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weeyellowbloke

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Posts posted by weeyellowbloke

  3. Posted · Edited by weeyellowbloke

    I think Spambot is nearly right, is it (m-1)+(n-1). For example a rectangular bar consisting of m=6, n=3 would have 5 divisions along m side and 2 divisions along the n side. You could do it with more breaks by snapping the longer dimension first and then breaking each shorter dimension slab individually, which would be (m-1)+(n-1*m) I think (assuming m is the longer dimension).

     

    Hmmm, poorly explained and could be completely wrong

  4. Posted

    I've been spending the last weeks £30 winnings on last weeks quiz on booze with the rest of the team. Two bottles of wine and a beer later I feel a bit pissed. However it's been fantastic today. I had a thai mushroom soup at lunch with some iced "teas" (only 0.14% tea :hmm:). Also I worked out how to add up all integers between 1 and 100 quickly while stock checking at work as per chairdrivers original post on Gauss. 0 through 9=45, 10 through 19=145, 20 through 29=245...etc thus, 5x10=50, 4x10=400+100, and 100 through 900= 4500. So 4500+500+50=5050. I also read about the philosophical concepts and implications of scepticism. Then I ruined my learning be losing my bike key while drunk and scraping around in the rain on a muddy floor. However, free booze... yay!

  5. Posted

    Hmmm, reading thorough this thread I am struck by the disparity between art and science. I would say football could be classed as an art.To quote moogleviper:

     

    As was said on there, (by a guy who could solve multiple digit multiplications sums in his head quicker than people can type on a calculator) what he does is a skill, a genius is creative and imaginative, and can create something out of nothing. (he put it better than I did, but I'm hungry and that guy is a genius very skilful person)

     

    Thus, football involves the skills of for thought, strategy, and creativity same as any chess player combined with natural ability. You could argue that they have not had the same impact on the world as great scientists or mathematicians who came up with whole new concepts, but then you could argue what impact did Thomas Hardy haveon the world. Or any classic author. Did their impact on society distract in any way from the beauty of their art in their particular field. So in my opinion Bergkamp's greatness stands. Did it change the world....no. Did he show skill unequalled by contemporaries then and since...yes.But then I'm drunkso what do I know in my current state.

     

    For my part I nominate Erasmus Darwin:

    edarwin.gif

     

    Utter legend. A fantastic physician, the best of his day in the UK and offered the position of royal physician several times, but declined it to be with his patients in Lichfield. An inventor who invented stablising design for carriages used on cars to this day. Proposed the theory of common descent decades before his grandson Charles, although never declared it publicly for fear of repercussions. Best selling poet of the time. Campaigner for abolition of the slave trade and the education of women. Helped establish Taxonomy in the UK by translating Linnaeus' works. Created the Lunar Society whose members spearheaded many developments of the early industrial society. Basically a stand-up guy.

  7. Posted

    I had a customer take a photo of me posing with a book they'd just purchased. I don't know why. Other than this, my day has been pretty nondescript. I'm considering doing some open university courses, but not sure I can afford many; possibly a language or maybe some mathematics or a bit more science. :hmm:

  11. Posted

    For myself it comes of having gone on protests and having the seen the treatment of people by the police. Often protesters are treated as guilty by definition and therefore deserving of sub-human treatment. That and:

     

    Plus the way the police closed ranks to cover their own arses and fed bullshit in the aftermath about the protesters bottling them while bravely trying to save Ian Tomlinson's life. Not that this necessarily makes me anti-police. Most of the ordinary coppers are decent people doing an exceedingly hard job, however the management and large-scale organisation is shambolic.

  13. Posted

    I've just back from a memorial service for my geography teacher at A-level. It was quite weird stepping back into my old school after 5 years. Also strange was that his family and previous colleagues were there and told stories from his younger days. Somehow I felt I knew him better after the memorial than I ever did when he was alive and teaching me. He was a fun and charismatic teacher of whom I have fond memories, but when I was a teenager I never even imagined his life before his existence in my life; just shows how bloody self centred I am.

     

    Anyway afterwoulds I have been drinking heavily with two school friends and reminiscing until 3:00 in an amazing Jamaican bar. Then I ran all the way home listening to Chemical Brothers, leaving me here and now writing this exhasted and contemplating....things.

     

    Also Chair, do you ever step within the great bookshop of Blackwell's. If you want any books speak to me, I am your man (get 30% discount)

  16. Posted

    Well done the FLink for getting your foot jammed right into that door and prising it open like a clam to get the meaty career opportunities within.

     

    I really need something along the same lines. I've got a job, which is fine but offers no long term prospects, but I just seem to be cruising along with it for months now. I need someone to give me a break to get some actual experience except nobody ever replies to my applications. Plus I'm limited to the Midlands geographically which doesn't help.

     

    Also I need to flee contact with the general public at work for my sanity and their safety.

  17. Posted

    His fashions generally shattered senses.

     

    alexander-mcqueen.jpg

     

    alexander-mcqueen-fall-winter-2008-2009-dress.jpg

     

    alexander-mcqueen-met-dress-2003.jpg

     

    Alexander+McQueen+Paris+Fashion+Week+Ready+FI_Fjcumeeil.jpg

     

    mcqueenmens.jpg

     

    alexander-mcqueen-spring-summer-2008-collection.jpg

     

    am0067brwM.jpg

     

    To be honest I am clueless about fashion or who Alexander McQueen was, but I know what I hate and I don't hate that. They are pretty incredible designs so it's a real shame there will not be any more.

     

    Gives the cloud a slight silver lining. This news will probably get more people like me who have no interest in fashion to see those designs and be impressed, informed and a bit inspired.

  19. Posted

    The Lost group http://www.facebook.com/LOST?ref=nf posted this link:

     

    http://abc.go.com/shows/lost

     

    didn't realise you could watch them via this...on ABC's actual website...

     

    :o I had no idea either. You are now my bestest friend 4 eva; I don't have to resort to illegalities. :hug:

     

    But...I now have to wait until the weekend before I can watch, because if I see it before my girlfriend there is a strong chance she'll kill me or I'll die from holding in spoilers.

  20. Posted

    Moogle and Danny are presumably guessing the solution is n!, which is provably not the case - just look at line 3, where 3! gives 6 ways but there are only 4. In fact, I'm pretty sure the solution is just

    2^(n-1), making the answer for analysis 128. The fact that the paths seem to cross over at some nodes just confuses things, and if we view each path on its own, it becomes clear that adding another letter doubles the total number of paths, giving the above formula.

     

    Edit: This hastily photoshopped diagram shows you the difference between the 2 ways of looking at things, with the way on the right making the answer clear:

     

    analtree.jpg

     

    Yes, I am aware the file name is "analtree.jpg" :heh:

     

    Supergrunch gets the right answer, 128. At each level you are given two choices, either left or right down to the next level. So basically the number of routes double at each level and seeing as you only have one starting point the question can just be simplified as 1x2x2x2x2x2x2x2=128. Alternatively, you could replace the letters with numbers, each one of which is the sum of the two above starting with 1, in which case you'd get.

     

    1

    1 1

    1 2 1

    1 3 3 1

    1 4 6 4 1

    1 5 10 10 5 1

    1 6 15 20 15 6 1

    1 7 21 35 35 21 7 1

    1 8 28 56 70 56 28 8 1

     

    The sum of each row of number is a power of 2; 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and the final row...128.

     

    I wondered about that too. The answer is either 1 or 2 I think. Either way, trick question!

     

    Man, there is an entire book on this question where I work. Think it's called the Monty Hall problem. Can't remember the answer at the moment as I'm too tired and slightly tipsy, but I think it's something still debated at maths parties (if such things exist).

     

     

    Here's one of my faves in case nobody has heard it...

     

    You're on a quiz show. There are 3 doors. Behind 1 of the doors is a car. Behind the other two there is nothing. You randomly pick one of the doors. The host then opens one of the other empty doors. You are now given the option to stick with your choice or swap to the only other remaining door. Which is the best thing to do and why?

     

    Quite a popular one so please don't spoil if you already know it!

  21. Posted

    That was a pretty cool wee puzzle. Here's another pretty simple one in the guise of something more complicated. Take a word, like say analysis.

     

    A

    N N

    A A A

    L L L L

    Y Y Y Y Y

    S S S S S S

    I. I. I. I. I. I. I

    S S S S S S S S

     

    How many different ways are there of spelling this word starting at the top A and working your way to the bottom one letter at a time, for example like so:

     

    A

    /

    N N

    \

    A A A

    /

    L L L L

    /

    Y Y Y Y Y

    /

    S S S S S S

    \

    I. I. I. I. I. I. I

    \

    S S S S S S S S

  22. Posted

    Today I found out that Molly is NOT called Molly. Life is over.

     

    What! Why must she turn this into a house of lies?

     

     

    Tonight I've been trying to create an excel spreadsheet doing data analysis and price comparisons on wedding venues. (MBAM look at the joy you have to look forward to). However I have got bored and instead started trying to create some sort of game based on chaos theory using excel. Yeah my life really is this exciting.

  24. Posted

    Ok so gizmo is clearly in the running for my Emo throne (I killed dyson already).

    Andy had pains for a few days before it really kicked in... And I don't have a doctor!

     

    Get your arse to hospital, if it's your appendix it'll be hell in a couple of days. I remember when I had appendicitis I could barely walk and taking a piss was agony.

  25. Posted

    I'd punch a baby for a day ticket to the first day. I could pass on the others, though.

     

    edit: actually that's bullshit. Day 3 is off the hook.

     

    Exactly, when I first read your post I was wondering if you'd spotted day three. Day one would be worth it for Fever Ray alone, let alone everything else.

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