Show HN: I made an online Unicode Cuneiform digital clock

(oisinmoran.com)

110 points | by OisinMoran 183 days ago

9 comments

  • OisinMoran 180 days ago
    If you like weird clocks, I've got a collection of them here [0] which includes two others I've madeβ€”the QR Code Clock (probably my stupidest design of anything to date), and the vague clock (which is always correct and accurate but as it is just a single rotating "6" is only really legible at 6 and 9 o'clock)

    Currently working on my first physical one!

    [0] https://lynkmi.com/oisin/Clocks

  • hmdai 179 days ago
    I absolutely love this, bonus: I can now read Cuneiform numbers, if I ever need that.

    Suggestion: You can potentially show the Cuneiform time in the url.

    sent at: π’Œ‹:π’Ž™π’›:𒐏𒐗

  • pulse7 179 days ago
    Just by watching your clock for 1 minute I learned Cuneiform numbers! Thank you! :)
  • uncircle 179 days ago
    Nice! This makes me appreciate the improvement roman numerals had over cuneiform: that a symbol isn’t repeated more than three times so it’s easier to read at a glance.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subitizing

    This is why VIII and IX are easier to parse than 𒐆 and 𒐇 (though grouping them by 5 does help)

  • OisinMoran 182 days ago
    It seems that of all the numbers (needed here), the symbol for 20 (π’Ž™) is the only one that doesn't render on Android. Very odd. It does seem to be the last used codepoint (U+12399) in the Cuneiform block (U+12000–U+123FF) and they seem to stop rendering from U+1236E (on Android) which leaves 43 symbols un-rendered.

    Anyone any idea why that might be?

    See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform_(Unicode_block) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform_Numbers_and_Punctuat...

    sent at π’Œ‹π’–:𒐐𒐕:π’Œ‹π’—

    • OisinMoran 182 days ago
      Okay, in the interim I have a shipped a fix for Android (seems fine on an iPhone emulation) that uses two tens like so "π’Œ‹π’Œ‹" (looks like <<) instead of one twenty "π’Ž™" (also looks like << but a bit tighter). This is definitely one of the weirdest patches [0] I've ever doneβ€”changing how an ancient language is displayed based on the specific type of incomprehensibly advanced technology it's being displayed onβ€”but I guess that's what Sundays are for.

      [0] https://github.com/OisinMoran/OisinMoran.github.io/commit/15...

      • ahazred8ta 179 days ago
        Cuneiform is still a wedge issue.
    • edent 179 days ago
      Because Google has mostly stopped updating the font stack on Android.

      See bug report https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/366415133

    • thaumasiotes 180 days ago
      Well, I can report that π’Ž™ isn't rendering on Windows 10 either. Your "sent at" renders fine. Whatever it is, it isn't specific to Android.

      I assume it's mostly down to fonts, but I don't know why a font would implement some of the cuneiform block without doing all of it.

      • JdeBP 180 days ago
        U+12399 was not an assigned code point until Unicode 8. The other code points were in Unicode 7.
    • thangalin 180 days ago
      https://i.ibb.co/6RBrwZpz/firefox.png

      Firefox 139.0.4 on Arch Linux

      • OisinMoran 180 days ago
        I guess the Arch in Arch Linux isn't for archaeology then :(
      • styanax 179 days ago
        You'll need to install the `noto-fonts` package to get NotoSansCuneiform-Regular.ttf (amongst others)l I'd recommend also installing `noto-fonts-cjk` to enhance your web experience.
        • thangalin 179 days ago
          Can't the web page embed the font?
      • arp242 180 days ago
        You just don't have the required font.
  • bobek 179 days ago
    I always liked the esthetics of Wharton studio clocks. There is an OSS implementation at https://github.com/bobek/sdg_wharton_miniclock
    • OisinMoran 178 days ago
      Ooh these are great! I think I just saw one of these somewhere recently and liked it, so it's great to have a name. Thank you!
  • sonorous_sub 181 days ago
    The visual appeal is undeniable ;)
    • OisinMoran 181 days ago
      Thank you! I am quite happy with how it turned out and looking at it now reminds me a bit of the clock in Lost when it turns to Egyptian Hieroglyphs.
  • furstenheim 179 days ago
    Sumertime! Great naming choice!!
  • adornKey 179 days ago
    Interesting, that it's all standard base-10. A Number system based on 12 could have been a good fit for a base-60 time.

    Babylonians/Sumerians invented base-60, and didn't have special characters for 10, 11 (and maybe 12)? Really?

    • colejohnson66 179 days ago
      The Babylonian's base-60 is more a base-10x6. All math was indeed in base-60, but the writing used groupings of tens. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_cuneiform_numerals
      • adornKey 179 days ago
        Germanic languages have special words up to 12. So I'm really surprised that the Babylonians didn't have a special symbol for 12. Something like that would have been really nice for a clock.