Random Ideas

• I was doing a survey today, and realized now I have to tick 25-29 instead of 20-24 for age. #feelingold #
• @roguejs The part where the BioWare logo is displayed. #
• I tried Quake Live today – it is so awesome. #
• More than one year later – we've finally got a new chapter of Liar Game to read! #
• We want something clean. But…. http://t.co/Nv3YWrFN #
• RT @roguejs: "A 30fps engine that never drops a frame is always smoother than 60fps" So true, so true. #gamedev #
• The constant presence of clouds is making me feel gloomy. #
• RT @roguejs: Oh my god. I just realize I am a medically confirmed Indie Games hoarder (I buy shit but never have time to play) #humblebundle #
• The constant presence of clouds is making me feel gloomy. #
• RT @roguejs: Oh my god. I just realize I am a medically confirmed Indie Games hoarder (I buy shit but never have time to play) #humblebundle #
• Clouds make for a fine day. #
• Why do so many threads on AskReddit today seem like they are meant to make me feel old? #
• I have this bad habit of trying a lot of operating systems. The list so far: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Android, iOS #
• Is it me… or are there a lot more "last-minute deals" e-mails this year? #
• I really need to start blogging again. I keep spending year after year promising myself to blog more often… and I don't. #

Powered by Twitter Tools

It's been quite a while since I last wrote a blog post – so let's start off with a post about something that comes up in everyday life – roundabouts.

Why roundabouts? As you may or may not know, I moved to the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia last year. Queensland loves its roundabouts – there are roundabouts everywhere. There is a roundabout wherever in other places would simply be a 4-way junction.

What does this mean for us? It means that you run into roundabouts all the time – and roundabouts are useful because they slow down traffic. I walk to work everyday – so having cars move slower because of a roundabout is fantastic for me. It means I can cross roads with a little more safety than usually.

Now, being a statistician, there's always the tendency to look at things with a little more analysis than usual. For example, here's a 4-way roundabout, not unlike the one near the office I work at.

Now – there are interesting observations we can make from something as simple as this – the path I labeled number 1 actually leads to an outdoor car park for the office workers and park visitors that are nearby.

Why is this important information? It means cars won't be coming from that direction very often until it comes time for people to leave the office. It also means very few cars will be going into that exit since it doesn't really lead anywhere.

Let's go on to the other paths. Path no. 2 leads towards a main highway, path no. 3 leads towards another main road, and path no. 4 leads to a shopping centre.

Why is this useful information? It tells you which trajectories of the roundabout are the most likely. The most likely paths given the source of the car:

Unfortunately, I am too sleepy to continue for now… more on how to use this information in Part 2!

• @chewxy All hail the efficiency of the USPS! #sarcasm #
• It's easier to download source code from my website than to turn on my other computer. #firstworldproblems #

Powered by Twitter Tools

Recently, I bought an Apple Remote – it looked so nice, small and simple. It's also surprisingly not as flat as some photos would suggest.

Front of the Apple Remote

The black 4-way button is actually a slightly bumped up – and the button in the middle of the ring and the Menu button is actually curve inwards. This makes it a lot easier to know whether or not you are pressing the correct button.

Back of the Apple Remote

The back holds the battery cover, which appears to require a coin to turn.

As for a quick review, the signal is received very easily, it feels thin, and cold if you kept your air conditioning on for too long (since it's made out of metal). Whether it's worth it or not – depends on you. I've got plenty of uses for a remote control for my computer's media – do you?