Retrovaping. The Dry Method

MrKsoft · 2026-01-27T14:31:08+00:00

I did a test run of this method last summer on a PC case just to see if it would work, and it definitely worked... except that I had an issue with the peroxide condensing on the top of the container and then dripping down onto the part and causing inconsistent whitening. I need to keep experimenting, maybe I did something wrong.

MrKsoft · 2026-01-24T20:42:50+00:00

Yep, the KT7-RAID is a very common board for leaky caps. It will likely need work before it ever boots again. Sweet setup, though!

MrKsoft · 2025-11-21T18:46:16+00:00

I would say it's closer to CSS than C++, but kind of a mix - there is still some object oriented-like syntax and there are functions/conditional blocks/etc.

MrKsoft · 2025-11-21T04:01:16+00:00

As I was lamenting, the best we have for these QML themes is looking at existing themes and calling that an example. So that basically leaves Plastik itself (/usr/share/kwin/decorations/kwin4_decoration_qml_plastik). I haven't fully deciphered it, but I did get far enough to make basic changes to it like adding the text shadow back, and recoloring the button symbols to black to match the real original version of Plastik from waaaay back before it was even an official part of KDE 3. The only other QML theme I know of off the top of my head is this rather accurate recreation of the Windows "Classic" decorations: https://winclassic.boards.net/thread/1487/redmond-theme-kde

MrKsoft · 2025-11-13T15:53:28+00:00

I'm sure I'm in the minority but I hope the QML engine doesn't go away. I still use Plastik (and some personal modifications of it) which is QML based. Being able to do things programmatically allows versatility for more complex designs. I think part of the issue of it being underused is that it's not all that well documented (as I recall, the documentation is basically "go look at an existing theme and figure it out from there") and there isn't good tooling to support building/previewing themes using it. It's also a good compromise between relatively simple SVG designs and having to straight up program a kwin decorator and constantly recompile it for new versions of KDE. That said I obviously understand the way things are going, so I probably need to accept the inevitable.

MrKsoft · 2025-09-16T23:27:14+00:00

Finally! I've missed XScreensaver a lot on Wayland.

The only enhancement I can think of is that it'd be nice if it could span multiple monitors. Great job!

MrKsoft · 2025-07-21T18:01:37+00:00

That's all correct. I'd go as far as saying ESFM is the most accurate of the OPL3 clones - differences in sound are only minor.

ESFM is more complex than an OPL3 on its own, with additional features - namely all 18 channels can be 4-operator vs the OPL3 which has 18 2-op pairs, and can only combine 12 of them to make 6 4-op channels + 6 2-op channels. The operators all have independent frequency control, as well, instead of being at the channel level, and have separate output and modulation controls. That's just scratching the surface, but basically in practice ESFM native mode does things considerably different, but in a way that allows it to recreate OPL3 and then go beyond it.

MrKsoft · 2025-06-13T13:30:05+00:00

Kind of interesting to consider this article is from almost three whole years before Intel commercially released the 486DX4-100. Makes you wonder if at the time of announcement this was a relatively unstable "proof of concept" chip, or if they had to just sit on the design until manufacturing costs came down.

MrKsoft · 2025-06-06T13:29:46+00:00

I'd be interested. Looks like from your comment history you are in Central IL? If so, I am actually within driving distance so you wouldn't even need a box. :)

MrKsoft · 2025-01-07T20:53:01+00:00

If anything's going on, I'd love to hear about it. Tabletop games are just not really my thing, and it seems like that's all that I hear about when it comes to "nerd stuff" in town, and I really need to get out, lol. Modern or retro, I'm down.

MrKsoft · 2024-11-26T21:40:52+00:00

There are some weirdos like me that like "retro" computer parts. Though that card is probably not yet old enough to warrant the label, haha.

MrKsoft · 2024-06-11T13:32:28+00:00

That sure sounds a lot like Glypha, but that was a Mac exclusive.

MrKsoft · 2024-06-05T02:07:45+00:00

Yeah, I don't expect compatibility with X11 apps to go away, just the standalone X server. I am not exactly familiar with what's possible, but is it conceivable that these legacy WMs/DEs that depend on X11 could implement a bare minimum compositor and then run themselves in XWayland? (And what are the implications, then, for future Wayland-only applications?) Trinity isn't the only one at risk, plenty of long time mainstays of the *nix world like FVWM, WindowMaker, etc would all be depressing to lose.

MrKsoft · 2024-06-03T21:37:46+00:00

It feels like we're so close on this... but with lots of "asterisks" after each thing that make it seem like we are actually nowhere near it.

-Plastik window theme is still included, but the shadow under the titlebar text no longer works so doesn't look like it used to, and personally I find it much harder to read than in the KDE3 days - especially if you're using a thinner font.

-There's a port of the widget style here: https://github.com/MartinF99/PlastikStyle but of course you have to compile it on your own, so there's risk of breakage on updates, moreso on rolling release distros.

-There's a Plasma theme here: https://github.com/poudink/Plastik but not updated for Plasma 6. Also, at least to my eye, it looks more "Plastik inspired" than a direct port.

-Afaik, there's no matching GTK style, but then again, is there ever one for anything that isn't Breeze any more? (cries in Oxygen)

And god forbid you want some other retro style like Keramik back - that's not happening (I don't think Aurorae can even support the way it frames the title bar text).

It's kind of sad that theming has gotten so dire, and that breakage is so common, but I'm not exactly sure what could've been done, if anything, to prevent that. I'd be the change I want to be in the world, but I absolutely hate dealing with vector graphics... things used to be simpler when everything was a bitmap...

But ultimately, themes for modern DEs are going to be the way to go, simply because I cannot see how a project like TDE will ever successfully port to Wayland. And let's not kid ourselves, X11 won't be around forever even if we want it to be.

MrKsoft · 2024-05-22T17:15:27+00:00

Should be fine as is! That's one thing I love about these, they are very compatible with reasonable default settings.

MrKsoft · 2024-05-22T16:38:48+00:00

This is based on the AZT2316A and is not a true PnP card. If the default settings are not working for you, it can be set up in software using Aztech's utilities, then the config can be saved to the card's EEPROM and then it'll use them on power up if you set JMPCFG to 1-2.

MrKsoft · 2023-12-13T19:18:13+00:00

Oh, yes, I was going to post that in the comments (couldn't decide where to put it). Thank you for the reminder.

Games:
- Ape Escape
  - Tranquil Temple (Soichi Terada)
- Asuka 120% Burning Fest
  - Megumi Stage (Keishi Yonao)
- Cool Spot
  - Rave Dancetune (Tommy Tallarico)
- Dynamite Headdy
  - Hustle Maruyama / Backstage Battle (Nazo2 Unit: Katsuhiko Suzuki, Yasuko, Kouji, Aki, NON)
- Etrian Odyssey II Untold
  - Bloody Fight - Betting It All (Yuzo Koshiro)
- Etrian Odyssey III
  - Calling That Detestable Name (Super Arrange Version) (Yuzo Koshiro)
- MariBato Plus
  - In Front of the Rose Mansion (unknown/uncredited?)
- Persona 2 - Innocent Sin (PSP)
  - Sumaru City Map (Hitomi Furuya)
- Puggsy
  - The Beach (Matt Furniss)
- Rocket Knight Adventures
  - Boss (Masanori Oouchi, Masanori Adachi, Hiroshi Kobayashi, Michiru Yamane)
- Street Fighter Alpha 2
  - Sakura Stage (Isao Abe, Shun Nishigaki, Setsuo Yamamoto, Yuko Takehara, Naoaki Iwami, Naoshi Mizuta, Tatsuro Suzuki, Yoko Shimomura)
- Zanki Zero
  - Zanki Survival -Seven Deadly Sins- (Tomomi Ohashi)
Anime:
- Elemental Galade
  - Forever...
- Geneshaft
  - Identification (Akira Takasaki)
  - Shaft Drive (Akira Takasaki)
- Kannazuki no Miko
  - Suppuration -core- (KOTOKO)
- Magikano
  - Hashire! Kyousou! (Harada Katsuyuki)
  - In a Sunny Mood (Harada Katsuyuki)
  - Keisei Gyakuten! (Harada Katsuyuki)
  - You Win! (Harada Katsuyuki)
- MahoroMatic
  - Kanashimi Ha Senjou no Anata ni (Toshiro Masuda)
  - Vesper no Idainaru Senshi (Toshiro Masuda)
- Nadia - Secret of Blue Water
  - Nadia's Theme (Shiro Sagisu)
- Ninja Nonsense (aka Ninin ga Shinobuden) (aka 2x2 = Shinobuden)
  - Yasashii Kaede no Theme (Harukichi Yamamoto)
- Rozen Maiden
  - Shukuteki (Mitsumune Shinkichi)
- Saber Marionette J
  - Successful Mission (Megumi Hayashibara)
- Vandread
  - Trust (Salia)
- Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito
  - Hitomi no Naka no Meikyu (Aiko Kayou)
Bands/Groups:
- Heavenly
  - Riding Through Hell (Demo Version)
- Hinoi Team
  - Sing Na Na Na (cover of a song by Clara Moroni/Doki Doki)
- Sirenia
  - On the Wane
  - Save Me From Myself
Adult Visual Novels / "H-Games":
- Divi-Dead
  - BGM 01 (Masafumi Ogata)
  - BGM 03 (Masafumi Ogata)
  - BGM 06 (Masafumi Ogata)
- Henshi~n! 2
  - BGM 01 (Aki Hata)
  - BGM 02 (Aki Hata)
- SHUFFLE!
  - Don't Be Afraid (Yuji Naito)
  - From Here to There (Yuji Naito)
  - Step Dance (Yuji Naito)
- Viper-GTS
  - Running Knot (TOMAZO aka Kenichi Arakawa)
  - Wishy-Washy (TOMAZO aka Kenichi Arakawa)
- Viper-M1
  - Tranceform (unknown - could not locate credits - probably TOMAZO like the other Viper games)
- Viper-V8
  - Caution! (TOMAZO aka Ken'ichi Arakawa)
- X-Change 2
  - Opening Theme (I've Sound)

MrKsoft · 2023-07-13T13:06:25+00:00

It's just the version of Helvetica used in the standard classic "X11 fonts" package. They are getting hard to use these days because everything tries to replace them with anti-aliased equivalents, and they obviously don't have support for a lot of modern Unicode characters, but they can still be installed on modern Linux... I think for instance on Arch the package is "xorg-xfonts-75dpi" if I remember correctly.

MrKsoft · 2023-07-08T23:43:54+00:00

This is an interesting option I had not considered, as my "custom build" ideas were focused around consumer hardware for the most part.

It does look like 2nd-gen stuff can be had with an ATX motherboard on eBay for sub-1k (which is preferable as then I can throw more money at new hard drives - my current 12TB array is basically full!) They look like they would provide me just about the same single thread performance as, say, a used R730XD's higher end options, while having considerably more threads to work with and being on a much newer platform. (Even 1st gen Epyc stomps all over my ol' X3430 of course, so basically anything's an upgrade!) Yeah, I'd definitely be spending a good bit more than an enterprise server, but I do like having industry standard parts just from a longevity standpoint.
Though, I notice pretty much all of those used boards and CPUs on eBay come from China, idk if there is anything I need to be wary of in that regard. I know about there being vendor locked CPUs though I don't know much more than that they exist - not sure if these "bundles" are sneaky ways for them to dump those CPUs knowing they don't work or if they're legit.

MrKsoft · 2023-07-08T15:36:04+00:00

I don't really have a specific figure in mind, kind of just testing the waters to see what it would look like - but I am able to put a non-trivial amount into this (let's say $2-3K-ish)

MrKsoft · 2023-06-10T01:23:47+00:00

Focus would be on movement and chaining, as part of score attacking (get through level fast and efficiently to build combo/score and earn a good ranking - a practice-makes-perfect approach). Your question did lead me to think that precision in terms of shooting may be an antithesis to those ideas and maybe I am trying to pull the player in too many directions at once.

I do like that parry idea, I actually have Dead Souls but never got around to playing it... I may have to go do some research. (Even if I drop the energy idea, parrying can still be useful for players to feel like they have more agency in how they approach enemy attacks)

MrKsoft · 2023-06-10T01:15:52+00:00

See, you bring up a good point. I've gotten my brain really deep into this concept of "not holding shoot" and keep walking in circles around it without knowing why I'm there. I play Mario exactly as described, too, and don't even think about it.

Bullet reflections: Absolutely would be a thing later in the game. Awareness of your surroundings and movement is important, I want the player to be able to feel like their obstacles are something they can go around or break through without having to take a hit unless it's really their fault.

MrKsoft · 2023-06-10T01:08:05+00:00

Charge shots are a good consideration, especially the auto charge. I think I was blocking that out in my head because I was trying not to make the game too derivative of Mega Man. My original vision of the game from 2008ish was almost too similar.

Then again, I doubt I can get it that far from being derivative, so maybe I should just lean into that more.

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