Re: Design-Free Design Email

[Tim Vanderhoek <vanderh@ecf.utoronto.ca>]

On Mon, Jan 10, 2000 at 07:35:09PM -0500, Joyce Poon wrote:
> 
> I know this is design-free rest of the monday, but this is not really
> design related (directly).

In the old Mede-Persian kingdom, nobody(*) was allowed to talk to the
king without first being asked to speak.  The punishment for speaking
without being asked was execution.  The only way the punishment could
be stayed was if the king reached-out his sceptre and let the guilty
party touch the sceptre.  I've decided there really is no getting away
from design, but tomorrow (Tuesday) is a very open day and we should
all make sure we're caught-up for our other four courses.

Ascii-drawing of a sceptre ommitted.  ;-)  I make no claim to being
king and you may speak to me anytime you want.  I apologize for
being a little grumpy towards the end of today.  I'll make it up
to you someday, sound fair?  :)

[*] "nobody" may be too strong a word.  I'm not an ancient history expert.


> I just want to applaud Tim for spending so much time investigating the
> 6502 board and writing to the programmers of the 6502 assembly language &
> compiler (I think).  Malone is kind of touchy about his compiler... tho
> didn't one guy said he would never write the compiler for huge sums of $$ 

You are thinking of the Quetzalcoatl author --- he basically said he
does not believe it is possible to make much money from a 6502
compiler.

Okay.

First: Thanks Joyce.  I appreciate the encouragement.

Second: On the same note, regardless of what Malone thinks of our
proposal, and I'm sure he'll find a dozen ways to pick it apart, I'm
quite happy with what we put together.  In year 2027 when I am king
of the world, I will happily appoint you both to any high-level
position you want and I will have complete confidence in your
abilities to rule your underlings in a heavy-handed and capable
manner.

Third: Before you say anything unkind about Malone, remember that all
our email is archived.  :-)  Yes, Malone is kind of touchy about the
compiler, but I can sympathize with this.  I can say first-hand that
it is frustrating to spend time writing software (or whatever) and
then to have it underutilized by its target audience.  He has put a
lot of development into the 6502 simulator/compiler/monitor.  It's
target audience is larger than the aer201 class, but not much.  I
don't like not having the simulator's source code, but I fully respect
his right to make that decision, even if I think it's the wrong one.
On some _very_ rainy and dreary day, ask me to explain the difference
between GNU (as in gcc) and BSD (as in FreeBSD).  :-)  I failed in
manipulating him to give me the source, and I always take failure
badly.  You know that.  ;-)


> However, although I may not be as in tune with computers as you are, I
> would appreciate it if you could brief me on what you are up to with the
> comp stuff, so that I am not totally clueless as to what other members in
> the grp is up to.

Sorry.  I wasn't sure how much you wanted to listen to me talk.

As you've noticed by now, I guess, my lab-text notes are mostly in the
file aer201/comp/text/lab_notes.  That file is not updated hourly
like the email archive, but that may change eventually.  I'll try to
keep you more clued-in for the future.


-- 
Signature withheld by request of author.