thnik again!

I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it. – Mark Twain

“The first known published crossword puzzle was created by a journalist named Arthur Wynne from Liverpool, and he is usually credited as the inventor of the popular word game. December 21, 1913 was the date and it appeared in a Sunday newspaper, the New York World. Wynne’s puzzle(see above) differed from today’s crosswords in that it was diamond shaped and contained no internal black squares. During the early 1920′s other newspapers picked up the newly discovered pastime and within a decade crossword puzzles were featured in almost all American newspapers. It was in this period crosswords began to assume their familiar form. Ten years after its rebirth in the States it crossed the Atlantic and re-conquered Europe.” More

Online crossword puzzles let you cheat, save, and print your solution. Here is one example.

I feel so miserable without you, it’s almost like having you here. – Stephen Bishop

I have a blog hosted for free at wordpress.com. It allows Latex notation to display math formulas in posts and comments. Here is an example.

WordPress.com has Latex installed, but my host, Bluehost, does not. One solution seems to be to use mimetex, as explained here, here, and here. I will try to install it soon and tell you when it is done.

Meanwhile, here and here are online Latex editors. They let you create formulas and download them as images.

For math symbols, like the one for infinity, you may use these codes.

Come to think of it, it would be nice to be able to preview comments before they are posted. At the moment you can’t.

One last thing. Google has made public an api for generating charts or graphs in real time online.

An example:

Here is a comprehensive overview of other ways of getting charts online.

So many things, so little time…

- It was not my fault.
- I agree, but you were still late for the Go tournament!
- I know. That is why I could only play 3 instead of 5 games.
- You won 2 of the games. Sarah won 3 of her 5 games.
- Really! She has improved!
- So, what is best, 2 of 3 or 3 of 5?
- Why don’t you ask your readers?
- Good idea!
- You may like to add that a game of Go can not end in a draw.
- How come?
- We use a komi of 5.5.
- I don’t know what that means, but I will take your word for it.

Let a = games won and b = games played.

Is (2,3) better than (3,5)?

If the function used is a/b the answer is ‘yes’ since 2/3 = .67 and 3/5 is .6.

However if the function is a*a/b the answer is ‘no’ since 2*2/3 = 1.3 and 3*3/5 = 1.8.

To experiment with various functions there is a box below where you can enter the function before you press the Go button. Enter “a/b” (without the quotes) and press Go. All possible pairs of (a,b) with a less than six get their score calculated.

Now, edit the formula to a*a/b, and see what happens.

You can use more exciting formulas for a and b, like “Math.min(a,b)”, “a*Math.random()”. See Math functions in javascript for available functions. I have added the combin(a,b) function, so you could enter things like “combin(b,a)”.

So, the question is, is (2,3) better than (3,5)?

Sometimes I need what only you can provide: your absence. – Ashleigh Brilliant

This week I learnt that subtraction is defined differently for different people. To put it in a saying:

“If you rob the bank, you go to jail. If the bank robs you, you have to fill out a dispute form.”

In June my bank deducted twice a Visa Card payment from my account. I complained, and after some waiting and after having to filled out a complaint form, the bank admitted its mistake, did not explain why it was made however, and made no excuse for what had happened.

On the other hand, if I go to the bank and rob them for some money I will most surely go to jail. Conclusion: subtraction is defined differently for different people.

The nice thing with the bank being the robber is that they run no risks. If they get caught all they have to do is to return the stolen goods. That is why I suggest this addition to the bank laws. “If the bank makes a mistake they have to return the money to the customer plus a minimum 25% fee.” I am sure the banks will have no problems with this change. After all, they thrive on fees.

This week a friend of mine discovered that in a six month period his bank had made ten ATM withdrawal mistakes on his account. Instead of deducting the amount once, they had deducted it twice or three times. The same amount, the same date. I do not understand why the bank’s security procedures did not discover this immediately. The bank made a humorous reply to my friend. “We will not return any money for transferrals that took place before October 2007.”

This is how it would sound in court:

“Your honour, my client, long finger Harry, don’t think you have any right to charge him with any theft that took place more than two months ago.”

So my second suggestion is born. “On a regular basis an independent bank unit runs a query to find the cases where the bank withdraws twice or more the amount they should and makes their findings public.”

My aunt feared organised crime. I fear organised banking.

Do you see what I see? To find out, jump over to Google Image Labeler

You’ll be randomly paired with a partner who’s online and using the feature. Over a two-minute period, you and your partner will:

* View the same set of images.
* Provide as many labels as possible to describe each image you see.
* Receive points when your label matches your partner’s label. The number of points will depend on how specific your label is.
* See more images until time runs out.

After time expires, you can explore the images you’ve seen and the websites where those images were found. And we’ll show you the points you’ve earned throughout the session.

A few weeks ago I changed to Bluehost as my web host for this blog. They give you 600GB hard disk space and 6000GB of monthly transfer for $6.95 per month if you sign up for two years ($7.95 per month for one year). So far they have answered all my inquiries to my satisfaction so the service seems to be fine too.

Here are the good news: If you sign up by clicking this link: Sign up at Bluehost and help think again!, Bluehost will send $65.00 my way. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, and it does this blog a lot of good.

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Update December 10th, 2007: Someone has already been kind enough to use the link to sign up at Bluehost making think again! $65.00 richer. Thank you anarchistworkshop.net!

Who else wants 600GB for $6.95 per month and support this blog for free?

– I want to multiply 43 by 21.
- Why on earth do you want to do that?
- It’s kind of personal, if you don’t mind.
- OK. Do you have a calcualtor?
- No.
- Do you know the multiplication table?
- I don’t even know if I have a dining table.
- Can you count?
- Yes.
- Then you don’t have a problem. Draw 4 straight lines and 3 straight lines with a gap between them.
- Like this?

- Exactly!
- Then what?
- Draw 2 straight lines and 1 straight line with a gap between them at an angle to the first lines.
- Like this?

- Exactly!
- Then what?
- Count the intersections.
- Like this?

- Exactly!
- Add the numbers in each column, carry if you have to.
- I have a weak back.
- Lift with your knees.
- I got 903.
- That’s how you multiply if you don’t know how to multiply.

Good method? Challenge: devise a method for division using nothing but straight lines and counting.