Bet on the Weather

#include
#include
#include

#define _ ;double
#define void x,x
#define case(break,default) break[O]:default[O]:
#define switch(bool) ;for(;xint##if?
#define true (–void++)
#define false (++void–)

char*O=” <60>!?\\\n”_ doubIe[010]_ int0,int1 _ Iong=0 _ inIine(int eIse){int
O1O=!O _ l=!O;for(;O1O<010;++o1o)l+=(o1o[doubie]*pow(eise,o1o));return i="1,x=">I?atof(I[eIse]):!O switch(*O)x++)abs(inIine(x))>Iong&&(Iong=abs(inIine(x
)));int1=Iong;main(-*O>>1,0);}else{if(booI<*O>>1){int0=int1;int1=int0-2*Iong/0
[O]switch(5[O]))putchar(x-*O?(int0>=inIine(x)&&do(1,x)do(0,true)do(0,false)
case(2,1)do(1,true)do(0,false)6[O]case(-3,6)do(0,false)6[O]-3[O]:do(1,false)
case(5,4)x?booI?0:6[O]:7[O])+*O:8[O]),x++;main(++booI,0);}}}

What does this crazy code do? It graphs a polynomial. For instance, running it with parameters ‘0 0 2’ will graph y=x^2. Quite noteworthy.

Cat-burning

Posted on January 4, 2007 by Jason Shah

In 16th century Paris, a popular form of entertainment was cat-burning, in which a cat was hoisted on a stage and was slowly lowered into a fire. According to the historian Norman Davies, “the spectators, including kings and queens, shrieked with laughter as the animals, howling with pain, were singed, roasted, and finally carbonized.”

(Can’t quite find the source of this one…)

Calculating how many Bibles are sold in the US

Posted on January 4, 2007 by Jason Shah

Calculating how many Bibles are sold in the United States is a virtually impossible task, but a conservative estimate is that in 2005 Americans purchased some twenty-five million Bibles—twice as many as the most recent Harry Potter book. The amount spent annually on Bibles has been put at more than half a billion dollars.

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/061218fa_fact1

Writing documentation, late, late at night

Posted on January 4, 2007 by Jason Shah

I found a picture of my workspace at one of my old jobs recently.
I know, it’s a simple workspace.
What I had forgotten until looking at the picture was the quotes I had pasted to the wall. The top was found in the developer’s documentation. If you can figure out what it means, I am all ears:

The key of the attribute of the SCAttribute property is represented by an XML attribute named Key on the Attribute element.

What is this blog about?

Posted on January 4, 2007 by Jason Shah

For years I have been finding interesting stuff on the web and in print. And for years, I would send the interesting stuff to some of my friends, some of my family, and/or some of my classmates. This blog simplifies that for me, and records that stuff in one place. If you are interested, the best way to follow along is to subscribe to the blog or to check back often. I expect to post here ~2-3 times per week, given the frequency with which I find interesting stuff… but if there is a gap, don’t worry; I do get busy sometimes.

Jason