code logs -> 2008 -> Tue, 16 Dec 2008< code.20081215.log - code.20081217.log >
--- Log opened Tue Dec 16 00:00:46 2008
00:03 Vornicus-Latens is now known as Vornicus
00:14 * ToxicFrog froths
00:14
<@ToxicFrog>
Dual head should not be remotely this hard
00:17
<@ToxicFrog>
So far I've tried three configuration tools and I don't know how many different xorg.conf contents, and the conclusion I've reached is that I can have any dual-head setup I like provided that the external monitor (1) is considered the primary if in xinerama mode and (2) is driven at 1024x768
00:17
<@ToxicFrog>
The latter is especially rageworthy since it's a 1650x1080 LCD
00:18
<@ToxicFrog>
With the result that 1024x768 is not only not remotely using its full capabilities, but also looks like utter shit.
00:20
<@ToxicFrog>
On the plus side, the new S-Video capture card continues the trend of linux being many orders of magnitude better than windows when it comes to video capture.
00:42
<@Consul>
I have a video file that Devede chokes on for some reason, even though Totem can play it fine.
00:44
<@Consul>
And no tovid in Fedora's repos.
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00:49 mode/#code [+o Consul] by ChanServ
00:49
<@Consul>
Wow, it didn't like something I did. It reset X.
01:01 AnnoDomini [~farkoff@Nightstar-29275.neoplus.adsl.tpnet.pl] has quit [Quit: I am Magellan-R-MGE. I see your group is missing a Hygiene officer.]
01:24 Derakon[AFK] is now known as Derakon
01:32
<@ToxicFrog>
tovid?
01:32
<@ToxicFrog>
If you're trying to convert it, check out mencoder
01:34
<@Consul>
Well, anything's worth a try at this point. Thanks.
01:38 * Derakon recompiles ImageMagick.
01:40
<@Consul>
The problem is, I don't know the exact specs of DVD video file.
01:41
<@Consul>
Or, really, anything about how to convert a file to a DVD image.
01:42
<@Consul>
I always counted on Devede to work that out for me, but this particular file locks it up, despite Totem's ability to play the file fine.
01:48
<@Consul>
And converting it to something else only to have Devede convert it again seems pointless.
01:48
<@Consul>
Unless there's a lossless in-between option I can use.
01:50
<@Derakon>
Well! I'm glad I decided to test the compiled binary before installing it.
01:50
<@Derakon>
Somehow it's failed to notice my libpng install.
01:54
<@Derakon>
Or alternatively, it just doesn't work properly until you do an install. Thanks a lot, IM.
02:00
<@Derakon>
So the big problem with the puzzle game right now is that you can't lose it.
02:01
<@Derakon>
You can hit a point at which your score no longer goes up, but that isn't cause for termination.
02:02
<@Derakon>
What I'm thinking is that you have a minimum score, set each time you level up; if your score goes below this point then you lose.
02:02
<@Derakon>
So e.g. at level 1 (penalty 5pts per rotation) your minimum score would be -200pts. At level 2 (penalty 10pts per rotation) it would be (score at levelup - 400pts). And so on.
02:05 * Vornicus had a different thought: a time limit on hitting the match button.
02:06
<@Derakon>
Time limits result in totally different playstyles. I'd like to support both contemplative and more frantic play.
02:06
<@Derakon>
But in different game modes.
02:08
<@Derakon>
In other news, damn I made some shiny graphics. <3
02:12
<@Derakon>
Also, RMB->CCW rotation was simple.
02:14 gnolam [lenin@Nightstar-1382.A163.priv.bahnhof.se] has quit [Quit: Z?]
02:19
<@ToxicFrog>
Consul: there are in fact lossless in-between options; the only problem is that they're huge.
02:19
<@Consul>
Well, I have the space. It would be temporary anyway.
02:20
<@ToxicFrog>
Of course, the real question here is why are you generating DVDs, given that MPEG-2 is shit~
02:20
<@Consul>
So we can watch them in the living room.
02:20
<@McMartin>
Well, sometimes you want to feed it to a DVD player.
02:20
<@McMartin>
Yeah.
02:20
<@ToxicFrog>
That's why you hook a computer up to the TV.
02:20
<@McMartin>
Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha
02:20
<@McMartin>
*gasp*
02:20
<@McMartin>
hahahahahahahahahaha
02:20
<@McMartin>
hahahaha
02:21
<@Consul>
Why does everyone assume that that's an option?
02:21
<@McMartin>
(PS: hahaha)
02:21
<@McMartin>
You may notice I'm not.
02:21
<@Consul>
Yeah, I noticed. :-)
02:21
<@ToxicFrog>
(or there are these little boxes you can get that will play MPEG-4 AVIs off of a normal (UDF?) DVD+R)
02:21
<@McMartin>
TV out is the most ridiculously finicky piece of equipement I have ever seen for a PC.
02:21
<@McMartin>
And that includes research prototype haptic interfaces.
02:21
<@Derakon>
Granted the latter tends to run on a very constrained set of hardware~
02:22
<@ToxicFrog>
Oddly, TV-out - in the form of on-card S-Video connectors - is the one sort of multihead that has reliably and consistently worked for me under both linux and windows.
02:22
<@McMartin>
You also found nVidia drivers unusably unstable and ATI drivers rocksolid~
02:23
<@ToxicFrog>
Plug in cable, xrandr --output TV --same-as LVDS
02:24
<@McMartin>
Also note that your solution requires purchasing additional hardware.
02:24
<@Consul>
I would love to build a MythTV box for the living room.
02:24
<@McMartin>
The last time I plugged even a midrange graphic card into Zinglon, it stopped POSTing.
02:24
<@ToxicFrog>
McMartin: ok, true, I do tend to assume the presence of a laptop
02:24
<@Consul>
I even found a nice hi-fi-looking computer case to stuff it into.
02:25
<@McMartin>
Pretty sure no laptop I've ever worked with had S-Video out.
02:25
<@ToxicFrog>
I can't recall seeing a laptop that didn't apart from the EEE in recent memory.
02:25
<@McMartin>
My Thinkpad didn't, and my MBP only appears to have DVI out.
02:26
<@McMartin>
Unless I'm misinterpreting the plugs.
02:26
<@ToxicFrog>
Hell, my family has between us five laptops, all different brands and different eras, and all of them have S-Video.
02:26
<@ToxicFrog>
Or some bastard deceptive socket that looks like S-Video but needs a special cable to actually talk to the TV, but, close enough.
02:26
<@ToxicFrog>
Consul: MythTV is pretty awesome, yes
02:27
<@McMartin>
I can identify every plug on this, so unless theres a DVI<->S-Video adapter, MBPs don't do this.
02:27
<@McMartin>
But then, my MBP has a better screen than my TV.
02:28
<@ToxicFrog>
Heh.
02:29
<@ToxicFrog>
And as far as I know there's no such thing, although I suppose there may exist a wacky video card that multipins it or something
02:31
<@ToxicFrog>
Incidentally, Consul: there's at least one brand of solid-state MythTV client applience on the market
02:31
<@ToxicFrog>
So you can just install the server on whichever system has the videos anyways and use one of those, too
02:32
<@Consul>
That's a thought...
02:32
<@ToxicFrog>
(my parents have one; it's pretty nice, and it's tiny, about the size of a four-port switch)
02:32
<@ToxicFrog>
(and has a remote control)
02:35
<@Consul>
Can it handle digital cable?
02:35
<@Consul>
Blargh. Devede crashed in the middle of a job.
02:37
<@ToxicFrog>
You mean the server?
02:37
<@Consul>
The MythTV appliance you just mentioned.
02:37
<@ToxicFrog>
That depends entirely on whether there exists a V4L-compatible capture card that does digital cable, and as to that, I have no idea.
02:37
<@ToxicFrog>
The applience is *just* a client
02:38
<@ToxicFrog>
You plug the TV into end, and into the other end you plug an ethernet cable, and you tell it which computer is the server
02:39
<@Consul>
So if I want my cable to go through, I need a cable where my server is, which is a no-go in my house. That brings me back to my custom build.
02:39
<@ToxicFrog>
And the server is responsible for video capture and deployment.
02:39
<@Consul>
This house was built before 1893. It doesn't take well to retrofitting.
02:39
<@ToxicFrog>
I actually wasn't even thinking about cable; I was considering for easily playing all the videos already stored on the computer.
02:40
<@Consul>
I won't bother if I can't get the TiVO-like capabilities, too.
02:41
<@ToxicFrog>
Aah.
02:41
<@Consul>
That's half the reason for bothering.
02:43
<@Consul>
I wonder if MythTV can handle HD. We're setting our sights on a Samsung LCD HDTV, a really nice one, for next year.
02:44
<@ToxicFrog>
Depends on the hardware.
02:44
<@Consul>
So, I'd need to track down a digital cable card that supports HD and has Linux drivers. No sweat! :-/
02:45
<@ToxicFrog>
This kind of headache is why I get what little TV I watch entirely via bittorrent.
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02:55
<@Consul>
Shit! Everything's crashing on me all of a sudden!
02:56
<@Consul>
And it all seems to be in connection with trying to convert video files.
02:56
<@Consul>
Is one of my cores going bad?
03:04
<@Consul>
Maybe some bad memory. That would suck.
03:04
<@Consul>
And I bought good brand-name stuff, too.
03:07
<@Consul>
Although it pains me I can't remember which one. Just that it was name-brand.
03:13 * McMartin eyes some instructions at work.
03:13
<@McMartin>
"Step 11 (optional): Have pie"
03:14
<@C_tiger>
mmmmmmmmmm pie
03:17
<@Consul>
Well, Maxima isn't quite as polished as Maple 12 but it's quite capable.
03:21
<@Consul>
I had to foil (2-x)^3 by hand today on my calc 3 final. Royal pain in the ass. Maxima just told me I got it right, though.
03:22
< Vornicus>
Dude, that shit's easy.
03:22
<@Consul>
But it's really easy for me to lose track of where I am, and drop a sign.
03:22
< Vornicus>
...uh.
03:22
<@Consul>
And one mistake early on in a triple-integral problem...
03:23
<@Consul>
Just revel in your superior math skills and assume I'm an idiot.
03:23
<@Consul>
We all have our shortcomings, after all.
03:23
< Vornicus>
YOu're not actually using the binomial theorem, are you.
03:23
<@Consul>
I can do triple-integrals until I need to foil a binomial twice.
03:24
<@Consul>
The trick with Pascal's Triangle? I would've loved to if I could remember it.
03:24
< Vornicus>
heh
03:25
<@Consul>
I can do it the long way as long as I'm careful with my signs.
03:25
<@Consul>
I find dropping or reversing signs way too easy at the best of times. It's my single biggest mental-block.
03:26
<@Consul>
I don't remember being taught anything by the name "Binomial Theorem". If I was, it was a very long time ago.
03:26
<@Consul>
Having to raise binomials to N powers disappears as a needed skill for a long time.
03:27
<@Consul>
Then suddenly, it rears up again.
03:28
<@Consul>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binomial_theorem -- Nope, I was definitely never taught this.
03:41
<@Consul>
I don't think it would've made a a degree 3 binomial any easier.
03:41
<@Consul>
Beyond that, and I can see the value.
03:53
<@Consul>
Sorry about the outburst. My confidence has been at an all-time low since starting double integrals. I find the problem setups daunting.
03:53
<@Consul>
As if I finished partial derivatives and my brain said, "nope, no more for me."
04:03
< Vornicus>
To be perfectly frank I rarely touch calc these days.
05:04
<@Derakon>
Any good ideas for converting m4a (the only file format that GarageBand appears to export as) to .ogg?
05:04
<@Derakon>
Or .wav, if I have to.
05:07
< Vornicus>
iTunes can do m4a to mp3
05:08
<@Derakon>
You have to pay for licensing to use MP3s in your software, though. Hence ogg.
05:08
<@ToxicFrog>
mencoder probably understands it. Winamp almost certainly does if you have a windows machine kicking aroudn.
05:09
<@Derakon>
I do not.
05:09
<@Derakon>
Maybe Audacity can convert it?
05:09
< Vornicus>
I was under the impression that any such silliness was gone. i mean, most open source systems can handle mp3s without thinking anyway.
05:10
<@Derakon>
Audacity cannot open m4a files.
05:10
<@Derakon>
In any event, Pygame's mixer only handles ogg and wav.
05:10
<@Derakon>
And I'm not about to roll my own mixer.
05:15
<@Derakon>
Good gravy there's a lot of for-pay converters out there.
05:15 * jerith considers sox.
05:16
< Vornicus>
Socks are your friends
05:17
<@Derakon>
And they all have horrendously sketchy-looking websites.
05:18
<@Derakon>
Many of them are on those download aggregators.
05:19
<@Derakon>
Yay! http://www.nch.com.au/switch/
05:31
<@Serah>
Possibly convert it to mp3 an from mp3 to .ogg.
05:32
<@Derakon>
The app I linked does what I need.
05:32
<@Derakon>
So now I have sound effects. Just crappy ones.
05:48
<@Derakon>
Argh. And of course now that I have to test getting combos longer than 4, I'm utterly unable to.
05:50 * Derakon successfully gets a 7-combo...and verifies that the sounds do not play properly. Dammit.
05:52 * Vornicus manufactures long combos along the bottom.
06:00
<@Derakon>
Argh!
06:01
<@Derakon>
Chaos keeps ruining my six-combos!
06:01
<@Derakon>
Er, seven-combos.
06:01
<@Serah>
Then disable chaos.
06:01
<@Serah>
Set up an envoironment for the purpose of testing this.
06:01
<@Serah>
Create an artificial situation.
06:02
<@Derakon>
That sounds like work~
06:02
<@Derakon>
That sounds like work~
06:02
<@Derakon>
Er, whups.
06:04 * Derakon simply removes half the colors.
06:04
<@Serah>
See? That works.
06:04
<@Derakon>
And there goes a 16-combo. Impressive. Scored 6060 points.
06:05
<@Derakon>
Also, the board looks rather like a Christmas lights display with only green, red, and yellow.
06:07
<@Derakon>
...27-combo. Scored 32598.
06:07
<@Derakon>
And the problem with the sounds was that I was trying to play a sound before it finished. Easy to fix. So now I have four chime effects that play a rising major chord, and then on the fifth, sixth, and seventh combos I play combinations of chimes.
06:09 * Derakon sets the colors to 2, to find out if he'll get sick of the sound effects before the board manages to arrange itself so that there are no matches.
06:09
<@Derakon>
We're up to a 60-comob and no signs of stopping.
06:11
<@Derakon>
Yeah, this isn't gonna stop anytime soon. Combo count ~150, each match is adding about 50k points.
06:11
<@Derakon>
And of course as soon as I put it back on 6 colors the board starts out with a length-10 combo, the longest I've ever seen (and the most valuable at 1590 points).
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--- Log closed Tue Dec 16 11:06:36 2008
--- Log opened Tue Dec 16 11:06:40 2008
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--- Log closed Tue Dec 16 13:27:24 2008
--- Log opened Tue Dec 16 13:27:29 2008
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--- Log closed Tue Dec 16 13:35:58 2008
--- Log opened Tue Dec 16 13:36:02 2008
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19:47 Vornicus-Latens is now known as Vornicus
19:53
<@ToxicFrog>
McMartin: more bug reports against nfrotz!
19:54
<@ToxicFrog>
>restore
19:54
<@ToxicFrog>
Enter a file name.
19:54
<@ToxicFrog>
Default is "01.sav": lp/01.sav
19:54
<@ToxicFrog>
/(failednullRESTOREbackconfusion)\
19:54
<@ToxicFrog>
>restore
19:54
<@ToxicFrog>
Enter a file name.
19:54
<@ToxicFrog>
Default is "lp/01.sav": 01.sav
19:54
<@ToxicFrog>
/(yesunfoldingbackwardsRESTORErenewpointtimespace)\
19:54
<@ToxicFrog>
Note that 01.sav and lp/01.sav are the same file.
20:01
<@McMartin>
Mm. I wonder if that's the multibyte stuff stinging us again.
20:05
<@AnnoDomini>
LP? Let's Play?
20:09
<@ToxicFrog>
Yes.
20:09
<@ToxicFrog>
McMartin: also, if
20:09
<@ToxicFrog>
I script to "lp/02.scr", it gets the lolnultermination effect as well.
20:10
<@McMartin>
Well
20:10
<@McMartin>
Can you try to replicate this on something that isn't messing with the metaverbs~
20:10
<@ToxicFrog>
Heh. Alright
20:12
<@ToxicFrog>
I can't reproduce the SAVE or RESTORE bugs with Zork.
20:13
<@ToxicFrog>
I can, however, reproduce the problem with SCRIPTing to a subdirectory.
20:13
<@McMartin>
That's a different compiler, though.
20:13
<@McMartin>
OK.
20:13
<@McMartin>
Try doing the restore thing on Lost Pig.
20:13
<@ToxicFrog>
Well, yes. I figured that that would help in sorting out which bugs are compiler or library and which are interpreter.
20:14
<@McMartin>
Ssssort of. If the library is wrong but, say, WinFrotz does the right thing, then the interpreter is blamed anyway.
20:15
<@ToxicFrog>
lp/03.scrX\!^? zork.scr.4\!^? -- I can generate bad filenames from >SCRIPT in zork without the subdirectory, too!
20:17
<@McMartin>
This is almost certainly in the zchar<->char conversions.
20:20 * McMartin is going out to dinner tonight, but will try to replicate on a debug build tonight or tomorrow.
20:20
<@ToxicFrog>
Aha! You can find out who you are (or, well, who your body is) before going home, if you're slightly metagamish while talking to James
20:20
<@ToxicFrog>
> ASK JAMES ABOUT PRECESSOR and > ASK JAMES ABOUT BRAND result in the same line of conversation.
20:22
<@ToxicFrog>
Also > SHOW BOX TO JAMES results in "I've often admired it. It's where you keep your personal journals, is it not?"
20:24 * AnnoDomini is watching the dongs.exe LP.
20:33
< Alek>
...
20:34
<@AnnoDomini>
http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Dongs.exe/
20:35
<@McMartin>
TF: It sounds like your loyal retainers are recalcitrant, but you really should try to force the first vote to be between endings C and D.
20:35
<@McMartin>
If anyone's bright enough^W^Wread a walkthrough and convinces people to do A, then maybe allow it.
20:35
<@McMartin>
But not until you've done enough to be able to *do* C.
20:35 Alek is now known as Alek|gone
20:48
<@ToxicFrog>
McMartin: yeah.
20:50
< Vornicus>
McM: what IF was it that had a huge city and you could say "go to <place where you think you can find a particular object>" and it works?
20:54
<@McMartin>
That was this year's comp's game "Nightfall", by Eric Eve.
21:05
< Vornicus>
aha, thank you
21:10
<@McMartin>
Note that that was also me not reading the map that came with the game.
21:11
< Vornicus>
Well, yes, I know that - but the fact that you could /do/ that was nice.
21:53 grossroot is now known as grossroot[idle]
22:24
<@gnolam>
AnnoDomini: ... is that Pedobear in clip #2?
22:24
<@AnnoDomini>
It seems so.
23:48
<@Consul>
http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Open-Sesame.aspx -- The most awesome WTF ever.
23:53
<@gnolam>
Saw that one. Pretty good solution actually. :)
23:57
<@Consul>
The biggest WTF on that entire site are the comments. :-/
--- Log closed Wed Dec 17 00:00:03 2008
code logs -> 2008 -> Tue, 16 Dec 2008< code.20081215.log - code.20081217.log >