Better living through mathematics: Set

Given a Set board with n cards in play, calculate p(n) = the probability that there is at least one set on the board, e.g. p(n) = 0 | n < 3, p(3) = 1/79. Now find the rest.

http://www.setgame.com/set/rules_set.htm

Better living through arithmetic

Does anybody like buying Microsoft Points rather than paying for games and songs in actual money? It seems like the company is pathologically clueless about how much customers hate this. Overall, I like Microsoft. I like the Xbox. But enough is enough.

Given that customers hate MS Points, my guess is the reason they exist is to increase overspend and lower Microsoft's cost of payments for Xbox Live transactions (how much it costs Microsoft to process a credit card transaction). In that case, here is the exact WRONG way to structure the exchange rate between dollars and MSP:

If you're trying to lower cost-of-payments by reducing the number of CC transactions, DON'T CHARGE CUSTOMERS MORE for buying more points. Some division:

The more MSP you buy at once, the more money it costs you per point. If you need 800 MSP, you can either pay $9.99 in one transaction or $4.99 in two transactions ($9.98, a savings of $0.01. A penny saved is a penny earned).

Oh yeah, and those 253 points I have locked up? I can't spend them on anything. There's nothing I want and no way to get the money back. That's a "thank you" for experimenting with purchasing music from the Zune marketplace three years ago. You're welcome, Microsoft. Now please fix this embarrassment.

Fat rejection 4 days in

It's wonderful. I love it.

Some people have a skewed image of their body, and no amount of convincing will convince them they look good enough. Other people are fat. Convincing a fat guy he should be content with his disgusting body isn't doing him any favors. Here are some nasty unintended interpretations:

1. Looks don't matter (so why shower? why shave? why replace tattered clothing?)
2. Your body is good enough. Don't bother about making it better, it's fine the way it is.

I've had a few people say I should be getting in shape for myself, not for women. I suppose that now that I'm sufficiently disgusted with being fat, not being able to do a pull-up, dehydrating more readily when playing team sports, etc., I am doing it for myself. If I didn't get disgusted with being fat, the only reason I would have done it was to increase my odds with the ladies. And really there's nothing wrong with that. 

People do all sorts of things with finding a mate as a primary motivator; I don't think it's sacrilegious to have that as a reason to get a better body. I don't see why when someone hears sex appeal as a reason for working out and fixing their eating habits they immediately encourage the person to do it for him/herself instead. Motivations are really a personal business. It's a more effective motivator for my workout to be disgusted with being fat than to do it for girls, but it's bizarre how that's a motivation that's not socially acceptable. What are people trying to do, demotivate fat guys from taking steps to quit being fat guys? No. I think it's well-intentioned leftover inertia from discouraging people (especially young women) with improperly poor body images from developing eating disorters. But as long as I actually am fat, don't worry!

My motivators, in order:

1. Stop being fat, then never be fat again
2. Win the love of a beautiful woman
3. Live to 100 (hooray for a family history of heart disease!)

After that, yeah, I'd like to be able to do a pull-up. But that's about it. I'll keep these motivators, especially #1, as a reason to maintain an active lifestyle, which is fortunately easy around here between hiking, walking, kayaking, skiing, biking and sports leagues. It'll be a lot of fun and I'll never be fat again.