apply … »

Notice that in the screenshot of my Readeck install, this article has no post image, because the screenshot hadn't been taken yet.

And then there’s Readeck

A look at another open-source read-it-later app with Kobo support … »

Deliciously meta screenshot of dictating this blogpost into Whispering.

Finally, an open-source dictation app for Linux that actually works

For decades, I’ve contemplated capitulating and buying a proprietary dictation app, such as Dragon Naturally Speaking. Now I don't have to. … »

Comparing split test results in Matomo

Split Testing in ~50 lines of JavaScript

I tried to use a Matomo A/B testing plugin and it didn’t work, so I wrote my own: sometimes, re-inventing the wheel is the fastest way to get on the road. … »

Rapidly append to text file with Bash script and Fish abbreviations

A Fish shortcut for rapidly appending clipboard data to text files

Text editors are for normies … »

Artist's rendering of self-hosting in 2026

What’s the end game for Ghost newsletter sign-up spam?

My theory of mind is failing … »

Photo credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kobo_ereader_touch_black_front.JPG

How to Migrate Kobo eReader Books & Annotations to a New Device

And probably not even brick it … »

Script: export post as Markdown via Ghost Admin API

Script: export post as Markdown via Ghost Admin API

Once upon a time I deleted the production database … »

Create custom filtered RSS feeds in Ghost, the easy way

Create custom filtered RSS feeds in Ghost, the easy way

Create custom feeds, on custom routes, without editing theme files … »

GIF showing the power of regex (for non-programmers!) with a demo using the example of finding all telephone numbers and changing their format with LibreOffice Writer search and replace

Regex is horrible, yet regex is amazing

And it’s not just for programmers … »

Wallabag wins, despite its flaws

Wallabag wins, despite its flaws

Freedom and flexibility make up for the rough edges (and the competition has its own usability issues) … »

Sleep is a continuum

Sleep is a continuum

Don’t believe the Hypnograms … »

Updated main.lua allows you to star Wallabag entries from the comfort of KOReader on your Kobo e-reader

Patching KOReader Wallabag Plugin to add star support

Now you can star Wallabag entries from the comfort of your Kobo e-reader … »