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Python 2.7.3

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I am now relearning statistics, oh what an exciting life I lead.
Since no learning is complete without procrastination, I though I would learn Python first.

Python is actually related b/c it is an ideal vehicle to screen scrape websites to get data for statistical analysis. And if you are so inclined you can use python for stats itself (SciPy, NumPy) as well as making pretty graphs.

Anyway, the latest version of Python is 2.7.3 and yes I am aware of version 3, but a lot of the popular modules still do not with with version 3.

Mac OS X 10.7.8 Mountain Lion comes with Python 2.7.2, to upgrade to 2.7.3 I used the following to help:

 

http://superuser.com/questions/388854/the-suggested-way-to-handle-pipeasy-install-with-homebrew
http://www.insomnihack.com/?p=442
http://www.insomnihack.com/?p=421 (old version of the link above)
http://www.thisisthegreenroom.com/2011/installing-python-numpy-scipy-matplotlib-and-ipython-on-lion/

 

Once I get confident with Python, I might just reinstall everything, but this time using a virtual environment for Python.

Kim Chi Virgin

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Like porn, it is goo-ee, smelly and a little bit disgusting, I am off course talking about Kim Chi. The ubiquitous Korean side dish consisting of spicy fermented Chinese cabbage.

Well after much procrastination I have finally cooked my first batch of Kim Chi.

Bowl of KimChi

The Avengers 3D

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Been looking forward to this movie since I heard it was in production. I was hoping it would have the humour of the Ironman films and I was not disappointed.
The script was witty, no major cringe moments and a good deal of personal development for the major characters.

In addition there was a sh##t load of CGI action, all in all a great movie.
I have only seen two movies in 3D and the 3D didn’t seem to get in the way of the story, so I was happy with it.

ebooks

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Just finished reading George R.R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords on my Kindle. I actually own the books, but I find the Kindle is better for reading with the exception of:

– Pictures, in this case maps
– Quickly moving from one section of the book to the other, like you would with a reference book. The Kindle sucks at this unlike the iPad. But the Kindles e-ink is so easy on the eye, very different to using an iPad.

Memory Lane

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PC Mag has an article 10 Classic Computer RPGs

It included one game based on D&D which I spent hundreds of lunchtimes at high school playing with four other guys – Wizardy

Wizardy RPG on an Apple Ice

I still remember killing an Orc with 7 hp with a tiltowait spell causing 85hp damage

Tiltowait is “somewhat like the detonation of a small tactical nuclear weapon. The party is protected from its effects. Unfortunately for the monsters, they are not. The spell causes 10-100 hit points of damage to all monsters. ”

Games you played when you were a child are like old Doctor Who episodes, best left to your memories because when you replay them you regret it. It destroys your memories and makes you think what bad taste you had, case in point the TV show Knight Rider

New Camera – Canon S100

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I recently purchased a new camera. I wanted some relatively cheap, but flexible and small.

Small is important because no matter how good the camera is, if it is too big to carry around then it is useless. The S100 fits in a shirt pocket.
It also has RAW capability as well as full manual control so when my skills grow, the camera will grow with me.

At $469 (with a 8GB SD card) it is not exactly cheap, but it is good quality. The lens goes down to f/2

Update: 🙁 Never used the camera much, ended up buying a Micro 4/3 Olympus camera and lenses. The camera died somewhere in Asia on a friends trip.

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My first game of Baduk (Go)

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Played my first game of Go 囲碁(Japan). It is also known as Baduk 바둑 in Korea and wéiqí 围棋 in China. It has a huge following with TV channels devoted to it.

Playing white, my position at the end game was … I suck! ZERO score, computer was 90.5 … still learning the strategy.

At least it is better then losing chess in four moves … that feat is embarrassing.
Being a Mac user I played the game using an excellent free Go program called Goban.
I also purchased an expensive, but hopefully good program for the iPad called SmartGo Kifu

Battlefield 3 Pre Release Download

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Not long now until Battlefield 3 will be out. In fact I have already downloaded it

If you purchase Battlefield 3 through Origin, EA will let you download it from the 21st of October. Unfortunately you can’t play it, not even the single player version.


Its just sitting there tempting me …  B.A.S.T.A.R.D.S !!!!

You click and all you get is

So I have to wait until 10 am Thursday, 27th of October Australian time to play.

To add insult to injury I had to pay AUD $79 which is much more then the cost of the American version and the American dollar is worth less then our dollar.

Off course I am not complaining about having to wait, nor am I complaining about the higher price here.  Australians are used to being ripped off which is why I buy my books and Blu Rays from overseas.

Steve Jobs

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A slightly more famous Steve then I passed away today. Its hard to believe that someone who helped invent the personal computer is gone, and at only 56 way too young.

I can’t even begin to think how much money on I have spent on Apple products, starting with the Apple IIe way back in 1984.

I think it has been

– Apple IIe
– Macintosh Clasic II?
– G4 Laptop
– Intel Core Duo laptop
– Intel Mac Mini (2006)
– Mac Mini (2011)
– the last Macbook Pro 15″ before the Unibodies came in (early 2008)
– MacBook Air 13″ 2011

The IIe cost somewhere between $3,000 and $4,000 dollars AUD in 84!  I could buy a really nice motorbike with that sort of money now.