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 =…
Author: elbeno
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…
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…
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…
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.)…
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…
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…
Happy Valentine’s Day
x = 16 sin³t y = 13 cos t – 5 cos 2t – 2 cos 3t – cos 4t
Bookish
Right, that 100 books meme that’s been going around. First, it’s not really from the BBC. It’s from the Guardian. And it’s based on a poll from World Book Day 2007. Second, since it’s based on a poll, it reflects popular books, so I’m not sure why there seems to…
Taking Parenting Classes
I’m currently attending a parenting class on Thursday evenings, given by Brian Joseph from the Echo Center. It’s somewhat of a refresher class for me since I’ve taken a similar class a few times before, but it never hurts to have a refresher. I wanted to blog a little about…