Hang Out and Post

[Wembly]

Aww, but that's just part of the fun. It's like at parades when you get candy thrown at you. Sure it may hit you in the face if your not watching but then you get the yummy goodness and a laugh about getting hit, I still say it's amusing.

[The Score in Blue]

Parade candy? At the parades, they throw that really hard candy that you lick on the plane to stop your ears from popping. It tastes horrible as well.

[Wembly]

Aww, that's sad. The last parade I went to that threw candy had decent candy.

[CAV of Gang Green]

My favorite part is just the fact that I can dress as something, so I have an excuse for walking around in public as Indiana Jones or The Grim Reaper.

 

Candy and scaring the crap out of people are bonuses.

[:)Doc]

The only thing I'm doing this year is carving a pumpkin. :P

[antiaircraft]

I've had the crap scared out of me quite enough this week, thank you very much. Having to handle assembly programming is Halloween enough for me. xD

 

I use a Dell E6400. The Function keys only work if I press them along with the "fn" key. :yes:

Heh, I was looking up your laptop model and I was very amused to see Dell lambasting HP on their battery testing methods. I use a HP Mini 110 netbook myself, which gets barely four hours of battery life on a good day - but it came for free, so I'm not complaining... much. :P

[jumpingbeans]

My costume is really hard to figure out, though really quite funny once I tell them.

And I've never carved a pumpkin in my life..... my mom has these really odd things, which are shaped like funny mouths and ears and whatnot, and we just poke them into the pumpkin. Of course, they are good for little kids.

[antiaircraft]

So then JB... any chance we could take a few guesses at this costume of yours?

[jumpingbeans]

Sure. I'll give you a brief description.

First of all, I'm wearing a yellow T-shirt. Then I put a white T-shirt on, with a whole in it, so you can see a circle of yellow. Then, to add to that, I've got devil ears too.

 

So, can you get it? It's really hard.

[antiaircraft]

I was completely stumped at first, but I got it with the help of my good friend Google. Of course, that disqualifies me, so I'll keep my mouth shut and let everyone else guess. :P

[jumpingbeans]

Thanks. (I know. Isn't it hard)

 

And I got it off of Google too.

 

Isn't technology great?

 

On a side note, they was a lot of other great costumes on the site I found it on. Things like 'Game show contestant', and, one of my favorites, 'Invisible Man.'

[antiaircraft]

Heh, that sounds really interesting. :yes: One thing that would really make me edge away in horror is if I met someone wearing a shirt covered in assembly code. xD

[jumpingbeans]

The Invisible Man was for parties, and you didn't want to go to them, so you'd just stay home, and when somebody asked why you weren't there, you say

"I was. I dressed up as the invisible man."

 

And for the game show contestant, you get a big name tag and randomly say things like "I'd like to buy a vowel" or "Mountains for 500 please, Alex"

[antiaircraft]

Right. For the perfect costume to scare off programmers, this is what you need on your shirt:

 

;*************************************************
; Rotating Lights example in ASM language
;*************************************************
; export symbols
           XDEF Entry       ; export 'Entry' symbol
           ABSENTRY Entry   ; mark this as application entry point

; include derivative specific macros
           INCLUDE 'derivative.inc'

ROMStart    EQU  $4000  ; absolute address to place my code/constant data

;*****************************************************************
; constants (bitmasks etc)
;*****************************************************************
RUN_SW  equ %00010000  ; PTM.4
DIR_SW  equ %00100000  ; PTM.5

;*****************************************************************
; variable/data section
;*****************************************************************
           ORG RAMStart
; no variable or data

;*****************************************************************
; code section
;*****************************************************************
           ORG   ROMStart

;*****************************************************************
; Main entry point of the program (reset vector points here            
;*****************************************************************
Entry:      LDS   #RAMEnd+1       ; Initialize the stack pointer
           CLI                   ; Enable interrupts

           movb  #$FF,DDRT       ; Configure LEDs as outputs
           ldaa  #%00000011      ; Load initial pattern to rotate

mainLoop:   brclr PTM,#RUN_SW,*      ; Wait for run switch

           brset PTM,#DIR_SW,toLeft ; Check direction

toRight:    clc                   ; Rotate pattern to right
           rora
           bcc   noCarry
           oraa  #%10000000
           bra   noCarry

toLeft:     clc                   ; Rotate pattern to left
           rola
           bcc   noCarry
           oraa  #1

noCarry     staa  PTT             ; Put the pattern on the LEDs
           bsr   delay           ; Wait a while
           bra   mainLoop        ; Back for more

;*****************************************************************
; Delay Routine – uncalibrated
; ENTRY    : Nil
; EXIT     : Nil
; MODIFIED : Nil
;*****************************************************************
delay       pshx
           ldx   #50000   ; Do many times!
delay2      nop            ; Waste some time
           nop
           nop
           nop            
           dbne  x,delay2 ; Count loops

           pulx
           rts


;**************************************************************
;*                 Interrupt Vectors                          *
;**************************************************************
           ORG   $FFFE
           DC.W  Entry           ; Reset Vector

 

That was a super simple, super neat assembly program.

[jumpingbeans]

May I ask you a simple question, AA...

What on earth is that?

[antiaircraft]

Okay, I will briefly explain the bane of my existence. :)

 

What you see is a programming language known as assembly. Unlike high-level languages, which generally have comprehensive syntaxes covering the various basic operations and structures needed to build complex programs, assembly code is basically a direct translation of raw processor instructions. There are a few small additions for convenience, but essentially that's all it is - each line represents an instruction in machine code, which can be programmed into a microcontroller directly using binary or hexadecimal input (fortunately we have software that does this for us automatically).

 

Assembly language is generally used to program microcontrollers: miniature computers used to control robots and similar devices. One of the microcontrollers I've been working with looks like this (it's the small circuit board in the centre, with the cables sticking upwards from it):

 

 

Since assembly code uses memory addresses, accumulators, and registers directly, programming in assembly requires comprehensive knowledge of the microcontroller you're working with - these things (as well as the instructions themselves) vary wildly. Every microcontroller comes with its own set of features, configurations and odd quirks.

 

The program I posted above basically tells a microcontroller to flash some lights connected to it.

[jumpingbeans]

Er.....I'll say I get and, even though I don't.

So, AA, are you giving out candy tonight?

[antiaircraft]

Nope. There aren't any trick or treaters around here to serve with candy anyway. *shrug* We don't celebrate Halloween much in this part of the world.

 

Now, Chinese New Year, that we know how to celebrate. ;)

[jumpingbeans]

What do you do, in Malaysia, to celebrate the Chinese New Year?

[antiaircraft]

We have a lot of Chinese people here, so we celebrate it in true Chinese style: lots of feasting, plenty of lanterns, and a deafeningly huge display of non-stop fireworks and firecrackers, loud enough to keep you awake for hours on end once midnight passes. Guy Fawkes is nothing in comparison, and I can proudly say that I believe we are rivalled only by China itself in the extravagance of the display. :yes:

[jumpingbeans]

Cool! (Could you give me some food from the feast? I'm starving)

 

So, when is the Chinese New Year? Isn't it around February 22th or something?

[antiaircraft]

Actually, in 2011 we'll be officially be celebrating it on the 3rd and 4th of February. Although of course, most Chinese families will be celebrating it for several weeks in either direction (complete with fireworks). I don't get much sleep in those weeks. :P

 

Unfortunately I don't think there'll be much food left over which I can get my hands on. We have good appetites. xD

[jumpingbeans]

Wow. A holiday that lasts weeks? I've got to be there!

*Hops on plane to Malaysia*

[antiaircraft]

Bring your own toilet paper. As I already explained to a few other TDNers, you won't be able to find any in the public toilets. ;)

[jumpingbeans]

Okay then.....

*Packs a suitcase full of money, and toilet paper*

Is that good?