Using an FPGA to drive the 80386 CPU on a real motherboard

On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 2:59:10 AM UTC-4, rickman wrote:
> On 4/6/2016 11:40 PM, Jon Elson wrote:
> > Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
> >
> >
> >>
> >> I figured the CPUs I'd make would cost $1,000 each in the early samples,
> > OK, the MOSIS standard order is for 40 parts.  So, that's $40K each
> > revision.  Unless you are truly brilliant, it is going to take a BUNCH of
> > respins of the part to get anything working.
> >> with an anticipated 50 to 100 CPU minimum, but that if I am able to create
> >> the industry I'm hoping to create (people who are willing to buy CPUs that
> >> are wrought of love, more than high-speed bells and whistles, looking to
> >> them as a utility to augment man's existence, rather than as a whizz bang
> >> eye candy newest fad ("gotta have the $12K iPhone 6 because my $10K iPhone
> >> 5 is just so last year") kind of thing).
> >
> > Uhhh, I can imagine there will be at LEAST 5 customers for this.  How many
> > shirts do you have?  Because you are certainly going to lose your shirt on
> > this project!
> 
> I think Rick H doesn't understand that electronics works exactly the way 
> it does because it allows the industry to provide $25 cell phones to 
> those who *need* them rather than the $400 latest eye candy phones to 
> those who want them.  (I don't know of any $12,000 phones)  In some ways 
> the $400 phones subsidize the cheap phones, but not in a serious way. 
> The expensive phones just drive the "bleeding edge" market since that 
> always costs more initially.  Then once the high initial costs are 
> amortized, the rest of us get the benefit of the technology at the 
> sustained product rate.
> 
> Producing a CPU chip with no real market in an antique technology will 
> not help anyone, man or God.
> 
> This project *is* starting to sound familiar now.

I recognize that the industry today works a particular way, and that it
has established itself in a particular manner.  However, I also recognize
that there are alternate ways of doing things, and that were we to regroup
around a focused and purposed relationship with God (one-on-one, each of
us, to Him, and then to one another), then He would be guiding the entire
operation by His sight, which is to be able to orchestrate people world-
wide toward the goals we're pursuing in this world which are given over to
Him.

The Bible states that whatever we do in word or in deed, we should do all
for the glory of God the Father in Heaven.  We are also told in the Lord's
Prayer that His will should be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

That means we, as people, individually and collectively, must acknowledge
Him as He is while we are here in this world going about our daily affairs.
He can make us prosper in helping one another, in being the strength in
other people's weaknesses, in giving of our gifts, and in love and charity
with our labor.

It's a different way of looking at things, but it's the one I am committed
to, and to the best of my knowledge, it's the one which is correct as per
the guidance God's given us to be one to another here in this world:  Each
of us operating in love for one another, loving one's neighbor even as our
own self.

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 3:08:16 AM UTC-4, rickman wrote:
> On 4/6/2016 4:38 PM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
> > On Wednesday, April 6, 2016 at 3:07:55 PM UTC-4, Aleksandar Kuktin wrote:
> >
> >> Also, why are you doing this? Is this a hobby? Work related? Starting a
> >> new bussiness? Want to design and implement a NSA-proof PC?
> >
> > To be honest, I am a Christian, and I want to use the talents I was gifted
> > with and give the fruit of my labor back to God, and to my fellow man (and
> > not a pursuit of money, or proprietary IP, or patents, or other such things,
> > but rather an expression of love basically in giving back).
> 
> This jogged a memory of a joke I was told at work when I worked on an 
> IRAD project that was being graded by the government.  The government 
> format for the write up had a few sections and two were the GOAL and the 
> PURPOSE.  Everyone was confused about the difference in the two.  So 
> Fred wrote his report and said his goal was to measure some parameter 
> and his purpose was to prove the parameter met some requirements.  His 
> boss read his report and said, "No, your goal is to prove the parameter 
> met the requirements so what is your purpose?".  He worked on it again 
> saying his purpose was to show the unit X would work in system Y.  It 
> was reviewed by his second level boss who said, "No, your goal is to 
> prove unit X works in system Y, what is your purpose?"
> 
> This happened a couple more times until his report got through all the 
> reviewers and he presented his report to a meeting.  He started out 
> saying... "My purpose is to get into heaven".

I read this earlier this morning, but I didn't understand it, and still
don't.  What does it mean?

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 2:46:51 AM UTC-4, rickman wrote:
> On 4/6/2016 4:38 PM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
> > To be honest, I am a Christian, and I want to use the talents I was gifted
> > with and give the fruit of my labor back to God, and to my fellow man (and
> > not a pursuit of money, or proprietary IP, or patents, or other such things,
> > but rather an expression of love basically in giving back).
> 
> How would this accomplish that, the benefit to God or man?

To sum up my entire reply:

    I want to build a complete hardware and software stack that is based
    on a purposeful "considering God first" effort, so that we can have
    a tool that, every time we use it, is founded upon that base, giving
    it a different type of foundation than one simply bought and paid for,
    for He is a foundation unlike any other, and those who found the things
    they do upon Him are building this correctly, and their efforts will
    bear much fruit.

Even shorter:

    We are here because God made us and put us here in this universe He
    made.  We are here to love one another, and be part of a family of
    man, loving our neighbor as ourself, and serving God in all we do.

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

On 4/7/2016 8:52 AM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
> On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 2:59:10 AM UTC-4, rickman wrote:
>> On 4/6/2016 11:40 PM, Jon Elson wrote:
>>> Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>> I figured the CPUs I'd make would cost $1,000 each in the early samples,
>>> OK, the MOSIS standard order is for 40 parts.  So, that's $40K each
>>> revision.  Unless you are truly brilliant, it is going to take a BUNCH of
>>> respins of the part to get anything working.
>>>> with an anticipated 50 to 100 CPU minimum, but that if I am able to create
>>>> the industry I'm hoping to create (people who are willing to buy CPUs that
>>>> are wrought of love, more than high-speed bells and whistles, looking to
>>>> them as a utility to augment man's existence, rather than as a whizz bang
>>>> eye candy newest fad ("gotta have the $12K iPhone 6 because my $10K iPhone
>>>> 5 is just so last year") kind of thing).
>>>
>>> Uhhh, I can imagine there will be at LEAST 5 customers for this.  How many
>>> shirts do you have?  Because you are certainly going to lose your shirt on
>>> this project!
>>
>> I think Rick H doesn't understand that electronics works exactly the way
>> it does because it allows the industry to provide $25 cell phones to
>> those who *need* them rather than the $400 latest eye candy phones to
>> those who want them.  (I don't know of any $12,000 phones)  In some ways
>> the $400 phones subsidize the cheap phones, but not in a serious way.
>> The expensive phones just drive the "bleeding edge" market since that
>> always costs more initially.  Then once the high initial costs are
>> amortized, the rest of us get the benefit of the technology at the
>> sustained product rate.
>>
>> Producing a CPU chip with no real market in an antique technology will
>> not help anyone, man or God.
>>
>> This project *is* starting to sound familiar now.
>
> I recognize that the industry today works a particular way, and that it
> has established itself in a particular manner.  However, I also recognize
> that there are alternate ways of doing things, and that were we to regroup
> around a focused and purposed relationship with God (one-on-one, each of
> us, to Him, and then to one another), then He would be guiding the entire
> operation by His sight, which is to be able to orchestrate people world-
> wide toward the goals we're pursuing in this world which are given over to
> Him.
>
> The Bible states that whatever we do in word or in deed, we should do all
> for the glory of God the Father in Heaven.  We are also told in the Lord's
> Prayer that His will should be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.
>
> That means we, as people, individually and collectively, must acknowledge
> Him as He is while we are here in this world going about our daily affairs.
> He can make us prosper in helping one another, in being the strength in
> other people's weaknesses, in giving of our gifts, and in love and charity
> with our labor.
>
> It's a different way of looking at things, but it's the one I am committed
> to, and to the best of my knowledge, it's the one which is correct as per
> the guidance God's given us to be one to another here in this world:  Each
> of us operating in love for one another, loving one's neighbor even as our
> own self.

Ok, but I don't understand how working with the obsolete 386 CPU design 
has anything to do with God.  What is your goal that is related to God? 
  Why does working with this chip relate to God any more than working 
with a $5 ARM chip?

-- 

Rick

On 4/7/2016 8:48 AM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
> On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 2:46:51 AM UTC-4, rickman wrote:
>> On 4/6/2016 4:38 PM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
>>> On Wednesday, April 6, 2016 at 3:07:55 PM UTC-4, Aleksandar Kuktin wrote:
>>>> Also, why are you doing this? Is this a hobby? Work related? Starting a
>>>> new bussiness? Want to design and implement a NSA-proof PC?
>>>
>>> To be honest, I am a Christian, and I want to use the talents I was gifted
>>> with and give the fruit of my labor back to God, and to my fellow man (and
>>> not a pursuit of money, or proprietary IP, or patents, or other such things,
>>> but rather an expression of love basically in giving back).
>>
>> How would this accomplish that, the benefit to God or man?
>
> Well, it's difficult to describe to many people.  To date, only a small
> handful have seen any value in the idea whatsoever ... but, some do see
> the value and I am one of them. :-)
>
> It comes down to our fundamental reason for being alive in this world.
> Am I a self-made man with all of my abilities being my abilities?  Or do
> I acknowledge that I was gifted with those abilities by God, and then do
> I hold God in that place in my life ahead of all things?
>
> I am not rich.  I am not strong.  I am not many things.  What I am though
> He has gifted me with.  I happen to have an interest in these areas and,
> despite not having a formal education, have discovered over time that
> these things just make sense to me and I'm able to maneuver in them with
> little difficulty.  They are also a great interest to me.
>
> So, I refocus the purposes of my life from within that knowledge and
> understanding:  I was created by God.  God had a purpose in creating me.
> I desire to do these things in my life, so I will do them for God.  And
> if God has another purpose for me in my life, then as I am walking on
> this path, He will put up obstacles and roadblocks to move me from this
> direction to some other direction, which is the one He truly wanted me
> to be on.
>
> So long as I'm moving, and doing so for Him, I'm walking as I should.
> And for me, it's in this industry (hardware, and software).  But for
> others walking similarly in their line of work, it would be in whatever
> they do, using whatever skills they possess.
>
> -----
> It's an endeavor I've been working on since July 12, 2012, when I had
> instead started heading down a path of doing what I'm doing now on
> this project, except for GNU and the FSF.  However, just before I began,
> I found out some things about Richard Stallman that were very disturbing
> to me, and I resolved within myself that I could not work for that
> entity, contributing to its growth or prosperity because its very
> foundations were wrought of a man whose viewpoints on several things are
> not only against God, but against most people's assessment of what is
> true right and true wrong.
>
> So, instead of the Free Software Foundation, I created the Liberty
> Software Foundation, and dedicated all of my work to honoring God.  I
> have given the labor I possess on these projects away, so that others
> might benefit from them.  I have done my best on this project, and not
> many others have seen benefit in my work, and I've observed a similar
> reaction to my efforts as I see here, where people initially are very
> interested in helping, but once they see any kind of an association with
> God, or doing work for God, there is a recoil, and a pulling away.  Of
> course it makes me sad because I desire to create these hardware and
> software products, and I desire to receive help from others, but I also
> desire to do it in a way which gives God the credit (glory, honor, praise)
> for what He first did in me, giving me the abilities to do any of these
> things in the first place, and in all who participate as well.
>
> In essence, my heart cries out to God in acknowledgement of who He is,
> what He has done, and I recognize why we are here in our various short-
> comings, ineptitudes, strengths, and abilities:  to help one another.
>
> We are here to compensate for one another's weaknesses, to be strong in
> areas they're weak, and have others be strong in the areas we're weak.
> And in these areas of hardware and software design, I would very much
> like to have a part running at 4 GHz or faster, but I cannot do that
> alone.  My goals are more modest, though my hope remains that I will
> not only have a part running at 4 GHz, but rather that God will shine
> the light of knowledge and understanding in these areas of physics and
> allow a part to be created which operates at 100 GHz or faster, and
> does so on less power, less heat, etc.
>
> I am confident in my relationship with God, and with who God is, so I
> seek to do the things I do in my life for Him.  I do this in my work, my
> hardware and software pursuits, in my family relationships, in the
> relationships I have/attempt with friends, etc.  I make Him part of my
> life, and explicitly the biggest part, and the part out front of the
> things I do, and I do this because of who He is, who I am, and what He's
> given me here in this world.
>
> Bottom line:  I am not a self-made man.  I need His help, guidance, and
> that of those around me.  But I know that together, in acknowledgement
> of Him, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.
>
>>>>> Does anybody have an experience or advice in creating an FPGA-based CPU
>>>>> that connects to a real hardware device and simulates the real device's
>>>>> abilities?
>>>>
>>>> Does simulation count? :D
>>>
>>> Yes.  Also in emulation, as by a real FPGA product, but one which does not
>>> plug into a socket, but is its own entire creation.  Here's an Aleksander
>>> who created a 486 SX CPU (it has not integrated FPU):
>>>
>>>       https://github.com/alfikpl/ao486
>>>
>>> My goals are part of a project I'm working on called LibSF 386-x40, which
>>> is a 40-bit extension to the 80386, and 32-bit ARM.  I use a WEX register
>>> model which extends the 32-bit registers to 40-bit registers:
>>>
>>>       https://github.com/RickCHodgin/libsf/blob/master/li386/li386-documentation/images/wex_register_mapping.png
>>>
>>> However, in the past couple weeks I've had the idea of a pointer selector,
>>> which operates like a segment selector, but on a specific pointer register.
>>> When enabled, it loads an extra 8-bits into the segment register associated
>>> with specific register, such that it then is able to reference a 4GB window
>>> of memory within the 1 TB address space:
>>>
>>>       https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.arch/bcpb03mL0o0/xUBzCXDmBgAJ
>>>
>>> These are all part of long-term plans.  I'd like to have my first CPU being
>>> shipped to a fab for real manufacturing by July 12, 2022, which I expect to
>>> be around a 90 MHz part.
>>
>> So in 2022 this will rival the $5 ARM MCU devices currently available?
>
> The part I have planned today won't.  But if more people come together,
> we can together create something that will exceed it.  It just takes the
> willingness from within to work together, and the guidance of God guiding
> our hearts and minds in the right direction, for He is truth, and this
> universe is His creation.  If there is anyone who can guide us on the
> direction we should go, it's Him.  And I place my faith, hope, and trust
> in Him because of who He is.
>
> That being said, that doesn't mean I don't want to work with you on this
> project.  You have exhibited incredible kindness, and I have been moved
> by it.  I have these desires to pursue these hardware ends, and nothing
> about that has changed.  The only thing that's different now than it was
> yesterday or the day before, is that now you know that I am desiring to
> do this as an effort given over to God, in honoring Him with the fruits
> of my life.  I hope this won't be a stumbling block.  I find your generosity
> of spirit refreshing, and your knowledge and experience desirable assets
> that you are willing to share so freely.  It's made me happy actually. :-)

Ok, so you are trying to do *something* of value to God, but you don't 
know what value that is.  If you want to get help from people, you need 
to explain to them how it will be a good thing in ways they can 
understand.  You can't explain it and you need the help of others to 
make it happen.  I think you are screwed.

-- 

Rick

On 4/7/2016 11:54 AM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
> On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 2:46:51 AM UTC-4, rickman wrote:
>> On 4/6/2016 4:38 PM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
>>> To be honest, I am a Christian, and I want to use the talents I was gifted
>>> with and give the fruit of my labor back to God, and to my fellow man (and
>>> not a pursuit of money, or proprietary IP, or patents, or other such things,
>>> but rather an expression of love basically in giving back).
>>
>> How would this accomplish that, the benefit to God or man?
>
> Even shorter:
>
>      We are here because God made us and put us here in this universe He
>      made.  We are here to love one another, and be part of a family of
>      man, loving our neighbor as ourself, and serving God in all we do.

I can do all that without making an obsolete 386 CPU clone for $100,000.

-- 

Rick

On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 3:04:43 PM UTC-4, rickman wrote:
> On 4/7/2016 8:52 AM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
> > On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 2:59:10 AM UTC-4, rickman wrote:
> >> On 4/6/2016 11:40 PM, Jon Elson wrote:
> >>> Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>
> >>>> I figured the CPUs I'd make would cost $1,000 each in the early samples,
> >>> OK, the MOSIS standard order is for 40 parts.  So, that's $40K each
> >>> revision.  Unless you are truly brilliant, it is going to take a BUNCH of
> >>> respins of the part to get anything working.
> >>>> with an anticipated 50 to 100 CPU minimum, but that if I am able to create
> >>>> the industry I'm hoping to create (people who are willing to buy CPUs that
> >>>> are wrought of love, more than high-speed bells and whistles, looking to
> >>>> them as a utility to augment man's existence, rather than as a whizz bang
> >>>> eye candy newest fad ("gotta have the $12K iPhone 6 because my $10K iPhone
> >>>> 5 is just so last year") kind of thing).
> >>>
> >>> Uhhh, I can imagine there will be at LEAST 5 customers for this.  How many
> >>> shirts do you have?  Because you are certainly going to lose your shirt on
> >>> this project!
> >>
> >> I think Rick H doesn't understand that electronics works exactly the way
> >> it does because it allows the industry to provide $25 cell phones to
> >> those who *need* them rather than the $400 latest eye candy phones to
> >> those who want them.  (I don't know of any $12,000 phones)  In some ways
> >> the $400 phones subsidize the cheap phones, but not in a serious way.
> >> The expensive phones just drive the "bleeding edge" market since that
> >> always costs more initially.  Then once the high initial costs are
> >> amortized, the rest of us get the benefit of the technology at the
> >> sustained product rate.
> >>
> >> Producing a CPU chip with no real market in an antique technology will
> >> not help anyone, man or God.
> >>
> >> This project *is* starting to sound familiar now.
> >
> > I recognize that the industry today works a particular way, and that it
> > has established itself in a particular manner.  However, I also recognize
> > that there are alternate ways of doing things, and that were we to regroup
> > around a focused and purposed relationship with God (one-on-one, each of
> > us, to Him, and then to one another), then He would be guiding the entire
> > operation by His sight, which is to be able to orchestrate people world-
> > wide toward the goals we're pursuing in this world which are given over to
> > Him.
> >
> > The Bible states that whatever we do in word or in deed, we should do all
> > for the glory of God the Father in Heaven.  We are also told in the Lord's
> > Prayer that His will should be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.
> >
> > That means we, as people, individually and collectively, must acknowledge
> > Him as He is while we are here in this world going about our daily affairs.
> > He can make us prosper in helping one another, in being the strength in
> > other people's weaknesses, in giving of our gifts, and in love and charity
> > with our labor.
> >
> > It's a different way of looking at things, but it's the one I am committed
> > to, and to the best of my knowledge, it's the one which is correct as per
> > the guidance God's given us to be one to another here in this world:  Each
> > of us operating in love for one another, loving one's neighbor even as our
> > own self.
> 
> Ok, but I don't understand how working with the obsolete 386 CPU design 
> has anything to do with God.  What is your goal that is related to God? 
>   Why does working with this chip relate to God any more than working 
> with a $5 ARM chip?

It has to do with beginning with an offering that is based on this
ongoing personal offering to God.

Think of it this way:  You're given a house.  Great.  You have a house.
But you find out that the house was built by slave labor, or there were
people killed in the house during its construction, etc.  The house
carries with it that history, and no matter what you do in terms of
paint and wallpaper, the house has that history, and it does affect
things with regards to it.

On the other hand, you're given a house.  Great.  You have a house. :-)
It comes from volunteers who heard about your need, and out of the love
of their heart built you a house.  It's a gift, and the house will carry
with it that history.  Every time you consider something about that house,
there will be that original offering given to you.

When I go buy a $5 ARM CPU, or a $100 ARM device, what am I buying?  I
don't know?  I hear all kinds stories about Chinese workers being
exploited in the manufacturing of this thing, the assembly of it, etc.

I don't want to be a part of that industry.  I want to create from the
ground up an industry that has the purpose of giving to people from their
talents, their skills, with that being the foundation of everything done
on the project.  I want it to be the origination that goes along with the
hardware and software.

I don't particular want to have ONLY an obsolete 80386 clone.  As you can
seem from the designs I've made, I've upgraded it to 40-bits, and to more
than the standard eight registers, etc.  I've also included not only an
80386 ISA, but also an ARM-32 ISA, which will also be extended to 40-bits.
And I have my own personal ISA in there as well.

On top of that, I have my own kernel, my own operating system, my own
assemblers, compilers, developer tools, all of which can be designed to
create our own apps, etc.

It is the foundation of knowledge given unto me by God, that I acknowledge
as coming from Him, and I desire to build from the ground up all of these
things in giving back to Him from that which He first gave me.

Make sense?

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 3:11:16 PM UTC-4, rickman wrote:
> On 4/7/2016 8:48 AM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
> > On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 2:46:51 AM UTC-4, rickman wrote:
> >> On 4/6/2016 4:38 PM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
> >>> On Wednesday, April 6, 2016 at 3:07:55 PM UTC-4, Aleksandar Kuktin wrote:
> >>>> Also, why are you doing this? Is this a hobby? Work related? Starting a
> >>>> new bussiness? Want to design and implement a NSA-proof PC?
> >>>
> >>> To be honest, I am a Christian, and I want to use the talents I was gifted
> >>> with and give the fruit of my labor back to God, and to my fellow man (and
> >>> not a pursuit of money, or proprietary IP, or patents, or other such things,
> >>> but rather an expression of love basically in giving back).
> >>
> >> How would this accomplish that, the benefit to God or man?
> >
> > Well, it's difficult to describe to many people.  To date, only a small
> > handful have seen any value in the idea whatsoever ... but, some do see
> > the value and I am one of them. :-)
> >
> > It comes down to our fundamental reason for being alive in this world.
> > Am I a self-made man with all of my abilities being my abilities?  Or do
> > I acknowledge that I was gifted with those abilities by God, and then do
> > I hold God in that place in my life ahead of all things?
> >
> > I am not rich.  I am not strong.  I am not many things.  What I am though
> > He has gifted me with.  I happen to have an interest in these areas and,
> > despite not having a formal education, have discovered over time that
> > these things just make sense to me and I'm able to maneuver in them with
> > little difficulty.  They are also a great interest to me.
> >
> > So, I refocus the purposes of my life from within that knowledge and
> > understanding:  I was created by God.  God had a purpose in creating me.
> > I desire to do these things in my life, so I will do them for God.  And
> > if God has another purpose for me in my life, then as I am walking on
> > this path, He will put up obstacles and roadblocks to move me from this
> > direction to some other direction, which is the one He truly wanted me
> > to be on.
> >
> > So long as I'm moving, and doing so for Him, I'm walking as I should.
> > And for me, it's in this industry (hardware, and software).  But for
> > others walking similarly in their line of work, it would be in whatever
> > they do, using whatever skills they possess.
> >
> > -----
> > It's an endeavor I've been working on since July 12, 2012, when I had
> > instead started heading down a path of doing what I'm doing now on
> > this project, except for GNU and the FSF.  However, just before I began,
> > I found out some things about Richard Stallman that were very disturbing
> > to me, and I resolved within myself that I could not work for that
> > entity, contributing to its growth or prosperity because its very
> > foundations were wrought of a man whose viewpoints on several things are
> > not only against God, but against most people's assessment of what is
> > true right and true wrong.
> >
> > So, instead of the Free Software Foundation, I created the Liberty
> > Software Foundation, and dedicated all of my work to honoring God.  I
> > have given the labor I possess on these projects away, so that others
> > might benefit from them.  I have done my best on this project, and not
> > many others have seen benefit in my work, and I've observed a similar
> > reaction to my efforts as I see here, where people initially are very
> > interested in helping, but once they see any kind of an association with
> > God, or doing work for God, there is a recoil, and a pulling away.  Of
> > course it makes me sad because I desire to create these hardware and
> > software products, and I desire to receive help from others, but I also
> > desire to do it in a way which gives God the credit (glory, honor, praise)
> > for what He first did in me, giving me the abilities to do any of these
> > things in the first place, and in all who participate as well.
> >
> > In essence, my heart cries out to God in acknowledgement of who He is,
> > what He has done, and I recognize why we are here in our various short-
> > comings, ineptitudes, strengths, and abilities:  to help one another.
> >
> > We are here to compensate for one another's weaknesses, to be strong in
> > areas they're weak, and have others be strong in the areas we're weak.
> > And in these areas of hardware and software design, I would very much
> > like to have a part running at 4 GHz or faster, but I cannot do that
> > alone.  My goals are more modest, though my hope remains that I will
> > not only have a part running at 4 GHz, but rather that God will shine
> > the light of knowledge and understanding in these areas of physics and
> > allow a part to be created which operates at 100 GHz or faster, and
> > does so on less power, less heat, etc.
> >
> > I am confident in my relationship with God, and with who God is, so I
> > seek to do the things I do in my life for Him.  I do this in my work, my
> > hardware and software pursuits, in my family relationships, in the
> > relationships I have/attempt with friends, etc.  I make Him part of my
> > life, and explicitly the biggest part, and the part out front of the
> > things I do, and I do this because of who He is, who I am, and what He's
> > given me here in this world.
> >
> > Bottom line:  I am not a self-made man.  I need His help, guidance, and
> > that of those around me.  But I know that together, in acknowledgement
> > of Him, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.
> >
> >>>>> Does anybody have an experience or advice in creating an FPGA-based CPU
> >>>>> that connects to a real hardware device and simulates the real device's
> >>>>> abilities?
> >>>>
> >>>> Does simulation count? :D
> >>>
> >>> Yes.  Also in emulation, as by a real FPGA product, but one which does not
> >>> plug into a socket, but is its own entire creation.  Here's an Aleksander
> >>> who created a 486 SX CPU (it has not integrated FPU):
> >>>
> >>>       https://github.com/alfikpl/ao486
> >>>
> >>> My goals are part of a project I'm working on called LibSF 386-x40, which
> >>> is a 40-bit extension to the 80386, and 32-bit ARM.  I use a WEX register
> >>> model which extends the 32-bit registers to 40-bit registers:
> >>>
> >>>       https://github.com/RickCHodgin/libsf/blob/master/li386/li386-documentation/images/wex_register_mapping.png
> >>>
> >>> However, in the past couple weeks I've had the idea of a pointer selector,
> >>> which operates like a segment selector, but on a specific pointer register.
> >>> When enabled, it loads an extra 8-bits into the segment register associated
> >>> with specific register, such that it then is able to reference a 4GB window
> >>> of memory within the 1 TB address space:
> >>>
> >>>       https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.arch/bcpb03mL0o0/xUBzCXDmBgAJ
> >>>
> >>> These are all part of long-term plans.  I'd like to have my first CPU being
> >>> shipped to a fab for real manufacturing by July 12, 2022, which I expect to
> >>> be around a 90 MHz part.
> >>
> >> So in 2022 this will rival the $5 ARM MCU devices currently available?
> >
> > The part I have planned today won't.  But if more people come together,
> > we can together create something that will exceed it.  It just takes the
> > willingness from within to work together, and the guidance of God guiding
> > our hearts and minds in the right direction, for He is truth, and this
> > universe is His creation.  If there is anyone who can guide us on the
> > direction we should go, it's Him.  And I place my faith, hope, and trust
> > in Him because of who He is.
> >
> > That being said, that doesn't mean I don't want to work with you on this
> > project.  You have exhibited incredible kindness, and I have been moved
> > by it.  I have these desires to pursue these hardware ends, and nothing
> > about that has changed.  The only thing that's different now than it was
> > yesterday or the day before, is that now you know that I am desiring to
> > do this as an effort given over to God, in honoring Him with the fruits
> > of my life.  I hope this won't be a stumbling block.  I find your generosity
> > of spirit refreshing, and your knowledge and experience desirable assets
> > that you are willing to share so freely.  It's made me happy actually. :-)
> 
> Ok, so you are trying to do *something* of value to God, but you don't 
> know what value that is.  If you want to get help from people, you need 
> to explain to them how it will be a good thing in ways they can 
> understand.  You can't explain it and you need the help of others to 
> make it happen.  I think you are screwed.

My explanation is given.  It's inherent in the work, and in the various
pages associated with my work, but more than that it comes from His Holy
Spirit living inside of me.

The explanation I give probably won't make much sense to anyone who is
not born again, or in pursuit of truth with their life.  If they place
no value on these things I'm outlining here, then it won't mean anything.
The value to them would come from a $5 multi-GHz part, and not from a
foundation given over to God.

But for the born again believer, that foundation given over to God is a
real thing, and the believer desires to do everything in his/her life to
please God, and to bring honor and glory to His name.

It's not a hobby.  It's not a membership in a church roster.  It's an
inner and fundamental change of the person's makeup and nature.  And from
within that inner change comes these outward expressions of that change,
such that the desire to serve God in all areas is manifested.

For me, that means hardware and software.  For the farmer, that means in
using organic seeds.  For the bricklayer, it means something else, etc.

Each of us decides why we do the things we do, and then we do them for
those reasons.  For me, it is because God has saved me, and gifted me
with these talents and abilities, and I desire to serve Him with the
labor of my life, the ideas of my mind, and the creativity He's given
me.

I want my life to serve and honor Him, both inwardly, and outwardly, and
I want to encourage others also to be part of this living act of giving
back to Him that which He first gave us.  And for those who are born
again, this will resonate as it is founded in scripture, but more
importantly, it's founded in the born again nature as by His Holy Spirit.

We are brothers and sisters, and we should be there for each other in
these ways, looking up to God, and looking out to one another, in that
order, in and for everything we do.  It's how it will be in Heaven.
Forever.

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 3:13:08 PM UTC-4, rickman wrote:
> On 4/7/2016 11:54 AM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
> > On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 2:46:51 AM UTC-4, rickman wrote:
> >> On 4/6/2016 4:38 PM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
> >>> To be honest, I am a Christian, and I want to use the talents I was gifted
> >>> with and give the fruit of my labor back to God, and to my fellow man (and
> >>> not a pursuit of money, or proprietary IP, or patents, or other such things,
> >>> but rather an expression of love basically in giving back).
> >>
> >> How would this accomplish that, the benefit to God or man?
> >
> > Even shorter:
> >
> >      We are here because God made us and put us here in this universe He
> >      made.  We are here to love one another, and be part of a family of
> >      man, loving our neighbor as ourself, and serving God in all we do.
> 
> I can do all that without making an obsolete 386 CPU clone for $100,000.

I haven't made a CPU yet.  I am in pursuit of these things, giving the
designs, ideas, labor, etc., to Him, and to other people.  Somebody may
come along and enable me to produce a product which competes with bleeding
edge technology.  I don't know, but I do trust in God.  So long as I am
moving in my life toward Him, in all I do, with all I possess (inwardly,
and outwardly, then I'm moving rightly.

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

On 4/7/2016 8:56 AM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
> On Thursday, April 7, 2016 at 3:08:16 AM UTC-4, rickman wrote:
>> On 4/6/2016 4:38 PM, Rick C. Hodgin wrote:
>>> On Wednesday, April 6, 2016 at 3:07:55 PM UTC-4, Aleksandar Kuktin wrote:
>>>
>>>> Also, why are you doing this? Is this a hobby? Work related? Starting a
>>>> new bussiness? Want to design and implement a NSA-proof PC?
>>>
>>> To be honest, I am a Christian, and I want to use the talents I was gifted
>>> with and give the fruit of my labor back to God, and to my fellow man (and
>>> not a pursuit of money, or proprietary IP, or patents, or other such things,
>>> but rather an expression of love basically in giving back).
>>
>> This jogged a memory of a joke I was told at work when I worked on an
>> IRAD project that was being graded by the government.  The government
>> format for the write up had a few sections and two were the GOAL and the
>> PURPOSE.  Everyone was confused about the difference in the two.  So
>> Fred wrote his report and said his goal was to measure some parameter
>> and his purpose was to prove the parameter met some requirements.  His
>> boss read his report and said, "No, your goal is to prove the parameter
>> met the requirements so what is your purpose?".  He worked on it again
>> saying his purpose was to show the unit X would work in system Y.  It
>> was reviewed by his second level boss who said, "No, your goal is to
>> prove unit X works in system Y, what is your purpose?"
>>
>> This happened a couple more times until his report got through all the
>> reviewers and he presented his report to a meeting.  He started out
>> saying... "My purpose is to get into heaven".
>
> I read this earlier this morning, but I didn't understand it, and still
> don't.  What does it mean?

Hmmm... Fred was continually asked why he was doing the research and 
each time he was told what he thought was his purpose (the reason for 
doing the project) was really his goal (what he hoped to accomplish by 
doing this, not the same thing really).  So his abstraction continued to 
be elevated until it reached his ultimate reason for doing anything... 
to enter heaven... which really had nothing to do with the research 
project in a meaningful way.

You seem to be making a connection between this project and God in a way 
that no one else understands.  I suspect that is because you are seeing 
an irrational connection founded in an emotional context.  If there was 
a logical connection you would be able to explain it.  So far the only 
thing I get is that there is something you don't like about Richard 
Stallman.  Look him up on xkcd.  That site is a hoot!

-- 

Rick