My Highest Scoring Scrabble Game Ever

I regularly play Scrabble with a friend, and I'll say that while I have an edge on her, we're similarly skilled. Anyway, I finished a game against her today with a score that far surpasses any that I've ever had... a whopping 692 points (691 + 1 for her unplayed tile).

It was a triple bingo game for me, which is rare, but not ridiculous. What made it ridiculous is that two of the three bingoes were of the elusive triple-triple variety (SLUICING and REINVITE for 149 and 185, respectively).

Here's the final board along with the moves.

Rock-Paper-Scissors

I like to think that I'm good at rock-paper-scissors. I bet on this game frequently with friends, and I'm well ahead lifetime. Mostly, my strategy involves talking to my opponent and more or less getting in their heads. Saying things like, "You know I'm going to throw rock. So, you probably want to throw paper." evokes some sort of response. And, over time, when playing against the same opponents, you sort of build a history of their actions and base your play on what you recall.

In the end, maybe I'm just one lucky SOB.

The NY Times put out a RPS game with a trained computer that over time exploits your weaknesses and tendencies. I played 35 rounds against it, and the nerd in me is celebrating my victory.

Human: 14
CPU: 10

1-4-24 Simulation

So, I've written some simple simulation code for the 1-4-24 game. If you're not familiar with it, see this old post: 1-4-24 Dice Game.

Edit: I found a bug in my code, so I've updated the simulation results.
Edit #2: I found another bug in my code, and so I've updated the results again. And, added ran a couple other strategies just to see results.

I ran an initial simulation with a simple default strategy as follows:

1) Always keep 1 and 4 if you don't already have them.
2) Always keep 6 if you already have both a 1 and a 4.
3) If you didn't keep anything in the current roll (1/4/6 as per Rules #1 and #2) , then keep a single die (the highest valued one).

Score	Frequency	PDF	CDF
Not Qualified	4324214	(4.32%)	(100.00%)
4	0	(0.00%)	(95.68%)
5	11	(0.00%)	(95.68%)
6	143	(0.00%)	(95.68%)
7	1094	(0.00%)	(95.68%)
8	5670	(0.01%)	(95.67%)
9	21906	(0.02%)	(95.67%)
10	75295	(0.08%)	(95.65%)
11	222711	(0.22%)	(95.57%)
12	562945	(0.56%)	(95.35%)
13	1239852	(1.24%)	(94.79%)
14	2489387	(2.49%)	(93.55%)
15	4420645	(4.42%)	(91.06%)
16	6855657	(6.86%)	(86.64%)
17	9436721	(9.44%)	(79.78%)
18	11863564	(11.86%)	(70.34%)
19	14150677	(14.15%)	(58.48%)
20	13048294	(13.05%)	(44.33%)
21	11259056	(11.26%)	(31.28%)
22	8955723	(8.96%)	(20.02%)
23	6549697	(6.55%)	(11.07%)
24	4516738	(4.52%)	(4.52%)

Here are results for a different strategy. Based on these results, it seems superior in most cases -- one case where it would not be superior is if you need only to score 15 to win (the following strategy hits 15+ 85% of the time while the previously described default strategy gets you there 91% of the time).

Evaluate the dice in the following sorted order: (1+4), 6, 5, 3, 2

1) Always keep 1 and 4 if you don't already have them.
2) Always keep 6 if you already have both a 1 and a 4.
3) If you have 2 or fewer dice left to consider, then keep a 5.
4) If you have only one die left to consider, then keep a 4. (Basically, expected value of a single roll is 3.5. You are 50% to do worse than a 4, and only 33% to do better. So, keeping the 4 is best.)
5) If you didn't keep anything in the current roll (as per above rules) , then keep a single die (the highest valued one).

Score	Frequency	PDF	CDF
Not Qualified	12031334	(12.03%)	(100.00%)
4	0	(0.00%)	(87.97%)
5	14	(0.00%)	(87.97%)
6	106	(0.00%)	(87.97%)
7	746	(0.00%)	(87.97%)
8	3596	(0.00%)	(87.97%)
9	14262	(0.01%)	(87.96%)
10	49197	(0.05%)	(87.95%)
11	147225	(0.15%)	(87.90%)
12	372987	(0.37%)	(87.75%)
13	821681	(0.82%)	(87.38%)
14	1633170	(1.63%)	(86.56%)
15	2888930	(2.89%)	(84.93%)
16	4484273	(4.48%)	(82.04%)
17	6258644	(6.26%)	(77.55%)
18	9710872	(9.71%)	(71.29%)
19	11806824	(11.81%)	(61.58%)
20	11650430	(11.65%)	(49.78%)
21	11174701	(11.17%)	(38.13%)
22	12093475	(12.09%)	(26.95%)
23	10505528	(10.51%)	(14.86%)
24	4352005	(4.35%)	(4.35%)

Here's the 'go for broke' strategy, where you are going for 24 only. This means that you are going to keep all 6's (up to 4) and keep 1 and 4 as they present themselves. This strategy is forced if someone before you had gotten 24, and so you need specifically 24 to tie.

Score	Frequency	PDF	CDF
Not Qualified	14806947	(14.81%)	(100.00%)
4	1	(0.00%)	(85.19%)
5	9	(0.00%)	(85.19%)
6	117	(0.00%)	(85.19%)
7	728	(0.00%)	(85.19%)
8	3590	(0.00%)	(85.19%)
9	14230	(0.01%)	(85.19%)
10	49667	(0.05%)	(85.17%)
11	146853	(0.15%)	(85.12%)
12	374034	(0.37%)	(84.98%)
13	821225	(0.82%)	(84.60%)
14	1625200	(1.63%)	(83.78%)
15	2859193	(2.86%)	(82.16%)
16	4400751	(4.40%)	(79.30%)
17	6108761	(6.11%)	(74.90%)
18	9339354	(9.34%)	(68.79%)
19	11297706	(11.30%)	(59.45%)
20	11116484	(11.12%)	(48.15%)
21	10652890	(10.65%)	(37.04%)
22	11547947	(11.55%)	(26.38%)
23	10035266	(10.04%)	(14.83%)
24	4799047	(4.80%)	(4.80%)

Pub Quiz - 04/19/10

Here are pub quiz questions from last Monday. With 14 correct out of 20, we tied with one other team for 4th out of 24. There was a sole winning team that got 16 correct, and there were two teams with 15/20.

Questions...

1) What group originally released 'Wild Thing' in 1966?
2) Disgraced US football star, OJ Simpson, starred in what movie spoof series in the 80's and 90's?
3) In which part of body would you find the jugular vein?
4) In which part of body would you find the ulna bone?
5) Which superhero resides beneath the sea and can command all marine life with telepathic abilities?
6) How many women did Ross marry in the TV series, Friends?
7) True or False. Armadillos can be housebroken.
8) What is the name of the car part that recharges your battery after it starts your car?
9) What country would you be in after landing at the Freeport International Airport?
10) What is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been ruled by a European nation?
11) What is the name of the bartender in Love Boat?
12) What American city is the soap opera, Days of Our Lives, set in?
13) Which tourist attraction can be seen from outer space and is the largest single structure made by living organisms?
14) Who directed the 2005 movie version of the classic story, King Kong?
15) Which band released the album, August and Everything After, in 1993?
16) Who wrote the classic tale, The Hare and the Tortoise?
17) What Elvis Presley song was the first record to reach No. 1 on Billboard's Country and Western, Rhythm and Blues, and Pop charts in one week?
18) How many players take part in a game of pachisi, the national game of India?
19) What country does the rice and shellfish dish, Paella, originate from?
20) The Matterhorn straddles the border of Switzerland and which other country?

Answers and brief comments, as usual, please use ROT13 to decode...

1) Jr tbg guvf jebat. Gur nafjre vf gur Gebttf.
2) Jr nyy xarj guvf bar... gur Anxrq Tha frevrf.
3) Rnfl bar -- guebng.
4) Nabgure rnfl bar -- sbernez.
5) Guvf bar, bayl Oneore xarj... Ndhnzna.
6) Oneore naq V qrongrq guvf n ovg naq jr bevtvanyyl fnvq guerr, juvpu jr gura punatrq gb gjb nsgre pbaivapvat bhefryirf gung ur arire ernyyl zneevrq bar bs gurz ba gur fubj. Hasbeghangryl, gur nafjre jnf guerr.
7) Jr svtherq guvf unq gb or gehr, bgurejvfr vg jbhyqa'g or erznexnoyr rabhtu gb or gevivn-jbegul. Naq, vg'f gehr.
8) Nabgure gung jr nyy xarj... nygreangbe.
9) Jr nyy qrongrq n ovg, naq jr jrer guvaxvat vg jnf rvgure va gur Pnevoorna be va Nsevpn. Jr jrag jvgu Yvorevn, naq gur nafjre jnf gur Onunznf. V qba'g guvax jr'q unir fnvq gung pbhagel rira vs jr pubfr gur cebcre ertvba.
10) WP naq V xarj guvf bar... gur nafjre vf Gunvynaq.
11) Oneore pnzr guebhtu jvgu Vfnnp. WP naq V unq ab pyhr.
12) Abar bs hf unq n pyhr. Gur nafjre vf n znqr-hc pvgl pnyyrq Fnyrz.
13) Jr vavgvnyyl jrer guvaxvat Terng Jnyy bs Puvan, ohg gura V zragvbarq gung V gubhtug gung Terng Oneevre Errs znqr zber frafr. Jr nyy gnyxrq nobhg vg, naq jr nyy unq n inthryl erzrzorerq gung gur Terng Jnyy bs Puvan vfa'g npghnyyl ivfvoyr sebz fcnpr. Fb, jr jrag jvgu gur errs, naq vg jnf, va snpg, pbeerpg.
14) Sbe gur yvsr bs zr, V pbhyqa'g erzrzore guvf qrfcvgr bjavat gur K360 Xvat Xbat tnzr. Ohg, sbeghangryl, Oneore pnzr hc jvgu gur pbeerpg nafjre... Crgre Wnpxfba.
15) Oneore naq WP xarj gur nafjre... Pbhagvat Pebjf.
16) Nabgure tvzzr... Nrfbc.
17) Jr jrag jvgu Ryivf' Ubhaq Qbt, ohg gur pbeerpg nafjre jnf Urnegoernx Ubgry.
18) Jr gbbx na rqhpngrq thrff gung cnpuvfv jnf gur fnzr nf cnepurrfv. Vg gheaf bhg gung cnepurrfv vf na Nzrevpna irefvba bs cnpuvfv. Nf n erfhyg, jr tbg guvf evtug jvgu gur nafjre: sbhe.
19) V'z na vqvbg naq gubhtug Creh. Sbe fbzr ernfba, vg frrzf gung V'ir nyjnlf rngra Cnryyn ng Crehivna erfgnhenagf. WP lryyrq ng zr sbe orvat qhzo, naq pbeerpgrq gur nafjre gb Fcnva. Bs pbhefr, fur jnf evtug naq V jnf jebat.
20) Jr nyy qrpvqrq ba Nhfgevn, ohg gur pbeerpg nafjre jnf Vgnyl.

Pub Quiz - 04/12/10

These are late, but better late than never. This time, we had help from a third team member (Barber, for those who know him). He complements us really well, as we were able to get 15 correct this time (would have been 11 without him), which was good for a 3-way tie out of 28 teams. And, we were also one word away from 16, but this is pub quiz and neither horseshoes nor hand grenades.

As for the 3-way tie... we were not eligible for the tiebreak round. The first tiebreak is based on number of team members, and the other two teams consisted of only two. The tiebreaker question for the two of them was about the number of words in the English language, excluding scientific words. The answer was surprisingly large... something in the neighborhood of 600K.

Here are the questions from last Monday.

1) Who sang the hit song, Bette Davis Eyes, in 1981?
2) A commonly studied and diagnosed psychiatric disorder in children, what does ADHD stand for?
3) What is the name of Hilary Duff's singing sister?
4) Which artist released Brave in 2007 and Love in 2010?
5) What territory is in North-Western Canada and East of Alaska?
6) What creature can detect one part blood in 100 million parts water?
7) What is Jennifer Grey's unfortunate nickname in the 1987 movie, Dirty Dancing?
8) On what side of the road do they drive in Japan?
9) Name the 2004 movie, starring Julia Stiles, about an American girl who falls in love with the Prince of Denmark?
10) What 1988 movie is the following quote from: "I have a brain for business and a body for sin."
11) In what town is the British BBC comedy series, The Office, set?
12) What color shirts did the Secret Service Nazi troops wear in the 1940's?
13) Who wrote the opera, The Marriage of Figaro?
14) What word describes the study and tracing of family pedigrees?
15) Which director was famous for most of the 'Brat Pack' movies?
16) What disease is defined as a permanent intolerance to gluten that results in the damage of the mucosa of the small intestine?
17) What Hawaiian acknowledgement can be used to say both Hello and Good-bye?
18) What side did the group, Musical Youth, ask people to 'Pass the dutchie from' in 1983?
19) What is the surname of the royal family in the principality of Monaco?
20) In what year was Arnold Schwarzenegger voted Governor of California?

Answers and some comments in ROT13 (copy and paste to this link for translation):

1. WP unq ab vqrn, naq V ernyyl fubhyq unir orra noyr gb pbzr hc jvgu vg evtug njnl fvapr V npghnyyl yvxr gur fbat naq vg'f ba bar bs zl ZC3 cynlyvfgf. Ohg, vg jnf nyy bxnl... Oneore erpnyyrq gur pbeerpg nafjre nsgre n srj zvahgrf. Vg jnf Xvz Pnearf.

2. Rnfl bar... Nggragvba-Qrsvpvg Ulcrenpgvivgl Qvfbeqre.

3. Ntnva, V'z ab uryc. Obgu Oneore naq WP xarj gur nafjre gb or Unlyvr Qhss.

4. N gevcyr fghzcre sbe hf... gur nafjre vf Wraavsre Ybcrm.

5. Fhecevfvatyl, V jnf gur bayl bar gung tbg guvf bar. Vg'f gur Lhxba.

6. Gur guerr bs hf jrag jvgu Terng Juvgr Funex, juvpu jnf npprcgnoyr. Gurl jrer ybbxvat sbe gur trarevp nafjre bs funex, fb nyy inevnagf jrer qrrzrq tbbq.

7. Bayl Oneore xarj guvf bar. Onol vf gur nafjre.

8. WP tbg guvf bar evtug njnl, ohg V guvax jr nyy xarj. Vg'f gur yrsg unaq fvqr.

9. Abj, guvf bar jr nyzbfg unq pbeerpg gunaxf gb Oneore. Gur nafjre vf Cevapr naq Zr. Bhe nafjre jnf Cevapr naq V. WP naq V unq ab pyhr, fb jr jrag jvgu Oneore'f nafjre. V fhccbfr, jr fubhyq unir tbar jvgu gur tenzzngvpnyyl pbeerpg Cevapr naq Zr. [Ba n fvqr abgr, n crg crrir bs zvar vf jura crbcyr hfr V vapbeerpgyl... vg vf ABG "Tvir gur zbarl gb Wbua naq V." Vg vf "Tvir gur zbarl gb Wbua naq zr." -- V fubhyqa'g or hfrq nf na bowrpg... gurer ner n srj rkprcgvbaf bs pbhefr.]

10. Bapr ntnva, WP naq V jrer pyhryrff, naq Oneore pnzr guebhtu jvgu Jbexvat Tvey.

11. Abar bs hf unq nal vqrn. V guvax jr chg qbja Oevtugba. Gur pbeerpg nafjre vf Fybhtu.

12. Jr nyy svtherq guvf bar jnf tenl. Gbb onq sbe hf. Gur pbeerpg nafjre vf oynpx.

13. WP chg qbja gur pbeerpg nafjre bs Zbmneg vzzrqvngryl.

14. Nabgure cerggl rnfl bar... trarnybtl.

15. Bayl Oneore xarj gur nafjre, juvpu jnf Wbua Uhturf.

16. WP naq V obgu xarj Pbryvnp Qvfrnfr gb or gur nafjre.

17. Gur nafjre sbe guvf bar vf Nybun, juvpu WP nafjrerq orsber Oneore naq V rira tbg n punapr gb ernq gur dhrfgvba.

18. Oneore naq WP xarj guvf bar jnf "gur yrsg unaq fvqr."

19. Abar bs hf unq n pyhr. Gur pbeerpg nafjre vf Tevznyqv.

20. Nsgre fbzr guvaxvat nobhg vg, Oneore naq V unq n fgebat vapyvangvba. Jr chg qbja 2003, juvpu jnf pbeerpg.

As you can see, I'm really kind of a useless team member. My knowledge overlaps too much with JC and Barber. A winning strategy would be to oust me and find someone else. Ha ha.

World's Hardest Game

This is an older Flash game, but it's still damn hard. After 375 deaths, I am only on Level 15 out of 30. I'm now beat and will continue at a later time.

The World's Hardest Game

Give it a try, rub it in when you beat it.

Pub Quiz - 04/05/10

We didn't make it to Pub Quiz last week since we were too tired after driving to SoCal for a wedding and then driving back late on Sunday night. But, it's a new week, and we made our way over to Trials. Not unexpectedly, we sucked, but at least we were in the top third. We tied with a few others for 8th out of 25 teams. We managed to get 11 out of 20, but I have to say that two of the answers to the Monty Python questions were bullshit in that they wanted very specific answers. The winning team got a whopping 17!!! That's just sick. Seriously sick.

Well, here's what you're all waiting for... the questions:

1. In the classic ditty, what costs "one a penny, two a penny?"
2. In Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life," what is Mr. Creosole's final morsel at dinner?
3. From 1943 onwards, NFL players were required to wear what in all their games?
4. In the 90s TV drama, which "Beverly Hills 90210" lead actress left the show early after a row with the producers?
5. What artist painted "Marilyn" in 1962?
6. What was the only thing that remained in Pandora's box after it was opened?
7. What Latin term meaning "Nourishing Mother" is often used by American universities?
8. What is the name of Dr. Evil's cat in Austin Powers movies?
9. How many Olympic gold medals did Michael Phelps win making him the most successful Olympian ever?
10. In the military, what is the first bugle call at sunrise known as?
11. What 1980 Richard Gere movie used Blondie's "Call Me" as its theme song?
12. Which country has the most radio stations?
13. What is Bono's real name?
14. What is the world's number one shoe care company?
15. What word for clergymen comes from a Latin word meaning "worthy of respect?"
16. John F. Kennedy was one of how many children?
17. What is the first Van Halen album after David Lee Roth left?
18. What is the capital of Poland?
19. In Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life," being a protestant is all about wearing what?
20. Whose heart does Robin Hood pursue in the classic tale?

And, now the answers along with some brief commentary. Everything is encoded in Rot13, so please copy and paste what's below into: www.rot13.com.

1. Gur nafjre gurl jnagrq jnf fcrpvsvpnyyl ubg pebff ohaf. Nalguvat ryfr jnf abg npprcgrq. Sbeghangryl, WP xarj vg. Ab jnl V erzrzore guvf bar.

2. Gur nafjre jr chg, ntnva sebz WP'f gevivn gebir, jnf qvaare zvag. Ubjrire, gur bayl npprcgnoyr nafjre jnf n jnsre guva zvag. Ynzr. Bguref nyfb rkcerffrq gurve qvfznl jura vg jnf znqr irel pyrne gung qvaare zvag jnf gb or znexrq vapbeerpg.

3. Guvf bar V tbg... uryzrgf.

4. Guvf bar V nyfb xarj, gur nafjre vf Funaaba Qburegl.

5. Jr obgu xarj guvf bar. Gur nafjre vf Naql Jneuby.

6. Guvf bar V tbg, ohg V guvax WP nyfb xarj gur nafjre, juvpu jnf Ubcr.

7. Guvf bar WP xarj evtug njnl. V jbhyq yvxr gb guvax gung tvira zber gvzr V, gbb, pbhyq pbzr hc jvgu Nyzn Zngre.

8. Guvf dhrfgvba vf gur frpbaq Nhfgva Cbjref' dhrfgvba va 3 dhvmmrf. Zrguvaxf jr fubhyq er-jngpu gur zbivrf. Gur nafjre, juvpu arvgure bs hf xarj, jnf Zvfgre Ovttyrfjbegu.

9. Nccneragyl, gung Curycf thl jba sbhegrra tbyq zrqnyf... fvk va Nguraf naq rvtug va Orvwvat.

10. Guvf bar jr obgu xarj. Erirvyyr vf gur pbeerpg nafjre.

11. Jr jrer obgu fghzcrq, naq nyy jr pnzr hc jvgu jnf Cerggl Jbzna, juvpu jr obgu xarj pnzr bhg zhpu yngre guna 1980. Gur pbeerpg nafjre vf Nzrevpna Tvtbyb.

12. Gur nafjre nf lbh zvtug unir thrffrq vf gur Havgrq Fgngrf, juvpu jr obgu thrffrq pbeerpgyl.

13. Jr unq nofbyhgryl ab vqrn gung Obab'f erny anzr vf Cnhy Urjfba.

14. Jr xarj jung gur evtug nafjre jnf... gur fubr cbyvfu pbzcnal. Hasbeghangryl, arvgure bs hf pbhyq pbzr hc jvgu Xvjv.

15. Nsgre fgehttyvat jvgu guvf fbzr, WP pnzr hc jvgu erireraq, juvpu jnf pbeerpg. Tvira zber gvzr, V guvax V trg vg nf jryy.

16. Jr gbbx n thrff, naq jr jrer bss ol n gba. Ur jnf bar bs avar puvyqera.

17. Jr unq ab vqrn. Gur nafjre vf svsgl-bar-svsgl (jevggra nf qvtvgf). V qba'g guvax ebg13 qbrf ahzoref jryy.

18. Guvf jnf na rnfl bar. Nafjre vf Jnefnj va pnfr lbh qvqa'g xabj.

19. Guvf jnf gur bgure ohyyfuvg bar. WP pnzr hc jvgu pbaqbz, juvpu ernyyl fubhyq or pbeerpg, ohg gurl jnagrq irel fcrpvsvpnyyl "Serapu Gvpxyref." V zrna, pbzr ba.

20. Guvf bar jr obgu xarj. Gur nafjre vf Znvq Znevna.

Pub Quiz - 03/22/10

On a completely different topic than the title of this post, I picked up some Google (GOOG) today at 558.40. This is purely a trade, and it is based on my belief that much of the China issue has already been priced into the shares and as uncertainty wanes, shares should at the very least stabilize and probably move higher. If I'm wrong on this, it will probably be known soon, and I'll take losses. Otherwise, I hope to make some money.

Onto tonight's pub quiz. We sucked this time, probably in the bottom 20-30% with 10 out of 20 correct. I think we counted 11 correct, but the official score came in at 10... no idea why. No reason to contest it, since we were nowhere near the top score (which was a 5- or 6-way tie with 15/20).

1) What Italian word meaning 'baked earth' is now a common building material? [JC had a reasonable answer with which we accepted, but it was way wrong. Given more time to really think about it, I think we had a real chance on this one.]

2) What was the currency of Germany before the introduction of the Euro? [Clearly, we both knew this one, but we feel that this one they docked us for not being more specific -- whatever... we were not in contention at all.]

3) How many hotels are there on the Carribbean island of Mustique? [We guessed incorrectly.]

4) In 1992, which 42 year-old actress did Lancome drop as their exclusive spokesmodel after 14 years? [JC thought she knew, I had no clue, and we made a wild guess... and afterward, we realized there was about zero chance we would have gotten this one.]

5) What number is an improper fraction always greater or equal to? [Technically, given how the question was phrased it's unanswerable, but if you approach it as intended, it's obvious what they're looking for... anyway, we got this one.]

6) According to Harvard University researchers, which animal is the second most intelligent after human beings? [I really felt my answer was right, but it wasn't. Oh well.]

7) Who was the 40th U.S. president? [I had an incorrect answer down, but I changed it to a correct one, and then almost changed it back... good thing I am not of the 'first instinct is usually right' school of thought.]

8) Who pulled the thorn from the Lion's paw in the classic story retold by Aesop and Bernard Shaw? [So, this one was kinda b.s. in that they wanted a specific name... but, in fairness, not like either of us really knew.]

9) What is the first name of the founder of the Ford Motor Company? [We both knew.]

10) When the San Diego Chargers first played in the AFL in 1960, what city were they from? [We blanked on this one... given more time we probably get it.]

11) In which U.S. city did the 1929 St. Valentine's Massacre occur? [We took an educated guess, and it was correct.]

12) What English actor became the seventh screen James Bond on November 14, 2006? [JC got it... I really could not remember his name.]

13) In what U.S. city can you visit blues clubs along the famous Beale Street? [I suck, because I put my answer down instead of JC's correct answer. I should just trust her answer over mine whenever I'm not 100% sure.]

14) What ancient people worshipped the goddess, Isis? [We both knew.]

15) Starring in the 2000s reality TV show, "The Simple Life," with Paris Hilton, who is Nicole's famous father? [JC knew this one.]

16) Who sculpted The Thinker in 1904? [We both knew.]

17) True or False: Statistically, you are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than a poisonous spider? [We guessed poorly.]

18) What is the name of Batman's Gotham City Police Commissioner? [JC came through once again... man, I suck.]

19) What was the name of the family ranch in TV's 'Dallas'? [We had no idea.]

20) What do you call the final point contested in a tennis match? [I got this one.]

So, anyway I called up my sister and her boyfriend to see how they'd do... and hot damn, they got 16 out of 20. Why the hell are they not from around here? We'd be cleaning up if it were the two of them and JC. Haha, I could be their official cheerleader.

Enjoy.

Un-Boll Weevil-ble Trivia

Tonight, JC and I went over to Trials Pub in San Jose to give their Trivia Night a try. We had fun, and we did alright, especially given that we were only a two-person team; they allow up to three per team.

Every team was given 20 minutes to answer 20 questions. The winning team got 15 out of 20 correct, and our team, Team Un-Boll Weevil-ble, had a fine showing (probably top 20-25%) with 11 out of 20.

Here were the questions from tonight:

1) By what name is the pay-for-hire spy, Simon Templar, better known as? [we had no clue on this one]

2) In what country was St. Patrick's born? [we did not get this one either, though our guess wasn't too bad]

3) Where are British coins minted? [I had a correct educated guess]

4) Which famous actor married 18 year old Oona O'Neill and had eight children together up until his death in 1977? [we didn't know this one]

5) Who painted "The Three Dancers" in 1925? [I wrote down what I thought was correct, but JC came in with strong reasoning as to why I was wrong, and we had a correct educated guess -- I'd say 90% credit goes to JC]

6) What is the name of Tarzan's chimp companion? [I knew this one, surprisingly JC did not]

7) Which Edvard Munch painting was stolen in 1994 and stolen again in 2004? [we both knew this one]

8) What book starts with 'Call me Ishmael'? [we both knew this one]

9) What Shakespeare play has the line 'Frailty Thy Name Is Woman'? [JC came through on this one]

10) Which M*A*S*H character comes from Crabapple Cove, Maine? [we had no idea]

11) What was the name of the 3rd Austin Powers Movie? [we really should have gotten this one, but man we couldn't come up with it. Ugh.]

12) What popular breakfast food was brought to America by the Irish? [JC nailed it]

13) Yugoslav Wars from 1991 to 1995 began when Serbia invaded which two states? [we got one of the two, and argh, we really should have gotten the other one]

14) What is the profession of Mike Stone, the man who Priscilla Presley left Elvis for? [we had no idea]

15) The wars Britain fought in Southern Africa against the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic were called what? [we did not know, but I think I really should have gotten this one]

16) Who was the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip? [we both knew]

17) What drink consists of Tequila, Cointreau, and a strong squeeze of lemon/lime? [after a little debate, we got it correct -- I'd say 75% credit goes to JC]

18) What whiskey is made from potatoes? [we got this wrong]

19) What word starting with 'K' means destroyed in German? [JC to the rescue]

20) What Australian animal has fingerprints that are are virtually indistinguishable from those of humans? [I got this one right]

Enjoy.

I think we'll do this again, but next time, I'm going to make sure we have a third team member. I'm sure we could have gotten a few more questions correct with a third person to help fill in the gaps.

Light Cycles

I've been spending a bit of my free time recently on an internal programming competition being held at work (there's a top prize of $250, but it's really more of a pride thing). The goal of the competition is to create the artificial intelligence for a computer to play a game that resembles the Light Cycles in Tron. We were allowed to compete as a team, but as it turned out, my partner and I are the only team. The other five entries are competing as individuals.

The game is pretty simple. You have a square grid (N x N). Your computer player and the opponent's computer player will start in random squares, but it will be symmetric to ensure fairness. Every turn, both players move to an adjacent square. Squares previously occupied become walls. Your goal is to survive longer than your opponent.

The game itself is turn-based, but simultaneous moves are made on each turn. That is, each player is given a board state submits its move (Up, Down, Left, Right). Both submitted moves are then issued simultaneously resulting in a new game state.

If two players decide to move to the same square, it is a draw. Similarly, if two players crash on the same turn, it is a draw. If one player crashes (presumably having no possible safe moves) and the other does not, then the crashing player loses and the survivor wins.

Anyway, we've made a lot of great progress, and the computer player is highly competent (on larger boards, we lose to it almost always and once in a while we are able to draw). It's been a fun experience so far, and we've definitely learned a lot from it. The official competition is going to be held next Friday at work, and we're hoping to see some good stuff coming from the other competing entries.

The winning entry will be determined by a round-robin tournament. I think each pair of teams will battle on several boards, and the set of boards will be identical so everything is fair. Scoring is going to be the sum of results, where you get 1 for a win, 0 for a loss, and 0.5 for a draw.

If anyone wants to give our program a whirl, let me know. We really do want some help spotting obvious exploitable patterns by our computer player. I can only provide an executable to be run in a Windows environment, so if you're on a different OS, sorry.

Duke Nukem For Never

If any of you were gaming in the good ol' days of 3-D shooters, you'll definitely have remembered and played Duke Nukem 3-D. It was just a really fun game with cool weapons, fun maps, and just all around good multi-player gameplay. And, I'm sure those of you who played the game (and loved it) were at one point eagerly awaiting their sequel, Duke Nukem Forever.

We all know that it never did make it out to market and it was just an epic failure. But, what really happened? Just recently, Wired came out with an article that seeks to answer this very question.

Enjoy: Wired's Story -- Learn to Let Go: How Success Killed Duke Nukem

Acquire

There's this game called Acquire that I had heard a lot about before, so last Christmas I bought it for my sister. It was not until this past weekend that we got a chance to play it. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the game, and I think there is a ton of strategy to it.

I was surprised to learn that the game had been around since the 1960's having been originally developed by 3M. Although I have played this game exactly one time, I think that it's a lot more fun and more thought provoking than Monopoly, and an entire game can be played out in a lot less time.

I don't have the time to go over all the rules, but I will say that the game is all about making money by growing hotel chains via M&A. So, it all comes down to making strategic business decisions. Lots of fun. If you haven't played it before, and you like strategy-based board games, then I highly recommend this one.

Smell, I Mean, Spell My Finger

I am digging this fast-paced action word game called Spell My Finger on AdultSwim.com. My current best is 23,660, which was good enough to make the top 100 scores.

If you like word games, you might enjoy this one. So, check it out.

Halloween in Vegas, Badugi, and Sports Betting Update

The bad news is that I've been incredibly busy at work recently. The good news is that I get to party it up a bit this coming Halloween weekend as JC and I are meeting up with a few friends in Vegas. We'll be dressed up, but there aren't any hard plans regarding where we'll be going. On Sunday, we're going to see Zumanity, the adult-themed Cirque du Soleil show. It's been a long time since I've seen a show in Vegas, and JC has never been to one... so hope it's a good one.

Now, it's time to talk briefly about this poker game called Badugi. PokerStars has it available online for as low as 25 cent/50 cent stakes. I've mostly been playing 0.25/0.50 through $1/2. Anyway, it's a lowball triple draw game where you try to make a badugi, which is a 4 card hand with 4 different suits and 4 different ranks. A 4-Card Badugi will beat any 3-card hand will beat any 2-card hand, etc.

For example, a Jh 5d 3c Ah is a 3-card hand: Ah 3c and 5d play. The Jh won't play since it copies the heart. This would beat someone who held 7d 6c 2s Ac, as they would play Ac 2s 7d for a 7-high 3-card hand. Any badugi, say Kh Qc 8d 7s, would beat both of these 3-card hands.

Well, to make a long story short, I've been semi-hooked on this seemingly simple game. The players at the lowest limits are horrible... at least that's what it seems so far. I don't think I'm simply getting lucky though it's certainly possible given that I haven't put in a ton of hands yet. I am up roughly 120 bets so far... we'll see if this trend continues.

And, a quick update on the sports betting. Basically, I'm very close to break-even after 81 bets. I'm up a whopping $25.20 with an average wager of $17. So, it's not good, but I guess it's not horrible either. Hehe.

Robozzle

Here's a new logic/puzzle game that I just started playing. The rules are pretty simple... you write a program that controls a robot with the goal of picking up all the stars. One neat thing about this game is that there are optimization, recursion, and other coding techniques that are incorporated into many of the puzzles.

Here's a link to the game: Robozzle.

You'll want to play the tutorials and a few of the easy rated puzzles first. I haven't yet attempted any puzzle rated more than 3/5 in difficulty. Here's one that I still can't figure out and it's killing me. Maybe I'll get lucky and someone can figure this one out and give me some help.

I'm clearly missing some fundamental concept/technique. The furthest I can get the robot is past the red square and make the first left turn after it. I just can't figure out how I can get the robot to make the subsequent blue corner turns afterward.

Help Me -- Puzzle 1043: Fermat's Spiral 3

Enjoy the game!

Blokus

So, if anyone remembers, I played this board game over the holidays called Blokus. I was searching for a cheap place to buy it online today, and I ended up on the official site for the game. Well, what's great is that they have an online version of it that you can play live against others, or play against computers. Plus, you don't have to register and can play as a guest.

Give it a try... it's a great game that has an incredibly simple set of rules, but it's probably one of those 'lifetimes to master' types.

Blokus - Play Online

If anyone wants to play some time, shoot me an IM or something. I suck pretty bad, but hopefully I can get better with more play.

Perfect Balance

I have just spent more time than I have on this flash game called Perfect Balance. It's pretty neat. The goal is to place all the pieces on the board without anything falling off. On each level, there are some fixed structures from which you build and balance from.

Note that you can rotate pieces... when I first started playing, I didn't read the instructions and didn't realize it. Hehe.

Anyway, there's 40 levels divided up into two stages... Harmony and Inferno. So far, I'm having some difficulty on Level 18, Inferno. I'll give it another go later on. In the meantime, enjoy the game.

Perfect Balance

Staycation and the Holidays

I'm on Day 3 of my staycation. I really can't remember the last time I took a break from work and stayed in without any plans. Last week I was in SoCal, which was fun, but now it's time to just relax and do nothing.

I guess I did want to mention a couple games I played when I was away last week. One game was called Blokus. It's a neat game where you try to rid yourselves of your tetris-like pieces by placing them on the board in turn. The rules are simple. Each piece (except for your first piece) needs to connect to one of your other pieces by a corner and no actual flat edges can touch. Turns out there's a ton of strategy in the game, and I found it to be a lot of fun despite getting crushed both times I played it.

Another game we played was called Rumis. This one I didn't like as much, but it seemed that others preferred it. It's a weird three dimensional tower building game where you take turns adding to the tower with various building code restrictions. The object is to have the most of your color exposed from a bird's eye view of the structure. I also got crushed in this game.

Anyway, I'm going to just kick back and do nothing. I've still been keeping up with my sports betting experiment. I'll report back soon once I reach 100 total bets made.

Have a Happy New Year's if I don't blog before then.

Eyeballing Game

Tiff posted this Eyeballing game up on her blog, and I thought it was pretty fun, so I'm sharing it here. The game is self-explanatory, you just try to eyeball the correct geometries that are asked of you. Anyway, the first time I played the game, my mouse slipped and I had a single large outlier that caused my average error to be really high (~8.0), but the second time I played it, I did OK.

My score on the second try was a 3.65.

Neat Wario Land Ad

Even though I don't know anything about Wario Land and don't own a Wii, I thought this was a really cool marketing/advertisement idea. You'll know what I mean when you watch it. Check it out.

Wario Land: Shake It YouTube Ad