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Re:Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026) on Monday September 14, 2026 @12:32AM (#49692031)
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.

Re:Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026) on Monday September 14, 2026 @12:25AM (#49691982)
Very cool project!!
Re:Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (September 2026) on Wednesday September 02, 2026 @01:47PM (#49539813)

  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.
Re:Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (August 2026) on Wednesday August 05, 2026 @12:31PM (#49185146)

  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.
Re:Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (July 2026) on Wednesday July 01, 2026 @12:59PM (#48749903)

  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 just the Detroit area.
Re:Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (June 2026) on Tuesday June 02, 2026 @04:02PM (#48375460)

  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.
Re:Ask HN: What are you working on? (May 2026) on Monday May 11, 2026 @10:20AM (#48095358)
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

Re:Grasping at the Future of Programming Languages on Monday May 04, 2026 @10:25AM (#48009210)
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.
Re:Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (November 2025) on Monday November 03, 2025 @01:43PM (#45802656)
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.

Re:Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (October 2025) on Wednesday October 01, 2025 @05:32PM (#45443819)

  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
Re:Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (September 2025) on Tuesday September 02, 2025 @09:51PM (#45111436)

  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!
Re:Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (August 2025) on Sunday August 03, 2025 @01:59AM (#44774405)

  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!
Re:Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (July 2025) on Tuesday July 01, 2025 @11:39PM (#44440061)

  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!
Re:Ask HN: What are you working on? (March 2025) on Monday March 31, 2025 @11:53AM (#43536424)
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

Re:Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (March 2025) on Monday March 03, 2025 @11:48AM (#43243684)

  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!
Re:Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (January 2025) on Thursday January 02, 2025 @02:27PM (#42577801)

  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: [email protected]
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?
Re:Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (October 2024) on Tuesday October 29, 2024 @11:14PM (#41991650)
This is a great idea, I think I'll try that out and let you know. Good idea!!
Re:Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (October 2024) on Tuesday October 29, 2024 @11:13PM (#41991645)
Ok thanks for letting me know. I haven't encountered this before, but I appreciate you telling me about it. Thank you so much!!!
Re:Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (October 2024) on Monday October 28, 2024 @12:32PM (#41973049)
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

Show HN: Rashomon – A Newsbetting Site

https://www.rashomonnews.com/accounts/login?next=/

Hello,I recently made a blog post about this site (found here: https://nassharaf.github.io/ideasthete/projects/Rashomon.htm... ) but I figured this was a good submission to have separately since this demo site is something anyone can play with and seems to fit the "Show HN" guidelines better than the blog post does. Please let me know what you think!

( Read More... | no comments | on HN )
Re: on Wednesday October 09, 2024 @04:58PM (#41792533)
Hello all,

I've written up a blog post about a website I made a few years ago called Rashomon. Rashomon was a "newsbetting" site where you could wager fake money on the political bias of a news article. I discussed my motivations and experience making this site and wrote up my amateur sociologist findings here. Let me know what you think!

Re:Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (October 2024) on Tuesday October 01, 2024 @01:48PM (#41711733)

  Location: Royal Oak, Michigan
  Remote: Yes please
  Willing to relocate: For the right city
  Technologies: Python, C++, Java, JavaScript, 
  Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nasir-sharaf/ or https://nassharaf.github.io/ideasthete/
  Email: nsrsharaf7 [at] gmail.com
Currently employed as a software developer for a Big 3 automotive company under a contract that will end in December. Looking for an interesting opportunity that will align with my lifestyle and give me flexibility with my time. Look forward to chatting soon!
Re:Ask HN: What are you working on (September 2024)? on Sunday September 29, 2024 @09:20PM (#41692507)
Yeah, the rashomon effect was named after the movie. Actually I'm trying to update that particular article with data so check back again in a few weeks.

Also, as an artist, I love the domain name for your sites :)

Re:Ask HN: What are you working on (September 2024)? on Sunday September 29, 2024 @04:36PM (#41690231)
Just trying to get my personal site up and going: https://nassharaf.github.io/ideasthete/
Re:The Solarstack on Tuesday September 17, 2024 @09:39AM (#41567498)
Hello,

This is one of my first write ups for a project I've pursued that I call "the solarstack." It's basically a combinations of solar cells and some optical elements. I figured "I made a personal site, I might as well use it" so I made this blog entry. Please let me know what you think!

Re:Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (September 2024) on Tuesday September 03, 2024 @09:59AM (#41435032)
Location: Royal Oak, Mi

Remote: Yes, or hybrid

Willing to relocate: Yes

Technologies: Python, C++, JavaScript, Java, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, React, HTML, CSS

Résumé/CV: https://nassharaf.github.io/ideasthete/ or https://www.linkedin.com/in/nasir-sharaf/

Email: nsrsharaf7 [at] gmail.com

Looking for a role that offers fully remote ideally or hybrid in a location I can adopt to well. Current role is as a contractor for a Big Three automotive company where I worked on embedded systems software development. Previously worked for a start up and as a research assistant during my masters program.

It's always interesting to hear from people who moved to Michigan because the better part of my adult life has been devoted to getting out of Michigan. It sounds like you have a peaceful life though
Re:Ask HN: Is Misinformation a Solvable Problem? on Tuesday June 18, 2024 @09:06PM (#40723718)
I agree but I still (foolishly maybe) did try my hand at a type of solution. In fact, I called it Rashomon (https://www.rashomonnews.com/), related to the "In A Grove" link you shared. Misinformation, in addition to being effectively free/having no cost is also unfortunately very useful sometimes. I don't know if we can ever "solve" it, but maybe we can measure it.

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