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PaperclipPerfector  17d ago (text post)   2909 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for March 14, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Compare the programming concept of recursively subdividing an area into ever-smaller pieces as a quadtree.

The original zip code system was designed to simplify mail routing in a similar fashion. It's somewhat duplicative of the rest of the street address, but it was implemented to improve efficiency, despite occasional complaints about its supposed nonsensibility (not aligning with political boundaries, etc). The Irish solution is an interesting take on it with fully computerized sorting available, but there are legitimate questions about the comparative expense of renumbering everything versus the existing systems.

I am waiting for somebody to make a video game in which the player designs a country's mail-distribution system, including the placement of sorting facilities.

For a while I was toying with ideas for a logistics RTS where the player was supposed to juggle pipelines and replacement parts more than controlling units. It was inspired by the carriers in Stellaris, which are just glorified battleships rather than the force projection monsters they should be.

Then I discovered Foxhole and Hearts of Iron in relatively quick succession. Between the two of them, they satisfied most of my demand for allocating equipment to operations.

Allocating the mail, though…

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