« first day (1103 days earlier)      last day (3827 days later) » 

12:03 AM
I suppose that is true, although somehow I have it in my mind that they fell struggling, not dead.
 
@Cerberus Those round circles are a cheat: it’s just hexagonal tessellation in disguise. Go chase the link for more Greekery.
Only a tiling composed of equal triangles, squares, or hexagons can be tiled into 360 degrees integrally.
That is, if they all have to be identical.
If not. . . .
A Penrose tiling is a non-periodic tiling generated by an aperiodic set of prototiles. Penrose tilings are named after mathematician and physicist Roger Penrose who investigated these sets in the 1970s. The aperiodicity of the Penrose prototiles implies that a shifted copy of a Penrose tiling will never match the original. A Penrose tiling may be constructed so as to exhibit both reflection symmetry and fivefold rotational symmetry, as in the diagram at the right. Penrose tilings were actually discovered by Islamic architects 500 years before Penrose, in the 15th century and were called G...
Some of those are quite beautiful.
 
@tchrist I know.
 
I wonder why we say tessellation instead of tiling.
The whole pentagonal symmetry thing is bizarre. Hexagonal, ok, but pentagonal? Gosh!
 
@tchrist What is the formula again to calculate outside angle based on number of angles for equilaterals (or whatever they're called)?
 
Yet it is a particular property of circles that one circle may be surrounded by six same-sized circles with no gaps and each outer circle touching three others, while the center touches all six.
 
12:09 AM
@Robusto No, those are just hexagons with poor resolution. :)
 
No, I think he's right.
 
I didn’t say he was wrong.
 
OK.
 
Also, the hexagon provides the most area for stacked polyhedrons, which is why it's a natural for bees to store honey in.
 
The most area?
 
12:10 AM
@tchrist I prefer to call them anti-aliased. ^_^
 
You rather mean the area with the blunted angles?
Or how do you say that in bee math.
 
I mean the area with no intervening spaces between elements.
 
Yes, but compared to triangles and squares.
 
They have smaller angles, which are less efficient for bees.
 
12:11 AM
I think I actually mean the largest. Or I dunno.
 
A giant cylinder with no internal walls is the largest...
But it's pretty interesting, somehow I never wondered (or have forgotten I ever did) why bees made hexagonal cells.
It all makes sense now.
 
@Cerberus That's not the largest for a given width or height. Not by a long shot.
 
Why not?
 
@JohanLarsson hooray!
 
12:14 AM
@tchrist I'm still with the bees. Hexagons are better.
 
@Cerberus That’s why gamers have always used hex-grids for board games.
 
Well...
 
I’m always thinking of tassels.
Tassellation would be different, though.
 
For gamers, some space in between would not be a problem, or they could use tiles that have a more complicated shape that simple equilateral polygons.
 
Huh?
No, it’s about movement possibilities.
All classical boardgames use hexes. All of them.
 
12:17 AM
Because they are the simplest way of doing it, and there is no advantage to using more complex tiles.
 
More complex?
Hexes are all you can go to and still be regular.
I’ve never seen a game grid based on Penrose tiling.
Although sometimes it is disguised.
 
Right.
 
See what I mean?
Poor translation. The original was better.
 
@tchrist So this is what I meant: you can use other shapes, but they wouldn't be regular/simple. Bees spare their spittle and their space, but board games do not need to.
@tchrist WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME
You want us invaded?
 
I don’t understand. The game would be less interesting with squares. Only 4 movement possibilities instead of 6.
Those are from games like Blitzkrieg and Panzerblitz: what are you expectink?
 
12:25 AM
Wow, I forgot to freeze Google Talk, and I am now being spammed by some crook.
 
PanzerBlitz is a tactical-scale board wargame of armoured combat set in the Eastern Front of the Second World War. The game is notable for being the first true board-based tactical-level, commercially available conflict simulation (wargame). It also pioneered concepts such as isomorphic mapboards and open-ended design, in which multiple unit counters were provided from which players could fashion their own free-form combat situations rather than simply replaying pre-structured scenarios. Description PanzerBlitz was designed to simulate a clash between two company, regiment or smaller (n...
A wargame (also war game) is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally by the military to study warfare, "war game" may refer to a simple theoretical study or a full-scale military exercise. Hobby wargamers have traditionally used "wargame", while the military has generally used "war game"; this is not a hard and fast rule. Although there may be disagreements as to whether a particular...
 
@tchrist Less interesting with squares, yes. But I was talking about irregular tiles as in your picture.
@tchrist Yes, I know that. It was a joke.
 
Which picture, my first one of Titan?
 
I, too, prefer hexagons over squares.
9 mins ago, by tchrist
user image
 
Titan is a fantasy board game for two to six players, designed by Jason B. McAllister and David A. Trampier. It was first published in 1980 by Gorgonstar, a small company created by the designers. Soon afterward, the rights were licensed to Avalon Hill, which made several minor revisions and published the game for many years. Titan went out of print in 1998, when Avalon Hill was sold and ceased operations. A new edition of Titan, with artwork by [http://www.kmistudio.com/ Kurt Miller] and Mike Doyle and produced by Canadian publisher Valley Games became available in late 2008. The Val...
 
12:29 AM
It helps if you can get ahead of her.
 
I hate how Wikipedia often puts the less interesting information first on some things.
 
Indeed.
 
If you're running alongside her clicking dots, you're pretty much fucked most of the time.
 
I want the basic info "what is it (about)?" first.
 
Jez
why is the cat female?
 
12:30 AM
Because we like women?
 
Those are actually 96 interlocking hexes.
Here’s a game board for ya:
 
heh
 
Jez
hmm
what do businesses mean when they say they want experience of "data-driven web applications"? what would be a non-data-driven web application?
 
Jez
I'd have thought that in order for a web application to be useful, it would have to be data-driven in some way or it would always give the same output
 
I'm not sure that clicks in the cat game count as data.
F'r'nstance
 
@Jez It is either a platitude, "based on empirically sound research", or they mean "based on large amounts of user data".
@tchrist I'm trying to draw a game board of circles where each circle is connected to five other circles through lines, but it isn't working.
Even though the circles are by no means touching.
I seem to be stretching out the pattern as I get farther from the starting point. Like a flattened and stretched-out football.
 
Jez
1:29 AM
fucking anacron.
why can't it just work? damn thing isn't executing my daily crons for some reason
no hint of a problem in the logs
 
1:42 AM
As is a subordinating conjunction, so it is hypotaxis. As to the name of this construction, I'm not sure there is any. Its just a subordinate clause with as followed by a main clause introduced by so. Perhaps it is the slight redundancy of so that makes it appear poetic; without so, it is a common construction: [just] as he had predicted, Stack Overflow the Trojans welcomed the great horse. — Cerberus 4 mins ago
Look how annoying those shortcuts are!
 
2:22 AM
It’s Lawler night around here, I see.
@JohnLawler He’s looking for something that’s morphologically distinct as a way of expressing counterfactuality, but finding it lacking in all verbs save be. Specifically, he’s looking for how to express what Spanish uses the imperfect subjunctive inflection (“Si funcionara/funcionase en esta manera...”) for in the protasis of a conditional, and the conditional inflection (“...me gustaría mejor”) in the apodosis. Some people do say “If only it worked” or “If it were to work” to try to convey that, but we really have no morphological solution beyond be — as well you know. He misses it. — tchrist 7 mins ago
Note how carefully I avoid the t-word. :)
 
2:39 AM
You mean the s-word?
Oh, tense?
I thought you meant subjunctive...
 
3:07 AM
That makes me moody.
 
He's an old man.
Everyone has his quirks, I suppose.
> 1 Bitcoin = € 410
Not bad.
 
For something that isn’t there.
 
Just like money.
Or gold.
 
Gold is palpable
 
Or stocks.
The value of gold is almost as arbitrary as that of bitcoins.
I actually wonder how Bitcoin got started.
 
3:11 AM
Gold has valuable properties.
 
But not many, not nearly enough to justify its current value.
It once had a rare decorative value, but not any more.
 
It does not corrode in water nor air, and it is highly conductive of electrons.
 
It was among the rare materials that glittered and kept glittering without lots of maintenance.
@tchrist Yes, that explains a tiny bit of its modern value.
 
We use it in the electronics of our spacecraft.
 
But the bubble is probably 10,000 % larger than the intrinsic value in chemistry, engineering, etc.
And bank notes are worth next to nothing intrinsically.
While gold would probably be worth not much more than other useful metals.
Iron is useful is large quantities.
But gold?
 
3:18 AM
Dig up an ancient barrow in which were interred the bodies of royalty, bedecked with ornaments of copper, silver, and gold. Leave it long enough, and the bodies are dust, the copper corroded and the silver terribly tarnished, both essentially gone. But the gold is as bright as the day it was buried there.
 
Sure.
 
There is a symbolism there that attracts people.
 
But so are stone and glass and many other materials.
Sure.
But that I consider a bubble.
It's not that useful practically.
 
Colorado’s capitol building’s domed exterior is covered in actual gold plating. You should see it catch fire as the rising sun’s first rays strike it first before anything else.
It is stunning to behold.
 
What if the mayor were to confess that, in reality, they had used brass?
 
3:23 AM
And unlike copper, will not corrode.
 
Would you feel differently about it?
 
Yes.
 
@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 I am exactly as kind as I need to be. No more, no less. It's more economical that way.
 
Even if the difference were invisible to the naked eye?
 
Meaning is in the heart.
 
3:25 AM
Right.
But it's still not the same as, say, the value of steel.
There is some kind of bubble.
 
@tchrist Gold is the most malleable and ductile metal there is. I forget the exact dimensions, but an ounce of gold can be hammered out to something like an acre of surface area.
 
Gold prices fluctuate a lot, but it is still a fairly stable bubble.
@Robusto That's a lot!
 
It is.
It can be hammered so thin as to be almost transparent.
There is nothing like gold.
 
OK, an ounce can be hammered out into 300 sq. ft. according to Wikipedia.
 
How much is an ounce?
 
3:27 AM
29 grams, roughly.
 
That's not much.
Into what area can an ounce of aluminium be hammered out?
 
All your major gold currencies are based on the ounce. Krugerrands, for example.
 
macbook# units oz gram
	* 28.349523
	/ 0.035273962
Er, wait.
Wrong oz.
 
Oddly, a Dutch ons is 100g.
 
macbook# units troz gram
	* 31.103477
	/ 0.032150747
There are only 12 troy ounces per troy pound.
 
3:29 AM
> 1 Bitcoin = € 415.
 
While there are 16 normal ounces in a pound avoirdupois.
 
There's the old riddle: Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of gold? And the answer is, a pound of feathers (16 oz. per lb.), because they are weighed avoirdupois, while gold is troy weight, 12 oz. per lb.
 
Avoir?
 
Something like that.
 
Right, right.
 
3:29 AM
It’s got pounds, dude.
 
@tchrist *avoirdupois
I fucked up that explanation good and proper.
 
There are 7000 grains in a normal pound, but 5760 grains in a troy pound.
 
> Seventy-five ounces of gold donated by AngloGold Ashanti and Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Co. was carried up the steps of the Capitol building Tuesday by mine employees — most of it in 140,000 leaves that each weighs no more than a mosquito.

Read more: Gold leaves for Colorado Capitol building dome return from Italy - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/ci_23489187/gold-leaves-colorado-capitol-building-dome-return-from#ixzz2kxrJwyxT
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse
75 ounces for the whole dome.
So a little over two kilos.
 
macbook# units grain pound
	* 0.00014285714
	/ 7000
macbook# units grain troypound
	* 0.00017361111
	/ 5760
macbook# units grain ounce
	* 0.0022857143
	/ 437.5
macbook# units grain troyounce
	* 0.0020833333
	/ 480
 
@Robusto What was the area of each sheet? How much does such a sheet cost at current gold prices?
 
3:35 AM
macbook# units ounce gram
	* 28.349523
	/ 0.035273962
macbook# units troyounce gram
	* 31.103477
	/ 0.032150747
macbook# units pound kg
	* 0.45359237
	/ 2.2046226
macbook# units troypound kg
	* 0.37324172
	/ 2.6792289
 
I'd like to know what gold plating costs per cm².
 
@Cerberus I dunno. Read the article.
 
hangs heads
I must shower now.
 
A pound of feathers weighs 0.45 kg, while a pound of gold weighs only 0.37 kg.
 
Later!
 
3:36 AM
@Cerberus At what thickness?
 
@tchrist The one used in gold plating such as on your dome.
@tchrist Nice!
> From what I understand 24k gold plating costs around $2-3.00 per square inch. See link goldplater.com/pricelist.htm . This is actually more reasonable than I thought but still expensive. You'd probably have upwards of $3k+ to do an entire engine bay of parts. Chrome is roughly about half this cost depending on the level of chrome.
And that is including the cost of labour, machinery, constant costs, and profit.
So plating, say, the back of a mobile phone would cost ca. $75.
 
Something like that, yes.
 
That's affordable.
And plating it with chrome would be in the thirties of dollars.
(I hate halving very rough estimates that do not result in round numbers!)
 
Under $40.
 
Right, that would work...the only thing is that it could strictly be $41+.
AFK
 
3:56 AM
The Gold lunula (plural: lunulae) is a distinctive type of late Neolithic, Chalcolithic or (most often) early Bronze Age necklace or collar shaped like a crescent moon. They are normally flat and thin, with roundish spatulate terminals that are often twisted to 45 to 90 degrees from the plane of the body. Gold lunulae fall into three distinct groups, termed Classical, Unaccomplished and Provincial by archaeologists. Most have been found in Ireland, but there are moderate numbers in other parts of Europe as well, from Great Britain to areas of the continent fairly near the Atlantic co...
 
4:28 AM
Little moon.
 
 
5 hours later…
9:17 AM
Hell
o
 
 
2 hours later…
11:43 AM
I've already had enough and it's not even lunch time
 
Jez
12:05 PM
enough of what
 
your sass
everything
I want to go back to bed
 
Aww.
Today sucks, eh?
 
yes. my brain has turned against me. all it will let me do is feel tired
 
Biology. It's evil.
 
whoever came up with it was clearly trying to annoy people
 
12:12 PM
God's a sadist.
 
yes
I don't think creation was a good idea at all. he should have just left well alone.
I also blame people who expect me to work full days in winter
it's winter for crying out loud. I should conserve my energy until spring
 
I agree!
But he can't do this forever, you know.
He has a limited attention span like the next guy.
The torture must stop eventually.
 
what will happen when his attention runs out?
Will it finally be quiet?
 
Then things will return to normal and good things will happen to good people. Occasionally.
Is it noisy where you are?
 
depends on your threshold
too much noise for my liking
 
12:19 PM
That's not good.
Could you take the rest of the day off and go home?
 
I'd need a reason
 
"I'm not feeling very well"?
 
that would cause complications - I cycled in and I don't think I could pull off not feeling well and cyclnig home :D
I'll just wait it out.
Lunch should help
 
Ah, yes, food!
(What if you took public transit home?)
 
I don't have any money with me
but, yay! lunchtime.
 
12:30 PM
Yay!
 
12:54 PM
Yes. That's somewhat better
 
Breakfast.
Toasted whole wheat bun spread with chunky 100% peanuts peanut butter on one side and apricot preserves on the other.
And coffee.
Then some milk.
Then more coffee.
I don’t understand these grown-ups who can’t drink milk. Where are they from, Nigeria?
 
1:08 PM
@MattЭллен You have a friend who has a stomach bug at work and doesn't want to drive home, and they called to ask if you would please help them.
You have a job interview to go to.
You just realized that you left the iron on.
You need to prepare for coming in really early tomorrow to do that big thing.
Your relative needs a ride to the airport and you completely forgot until just now! They are going to be sooooo angry!
 
You just realized that life is a walking shadow, a dream within a dream, and that sudden epiphany made you reflect on the nature of reality.
 
It's a matter of national security!
No time to explain!
 
@KitFox oh no! uncle bob!
 
Or you try just leaving without saying anything.
I've done that before.
 
tempting
 
1:19 PM
Successfully.
It exploits the "everyone else knows more than I do" bias.
 
I'm in an open plan office, sat next to my boss. if I pick up my helmet and backpack and walk out, he'll notice
 
Hmm. That is more difficult.
Wait until he's in the loo?
 
Throw a rock at someone on the other side of him and then escape in the ensuing confusion?
 
hahaha
 
1:20 PM
lol
 
Pick up your phone, pause and then say "Oui?"
 
he'll thnk I've gone mad and send me home? possibly
 
Listen a long time, then say a lot of French-sounding things rapidly.
Then throw the phone down, jump up, look around, grab your things and start running.
 
Take off and nuke the office from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
 
Yes. YES!
 
1:23 PM
Where did I leave my nukes...
 
You can borrow mine!
 
Isn't that just like you, to leave your nukes at home.
 
Don't take your nukes to town, boy. Leave your nukes at home, son.
 
oh no! I've left my nukes on in the microwave
 
They smell like popcorn.
 
1:24 PM
that's to throw off the Geiger counters
 
It little profits that an idle Kit,
By this still mouse, among these monitors,
Match'd with an aged rig, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto these savage users,
That click, and paste, and drag, and know not me.
 
right on, sister
 
I'd have put "Matt" there, but I was worried you wouldn't recognize the verse without the alliteration.
 
@KitFox They also serve who only click and watch.
 
Touché.
 
1:30 PM
meets
 
1:41 PM
doles
 
Out. Bye.
 
Bai!
I can't remember how I did a bulk insert of records with Friday dates.
thinks
Man, it is dark and rainy here.
 
2:04 PM
in order to get reads, i need to have a good grammar. so help me
 
Hiya @Reg!
 
Hoozah @Kit!
 
How goes?
 
So much work today. Not even funny.
I'm only here because the others were having cake, so I had a couple free minutes.
But now it's back onto the treadmill again.
 
Many sympathies.
 
2:12 PM
Yeah I'll take them, thank you.
 
Are you having knee troubles?
 
Not anymore fingers crossed.
 
Trying to get back to competitive form?
 
I do seem to get some phantom pain from time to time, but nothing serious.
@KitFox oh haha, no, not till summer I guess...
Anyway I must be treadmilling. Lators.
 
Bai!
Congrats on resisting cake.
 
2:15 PM
Oh but I had a slice.
disappears
 
Then you had better run!
collapses into a heap of giggles
 
hahaha. I fell asleep in the meeting
 
2:34 PM
Oh noes!
Did you get in trouble?
 
maybe. not to my knowledge. I was accidentally dozing off while they argued about stuff unrlated to me, then suddenly I heard them call my name
 
Did you sit up and shout "Cabbages!"
 
I wonder if I am actually ill
 
Maybe you are coming down with something.
Are your hands cold?
 
@KitFox lol no I just apologised
@KitFox no more than normal
 
2:37 PM
@MattЭллен Good for you. I get annoyed when people try to pretend they weren't paying attention.
 
2:54 PM
more mysterious problems are arising! webservices are disappearing and crash isn't recorded in the log
 
They must be making Cthulhu calls.
More likely they aren't crashing.
 

« first day (1103 days earlier)      last day (3827 days later) »