tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56049610607035983062024-03-06T12:49:43.373+09:00Awesome title for a blogThese are my observations and opinions about life, news, and whatever else I feel like writing about. Thanks for stopping by!Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.comBlogger116125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-43529745094216626572013-01-29T06:29:00.000+09:002013-02-03T05:21:44.069+09:00My Top 5 movies of 2012<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">5. The Sequels (three way tie): Dark Knight Rises, Avengers, and Skyfall</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These movies were well made, didn't take themselves too seriously, and were entertaining popcorn munchers. Unfortunately, none of them really tried anything new or took any risks. I wanted to include Mission Impossible too but it's from 2011. These directors have really found what people in general want to see and they exploit that for great profits. Sometimes a movie like this is exactly what I want, but there is no way it can be the best of the year without doing something extraordinary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really liked some of the choices Peter Jackson made with this, such as the new frame rate, including songs, and the slow pace. I dislike the cinematography choices. Why oh why does he insist (like he did in LOTR) on long panning far off shots while the characters are in a cave underground? It takes away from the claustrophobic</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> feeling and makes them look like toys. Other than that and some plot holes which may have been in the book, I really am happy that Jacksons success is allowing him to do what he wants and not just what other people expect.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Wreck-It Ralph</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm pretty sure a lot of people will disagree with me putting this so high on the list, but when I saw this unexpec</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">tedly at a sneak peak I was really taken by surprise by how much I enjoyed it. It was fun, dramatic, moving, and even unpredictable. I loved the voice acting choices (30 Rock's Jack McBrayer as Fix-It and Sarah Silverman as Vanellope), the arcade gaming inside jokes, and the Toy Story feeling of nostalgia.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">2. Les Misérables</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I watched this 3 times in 3 days and I was humming it for over a week after that. It is so good. All the singing was done live instead of prerecorded and now when I watch other musicals I just can't enjoy them knowing it wasn't done that way. I really hope it changes the way the industry does musicals from now on. I know this wasn't the first or only movie to do this, but it was the biggest and most successful application of the technique.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">1. Django Unchained</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow. I finally saw this over the weekend and there are so many things I loved about it. The pacing, the script, the actors, the story, the ending.. Rarely have I ever felt so satisfied by an ending as I was with this movi</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">e. This is truly Tarantino at his best, so if you are not a fan, don't bother. Christoph Waltz makes every movie better, and Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio were excellent as usual. Go see it.</span></div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-81963903595753861572011-09-17T02:55:00.002+09:002011-09-17T03:40:56.104+09:00Things they should teach in HighschoolWhat are some things you think they should teach in highschool that they didn't teach you? What about things they taught that were useless/not necessary?<br /><br /><div>They should add these classes to the curriculum:<br /><div><ol><li>Statistics. I really think this is more important than calculus for most people and useful for everyone in daily life (especially when reading/watching the news).</li><li>Law/Taxes. They should teach a class that shows people how to do their taxes and teaches them about where the money goes, tax rates, different kind of taxes, interest, etc. One of the assignments should be registering to vote (if taught senior year). Students should learn their civil rights and how to avoid giving them up in certain situations. We should learn about our current representatives and what they stand for. I couldn't name (hardly) anyone in congress in Highschool and I had no idea what the Governor was for or against.</li><li>Home Economics. I don't care if it sounds old-fashioned. I wish I had learned to do what I saw Japanese kids do in home ec. Heck, just name the class 'chef apprentice' or something to make the kids interested. I would have loved to learn how to cook. But basic cleaning skills are also something every college student needs.</li></ol><div>I found these classes useless or just unnecessary for a Highschooler:</div></div></div><div><ol><li>Calculus. I say this despite the fact that my profession is one of the few that actually uses it. It just isn't as important as statistics. I took 2 years of calculus in Highschool and when I got to University, I started at the beginning with everyone else.</li><li>Spanish/French. Those were my only two choices and I sat in those classes for 4 years of Highschool and learned very little. The way they teach languages is totally backwards. Begin at an earlier age with exposure to many languages. Encourage or even require semesters abroad. Have an exchange program at the school to let the students mingle with people from around the world. By the time students reach Highschool, it is very late to begin their first foreign language. I'm not saying they should cut foreign languages, just change how they are taught entirely.</li></ol><div>It's hard to stop and not rant on about the horrible ways they teach in american schools, but I'll leave it here today. What do you all think? Snarky comments about Rio Americano will be insta-liked.</div></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-60717938486285329742011-07-29T04:35:00.004+09:002011-07-30T00:40:18.363+09:00Answer to ProblemSolving the problem in my previous post allows me to do Gouraud Shading.<br /><br />Here is the before picture. I calculate the color of each polygon face using the face normals (the line perpendicular to the face of the polygon).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbCF2iQPgMwMAyUlyTGuM3WC4kf4_r-XVTk-9vydi055rl44xS6jPjaNdkR-TNOUa9SDzyMxJDSiLcShFkBWuWslykpEfFC66uNIOU5CvQFYzljdWCTuc67rqLiUDeUR9Ib-maQtyT2w/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-07-28+at+9.34.48+PM.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbCF2iQPgMwMAyUlyTGuM3WC4kf4_r-XVTk-9vydi055rl44xS6jPjaNdkR-TNOUa9SDzyMxJDSiLcShFkBWuWslykpEfFC66uNIOU5CvQFYzljdWCTuc67rqLiUDeUR9Ib-maQtyT2w/s400/Screen+shot+2011-07-28+at+9.34.48+PM.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634491063731727362" /></a><br /><br />With Gouraud Shading, I use the normals at each vertex, not the face. The normal for a vertex is the average of the normals of all the faces that use that vertex. With this normal I calculate the shading value for each vertex and create a gradient in each triangle.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-xRpzvuOdXAO9JGlsgDRGcgLKLKGA2Lc5NhiX2pZEk5SDbuN3hWBOVTP2wmCKg3P5sQS3a1_9rfdvwcif7Du8FQ-vA2BZrEJQ2dkL0ghnNzak6V-gKA0UTvf8xBERScFmqB-C5SmsUE/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-07-28+at+9.35.00+PM.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-xRpzvuOdXAO9JGlsgDRGcgLKLKGA2Lc5NhiX2pZEk5SDbuN3hWBOVTP2wmCKg3P5sQS3a1_9rfdvwcif7Du8FQ-vA2BZrEJQ2dkL0ghnNzak6V-gKA0UTvf8xBERScFmqB-C5SmsUE/s400/Screen+shot+2011-07-28+at+9.35.00+PM.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634491173973003138" /></a><br /><br />I'll post the answer to the problem in the future if someone wants me to.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-77145880066396707342011-07-28T21:01:00.002+09:002011-07-28T21:07:50.766+09:00Problem of the weekHere's the problem:<br /><br />You have a triangle with points A, B and C (known). Each point has a shading value s: As, Bs, and Cs that are also known.<br /><br />You want to shade the triangle with a single linear gradient so that each point has the right shading value.<br /><br />So what is the starting and ending point of the gradient?<br /><br />Some hints:<br /><br />If As = Bs = Cs, the triangle is all the same color, so any points will do.<br />If Bs = Cs but not As, then the gradient should go from As to the closest point on the line BC to A.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-30608571990556411072010-06-26T14:56:00.002+09:002010-06-26T14:59:52.619+09:00World Cup Predictions Part 1Here is my prediction. What do you think?<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO3UE7I30ddchrdpmgKkg8tzwCRH6H8uHXqYkB1lQpnDRisZa-Pl18rRDF4OuQGLw6k9cOS5AsPSV10ORvIqfd03xtOekbeBv_YP6gt-8OPYnWf4yTGRI8oEAtnfQkcbo8Uu7wjlUxgRI/s1600/WC2010+Predictions.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO3UE7I30ddchrdpmgKkg8tzwCRH6H8uHXqYkB1lQpnDRisZa-Pl18rRDF4OuQGLw6k9cOS5AsPSV10ORvIqfd03xtOekbeBv_YP6gt-8OPYnWf4yTGRI8oEAtnfQkcbo8Uu7wjlUxgRI/s400/WC2010+Predictions.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486958051597352034" /></a>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-15685715169979413662010-04-13T19:25:00.009+09:002010-04-13T19:52:39.167+09:00Answer to Squares QuestionGiven a grid that is NxN, how many squares can you make by connecting the dots?<br /><br />The answer I got is this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KTY9JB9JAcsDzvkDgIzjzYhstcCO8D44cPnqTV8VekWOhjZhSlq8pzacGfj9T1nG3zYdzdFUc1-GpoR3bibOFESePePKqfqm-HGTqkWsk1ASCy0kKdJmZV1LcckOWbEAG7MajANcG6A/s1600/sum+1.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 111px; height: 52px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KTY9JB9JAcsDzvkDgIzjzYhstcCO8D44cPnqTV8VekWOhjZhSlq8pzacGfj9T1nG3zYdzdFUc1-GpoR3bibOFESePePKqfqm-HGTqkWsk1ASCy0kKdJmZV1LcckOWbEAG7MajANcG6A/s200/sum+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459566642763737282" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The reason is pretty neat. For an example, let's use a 5x5 grid.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqPJ9cvqm23cVYncO_A7RDHDeZRd0LkaWBiz5FiF0vz5L1GK6lqPj8re4gEn7ncMY-HTElMB-fN-8n5N-oRDiDF2xrtIGVBSkrb_w-dLfBEOrzIccB8Vp3w2UJLiuRbpVL08wIW5KkEU/s1600/Picture+6.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqPJ9cvqm23cVYncO_A7RDHDeZRd0LkaWBiz5FiF0vz5L1GK6lqPj8re4gEn7ncMY-HTElMB-fN-8n5N-oRDiDF2xrtIGVBSkrb_w-dLfBEOrzIccB8Vp3w2UJLiuRbpVL08wIW5KkEU/s320/Picture+6.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459570239140619618" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here is the sum:<br /><br /><span class="texhtml">1 * (5 − 1)<sup>2</sup> + 2 * (5 − 2)<sup>2</sup> + 3 * (5 − 3)<sup>2</sup> + 4 * (5 − 4)<sup>2</sup></span><br /><br />Which equals:<br /><br /><span class="texhtml">1 * 16 + 2 * 9 + 3 * 4 + 4 * 1</span><br /><br />Let's start with the first term: 1 * 16. When you have a 2x2 matrix, you can make 1 square. And in a 5x5 matrix, you can make 16 of those squares.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDAR3YNJTS7HTd3m9wbbaTWcfbjgec3wzIleUay8VMqahAAmRSEe-L5wb0302YOWsvKTqJELFItOBOc4GOFZWQTK_KXBU_7iAxzZrXL011MrXIMqym7TP3I9umnh9TitX-VHrf5bjsdI/s1600/Picture+5.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 131px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDAR3YNJTS7HTd3m9wbbaTWcfbjgec3wzIleUay8VMqahAAmRSEe-L5wb0302YOWsvKTqJELFItOBOc4GOFZWQTK_KXBU_7iAxzZrXL011MrXIMqym7TP3I9umnh9TitX-VHrf5bjsdI/s200/Picture+5.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459570608846553922" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Next is 2 * 9. In a 3x3 matrix you can make 2 squares (as below) and there are 9 places you can do this in a 5x5 matrix.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpaJixKJbH78mTDpwu7Ei1dRftt0DPkxugOGElDURVPClFtiatTrH9_HvDQ7QoVrJXtDwZcHUhRYmCrSKKGDGcWHXUSqkzSxFEo0OKtWOXDZDCB0_moQUffxgLJ55tcUaafItzEQ3A7c/s1600/Picture+4.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpaJixKJbH78mTDpwu7Ei1dRftt0DPkxugOGElDURVPClFtiatTrH9_HvDQ7QoVrJXtDwZcHUhRYmCrSKKGDGcWHXUSqkzSxFEo0OKtWOXDZDCB0_moQUffxgLJ55tcUaafItzEQ3A7c/s200/Picture+4.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459570769793955090" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This continues for 3 * 4 as there are 4 places you can make the 3 squares below.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzAXFsNkZT5LBWJw4-SglhiJaS4yCJ5w_cgm1fj961_UzdIUxwbJl8vvIwqXPYs_l_XVhtq3Pa0RO-ZFTxT83j1QNa6UxDdPEEhGmCnZWkMv0Cbdc-AKjKn3eDHXWCH4L5Tw52J3LXfA/s1600/Picture+3.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzAXFsNkZT5LBWJw4-SglhiJaS4yCJ5w_cgm1fj961_UzdIUxwbJl8vvIwqXPYs_l_XVhtq3Pa0RO-ZFTxT83j1QNa6UxDdPEEhGmCnZWkMv0Cbdc-AKjKn3eDHXWCH4L5Tw52J3LXfA/s200/Picture+3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459570875844798210" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And finally, you can make 4 squares out of the largest block just one time in a 5x5 square.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXAKZ5nrtiT-WPNbW3iJ9jpOQ9WZdsE0t9rt0aTlPpMkov4JEnY5lo1RlLcFSfXBH83kGlp9oeCfBma9eyYiOh7FN19kdPTDqClL7nUnDFyolEm5m3M347IQGZaNCg6lOyoYLywmf6UsM/s1600/Picture+2.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXAKZ5nrtiT-WPNbW3iJ9jpOQ9WZdsE0t9rt0aTlPpMkov4JEnY5lo1RlLcFSfXBH83kGlp9oeCfBma9eyYiOh7FN19kdPTDqClL7nUnDFyolEm5m3M347IQGZaNCg6lOyoYLywmf6UsM/s200/Picture+2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459570992827697554" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I thought this was really interesting and elegant. So the next thing I did was figure out the answer for any matrix of NxM. It is actually pretty simple. The answer for the NxN matrix was the sum of x(N-x)^2 because N-x was the area.. so with an NxM matrix the sum is like this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7tu-Ii8RMc3zZtlNu9ba9N6KL7XKyxvChMdos7QuOa3ovXfIrU9ubiBGvdECT5-mG7_LRf8uoF1GgeETGKg4aMg8mcaFb7Se_t7i_-2nMurG99taD6fTobbiKNcOCTbTd3pzyrY8wd2k/s1600/sum+2.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 169px; height: 52px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7tu-Ii8RMc3zZtlNu9ba9N6KL7XKyxvChMdos7QuOa3ovXfIrU9ubiBGvdECT5-mG7_LRf8uoF1GgeETGKg4aMg8mcaFb7Se_t7i_-2nMurG99taD6fTobbiKNcOCTbTd3pzyrY8wd2k/s200/sum+2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459572148141209602" border="0" /></a>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-26756304060407258742010-04-08T00:17:00.003+09:002010-04-08T00:30:54.916+09:00SquaresThe first (and only) program I ever made in Visual Basic was a game called Squares. I was in high school at the time, and didn't even know C, so I just wanted to make something simple and interactive.<br /><br />In Squares, you have an 8 by 8 grid like a chess board. Players take turns putting their pieces on the board. When their pieces make a square, they get points equal to the area of the square. The game is tricky because squares can be rotated at any angle and are often hard to see. It's quite fun.. I made a simple hotseat version in canvas a while ago to test out canvas (Rendering shadows is slow!). Let me know if any of you are interested and I can show you the game.. if there is enough interest I could make it multiplayer online.<br /><br />On a 2x2 board, there would only be one possible square. On a 3x3 board, you can make 6 squares.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZzhAQYb_tCJoZKzgP2oHDMFSqZ3Dmy30INLAohjQ70TRyRq7vk6HWuqGkFE-v-CAf5JtzsN72kyZrMTuDMlxfLXvR4r_eWv6EUIAIPO1-2aP0lTi0oQBEFt8G-YBbdR_vJErxzURF1Q/s1600/Picture+1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 195px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZzhAQYb_tCJoZKzgP2oHDMFSqZ3Dmy30INLAohjQ70TRyRq7vk6HWuqGkFE-v-CAf5JtzsN72kyZrMTuDMlxfLXvR4r_eWv6EUIAIPO1-2aP0lTi0oQBEFt8G-YBbdR_vJErxzURF1Q/s320/Picture+1.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457417756849192594" /></a><br /><br />So the question is, how many can you make on an 8x8 board? How about an NxN board? Or better yet.. an NxM board?? Anyone? :) It actually works out to be a nice clean answer.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-19890206485091709092010-03-20T10:41:00.009+09:002010-03-20T11:24:55.116+09:00The Ultimate Final LessonI just had my last lesson at my 2 schools and since I was leaving, I had some extra time, and I really like the schools, I decided to go all out.<br /><br />The second to last lesson I did a quiz game with questions in 4 categories 'easy', 'medium', difficult', and 'challenge' all color coded white, yellow, blue, and red, respectively.<br /><br />On a previous lesson before that one, I taught shapes and had each student make their own flag on an A4 piece of paper using shapes and colors.<br /><br />I then (with some help) copied their flags onto small label stickers and using dollar store poker chips, toothpicks and those things you put under chair legs, I made flags for each student.<br /><br />Here's a blank flag:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOayJcFnF_2LaHUSfnh9OWUE4MDsNafHC1I58ah2YaqgwAdYVFRz101aqskHxi8ZNcqhCuceoT092yU_Q8NYsBpkX8GBC5k74oKMcHBBqKdO1dWqNfPz25-Kh0jsFrnzNxjQIaV7E2g88/s1600-h/DSC04350.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOayJcFnF_2LaHUSfnh9OWUE4MDsNafHC1I58ah2YaqgwAdYVFRz101aqskHxi8ZNcqhCuceoT092yU_Q8NYsBpkX8GBC5k74oKMcHBBqKdO1dWqNfPz25-Kh0jsFrnzNxjQIaV7E2g88/s320/DSC04350.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450526476010076338" /></a><br /><br />Then I made the game board.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-1ARFuWuYaijFvJzfqoMm8_ggzptOhbe04T-DnvKgoZOUubi-UvIvfRi-LZXemGYD20WIc8BCuFIPuVMk_Y6Eaq_DaudRfYKawiBntZRMQKbrSgRUikB6sKco09Fcw88CoxFtvr-hquU/s1600-h/DSC04319.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-1ARFuWuYaijFvJzfqoMm8_ggzptOhbe04T-DnvKgoZOUubi-UvIvfRi-LZXemGYD20WIc8BCuFIPuVMk_Y6Eaq_DaudRfYKawiBntZRMQKbrSgRUikB6sKco09Fcw88CoxFtvr-hquU/s320/DSC04319.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450529663299529506" /></a><br /><br />My goal was to make a mountain climbing game where the students draw a card, answer a question and then roll the dice moving up the mountain. Then if they draw an earthquake card, everyone on certain spaces (small areas next to ramps) on the board fall down one level.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmt_f5eJkIcJ8dhUTxWMdbbhjcO1AlmNnCNhxjuKbOrT1FpxRahKLzx7Q43-nytlBlgmNENF5d5EgDAMfZIPYvXj5TF1hMa7o5O8LcavVLpa_F_Y4rV06VXQl8ZmnCooecCjvdeYmH-4/s1600-h/DSC04342.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmt_f5eJkIcJ8dhUTxWMdbbhjcO1AlmNnCNhxjuKbOrT1FpxRahKLzx7Q43-nytlBlgmNENF5d5EgDAMfZIPYvXj5TF1hMa7o5O8LcavVLpa_F_Y4rV06VXQl8ZmnCooecCjvdeYmH-4/s320/DSC04342.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450531295799331506" /></a><br /><br />I made 4 different sets of cards based on the quiz game (easy, medium, difficult, challenge) and again, color coded them. I used the colors on the game board to indicate which card they had to take. There are multiple paths to the goal (the gold sticker on top) and each path is exactly balanced based on difficulty.<br /><br />To spice it up I added a rule that says if 2 players land on the same place you can fall from, they have to do rock paper scissors and the loser falls down.<br /><br />Here's the plan:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJqnD2aYnt4k6ZEvQxs0v-UfNTlntkSJVqAUrq0mbh2_wHCD0VeP_Mb997F66jnMfWFse_czWHzVNKZkz7hyArGX8SMC8KAXko96S5P7VqZiIymxhymPsXCwSnyEQ_z0aHpDfSdQ16G4/s1600-h/DSC04354.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJqnD2aYnt4k6ZEvQxs0v-UfNTlntkSJVqAUrq0mbh2_wHCD0VeP_Mb997F66jnMfWFse_czWHzVNKZkz7hyArGX8SMC8KAXko96S5P7VqZiIymxhymPsXCwSnyEQ_z0aHpDfSdQ16G4/s320/DSC04354.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450530126355660994" /></a><br /><br />The rules are explained on the blackboard:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgmXgcQ2tFSORHhUvmK_V43gMd0jBkQY5rsyBHuhJgTrgpSYLhDcsuidKeTY-fx6yRusQHMcR6LEfxbfYNAKvm-V6igL_5gDATOsQlfZcMyDl8kcYXSlNiDkEkwUOe5qNafWVHMoF7h1E/s1600-h/DSC04323.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgmXgcQ2tFSORHhUvmK_V43gMd0jBkQY5rsyBHuhJgTrgpSYLhDcsuidKeTY-fx6yRusQHMcR6LEfxbfYNAKvm-V6igL_5gDATOsQlfZcMyDl8kcYXSlNiDkEkwUOe5qNafWVHMoF7h1E/s320/DSC04323.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450530368901918914" /></a><br /><br />Finally, after using the game boards, I can take them apart and they stack and fit into my bag to carry to the next school.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXmeHCzu8P-0qDtAorRtV3p4mGMFu6iulUExSLB4vDjN4vyl9mYNxEOfbpXhL1vpaweycOL3k65OnRFEbZNmSrvJ7eN4R3kovAogQt7yo9El0IqwR5mqOKgfTI7pwO9fhaWkSANbcf7_s/s1600-h/DSC04352.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXmeHCzu8P-0qDtAorRtV3p4mGMFu6iulUExSLB4vDjN4vyl9mYNxEOfbpXhL1vpaweycOL3k65OnRFEbZNmSrvJ7eN4R3kovAogQt7yo9El0IqwR5mqOKgfTI7pwO9fhaWkSANbcf7_s/s320/DSC04352.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450531717178266210" /></a><br /><br />It was a lot of work, but very rewarding. I'll leave one board at each school for each class that played and there's one left over for me.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-60411489911891262212009-12-26T11:39:00.002+09:002009-12-26T11:43:51.538+09:00Culture ShockJust minutes in LAX and I'm already reverse culture shocked.<br /><br />1. The walls in the toilet stalls don't go all the way to the ground and there is writing on the walls.<br /><br />2. I ordered a medium drink thinking it wouldn't be enough and it was HUGE.<br /><br />3. A Pizza costs the same as a sandwich. Japanese pizzas are really expensive.<br /><br />On another note.. LAX sucks. I'm going to try avoiding it from now on. When I got out of my flight there was absolutely no sign or employee to ask about where to go for my connection. It just led me to the street.<br /><br />Need Sleep and Food!<br /><br />Merry Christmas from the Denver airport. :(Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-40666231232585787382009-12-09T23:45:00.002+09:002009-12-09T23:54:15.399+09:00Flashback Post<span style="font-weight:bold;">This is a repost of a really old blog entry from when I lived in Saitama over 3 years ago. Oh how things change (see first sentence)</span><br /><br />Friday, November 03, 2006<br /><br />I've been spending a lot of time studying Japanese recently.<br /><br />Sundays, I go to a community center where many foreigners gather and some Japanese volunteers teach Japanese. My friend and I are the only native English speakers there. Most of the others are Chinese or Philippino. Last Sunday we had a Japanese BBQ instead of class and we sang some songs and made food all afternoon. I spent most of the time playing with 2 adorable kids. One is 4 years old and 1 is in first grade (probably around 6). The 4 year old spoke to me in Chinese as if I understood everything and the 1st grader spoke to me in Japanese. Kids that age are so cute!<br /><br />Tuesdays my friend and I go to this elderly lady's house and she and her friend give us one on one lessons for an hour and a half. After that we all drink tea and chat for a little while. This is where I learn the most out of all my lessons, because she prepares conversations for me that we read aloud and she uses expressions and idioms I otherwise wouldn't be able to pick up very easily.<br /><br />Thursdays a couple other foreigners and I go to another community center where some more volunteers teach. This lesson is much smaller but pretty fun. After this we usually grab a beer and chill (I'm usually exhausted by Thursday and completely worn out on Friday). I finally got my first monthly pay check. It was about the size of the paycheck I was getting in the US after taxes.... every 2 weeks. But this paycheck is gonna furnish my apartment so I can get my home theater system back up and running.<br /><br />Before telling this next story let me explain the Japanese alphabets a little.<br /><br />First there is hiragana. Hiragana has a letter for each sound you can make in Japanese. There are 5 vowels (a i e o u) pronounced as in Spanish and there are about 9 consonants. Making roughly 46 letters. Hiragana is used for all the Japanese grammatical aspects such as verb endings, particles, and more. Here is Hiragana in Hiragana: ひらがな<br /><br />Next there is katakana. For every hiragana, there is a katakana equivalent. Some of them look simliar, like ka (hiragana か, katakana カ) but some are completely different like su (hiragana す, katakana ス). Notice how katakana is much more angular and hiragana is smooth and pretty. Katakana is used for foreign words and names. For example, orange -> orenji -> オレンジ. Here is katakana in katakana: カタカナ.<br /><br />Last but not least is Kanji. Kanji means Chinese character and as you may have guessed, comes from China. There are thousands of characters used for names and all kinds of words and verb stems. Kanji are sometimes very simple, such as one (ichi) 一, or person (hito), 人, but they can get really complicated, such as the character for love 愛. Here is Kanji in Kanji: 漢字.<br /><br />Here is an example sentence: 今日はマイケルの誕生日です。 This sentence means 'Today is Michael's birthday.' 今日, pronounced kyou, means today. The kanji separately mean Now or This (今) and Day or Sun (日). Then comes the hiragana topic marker は, pronounced wa. This marks 'Today' as the topic. Then comes the foreign name Michael (actually said maikeru マイケル). Then comes the hiragana particle の, pronounced no, meaning possession (like the 's in English). After that comes 誕生日, pronounced tanjoubi, meaning birthday (notice the day kanji again, but with a different pronunciation). Lastly is です, the verb meaning is. This is pronounced desu technically, but usually it sounds more like des.<br /><br />Okay lesson over. So this Thursday I taught 1st and 2nd graders the numbers 1-20.. after 2nd period, about 20 students mobbed me in the hallway asking for my signature. They all had their little booklets and pencils and they lined up nicely for me to sign each one. One girl asked me to write my name in hiragana (the Japanese alphabet) but I said no, I should write it in Katakana. The concept of katakana's use for foreign names was yet unknown to her, though, so she thought that meant I only knew katakana (being a first grader she had just learned katakana recently herself). So about 10 minutes later after I had finished the signatures, she came back with a little folded piece of paper, handed it to me and ran off.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3782/3582/1600/NOTE.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 768px; height: 1024px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3782/3582/1600/NOTE.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is the note she gave me. She wrote the whole thing in katakana (the other teachers thought that was hilarious). It says at the top, 'to Michael sensei <3' and at the bottom left it has her name and 1-2 (grade one class two). The face is a picture of me. The note on the right says 'Michael sensei, thank you for the signature. I am very happy. Bye bye.' Hahaha so cute! I'm not sure who the flying thing is but other people drew it on notes to me too. The note by it says 'shinamon' which might be cinnamon, but who knows. Anyway, thats life here, and that's all for now.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-30461648183641613082009-12-06T18:04:00.005+09:002009-12-06T18:16:27.481+09:00Web ComicsWhenever I go online the first things I check are my email and my web comic rss feed. Here are some comics I subscribe to. Let me know if there are any other good ones I missed.<br /><br />Google RSS Reader lets you make a bundle of feeds and share it on a blog, so I did that for my webcomics.. they're on the right side of my blog under the other widgets. Click <a href="http://www.google.com/reader/bundle/user/04740958784295543330/bundle/Humor">here</a> to see a preview of each of them.<br /><br />Recent Discoveries:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.myapokalips.com/">Apokalips</a><br /><a href="http://www.explosm.net/comics/new/"><br />Cyanide and Happiness</a> (Not for the feint of heart)Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-59194620775036964152009-11-23T10:18:00.003+09:002009-11-23T10:23:56.174+09:00Twilight SpoofsMy favorite so far:<br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lu_PY405f40&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lu_PY405f40&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />College Humor:<br /><a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1924837?">Twilight: Three Wolf Moon</a><br /><br />And again (warning: bad language)<br /><a href="http://blog.collegehumor.com/video:1904237">Twilight: Deleted Sex Scenes</a><br /><br />This one wasn't as good, but here ya go.<br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eJS8RTIO4so&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eJS8RTIO4so&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-40111082507861959042009-11-22T17:24:00.002+09:002009-11-22T17:44:24.006+09:00ScaleIf you took a piece of thin paper, say 0.35mm thick, and folded it in half, it's now about 1mm thick. So without using a calculator, how thick do you think it might be if you fold it 40 times? 10 meters? A mile? Just try to imagine it without doing the math.<br /><br />A) 1 meter<br />B) 10 meters<br />C) 1 Kilometer<br />D) Distance from Earth to Moon<br />E) 1 Light Year<br /><br />What do you think? No cheating!Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-53362720482434036192009-11-10T15:04:00.004+09:002009-11-10T15:38:49.582+09:00HairpinsIf I had any super power, it would be the ability to travel back in time, to be invisible, and to observe hairpins. <br /><br />For any two animals* A and B, there were once two sisters A' and B', one whose descendants led to animal A and the other whose descendants led to animal B. In fact, the sister A' is also the direct ancestor of ALL other species more closely related to A than B. (And B' is also the direct ancestor of ALL other species more closely related to B than A).<br /><br />Dawkins calls the mother of these two sisters a <span style="font-style:italic;">hairpin</span> (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Show-Earth-Evidence-Evolution/dp/1416594787/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257834934&sr=8-1">source</a>). If you go back in time looking at ancestors of animal A you would eventually get to A' and then the hairpin. Then you can go forward in time on a different path (B') to eventually lead you to animal B. While this is a basic concept of evolution, this is something lost on a lot of people. The hairpin is the <span style="font-weight:bold;">common ancestor</span> of the two animals. It is not the same as a modern living creature. We are not descendants of chimpanzees and there are no crocoducks.<br /><br />There are as many hairpins as there are species alive today minus one. Think of a tree where the tips of the branches (leaves) are modern living species, each point in the tree that splits (internal node) is a hairpin.<br /><br />*The sisters idea breaks down when you get to closely related examples: such as me and my aunt, but the hairpin idea still holds.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-75420226408778328092009-10-25T13:16:00.003+09:002009-10-25T23:41:28.705+09:00Pollution in ChinaAmazing, terrifying, saddening pictures of polluted areas. <a href="http://www.chinahush.com/2009/10/21/amazing-pictures-pollution-in-china/">English</a>. <a href="http://image.fengniao.com/vision/vision.php?id=122">Chinese</a>.<br /><br /><br />Scientific America <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/video.cfm?id=45353358001">video</a> on lead poisoning from metal producing plants.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-2269952907991506412009-10-22T19:32:00.008+09:002009-10-23T01:15:30.808+09:00Line of SightWhile working on my <a href="http://maishe83.blogspot.com/2009/08/summer-update-and-my-game.html">game</a>, I decided that I will at some point want to have line of sight for a unit. This is how I did it.<br /><br />The game is on a hexagonal grid, so to make it easier, I decided that a circle around the outside of a hex is the size of whatever blocks vision. All I had to do was check each hex to see if it blocks vision, then for each of those hexes, mark all the ones behind them as invisible. What I was left with was a problem like this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbcga6KRcBjMjeJ6yymhZGKp4glkgj7c6P69w2YGfFYz38dVo83Ls4RhRDMx5XTt14_G0z_aougZy67HSF0uS_Vl6aX12iUWA7H3iMoRg31s7sGKvBWRPgKY4v_oFZz_I98pFhpMkNGk/s1600-h/LOS.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbcga6KRcBjMjeJ6yymhZGKp4glkgj7c6P69w2YGfFYz38dVo83Ls4RhRDMx5XTt14_G0z_aougZy67HSF0uS_Vl6aX12iUWA7H3iMoRg31s7sGKvBWRPgKY4v_oFZz_I98pFhpMkNGk/s400/LOS.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395456433899789618" /></a><br /><br />The unit is at A, the hex at B blocks vision, and everything further away than B that is between the yellow and red lines is invisible. So all I had to do was find the equations for the two lines. They turn out to be really elegant. After many pages of math where I made mistakes and relearned algebra, I found the two equations and plugged them into my map editor for testing. Anyone want to give it a try? I'll post the answer in the comments.<br /><br />Here are the results!<br /><br />A Small, Simple Map with a blocking hex and a unit:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZqPxz4KSDu1QJ73PryrPchVGh1-ERLS3-VMzspS8NjpXlkc0rZ1CKWeF1owGtqKm3XsT-KUkKPzjBxihNggWINdHMxgCFPepTogU8pcizB5d0SOubz7OQMC52zRJcugvjXPNfOJeznU/s1600-h/Small+Map+LOS+Off.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZqPxz4KSDu1QJ73PryrPchVGh1-ERLS3-VMzspS8NjpXlkc0rZ1CKWeF1owGtqKm3XsT-KUkKPzjBxihNggWINdHMxgCFPepTogU8pcizB5d0SOubz7OQMC52zRJcugvjXPNfOJeznU/s400/Small+Map+LOS+Off.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395457445669920658" /></a><br /><br />Showing the LOS:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tdsRkHWpDcppOnA6fvxkzFAbcM2v0C5jcIooNzJrsTO0_naA_s6Ry0e3TUbJZEl3WFPNLg3_Q0sw8BXRTvhfcMKsCjorqUdrHgF7O9BBmic-EUdX1uGt1Tkusgb2H884mGXzucDK2BQ/s1600-h/Small+Map+LOS+On.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tdsRkHWpDcppOnA6fvxkzFAbcM2v0C5jcIooNzJrsTO0_naA_s6Ry0e3TUbJZEl3WFPNLg3_Q0sw8BXRTvhfcMKsCjorqUdrHgF7O9BBmic-EUdX1uGt1Tkusgb2H884mGXzucDK2BQ/s400/Small+Map+LOS+On.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395457559818507826" /></a><br /><br />Yay it works. Here's a bigger example. This is supposed to be a cave interior, so the black is wall, the red is lava and the rest is just ground. The selected unit is in the middle.<br /><br />Without LOS:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56kg1ZoK2poTAisdrX-FZexVQRZbmmnJj19vxjbaktZpMgTEgnu6LT4ErsNTJU1zEHF9nXg4MF4J8Gv16qhMw-E2w-QJSBADV3byhHQTVtfYBp7FExzKbX0nlRhT2AY7yVK8sB89kHik/s1600-h/Large+Map.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56kg1ZoK2poTAisdrX-FZexVQRZbmmnJj19vxjbaktZpMgTEgnu6LT4ErsNTJU1zEHF9nXg4MF4J8Gv16qhMw-E2w-QJSBADV3byhHQTVtfYBp7FExzKbX0nlRhT2AY7yVK8sB89kHik/s400/Large+Map.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395457912514258050" /></a><br /><br />With LOS:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaCPOeSOQQGtKimh51L34L4AuioiYLHvZEybnxotMVuzC78SOYXa3fKxbKe3dqqFbPioVYqLlW3aB8xKpIB7NFrhz3h5ItDIwg3NClHg2m0UpizjWwqRVBywwWscpCMZU7XlDID0PboA/s1600-h/Large+Map+LOS+On.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaCPOeSOQQGtKimh51L34L4AuioiYLHvZEybnxotMVuzC78SOYXa3fKxbKe3dqqFbPioVYqLlW3aB8xKpIB7NFrhz3h5ItDIwg3NClHg2m0UpizjWwqRVBywwWscpCMZU7XlDID0PboA/s400/Large+Map+LOS+On.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395458004262822930" /></a>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-34311607578446994652009-10-10T20:03:00.002+09:002009-10-10T20:59:12.265+09:00Atheist vs AgnosticismThis is kind of in response to my brother's post <a href="http://ptere.blogspot.com/2009/10/hitch.html">here</a>.<br /><br />First of all, atheism and agnosticism are not mutually exclusive. Atheism to me, and a lot of people who's views I agree with, is the rejection of theism. It is a lack of belief, not a belief in non-existence. An atheist does not necessarily assert that there is no god. Clearly, no one knows whether there is or not. Nor do we know whether the universe is all a computer simulation. We don't know whether magic exists, of if the Force is real and if flows through all of us and binds us. You could call me agnostic toward the Force, but this would send the wrong message. I do not believe in the Force, magic nor a god.<br /><br />There has been much debate about the word atheism and whether it is the right word to use for the growing number of non-believers. Prominent atheists have suggested other words, some more <a href="http://the-brights.net/">condescending</a> than others. Sam Harris doesn't like the use of the word because of its baggage. But it is important to recognize the bigger picture. The world (and especially the US) has a huge number of evangelical religious lunatics who believe Barack Obama is the antichrist or that they will receive 72 virgins in the afterlife. There are <a href="http://newsjunkiepost.com/2009/09/19/research-finds-that-atheists-are-most-hated-and-distrusted-minority/">polls</a> showing that atheists are the most hated and distrusted minority. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellegent_design">IDiots</a> and creationists (I know, I'm repeating myself) are constantly trying to stop the teaching of evolution and/or inject their own religious beliefs into the public school systems. It is for all these reasons and more that a large number of high profile atheists are starting to join forces and speak out. Groups like the <a href="http://www.atheistalliance.org/">Atheist Alliance</a>, for example, are trying to create a positive voice for atheism (<a href="http://www.atheistalliance.org/Commentary/AAI-Applauds-Jimmy-Carter-for-Courage-and-Integrity-in-Challenging-Religious-Values.html">see here</a>).<br /><br />Finally, just to reiterate, you can either be a theist and believe in a god, or an atheist and not believe in a god. While it is true that a person who asserts the non-existence of god is also an atheist, that is not what we are all doing, and standing on the sidelines as a wishy-washy agnostic is not helping the greater cause for, among other things, womens rights and science.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-78145064609738734042009-10-04T15:42:00.004+09:002009-10-04T15:46:46.588+09:00Sinfest FTW: Homophobia<a href="http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=3316"><img src="http://sinfest.net/comikaze/comics/2009-10-04.gif" style="width:350px"/></a>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-59661591164781699902009-10-04T10:38:00.002+09:002009-10-04T10:43:34.693+09:00Some Cool Eusocial InsectsLeaf Cutter Ants feed the leaves to a fungus and eat the excretions. They also produce anti-biotics to fight pests.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RH3KYBMpxOU&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RH3KYBMpxOU&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Termites also feed a fungus and produce some awesome architecture that regulates temperature like an air conditioner.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0m7odGafpQU&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0m7odGafpQU&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-56177413994537752132009-09-26T21:52:00.001+09:002009-09-26T21:52:57.261+09:00Rachel Maddow on Currupt Gov't Contractors<div><iframe height="339" width="425" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/33027963#33027963" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 425px;">Visit msnbc.com for <a style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com">Breaking News</a>, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507" style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;">World News</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072" style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;">News about the Economy</a></p></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-5511558659617046542009-09-24T00:05:00.001+09:002009-09-24T00:07:06.576+09:00Building a WindmillWatch this.<br /><br /><object width="334" height="326"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/WilliamKamkwamba_2007G-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/WilliamKamkwamba-2007G.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=320&vh=240&ap=0&ti=153&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=william_kamkwamba_on_building_a_windmill;year=2007;theme=design_like_you_give_a_damn;theme=speaking_at_tedglobal2009;theme=africa_the_next_chapter;theme=ted_under_30;theme=tales_of_invention;event=TEDGlobal+2007;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgColor="#ffffff" width="334" height="326" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/WilliamKamkwamba_2007G-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/WilliamKamkwamba-2007G.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=320&vh=240&ap=0&ti=153&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=william_kamkwamba_on_building_a_windmill;year=2007;theme=design_like_you_give_a_damn;theme=speaking_at_tedglobal2009;theme=africa_the_next_chapter;theme=ted_under_30;theme=tales_of_invention;event=TEDGlobal+2007;"></embed></object><br /><br />And then watch this.<br /><br /><object width="446" height="326"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/WilliamKamkwamba_2009G-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/WilliamKamkwamba-2009G.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=642&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=william_kamkwamba_how_i_harnessed_the_wind;year=2009;theme=ted_under_30;theme=africa_the_next_chapter;theme=tales_of_invention;theme=the_creative_spark;event=TEDGlobal+2009;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgColor="#ffffff" width="446" height="326" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/WilliamKamkwamba_2009G-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/WilliamKamkwamba-2009G.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=642&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=william_kamkwamba_how_i_harnessed_the_wind;year=2009;theme=ted_under_30;theme=africa_the_next_chapter;theme=tales_of_invention;theme=the_creative_spark;event=TEDGlobal+2009;"></embed></object>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-44539449546708364092009-09-18T20:39:00.003+09:002009-09-18T21:14:30.411+09:00A Brief AnalogyI guess to put it really briefly, what I was saying in my previous post is that I think you could make an analogy as follows:<br /><br />Genes are to Life as Memes are to Consciousness.<br /><br />Obviously there are some problems with this analogy, but I think it's interesting as a thought experiment.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-29350989223607053852009-09-13T17:28:00.002+09:002009-09-13T17:30:00.632+09:00Consciousness and LifeA few days ago I had a lengthy discussion about consciousness. The result has been a mild obsession recently with the topic. I would much appreciate any comments anyone has on the subject.<br /><br />To understand my view of consciousness, you first should know what Biological Naturalism is, as this is the closest view to mine that I've found. I used to think I was a materialist, but materialists deny the existence of a non reducible property of consciousness. Meanwhile, there is dualism. I haven't been a dualist since I was a kid. Dualism is hard to justify when one does not believe in the supernatural.<br /><br />Biological Naturalism states that consciousness is a biological property, like digestion or photosynthesis. But unlike those properties, it is ontologically irreducible.<br /><blockquote>Solidity can be ontologically reduced to molecular behavior and consciousness cannot be reduced to neuronal behavior. To put the point more precisely, in the case of solidity the fact that we can give a complete causal explanation of solidity in terms of micro physical processes leads us to say that solidity is <span style="font-style: italic;">nothing but</span> a certain sort of microphysical phenomenon. Causal reduction leads to ontological reduction. But in the case of consciousness we are unwilling to make the ontological reduction. Consciousness is entirely caused by neuronal behavior, but all the same we are unwilling to say that consciousness is nothing but neuronal behavior. (Searle 2004, <a href="http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/%7Ejsearle/BiologicalNaturalismOct04.doc">Biological Naturalism</a>)<br /></blockquote>So to understand where I begin to differ with Searle, consider the question "What else is an ontologically irreducible biological* property?"<br /><br />... pause for effect ...<br /><br />If you answered "life" then maybe you already know where I'm going with this (If you're totally lost I recommend reading some of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_naturalism#References">Searle's work</a>). Bells rang in my head when I made this connection, and I'm sure I haven't been the first. Not only do life and consciousness share this rare quality of being ontologically irreducible, and being physical properties (as opposed to epiphenomenal phenomena, like a rainbow or a sunset), but they alone also share something else that is very important: replicators.<br /><br />Life is a medium of physical replicators (in the case of life on earth, genes). Replicators, in the sense I use the word, undergo copying, selection and variation. Consciousness is, and I think should be defined as, a medium for memetic replicators. A meme, in my definition, is anything that is imitated. Memes, like genes, undergo selection, variation and copying.<br /><br />This theory puts a lot of the puzzle pieces into place and answers the following questions. When did consciousness first emerge? Are animals conscious? Can computers become conscious?<br /><br />The first two can be answered together. As soon as animals develop the higher brain functions necessary for imitation, they contain a rudimentary form of consciousness. When a bird hears a song from it's same species it may imitate the song, copying the meme. It may miss hear, or simply make a mistake, introducing variation, and through selection, only some songs will persist over time. This rudimentary consciousness is like looking on the ancient earth at replicators first evolving. It took billions of years for life to develop into a state with so few mutations as we have today. At the start, mutations were most likely frequent and extreme, as they are with many memes. But as some genes developed to produce proteins that repair DNA, some memes produce ways of maintaining themselves as well (language, writing, and eventually electronic storage, for example).<br /><br />Currently computers and machines are used to copy memes, but the variation and selection is still almost exclusively done in the brain. You could think of these memes stored in a computer as an equivalent to viruses. Viruses are not widely considered alive, despite having genes and undergoing selection. Similarly, media can contain memes, but the variation and selection is not yet done by computers. I disagree with Susan Blackmore's <a href="http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/susan_blackmore_on_memes_and_temes.html">prediction</a> of "temes" as a new replicator, because I do not believe memes need be in a biological brain. What she calls temes I call memes that exist entirely in computers.<br /><br />When computers start to not only copy, but select and vary memes, whether intelligently or not, they will on a certain level become conscious. This scares a lot of people, and perhaps it should. Memes existing entirely in computers would have protection from mutations in the way that they do not have in the human brain. It is like we are witnessing the transition of simple replicators to single celled organisms, in that the level of self sustainability will dramatically increase. Why should we be scared? Because we don't see any self sustaining replicators <span style="font-style: italic;">outside</span> of cells anymore. The success of the cell eliminated all the competition.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-17698828547111527572009-09-08T18:34:00.003+09:002009-09-08T18:38:51.350+09:00A couple links<a href="http://www.viruscomix.com/page494.html">This</a> [subnormality] is great. I always wondered why so many of my friends and even some family members like professional sports so much. Playing is one thing.. or rooting for friends, but I've never gotten into prof sports. I even tried to get into them so I could have something to talk about with "the guys".<br /><br />Also.. I think I've been living in Japan too long because it took me a while to figure out why <a href="http://failblog.org/2009/09/08/lazy-fail/">this</a> [failblog] was supposed to be funny.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5604961060703598306.post-71981762137344080352009-08-16T23:00:00.006+09:002009-08-16T23:12:41.887+09:00Summer Update and My GameI haven't updated my blog in a while, so I thought I'd say something about what I've been doing lately. So far this summer I went to Karuizawa and Izu. Tomorrow I leave for Kiyosato for a week to teach English at a camp for kids. I did it last year and it was pretty fun. Tomorrow is also the 3 year anniversary of my first day in Japan! It's hard to believe.<br /><br />The past month or 2 I've been working a lot on making a web-based turn-based strategy game. The original goal was to make a mock-up game to test the rules for a possible board game, but now I've taken it in a new direction. The ultimate goal now is to adapt it for Facebook and play with family and friends.<br /><br />The idea of the game is simple: Each player has robots. The robots are given orders and carry them out simultaneously. The catch is that you have to tell the robot what to do in advance, therefore trying to predict what your opponents will do. I want to do things like capture the flag later, but at the moment the object is to just take out all the opponents.<br /><br />All the art work is done by me. For those who are curious, I'm coding it entirely in Ruby on Rails and Javascript. I'm using the YUI library for a lot of things including animation and ajax. Check out these screen shots from my latest version. I'm hoping to get a version online soon, but I'll be busy the rest of the month so it might have to wait until September.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-XqE2-TS_xxzUJzuvujI6nmPGskiolbgO3vQsg80cCijFjAFfp83f5enw1cpU3OD3a_P_lR5gbZwaWwu3grewGGVWtzJl0TQ-0QVc_aHMrL0S9G4GnaHlhP1QLOD8vfhFp0t7ls-B10/s1600-h/screenshot1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-XqE2-TS_xxzUJzuvujI6nmPGskiolbgO3vQsg80cCijFjAFfp83f5enw1cpU3OD3a_P_lR5gbZwaWwu3grewGGVWtzJl0TQ-0QVc_aHMrL0S9G4GnaHlhP1QLOD8vfhFp0t7ls-B10/s400/screenshot1.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370563783225034130" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhK0hFyw_m4_mJx2D7sPWo5dON_TM8yV0kwaQkjm5pCBvHkqVLITTOfPCDFsnkckJ0hqLvSu8EhawN4CE_ZbHZeMFHAmmKDXAQuYXwbOxpxWUCtoaQujnZW5vCzWkLNqFsCzklfXuxHvo/s1600-h/screenshot2.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhK0hFyw_m4_mJx2D7sPWo5dON_TM8yV0kwaQkjm5pCBvHkqVLITTOfPCDFsnkckJ0hqLvSu8EhawN4CE_ZbHZeMFHAmmKDXAQuYXwbOxpxWUCtoaQujnZW5vCzWkLNqFsCzklfXuxHvo/s400/screenshot2.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370563955881164498" /></a>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04333846292635122546noreply@blogger.com2