nop's New Writeupshttp://everything2.com/?node=New%20Writeups%20Atom%20Feed&foruser=nop2002-10-06T07:35:34ZComparator (thing)http://everything2.com/user/nop/writeups/Comparatornophttp://everything2.com/user/nop2002-10-06T07:35:34Z2002-10-06T07:35:34Z<b>Comparator - electronics</b><br>An electronic circuit that <a href="/title/compares">compares</a> two input voltages and outputs a <a href="/title/binary">binary</a> <a href="/title/signal">signal</a> that indicates which input has the higher <a href="/title/voltage">voltage</a>.
They are closely related to <a href="/title/operational+amplifier">operational amplifier</a>s (commonly abbreviated to 'opamps').
<p>An LM339 is a popular, low cost comparator, and consists of four individual comparators in a 14 <a href="/title/pin">pin</a> <a href="/title/integrated+circuit">integrated circuit</a>.<p>
<!-- close unclosed tag --></p><!-- close unclosed tag --></p>Let's just be friends (idea)http://everything2.com/user/nop/writeups/Let%2527s+just+be+friendsnophttp://everything2.com/user/nop2002-10-06T07:04:54Z2002-10-06T07:04:54Z<p><b>"Let's Just Be Friends"</b></p>
<p>Possibly the most <a href="/title/hurtful">hurtful</a> thing that you can say to someone who's in love with you, on a par with telling a guy that his <a href="/title/penis">penis</a> is far too small to satisfy you, or telling a woman that her <a href="/title/pussy">pussy</a> stinks of rotting fish. It often means, and will always be interpreted as, "The idea of sex with you repels me".</p>
<p>It may or may not mean that the person genuinely wants to be your <a href="/title/friend">friend</a>.</p>
<p>If you are ever in a situation where you're tempted to say this to someone, a far kinder alternative might be to say something like: "I'm really sorry, but although I really enjoy your company, I don't think we (are / would be) <a href="/title/sexually+compatible">sexually compatible</a>".<p>
<br>
<p><b>Some typical reasons why I do not want to <a href="/title/Just+Be+Friends">Just Be Friends</a> with you:</b></p>
<p>(0) I'm not a <a href="/title/Emotional+Tampon">masochist</a>.</p>
<p>(1) I already have plenty of friends, none of whom leave me feeling miserable, angry and <a href="/title/sexually+frustrated">sexually frustrated</a>.</p>
<p>(2) There is no worse feeling in the world<!-- close unclosed tag --></p><!-- close unclosed tag --></p><!-- close unclosed tag --></p>…Kill your computer (thing)http://everything2.com/user/nop/writeups/Kill+your+computernophttp://everything2.com/user/nop2002-10-06T06:12:11Z2002-10-06T06:12:11ZI wrote this program a few years ago to demonstrate how easy it is to break the lousy process scheduling in Windows 98.<br>
<p>Running this 3 <a href="/title/byte">byte</a> program will <a href="/title/lockup">lockup</a> a PC running Windows 98 or any older version of Windows, and might work on newer versions - I haven't tried it on any others. <b> Warning:</b> I'm not kidding about it locking up your computer - it will lock it up so hard that you'll need to hit the reset switch or power switch to recover.</p>
<b>The source:</b>
<br>
<pre>138A:0100 FA CLI
138A:0101 EBFE JMP 0101
</pre>
<b>How it works:</b><br>
<p>The <a href="/title/CLI">CLI</a> turns off all the <a href="/title/interrupt">interrupt</a>s. No <a href="/title/unix">sane</a> OS allows a <a href="/title/usermode">usermode</a> program to do this.
The <a href="/title/JMP">JMP</a> does a relative jump to itself. Because the interrupts are disabled, there is no way for the OS to prevent the <a href="/title/CPU">CPU</a> from spending 100% of its time on this <a href="/title/endless+loop">endless loop</a>. Again, this sort of thing isn't possible in sane <a href="/title/operating+system">operating system</a>s.</p>
<b>How to make the executable:</b><br>
(1) Open a DOS…