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<a href="https://foo.zone">Home</a> | <a href="https://codeberg.org/snonux/foo.zone/src/branch/content-md/gemfeed/2026-06-06-random-weird-things-iv.md">Markdown</a> | <a href="gemini://foo.zone/gemfeed/2026-06-06-random-weird-things-iv.gmi">Gemini</a> | <a href="https://snonux.foo">Microblog</a> | <a href="https://irregular.ninja">Street photography</a>
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<h1 style='display: inline' id='random-weird-things---part-'>Random Weird Things - Part Ⅳ</h1><br />
<br />
<span class='quote'>Published at 2026-06-06T08:54:00+03:00</span><br />
<br />
<span>Every so often I stumble upon random, weird, and completely unexpected things on the internet. I thought it would be neat to share them here from time to time. This is the fourth run.</span><br />
<br />
<pre>
/\_/\ /\_/\ /\_/\
( o.o ) ( o.o ) ( o.o )
> ^ < > ^ < > ^ <
/\_/\ Miaaauuuu....
( o.o )
> ^ <
</pre>
<br />
<a class='textlink' href='./2024-07-05-random-weird-things.html'>2024-07-05 Random Weird Things - Part Ⅰ</a><br />
<a class='textlink' href='./2025-02-08-random-weird-things-ii.html'>2025-02-08 Random Weird Things - Part Ⅱ</a><br />
<a class='textlink' href='./2025-08-15-random-weird-things-iii.html'>2025-08-15 Random Weird Things - Part Ⅲ</a><br />
<a class='textlink' href='./2026-06-06-random-weird-things-iv.html'>2026-06-06 Random Weird Things - Part Ⅳ (You are currently reading this)</a><br />
<br />
<h2 style='display: inline' id='table-of-contents'>Table of Contents</h2><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href='#random-weird-things---part-'>Random Weird Things - Part Ⅳ</a></li>
<li>⇢ <a href='#31-gui-apps-in-your-terminal'>31. GUI Apps in Your Terminal</a></li>
<li>⇢ <a href='#32-templeos'>32. TempleOS</a></li>
<li>⇢ <a href='#33-llm-via-dns'>33. LLM via DNS</a></li>
<li>⇢ <a href='#34-black-hole-in-125-bytes'>34. Black Hole in ~125 Bytes</a></li>
<li>⇢ <a href='#35-loss32-win32-on-linux'>35. loss32: Win32 on Linux</a></li>
<li>⇢ <a href='#36-llm-rescuer-'>36. LLM Rescuer 🤖💰</a></li>
<li>⇢ <a href='#37-filesystem-backed-by-an-llm'>37. Filesystem Backed by an LLM</a></li>
<li>⇢ <a href='#38-qr-code-with-pure-sql-in-postgres'>38. QR Code with Pure SQL in Postgres</a></li>
<li>⇢ <a href='#39-the-sl-train-in-your-terminal'>39. The SL Train in Your Terminal</a></li>
<li>⇢ <a href='#40-url-in-c-code-puzzle'>40. URL in C Code Puzzle</a></li>
</ul><br />
<h2 style='display: inline' id='31-gui-apps-in-your-terminal'>31. GUI Apps in Your Terminal</h2><br />
<br />
<span>term.everything is a from-scratch Wayland compositor that renders GUI apps inside your terminal. GTK, Qt, whatever — it just grabs it and draws it right there. You can run Firefox or GIMP over SSH and interact with it using your mouse. No X forwarding, no latency nonsense. It actually works.</span><br />
<br />
<a href='./random-weird-things-iv/term-everything.jpg'><img alt='term.everything demo' title='term.everything demo' src='./random-weird-things-iv/term-everything.jpg' /></a><br />
<a class='textlink' href='https://github.com/mmulet/term.everything'>term.everything</a><br />
<br />
<h2 style='display: inline' id='32-templeos'>32. TempleOS</h2><br />
<br />
<span>Terry A. Davis spent years single-handedly building a complete 64-bit operating system from scratch because God told him to. It runs at 640×480, uses a custom language called HolyC, has its own compiler, and is designed as a temple. Boot it up and you get scripture, a talking parrot, and probably the weirdest OS you'll ever see. One of the most fascinating stories in computing.</span><br />
<br />
<a href='./random-weird-things-iv/templeos.png'><img alt='TempleOS screenshot' title='TempleOS screenshot' src='./random-weird-things-iv/templeos.png' /></a><br />
<a class='textlink' href='https://templeos.org'>TempleOS</a><br />
<br />
<h2 style='display: inline' id='33-llm-via-dns'>33. LLM via DNS</h2><br />
<br />
<span>You can query an LLM using nothing but DNS. Just run <span class='inlinecode'>dig @ch.at "what is golang" TXT +short</span> and you get back an answer in the TXT records. No browser, no API key. It even works over SSH tunnels.</span><br />
<br />
<!-- Generator: GNU source-highlight 3.1.9
by Lorenzo Bettini
http://www.lorenzobettini.it
http://www.gnu.org/software/src-highlite -->
<pre>$ dig @ch.at <font color="#808080">"what is golang"</font> TXT +short
<font color="#808080">"Golang, or Go, is an open-source programming language developed by Google.</font>
<font color="#808080">It was created to simplify the development of reliable and efficient software.</font>
<font color="#808080">Go is known for its simplicity, strong concurrency support, and performance</font>
<font color="#808080">comparable to C or C++. I"</font> <font color="#808080">"t features garbage collection, type safety, and</font>
<font color="#808080">built-in support for concurrent programming through goroutines and channels.</font>
<font color="#808080">Go is widely used for web servers, cloud services, and distributed systems due</font>
<font color="#808080">to its efficiency and ease of deployme..."</font>
</pre>
<br />
<h2 style='display: inline' id='34-black-hole-in-125-bytes'>34. Black Hole in ~125 Bytes</h2><br />
<br />
<span>Thi le in your browser tab. No frameworks, no libraries, just code-golf magic. I stared at it way longer than I care to admit.</span><br />
<br />
<a class='textlink' href='https://aem1k.com/blackhole/'>Black Hole</a><br />
<br />
<h2 style='display: inline' id='35-loss32-win32-on-linux'>35. loss32: Win32 on Linux</h2><br />
<br />
<span>loss32 is a Linux distro where the entire desktop is classic Win32 apps running natively. ReactOS + WINE on steroids. You get the Windows 98/2000 vibe on a modern Linux kernel. It's not trying to be practical — it's pure nostalgia for people who miss the old Windows desktop but don't want the actual Windows.</span><br />
<br />
<a href='./random-weird-things-iv/loss32.png'><img alt='loss32 desktop screenshot' title='loss32 desktop screenshot' src='./random-weird-things-iv/loss32.png' /></a><br />
<a class='textlink' href='https://loss32.org/'>loss32</a><br />
<br />
<h2 style='display: inline' id='36-llm-rescuer-'>36. LLM Rescuer 🤖💰</h2><br />
<br />
<span>LLM Rescuer is a tiny Ruby gem that hooks into Ruby's method dispatch so that calling a method on <span class='inlinecode'>nil</span> doesn't crash — it asks an LLM what the return value should be instead. When a <span class='inlinecode'>NoMethodError</span> would normally explode, the gem catches it, packages up the context (what method was called, what the variable name suggests, maybe the surrounding code), fires that off to an actual LLM API, and returns whatever the model hallucinates as sensible.</span><br />
<br />
<span>So <span class='inlinecode'>user.email</span> on a nil <span class='inlinecode'>user</span> doesn't die. It asks the LLM "someone called <span class='inlinecode'>.email</span> on a <span class='inlinecode'>user</span> that turned out to be nil, what should I return?" and the model says "probably <span class='inlinecode'>'no-reply@example.com'</span>". The gem swallows the error and hands you that string.</span><br />
<br />
<span>It tries to keep API costs down by sending only minimal context — just the method name and variable name rather than your whole codebase — but every nil-hit still costs tokens and adds latency.</span><br />
<br />
<span>This is runtime monkey-patching powered by a remote AI. Your nil bugs don't crash, they silently return AI-guessed values. In production this would be a debugging nightmare.</span><br />
<br />
<span>Examples:</span><br />
<br />
<!-- Generator: GNU source-highlight 3.1.9
by Lorenzo Bettini
http://www.lorenzobettini.it
http://www.gnu.org/software/src-highlite -->
<pre><i><font color="silver"># Classic nil safety</font></i>
user = find_user(id: <font color="#808080">"nonexistent"</font>) <i><font color="silver"># returns nil</font></i>
puts user.email
<i><font color="silver"># AI: "Analyzing context... user seems to need an email...</font></i>
<i><font color="silver"># returning 'no-reply@example.com'"</font></i>
<i><font color="silver"># Shopping cart magic</font></i>
cart = session[:cart] <i><font color="silver"># nil because session expired</font></i>
total = cart.total_price
<i><font color="silver"># AI: "This looks like e-commerce. Based on similar patterns,</font></i>
<i><font color="silver"># I'll return 0.0 to avoid charging $nil"</font></i>
<i><font color="silver"># The existential crisis</font></i>
meaning_of_life = <b><u><font color="#000000">nil</font></u></b>
answer = meaning_of_life.to_i
<i><font color="silver"># AI: "Clearly this should be 42. I've read Douglas Adams."</font></i>
</pre>
<br />
<a class='textlink' href='https://github.com/barodeur/llm_rescuer'>LLM Rescuer</a><br />
<br />
<h2 style='display: inline' id='37-filesystem-backed-by-an-llm'>37. Filesystem Backed by an LLM</h2><br />
<br />
<span>Mount a folder via FUSE, and every time you read or write a file, an LLM decides what the contents should be. There's a real working implementation. You literally <span class='inlinecode'>cat</span> a file and the LLM generates the output on the fly.</span><br />
<br />
<span>Example usage:</span><br />
<br />
<!-- Generator: GNU source-highlight 3.1.9
by Lorenzo Bettini
http://www.lorenzobettini.it
http://www.gnu.org/software/src-highlite -->
<pre>$ echo <font color="#808080">"a nginx config for a reverse proxy to localhost:8080"</font> > /mnt/llmfs/nginx.conf
$ cat /mnt/llmfs/nginx.conf
server {
listen <font color="#000000">80</font>;
location / {
proxy_pass http://localhost:<font color="#000000">8080</font>;
}
}
$ echo <font color="#808080">"my todo list for today"</font> > /mnt/llmfs/todo.txt
$ cat /mnt/llmfs/todo.txt
- Write blog post
- Fix that bug <b><u><font color="#000000">in</font></u></b> prod
- Drink coffee
$ cat /mnt/llmfs/todo.txt
- Write blog post (<b><u><font color="#000000">done</font></u></b>?)
- Fix that bug <b><u><font color="#000000">in</font></u></b> prod
- Drink more coffee
</pre>
<br />
<span>The LLM hallucinates the file contents every single read. Your todo list literally mutates when you look at it. Want a config file? Just describe it in the filename or write a prompt into it. Equal parts brilliant and terrifying.</span><br />
<br />
<a class='textlink' href='https://healeycodes.com/filesystem-backed-by-an-llm'>Filesystem Backed by an LLM</a><br />
<br />
<h2 style='display: inline' id='38-qr-code-with-pure-sql-in-postgres'>38. QR Code with Pure SQL in Postgres</h2><br />
<br />
<span>Someone generated a full QR code using nothing but SQL queries inside PostgreSQL. No extensions, no external tools — just raw Postgres doing things it was never meant to do. I ran the example and watched a QR code materialize in the query result. Mad stuff.</span><br />
<br />
<a href='./random-weird-things-iv/pqr.webp'><img alt='QR code generated with pure SQL' title='QR code generated with pure SQL' src='./random-weird-things-iv/pqr.webp' /></a><br />
<a class='textlink' href='https://tanelpoder.com/posts/generate-qr-code-with-pure-sql-in-postgres/'>Pure SQL QR Code</a><br />
<br />
<h2 style='display: inline' id='39-the-sl-train-in-your-terminal'>39. The SL Train in Your Terminal</h2><br />
<br />
<span>You mistype <span class='inlinecode'>ls</span> as <span class='inlinecode'>sl</span> and a steam locomotive comes chugging across your terminal. The SL program has been around for decades and it still cracks me up. There's even a flying train variant.</span><br />
<br />
<a href='./random-weird-things-iv/sl-train.gif'><img alt='SL train in action' title='SL train in action' src='./random-weird-things-iv/sl-train.gif' /></a><br />
<a class='textlink' href='https://github.com/mtoyoda/sl'>sl</a><br />
<br />
<h2 style='display: inline' id='40-url-in-c-code-puzzle'>40. URL in C Code Puzzle</h2><br />
<br />
<span>The following C program compiles and runs perfectly:</span><br />
<br />
<pre>
#include <stdio.h>
int main(void) {
https://foo.zone
printf("hello, world\n");
return 0;
}
</pre>
<br />
<span>The <span class='inlinecode'>https:</span> becomes a label, the <span class='inlinecode'>//foo.zone</span> is just a comment. C parser shenanigans.</span><br />
<br />
<span>Found something weird lately? Send me a link!</span><br />
<br />
<span>E-Mail your comments to <span class='inlinecode'>paul@nospam.buetow.org</span> :-)</span><br />
<br />
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