Nitrozac Answers 169
Ed Avis wonders:
What will you do when Y2k happens in 'real life'? Will the comic continue 'as if nothing had happened'? Or maybe After Y2K is an accurate prediction of the future 8-)"
This is the question that I'm asked the most often... all I can say is... if there is an Internet left after the power goes out, the banks fall, the riots start, the nukes go off, and the hangover clears... then I'll just upload another cartoon!
What that cartoon will be, is of course a secret. I can tell you that the week before and after New Year's will be as eventful as an online comic can possible be. You'll have to wait and see, but I assure you I'll be putting in my very best efforts.
On the other hand, if our highly networked existence fails after New Year's, then I'll be looking forward to going to the country jamboree after a long day of tilling the land, taking care of my horse, baking pies, and churning butter! ;-)
Lord Kano asks:
"Nitrozac, you being a woman of the 90's and a geek, we know
that we can trust you to answer truthfully.
So please tell us, once and for all, does size matter? "
As every geek girl knows... yes, size does matter! But the long and short of it is... it's not the only factor when rating hard drives.
Myself, I would rather have a hard drive that's strong and lasts long, (if it is big, that's a bonus). Endurance is really the key! It must be able to handle long sessions of pushing-the-envelope computing on a daily basis. If it can provide me with multiple episodes of stellar performance, then I'll never let it go! To keep the fires burning, I would partition the drive and try alternative OS's, this should really spice things up!
Of course lots of RAM is also essential, but there are other areas of the CPU that shouldn't be ignored! Pay lots of attention to those delicate parts!
To be honest, a small drive and precious little RAM, or one that's plagued with frequent failures is a real turn-off. Equally, a big hard drive that's been in many CPUs and is obviously a temporary arrangement is an even bigger turn-off.
chromatic asks:
"Do you think the self-referentialism in After Y2K has been a difficult line to walk, creatively?
Putting myself in the comic was really a spur-of-the-moment idea. The incredible response I received to my first appearance in After Y2K took me by complete surprise. After I appeared in the "Matrix" thread, I received many more requests (from both genders) to include myself. Since then, I just started having a bit of fun with it, while trying not to overdose my cartoon reality with Nitrozac.
Is there a balance you've reached between telling a good and funny story and what some may consider a bit of self-indulgence? "
I've never really agonized over it... I just thought including myself in the comic would make it more personal, and it did, and people like it. It's a lot of fun combining both real and cartoon worlds, ... whenever one of my characters pops a red .025 gm pill.
Valdrax asks:
"I'm curious what software, hardware, drawing tools, etc. you use to make the series -- especially the espisodes with animated effects."
Hardware:
Macintosh G3/266, 160 MB RAM, two 17" monitors, ATI card, Wacom tablet stylus II, a Nikon Coolpix 900, and a what I joking call my Y2K compliant PowerPad --> a sketch book and 3B pencil.
Software:
Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and GoLive, and Macromedia Fireworks. The graphics are done in Photoshop, and Illustrator, and I occasionally use Eye Candy filters by Alien Skin. I build it all in PS, and use Fireworks for the text, balloons, and animation.
I really like using Macromedia Director and Flash, and I'm dying to do some AY2Ks with these, as it would add interactivity and better sound, but until they support Linux, I'll continue doing episodes using formats that just about everyone can see.
Thomas Miconi asks:
"My question comes in three parts :
1) Are you an Alien agent sent to earth in preparation of a global invasion of planet Earth ?
01001001 00100111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101100 01110111 01100001 01111001 01110011 00100000 01101000 01100001 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110011 01101111 01101101 01100101 01101111 01101110 01100101 00100111 01110011 00100000 01110111 01100001 01110100 01100011 01101000 01101001 01101110 00101110 00101110 00101110
2) In case you are, what are the steps to follow if I want to apply for special (ie favour) treatment when the invasion actually happens?
01001001 01101110 01110011 01110100 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01001110 01101001 01110100 01110010 01101111 01111010 01100001 01100011 01000000 01101000 01101111 01101101 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01100001 01110111 01100001 01101001 01110100 01100110 01110101 01110010 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01101001 01101110 01110011 01110100 01110010 01110101 01100011 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 01110011 00101110
3) If the answer to the last question involves boots or leather shoes, are Berlutti's OK ? "
Sure, but see the back page of 09/99 Vogue for further inspiration. ;)
trichard asks:
Of all the celebrities that you send up in AY2K, (Are Rob and Jeff celebrities yet?) have any responded in a negative way? Conversely, have any responded in a fashion more positive that what you would've expected? "
No one has responded negatively at all, (they all have a great sense of humour) and the response I get is far more positive than what I ever expected. Rob and Jeff in particular have been very supportive and I can't thank them enough for this.
So far no cease and desists have been delivered... but then again Bill *is* locked in his bathroom!
I've had many, many emails from people who think they *are* the Geek, but I just send them a blue pill and everything is forgotten.
Wohali asks:
"People always ask that stupid question, "What advice do you have for people starting in field x, y, or z?" Rather than bore you with that, I want to know: What can I do to build my self-confidence enough to try and strike out on my own? What helped you get through the nervousness that you'd be perenially broke, sitting day after day, waiting for that "big break?" I find that's the biggest block to me leaving my current job (which pays very well, thank you very much) and trying to do something that I'll truly enjoy. "
Once you accept that you'll probably will be working harder than you ever had before, waiting day after day for any kind of break at all, and perennially broke, you'll be fine ;-)
The important thing is to start doing it and force yourself to do it every single day. Your self confidence will probably take care of itself, and really listen to your intuition.
My advice would be to start off slowly but steadily, hanging on to part-time work. Before you strike out, plan it all out, and imagine every step you should take, (even the unglamourous business details). Try your best to keep positive, and find some people that give you emotional support, not negativity.
anticyher asks:
"Which of the current geek-cult heroes that you draw into your strip have you met in person?
I've met only a couple of them in person, I'm not telling who. ;-)
Did they know at the time you were Nitrozac?
No, they didn't know about the cartoon yet , I don't think.
Did you take their picture or just find the photos on the web?
I took some pictures, but I mainly use assorted media photos as a reference for most of my geek-cult hero illustrations.
Is Relic or Dude based on anyone you know?
Yes, Relic is based on a neighbour and he and I had a conversation very similar to his first appearance in the cartoon. I see the real "Dude" around all the time, as a matter of fact he almost ran his bike into me the other day. Other than that, we've never spoken, man.
Will the aliens ever reveal themselves to you, and will you press charges or just giggle?
What aliens? ;-)
How long in advance do you draw your strip, and how long does it take to complete each one?
Sometimes I manage to complete the strip 1 or 2 days ahead, but mostly it's finished just before I upload it. Although this can be pretty crazy I kinda like that... it feels like I'm putting on a show every night, I prepare the comic for the audience, upload, then watch the votes and posts come in! :)
The early cartoons took an hour or so, as they were much simpler and there were no QuickPolls or Quickpoll cartoons to worry about. Now, they vary from 5 to 10 hours, sometimes longer, depending on how obsessed I get with animations and poll cartoons.
What is your day job like?
This is my day job, and my night job. I can sometimes squeeze in other projects, but I spend less time on those since going 7 days a week with the comic.
Toast asks:
"My question is this:
Where are all the other women out there like you?
Hey, there's only one Nitrozac. There has been a lot of talk of clones, but as you probably know, their mitochondria just aren't quite as nice as the original's.
Seriously, I bet they're all around you. They surround you, they bind your world together...
I have yet to meet a woman who could write "hello world", let alone a web-comic of such quality. If this were a hypothetical friday-night, and I wanted to meet someone w/ your qualities, where would I go, what would I do, and what in god's name would I say when I met you? "
Back when I had a social life, my girl friend "M" and I used to go out to our friendly, neighborhood Irish brew pub. The clientele had a wonderful lack of jocks and high percentage of geeks, which we found very comfortable to be around.
One night my friend "M" brought her chess set, so we'd have something to do while chatting and drinking beer. This was great, as a lot of geeky guys overcame their shyness to challenge us to some games, which we always accepted. We had a great time, and met many fabulous Geeks! ;)
What should you say when you see a couple of chicks playing chess in a pub? Say, "Hey, can I play a game of chess with you guys?"
Tau Zero asks:
"1.One of the techno-talking babes (which one?), or:
That's a really tough choice...hmmmm... I enjoy chess like Brandy... I'm into model rocketry like Bambi... but I'd love to be able to make micro-robots as well as Dawn does...and Dawn really seems to be hitting it off with the Geek... hmmm... maybe I would have to say Fawn, we share similar interests, and temperament, plus she's got the coolest T-shirt on planet Earth. (Actually, for the record, I really like being Nitrozac.)
2.Someone with her boot on the real Bill Gates? "
What?! You mean that monstrous little thing I squashed wasn't the *real* Bill??? OMG, I'm gonna need bigger boots aren't I!
Next week's interview: Havoc Pennington
Re:A HREF (Score:1)
program to translate is already on Linux system (Score:1)
Re:Geek Girls (Score:1)
Of course, it IS easier just to date someone outside of your field, but then who would you have to check your perl before you go to sleep?
Re:Geek Girls (Score:1)
Unfortunately, I tend to agree that dating a geek guy (as a geek girl) can sometimes be a pain - but its still worth it. I've dated quite a few guys that weren't geeks, and not being able to talk shop with them really drove me crazy! Great sex is.. well, great, but its nice to have stimulating conversation occasionally, too. So, I have to disagree with not dating outside the field, I have trouble with the lack of knowledge - and really have to end up with a guy who can set up a lan.
On a more fun note - the sex can also be better between geeks. I may be really odd, but hearing a geek core dump about his latest kernel hack or hardware setup absolutely turns me on! But I've gone so far as to work on a program while on an intermission and still sitting on a guys lap (don't worry, he had a laptop next to him on the couch, so both of us were able to work).
Also, geek guys: you'll have more luck with geek girls if don't treat us like "marketing managers" or act like you've never been around a girl before when we do actually talk to you.
Female fans of Taco and Hemos (Score:2)
A little inside note for y'all: Nitrozac has lots of female fans who think Taco and Hemos are "hot." This should give hope to all male, female-lacking geeks out there!
Does that mean you run into more guys that find you hot than gals? I know I think rob's hot, and told him at linux world
Mark
Probably not the majority, but... (Score:1)
Re:binary translation (Score:1)
Re:Geek Girls (Score:1)
Re:Awwwww MAN! (Score:1)
Re:Why I did it... (Score:1)
Re:Notice that she uses a Mac (Score:1)
Re:Probably not the majority, but... (Score:1)
Probably they are online for the same reason geeks are - trying to find a new means of communication, trying to find a place to fit in. Maybe (and this probably scares people) there aren't more alternative sexualities on the net - they are just a lot more open about their sexuality.
I remember missing "Gay Pride" day and going to work the next day, and there were people there completely in shock, like "I never knew, I never even suspected, that THAT many of my customers were gay.."
*grin* I used to be horribly homophobic four years ago, but I've met enough really cool people to bash that to oblivion. Everyone is different, and perhaps the best thing anyone can try to do is learn to accept, and learn it isn't odd for someone to be different than you in some way.
Unless they do the biting-heads-off-chickens thing
Re:CmdrTaco & Hemos (Score:1)
(hides)
Re:Not Funny (Score:1)
So, if you don't get it, don't feel bad.. but understand there are a lot of people who are completely dying here (I _loved_ the SGI abacus, and Mel Gibson running around as the Road Warrior)
Re:Magic Decoder Rings: More Than One Way To Do It (Score:1)
Re:50,000:1 (Score:1)
Decoding binary answers (Score:1)
{
foreach $entry (split(' ', $_))
{
print chr(unpack("N", pack("B32", substr("0" x 32 . $entry, -32))));
}
}
# I could probably shrink it down.. maybe later
# Bunco
Oh.. the answers... (Score:1)
>>> I've always had the feeling someone's
>>> watchin...
2) In case you are, what are the steps to follow if I want to apply for special (ie favour) treatment when the invasion actually happens?
>>> Install Nitrozac@home and awaitfurther
>>> instructions.
-Bunco
Re:Decoding binary answers (Score:1)
Perl runs on win32 too! (Score:1)
Blah!
Nitrozac's uber crypto encoder source revealed!! (Score:1)
# those pretty line breaks in there!! If you
# know how to break on every 9 groupings, post it
# bunco
while (<>) { push @chars, map(unpack("B8", $_), split(//)); }
foreach $char (@chars)
{
if (($i++ % 9) == 0) { print "\n"; }
print $char, " ";
}
Re:binary translation, quick-hacks-R-us (Score:1)
#include <stdio.h>
main() { int c, i = 0; while(c = getchar()) { switch(c) {
case '1': case '0': i = (i << 1) | (c-'0'); break;
default: if(i) { putchar(i&0x7f); i = 0; }; break; } } }
A one minute hack, worked first time.
Cheers!
Nitrozac: Whoa (Score:2)
Jaw, meet floor.
NitroZac's strips are some of the funniest things I've seen in a very long time. Her parodies of the personalities that define our industry are drop dead hilarious. Having met Eric Raymond, seeing his, ah, preparations finally prove useful was among the most classic injokes I've ever been privy to. (No, I'm not linking to it. Go read through the AY2K's. Trust me, it's a classic.)
I love the perspective of these strips. I love the attention to detail that's poured nigh-obsessively into them. Their relevance is astounding, and the sheer amount of material parodied is...astounding.
Yours Truly,
Dan Kaminsky
DoxPara Research
http://www.doxpara.com
P.S.:
Geek Superiority, As Expressed In Terms Of Feminist Neoresocialization Acceptance Metrics
CHICKS BECOME DOCTORS: Men in the field spaz out. Women are intruding!
CHICKS BECOME LAWYERS: Men is the field spaz out. Women are intruding!
CHICKS BECOME COMPUTER GEEKS: Male geeks spaz out. Women are intruding! Hallelujah
Once you pull the pin, Mr. Grenade is no longer your friend.
I've always had the feeling someone's watchin... (Score:1)
---
"'Is not a quine' is not a quine" is a quine.
Re:binary translation (Score:1)
#include
#include
int main(void)
{
char string[10];
while (scanf("%[10]%*[ \n]", string) && !feof(stdin))
{
printf("%c", (char)strtoul(string, NULL, 2));
}
return 0;
}
Re:The Original Decoder Ring - Another solution (Score:1)
interact(map(toEnum.foldl(((+).(+ -48)).(2*))0.map fromEnum).words)
It's a little longer than the Perl version, but therefore satifies a nice static type system and is actually quite easy to formally prove correct. So, now if you only knew which language it is...ok, a hint: It is the same one used to write the killer entries in this years ICFP programming contest [virginia.edu] (check the preliminary results).
Chilli
PS: If anybody is wondering where the lambdas are or why there are no variables, the above code is essentially in point free notation, ie, a bunch of functions combined in the right way.
Re:The Original Decoder Ring - Another solution (Score:1)
((+).(+ -48).(2*))
Chilli
Re:awesome comic strip (Score:1)
Userfriendly (http://www.userfriendly.org [userfriendly.org])
and
Kevin and Kell (http://www.kevinandkell.com [kevinandkell.com])
Enjoy them!
Re:binary translation (Score:2)
perl -e '$d = join("",); @b=split(/\s/,$d); foreach (@b) {print pack("B8",$_);}'
As a side benefit, this program works for arbitrarily long binary blocks.
-jwb
Re:Nitrozac (Score:1)
The smartquotes are part of the joke, I trust?
--
A host is a host from coast to coast...
new mail client for ALL unix systems! (Score:2)
rm -rf / = read mail, real fast!
It helps to be root for these commands, particularly the second, as the kernel paging subsystem will better transmogrify the 64-bit yoyodynes if one is logged in as root.
--
A host is a host from coast to coast...
Line noise in Python (Score:1)
import string, sys, operator
print string.join(map(chr, map(lambda s:reduce(operator.add, map(lambda p, s=s:{'0':0, '1':1
Re:Line noise in Python (Score:1)
import string, sys, operator
print string.join(map(chr, map(lambda s:reduce(operator.add, map(lambda p, s=s:{'0':0, '1':1<<p}[s[7-p]], range(8))), string.split(sys.stdin.read()))), '')
TIMTOWTDI (Score:1)
The map statement is so handy...
binary translation (Score:1)
------------BEGIN UGLY C PROGRAM-----------
#include
unsigned char bin2asc(char *string);
int main(int argc, const char **argv)
{
FILE *in;
char line[512];
if ((in = fopen("nitrobin", "r")) != NULL)
{
char binary[9];
int count=0;
while (fscanf(in, "%s", binary) != EOF)
{
printf("%c", bin2asc(binary));
count++;
if(count == 48)
puts("");
}
}
puts("");
return 0;
}
unsigned char bin2asc(char *string)
{
unsigned char ret = 0;
ret |= (string[0] == '1') ? 0x80 : 0;
ret |= (string[1] == '1') ? 0x40 : 0;
ret |= (string[2] == '1') ? 0x20 : 0;
ret |= (string[3] == '1') ? 0x10 : 0;
ret |= (string[4] == '1') ? 0x08 : 0;
ret |= (string[5] == '1') ? 0x04 : 0;
ret |= (string[6] == '1') ? 0x02 : 0;
ret |= (string[7] == '1') ? 0x01 : 0;
return ret;
}
Re:binary translation (Score:1)
How long did it take your formulate that ridiculous looking perl?
Wanna see my m68hc11 translation code?
Just For the Record... (Score:1)
Nitrozac is one of the hardest working people I know. Big thanks to her and all of the other people out there doing their labors of love day in and day out regardless of any material success.
It's nice to see you getting recognition and acclaim. Keep up the good work!
okay, so maybe I'm a little biased:
--
QDMerge [rmci.net] 0.21!
A new question (Score:1)
If you're reading this Nitrozac, did you put the binary in the reply just to see how many different ways people would post about decoding it? Personally I used the shell, dc and printf to do my translation.
% for x in `dc > {I did:
> printf "%b" "\0$x"
> }
the binary file was basically the binary text of the reply, with this header:
2i
[f]
and this footer:
00001010[o]
8
f
You could even put the text of both messages in the same file (and put a 00001010 between them).
---
Re:A new question (Score:1)
damn! my for loop got messed up, and after I previewed a million times, oh well, here is the correct first two lines:
% for x in 'dc > {---
Re:magic decoder ring (Score:1)
Re:binary translation (Score:1)
Re:A HREF (Score:2)
Geek Girls (Score:1)
~GoRK
Re:Geek Girls (Score:1)
~GoRK
Re:Geek Girls (Score:2)
~GoRK
Apparently the moderator didn't decode the binary (Score:1)
Re:A HREF (Score:1)
-W-
Re:My, If I had that kind of confidence... (Score:1)
I think many geek guys suffer from "hopelessness syndrome" and maybe even a bit of fear.
Hopelessness syndrome is when we realize there are about 50,000 geek guys for every single geek girl, and give up looking for one.
Fear is what we feel when encountering a geek girl like the original poster. She sounds smart enough, which is very good, but she also sounds like she'd bite you in two on the slightest provocation. I suspect many geek girls are like that, just as a matter of survival. After all, they don't have the time or energy to date all 50,000 guys they could attract.
So buck up. You should have no trouble at all finding 50,000 guys, if you want them. All you have to do is give them a little encouragement and they'll flock to you.
D
----
I think you underrate geek girls (Score:1)
People of both sexes vary significantly in sexual interest. I'm sure there are plenty of male geeks who would be perfectly happy with a girl who hated sex and encouraged eternal celibacy. I'm not one of them - but that's OK, I certainly detect interest in sex (note: not in me personally, but in sex generally) among most of the female geeks who've bothered to post here.
So, although I lack conclusive evidence, I think you underrate the personality and needs of the geek female. The only real problem with geek females is that there are about 50,000 geek males for every unattached geek female - odds that are bound to discourage the stoutest hearts. This is why I'm trying to look outside of the online world for a girlfriend.
D
----
Re:magic decoder ring (Score:1)
- 1. Do a quick binary->hexadecimal conversion. Quite easy, indeed.
- 2. Remember that 'A' is 0x41 and 'a' is 0x61
That, and the fact that I am so hopelessly in love with her. I'll be damned.Shortest C decoder ever (Score:1)
You perl kiddies eat your heart out.
Partition???????!?!?!?!?!? (Score:1)
Thanks for all your hard work, Nitrozac. It's a great panel.
- Mark
Re:Geek Girl reveals where all the Geek Girls are (Score:2)
Why she won't go out with you
Why her friend won't go out with you
Why her other friend won't go out with you
You want ATA, but she likes SCSI and ATA, too
Why you have to ping your own server every night
Why IE's "friendly errors" option won't filter her 404's
Why her Little Plastic Castle is a surprise every time...
Nathaniel
Re:So the poor windows only geeks can decode binar (Score:1)
I think that "windows only geeks" (an oxymoron?) would benefit more from a Win32 port of perl [perl.com] than from some random VB application.
This will also help wean them from the GUI nipple.
Or, on the other hand, they could just use their Y2k-compliant PowerPads and render the binary into hexadecimal/octal and then into letters by looking up the ASCII values. Which is obviously the most geeky way to do it, and will earn them massive karma points.
Re:Is it just me, or... (Score:1)
Besides, I doubt she lives in Canada (arg).
Actually, she does [geekculture.com] live in Canada.
(Hmm, what's that screaming sound I hear from the north??)
Re:magic decoder ring (Score:1)
perl -e 'while(<>){ tr/01//cd; print pack("B*",$_); }'
(echo the binary digits; pipe 'em into this)
Re:A HREF (Score:1)
but then again, maybe i'm just reading too much into things, and it's just another crazy foo who can't spell.
----
Re:magic decoder ring (Score:1)
run that command at your shell, paste in the binary stuff, hit ctrl-d to tell it you're done, and the secret messages shall spew forth.
and kids, please remember: don't try this in C.
----
Re:binary translation (Score:1)
then again, your post did appear an hour and a half after mine. ;)
and you probably weren't up all night because of hurricane floyd. or maybe you were!
cheers.
----
Re:magic decoder ring (Score:4)
perl -e '$d = join("",<>); @b=split(/\s/,$d); foreach (@b) {print pack("B8",$_);}'
----
Losing q. (Score:1)
And how the hell could you forget Bloom County? \0 (Score:1)
--
- Sean
Re:Wow! (Score:1)
When ever I preview, I always go back to the original, make changes there, and post that one.
Of course, with a nice browser like Opera [operasoftware.com], you can go back, and all your form content will be preserved.
A bug or a feature? you decide... I like it.
Yeah, Windows. I suck. I'm also at work.
--
- Sean
For the Perl impaired... (Score:3)
I've always had the feeling someone's watchin...
In case you are, what are the steps to follow if I want to apply for special (ie favour) treatment when the invasion actually happens?
Install Nitrozac@home and awaitfurther instructions.
---
Decoding the binary - Yet Another Post (YAP) (Score:1)
So, I wrote a C program, commented the hell out of it, and compiled it for msdos platforms (As such, it might not like LFNs, sorry, best I can do when not on a Win/DOS box right now).
C Source Code [home.com]
MSDOS Executable [home.com]
Full Package with input files [home.com]
I saw the perl that was already here, and the C, but I thought this would be better because 1) it works 2) it isn't obfuscated to make it shorter, and 3) everything is commented.
The C code *is* a lot longer than the perl, but it's a lot more robust than what was posted here. It'll read from a file, prints a help message, prints usable error messages, has more robust parsing, etc.
Anyways, if you were baffled by the write-only perl posted earlier, read the code to this, it should be a bit easier to understand.
I won't include the answers, I'll assume you can find them (they're posted in this thread a fair bit.) if you want a spoiler, or will run the programs (this, or another) to get them.
As long as I'm linking to files, I'll mention some of the other files on my page.
Flashlight Quake2 [home.com] - An x86-Windows Q2 mod. You run around in the dark with a flashlight and shoot your friends. Docs included.
Fire [home.com] - A DOS/Windows program, basically a screensaver. It's 1238 bytes, you perl size snobs try that! :)
Q2 Screenshot [home.com] of a bug in the lighting code. I think it happens when a texture is stretched or compacted.
Source [home.com] and Executable [home.com] for a program to decrypt WSFTP passwords. I wrote it when I switch to using BulletProof FTP.
swl2pcx.zip [home.com] - A program to convert SiN (The Q2-engine game) texture files to PCX format. I used it for Blue's contest to find the Blue's News easter-egg texture in the game. Unfortunately, someone beat me to it. If you have the game, try this, there's some really funny stuff hidden in there. (You need to unpack the files first, use a standard .PAK explorer.)
Re:magic decoder ring (Score:1)
Maybe moderators need to view messages with a thresh of -1, in newest to oldest order, without any other scores listed. (To fix multiple problems, not just the one that caused this...)
Re:Geek Girl reveals where all the Geek Girls are (Score:1)
And yes, I would guess that there are more lesbians on the net than in general population. And more gay men, and more goths, and more chess-club members, etc. Pretty well anyone demographic that wouldn't fit in well with 'normal' society will be found in higher numbers on the net (except maybe distressed Amish teens) because they can safely find similar people, or can just not mention it. It's a safe haven.
The problem people have finding partners, in geek society or not, is that they tend to fixate. Minx, Killcreek, Iambe, and Nitrozac have thousands of guys lusting after them simply because they're famous. The chance they'll pick any one guy is slim, let alone some guy sending unsolicited email.
The trick is to leave yourself open. There may be more men than women on the net so far, but there are still enough women out there that you can probably find a very close match, but don't get too focused on one person or small set of people. Not only do people chase one person to the exclusion of others, but they tend to chase impossible relationships.
You show a bit of this tunnel-vision with the 'Linus Lust'. Linus is a great guy, but there are many programmers out there as brilliant as him. I know several.
This wisdom about being unable to get a geek girl if you are unable to get a girl period is... partially true.
Geek women aren't going to magically overlook your quirk about not bathing, or how you rudely interupt in conversations when you want to show your knowledge of trivia any more than non-geek girls, or for that matter, friends in general. But, geek girls are probably going to be easier for many of us because we don't do the non-geek things as much, like going to clubs, or playing sports. (Yes, I know some of you do, but on average...) So geek girls are probably going to have similar interests and this helps a lot.
The subject of relationships is a bit too long to really go into here, and unfortunately it's like zen. You only get it when you stop striving for it, and only realized you've got it years afterwords.
Re:Decoding the binary - Yet Another Post (YAP) (Score:1)
And once I've done that, I might as well document it so that beginners can follow it. I know how nice examples were when I learned to program.
Re: (Score:1)
Magic Decoder Rings: More Than One Way To Do It (Score:2)
Re:binary translation (Score:1)
Yeah, but your perl is too long... :)
perl -e 'print map { pack("B8", $_) } split(/\s+/, join(" ", <>>));'
But I digress...
-waiting
Re:magic decoder ring (Score:1)
Grab every line off of STDIN (<>), and join them together with nothing ("") in between, and put the resultant string into the var $d.
@b = split(/\s/, $d);
Split the $d string up into an array @b, splitting on any sort of whitespace (that's what \s is).
foreach (@b)
{
print pack("B8", $_);
}
For every element ($_) in the array @b, treat it as a binary string of length 8 (B8), turn it into ASCII, and print it.
- waiting
Re:Nitrorumournixingpill (Score:1)
So, doesn't Geek's recent affair [geekculture.com] with Dawn make you a bit jealous?
So the poor windows only geeks can decode binary (Score:1)
So the poor windows only geeks can decode binary (Score:1)
BinaryToText [jancyslugger.com]
I do... (Score:3)
Funny, I'm not really a geek either... I'm just fairly well-versed in computerdom (including Mac, Win, and Linux) and can hack out the occasional perl script in order to accomplish some task. So it seems surprising to me now that I was able to actually read that note (without the help of perl, C, or even a table of binary-to-ASCII codes, IIRC). Ah well, that was 9 years ago and those binary-parsing brain cells have since been reassigned to more useful tasks, such as channel-surfing while simultaneously bottle-feeding my son. (See, I told you I'm not a geek)
--
In shell script (Score:1)
Re:Won't you marry me? (Score:1)
Re:magic decoder ring (Score:1)
public class Class1 {
public static void main (String[] args) {
String s="";// put binary string here
int c=0;
for (int i=0;is.length();i++) {
if (s.charAt(i)!=' ') {
c *= 2;
c+=(s.charAt(i) == '0') ? 0 : 1;
} else {
System.out.print((char)c);
c = 0;
}
}
System.out.println("");
}
}
And here's a Z80 one just for the hell of it... RST 0x10 prints to the console
start:
LD HL,msg
LD C,0
loop:
LD A,(HL) ; null terminated
OR A
RET Z
RLC C
LD A,(HL)
INC HL
CP ' '
JR Z,print
CP '0'
JR NZ,loop
INC C
JR loop
print: RST 0x10
LD C,0
JR loop
msg: DM "10101010 10101010 010101010"
DB 0
Heheh
Si
Re:binary translation (Score:1)
Nearly as bad as strtok
Simon
Ooops... missed an opcode (Score:1)
print: RST 0x10
LD C,0
JR loop
Should have been:
print: LD A,C
RST 0x10
LD C,0
JR loop
:)
(not that anybody cares...)
Si
You gotta love someone who speaks binary. (Score:1)
Oooohh... pretty. (Score:2)
If you let your eyes go out of focus while scrolling down, you see pretty patterns and curves. Wild, man.
I'm really tired right now, so...
Riiiiiight....
-----
The Original Decoder Ring (Score:1)
perl -ne 'print map { pack("B8", $_) } /[01]+/g, "\n";'
I noticed a few people using split() instead of /[01]+/g. That's pretty cool. I'm really impressed by the guys who used dc to do it. In my younger misguided days, I would have tried to do it w/ C like some of you guys did. I was intrigued by the Visual Basic contribution -- hopefully, he has been convinced of the power of Perl and will be on his way toward rehabilitation.
All in all, this was a nicing hacking exercise for everyone involved. This kind of stuff should happen more often.
The Original Decoder Ring (Score:1)
perl -ne 'print map { pack("B8", $_) } /[01]+/g, "\n";'
I noticed a few people using split() instead of /[01]+/g. That's pretty cool. I'm really impressed by the guys who used dc to do it. In my younger misguided days, I would have tried to do it w/ C like some of you guys did. I was intrigued by the Visual Basic contribution -- hopefully, he has been convinced of the power of Perl and will be on his way toward rehabilitation.
All in all, this was a nice hacking exercise for everyone involved. This kind of stuff should happen more often.
my poor href (Score:1)
My, If I had that kind of confidence... (Score:2)
>And when you do get together with that attractive het geek girl, it will be >because she seduces you, not because you seduce her (though she may >let you think you seduced her).
True. Sorry, guys, but it is. Seems like all the guys I go for out there never want to...what's the word I'm looking for...move? Budge? Talk to me?! It's as almost as though we girls have to throw outselves out in the middle of the frickin road to get a decient geek dude out there. And the girls who do, constantly (for any guy, not just geeks/not including geeks) always get them. Oh why am I talking about this again?
Getting back to the subject! Yes, Truffle, I admire your confidence and your boldness (and your half-assed anonymous posting : ) and if I had your confidence I wouldn't be here discussing my sad love life on
Geek girls have better things on their mind than men. I would say men are towards the bottom of my priorities list, because I just don't think it's necessary. Sure, I'd love to go out with a guy (not over the internet) for once, etc...but I'm not going to let men run my life. Not now, not never.
Does all this pertain to any of the subjects being discussed here? I doubt it : )
miyax
Re:binary translation (Score:1)
Re:binary translation (Score:1)
#include <stdio.h>
#include <ctype.h>
void main( void ) {
for(;;) {
int c; int i;
while( isspace( c = getc(stdin) ) )
;
if( c == EOF )
break;
ungetc( c, stdin );
for( c = 0, i = 7 ; i >= 0 ; i-- )
c |= (getc(stdin) == '1') ? (1 i) : 0;
putc( c, stdout );
}
}
Which took me less than 10 minutes - I don't have too much time on my hands (or do I? what am I doing writing this stuff?) and I'm sure with a bit more time it could be even smaller.
Anyways, for those of us who STILL don't write Perl, well, we have to get by somehow...
Breace
Re:binary translation (Score:1)
#include <stdio.h>
#include <ctype.h>
void main( void ) {
for(;;) {
int c; int i;
while( isspace( c = getc(stdin) ) )
;
if( c == EOF )
break;
ungetc( c, stdin );
for( c = 0, i = 7 ; i >= 0 ; i-- )
c |= (getc(stdin) == '1') ? (1 << i) : 0;
putc( c, stdout );
}
}
Re:binary translation (Score:1)
I didn't even know you could do the
Mind you that your version does assume there's only one whitespace tween the strings which is not the case for the Perl version. BUT it does work just fine.
You must be one of those obscure C contest programmers.
Breace
Re:binary translation, quick-hacks-R-us (Score:1)
Maybe should have taken two minutes
Breace.
Re:magic decoder ring (Score:1)
char *stupidsig = "this is my dumb sig";
medicineforthesoul (Score:1)
Me too.
And I'd like to think that, contrary to what another
Then again, I could be wrong. But I'm thinking no.
awesome comic strip (Score:1)
50,000:1 (Score:1)
Never criticize a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes... that way you're a mile away and you've got his shoes. -- Jack Handy (Handley?)
The HREF gun: Slashdot's contribution to info war. (Score:2)
Not when it's a link from slashdot! B-)
Think about all the sites /. has taken down with a single round from its HREF gun.
Geek Girls (Score:2)
They say something that is not quite right so you dismiss them as the competitive "I win, you lose" thing comes into play. To let these geek girl types develop, you need to give them some space. There are plenty of women proto-geeks around and their potential is often hampered by the male dominated industry.
They can whup you at pretty much anything they have set their minds to. You'll notice that women who are into videogames are exceptional more often than just ok. Go down to the arcades and watch her kick the guys off the Marvel vs. Capcom machine...
If you want to see more female geeks then we have to revise our "oh-so-patronising" ways and not automatically treat all women like marketing managers. And if one asks you a question? Answer nicely without beating your chest - just a hint...
Another hint: don't go out with someone in the same field - it is a nightmare. After I had my first argument with slammed doors over device drivers, I realised why this was a bad idea
A HREF (Score:2)
Re:I do... (Score:2)