---
language: uxntal
contributors:
- ["Devine Lu Linvega", "https://wiki.xxiivv.com"]
filename: learnuxn.tal
---
Uxntal is a stack-machine assembly language targetting the Uxn virtual machine.
Stack machine programming might look at bit odd, as it uses a postfix notation,
| #include <stdint.h> | |
| #include <stdio.h> | |
| #include <stdarg.h> | |
| #include "c9.h" | |
| C9ctx ctx; | |
| uint32_t wrsize; | |
| uint8_t wrbuf[64 * 1024]; | |
| uint8_t rdbuf[64 * 1024]; |
There is an idealism to many of your projects that reminds me of the early Web or perhaps the Amiga era, with a sense that anything is fair game to be re-thought; from the recipe site grimgrains with its unusual sign to even representations of time and dates with Neralie and Arvelie.
This extends to the tools you adopt by others, like Plan 9 and Gemini, that are not as widely used or supported but are built on better logical or aesthetic principles.
I'd like to begin by asking you to describe a bit of your creative philosophy and process as a team.
Our development philosophy comes down to a strong belief that solving problems is more efficient than looking for solutions.
I say this to mean that, based on personal experiences, searching for a password is more expensive and less fulfilling than cracking the safe itself. It does mean reinventing the wheel many times over, but the process has lead us to many unforeseen places, often in areas we had previously taken for granted, or considered solved.
| "A Japanese boat" | |
| In March 2019, Devine & I sailed our Yamaha 33 "Pino" to mainland Japan from Chijijima. Our plan was to get to Wakayama, riding on the back of a passing system, but because the wind turned earlier, we could not reach our planned port. The temperature was 4 °C, and we had a solid 40 knots of wind on the nose. We wanted to land in Omaezaki, but the wind did not permit us to go there either. The port of Shimizu, tucked at the northwestern end of Suruga Bay, was our next option. | |
| Shimizu translates to "fresh water". I experienced that freshness first hand, with freezing waves splashing over the cockpit. The starboard-side lee cloth was hanging by a thread. The diesel bins too, threatened to leap overboard. At that moment, Lin and Larry Pardey's saying that "anything on deck is sacrificial" came to mind. If it wasn't for sea traffic, wind direction and the layout of the coast, we'd ease off, or heave-to, but sailing near land has a way of making everything more dangerous. | |
| To get to Shimiz |
| ; ca65 apu_scale.s | |
| ; ld65 -t nes apu_scale.o -o apu_scale.nes | |
| reset: | |
| ; Since we only use APU, we don't need to | |
| ; initialize anything else | |
| jsr init_apu | |
| ldy #20 | |
| jsr delay_y_frames |
Our traveling studio has operated off-the-grid for 4 1/2 years. I am an illustrator and writer, and my partner is a musician and programmer, together we build experimental software using low-tech solutions.
For the first 3 years we tested the limits of our space, and at first, it was difficult to create new things, as we had to make time to learn how solve underlying problems. Our boat was not just an office, it was also our house and transport. As for us, we were artists, but also plumbers, deckhands, electricians, captains, janitors and accountants.
Our main problems as a studio were internet scarcity, power management, data storage as well as hardware and software failures. Overtime we found ways to balance work, pleasure and maintenance. Here are some of the lessons we learnt.
Power management
- Firstly, and most obviously, what's it like to work on a boat? What do you find the most difficult and what do you enjoy the most about it?
Our studio is subject to the whims of nature. Because our vessel moves with the wind, the view from our window changes all the time. Our work schedule is tied to hours of sunlight. The most difficult aspect of working from a boat is power management, as we have to size our projects to the energy we have stored, but it is also what we enjoy the most because we thrive within constraints.
- Why and when did you both want to take your life onto the seas?
We lived in Japan for a few years prior to moving aboard Pino in 2016. We found that working while traveling impacted our projects in positive ways. We wanted to keep moving, but also wanted to exit the loop of buying and selling the various things you need when moving abroad(furniture, tools, etc).
A sailboat solved our issues with travel. Lack of experience aside, we knew we could learn to sail and thought
Hello, Devine, and welcome to the interview with React Day Berlin. Please, tell us about yourself. What background are you coming from?
My name is Devine and I build esoteric software. I was first interested in illustration and motion graphics, I later started writing music to complement these pictures, and finally I began learning to implement interaction and turn these designs into games, websites and tools.
What do you do apart from playing music? Where do you work and what do you do during the daytime?
I'm Devine Lu Linvega. I write esoteric software while traveling aboard a sailboat with my partner Rekka Bellum — We are presently moored in a quiet inlet, deep within the Japanese coast where sleep the remains of ancient towns, overgrown with lichen.
I am tempted to say that I write music, but saying that I write programs to write music, would be more accurate. The same could be said about design, but I do like pick up a pen to draw once in a while. Rekka & I are making games, tools and books together. We also [document our life aboard the boat](http://youtube.com/hundre
Are there any other docs for Runic outside of the Oscean Lexicon in lexicon.ndtl?
I think that the best way to understand how Runic works is actually to look at the source code itself, it's a tiny file written in such a way that it should be self explanatory.
Have you built any tools for quick conversion of Neralie and Arvelie?
If you type ~help in the Oscean search bar, you will see the ~atog, and ~gtoa, commands that will handle that conversion.
~atog 19l06 # 2019-06-09