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I'm working on a USB video driver. The way it works is quite complex so I ported from Linux rather than writing from scratch:
#define spin_lock_t IOSimpleLock *
Some things didn't have such simple ports, so I guarded them with #ifdefs. Then my coworker removed all the Linux-specific code as well as the ifdefs. Sucks to be him when it's maintenance time.
I get a big check when it goes to beta. I'm going to donate a good chunk of money to homeless shelters, soup kitchens and rescue missions.
And I'm going to buy a car.
The car won't help much with getting to work - because of the all-day rush our here in Portland, I'll stick to the light rail. But it might be worthwhile to drive instead of taking two busses to get from home to the North Portland light rail station. I expect that will cut my commute from two hours to ninety minutes.
More important to me in the short term is that I can go places where the busses don't go. Like the beach, the desert and the mountains.
I like to camp in the desert.
Say that ---^ in Reno and you get a 10-day involuntary hold for being a danger to yourself. That's because "camping in the desert" is a local euphemism for "committing suicide".
"But I'm not from Reno! I really _do_ like to camp in the desert." My pleas fell on deaf ears.
A good chunk of Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon and Northeast California is a desert.
I get another big check when we ship. There will be quite a lot of work between beta and shipping; I have to support multiple dongles, as well as harmony with the competitor's dongle, as well as some other featureful things.
I'm going to get my stuff out of storage in Canada. I don't know yet how much that will cost but I'm guessing three grand.
I'll get my piano back. I mean like a real piano, with wires and wood.
It was way out of tune when I recorded this. I later had it tuned, but I wanted to record its memory in case tuning it broke some of the strings. While they could be replaced, the new wires would spoil the distinctive voice of the piano that I had lived with since I was a toddler.
In my experience, if you enjoy my recordings, you're not right in the head. One of my two biggest fans has Borderline Personality Disorder - I met her by playing a piano in a nuthouse - and Schizotypal Personality Disorder.
I also have a Fatar controller in storage. It doesn't make sound, I have to use a MIDI Sound Module for that. But it has a hammer-action mechanism that makes it feel like a real concert grand.
I also - presently - have an M-Audio ProKeys 88sx Lightweight Stage Piano. I bought it for playing open mics.
The Hell am I going to do with three pianos? My apartment is tiny! But I cannot bear to part with any of them.
Lately I've been writing down my favorite artists when they're played on Radio Paradise. Then ever couple of weeks I go to a real good record store and buy a half-dozen CDs. I've got over a hundred artists in my list, I'm going to be enjoying lots of new music, with the approval of the MAFIAA.
Ah! The privileged life: a couple weeks ago I bought parmesan cheese for my spaghetti.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 02 2017, @06:22AM (4 children)
Do you mean that, when you drive it away, you will be the owner of the car?
...or would it be more accurate to say that you will start making payments on a car?
(I've never in my life made a car payment.)
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday September 02 2017, @09:55AM
I'm with the pinko on this one. Get the most reliable thing you can find for what you can afford, regardless of what it looks like. And pay cash in full. Also, remember that there's a fair chance you may need to pay sales tax to the state on the purchase. Plus the cost of insurance and tags and whatever inspections you may or may not have to go through.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday September 05 2017, @06:51PM (2 children)
I once bought quite a nice Chevy Prism - the Chevy branding of the Toyota Corolla - for $4k.
So my budget for the new car will be $4k. No financing.
In any case, my credit report is a smoking radioactive crater: lots of unpaid ambulance, emergency room and nuthouse debt. I could have declared bankruptcy, but instead I moved without filing a Change Of Address card, and changed my phone number as well.
I didn't want to declare bankruptcy as rental applications often ask about it. I can truthfully say that I've never declared bankruptcy.
I'll be off the hook when the Statute Of Limitations expires - that will be the summer of 2019.
The only real reason I kept my credit card as long as I possibly could, as that as a consultant I often have to fly on an airplane to visit clients. One needs a credit car to rent a car.
I finally figured I'd do better if I just called a taxi.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 06 2017, @11:14AM (1 child)
Yeah. I call those a new-to-me car. 8-)
I'd do better if I just called a taxi
Until you said camp in the desert, I was thinking "Uber".
...then there was places where the [buses] don't go.
With the internet and wireless data terminals that fit in a pocket plus gig economy drivers or even driverless vehicles, I wonder how long it will be before traditional public transit won't even be a thing.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday September 07 2017, @11:42PM
... said you should ride Uber to work everyday.
I could see some Uber drivers going postal in Portland's all-day rush hour.
Me? I take the bus and the MAX light rail as it zooms past all the cars on the highway.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]