Hacker News: totemandtoken

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)"

totemandtoken — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 04:32:43 +0000

I haven't been working on it as of late, mostly because i'm a bit deflated from software in general, but I started working on a programming language I called Grasp.

If lisp is a list processing language, grasp is a graph programming language.

The idea was that most other data structures can be represented with a graph ( adjacency matrices are matrices, a tree is a type of directed acyclic graph, a list is a graph where each node connects to at most two nodes, etc) and so if you designed a programming language where the language is itself a graph, much like how lisp is itself a list, you could get other esoteric programming languages like APL, forth, lisp, and so on as DSLs of Grasp. Also any program you write would be its own CFG.

I started it but honestly its mostly a hot mess of vibe-coded garbage. But I may get back on it and try to clean it up.

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)"

totemandtoken — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 04:25:22 +0000

Very cool project!!

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (September 2026)"

totemandtoken — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 17:47:18 +0000

  Location: Detroit, Mi
  Remote: Yes, but open to onsite 
  Willing to relocate: Yes
  Technologies: Python, C++, JavaScript (React, some Typescript, Node.js), Java, 
  Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nasir-sharaf/
  Email: nsrsharaf7 [at] gmail.com

Hello, My name is Nasir Sharaf, I am currently looking for a software developer engineer role, or any adjacent role such as AI Engineering, MLOps, Data Engineering, Data Science, etc. I have a master's in computer science and roughly 4 years of experience as a developer. Prior to that I was an energy engineer for 3 years and I also have a bachelors in mechanical engineering. I'm willing to relocate for the right role in the right place, I'm willing to work hybrid or remote and I have been applying to roles outside of the Detroit area.

Edit: I'm going to be a bit vulnerable and open, which I understand is a death knell here. When I was an energy engineer, I benefited from having a mentor and being in an environment where there was steady, somewhat repetitive work so that I could really learn how to package a controls submittal, really understand energy calculations, really build muscle memory for those sorts of things.

I have not had that in my software experience, at least not consistently enough to build a strong muscle memory for software engineering and that's what I really want. I don't have much confidence in my software engineering abilities. So I would be willing to take a position below market rate if I felt that: 1) it was W2 and the position would remain for years 2) there was some connection or mentorship that would let me build this muscle memory 3) if I felt that the experience would help me gain the software engineering confidence I lack as of this moment

Thank you.

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (August 2026)"

totemandtoken — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:31:37 +0000

  Location: Detroit, Mi
  Remote: Yes, but open to onsite 
  Willing to relocate: Yes
  Technologies: Python, C++, JavaScript (React, some Typescript, Node.js), Java, 
  Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nasir-sharaf/
  Email: nsrsharaf7 [at] gmail.com

Hello, My name is Nasir Sharaf, I am currently looking for a software developer engineer role, or any adjacent role such as MLOps, Data Engineering, Data Science, etc. I have a master's in computer science and roughly 4 years of experience as a developer. Prior to that I was an energy engineer for 3 years and I also have a bachelors in mechanical engineering. I'm willing to relocate for the right role in the right place, I'm willing to work hybrid or remote and I have been applying to roles outside of the Detroit area.

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (July 2026)"

totemandtoken — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:59:44 +0000

  Location: Detroit, Mi
  Remote: Yes, but open to onsite 
  Willing to relocate: Yes
  Technologies: Python, C++, JavaScript (React, some Typescript, Node.js), Java, 
  Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nasir-sharaf/
  Email: nsrsharaf7 [at] gmail.com

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (June 2026)"

totemandtoken — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 20:02:34 +0000

  Location: Detroit, Mi
  Remote: Yes, but open to onsite 
  Willing to relocate: Yes
  Technologies: Python, C++, JavaScript (React, some Typescript, Node.js), Java, 
  Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nasir-sharaf/
  Email: nsrsharaf7 [at] gmail.com

Hello, My name is Nasir Sharaf, I am currently looking for a software developer engineer role, or any adjacent role such as MLOps, Data Engineering, Data Science, etc. I have a master's in computer science and roughly 3 years of experience as a developer. Prior to that I was an energy engineer for 3 years and I also have a bachelors in mechanical engineering. I'm willing to relocate for the right role in the right place, I'm willing to work hybrid or remote and I have been applying to roles outside of just the Detroit area.

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: What are you working on? (May 2026)"

totemandtoken — Mon, 11 May 2026 14:20:37 +0000

I have like 14 side projects running, but one I think might be interesting to this crowd is this: https://ideasthetician.substack.com/p/grasping-at-the-future...

Its not far along, but I'm trying to expand upon the ideas of Lisp into a new programming language I call Grasp. If Lisp is a list processing language, Grasp is a graph processing language

New comment by totemandtoken in "Grasping at the Future of Programming Languages"

totemandtoken — Mon, 04 May 2026 14:25:49 +0000

I've been thinking for years about what the programming language of the future might look like, and with a much smarter assistant to bounce ideas off of in the form of Claude, I feel I can start working towards implementing some of these ideas. This is an overview and the first of hopefully a series on building an extension of a Lisp called Grasp. If Lisp is a list processing language, Grasp is a Graph programming language... read the rest of the essay to see where this idea goes.

Grasping at the Future of Programming Languages

totemandtoken — Mon, 04 May 2026 14:25:49 +0000

Article URL: https://ideasthetician.substack.com/p/grasping-at-the-future-of-programming

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48009209

Points: 4

# Comments: 1

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (November 2025)"

totemandtoken — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 18:43:27 +0000

Location: Metro Detroit Area Remote: Yes Willing to relocate: Yes Technologies: C++, Python, JavaScript (React, Typescript), some Java Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nasir-sharaf/ Email: nsrsharaf7 [at] gmail.com

Hello, My name is Nasir Sharaf, I am currently looking for a software developer engineer role, or any adjacent role such as MLOps, Data Engineering, Data Science, etc. I have a master's in computer science and roughly 3 years of experience as a developer. Prior to that I was an energy engineer for 3 years and I also have a bachelors in mechanical engineering. I'm willing to relocate for the right role in the right place, I'm willing to work hybrid or remote and I have been applying to roles outside of just the Detroit area.

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (October 2025)"

totemandtoken — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 21:32:45 +0000

  Location: Detroit, Mi
  Remote: Yes, but open to onsite 
  Willing to relocate: Yes
  Technologies: Python, C++, JavaScript (React, some Typescript, Node.js), Java, 
  Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nasir-sharaf/
  Email: nsrsharaf7 [at] gmail.com

Hi all, my name is Nasir, I'm a software developer in the metro Detroit area looking for work where I can grow and further develop my technical skills. I'm attracted to interesting, niche projects and working with open minded people who are willing to share and coach. Please reach out at linkedin if you would like to connect

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (September 2025)"

totemandtoken — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 01:51:14 +0000

  Location: Detroit Metro Area
  Remote: Ideally, but open to onsite
  Willing to relocate: Willing
  Technologies: Python, C++. JavaScript, Java
  Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nasir-sharaf/
  Email: nsrsharaf7 [at] gmail.com

Hello, I am a software engineer and a former energy/controls engineer. I was let go last December from a contracting role with a Big 3 automotive company and I'm looking for a full time role. Please reach out over email or LinkedIn!

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (August 2025)"

totemandtoken — Sun, 03 Aug 2025 05:59:30 +0000

  Location: Detroit, Mi
  Remote: Yes
  Willing to relocate: Yes
  Technologies: C++, Python, JavaScript (React, Next.js)
  Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nasir-sharaf/
  Email: nsrsharaf7 [at] gmail.com

Hello, sorry I'm a few days late, my name is Nasir Sharaf, I was previously working as an embedded systems software engineer on contract at General Motors and prior to that as a software dveloper engineer at Theia Scientific. I've also done some freelance work implementing a frontend for cryptocurrency group. I'm currently on the market and looking for work that will allow me to grow my skills, especially in this new LLM era. Thanks!

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (July 2025)"

totemandtoken — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 03:39:15 +0000

  Location: Detroit 
  Remote: Yes, open to onsite though
  Willing to relocate: Yes
  Technologies: Python, C++, JavaScript
  Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nasir-sharaf/ 
  Email: nsrsharaf7 [at] gmail.com

Hello, my name is Nasir, I've previously been an embedded systems engineer and a software developer. I've been in the field for about 3 years, but I was an energy engineer for a few years before that. I have a masters of science in computer science and a bachelor's in mechanical engineering and willing to use the skills associated with either field. Please reach out over linkedin or my email!

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: What are you working on? (March 2025)"

totemandtoken — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 15:53:30 +0000

I'm vibe coding a "social media engine."

Basically, I've noticed a bunch of social media protocols like ATProtocol, ActivityPub and Nostr are coming out and I think while having these protocols is a good idea, one thing limiting adoption is lack of differentiated social media sites on these protocols. Basically everyone keeps building twitter on a new protocol without offering anything novel. One bottleneck, I thought, is that there isn't a set of utilities to help build a new social network easily so everyone defaults to building twitter as an MVP. I wanted to make an engine, kind of like a game engine, but to make a custom social media for any particular protocol. Hypothetically this should make it so that development for these kinds of projects go way faster. Basically, like a very opinionated django rest framework. Hopefully developers will build more interesting, novel sites and increase adoption for these protocols

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (March 2025)"

totemandtoken — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 16:48:48 +0000

  Location: Royal Oak Mi
  Remote: Yes
  Willing to relocate: Yes
  Technologies: C/C++, Python, JavaScript (React)
  Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nasir-sharaf/ 
  Email: nsrsharaf7[at]gmail.com
  Website: https://nassharaf.github.io/ideasthete/

Hi, my name is Nasir! I was recently employed as an embedded systems contractor for a big 3 automotive company in the Detroit area until my contract was not renewed, so I am in the market. I am looking for a role that offers growth and the ability to learn on the job. Please reach out on linked in or via email. Thanks!

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (January 2025)"

totemandtoken — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 19:27:02 +0000

  Location: Detroit, Mi
  Remote: Yes, please 
  Willing to relocate: Possibly, depending on location
  Technologies: Python, C++, JavaScript (React Native)
  Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nasir-sharaf/
  Email: nsrsharaf7@gmail.com

Email for details. Recently let go from an embedded systems engineering role. Open to pretty much anything, but I really want a role where I can get some exposure to what's been going on with ML and NLP lately. Need to future proof a bit, you know?

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: What are you working on? (October 2024)"

totemandtoken — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 03:14:53 +0000

This is a great idea, I think I'll try that out and let you know. Good idea!!

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: What are you working on? (October 2024)"

totemandtoken — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 03:13:25 +0000

Ok thanks for letting me know. I haven't encountered this before, but I appreciate you telling me about it. Thank you so much!!!

New comment by totemandtoken in "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (October 2024)"

totemandtoken — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 16:32:10 +0000

I kind of got back to looking at my newsbetting app called Rashomon. I posted about it on here a few weeks ago to no attention.

Basically you get untitled articles and have to bet whether they are from far left, left, center, right or far right sources. The idea was to maek readers aware of their biases. I wrote my findings here: https://nassharaf.github.io/ideasthete/projects/Rashomon.htm...

You can demo the site here: https://www.rashomonnews.com