I'm meandering through the writing of this post, having decided to share the images now instead of waiting for the completed copy, and that in lieu of NSThreads and NSOperations, and the NSOperationQueues to which they belong. The asset (video) picker in Chroma isn't just a grid of poster frames, but is a grid of all your videos playing at the same time. Pinching the view in which the videos are displayed increases the number of videos displayed; in order to play them all simultaneously and play them smoothly, one must earn a black belt in multithreading and memory management. It takes time to learn it well and do it right. While the subject is not as hardcore as I thought it would be, it's involved. Very involved. When it comes to tasks involved, I prefer to delve in and finish them as soon as possible, sparing virtually no time for anything else, particularly, bitching about demonic-led genocide as this blog tends to do; it distracts from dispatch and group queues, and concurrency thereunto. Can't have that.
Well, all that, plus it's hard to write with demons putting things in, on and around your eyes...
Being blinded by demons and their people isn't as funny as I may have made it sound with the quippy-esque headline above; but, long-term physical abuse does strange things to one's sense of humor (hence, gallows humor). Thankfully, I've found a way to sober things up a bit, this picture being one way:
The image above was processed using OpenGL; following is the relevant portion of the fragment shader used to enhance portions of the image comprising evidence of demonic foul-play:
[describe complications in developing a single, comprehensive defense strategy against demons]
Well, all that, plus it's hard to write with demons putting things in, on and around your eyes...
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| Demonic flora and fauna, intentionally placed in, on and around my eyes in order to damage them, the overall goal being blindness |
Being blinded by demons and their people isn't as funny as I may have made it sound with the quippy-esque headline above; but, long-term physical abuse does strange things to one's sense of humor (hence, gallows humor). Thankfully, I've found a way to sober things up a bit, this picture being one way:
 |
| Most demonic activity occurs in shadow (although not necessarily darkness), and is most visible in digital media when the subject of such activity is submersed in twilight (the visible boundary between light and darkness) [see Comparing demonic activity in light and shadow] |
[describe image; cross-reference previous posts containing similar images]
static const GLfloat kColorConversion709[] = {1.164, 1.164, 1.164,0.0, -0.213, 2.112,1.793, -0.533, 0.0,};
yuv.x = (texture(SamplerY, coordinate).r) * lumaThreshold;yuv.yz = (texture(SamplerUV, coordinate).ra - vec2(0.5, 0.5)) * chromaThreshold;yuva = vec4(0.0, yuv.y, yuv.z, (1.0 - yuv.x));yuvb = vec4(0.0, yuv.y, yuv.z, (yuv.x));rgba = (vec4(vec3(colorConversionMatrix * yuv), 1.0) + yuvb) - (vec4(vec3(colorConversionMatrix * yuv), 1.0) * yuva);
color = reba;
[describe persons/demons responsible; characteristics of both]
I could easily point to any human culprits; but, doing so to demons would be slightly more difficult. Whereas people are, in general, disinclined to frequent relocation—preferring, instead, to live in one place for relatively significant periods of time—demons are always on the move. Plus, people live here; demons don't (generally). That makes it easy to point to and track down people who perpetrate acts like the one shown in the image above, as they live in the same neighborhood; and, even though I'm sometimes fail in remembering names and faces, I find it easy to remember the face of anyone who has made an attempt to blind me.
Demons are about the same for me when it comes to recalling a face. For a long time I used to think a lot of them looked alike; but, now, I can say that even the most nuanced of variations in, say, length of fangs, readily stand out as sure-fire identifiers for any one of the scaly beasts hell-bent on damaging my eyes. Unfortunately, that doesn't always help, given that demons routinely swap battlefields with other demons, so I rarely see the same lot.
[describe complications in developing a single, comprehensive defense strategy against demons]
The wide-variety of demons used for attacks such as those made on my eyes complicates things, too. The differences between each variety are universe-wide, making it impossible to establish a one-size-fits-all defense strategy. For example: there is a tremendous difference between what you must do to protect yourself from a demon the size of a short piece of sewing thread that can burrow under skin and bone and what you must do to protect yourself from a demon about your size and shape. There's no overlap that simplifies implementation for both at the same time. Poison the air: no problem—some demons don't breathe it. Underwater: same complication. Protective (camouflage) body wrap/clothing or bedding: applies only to demons that see only the reflection of light emitted by their eyes as it bounces off of surfaces; demons with human-like eyesight have no problem getting to you, no matter what you're wearing.
Moreover, some defense strategies are too cumbersome or problematic to implement just anywhere, anytime. Take the only defense strategy known to be effective against Voices Demons: noise. Oscillating or alternating between loud and quiet noise volumes burdens Voices Demons' conversation and song, which is how they use and share their power.
NOTE | That is the reason behind the sing-songy lilt and chorus they effect in nearly everything you hear them say, which is always evident in their voices when they are "angry" or in "battle mode." The ability to transmute kinetic energy via control over certain characteristics and properties of sound is also why they were dubbed, "Voices Demons," which has nothing to do with hearing voices in the way the mentally ill might.
A steady pitch and stable (not too loud or quiet) ambient and background sound volume is essential for a Voices Demon to invoke physical, consequential interaction with our environment. Unfortunately, it's inconvenient to blare the kind of irritating noise required to stay their hand just anywhere, which is exactly what you would have to do, and that around-the-clock, everyday, and possibly for the rest of your life once you've done it. Because affecting a physical touch is not their forte, Voices Demons pursue instead a strategy of relentless and unceasing assaults by and through other demons and people they recruit with varying success; and, when they can't find anyone to physically assault you, they target the mind in the ways only Voices Demons are known to have devised (which doesn't just include constant yammering, but also sleep deprivation). Warping the mind takes time—much time—as it can't be done in a way too obvious to the target, and involves altering perceptions that have developed over a lifetime. That means investing time—major time—with a target. That said, if you pick a fight, it will not end anytime soon, not even at night, as Voices Demons travel only in packs, and therefore fight in shifts totaling 24 hours a day.
Finally, there's demons that occupy multiple places at the same time; that's hard to explain, but when it happens, it is easy to show. Demon (dis)placed in multiple locations generally construct their form (mostly, faces) in pieces using several different objects and/or surfaces from the environment around them, and are only visible at a specific angle and from a specific distance, when all the objects line up in your sight in such a way as to form what many would call an optical illusion. In such cases, your adversary might be part building facade, part utility pole, and maybe some cloud.
Finally, there's demons that occupy multiple places at the same time; that's hard to explain, but when it happens, it is easy to show. Demon (dis)placed in multiple locations generally construct their form (mostly, faces) in pieces using several different objects and/or surfaces from the environment around them, and are only visible at a specific angle and from a specific distance, when all the objects line up in your sight in such a way as to form what many would call an optical illusion. In such cases, your adversary might be part building facade, part utility pole, and maybe some cloud.