Staff Software Engineer, Eastern Eagle, husband, father of three, nerd | Current: Storable | Ex: Cernerhttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.bloghttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3mfpvnamruk2kI tried using ChatGPT to edit a Pokemon Gold save file. The results were pretty unexpected: https://jvarness.blog/nerdery/pokemon-gold-chatgpt-egglocke-1/26 Feb 2026 00:07 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfpvnamruk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3mdyc3whwls2rSad to hear this: I haven’t used Notepad++ in years, but I remember a time when this was a staple in my toolbelt. [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Feb 2026 21:20 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdyc3whwls2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3mdrofc262k2oInteresting little experiment tonight: I asked ChatGPT to edit a Pokemon save file so that I could do an egglocke in Pokemon Gold. Using Agent Mode and a set of parameters (no legendaries, first-stage only, etc.), it filled two boxes with random pokemon eggs. #ChatGPTEggLocke01 Feb 2026 06:12 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdrofc262k2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3mcnpfwldrc2zSome thoughts on agentic coding in 2026 and how it’s continued to shape my career: https://jvarness.blog/software-engineering-in-2026/17 Jan 2026 22:54 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcnpfwldrc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3m3ztxrkja22uA new Windows 11 laptop that won’t break in a year: $1000 Reviving “old” tech with open source software: priceless There are some laptops Windows 11 refuses to run on. For everything else, there’s #Linux Mint25 Oct 2025 16:51 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3ztxrkja22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lyg4px3g3s2sExcited to see what Apple has planned for the new iPhone lineup: my 14 Pro is worse for wear.09 Sep 2025 16:19 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyg4px3g3s2shttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lwyob364cc2kTrying to decide if I should petition King Macar to be errata’d to create Treasure tokens, or if Treasure tokens should be errata’d to Gold tokens…22 Aug 2025 14:31 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwyob364cc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lwcqpcuqc22uAnyone on here enjoy using Windsurf or Cursor enough to pay for it out of pocket? What was your experience going from free to paid?13 Aug 2025 21:16 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwcqpcuqc22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lhde2gu3pk2uTonight's episode of the #Godot Files shows our fearless barbarian hero fighting back for once! The assets included with the book made the missiles look so tiny at first. The editor makes scaling things much easier though, and I think it looks pretty good. Game over screen is working too!04 Feb 2025 05:44 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhde2gu3pk2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lgjw4w3gcs2tTonight on the Godot files: No fighting back against zombies yet, but I learned how to get a little game over screen going, so it's almost like it's a full game now. Onto fighting back 💪25 Jan 2025 02:58 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lgjw4w3gcs2thttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lfojpepqjc2dStarted using Github Copilot for the first time today: I noticed I was able to do less context-switching between my browser and my editor, but I need to get better at prompts. So far it’s been fun using it.14 Jan 2025 05:34 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lfojpepqjc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lf7dykloqs2aIn tonight's edition of the #godot files, I now have things chasing me and trying to kill me. And they're succeeding. Not to worry, I'm learning how to kill them back soon. Once I'm done making this game from this book, I'm really going to want to start on something homemade.08 Jan 2025 04:42 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lf7dykloqs2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lf2cygf6pk22It's been really great learning #godot and trying to create something that maybe resembles a game! Cannot wait to continue learning. Who knows, maybe one day I'll make something substantial06 Jan 2025 04:41 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lf2cygf6pk22https://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lerinyji622fI'm terrible with CSS, but I discovered today the power of `min`, `max` and `clamp`! I needed the width of a control to be either 500px OR 100vw in width, whichever was _smaller_. I thought I was going to need a media query, but using `min` saved me from having to create a stylesheet!02 Jan 2025 16:28 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lerinyji622fhttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3le5srzj3c22rWhen you get that notification from PagerDuty that you’re no longer on call 😇🙏25 Dec 2024 20:36 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3le5srzj3c22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3le5ksyoiuc2vLet’s effing Godot #gamedev25 Dec 2024 18:14 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3le5ksyoiuc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3le37h4hiw22uHoly and jolly is on sight today. #BBQmunity24 Dec 2024 19:45 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3le37h4hiw22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lctyighhuk2gCreated my first EngineObject in #littlejs, and it’s pretty easy to work with, but I need to figure out how to animate my little characters. The only semblance of animation is toggling mirroring on/off09 Dec 2024 05:26 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lctyighhuk2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lcdos6nmks26Crazy that Intel's CEO was removed him his position after four decades. I remember thinking that Intel chipsets were always the best for anything I wanted to do, and then I discovered ARM-based Apple laptops and my whole world changed.02 Dec 2024 17:50 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lcdos6nmks26https://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lc74qs7i322dI'm dipping my toes into game development using #LittleJs and I have little to no clue what I'm doing. But I did draw a chick and some grass and some dirt. This probably won't amount to anything, but it's a start.30 Nov 2024 22:17 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lc74qs7i322dhttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lc5eg57z7s2kI fixed a 2DS touchscreen today using… A toothbrush. No, seriously, a toothbrush of all things. Nintendo themselves ACTUALLY recommends for cleaning that you use one. Don’t believe me? Read on:30 Nov 2024 05:29 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lc5eg57z7s2khttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lc4n7lgg7k2tIt’s that time of year! Break out your snack carts for those delivery drivers doin work and getting those packages out. I wish my handwriting was better though 😂29 Nov 2024 22:33 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lc4n7lgg7k2thttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lbzlboyz3s2zSmoking is good for you28 Nov 2024 17:21 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbzlboyz3s2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lbzcor3npk2xHappy Thanksgiving y’all28 Nov 2024 14:47 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbzcor3npk2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lbycrcyl7k2sThere's a Game Jam on Itch for LittleJs that's currently running and submissions are due in 14 days, and I wanted to try and participate, but I really should have used more of the time that I was allotted. So far I've got a little yellow dot that moves around on a canvas via arrow keys 🫠28 Nov 2024 05:16 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbycrcyl7k2shttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lbxamh2ph32sCheck out my blog where I post about software engineering topics, recipes that I like to make, and all sorts of other random stuff: jvarness.blog https://jvarness.blog/27 Nov 2024 19:05 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbxamh2ph32shttps://bsky.app/profile/jvarness.blog/post/3lbxakcmlhl2sHello, world!27 Nov 2024 19:03 +0000at://did:plc:ahts3pbfm4a353tsrigx4ghk/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbxakcmlhl2s