Welcome to Happy Hacking Space: Where It All Began (Sort Of)

Between two rivers, in the cradle of civilization itself, sits our little hub of creativity and curiosity—Happy Hacking Space. Not too far from where the Tigris and Euphrates waltz their way through history, we’ve set up camp, because honestly, where else could be better? This land practically hums with the echoes of old hackers, the geniuses who looked at clay and thought, "What else can we do with this stuff?"

Now, if you’re thinking, “Old hackers? What’s that supposed to mean?” let me take you on a little journey. Picture this: a bunch of folks in Mesopotamia sitting around, maybe bored because Netflix hadn’t been invented yet. One of them picks up a stick, pokes at some wet clay, and voilà! Cuneiform. That’s right: the first “database” carved into clay tablets, stored the critical details of humanity’s first experiments in spreadsheets: who owed who how many goats. Functional. Clever. Hack-worthy.

But wait, it doesn’t stop there. These people weren’t just doodling in mud. Oh no. They invented math. Math! The thing that powers computers, spacecraft, and yes, your overcomplicated coffee machine. They played around with numbers and gifted humanity the concept of zero. Zero! Can you imagine programming without it? Not to mention they figured out how to divide circles into 360 degrees, because who doesn’t love a bit of geometry when navigating the cosmos? They figured out how to divide land, track the stars, and even calculate taxes. Sure, we could grumble about taxes now, but let’s admit it: the invention itself is impressive.

Ever heard of algorithms? You use them every day. Yes, algorithms—the clever little recipes behind everything from Google searches to your Instagram feed—trace their roots back here. Al-Khwarizmi, a brilliant hacker from this very region, was the OG algorithm guy. He figured out step-by-step methods for solving equations, and his work laid the foundation for all computational thinking. Imagine someone 1,200 years ago saying, "Here’s a system to solve problems systematically," and now it’s powering AI and TikTok. Talk about impact.

And let’s not forget engineering. They looked at rivers and thought, "What if we could tell water where to go?" Boom. Irrigation. And then they thought, "What if we stacked a lot of bricks really high?" Ziggurats. These were the skyscrapers of their time, folks.

Now, fast forward a few thousand years. This land kept cranking out innovations like it was a cosmic workshop. Algebra? Invented here. Timekeeping? Yup, them too. Medicine? Check. And let’s not forget the wheel. I mean, come on, the wheel. Without it, we’d still be dragging things around like chumps.

So, here we are, between those same rivers, in the shadow of those same big ideas. The only difference? There’s no thriving hacker community. Not yet, anyway. But hey, that’s why we’re here. Happy Hacking Space is our way of picking up where those old hackers left off.

We’re not working with clay tablets (although, if you’re into that, no judgment). We’re hacking, crafting, and exploring. We’re asking, "What else can we do with this stuff?"—whether it’s lines of Python, Raspberry Pis, Arduino boards, or a wild contraption that might just brew your qaçax tea perfectly every time.

And just like our ancient predecessors, we’re starting with nothing but curiosity and some tools. We’re the new hackers, crafters, and explorers. We’re here to tinker, to fail, to laugh about failing, and then to tinker some more.

So, if you’ve ever looked at a gadget, a piece of code, or even a lump of clay and thought, "I wonder what else it can do?"—or maybe you’ve wondered, "Can I make a kettle that tweets when the water’s boiled?" (Spoiler: you can. Should you? Absolutely.)—then you’re one of us. Come on down. Let’s hack, craft, and explore together.

We promise it’ll be fun. And who knows? Maybe one day, someone will look back at what we’re doing here and say, "That’s where the next great invention started."

Between two rivers, anything is possible. Let’s make it happen.

Happy Hacking!

P.S. If you break something while hacking, that’s totally fine. Just don’t forget to write about it—we need more blog posts.