And Slaters Go Plop

Today I managed to see The King of Kong which was showing as part of the film festival.

Best. Film. Ever. Sorry, the most entertaining film I’ve seen in a long time (it must have been the endorphins talking with that original statement).

You probably have to have seen it to understand but today was the last showing so keep an eye out for it if it ever makes it to other cinemas or your local video shop.

Please note: Spoilers in the comments section.

Now THAT has style written all over it. I’m going to have to buy lots for my family and friends. And a wardrobe full of them for when I meet with clients. Get yours now at Amazon!

I see that Apple are deigning to release the new iPhone in New Zealand soon. I’ve had an iMate Jam for almost three years now and only use it as a phone and an MP3 player (since moving to Linux I’ve been unable to sync my calendar and emails). I’m not going to be rushing out to get the new iPhone either. Why? Because I already know what I want in a device and I just know I’m going to be deeply dissatisfied with anything for the next ten or twenty years.

Here’s my specs for the ultimate device:

• Small enough to be worn on the wrist (perhaps twice the size of a watch but more fitted)
• An in-built or pull-out screen that suffices and has a minimum 800×600 resolution
• A universal docking port.
• Open source software AND hardware
• Phone
• Good quality camera (~4 megapixels + optical zoom)
• Audio and Video playback
• Desktop-equivalent processor + 4gb ram (to replace current PC but can be hotplugged into screen, keyboard, mouse and other devices wherever I happen to be)
• At least 160GB storage.
• Bottle opener
• Assorted knives, saws, scissors and picky things (air travel issues here)
• GPS
• Heart rate and other physiological monitors
• IR and radio remote control and key control for car, TV and house
• Credit card built in
• Solar panel on the back in case I can’t get near a power point
• Emergency beacon
• Tape measure
• Minesweeper and solitaire (isn’t that obligatory?)
• Total lockdown of sensitive information

And that’s all I can think of right now. Anything less is just not going to blow my socks off.

When my iMate finally dies I’m probably going to go back to my trusty Nokia 8210 which pretty much does everything I currently need a phone to do.

Just picked mine up today. Gotta love Nintendo’s innovation eh? You Xboxers and PS3ers can have your gun-thumbs; I’m going to start training for the Auckland Half Marathon in my lounge!

(and, no, that’s not me with the bowl haircut although I once sported a monstrosity similar to that but that was the 70s and it was, like, far out and almost choice)

In any given group of people, how many people do you think there need to be in order for there to be a 50% chance of at least two people sharing the same birthday?

365 / 2 = ~183 people?

Nope. Think again. This is not a trick question, just plain old mathematical probability.

The answer, which I found very counter-intuitive at first, is 23. It’s called the Birthday Paradox. The mistake I was making (and that most people would probably make) is that I was picking a single birthday and thinking of the probability of any given birthday matching it rather than moving on and testing for every other birthday possibility in the group.

I still struggle with it however, when I think back to school days where there should have been a 100% chance of two kids sharing a birthday in any two classes. I can’t remember anyone sharing a birthday at all.

(Or have I done the math wrong here by assuming that two classes of 23 students will give a 100% chance? Perhaps this equates to 75% instead or remains at 50%? Gaaah! I knew I should have listened in school!).

Jack, if you are reading this perhaps you could test this to see if it really works in a class situation?

(From chick.com)

A couple of weeks ago I purchased Carl Sagan’s 1979 TV series, Cosmos on DVD. Actually, it aired in 1980 but was filmed in 1979 and 1979 sounds way cooler than 1980.

It totally rocks!

Sure, he’s wearing beige and, sure, there has been progress in astronomy since the series was produced but I found myself learning plenty of new stuff with every episode. (Did you know that Eratosthenes calculated the earth’s circumference to within a margin of 5-10% back in 240BCE?).

What I love about the scientific method is that when done properly you present the facts as best you know them but remain open to future discoveries and you also disclose known weaknesses. In this series at the end of many of the episodes Sagan appears (looking greyer) with a “10 years later update” and very little of the original content needed revision. The only bit that stands out is that in one of the episodes he presents some of the experiments showing the creation of organic molecules in the laboratory and 10 years later added that they now believe it’s likely that the organic molecules may have formed in the icy bodies of comets.

Also, this was produced at a very uncertain time when the threat of all-out nuclear war seemed quite possible and many of his comments about the future of the human race are bracketed with “if we don’t destroy ourselves first”.

This series is a brilliant way to get an excellent perspective on our place in history and in the universe. It’s factual, balanced and remarkably well-produced. They even managed to avoid the temptation to use the snazzy synthesised music of the era (or is that ‘error’?) and instead opted for tasteful classical music.

Sagan had a very broad understanding of our universe and had a knack for presenting it in an extremely digestible way. With that understanding came an enthusiasm that remains contagious even after his death.

If you come across this series in your video store or for sale in a shop I’d encourage you to do yourself a favour and pick it up. And if you know me (this includes Dale, Ken, Frank and Jack), give me a yell if you want to borrow it and I’ll get it to you.