systemreboot – blog

Blog now on gemini

Sep 11, 2026

My blog is now mirrored on the gemini small web protocol.

Tags: software, gemini, lisp, emacs

Why I name my projects in Tamil

Aug 8, 2026

I often pick inscrutable Tamil names for my software projects. Maybe you’ve been frustrated, unable to remember or pronounce these names. Why can’t I be a normal person and just pick an English name? Here’s why.

Tags: tamil, politics, india, software, colonialism

Expanding Guile macros one step at a time

Jun 24, 2026

When debugging Guile macros, sometimes one expansion step is all you need. Here’s a small tool I wrote to scratch that itch.

Tags: lisp, scheme, software

git-bug: a quick HOWTO

Mar 25, 2026

I’m trying out git-bug, the distributed offline-first issue tracker. Here’s a quick HOWTO use it.

Tags: git, software

Deploy Guix on DigitalOcean without cloud-init

Sep 18, 2025

A cloud-init service for Guix is still a work in progress. Meanwhile, here’s how you can deploy Guix on DigitalOcean right away.

Tags: guix, software

Complex end-to-end tests using Guix G-expressions

Sep 10, 2025

Complex end-to-end tests in development repositories involving packages written in several languages are a chore to describe and maintain. Often, the only recourse is to pull in pre-built binaries or haul around heavy Docker images. Could there be a better way? Could it be Guix (spoiler alert: yes!)?

Tags: guix, software, scheme, lisp

with-imported-modules and friends

Aug 31, 2025

What is the ubiquitous with-imported-modules in G-expressions? Why do you need it when you already have use-modules?

Tags: guix, software, scheme, lisp

Indent generated G-expression scripts

Aug 28, 2025

Indent generated G-expression scripts with this trick to aid in debugging!

Tags: guix, software, scheme, lisp

Gridbeam floor table

Aug 11, 2025

I finally finished my first gridbeam project—a floor table to work sitting on the floor.

Tags: gridbeam, project

Propagator networks very briefly

Jun 30, 2025

Propagator networks are a novel way to express computation that allow us to escape the expression-orientedness of traditional programming languages. This is a quick primer that introduces the concept very briefly.

Tags: software, propagator networks

Factory farming is bad

Jun 17, 2025

I spoke at a debate on factory farming at my department in University College London. This was my initial argument.

Tags: environment

G-expressions: Makings of a Make-killer?

Apr 14, 2025

Can Guix’s G-expressions make for a superior Make-like build tool? Here’s a proof-of-concept implementation imagining such a future.

Tags: software, guix, lisp, scheme

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