Spent a fun couple of hours tonight trying to track down a bug. I was porting my basic sub-systems (re-vamped) to the new Windows machine, making sure everything was going to compile. Windows being Windows, I had code from the previous Windows port to query SDL for extensions (multi-texturing, to do the terrain blending) and obtain pointers. I've rebuilt major portions of the core libraries since the last Accidental Windows build, so when I was getting segfaults from the pointers SDL was returning, I assumed I was tromping something elsewhere in my core libraries. The returned pointers were non-NULL, so I knew the call was succeeding. SDL_GL_GetProcAddress() returns NULL on failure. So, I built a few little ground-up test apps to incrementally test the various components. Everything checked, but the extension pointers were still segfaulting. So, I removed the SDL_GL_GetProcAddress() calls and quickly swapped in benjamin_bunny's GLee to do the extensions for me. Added GLeeInit() calls to initialization, rebuilt, executed... crash. Son of a...

So I tried updating to the newest NVidia drivers and that fixed the problem. Which is strange; the Windows box is fairly new, with a new GeForce 6600, and the drivers I was using were from the packaged driver disk. So it's not like they were old or anything. Just... broken, I guess.

It's always fun wasting 3 hours trying to fix a problem that is caused by something else. I'm keeping GLee in regardless, since it's so much nicer than an ass-load of SDL_GL_GetProcAddress() calls. Don't know why I stopped using it in the first place. Idiot...

Been discussing the Nintendo DS with evolutional, and I've pretty much talked myself into getting one. I loved Mario 64, and they have a badass port with new features for the DS that looks like a lot of fun. Went to Fry's today to see if they had any in stock. Grabbed the last one off the shelf, then went hunting for Mario--or even for any game that looked fun. Found nothing that suited my fancy, and when some old guy came around looking for a DS for a late Christmas present, I ended up handing the last one over to him. Figured I might as well, since walking out of there with a DS and no game to play wouldn't be any fun. Hopefully they'll get some more in pretty soon; I'm getting pretty antsy. Need a new toy, badly.

If I disappear from here, if I get fired from my job for not showing up, if I end up going for weeks on end without getting sunlight, fresh air, or taking a shower, instead spending my days huddled over a DS.... well, blame evolutional. It's all his fault. [grin]