Category: Uncategorized

While the mini-Elbeno and I were horsing around today, he managed to get me in the eye with a fingernail. Luckily our next door neighbour is an optometrist, and she took me down to her office tonight to check it out. So I have a scratched cornea, not too bad – although it is painful.… Continue reading Ow

Today we had a new automatic gate opener/closer installed, so our driveway gate will now stay closed as a rule. This also means that we can let mini-Elbeno out into the yard or the driveway to play or trundle about on his trike while we are nearby, without having to constantly shepherd him or prevent… Continue reading Fixed gate

The buildup started 5-6 weeks ago with band formations and rumours of entries. Then came the posters stuck up across the campus advertising the various bands. Finally, at 5pm today it all kicked off – the second annual Blizzard Battle of the Bands. When I worked at EA, we had the odd band contest –… Continue reading Battle of the Bands

Dear Internet, I refer you to my thoughts of 2 years ago about April 1st. yours grumpily, Elbeno

If, like me, you often stay up late, finding yourself in a dark, quiet house, with the rest of the family asleep, then you are probably accustomed to moving about stealthily and not really needing much in the way of light to do so. I almost never turn lights on when moving about the house,… Continue reading Tips for night owls, midnight snackers, etc

Jeans x 2, khakis, silk shirt, long sleeve shirts x 2, top, underwear, socks x 3. Real World Haskell, Successful Lisp. Guns, Germs and Steel. BC-900 battery charger. Super Paper Mario. Ripping Yarns. A make-your-own root beer kit, and selection of interesting root beers. 2009 Dilbert desk calendar and a mini Geofix set for a… Continue reading What I got for Xmas

Whether you will/have celebrate(d) Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, the southern solstice, HumanLight, Saturnalia, or something else entirely: have a peaceful and contented time.

I Love Rocky Road – Weird Al Yankovic Mr. Blue Sky – ELO Paradise City – Guns N’ Roses I Wanna Be Sedated – The Ramones Funkytown – Lipps, Inc. The Gambler – Kenny Rogers Video Killed the Radio Star – The Buggles Hit Me With Your Best Shot – Pat Benatar Butterfly – Smile.dk… Continue reading Another CD for the mini-Elbeno

If anyone in the UK family is reading, and hasn’t yet got me a gift, and intends to get me a gift, the only thing on my wishlist is Absolutely. Or alternatively, DON’T. Just get a gift for mini-Elbeno, as I’m sure you’ll want to. I admit that I’m not a very good gift giver… Continue reading I have one (UK) wish list item this Christmas

For the most part, forget about space complexity. Time complexity is the important one. You can often trade off time for space, though, so be aware of how much you’re using. O(1), or constant time, is the best option: if you know the array index, great! Unfortunately, hash tables usually incur a space penalty. Beware… Continue reading Complexity Theory: 8 Things a Game Programmer Needs to Know