Many things
First of all, via a random link in jwz, it seems to be the most insane project requirements ever. Limited time only; will end up being friends-only in time.
I have no ill will toward the post's author. It's just that the thought of implementing a form whose action is necessarily a CGI script that must be secure, but which has the absolute requirement that no code must be touched, scares the ever-loving shit out of me. How would I be able to trust whatever code was behind the form if I didn't know how it worked? That's just me wearing my web server guy hat, though.
~*~
One of the speakers in my car conked out on me. At first, I thought the head unit burned out that amplifier, but my curiosity got the best of me, and I ended up making a simple speaker tester out of some multimeter leads and a laptop video-out cable to actually test the speaker using my iPod mini.
I put my leads on the working speaker and it of course works. Shifting to the speaker that was silent, it remained silent when the leads were applied. Plugging everything back in and pulling the head unit, then repeating the test at the harness, showed the same result. I get sound out of the other three speakers, but not the left rear one.
That's the first time I've ever had an actual speaker go bad on me. Good news is that I don't need to replace the head unit just yet, although I'm looking at a Kenwood which will have a USB port, an AUX lead, a CD player and is Sirius-ready. $260 for it and the parts required to keep Class2 functionality. Given that I'm probably going to buy something I'll REALLY keep in about a year or so, I don't think it's worth it to swap the head unit unless it'll fit in the new car, and even then there's a high chance I won't be able or willing to swap the factory unit in the new car.
As a quasi-related aside, I heard commercials for "HD Radio" when I was testing the radio. Twice. I think Sirius is a much better way to go, though. Sure, I'll have to pay for it, but it won't have those blasted commercials (and if it ever does, I can simply stop paying).
~*~
It's been over 20 years since I met my first Apple (middle school running what was probably a II+, though it could've been an old INTBASIC Apple II. Nah, it was a II+, I'm sure; teachers couldn't be bothered to type 6^P to get a disk to go from the not-autostart monitor. And students were expected to use these, too). In all those years, it's obvious I haven't learned all there is to know about them.
The Apple Assembly Line drove this point home. Specifically, the article about delays in the 02/1984 issue. I simply did not know I could display hi-res and lo-res graphics at the same time, or lo-res and text at the same time (outside the context of lo-res/text horizontal split mode). One delay routine creates the optical illusion of mixing hi-res and lo-res graphics on one screen. The other will vertically split (despite Bob's naming the routine "HORIZONTAL SPLIT," the split is quite vertical) the screen between text and lo-res. It's nifty!
And I have all these other AAL issues, and 12.5 years of Nibble to wade through. :o)
~*~
After getting frustrated with my Pocket Programer which used to work, I went out and bought the USB version. Changes in software and the inherent evil which comes with parallel ports forced me to relegate the old Pocket Programmer 1-modified-to-be-a-2 to read-only status. The new programmer will support new parts, too! I should get it today. Hopefully, it'll work with DOS, though I won't be broken up about it if it doesn't.
I have no ill will toward the post's author. It's just that the thought of implementing a form whose action is necessarily a CGI script that must be secure, but which has the absolute requirement that no code must be touched, scares the ever-loving shit out of me. How would I be able to trust whatever code was behind the form if I didn't know how it worked? That's just me wearing my web server guy hat, though.
~*~
One of the speakers in my car conked out on me. At first, I thought the head unit burned out that amplifier, but my curiosity got the best of me, and I ended up making a simple speaker tester out of some multimeter leads and a laptop video-out cable to actually test the speaker using my iPod mini.
I put my leads on the working speaker and it of course works. Shifting to the speaker that was silent, it remained silent when the leads were applied. Plugging everything back in and pulling the head unit, then repeating the test at the harness, showed the same result. I get sound out of the other three speakers, but not the left rear one.
That's the first time I've ever had an actual speaker go bad on me. Good news is that I don't need to replace the head unit just yet, although I'm looking at a Kenwood which will have a USB port, an AUX lead, a CD player and is Sirius-ready. $260 for it and the parts required to keep Class2 functionality. Given that I'm probably going to buy something I'll REALLY keep in about a year or so, I don't think it's worth it to swap the head unit unless it'll fit in the new car, and even then there's a high chance I won't be able or willing to swap the factory unit in the new car.
As a quasi-related aside, I heard commercials for "HD Radio" when I was testing the radio. Twice. I think Sirius is a much better way to go, though. Sure, I'll have to pay for it, but it won't have those blasted commercials (and if it ever does, I can simply stop paying).
~*~
It's been over 20 years since I met my first Apple (middle school running what was probably a II+, though it could've been an old INTBASIC Apple II. Nah, it was a II+, I'm sure; teachers couldn't be bothered to type 6^P to get a disk to go from the not-autostart monitor. And students were expected to use these, too). In all those years, it's obvious I haven't learned all there is to know about them.
The Apple Assembly Line drove this point home. Specifically, the article about delays in the 02/1984 issue. I simply did not know I could display hi-res and lo-res graphics at the same time, or lo-res and text at the same time (outside the context of lo-res/text horizontal split mode). One delay routine creates the optical illusion of mixing hi-res and lo-res graphics on one screen. The other will vertically split (despite Bob's naming the routine "HORIZONTAL SPLIT," the split is quite vertical) the screen between text and lo-res. It's nifty!
And I have all these other AAL issues, and 12.5 years of Nibble to wade through. :o)
~*~
After getting frustrated with my Pocket Programer which used to work, I went out and bought the USB version. Changes in software and the inherent evil which comes with parallel ports forced me to relegate the old Pocket Programmer 1-modified-to-be-a-2 to read-only status. The new programmer will support new parts, too! I should get it today. Hopefully, it'll work with DOS, though I won't be broken up about it if it doesn't.