Theory of Roundabouts - Part 1

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!

Photos: Apple Remote

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.

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.

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?

Revamping ALL The Things!

While the Twitter update posts are here to stay (for now), I've neatened them up for now - no longer are they just for very week, most of them are for longer periods of time so that they hold more stuff to read rather than one line short tweets. I've also updated WordPress... again - no surprise there. What has changed, however, is the mobile theme. It is now catered towards newer iOS and Android browsers rather than older mobile ones - not like I have any visitors on those old mobile browsers anyway.

While I can't say there'll be a new blog post on any kind of schedule while my brain is still permanently in some kind of transition - I think it's time for a new interest or two to start leeching its way back onto my blog.

Photos: Event Decks - Into the Breach

Ever since I started playing Magic I've always been fascinated by preconstructed decks - now Wizards of the Coast has a new series of preconstructed decks which are a little more competitive in nature called Event Decks. They cost more - but they also need less extra cards to improve them compared to the Intro Packs that are around now. I thought I'd share a few photos of this awesome set which looks great.

Skin oils are visible on the box - which is responsible for some of the streaking you see.

The deck box is cardboard - so it won't last you as long as your Ultra-Pro ones, but it's still pretty darn good.

The product contains the main deck in one pack, the sideboard in another pack, an Into the Breach folded insert, a standard Magic 2011 introduction insert and a cardboard divider so that you can separate your sideboard from your main deck. I'm not sure if the deck box will still fit your deck with proper deck protectors - I believe it'll be a snug fit if your deck protectors are thick ones similar to Ultra PRO ones.

2011: The Unknown Future

I decided, even if I haven't been blogging much, it's probably still a good idea to talk about last year. Here's the much shorter list I made for 2010:

1. I think I probably just really want to find a better job (at least a more interesting one).
2. Blog more – already got a backlog of stuff to post – just haven't prepared them for posting on the site – I think once a week is realistic, but I'd rather have a post up twice a week. Considering I'm now working, three times a week doesn't work any more. Twittering every day might just work though.
3. Pass more exams. I screwed up one exam last year pretty badly, and I'm not keen on failing any more.

Here's the progress report:

1. I did find a more interesting job - thanks to chewxy.
2. I ended up practically not blogging, and even now my twittering hasn't been regular.
3. I managed to pass one more paper. This year, I have a better chance of passing the remaining one simply because it's easier to study now.

Over the past year, in my old company, I switched departments for a different job. I found a new job, thanks to chewxy. Here's hoping I get confirmed - which should be in about two weeks time.

I finally bought a new phone - a Samsung Galaxy S. That's not to say I didn't buy into iOS - I have an iPad and I love it. My Magic: the Gathering playing slowed down again, but that's nothing new.

I haven't set any new goals for this year. It's becoming a trend - but it's not like I don't want to set any goals - I just haven't thought of anything.