Proof that I am an introvert.

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/print/46944

"Often confused with shyness, introversion does not imply social reticence or discomfort. Rather than being averse to social engagement, introverts become overwhelmed by too much of it, which explains why the introvert is ready to leave a party after an hour and the extravert gains steam as the night goes on."

This is just one example, but holds true to me. Over a period of a few hours I often become overwhelmed by anxiety when participating in group activities. The way to counter this is to steer away from the activity every now and then, although in some situations this might seem impolite. Furthermore, I tend to make up excuses to leave earlier.

"Scientists now know that, while introverts have no special advantage in intelligence, they do seem to process more information than others in any given situation. To digest it, they do best in quiet environments, interacting one on one."

Very true. I prefer one-on-one social situations, dialogue. To me people act more sensibly when deprived of a group's social stimuli (multi-peer pressure).

"Further, their brains are less dependent on external stimuli and rewards to feel good.""

Such as enjoying silent, lonely moments during which I can further refine my wild fantasies and live in them. External "rewards" feel so goddamn lame compared to any solitary moment, or dialogue, during which I invent some new and exciting strain of thought.

"As a result, introverts are not driven to seek big hits of positive emotional arousal—they'd rather find meaning than bliss—making them relatively immune to the search for happiness that permeates contemporary American culture."

Well, the search for crappiness permeates the European AND Finnish culture too. I personally feel like seeking happiness (and/or perfection) is almost something that one MUST obsess with in order to be generally regarded as a person worth noticing.

"In fact, the cultural emphasis on happiness may actually threaten their mental health. As American life becomes increasingly competitive and aggressive, to say nothing of blindingly fast, the pressures to produce on demand, be a team player, and make snap decisions cut introverts off from their inner power source, leaving them stressed and depleted. Introverts today face one overarching challenge—not to feel like misfits in their own culture."

Exactly how I feel.

Programming: The Ranger class

I felt the need for a c++ class which would enable me to do the following:
- Define a finite range of numbers from 0 to N
- Exclude ranges from this range so that the remaining ranges would be accessible as a list
- Reset the range back to full range

Thus came forth the Ranger class.

Files for the project:
- interface header: http://koti.kapsi.fi/~isoa/files/src/ranger/ksym_ranger.h
- implementation: http://koti.kapsi.fi/~isoa/files/src/ranger/ksym_ranger.cpp
- interactive test program: http://koti.kapsi.fi/~isoa/files/src/ranger/ksym_ranger_test.cpp

License is http://evvk.com/evvktvh.html so feel free to stuff this project up your ass.

You can compile the test program with a standards compliant c++ compiler. An example compilation with GNU compiler is as follows:
- c++ -I path_to_ksym_ranger.h ksym_ranger.cpp ksym_ranger_test.cpp

To get an idea what this piece of shit does, check out this example test run (user input in cursive):

$ a
0 -> 100
20 30

0 -> 19
31 -> 100
40 50

0 -> 19
31 -> 39
51 -> 100
60 70

0 -> 19
31 -> 39
51 -> 59
71 -> 100
15 80

0 -> 14
81 -> 100


Real Freedom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-YMMd1xKIM

Real freedom is
... personal, not political
... lived, not talked about
... shown, not debated
... under your control, not dependent on others
... an inspiration to others, not something you can argue them into wanting

The argument for religious faith

1. Argue that a spesific religion is true
2. Argue that religion is useful
3. Argue that atheism is intolerant, elitist and corrosive of basic human values

Strawmen can't die. Just push the "I WIN" button.

Surround sound with FreeBSD 8.x and snd_hda

The snd_hda driver is really a sweet piece of software. It allows FreeBSD to utilize many HDA-compatible sound chips. Most new motherboards have HDA compatible integrated sound.

Although to get more than two channels to play one has to make some minor adjustment to system settings.

Do this as root:
# kldload snd_hda
# sysctl dev.pcm.0.play.vchanformat=s16le:5.1

The above command sets the hda codec's first playback device to use 5.1 speaker setting as output. If you have 7.1 setup, use s16le:7.1 instead. Etc. Use brain.

If you need multiple applications to access sound simultaneously:
# sysctl dev.pcm.0.play.vchans=3

Normally one would connect green, yellow and black connectors to the speaker system as front, center/lfe and rear respectively. However, some hda chip's default configuration use the gray output plug as for rear speakers.

To test your surround setup:
1. Install VLC or MPlayer from ports or packages
2. Download the AC3 version of "Surround sound test" from http://www.lynnemusic.com/surround.html
3. Make your media player use OSS as sound output backend. RTFM if you must.
4. Play the "Surround sound test" file to see wether you get the samples out of the right speakers
5. Adjust plugs accordingly

Okay, some ppl might argue that configuring snd_hda to use correct output pins would be better than just adjusting plugs, but that's just a waste of time. In the long run it is better to cope with the codec's default configuration. Only attempt your codec's reconfiguration if some of the output pins are not associated etc.

I've tried this approach and managed to get VLC play the "Surround sound test" AC3 file with all samples in the correct channels. In my case, I had to relocate the black plug (rear speakers) to grey plug. Live and learn.

If your media player application does not support the official OSS multichannel playback the the app sucks balls. I heartily recommend VLC.

To make your configuration permanent, edit /etc/rc.local and add the above commands there. Works like a charm.

PS. rtfm$ man snd_hda

EDIT: I've tested the following players to support multichannel OSS playback:
- multimedia/vlc
- multimedia/mplayer
* with: -ao oss -channels 6

Tein tänään kiinalaista possupataa!

Viljapossunsuikalepaketin etiketissä oli ohje. Kaupassa se teki minuun vaikutuksen koska siinä oli myös erittäin houkutteleva kuva ruoka-annoksesta. Ostin sitten ohjeen mukaiset aineet. Unohdin ostaa desimitan. Joten vieläkin arvioin silmämääräisesti, tosin en läheskään aina pieleen.

Tein jänskän hapanimeläkastikkeen ohjeen mukaan. Oli viljapossunsuikaleet marinoidut kyllä, mutta sopi se oma litku siihen todella hyvin. Semmosta jännää tummaa ihmekonkoottia. Haudutin 50% pidempään kuin ohjeessa. Wokvihannekset kruunasi koko hommelin.

Kiinalaiset on jänskiä. Kiinalaiset ruoat vielä jänskempiä!

Hyvää oli. Vieläkin tuossa annoksia jäljellä. Huomennakin saa syödä hyvää ruokaa.