If a real person appears in a TV show as themself, and their character dies on TV, do they die in real life?
Why has it taken until 2008 for me to read the words "photovoltaic car park"? [1]
Ah, the joy of programming. It has taken me a long time to work out how to do the following.
Given some [STL] and [VTK] things:
vector<vtkActor*> actors;
vtkRenderer *ren;
I can now replace for loops, e.g.:
for(vector<vtkActor*>::const_iterator it = actors.begin();it!=actors.end();it++)
ren->RemoveActor(*it);
with for_each, by using a bind1st-mem_fun tchotchke:
for_each(actors.begin(),actors.end(),bind1st(mem_fun(&vtkRenderer::RemoveActor),ren));
It's ugly syntax, yes. But it lets me change the container type of actors to, say, list without having to change my code in other places, and without having to typedef it. A mini revolution seems to have happened in C++, with the move towards [generic programming] and [modern c++ design], and while I'm way behind the curve it's fun seeing things change.
It's just struck me. [RMS] on [Free Software] v. [Open Source] [here] is isomorphic to Gandhi on [Satyagraha] v. [passive resistance] [here].
See how the great men quibble over details of wording that lesser men see as trivial. The great men see that it is the ethics of the behaviour that are important, not just the outcomes of that behaviour. More on the importance of 'free as in freedom' [here] in a great speech by [Eben Moglen] - Stallman's bulldog - that sets out a new world order.
OhMy! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0346979/
Other random Ferkel links: [2][3][4][5]
"the same tired pig, more lipstick" [6]
If you are a mathematician, I'm sure you already have [Penrose tiles] in the bathroom, but do you have a [Gerver sofa] in your lounge? And what other interior design choices would you make? A few of the more [fractal plants], ... what else?
Had a bad day?
| O Fortuna | O Fortune, |
| velut luna | like the moon |
| statu variabilis, | you are changeable, |
| semper crescis | ever waxing |
| aut decrescis; | and waning; |
| vita detestabilis | hateful life |
| nunc obdurat | first oppresses |
| et tunc curat | and then soothes |
| ludo mentis aciem, | as fancy takes it; |
| egestatem, | poverty |
| potestatem | and power |
| dissolvit ut glaciem. | it melts them like ice. |
| Sors immanis | Fate - monstrous |
| et inanis, | and empty, |
| rota tu volubilis, | you whirling wheel, |
| status malus, | you are malevolent, |
| vana salus | well-being is vain |
| semper dissolubilis, | and always fades to nothing, |
| obumbrata | shadowed |
| et velata | and veiled |
| michi quoque niteris; | you plague me too; |
| nunc per ludum | now through the game |
| dorsum nudum | I bring my bare back |
| fero tui sceleris. | to your villainy. |
| Sors salutis | Fate is against me |
| et virtutis | in health |
| michi nunc contraria, | and virtue, |
| est affectus | driven on |
| et defectus | and weighted down, |
| semper in angaria. | always enslaved. |
| Hac in hora | So at this hour |
| sine mora | without delay |
| corde pulsum tangite; | pluck the vibrating strings; |
| quod per sortem | since Fate |
| sternit fortem, | strikes down the string man, |
| mecum omnes plangite! | everyone weep with me! |
- This is me playing a maze game, in April 1981, on a [Tandy TRS-80 Model II]. You had to manoeuvre the cursor through the holes in five vertical walls as fast as possible, using the arrow keys on the keyboard. On the TRS-80, the four arrow keys are in black and arranged in a vertical column but your fingers soon got used to this odd arrangement. The game was programmed in BASIC, and loaded from an [8 inch floppy]. Each time you played, the holes would be in a different place - at random - which meant you could do really well by reloading the game until some of the holes happened to line up and then shooting through really quickly. I know that my Dad programmed a lot of games for me from David H. Ahl's [BASIC Computer Games] or its [sequel] but I don't see this simple maze game so maybe he wrote it himself? Either way, thanks Dad. Later I typed-in some of the games from the books myself on much newer computers, and learned to program that way.
- It's amazing to think that we used to buy books and magazines with programs listed out in them. Typing them in took forever, and it was normally easier to write a new program yourself rather than to have to type it all in and then go through again and again seeking the typos. Gee - I dunno why David Ahl didn't just list the programs up on his website and let us download them electronically. --bc
- [David] has a fairly comprehensive website already, but as well as being an author of computer games books, he also seems to be involved in writing about military vehicles and Bible studies. I thought he was a soldier too, from the picture on his page, but I don't think he's done any since serving during the Cold War in North Carolina. --b
6th Dec 2005
On Borken News last night:
- (two news presenters, deadly serious)
- Presenter A: That's after-
- Presenter B: Next on the program. A look back at our earlier roundup of what's coming up later in the program.
- Presenter A: And now.
- (channel flips)
19th August 2005
- If hens lay eggs,
- do pigs lay pegs?
28th July 2005
Lying in bed one weekend, wondering whether to get up, monkey says to ferkey:
- Is it fried eggs today?
To which ferkey replies:
- No, it's saturdeggs.
Mnki decides to get up straight away.
16th June 2005
On TV just now I saw our PM Tony Blair carrying a cup of coffee, walking next to Jack Straw before entering a meeting. On a saucer this requires a little concentration, but they handled it perfectly well. But here's my point: as they came past the camera we could see briefly into the cup and I was surprised to see that there was really coffee in there. And then I wondered why I was surprised, and of course it was because I was expecting it to be empty, like it might be on a film set. It seems that my subconscious has been making certain assumptions of a political nature.
piglet enjoys:
- fun
- lists
- trying to think of things to write
- um,
Fergal are those your arms?
Play the CommentatorGame!
From http://pbskids.org/lions/newsletter/092302.html :
In this week's story, a man is visited by "Pigs from England, pigs from France, pigs in just their underpants." Below you will find a list of different kinds of pigs. It's your job to decide what kinds of pigs you would want to help you in certain situations (also listed below).
Example: If you wanted to go food shopping, you want help from pigs with lists.
So, what kind of pigs will help you if you want to...
- reach something on a high shelf?
- play dress-up?
- feed a baby?
- eat dinner?
- stay warm?
- go sailing?
- have a party?
- play baseball?
- Pigs with gifts.
- Pigs with dishes.
- Pigs with mitts.
- Pigs with bibs.
- Pigs with wigs.
- Pigs with stilts.
- Pigs with quilts.
- Pigs with ships.
(answers below)
- If you want to reach something on a high shelf, then you want help from pigs with stilts.
- If you want to play dress-up, then you want help from pigs with wigs.
- If you want to feed a baby, then you want help from pigs with bibs.
- If you want to eat dinner, then you want help from pigs with dishes.
- If you want to stay warm, then you want help from pigs with quilts.
- If you want to go sailing, then you want help from pigs with ships.
- If you want to have a party, then you want help from pigs with gifts.
- If you want to play baseball, then you want help from pigs with mitts.
GoogleGod is incredibly inconsiderate. This page is all about lovely piglets, so what does GoogleGod choose to advertise? [New and used piglet slaughterlines!]