Graphics Card Upgrade and 10-holed dizi

Some time back, I picked up the news that the NVidia GTX 1080 was released. That got me thinking---was it time to update the GTX 680 currently in Elysie-II? I scoured the info-sheets to get more information on the performance characteristics of the GTX 1080, and compared it to that of the GTX 680.

There was definitely a significant improvement by the numbers. Almost 3× in fact.

So I ended up getting the ASUS GTX 1080-8G Founder's Edition. That it was a ``founder's edition'' was more fluke than planning. So far I am liking the kind of throughput I am seeing from the card. Of course, I probably should replace my aging monitor (it's one of the oldest components that have been around since I first built Elysie) especially since the LCDs along its edges are starting to fade away into white. But it's not like I'm using Elysie-II to do anything important whilst sitting in front of it---I do most of the coding and what-not through SSH-ing into the Xubuntu partition of the machine.

Speaking of Xubuntu partition, I need to install the custom drivers from NVidia on it soon. The existing drivers, possibly from the ``noveau'' package are not working at all with such a new card.

Performance-wise, the GTX 1080 seems to run much cooler than the GTX 680, even at a more punishing setting. That was one the big reasons why I chose to get it now instead of waiting for later. Running cooler in the hot and humid weather is a definite advantage.

Another big push towards getting the GTX 1080 has been because of the games on the list that I'd like to play. I had completed The Witcher and The Witcher 2, and am about to start on The Witcher 3. That last Witcher game is a demanding beast. From what I had read, my GTX 680 was going to have a hard time playing it even at low settings. I am also waiting for the price for the new DOOM game to drop so that I can get it too.

So that's at least two AAA games that require the kind of horsepower that the GTX 1080 can deliver.

I know that the GTX 1080 is supposed to be VR-ready as well, but I don't really care about it since I'm not into the whole VR nonsense. 4k gaming is also touted to be a strong point of the GTX 1080, but again, with a 1080p screen, I'd rather much prefer 1080p@60Hz smoothness than 4k whatever.

All in all, a good use of money for my own entertainment.

------

The other day, my 10-hole dizi finally made its way through the world and on to my door-step. I had asked sifu about his opinions of that instrument before, and he said that it was in general, not really worth it due to too awkward fingering and a general lack of actual pieces that demand its exclusive use. Nevertheless, I got one mostly to mess around with, and to test the particular e-commerce chain that I had not tried before.

He wasn't kidding about the awkward fingering. I found that the fingers on the left-hand suffered quite a bit of strain from trying to keep them bunched up the way one might do while holding a concert flute with a shelf, while trying to simultaneously cover all the wholes that each of them had. It also took me quite a while to figure out how to set up the correct balancing point positions so that the dizi can be held up while the fingers are racing up and down to play the various notes.

But other than that, that dizi actually has a decent tone. It is probably wise to treat it like another instrument in the dizi family as opposed to unifying it under the same ``style'' as the 6-hole dizi.

And that's all I have for now. Till the next update.

Sixth Month

A glass of whiskey in hand at the end of a rehearsal as the night grows deeper as I savour and ponder about things that have passed or have yet to come---I have been doing less of that lately.

Now that is definitely a good thing. It means that I am engaged enough in real life that I don't have the spare time to sit around and mope about or wax lyrical about issues imaginary and real.

It is now June. Nearly half the year gone, just like that. Things have been moving along relatively swimmingly, and well, there's really little to complain about.

Here and there, I've been doing some retrospection. I note that my predictions from the past came through somewhat, that I had indeed died when I was twenty-one. While obviously it wasn't a literal sort of death, it was a death nonetheless. What died was my perspective that the world was orderly in nature, that it altruism was a goal to strive for, that friends were forever, and that I was the most matured for my age.

Heh.

In the ten years since, I've learnt that the world was only orderly in the sort of macroscopic way that makes it easy to argue philosophically, that in reality, ``orderliness'' was among the last properties that the world has. I've also learnt that altruism, while a worthy virtue in its own right, is most definitely not the end goal that one should strive for, mostly because people in general aren't necessarily appreciative of one's altruism---better to be altruistic only within the context of close people of one's choice.

I've also learnt that friends aren't really forever---they are bound by the context (both spatial and temporal) in which they occur. Once their life trajectories start to diverge, they are at best acquaintances that one ought to keep in touch with ever so often, but the relationship between they and one will never be the same as it was. And the best part is that when (not if) that happens, it's okay---it's no one's fault. Sometimes life just happens.

And I sure as hell am not the most matured for my age.

A decade is a hell lot of time, nearly an eighth of a person's life based on modern actuary tables. I think I can guess what this decade will bring to me as I make my way towards middle age and establishing my role in society in a more concrete way. But this time, I think the journey will be slightly less harrowing since I have a boon companion now.

=)

Different, but definitely less harrowing.

Alright, enough rambling for now. Till the next update I suppose.