02/16/09 [DMFA #973] - piddle self and run

[Turnsky]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/Turnsky/Sketches/D8wallpaperwip-1.jpg


HA! HA!
Wiggly...

>.>

It could use one more Chibi-Dan, though. Remember the time Abel was putting a spell (of transformation) on him?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/Turnsky/Sketches/D8wallpaperwip-2.jpg

[Ren Gaulen]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/Turnsky/Sketches/D8wallpaperwip-2.jpg

Superb.

[Tapewolf]

Superb.

Needs some refactoring if you don't have Turnsky's monitor, though 

[Turnsky]

Superb.

Needs some refactoring if you don't have Turnsky's monitor, though 

will do once it's 'complete' to my standards, personally i'd be happy if i had higher res versions of those chibis, buuut considering that may never happen, i'll just figure out what to do afterwards, i must get back to by writing stuffs. 

[Tapewolf]

will do once it's 'complete' to my standards, personally i'd be happy if i had higher res versions of those chibis, buuut considering that may never happen, i'll just figure out what to do afterwards, i must get back to by writing stuffs. 

If you want me to try and enhance them, I'll see if I can do that tonight.  My main beef with it was the 16:9 aspect ratio...

[Turnsky]

My main beef with it was the 16:9 aspect ratio...

i've already presumed that, i've just not really gotten around to making a 4:3 ratio just yet.

piker.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/Turnsky/Sketches/D8wallpaper1600.jpg

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

It ain't big enough for my monitor. 1920x1200, yo. ;-]

Although don't go out of your way - I'm happy with my current background, barring the size aspect...

[Tapewolf]

piker.

I haven't been called that for years...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/Turnsky/Sketches/D8wallpaper1600.jpg

Sweet.  If you can provide a PNG of the characters, I'll see if I can expand them.  I'd work from the JPEG, but then I'd have two generations of loss to repair...

[Turnsky]

piker.

I haven't been called that for years...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/Turnsky/Sketches/D8wallpaper1600.jpg

Sweet.  If you can provide a PNG of the characters, I'll see if I can expand them.  I'd work from the JPEG, but then I'd have two generations of loss to repair...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/Turnsky/Sketches/D8piccehs.png

boom de ah dah~

truth be told, unless it's a vector, they're a pain to resize, and considering i don't wanna bother amber by expecting her to trawl through her archives (hell, even i wouldn't wanna do that.  ) one hasta make do with what's available. 

[Tapewolf]

truth be told, unless it's a vector, they're a pain to resize, and considering i don't wanna bother amber by expecting her to trawl through her archives (hell, even i wouldn't wanna do that.  ) one hasta make do with what's available. 

Cool, I'll see what I can do when I get home tonight. 

[Sukasa]

...Do you mind if I edit that slightly so that my taskbar doesn't obscure all the characters?

Also, I wonder if this has any relevance to strip #637, as it certainly fits the first speech bubble there.

actually, i kinda did make it so the standard windows taskbar height only obscures the copyright schtuffs.

Mine's a 1440x900px display with double-height taskbar

[Cvstos]

Most OS systems can resize images pretty well for desktop use. Couldn't you make one super-huge-res image in each aspect ratio? For example, a 2560x1600 image for widescreen, and a 1600x1200 image for standard? I grab 1920x1200 images for my 1680x1050 monitor all the time. Works like a charm.

[Madmann135]

1920x1080 for my desktop
I can understand why people make desktops to fit a specific resolution, the background does eat up a bit of the ram but making the largest resolution pic in jpg in the three primary aspect ratios would save some time (but cause problems for small resolution screens).

[Sukasa]

After and before editing the first of the D8 wallpapers- this is why I want to move the characters a bit.

[AmigaDragon]

Just because she hides her 'Cubi ness, doesn't mean she's hiding herself off as a being. Dee could probably very easily pass for an Angel with her feather wings.

my understanding is that she passes herself off as a man.

You don't mean here or here, do you? Certainly not  here. This one? Sure, but this is just a short term masquerade for Dan's benefit. They (we) were talking more about during the time between her marriage and her disappearance (I don't recall hearing how recent that was). So far, it seems only Biggs and Alexsi knows for sure where she is, though Dan and Wildy did see her in Twink territory a while back too.

Anyway, getting back closer to the main topic:

I loved the 'piddle' choice, still makes me giggle thinking about Regina thinking that. I think 'piss' wouldn't have as much as an effect. On me, maybe, I'm 5 inside. 

With presumably higher scent sensitivity than humans, beings (and maybe to a higher degree, creatures) might find a scent trail (piddle) easier to follow in this chase, so the first part of new plan has its flaw.

----------------
Now playing on Winamp: Franz Joseph Haydn - String Quartet No. 62 "Emperor" (Classical Minnesota Public Radio)
via FoxyTunes

[Cvstos]

1920x1080 for my desktop
I can understand why people make desktops to fit a specific resolution, the background does eat up a bit of the ram but making the largest resolution pic in jpg in the three primary aspect ratios would save some time (but cause problems for small resolution screens).

Well, RAM is dirt cheap these days. Compared to the gigs you can easily get it's not that bad. Let's say it eats an extra 50MB of RAM (It shouldn't, but let's say it does).  You can get 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM for under $100. That's 40 times that 50MB. 3GB and 4GB isn't unheard of these days, either.  I'm personally rocking a quad-core Q6600 with 3GB of RAM and an 8800GT GPU. I've been able to run anything that I've thrown at this system just fine, and the really crazy thing is that those specs aren't that high-end or expensive anymore! Kinda makes me sad, really. I paid a lot for this system when it WAS considered "high-end".  

[Tapewolf]

Well, RAM is dirt cheap these days. Compared to the gigs you can easily get it's not that bad. Let's say it eats an extra 50MB of RAM (It shouldn't, but let's say it does).

It'll be more like 20MB - 1920x1200 at 32bpp = 9.2MB.  If you've got a double-buffered or composited desktop, it's going to be twice that or more.  But I digress.

You can get 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM for under $100. That's 40 times that 50MB. 3GB and 4GB isn't unheard of these days, either.

...though it won't actually work unless you're running Server 2003 (which has PAE support) or a 64-bit OS.

Anyway.  I've tried my best:
http://tapewolf.wildernessguardians.com/stuff/D8_clean_x4.png
http://tapewolf.wildernessguardians.com/stuff/D8_clean_x2.png

...hopefully it will be use to someone.  Unfortunately the system I use for colour enhancement throws a wobbly if you have an alpha channel so I flattened it to dark grey.  I might be able to marry the alpha channel from the original image to the flattened version, but I'm not sure yet.  Editing the alpha channel is still a bit of a dark art for me.

I would recommend x2 - the downscaling process increases apparent sharpness as a side-effect.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

You can get 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM for under $100. That's 40 times that 50MB. 3GB and 4GB isn't unheard of these days, either.

...though it won't actually work unless you're running Server 2003 (which has PAE support) or a 64-bit OS.

Linux (32 bit version) has PAE extensions available, but doesn't use or need them until you reach more than 4Gb. Anything less than that is fine, more than that is also ok, although PAE tends to run out of steam somewhere between 8 and 10Gb of RAM, unless you start playing with the boundaries between kernel and user space. Even then, it's a bit dodgy, and you'd be better off spending the money on a decent quad-core Opteron or something.

But I digress.

[mopman]

I know Regina deserves it but Darn you Amber you draw sad/frightened too well and I cant help but feel sorry for her now. 

Hope Dan spares her even though he has every right not to.

[Cvstos]

Well, RAM is dirt cheap these days. Compared to the gigs you can easily get it's not that bad. Let's say it eats an extra 50MB of RAM (It shouldn't, but let's say it does).

It'll be more like 20MB - 1920x1200 at 32bpp = 9.2MB.  If you've got a double-buffered or composited desktop, it's going to be twice that or more.  But I digress.

You can get 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM for under $100. That's 40 times that 50MB. 3GB and 4GB isn't unheard of these days, either.

...though it won't actually work unless you're running Server 2003 (which has PAE support) or a 64-bit OS.

Actually Windows can handle 3GB just fine, even at 32-bit. That's what I'm running!

The way Windows handles VM is... complicated. Most people misunderstand it. Windows can usually handle up to 4GB in 32-bit mode just fine. The benefits of this decrease after 2GB, but they are still there!

(Unless otherwise noted I'm talking 32-bit all throughout here.) Any single process can grab up to 2GB of RAM for itself. So, what's the benefit of more than 2GB? The OS isn't counted in that 2GB. Nor is any other process!

So, even if a single program grabs the full 2GB, there is still 2GB left for the OS and all the other processes.

What about virtual memory? This is complex. Many think "virtual memory" is space on the hard disk used as RAM when the system runs out of normal RAM, and MS does use that term for it, but there's another meaning.

When the OS says "get me the data at address X", it's following a VIRTUAL model of memory. X is *not* the physical address of the memory! This is to enhance the computer's security. In reality, there's a bit of hardware on the motherboard that maps that address to the real physical address. The OS and the program never ever know where that memory is truly located. The motherboard deals with that.

In the virtual system, any memory address where the leading (most significant) bit is 1 is reserved for the OS itself. So, literally the high-numbered HALF of the virtual memory space is reserved for the OS. That's one-half of the 4GB space.

Each and every process gets it's OWN VM SPACE! That means there's a virtual memory block of 4GB for every process. The higher 2GB is the same across every process - that's the OS's memory. Non-OS processes can't touch it!

The lower 2GB is meant for the process, and each process gets it's own VIRTUAL 2GB of space no matter how much RAM you have!

Whether the VIRTUAL memory space in any given memory location of any given process is backed up by real-world RAM (or HDD space) is up to the OS and memory manager. Which means that if the OS is taking up 512MB of RAM, the other usable 3GB can be taken up fully by other programs (but in that instance there would need to be at least 2 total processes to eat up all that).

So, 4GB of RAM can indeed help. Vista's memory management techniques mean only about 3.5GB of that is usable, but that's still more than 3GB.   (It needs memory addresses for other pieces of hardware and those take up room.) So let's say the OS takes up 512MB, and your background processes are taking up 256MB, and other 512MB or so for those extra hardware addresses and memory management things. (I'm over-estimating in places here.) That's 2.75GB left over out of 4. Any one process can use up to 2GB of that, and two processes together could use up that remaining 0.75GB. It can all be used!

So saying you can't use 3GB or 4GB of RAM without a 64-bit OS would be highly incorrect. Windows XP and Vista (32-bit) can most certainly handle it!

Side notes: I know all this seems crazy compared to what now seems to be "common knowledge",  but the notion that 32-bit Windows can't use 4GB of memory at all or is "actually" limited to 2GB is just FUD. I learned all this from a solid source, too: My Computer Science Prof in my Operating Systems course!

My system:

Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
3GB DDR2-800 RAM
nVIDIA GeForce 8800GT
500GB HDD (primary), 300GB HDD
Blu-ray Optical drive (Blu-reading only, no burning. Can burn CDs and DVDs)

And now, back on topic. As funny as "Piddle Self. Run." is, I wonder... would that page work even better if it was just Regina going "D8" with no thought or speech bubbles at all? Hmmm....

[Tyranastrasz]

*Wall-o-Text copyright Amber Williams


And now, back on topic. As funny as "Piddle Self. Run." is, I wonder... would that page work even better if it was just Regina going "D8" with no thought or speech bubbles at all? Hmmm....

Well, without the thought bubbles, it wouldn't have quite as much meaning. It would just be Regina clearly scared out of her mind, rather than her scared and displaying her immaturity through word choice. There would also be no funny punchline to balance the mood of the page, not to mention Amber wouldn't have gotten to say "piddle" had she left that panel without dialogue.

[Tapewolf]

Actually Windows can handle 3GB just fine, even at 32-bit. That's what I'm running!

Ah.  I was under the impression that it required PAE even to access the block being shadowed by the video card (which now seems to come with 512 or 1024MB).  When I was dealing with virtual address space tech it was primarily to do with V86 mode, because DOS was still important and the limiting factor was 64MB.  How NT 3.51 handled >2GB was irrelevant because no such systems existed...
Either way, I've personally switched to a 64 bit system except for W2K, which is only left around to run Oblivion and SONAR.  I'm going to upgrade it later, and I'm hoping that having >4GB won't freak Windows too much.

And now, back on topic. As funny as "Piddle Self. Run." is, I wonder... would that page work even better if it was just Regina going "D8" with no thought or speech bubbles at all? Hmmm....

I'm just hoping that Dan gets to keep his moment of glory for a change.  All too often something spoils it.

[Cvstos]

*Wall-o-Text copyright Amber Williams


And now, back on topic. As funny as "Piddle Self. Run." is, I wonder... would that page work even better if it was just Regina going "D8" with no thought or speech bubbles at all? Hmmm....

Well, without the thought bubbles, it wouldn't have quite as much meaning. It would just be Regina clearly scared out of her mind, rather than her scared and displaying her immaturity through word choice. There would also be no funny punchline to balance the mood of the page, not to mention Amber wouldn't have gotten to say "piddle" had she left that panel without dialogue.

Well I did say it was complicated!

As for the comic bit, you are right about that. Sometimes silence can speak more than words, though. Whether it does now is what I'm wondering, and I'm still not sure.

And now, back on topic. As funny as "Piddle Self. Run." is, I wonder... would that page work even better if it was just Regina going "D8" with no thought or speech bubbles at all? Hmmm....

I'm just hoping that Dan gets to keep his moment of glory for a change.  All too often something spoils it.

Amen to that.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Well I did say it was complicated!

I found it relatively simple, actually. Maybe my standards of complexity are different... :-/

[Madmann135]

1920x1080 for my desktop
I can understand why people make desktops to fit a specific resolution, the background does eat up a bit of the ram but making the largest resolution pic in jpg in the three primary aspect ratios would save some time (but cause problems for small resolution screens).

Well, RAM is dirt cheap these days. Compared to the gigs you can easily get it's not that bad. Let's say it eats an extra 50MB of RAM (It shouldn't, but let's say it does).  You can get 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM for under $100. That's 40 times that 50MB. 3GB and 4GB isn't unheard of these days, either.  I'm personally rocking a quad-core Q6600 with 3GB of RAM and an 8800GT GPU. I've been able to run anything that I've thrown at this system just fine, and the really crazy thing is that those specs aren't that high-end or expensive anymore! Kinda makes me sad, really. I paid a lot for this system when it WAS considered "high-end".  

DDR2 is not that expensive.  My desktop is running on 4gigs DDR2 800 (want to get 8 gigs but can't justify the $50 for 2x2gb sticks), Q8200 @ 1500FSB 2.6ghz, Vista 64.  Have yet to run out of Ram on any of my programs and I use programs that gobble up ram when active.
A 4gig stick of DDR2 ram at lowest I have seen was around 100 bucks.

[jimsan]

Ok, I now have to change my desktop to the one you guys made, it rocks!

And from Biggs's comments, the dragons don't even know Dan exists.

Right, I knew that but forgot somehow. That does seem to punch a hole in that theory. Not to say it's impossible, just improbable now.

Looks like I'll have to wait for a flashback to find out how Edward ended up getting kidnapped... oh well.

[Turnsky]

Ok, I now have to change my desktop to the one you guys made, it rocks!

And from Biggs's comments, the dragons don't even know Dan exists.

Right, I knew that but forgot somehow. That does seem to punch a hole in that theory. Not to say it's impossible, just improbable now.

Looks like I'll have to wait for a flashback to find out how Edward ended up getting kidnapped... oh well.

you forgot one dragon, however, but he's a nice guy. 

[Baal Hadad]

Ok, I now have to change my desktop to the one you guys made, it rocks!

And from Biggs's comments, the dragons don't even know Dan exists.

Right, I knew that but forgot somehow. That does seem to punch a hole in that theory. Not to say it's impossible, just improbable now.

Looks like I'll have to wait for a flashback to find out how Edward ended up getting kidnapped... oh well.

you forgot one dragon, however, but he's a nice guy. 

Actually I remember another dragon somewhere back around Chapter 9 who Dan owed money to--I don't know if that's still considered canon or if, like Pyroduck, he's another exception to the rule of "dragons don't know Dan exists"....

[Naldru]

I'm seeing a lot of discussion about virtual memory and feel like people are comparing apples and oranges, with a few cherries on the side.  The memory management unit is what maps the virtual address to the real address, not the operating system.  The 32 versus 64 bit operating system refers to the maximum size of an addressable range for a process, not the actual hardware limitations.  I seem to recall systems with 32 bit operating systems that actually had 8 gigabytes or more of memory.

The hardware had three major specs, the maximum amount of real memory that could be addressed, the number of bits that could be transferred into and out of memory at a time, and the speed at which data could be transferred.  There could be conflicts with other types of data transfer such as video memory and peripherals.  (See Northbridge for some further discussion on a related topic.)  There are a lot of design tradeoffs, and some designs handle larger amounts of memory much better than others.  The best advice I received from a vendor was "Try it and see how it works".

The end result is that you could discuss this for hours and it really doesn't mean anything.  Adding more and faster RAM will not necessarily help.  Many designs just stink.  Having a 64 bit operating system will not necessarily get you better performance with large amounts of memory.

*****  *****

Getting back relatively close to topic.

Yes, Amber could have done it without words.  However, she would have had to change the artwork to be more effective.  For example, Regina could have been on the other side of a wall from Dan.  Dan could have forced his tentacles through the wall to grab Regina, demolishing the wall in the process.  Think of some of the battles between Spiderman and Dr. Octopus in the Spiderman movie a few years ago.

I like the way Amber did it.  In the final analysis, it's Amber's world, and we're just here to adore it and sing her praises.

[Tyranastrasz]

Well I did say it was complicated!

I'm gonna be honest; I didn't read your lovely wall-o-text there. I instead used that time cropping out the wall-o-text image instead of just doing *snip* or something else along those lines.

Actually I remember another dragon somewhere back around Chapter 9 who Dan owed money to--I don't know if that's still considered canon or if, like Pyroduck, he's another exception to the rule of "dragons don't know Dan exists"....

That dragon didn't seem all that bright, though. I doubt it remembered that Dan passed by 10 seconds after he left, much less long enough to tell other dragons.