Tuesday, February 24, 2009
New Color Scheme, New Feed
___To those who are reading this from blogger, what do you think of the new color scheme? To those who are reading this from Facebook what do you think of the blog?
Friday, February 20, 2009
New Reflexes
:set ai
:set nu
:set ru
:set tabstop=3
:set shiftwidth=3
:set showmode
iSorry, it's gotten to be habit, setting up your workspace in vi... I mean...:w
o
So, I have to say, working with vi is a lot faster than regular typing, but it's given me a rather strange set of typing reflexes.:w
o
For example:
the :w command saves the file
type i to get into insert mode to add a few characters
type esc to get back out of insert mode and into command mode
type o to add a line after the current one and get into insert mode:w
o
As one might guess the list of commands goes on (and on (and on)) pretty much until you run out of keys on the keyboard. And then, after that, you can start combining commands to do even more. As one might guess from that, this is the reason why vi is both incredible fast to edit in and incredibly hard to learn. Who in there right mind would memorize 10,000 different commands that work is 3 different modes?:w
o
As it turns out though, most of the commands you just memorize from use. Which sounds incredibly handy, until you realize that viewing/editing text in any other program is painful (seriously, I can't even browse the web anymore without using the / command to find the text I'm looking for on a page), and you have a tendency to type seemingly random nonsense into the keyboard at odd moments.:wq
:set nu
:set ru
:set tabstop=3
:set shiftwidth=3
:set showmode
iSorry, it's gotten to be habit, setting up your workspace in vi... I mean...:w
o
So, I have to say, working with vi is a lot faster than regular typing, but it's given me a rather strange set of typing reflexes.:w
o
For example:
the :w command saves the file
type i to get into insert mode to add a few characters
type esc to get back out of insert mode and into command mode
type o to add a line after the current one and get into insert mode:w
o
As one might guess the list of commands goes on (and on (and on)) pretty much until you run out of keys on the keyboard. And then, after that, you can start combining commands to do even more. As one might guess from that, this is the reason why vi is both incredible fast to edit in and incredibly hard to learn. Who in there right mind would memorize 10,000 different commands that work is 3 different modes?:w
o
As it turns out though, most of the commands you just memorize from use. Which sounds incredibly handy, until you realize that viewing/editing text in any other program is painful (seriously, I can't even browse the web anymore without using the / command to find the text I'm looking for on a page), and you have a tendency to type seemingly random nonsense into the keyboard at odd moments.:wq
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Memory Access
___So, today's topic in my computer organization class was memory access. The main idea behind which being that some kinds of memory are faster than others, having to do with their distance from the CPU, the speed of the decode and encode of the information, and the amount of information being transferred. Because of the detail into which this class goes on such topics as computer architecture, we spent most of the class discussing cache memory. I however, not to be limited by classroom constraints, decided that a through list of memory access should be compiled and sorted by total access time, from signal sent to signal received. And so, without further ado, the list:
|
CPU Registers
Cache L1
_____ L2
_____ L3
RAM
HD
CD
Floppy
External Device (Firewire)
_______________ (USB 2.0)
_______________ (USB 1.0)
Server Local (LAN)
____________ (WLAN)
______ Online (FTP)
_____________ (HTTP)
E-mail
Internet Connection T3
___________________ T2
___________________ T1
___________________ Cable
___________________ DSL
___________________ Phone 128 kb/s
__________________________ 64 kb/s
__________________________ 32 kb/s
__________________________ 16 kb/s
Laser
Radio
Flashlight
Telegraph
Flag Signals
Smoke Signals
Sonar through metal
_____________ water
_____________ air
Rock shot by cannon
____ thrown by sling
______________ hand
____ rolled
Post Plane In state
__________ Out of state
__________ Out of country
____ Carrier Pigeon
____ Truck
____ Boat
Running
Walking downhill
_______ flat
_______ uphill
______________ both ways
Turtle
Post (not junk mail)
Telepathy (still needs to be invented)
Information you need right away
Answer to Life
|
CPU Registers
Cache L1
_____ L2
_____ L3
RAM
HD
CD
Floppy
External Device (Firewire)
_______________ (USB 2.0)
_______________ (USB 1.0)
Server Local (LAN)
____________ (WLAN)
______ Online (FTP)
_____________ (HTTP)
Internet Connection T3
___________________ T2
___________________ T1
___________________ Cable
___________________ DSL
___________________ Phone 128 kb/s
__________________________ 64 kb/s
__________________________ 32 kb/s
__________________________ 16 kb/s
Laser
Radio
Flashlight
Telegraph
Flag Signals
Smoke Signals
Sonar through metal
_____________ water
_____________ air
Rock shot by cannon
____ thrown by sling
______________ hand
____ rolled
Post Plane In state
__________ Out of state
__________ Out of country
____ Carrier Pigeon
____ Truck
____ Boat
Running
Walking downhill
_______ flat
_______ uphill
______________ both ways
Turtle
Post (not junk mail)
Telepathy (still needs to be invented)
Information you need right away
Answer to Life
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
25 things
___Okay, I'll be the first to admit that the "25 things about me" note on Facebook is a fad, that being said, I'm admittedly having a little trouble understanding the amount of general animosity that is directed it's way.
|
___The note itself appears fairly harmlessly as a simple list of things that is just long enough to actually get people to think about the last five to ten things they put on the list. The note then encourages people to send it on to 25 other people, including the person that sent the note to you, and put down your own list of 25 things.
|
___The general idea is that you get the individuals in a community to share a little about themselves that might not already be public knowledge. This has been attacked as an activity that ends up with the result that too much about someone is being shared, or the information shared was uninteresting, and that this puts an unfair social obligation on the people it is sent to.
|
___Firstly, this is a Facebook activity, and like any Facebook activity, it tends toward the mushy, overly friendly side of things. That said, its not really a bad thing when communities know more about each other. As for knowing too much, I personally think this serves as a good reality check for the people that randomly add friends they don't really know, and as a good reminder to the rest of us that the internet is (duh) an open space where anything that is posted can be read by almost anyone (anyone who knows what they are doing anyway (ie. you can bet the government tracks what happens on Facebook)). As for the knowledge being uninteresting, in theory you choose to be this person's friend, if you don't want to know about them, why are you reading the note in the first place? If, on the other hand, the real issue is that the new knowledge shared makes the people on the receiving end a little uncomfortable or get the feeling of TMI, that would seem to be a personal problem!
|
___Secondly, as for the social obligation, in almost any online community, any social obligation is pretty much bogus. What's going to happen if you don't re-post? They'll stop being your friend. And if you're that uncomfortable sharing something about yourself, maybe you're not really as comfortable with who you are as you should be, that's hardly your friend's fault.
|
___None of this, I might add, is the fault of the note it self. It's just a note, if you don't want to participate, ignore it, and leave the rest of us to our activities in peace.
|
___The note itself appears fairly harmlessly as a simple list of things that is just long enough to actually get people to think about the last five to ten things they put on the list. The note then encourages people to send it on to 25 other people, including the person that sent the note to you, and put down your own list of 25 things.
|
___The general idea is that you get the individuals in a community to share a little about themselves that might not already be public knowledge. This has been attacked as an activity that ends up with the result that too much about someone is being shared, or the information shared was uninteresting, and that this puts an unfair social obligation on the people it is sent to.
|
___Firstly, this is a Facebook activity, and like any Facebook activity, it tends toward the mushy, overly friendly side of things. That said, its not really a bad thing when communities know more about each other. As for knowing too much, I personally think this serves as a good reality check for the people that randomly add friends they don't really know, and as a good reminder to the rest of us that the internet is (duh) an open space where anything that is posted can be read by almost anyone (anyone who knows what they are doing anyway (ie. you can bet the government tracks what happens on Facebook)). As for the knowledge being uninteresting, in theory you choose to be this person's friend, if you don't want to know about them, why are you reading the note in the first place? If, on the other hand, the real issue is that the new knowledge shared makes the people on the receiving end a little uncomfortable or get the feeling of TMI, that would seem to be a personal problem!
|
___Secondly, as for the social obligation, in almost any online community, any social obligation is pretty much bogus. What's going to happen if you don't re-post? They'll stop being your friend. And if you're that uncomfortable sharing something about yourself, maybe you're not really as comfortable with who you are as you should be, that's hardly your friend's fault.
|
___None of this, I might add, is the fault of the note it self. It's just a note, if you don't want to participate, ignore it, and leave the rest of us to our activities in peace.
Small Things in Life
___So, here I am, in my dorm, and sadly I find that my tuner has run out of batteries. A lesser man may have despaired and relinquished his right to play in key, but I am not so weak, and, after I had searched for an hour or so, pushed to the brink of frustration by the fact that I did not want to tune to a standard tuning, I found this: http://www.get-tuned.com/online_tuners.php and here after give thanks to the little things in life.
Creative Writing
___For the general interest and amusement of the readership of this blog, I present a spot of creative writing that might, at some unknown period of time in the future, become something more substantial than a fragment of a prologue to a story. General comments/critique/ranting welcome/encouraged/eagerly anticipated.
|
|
Shadows
|
___The shattering of the light across the entry displayed the violence of the moment with the chilling precision and sterility of a stark black and white animation against the gently sloping floor. Figures slammed across the rectangle of light, absent of the sounds of their impacts, absent of the realization of death. The only sound was the scream of the air escaping, then just the silence of space. A lone figure approached the entry way, silhouetted by the harshness of the light that revealed his trembling, even in the shadow that playing across the floor. The shadow disappeared as the doorway sealed shut behind the figure.
|
___As the light came on in the chamber, the rags of his robes became visible, but failed to hide the ungainly nature of his form, built like a conglomeration of different body parts where each was attach to the next like an after thought, "Oh, of course there should be an arm there." or "I fairly certain that the head should look like this." Despite this, and despite his trembling, he managed to walk with the effort of someone convincing himself he just needed to take one more step, then another, a pace that became steadier with each passing beat of time.
|
___He was almost close enough to touch through the glass when he finally noticed me through the airlock and made a plaintive gesture at the controls on my side of the chamber. I nodded and re-pressurized his side of the door, before hitting the switch to open the portal between us. As air flowed into the chamber the form of the individual inside seemed shrink and reveal a smaller, more graceful, figure hidden underneath, the disjointed nature of his body becoming the flowing shape of child, marred only by the expression of shock that remained on his face.
|
____I knelt down to make our eyes level, "Come with me." I said and walked toward my ship.
|
____He followed.
|
|
Shadows
|
___The shattering of the light across the entry displayed the violence of the moment with the chilling precision and sterility of a stark black and white animation against the gently sloping floor. Figures slammed across the rectangle of light, absent of the sounds of their impacts, absent of the realization of death. The only sound was the scream of the air escaping, then just the silence of space. A lone figure approached the entry way, silhouetted by the harshness of the light that revealed his trembling, even in the shadow that playing across the floor. The shadow disappeared as the doorway sealed shut behind the figure.
|
___As the light came on in the chamber, the rags of his robes became visible, but failed to hide the ungainly nature of his form, built like a conglomeration of different body parts where each was attach to the next like an after thought, "Oh, of course there should be an arm there." or "I fairly certain that the head should look like this." Despite this, and despite his trembling, he managed to walk with the effort of someone convincing himself he just needed to take one more step, then another, a pace that became steadier with each passing beat of time.
|
___He was almost close enough to touch through the glass when he finally noticed me through the airlock and made a plaintive gesture at the controls on my side of the chamber. I nodded and re-pressurized his side of the door, before hitting the switch to open the portal between us. As air flowed into the chamber the form of the individual inside seemed shrink and reveal a smaller, more graceful, figure hidden underneath, the disjointed nature of his body becoming the flowing shape of child, marred only by the expression of shock that remained on his face.
|
____I knelt down to make our eyes level, "Come with me." I said and walked toward my ship.
|
____He followed.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Thanks Stewart
___Original:
|
___First Levels and Color Pass:
|
___Manual Touch-up:
|
___Final Levels and Color Pass:
|
___First Levels and Color Pass:
|
___Manual Touch-up:
|
___Final Levels and Color Pass:
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