Interesting...  It will let me post several days later...

I'm starting to sing my "Good byyyeeeee..." song now -- so we'd better all sign off :-)

@Crusty: All Have to get rat arsed to do another jigsaw started in the embrace of a loving family

Just stick some cheese in your ears and they'll leave you alone

@marlowg: You too -- hope to see you next week

@All Thanks! Have a good week!

All Have to get rat arsed to do another jigsaw started in the embrace of a loving family

@all right off now have a great week chaps 

OK -- by all -- back to work -- don;t forget to check out my "Google in the 1960s" blog which I will post in about 30 mins...

@ crusty will catch up in mail. @ Max terms and conditions accepted.

@Adam: You can purchase alcohol in a "wet county" and bring it home -- you just can;t buy it in a "dry county"

@Manihatan will e-mail shortly

@Manihatn: Max Thanks..

No worries -- I live to serve :-)

FYI We have a chat each week at the same time -- I do a "Don't forget the chat" blog each week -- plus you shoudl be signed up for the weekly newsletter

Bye William cold and damp here but alcoholic

@crusty I can imagine 

mail order i think

@ All: Thanks a lot everybody. Really enjoyed the chat session  this week. Hope to join next week..

Dry county ? I did not know you still had them, can you have alcolhol in your own home ?

back to the swealtering hot place called work

@Adam Have you tried the old London Gin with battery acid. was supposed to better than coal gas bubbled through a pint of milk, instance oblivian.

No gin in a dry county here lads

@Crusty: Max more in line with "Hallo Hallo"

Now that was a brilliant series...

@all right I need to head off and get more gin, until next week gentlemen 

@ Max Thanks..

@William: gin and chik fliks -- a gut wreching combination

It's the Gin that let's me survive

@Max Cheers

@crusty: Can you let Manihatn have my e-mail link

Done -- I just emailed you both

@will the English are a funny lot 

@Max more in line with "hallo Hallo"

gin and chik fliks -- a gut wreching combination

@max damn you sir damn you walking around singing that song now, but then you knew that would happen 

@Crusty: Max You can always put cheese in your ears

You wife told me that's what you do when she's talking to you ... but I like cheese too much ... now you have me thinking of Wallace and Gromit where Wallace says "More cheese, Gromit?"

got to go folks.  Keep the cheese away from your ears, or you may become a Green Bay (NFL Football) fan...

And if you can find it over there in that country that has almost no good booze, look for some good Dominican rum.  It is made from natural sugar cane and is gold in color.  Dang that stuff is good.

@crusty sorry just plain old gordons 

@Adam Hope it is Plymouth Gin?

@Max Can you let Manihatn have my e-mail link

@max you are the only cure is copious ammounts of alcohol

talking of which I have developed a serious taste for gin this holiday 

@Crusty: Was forced to watch it on TV first time

I thought we'd finished, but it turns out that was just the first mini-series of a three mini-series super-seried -- and I BOUGHT ALL THREE (sob sob)

@Max You can always put cheese in your ears

@ crusty would be great to meet. May be max can link me to you..

@manihatn Retired and going to seed in a village near Portsmoth.

@adam: max how can I help

No one can help -- I'm doomed ....

Now she won't stop singing it ... her reddition of "Then t'worms'll come an` eyt thee up" make your eyes water (she can't remember the accent OR the tune)

@max please tell me you recorded this

@Max Was forced to watch it on TV first time

My wife asked what that was so I explained it and sung it to her...

Were the ducks play rugby

I am working in Cambridge

It's partly set in Yorkshire (my home county). .In the middle, one of the female characters sings the first frew lines from On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at

@max - you are screwed.  She's gonna make you watch them with her, isn't she?  I suggest you run across the channel to Germany and invest in some good beer...

@manihatan Crusty also resides in southern England

@max go on 

I bought my wife one of those "Chick Flick" videos for Christmas -- I DVd of the UK "made-for-TV" Mini Series "A Woman of Substance" from the 1980s

I am in uk

@max how can I help

@max:  Digital is just a special case of analog using over-driven amplifiers.  Of course, what with quantum stuff, I suppose you can argue that analog is a special case of digital

Well, I've got to run folks. It's been good chatting

@max true but that is what makes it fun, for the last year I have been responsible for teh power engineers as well as the digital guys. They have some good simulation tools and they can prototype easier in many applications 

Adam and Crusty and anyone else in the UK ... I have a problem

@Duane. True. I used to go through the user mauals and they used to have boot camp approach. But reference manual are the way to go. @ Adam thanks a lot

@Adam: ...all engineers should be able to do either,

You never know where you are with that wibbly-wobbly analog stuff -- not like good old dependable digital

@Duane @ manihatn I think on the altera site there are some good vhld videos as well 

@max --analog is cool and can be hot too with the SSSGs

@max all engineers should be able to do either, 

@Adam: ...you did not mention thrashing at DW

I didn't want to get you excited

Manihatn - I've noticed that Xilinx seems to have very good documentation. One thing I really like is that they seem to customize it for the various devices. Tha's been a plesent surprise.

@max - I have not only used a TDR, but I can maybe even tell you how it works...

@Adam, I sure we can provide a meal.

@tomii: ...my background is mostly analog

You didn't tell me you were one of "them" ... "I thought you were one of "us" (grin)

@Max you did not mention thrashing at DW 

Max - Most things don't seem to stick in my head unless thrashed in.

@ Duane : One way to really get the thoughts clarified is to read the tools refrence manual. Recently I read the edk reference manual and that was really enlightening. It takes you through every step in detail. At times it can a bit overloading. But surely solid approach that works.

@crusty we can have a chat next time I am down in popmy if it is any help

@Duane: I still grapple with that one.

Whne we meet up at Design West I'll thrash it into you :-)

@Duane, I am working on a simple example of all at once, That does not bug me, It's knowing how to write what I want done is the problem, but that was the same 30 years ago with my first assembler.

@manihatn: That should have been great !!!

It was fun -- we were all so young and foolish back then --before the years took their toll :-)

I heard from Doug recently -- he and his family have moved back to England

I get that one well enough, but I have a hard time gripping connections and how to make things happen sequentially.  I also worry a lot about timing.  At this stage it's not so big a deal, but...  I'm not a big digital guy, my background is mostly analog

@ max : thanks will look into it. looks intersting

@maqnihatn: Did you see the Hamster Writes Free FPGA VHDL Book! blog here on APP?

Tomii, Crusty - One of the hardest concepts for me is the realization that a lot of this stuff is happening at the same time. It looks like software, but it's not. I still grapple with that one.

This site

For a direct link

@ Max : That should have been great !!!

@All:  I've recently stumbled upon this site, and it has helped me answer a lot of my many stupid questions:  http://www.asic-world.com/verilog/index.html

@Manihatn: I really wish to know the difference as once suggested  by "Douglas Smith"

I was working with Doug when he wrote that "Blue Book" -- which is still sitting on the shelves here in my office

@max of course I would, I have an outline just need to find the time to sit down and fill it out 

@Duane "Learning FPGAs is probably the most difficult (and sometimes frustrating) things I've done recently, but it's also been the most fun and fascinating." I wish I was as advanced as you, I am still trying to find an environment that I find right for me. I am still trying to get to grips with higher level abstaraction, I can manage schematic design so working both ways with desigining so far. Will be letting the Atmel soft core lose on the Papillo this weekend.

@Duane - RE: following your FPGA blog - I'm still back around the chipscope stuff (just after), but I've taken a huge tangent on learing some of the Opal Kelly hooks.  I just read your bit on 2-stage sychs.  I have a couple more things to learn (and write about) before I can get back to buildig a logic analyzer with the thing.

@adam: I am trying to write a basic how to course

Maybe when it's done you can make it available to everyone on APP

@ All  are there any good pointers to timing analysis. Or does just come with experience..

I just saw a blog/paper on the differences (Xilinx WP's perhaps?)

@manihatn: Re Starting in VHDL -- Click Here to see I blog I wrote -- there are some suggestions in the comments below the blog

@ William Appreciate it. Thanks  @ Duane: I really wish to know the difference as once suggested  by "Douglas Smith"

@tomii: I can assure you in advance that the woderousness of this future site will be so amazingly grand, that my thankfullness of your delusional state will  be nothing less than stellar.

That's the sort of attitude I like to see (the rest of you should take note!!!)

VHDL 8051

@manihatn -- UC-Riverside -- dalton project 8051

Manihatn - I chose Verilog as my starting language. One of these days, I'll have to look at VHDL as well.

@manihatn I am happy to help, I am trying to write a basic how to course maybe you could be my tester ?

 @ Adam and crusty : I have been all time verilog. Would appreciate any starting links to VHDL

max - I can assure you in advance that the woderousness of this future site will be so amazingly grand, that my thankfullness of your delusional state will  be nothing less than stellar.

@Adam Mant thanks for help so far, will need to ask about things without doubt.

@duane it is rare for me but I had run into a use it or los the vacation time so I decided to use it 

@Tomii: A real "wow," huh?  It's been a while since I've seen one of those.

In that case, when I blow your socks off, I expect you to make an appropriate comment saying how wonderful the site I'm going to point you at is .... if you see what I mean

@max but I have been sending you blogs over xmas on the zed so it is not really vacation 

Adam - I'm not sure I've ever had three contiguous weeks off

Hi Crusty glad to here it if you need anythign just ask 

MAx yeah since the 14th December, I decided to have three weeks this year

Hi Adam. Visitors given food so now back on line.

I am well, starting to get to grips with VHDL as a new year resolution no messing around, new start from basics but will make sure to run a testbench each time.

A real "wow," huh?  It's been a while since I've seen one of those.

As for shrinking clothes, it's a perennial problem for me.  Although, since I'm home in bed with a bug today, it's not such an issue.  Hopefully your computers won't catch a virus from me...

@Adam: ...going to be a right pain going back to work ont he 8th

YOU'RE STILL on vacation!!! Give me strength!!!

@max odd mine have been doing the same over the last two weeks and I am turning nocturnal going to be a right pain going back to work ont he 8th 

I think I must be the victim of some strange disturbance in the space-time continuum, because my clothes appear to have been shrinking over the past few months (click here to read more...)

@Tomii: Googe in the '60's.  The beginning of AARPAnet?  Or steampunk?

Wait toill you see my blog -- check APP later this afternoon -- this will blow you away

Googe in the '60's.  The beginning of AARPAnet?  Or steampunk?

That was the same with PCB design as well 

@tomii: And none of them were on the same computer...

Ah, the good old days ... wait till you see my next APP blog on "Google in the 1960s"

@duane yes it can be I was lucky when I started out we were taught it at uni and the sent on a course in my first job 

The only time I've ever really used FPGAs (directly, myself) was back in 1995 or 6, during college.  We had a couple of projects where we needed to use them.  I recall I was building a voice recognition module to sit on the ISA bus in an old PC.  We'd draw u poour circuit in OrCAD, then there was this other tool that would make the bit code, and then a 3rd tool we'd use to JTAG the chip.  And none of them were on the same computer, so I would end up wheeling this old PC around from machine to machine to do my class project...

Earlier today I posted a blog over on Programmable Logic Designline about something called a GravityLight -- well worth taking a look at after we finish this chat.

Learning FPGAs is probably the most difficult (and sometimes frustrating) things I've done recently, but it's also been the most fun and fascinating.

@manhitan sounds like a lot of fun 

Re losing posts -- that happens to me also -- the Control Z is a good idea -- thanks Duane (wish you'd mentioned tha tbefore :-) -- I tend to copy the text becore I click "Post" just in case (of course I always forget to do that on the ones that fail to post :-)

@Adam I have exposure to FPGA since 2008, but yet to have some real world exposure. Working on some opensource hardware projects.

@tomii: This really reminds me of an on-line chat room...

You are right -- it does now I come to think about it

Tomii - no problem. If the post doesn't post, sometimes you can hit Ctril-Z and get it back in the chat window, then try to post again.

@manihatn it is not are you new to FPGA or an old hand 

duane - OK, yes.  Sorry for the seemingly sporadic messages, I seem to be seeing serious lag today, I've had a couple of posts not post.

@all never too late to learn FPGA's

@Max -- no kidding -- one realizes ones grasp of the univers is just one twig on the huge tree of knowlege

Y'know, back in the early- to mid '90's, I used to run a BBS....  This really reminds me of an on-line chat room...

@tomii: As for the FPGA, I'm using an Opal Kelly thing, which is a really nifty PC Interface.

This is what you'll be blogging about at first, right?

@max I am only pulling your leg, it gets posted when it does lol 

@All I think all good engineers realise just how little they know about things at times. 

@Adam: The architectures, process, entity blog ;)

Oh, that one -- I know, I know, it's at the top of my list of "things to do" -- right after the list of "things to do RIGHT NOW"

Heck, I could probably write books on what I've forgotten but...

@Duane

RE:Tools.  I'm using the Xilinx WebPack, nothing more.  As for the FPGA, I'm using an Opal Kelly thing, which is a really nifty PC Interface.

@tomii: ...what I've really found out is just how much I don't know..

I could write books about what I don't know...

Tomii - I'm glad my blogs have been helpful. I think learning FPGAs is one of the more difficult technologies I've ever tackled. It's fascinating, but very complex.

The architectures, process, entity blog ;) 

@Adam: tell me about it you have had one of mine since June ;)

One of your what?

@Duane

I really appreciate your efforts to date.  It's refreshing (and motivating) to have another newb poking around in stuff.  I've tried reading some books (which are all some exciting reads, y'know?), and tried Googling and Youtube, but what I've really found out is just how much I don't know..

Hi William -- Happy New Year

Tomii - What tools are you using to write and configure your FPGA?

But, I've been learning (and not learning) some stuff on my OK board. 

@max tell me about it you have had one of mine since June ;) 

Hi all

ha!  I believe it.  I've been following along for a month or two.  You partially lost me at chipscope, since I don't have a license

@tomii: I'm so far behind...

Tell me about it -- I'm so far behind I don;t have the words to describe it...

@Duane it was it is surprisingly easy to use as memory you can instantate it directly using core gen etc or infer it. 

It is really interesting to implement state machines in, it is on my list of things to blog about 

Tomii - The only time I was caught up was before I started.

I'm so far behind Duane.  Wish I was more caught up.

hey, what?  And it would appear that I a smart pair of wooden shoes?

Adam - Sounds cool. I'm just discovering block RAM

Welcome tomii

Tomii welcome to the mad house 

I have just done a private project for a chap in New Mexico and ended up uising nearly all the block ram in the largest spartan 6 

Hi Tomii -- Everyone, Tomii is joining APP as a blogger (it's his own fault, he was making too many inteligent comments on other people's blogs, so I roped him in)

Hi Tomii

Duane -- your latest blog "Discovering FPGAs: Using On-Chip Block RAM" just posted

@ max it was definatelty I seem to be doing lots of mil interviews for CEng post the Nimrod accident in afghanistan 

sorry I'm late

Okay. I'll wait.

Good whatever time it is folks...

My blog will appear about 30 mins after we finish thsi chat

Re this website -- I'm writing a blog about it for APP -- it's an interactuive site that lets you experiance how Google would have worked in the 1960s...

Max - LOL. We used to have old stuff out in the Pacifc Northwest, but we cut down all of the trees.

@Adam: "...he came out with a cracking line..."

That would be a hard one to top in a conversation

@Duane: My jokes may be old, but a house is considered old at 50

When I first moved to the USA from the UK, I took a road trip up to Mount Rushmore -- I kept on getting fooled ny the signs that said "Historic Monument in 2 Miles" -- I stopped for each one, on;ly to find things like "Fifty years ago today, General Grooper shot himself in the armpit on this spot."

Max - do tell

Hi Crusty how are you ?

@max sounds like a greta idea, it could be a how did I end up here chat. I was interviewing a RAF officer the other day for CEng status and he came out with a cracking line. So there I was in dtich in afghanistan being shot at and I thought I am an engineer how did I end up here 

I just saw the most amazing website

Max - My jokes may be old, but a house is considered old at 50.

@ Max: sure will do shortly

Hi Crusty -- great to see you here -- Happy New Year to you and yours

@adam: I am sure max will provide each others email addresses

Adam -- I have your email address; Manihatn, if you email me your address (max@CliveMaxfield.com) I will link you and Adam up

@Adam -- let's take a world map to Design West and we can all stick pins in indicating where we've been and tell tall tales of our daring-do

Hi All. Good New Year to you all, still entertaining the family so only able to visit briefly

I am sure max will provide each others email addresses 

@manihatn and marlowg ... and anyone else -- several of us from APP wre presenting papers at Design West -- if anyone else can make it out there it woudl be great for us all to meet up (Adam is buying the beer)

@Adam for sure. lets plan 

@Dunae: We don't have much of anything old around here.

What are you talking about -- I've heard your jokes and they are old :-)

manihatn always up for a beer 

@ Max : "all i need is money" true fact

Max I have been lucky to always wanted to see all the states so far I have been to florida, new york, washiington DC, virginia, arizona, neveda, california, illinos, mitchigan, minesota, and quite a few countries lol

@manihatn and marlowg: Did you see my blog on the beanie hat wireless mesh network? Ths iis now going to be featured at the forthcoming Design West conference, which will be held at the end of April in San Jose.

The guys making the hats are now planning on bringing 200, so thsi should be a real laugh...

great to hear. Hope to meet sometime

We don't have much of anything old around here.

just up the road from me I live in harlow (saldy) but work in stevenage 

 i am currently working in Cambridge..

are you based in the uk manihatn ?

@Adam: Me too. I've been really lucky in my time -- as part of my various jobs I've visted more that half of the USA states -- Norway, Sweden, Denmark -- Germany, France, Italy -- also China, India, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Korea ... but there's still so much more to see ... I want to go to Africa, South America, Australia ... all I need is the money :-)

true , really spectacular ones in scotland

we have lots of those 

I've always wanted to see castles.

always wanted to see the pyramids

@Manihatn (and marlowg): Thanks for the kind words -- it's great to have you onboard -- I think you'll have a lot of fun -- APP has a bunch of fun bloggers and members

Nicely done. Good photoshop skils..

Max - I want to go visit that place

great.. Really interesting webpage. I am addicted to the blogs.

What did you think about the "Thought Provoking Picture" in this week's Don't Forget The Chat blog?

Thank you! I am glad I found out about this yesterday!

I was a member intially. Followed a lot of your blogs. But suddenly saw this live chat session. And thought its good time to join the team.. :-)

Hellow Marlowg -- another newcommer -- welcome to our happy throng

Happy new year to you as well

My new year wishes to all..

Hi Manihatn -- Great to see you here -- when did you join APP and how did you hear about us?

Hi Manihatn

Happy New Year! Glad to meet you too!

Hi Duane and Max happy new year 

Glad to meet you to

Helloooooooo    HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

yes, I thought the chat session will begin exactly at 12 central US time. Glad to meet you.

Hello all

Hi how are you ? I think we are the first 

hello everybody. a newbie here

hi

Our weekly chat will commence at 12:00 p.m. my time (Central USA Time), which is 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, and 6:00 p.m. UTC/GMT (you'll have to work out your local time from these clues -- or you can use this handy-dandy Time Zone Converter).

As always, we will be following our usual practice of leaping from topic to topic with the agility of young, fearless mountain goats, so make sure you're wearing appropriate clothing!