30 December 2023 - 05 January 2024

1. MIT OCW
- 1.1. 18.03sc (differential equations).
  - 1.1.1. Unit IV - Practice Exam
- 1.2. 18.06sc (Linear Algebra)
2. status/src
- 2.1. Update status/src/tools/next to handle year change
3. bwmse
- 3.1. Continuing updates resulting from 18.03 review
4. wood chips
5. SCZ Front Step
6. Compilers
- 6.1. Started extracting C++ standard grammar
  - 6.1.1. Extracting from latex sources.
- 6.2. Started hand written WSN parser
7. kiki/arch
- 7.1. Resolve funky tmux split screen
8. Various i686
- - 8.0.1. netbsd
  - 8.0.2. buildroot
9. piper
- 9.1. dovecot
  - 9.1.1. Raising apparmor error.
- 9.2. pidgeonhole
  - 9.2.1. procmail replacement.
  - 9.2.2. Considering integration.
- 9.3. httpd
  - 9.3.1. Still stable.
- 9.4. SSL cert
- 9.5. redmine
- 9.6. openvpn
10. Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH
- 10.1. Update
11. SJC weather station
- 11.1. Still having wireless connectivity problems
- 11.2. Really Really should put CPU in a proper enclosure
12. opencl
- 12.1. Studying. Have some examples working.
- 12.2. Need to look at arrayfire as an alternative.
- 12.3. This is a bit of a hammer looking for a nail.
13. EPLDH
- 13.1. MPFI interval arithmetic better alternative
14. wktpqb
- 14.1. needs a new approach
- 14.2. Verifying edge construction (con't.)
- 14.3. 'gcd' algorithm doesn't work
15. Mill Controller #2
- 15.1. Mounted on mill - ready or testing
- 15.2. Need to investigate new HW/SW for eventual replacements
  - 15.2.1. Old crap ain't gonna last forever
  - 15.2.2. Buildroot/Linux 5.15 PREEMPT + latency tools
- 15.3. Alternative architecture
  - 15.3.1. Split off stepper motor controller to separate board
  - 15.3.2. Use emc2 MODBUS/TCP protocol for stepper and other IO
16. Alum Rock Data Center
- 16.1. Need a VPS with static IP
17. CA Root Key Generation
- 17.1. Need to be clear on security properties.
- 17.2. Simple hardware.
  - 17.2.1. Use some modern device TPM
  - 17.2.2. Or something that uses PKCS11 interface
- 17.3. USB Serial interface only but no credentials across USB I/F.
- 17.4. Use Sneakernet
18. Virtual Orchestra
- 18.1. sfz file tests
  - 18.1.1. need tooling to edit sample files
- 18.2. increasingly skeptical whether quality results are possible
- 18.3. maybe should treat as platform for concatinative synthesis
- 18.4. maybe should just accept the limitations and work with it
19. gat
- 19.1. spectrogram done - matches 'octave' output
20. RIOT drivers
- 20.1. WS2801
- 20.2. Velleman KA03
- 20.3. Velleman KA05
21. mcd05 32 button/led box
- 21.1. Recovered schematics.
- 21.2. Planning software.
- 21.3. Received STM32F767 Nucleo144 with Ethernet.
22. AMD 2900 bitslice computing
- 22.1. Probably my oldest uncompleted project
- 22.2. Exploring possibilities for something constructive
23. Hitachi HD68B09E CPU
- 23.1. RAM/UART/IO
- 23.2. Started schematic
  - 23.2.1. Standard peripheral set for 8 bit CPU bringups
- 23.3. Arduino Mega 2560 DMA loader
- 23.4. Generate quadrature clock directly
- 23.5. Full Bus SW Emulation infeasible
24. Rockwell R65F11
- 24.1. Still evaluating.
- 24.2. Dev board
25. PLD programming
26. EPROM Programming
27. POSIT
- 27.1. Use POSITs for YRX?
28. MAME
- 28.1. Subset builds in debug mode
- 28.2. gs6809 serial IO doesn't work right with PTY and other streams
- 28.3. ampro (Z80/Z80SIO) does work with PTY
- 28.4. Evaluating what is needed for other emulators.
29. More project ideas
- 29.1. Zuse Z3 simulation in Verilog
- 29.2. GMPForth ports to simulators
- 29.3. GMPASM assembler
- 29.4. Extracting ISO Superboard Forth ROMS for MAME emulation
- 29.5. 'bwocl' OpenCL tooling
  - 29.5.1. Offline compilation
  - 29.5.2. Standard Kernel Running
- 29.6. hardware support for classic 5V CPUs
- 29.7. Existing 'retro' hardware still working?
30. David Davies
- 30.1. Broadcom BCG? Employee indicted for running a brothel.
- 30.2. New case C1923172, consolidated with 15 Parties.
- 30.3. Next hearing 2/26/2024

1. MIT OCW

1.1. 18.03sc (differential equations).

1.1.1. Unit IV - Practice Exam

2/3 complete.

1.2. 18.06sc (Linear Algebra)

Textbook arrived.

2. status/src

2.1. Update status/src/tools/next to handle year change

3. bwmse

3.1. Continuing updates resulting from 18.03 review

4. wood chips

No progress. Rainy…

5. SCZ Front Step

No progress. Rainy…

6. Compilers

6.1. Started extracting C++ standard grammar

6.1.1. Extracting from latex sources.

Seems the easiest thing to do was a regex based line parser. Only took four different parsers to reach that conclusion.

6.2. Started hand written WSN parser

Will use for C++ standard grammar.

7. kiki/arch

7.1. Resolve funky tmux split screen

Ultimately lead to "reverting" back to xterm after 20 years of rxvt. Maybe it hasn't been that long but it sure seems like it. The world has moved on to UTF8, so I need to finally do that too. Farewell LANG=C!

8. Various i686

8.0.1. netbsd

installed.

8.0.2. buildroot

builds complete.

9. piper

9.1. dovecot

9.1.1. Raising apparmor error.

Not sure how to resolve.

9.2. pidgeonhole

9.2.1. procmail replacement.

9.2.2. Considering integration.

9.3. httpd

9.3.1. Still stable.

9.4. SSL cert

Trying letsencrypt with certbot. http problem above may be interfering.

9.5. redmine

Still not sure I want to go down this rabbit hole.

9.6. openvpn

Need to consider cert construction.

10. Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH

10.1. Update

Sometime next year.

11. SJC weather station

11.1. Still having wireless connectivity problems

Need 20m cable.

11.2. Really Really should put CPU in a proper enclosure

12. opencl

12.1. Studying. Have some examples working.

12.2. Need to look at arrayfire as an alternative.

12.3. This is a bit of a hammer looking for a nail.

13. EPLDH

13.1. MPFI interval arithmetic better alternative

14. wktpqb

14.1. needs a new approach

14.2. Verifying edge construction (con't.)

14.3. 'gcd' algorithm doesn't work

15. Mill Controller #2

15.1. Mounted on mill - ready or testing

15.2. Need to investigate new HW/SW for eventual replacements

15.2.1. Old crap ain't gonna last forever

15.2.2. Buildroot/Linux 5.15 PREEMPT + latency tools

First pass done - boots on real hardware

15.3. Alternative architecture

15.3.1. Split off stepper motor controller to separate board

Increase latency tolerance on controller

15.3.2. Use emc2 MODBUS/TCP protocol for stepper and other IO

16. Alum Rock Data Center

16.1. Need a VPS with static IP

16.1.1. OpenVPN to tie it all together

16.1.2. Gandi VPS datacenter in France so connection crosses international border

What are the data security and privacy tradeoffs?

16.1.3. Prototype VPS on existing hardware

OpenStack?

17. CA Root Key Generation

Nice to have an appliance that manages keys. Need to make this simple. Really don't have time for a science project. Could just buy something from nitrokey https://www.nitrokey.com/ But I really don't want to spend money on it of I have hardware already.

17.1. Need to be clear on security properties.

Definitely protect against remote access to private keys. How strong does the protection against local access need to be?

17.2. Simple hardware.

17.2.1. Use some modern device TPM

Need to export data for backup.

17.2.2. Or something that uses PKCS11 interface

17.3. USB Serial interface only but no credentials across USB I/F.

But this potentially exposes the hardware to remote access via the USB I/F when connected.

17.4. Use Sneakernet

Doesn't scale. Should use something so cert updates are automatable. But that's a science project it seems.

18. Virtual Orchestra

18.1. sfz file tests

18.1.1. need tooling to edit sample files

18.2. increasingly skeptical whether quality results are possible

18.3. maybe should treat as platform for concatinative synthesis

18.4. maybe should just accept the limitations and work with it

One should not be disappointed that a guitar can't sound like a flute.

19. gat

19.1. spectrogram done - matches 'octave' output

20. RIOT drivers

Implemented - needs testing.

20.1. WS2801

20.2. Velleman KA03

20.3. Velleman KA05

21. mcd05 32 button/led box

21.1. Recovered schematics.

21.2. Planning software.

21.3. Received STM32F767 Nucleo144 with Ethernet.

21.3.1. Test program running.

21.3.2. Need to consider CoAP multicast discovery.

21.3.3. Consider simpler architecture with STM32F767 as a 'hub'.

21.3.4. Consider CAN interface to hub.

22. AMD 2900 bitslice computing

22.1. Probably my oldest uncompleted project

22.2. Exploring possibilities for something constructive

Create verilog models for 2903/2910 and verify against hardware?

23. Hitachi HD68B09E CPU

23.1. RAM/UART/IO

23.2. Started schematic

23.2.1. Standard peripheral set for 8 bit CPU bringups

Board schematic planned - need Kicad symbols

23.3. Arduino Mega 2560 DMA loader

…Along with standard 8 bit loader

23.4. Generate quadrature clock directly

23.5. Full Bus SW Emulation infeasible

6809 1000ns maximum cycle time too short

24. Rockwell R65F11

24.1. Still evaluating.

24.2. Dev board

Reverse engineered some of a mostly fully built development board with one part missing. As near as I can tell, that one part is some sort of programmable address decoder with a pinout that does not correspond to any part I can find. Kind of like a GAL but with inputs on top and outputs on bottom (as opposed to left and right in a standard GAL). I have no idea what the provenance of this board is and if it ever worked.

25. PLD programming

Looks like Atmel 16V8 is the last 5V PLD part left standing. Maybe not surprising that there still doesn't appear to be a fully open source tool chain for programming. How hard could it be? (!) Could next-pnr generic help? Might be easier to use espresso for logic array and program output logic bits directly for simple stuff.

26. EPROM Programming

Found some software for Needham programmer. Need to check electrolytic caps on ISA board.

27. POSIT

27.1. Use POSITs for YRX?

No. Existing library is fine.

28. MAME

28.1. Subset builds in debug mode

Full debug fails - not enough disk or memory.

28.2. gs6809 serial IO doesn't work right with PTY and other streams

28.3. ampro (Z80/Z80SIO) does work with PTY

28.4. Evaluating what is needed for other emulators.

29. More project ideas

29.1. Zuse Z3 simulation in Verilog

Good excuse for floating point ALU design. Try posit format?

29.2. GMPForth ports to simulators

29.2.1. SIMH for some targets (vax)

29.2.2. MAME looks interesting for microprocessor system emulations

How to support ersatz systems?

29.2.3. Ports to classic figFORTH targets

29.3. GMPASM assembler

May be useful for handbuilt and rare systems (DMX1000?).

29.4. Extracting ISO Superboard Forth ROMS for MAME emulation

29.5. 'bwocl' OpenCL tooling

29.5.1. Offline compilation

29.5.2. Standard Kernel Running

29.6. hardware support for classic 5V CPUs

29.6.1. RTX2000, CDP1802 still available!

29.6.2. 6502, 68000, 320C30, others on hand

29.6.3. CPUs with totally async bus may be supportable without RAM

29.6.4. Could use small footprint monitor in asm (gmpmon?)

29.7. Existing 'retro' hardware still working?

29.7.1. OSI Superboard

Unknown. Composite to VGA adapter didn't seem to work. Needs analysis. Found OSI model 610 board underneath!

29.7.2. Super Jolt

No output. Needs analysis.

29.7.3. Ampro Little Board

Not booting. Needs analysis.

29.7.4. Rockwell R65F11 Demo board

UART sending "NO ROM" at 2400 7N1 as expected with 2MHz xtal. MAME emulator possibilities?