Alex @compucat@im-in.space
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- https://compucat.me
- compucat@fortheusers.org
- xmpp
- compucat@patchcord.be
- for more, see
- https://compucat.me/about
Tinkerer, musician, engineer, linux-wiiu dev, 4TU staff. I post random ramblings and snippets of things here.
Current project: changes every two seconds, ping me and I'll tell you way too much :)
Joined Dec 2018
Pinned post
Today, we honor Sandy, the most curious guinea pig I knew, my closest friend for many, many years. She passed away early this morning, circling around once to check on the other pigs, then nestling herself into her favorite little spot one last time.
I’ll always miss the way you’d try and figure out anything. The way you notice everyone coming and demand to boop their nose. The way you’d always remind me that my left shoulder will always be your perch.
Sleep well, my beloved piggie.
Listening to emotional music late at night (when I get emotionally vulnerable) was a mistake.
A beautiful mistake :)
I have *way* too many socks.
Alex
boosted
Engineers are kids licensed to play with bigger toys.
Working on my 3D printer tonight as I do EE work. More and more of its parts are slowly being replaced by printed replacements...did somebody say RepRap? :)
Currently working on a set of DELTARUNNER carriages to replace the existing set I have that don't match the arm spacing of my effector.
Alex
boosted
Whenever I hear something really interesting and profound:
"Oh, that's neat, that's something I shall remember! But since I keep forgetting such things all the time, I should probably take a note somewhere."
So I go get a pen and a paper and then I... already forgot what it was I wanted to remember.
Alex
boosted
so.
if you read the i486 manual, you'll find some really weird things that don't make sense. for example: the fpu instructions universally have faster timings if you are operating on memory addresses rather than fpu registers.
and surely that can't be right. right? surely that's going to be slower.
and that's the common wisdom of the day. if you find old usenet discussions about it, people will say that yes, the timings are faster, but in the real world it doesn't work out like that, the memory fetch cycles aren't included there, and of course working with registers is faster. there's no other way it could be. if you dont believe it write a benchmark test.
and like other common wisdom, that's just completely wrong.
you can write all the real world tests you like (i just did), and what you will find is that the fpu is nearly always faster with memory addresses than with it's own internal registers. why? who knows! but that's how intel made it, that's how they described it in the manual, and, counterintuitively, that really is how it works.
(For reference, that sub was a Fulcrum TS221 - fantastic little sub. I didn't get a chance to play Hypocrisy through the other PAs I demo'd, but out of the other subs there I found the D&B V-SUB and L'Acoustics KS28 traded blows throughout the listening session. V-SUB barely won on tightness, KS28 barely won on overall musicality. Wasn't as impressed with the Martin or Adamson subs there, though Martin's line array was wonderfully pleasant to listen to.)
Was doing a PA shootout a little while back. Turns out that FM bass in Hypocrisy by @envgen is a fantastic subwoofer test with all those sharp transients. It's super hard to make a sub tight, powerful, and musical all at the same time...
Ugh, how I miss being an on-campus university student. With the campus deserted, there are so many great quiet spots to enjoy. (And great architecture!) Too bad it’s now a drive away instead of merely a minute’s walk.
Oh yeah, last night's Keep Talking stream with @quarky was quite fun! Enjoy this clip of them definitely not pressing the detonate button: https://clips.twitch.tv/TalentedCrowdedClipzCurseLit--fRPR7B3CLh7eza0
I'm in a newly constructed medical school building for the first time. It's quite a neat place, I'm a fan of the architecture. And the background noise. Should I get a field recorder?
My iPhone works well enough for now, but I am so tempted :)
Annotated:
- the bag: a North Face Router Transit with a commemorative "remove before flight" tag
- Some choice writing implements
- Snacks
- USB-Ethernet dongle
- Microfiber cloths
- Deodorant
- Anker USB battery
- Raspberry Pi Picos
- Kapton tape
- Breadboard, jumpers, and some loose components
- Passport
- Journal
- Modded MDR7506s w/ Fiio uBTR
- iFixit toolkit
- USB HDD
- USB-C to DP cable
- USB-C charger
- tutuola, my Thinkpad
- caulfield, my Macbook
Tonight's listening: New Beginning (the album) by Tracy Chapman. I tend towards more energetic music during the day, but late at night this album just hits the spot.
I’m in a massive institution of learning. I have ridiculous amounts of knowledge and computing power in a bag on my back.
....And I cannot find, of all things, a pen.
Alex
boosted
hot take: if your website runs slower than minecraft on my computer you're doing something wrong
IMPORTANT: I've realized that any mail sent to alex@compucat.me (my public email) has been silently dropped because I goofed when setting up my DNS records.
If you've *ever* sent me email, I'm so sorry: it's probably looked like I've been rude and never responded. Give me a poke now that we're all working again :)
current thoughts:
- master library in macOS/iTunes format on the NAS
- macbook can access over LAN or through an openvpn tunnel
- any FLAC/MQA things stay separate, but a script periodically creates ALAC copies of those for the apple devices
welp, time to re-consolidate my music collection, this is going to be Fun:tm:
Lots of mixed formats, but FLAC's a no-go because Apple devices. Optimally this should live on my NAS, but I need fast/continual access from my MacBook for iPhone media management. Oh yeah, and if the MacBook loses connection and I open macOS Music, then the library becomes weirdly fragmented across drives all over again. Fuuuuun :)
Found an old screenshot someone apparently took of me a few years back. Quote from them: "you look so uncomfortable"
- homepage
- https://compucat.me
- compucat@fortheusers.org
- xmpp
- compucat@patchcord.be
- for more, see
- https://compucat.me/about
Tinkerer, musician, engineer, linux-wiiu dev, 4TU staff. I post random ramblings and snippets of things here.
Current project: changes every two seconds, ping me and I'll tell you way too much :)
Joined Dec 2018
