Neil Kandalgaonkar

“I heard that you work for computers” – my nephew

Website: https://neilk.net/
Github: https://github.com/neilk
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/neilkandalgaonkar
Pronouns: he/his

Last Notes

2026-10-05 21:11:54 UTC

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It’s very refreshing to be among a small group where the language creator is introduced as being a very kind person, who stresses that the goal of the Zig Foundation is to educate people. And the talks are full of people talking deep systems knowledge and art
Quite a contrast from the norm these days in tech, where an asshole multimillionaire stands up and says fuck you you’re all obsolete

2026-10-05 21:03:09 UTC

I’m volunteering at Software You Can Love 2026! I am wearing the first Zig program I ever wrote.
I feel like I’m getting away with something. Met the whole Zig core team for the cost of handing people microphones during Q&As
https://softwareyoucanlove.ca/
https://xoxo-media.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/117/390/317/747/589/210/original/0c4670966345ebd7.mp4

2026-09-19 17:52:33 UTC

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Regardless of disagreements with password companies, this is not good advice. Even for technically adept people.

2026-08-25 19:53:42 UTC

We see color because there are three differently tuned “opsins” in our eyes. When a photon of the right wavelength hits these proteins, they temporarily twist into a different shape. Ours correspond to the colors we call red, green, and blue. When you see yellow, the red and green ones are firing at the same time.
TIL there exists a fish with 38 different opsins. All to distinguish subtle, faint, shades of blue in the deep ocean!
What must it be like in their brain.
https://www.sci.news/biology/deep-sea-fishes-color-vision-07179.html

2026-08-17 16:36:26 UTC

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My wife has had this book for decades, gifted to her by a Ukrainian helicopter pilot who was a refugee in Canada
I had no idea there was a recent Russian adaptation (2021) about to be released in theatres here
https://youtu.be/8xdc8O8NHFY
Looks like this adaptation went meta; it’s about the writing of the novel, which was meta even at the time. Bulgakov wrote it in secret, inserting himself, his wife, and figures of the literary scene. While begging to get his career back, from former fan Stalin

2026-08-17 05:10:02 UTC

I finished The Master and Margarita a few days ago. It’s a strange book, written at a strange time, under difficult circumstances, and has many flaws. Nevertheless I’m so glad I read it.
It’s almost like when an eccentric one-of-a-kind person intersects your life. There’s no picking and choosing; you have to take them as they are.