Hello there, I'm a human who likes computers and math.
Why x86 is unfathomably bloated
Wouldn't it be interesting to count the percentage of the x86 ISA that a program uses? Well, first of all, we need to define what the term "instruction" even means when it comes to the behemoth that is x86. For a detailed explanation, I highly recommend reading this article. In this post, I'll follow XED's definition of an instruction, which is: Intel® XED classifies instructions as iclasses (ADD, SUB, MUL, etc.) of type xed_iclass_enum_t. All of these "iclasses" are defined inside xed-iclass-enum.h, turns out there are 1974 of them at the time of writing this post (ignoring XED_ICLASS_INVALID and XED_ICLASS_LAST).
Now, all we need to do is build XED, give it an executable and count the number of unique iclasses. The results below were attained using the following script (by default, XED decodes at most 100 million instructions, make sure to increase that limit if decoding a large file): xed -i <file> | awk '/^XDIS/ {list[$6]++} END {printf "%.2f%%\n", length(list) / 1974 * 100}'
- Hello world in C: 0.91%
- Busybox: 5.83%
- Tor: 5.93%
- Go: 10.59%
- LLVM: 13.12%
Turns out very few x86 instructions are actually used, to the point where even something as massive as LLVM only uses 259 out of 1974 instructions. This explains why x86 is so power-hungry compared to ARM or RISC-V.
Installing OpenWRT on a WD N600 router
According to the OpenWRT wiki, there are three tested methods to install OpenWRT on a WD N600 router. However, when I got my hands on one, neither method worked. Every time I tried to flash the factory image (version 24.10.0 at the time), the router's light would slowly turn on and off, as if the image was being flashed, but it would never stop. The router would get stuck and never reboot. After a couple hours of tears and frustration, I managed to figure out what the issue was. After giving the factory image a shorter name and following the wiki's first method, the router would successfully boot into OpenWRT.
Unfortunately, after restarting it using the on/off button, OpenWRT would disappear and I would be again greeted by the "Emergency room" interface. After a couple more hours of frustration, I managed to make the factory image stay by reflashing it using the sysupgrade image, combining the first and third methods from the wiki:
1. Download the factory image and give it a shorter name. I went with openwrt-24.10.0.bin.
2. Configure your computer's IP address to 192.168.1.10 and connect to a LAN port in the router.
3. Turn the router off.
4. Using a paperclip, press and hold the reset button on the bottom of the router and turn it on. Hold the reset button for at least 15 seconds. Wait until the power light on the front is slowly flashing on and off.
5. On your computer, visit http://192.168.1.1
6. Upload the factory image using the "Emergency room" interface.
7. The router will now take a couple minutes to flash OpenWRT. When it's done, return to http://192.168.1.1 and update the firmware with the sysupgrade image.
The mathematically perfect knife
A delicate and modest blade, meant to be gripped by two fingers, crafted from an interconnected symphony of equations, harmoniously dancing as one. Ponder its alluring splendor, and lose yourself in its enchanting beauty.
To start, simply choose one exercise from each progression category. The lower an exercise is listed, the harder it is. Assistance exercises aren't listed in any particular order, just pick one that helps you achieve your current goals. Once you can do 5 sets of 8-12 reps, move on to a more challenging variation.
PUSH (Monday, Thursday):
Dip progression:
- Bench dips
- Negative dips
- Full dips
- Single bar dips
- Ring dips
Push-up progression:
- Vertical push-ups
- Incline push-ups
- Knee push-ups
- Full push-ups
- Diamond push-ups
- Pseudo planche push-ups
- Uneven push-ups
- Archer push-ups
- One arm push-ups
Push assistance:
- Wall plank
- Wall handstand
- Freestanding handstand
- Parallel bar support hold
- Pike push-ups
- Elevated pike push-ups
- Triceps extensions
PULL (Toesday, Friday):
Pull-up progression:
- Jackknife pull-up
- Negative pull-ups
- Full pull-ups
- Narrow pull-ups
- One hand pull-ups
- Archer pull-ups
- One arm pull-ups
Row progression:
- Vertical rows
- Incline rows
- Horizontal rows
- Wide rows
- Archer rows
- One arm rows
Core progression:
- Hanging knee raises
- Hanging leg raises
- Toe to bars
LEGS (Wednesday, Saturday):
Squat progression:
- Assisted squats
- Full squats
- Narrow squats
- Uneven squats
- Assisted pistol squats
- Full pistol squats
Hinge progression:
- Glute ham raises
- Negative nordic curls
- Full nordic curls
Calve progression:
- Calve raises
- One leg calve raises
