Recently, I was talking to my Dad about fiddling about programming the iPad (which I haven’t got around to yet) but I did mention that I might have a go at something simple just to get my feet wet. Beyond Hello, World there are many simple small-to-medium-size projects of course, and I mentioned I might… Continue reading Explaining Maths
Birthday
Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes. I got a few cool gifts: A set of 3 Airflite juggling clubs Unseen Academicals Moonwalking with Einstein Nature’s Most Amazing Events Fry’s English Delight iOS 4 Progamming Cookbook A cat flashlight And a lovely dinner of chicken parmigiana and penne, made by Mrs Elbeno. And a delicious cake.
Blizzard Haz Talent
This afternoon was the Blizzard annual talent show (expanded from the old “Battle of the Bands” of the past three years). It turns out Blizzard does have some talent! We got to hear some cool music: electronica/rock/bluegrass/pop/etc, see a spicy salsa dance routine, a karate routine including breaking bricks (with a WoW magazine!) and in… Continue reading Blizzard Haz Talent
Maths is fun
The other week, a colleague walked into my office and posed the following problem to me: For all n where n is prime and n > 3, show that n² – 1 is divisible by 24. Examples: 5² – 1 = 24; 7² -1 = 48; 11² – 1 = 120. (If you’re interested, give… Continue reading Maths is fun
Keyboard fun
One can have hours of fun with xmodmap. Especially if one has a Symbolics keyboard. For a start, I get a “real” Meta key (not Alt) and a couple of extra modifier keys that emacs knows about: Hyper and Super. I mapped these to mod2 and mod3. Staying away from mod4 is a good idea… Continue reading Keyboard fun
Let’s not go overboard here
There is no need to be taking Potassium Iodide, because: Japan is a really long way away, and any release of radioactive material would disperse before reaching the US. Iodine-131 exposure apparently doesn’t increase the risk of thyroid cancer unless you’re a kid. It is likely to do more harm than good.
French
Yesterday I was asked (by a native French speaker) how long I had lived in France for. Nice to know that all those years of study haven’t atrophied too much (I have never lived in France). But I don’t speak French as well as my mother did, who was once asked (again by a native… Continue reading French
Home from GDC
I’m home from the 3 day tour of GDC, and it was very worthwhile. A non-stop maelstrom of recruitment, attending talks and catching up with old friends and colleagues. Talks I attended: Video Games Turn 25: A Historical Perspective and Vision for the Future by Satoru Iwata (Nintendo Co., Ltd.) Fighting Real Time by Jacky… Continue reading Home from GDC
At GDC
Quite a few people I’ve met at GDC told me they read my blog. Now that I know that, maybe I’ll update more! Anyway, last day of GDC – have seen lots of old friends and colleagues and attended a few good talks. Stay tuned for more of a report when I get back.
Some poems we like to read at bedtime
We have a book of classic poetry that we often read a bit of at bedtime. Some of mini-Elbeno’s favourite poems: Naming of Parts by Henry Reed Tarantella by Hilaire Belloc The Way Through the Woods by Rudyard Kipling Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost