Can Linux survive in a space smaller than your thumbnail?
Dmitry Grinberg explains the challenge—and the art of cramming a full OS onto an 8-pin MCU.
Tune in to the our latest episode 
: https://embedded.fm/episodes/506
Here's an excerpt from the show:
Thank you to Mouser Electronics for sponsoring the show!
New blog post on the inspiration for a new Julia package I am writing.
The package will address the optimization based design of heat exchanger networks for process integration (energy use reduction). The optimization will be based on decision variables defined on the basis of visualisation of hot and cold streams in a process.
The blog post illustrates the concepts using gnuplot src blocks in org mode in Emacs and highlights a nice feature of code reuse in org mode. There is also a small example of the use of Emacs Calc to do some algebra.
The plan is to have a series of blog posts as the code is developed. This is the first in the series.
#HeatExchangerNetworkDesign #HeatExchangerNetworkSynthesis #HENS #Optimization #ProcessOptimization #ProcessIntegration #visualization #Emacs #Calc #EmacsCalc #orgmode #gnuplot #JuliaLang #blog
Ever wondered if you could cram Linux onto a tiny 8-pin microcontroller?
Dmitry Grinberg did, and got it to work!
Tune in to episode 506 for all the details: https://embedded.fm/episodes/506
Here's Dmitry’s must-know tip:
Dmitry Grinberg joined Elecia( @logicalelegance ) and Chris( @stoneymonster ) to talk about running Linux on small microprocessors (physically small and/or 4-bit).
The transcript( https://embedded.fm/transcripts/506 ) from the show is also available now!
You're invited to share your favorite quotes.
Thank you to Mouser Electronics for sponsoring us!
My new blog post is there, and it's a bit different from usual: Fixing performance issues in your own code is hard enough, but this time I'm trying to fix performance issues in a closed-source game. No source code access or debug symbols, but a lot of guesswork.
https://larstofus.com/2025/07/27/profiling-without-source-code-how-i-diagnosed-trackmania-stuttering/
Improving Design Critiques, by @uxdesigncc:
Why and How to Write Minimal and Valid HTML, a Link Guide:
On using all of HTML’s features and ensuring that HTML code is error-free—two surprisingly underused and unpopular approaches to writing HTML.
I’m More Proud of These 128 Kilobytes Than Anything I’ve Built Since, by (not on Mastodon or Bluesky):
Some quotes from the text:
"The goal is always to optimize the fulfillment of needs while keeping decisions and data as local as possible."
"Or in complex system lingo: The constraints are slightly different, which might result in the systems sliding into different attractor states."
"We can make use of the ideas of cybernetics if and when they seem useful to solve a problem, but they don't force us to act or think in a given way."
New article published today in the Computers & Chemical Engineering journal: *A multi-agent system for hybrid optimization*. This paper is based on the work presented last year at the European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering (ESCAPE 34) conference.
One key lesson I took away from this work: how easy it is to write efficient and effective multiprocessing code in Julia. And how much fun it is actually. 
#MultiAgentSystem #Agents #Optimization #HybridOptimization #ProcessSystemsEngineering #CAPE #PSE #JuliaLang
HTML Minifier Next (a Maintained Fork of HTML Minifier), by @j9t [@frontenddogma]:
HTML Minifier Next (a Maintained Fork of HTML Minifier):
On providing an alternative version of HTML Minifier, critical web tooling that cannot remain unmaintained.
Tool: HTML Optimizer and Minifier, by (not on Mastodon or Bluesky):
SVG Optimization and Accessibility Basics, by @dbushell:
https://dbushell.com/2025/06/25/svg-optimization-and-accessibility-basics/
If you use #AI to "be more productive", you are optimizing towards a local minima!
Instead, you should zoom out, get a clear picture of the whole landscape and ultimately land in the global minima.
How? By changing the entire underlying system!
Speculative Optimizations for WebAssembly Using Deopts and Inlining, by @liedtke.bsky.social:
New paper just out today: *A dynamic model of a power conversion system with indirect thermal energy storage for a pulsed fusion tokamak for use in design optimisation*.
The DOI doesn't work yet but DM me for a share link from Elsevier if interested.
Law 1: Every program can be optimised to be smaller. Law 2: There's always one more bug. Corollary: Every program can be reduced to a one-line bug.
— anonymous
Megatrend **#4** - Digital Twins: "With a digital twin, we don't just envision the future; we build it, test it, and perfect it, long before it ever touches the real world." - Futurist Jim Carroll
It's one of the most unappreciated but most powerful megatrends with a huge amount of potential. And you might not know it, but it's already being used all around you.
What's it all about? Think of it this way - it involves the creation of virtual replicas that allow for unprecedented simulation, optimization, and predictive capability, involving things like supply chains, buildings, manufacturing processes, and even surgery. in essence, we can figure things out before committing to doing those things. In that way, we can solve previously impossible problems, by testing and simulating them first.
Imagine being able to test out a big, expensive idea without actually building anything. Or fixing a problem in your factory before it even happens. Sounds like science fiction, right? It's not. It's happening right now, and it's changing how businesses operate.
What exactly Is a digital twin?
Think of it as a super-detailed virtual copy of something real. This "something" could be almost anything: a factory machine, an entire building, a complex supply chain, or even, as the quote suggests, a human organ. This isn't just a static picture, though. This digital replica is constantly updated with data from its real-world counterpart. So, if a machine in your factory starts to heat up, its digital twin knows it too, in real-time.
Digital twin technology is already being used in supply chains, building management and design, manufacturing, and more.
What's next? Advancements with personalized healthcare. Digital twins of human organs could allow doctors to test out different treatments for a patient's specific condition virtually, predicting the best course of action without any risk to the patient. Entire cities could have digital twins, allowing urban planners to simulate the impact of new infrastructure projects, traffic patterns, and even climate change scenarios.
Why does it matter? Because it gives us unprecedented simulation, optimization, and predictive capability. It's like having a crystal ball for your business or your project. By understanding how things will behave before we make big investments or take significant risks.
Oh, and one more thing.
This stuff is not theoretical. My oldest son is a UAV Practice Manager for a major firm and a GIS / geospatial mapping expert. In a proud dad moment, here's an article he just wrote on digital twin technology in the industry in which he works.
**#DigitalTwins** **#Simulation** **#Innovation** **#Technology** **#Optimization** **#Predictive** **#Virtual** **#Manufacturing** **#Healthcare** **#Future**
I have started a new blog which will present musings on coding for my research in optimization and its application to industrial engineering problems. I code mostly in Julia and always using Emacs.
https://www.homepages.ucl.ac.uk/~ucecesf/blog
I will post here when new blog posts are posted. I'm hoping to create an RSS feed for the blog in due course.
The blog is written in org mode in Emacs (of course ).
(edited to add actual link 
)
