David Ruffner

We cooked an egg in a makeshift solar oven today! I figured with the heat it would be a good idea. There were some clouds so it took a while but there was definitely cooking action. In the end it did not look appetizing, but it was fun to see it cook. My older son helped.

#heatWave
#newJersey
#rutherfordNJ

Enterprise-grade FizzBuzz is actually genius
by Taxo Rubio
https://taxorubio.com/blog/enterprise-grate-fizzbuzz-is-actually-genius/

This was a fun post going very deep on FizzBuzz. Surprisingly relevant to a refactoring project I am working on at my job. I like the observation that "all algorithms have an associated data structure".

#TIL

The raspberries in our back yard are ripe! They are tart but tasty. My 5 y/o son loves them and helps pick (and eat!) the berries. There is something special about eating berries right off of the plant.

One bit of good news, rescuers were able to extract a man from the rubble in Venezuala, 8 days after the earthquakes. The man is in stable condition. What an ordeal! Amazing work by the rescuers.

#venezuala
#goodNews

Here is a gift link (not sure if it requires email):
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/world/americas/venezuela-earthquake-survivor.html?unlocked_article_code=1.vFA.So54.hUV5o4ck0D8J&smid=url-share

I wrote up an exploration into how I hope to make an impact in a small way to help address the global predicament we are in. Over the past few years people on the fediverse have inspired/radicalized me. You have helped raise my awareness of climate and sustainability issues and of positive movements like free and open source software and cooperatives. I want to find a way to contribute!

Writing helped to clarify things. I'd love to hear your thoughts about it.

https://davidbruffner.com/2026/06/26/making-an-impact/

I just barely got my money's worth on this heat wave! I was afraid it wouldn't cross the 100 °F threshold, but we got there by the afternoon.

🫠
All kidding aside, it was legitimately hot today. I hope you all stayed cool!
#nj
#newJersey
#heatWave

I really enjoyed this article about using evolutionary biology tools to predict success of human players in soccer.

It starts with a great quote:
> "In humans, as with many other animals, individuals advertise their ability to perform under pressure through ritualized combat, usually called sport. Elite performance in a sport brings status, resources and mating opportunities."

Sounds about right!
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5740267/

#evolutionaryBiology
#sportsScience
#soccer
#football

Three good things from today:

1. Wearing a mask helped reduce the campfire smell from the wildfire smoke in our area.
2. Dancing to Every Time We Touch by Cascada when it came on the radio while I was doing the dishes.
3. Playing with my kids. My 8 y/o showed me how to make a doughnut pattern with the Rubik's cube (where the corners and edges are solved, but the centers are a different color). Ans my 5 y/o son and I put socks on and did some slipping and sliding on the floor!

#threeGoodThings

Three good things from yesterday:

1. My 8 year old son and I rode our bikes to the pool. He is getting used to his new 18" wheel bike.
2. We got a baby sitter so that my wife and I could work on the budget together at a coffee shop. We were able to have a good conversation.
3. In the evening our next door neighbors invited us over for hamburgers and hotdogs. They have two kids similar age to our kid. It was a nice surprise.

Lots to be grateful for. #threeGoodThings #gratitude