YesterdayILearnt

*googles* Hmm, how cool. I should try that game. --AC

My google-fu fails. What? --CH

Your google-fu is weak, young grasshopper. Especially given that if you just copypaste my line from after the YIL it's the first result. Hymmnos is a constructed language (created for the ArTonelico? series of RPG/dating sim things) which has the function of...well actually it has the function of sounding pretty when sung, but supposedly it is about accurately conveying the speaker (singer)'s emotions. The above translates roughly as "Concentrating fairly hard, I can understand Hymnos, and I am content with this" (actually what I have literally said is "listen to Hymnos successfully", because I can't find any verb for "learn" or "understand"). --SF

Isn't it just awful! I just use <input type="submit" ... /> which is ok on IE6. --B

That's a truly disturbing beginning to a story.  --Vitenka

Indeed. Didn't sleep that well last night. --Admiral

And the crappy food...:) --Tsunami

Is that the time since the first fusion reaction in the Sun? --B

I don't think so, I think it may be more to do with when the processes of  accretion began in the protoplanetary disk, try this [paper] to see how this is all known. -MawKernewek

Of course, it may have been inteligently designed to make it look that way.... ^_^ --Tsunami

Are you not confusing ID with Young Earth Creationism? I don't think ID has a view on the age of the Earth itself. If it did then it would reveal itself as a front for creationism. --MawKernewek

I believe a court recently proved that link (through document versions), yes.  However, you're right - ID very carefully doesn't state that the earth is young, only that nothing is preventing it from being in their view.  --Vitenka

I hadn't realised that they had stated that, however, lets not beat around the bush here, they probably all think it! --Tsunami

<stereotypical mother voice>That's nice dear. Now what would you like for tea?</smv> --CH

...and the two comments taken together, of course, pretty much reproduce the plot of ISBN 1857230809 .. - MoonShadow

I'll bite.. what game? - MoonShadow

Shadows of the Collosus, I'm guessing.  --Vitenka

Yep.  It's living up to be exactly what I expected to be: A very good but very short game in much the same style as Ico --K

Non-pdf prefered :)  --Vitenka (Scaled in what domain?  Number of squares is the obvious one, but it's a set number.)

Assuming a square grid, they consider an n^2-x-n^2 problem, of which sudoku is the n==3 case. What they actually show is that given some solutions, the problem of finding another solution is NP-complete. As part of the proof, they demonstrate that the problem itself is NP-complete; part of *that* proof relies on [this]. - MoonShadow

If by solution, you mean a full grid filling, it should be impossible to find another one by the rules.  It just seems an odd measure, since there's obviously no solutions when n>3 so you can just say it's O(1) - finite sized problem.  --Vitenka

The general problem is that you have an n^2 by n^2 grid of numbers from 1 to n^2 arranged such that each row, each column and each n-aligned nxn subgrid contains each of the numbers exactly once; the grid is partially prefilled, and there may be zero or more ways of filling the remaining spaces with numbers so that the constraints are satisfied. Sudoku is the n==3 case of this. And while Sudokus generally have exactly one solution, this does not have to be the case. Why do you say there can be no solutions for n>3? It is not obvious to me - quite the opposite, ISTM I can trivially construct  for any n a grid that fits the constraints by taking the numbers from 1 to n^2 as the first row and taking each subsequent row as the previous row rotated by n; I can demonstrate that for any n > 1 it is possible for puzzles with multiple solutions to exist by considering a grid with no prefilled numbers, constructing the solution as above and mirroring it to obtain a second solution. - MoonShadow

Failed to realised that the number of numebrs you had available for filling would also scale.  Duh to me.  And sudoku rules specify there be only a single unique solution.  Did they come up with anything on how it scaled with number of prefilled squares?  I'd expect it to get harder until about 2^-2 of them were filled, then easier.  --Vitenka (not understanding, not able to read that pdf, should wait until he gets home)

(PeterTaylor) I had a discussion with AL recently in which he was talking about a reduction between graph colouring (or, specifically, register colouring) and Sudoku.

(PeterTaylor) Reading the paper you reference, it does say at the end of section 1, "Since ASP-completeness implies NP-completeness these results also add new items to the list of NP-complete puzzles." If one of the papers they've referenced proves the first half of the sentence it would qualify as direct proof.

It is part of their definition of "ASP-complete" - an ASP-complete thing is an NP-complete thing that can be mapped in polynomial time to/from something else that is ASP-complete. Part of their proof that Sudoku is ASP-complete is a proof that it is NP-complete. It took me a little while to grasp this. - MoonShadow

Never tried Perl, but yes, LaTeX? is tricky. It is highly cool though - I wrote my PartIII? essay in it, and was very pleased with the outcome. --CH

In our case, living up a set of uninviting stairs in a distinctly unsavoury-looking passageway buried in a vaguely-ex-Soviet-looking block of flats. What's yours? - MoonShadow

Being airborne, and half-way back across ThePond. I get to miss it in both countries then. --Admiral

PeterTaylor donned his Soviet Army uniform and loaded his SuperSoaker?, but no-one came to call. :disappointed:

We only had one set, came about mid afternoon. Tsunami hid behind the door til they went away (no treats, no super-soaker, almost no tolerance for American traditions that have nothing to do with the UK).

Umm. Not entirely - there's the old Scottish / Northern England tradition of "guising" which is basically the same as Trick or Treating. Then there's the tradition of "souling" where people went door to door at All Hallows Eve demanding soul cakes. This dates back to the 14th Century. There - something else you've learnt ;) -- Jay

I didn't know that, but in the end, that isn't the "tradition" they are following. Trick or treating as we know it, is American. Most kids (I would guess about 99.99999999% of them) won't have heard of guising. As far as they are concerned, it is an excuse to go out and get sweets. --Tsunami

And the tradition of going around as a bunch of yobs in vague masks throwing oranges and eggs at anyone who you dislike, feel threatened by or think you can intimidate?  --Vitenka

Is sadly as much rooted in the UK as it is the States. Some people will always behave like yobs no matter what. Sure, Halloween gives them an excuse, but they don't _need_ an excuse. What I was pointing out is that, if your objection is that this is an American tradition being imported, that it's not. If your objection is that it's an excuse for people who behave like yobs to behave like yobs then you have a valid point. But the kids who came to my door were all quite polite - why spoil their fun ? -- Jay

Most days they don't have the excuse to hang around masked and weilding eggs.  --Vitenka

Why is one forced to obey a tradition one dislikes? --Requiem, playing against type

Did I say you had to ? I'm not saying anyone should participate in any tradition they don't like. I give out sweets to the kids trick or treating around here because I remember some great Halloween parties when I was a kid - though we carved turnip lanterns not pumpkin ones - and because, so far, they've all been nice enough kids. You guys do whatever you want. My sole point above was that this is not just an imported tradition. --Jay

Am I the only one who politely feigned terror at the witches and ghouls, whilst dishing out chocolate bars and watching protective mothers lurk in the background? 

Seem's you're (unsigned?) the only one who lives in an area mothers would dare live in.  --Vitenka

I had a good trick to avoid them, too - do some weeding in the front garden. Somehow, the fact that they could see me outside meant that they didn't come to our door... --M-A

(PeterTaylor) Ouch. I am reminded of the last time I ever closed a minibus door from the outside with the inside handle. I made the mistake of clicking the lock first, so I had to wait for Dad to wonder where I was and come out. Was it not possible to open the window of your train door and close it by pulling on the top of the window?

Yes, the bars mounted horizontally across the window-space mean that this is a multi-step process.

Snowball Fight!!  *throws beanbagbeansnowballs at people* --K

That's entropy for you. --Admiral

Yerwhat?  Do you mean not getting released in the UK?  That's very odd.  I wonder if it's connected to the news that the PStwo won't have the ability to have a hard drive installed (and is being released this November) --K

''no, the p.c. version is out , but not the ps2 version.

I think the only qualification is a cold, black heart. -- Xarak

Lol, probably. do you think it's like apprentice training for working for the inland revinue? -- Steve

The Inland Revenue, I reckon they do a chest X-Ray when you apply. If your heart is made of stone, they let you in. If not, they'll perform a heart transplant ( the donor being a fossilized predatory dinosaur ), but you have to cover the costs - by selling your soul... -- Xarak

twm is cool.

Congratulations :) - SunKitten

Cheers.  --Jumlian

Consult an historical theologian? -- Senji

Well, I'm basically atheistic and don't recognise the passage so...  SesameStreet gives it the meaning of "You're all special!"  Literal interpretation says that the speaker in it is a hermaphrodite or neuter...  Short plank says that 'men and women are differently shaped, duh', while the line above saying that deprivation for a short time for prayer means that the speaker gets laid whilst praying and wishes everyone could have that too.  --Vitenka

It may be important to remember in the context of this verse, that Paul thought that the second coming would happen in his lifetime. -- Senji

Having read a little more, I must say, Paul was one heck of a doomsday cult rabble rouser, wasn't he?  From context, I'd guess he's saying "God says that whatever you do is fine, but nudge nudge you get in well if you stay celibate" - which is pretty good manipulation.  Clever appalation to the whole spectrum of listeners.  (Reads edit conflict)  Heh, got to the same conclusion.  Which means probably he was urging them to stay celibate like him, whilst also saying 'but whatever you do is ok' and getting laid.  --Vitenka

Perhaps I'm being naive, but why do you need the writings of theologians on the verse to be useful for what you are trying to do; why isn't your own writing enough? Or are you looking for some authorities to appeal to to back up your interpretation?

No, no - I meant what's Firefly :) (and why does that make the poster feel so old).

New sci-fi show by Joss Whedon, who wrote BuffyTheVampireSlayer and Angel.