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Mike’s blog – for his amusement

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  • Sutton 0-2 Leyton Orient

    Sutton 0-2 Leyton Orient

    Attracted by a visit from the division leaders, there was a larger than usual crowd (4,828) hoping to see a surprise Sutton victory though probably half expecting a massacre! Two well taken goals in the first half suggested the latter but Sutton played pretty well in the second half apart from a couple of lapses which should have been punished. A decent game on a pleasant, sunny afternoon.

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  • Code to count the15s in a cribbage hand

    Visual Basic code to count the number of 15s in a cribbage hand

    This section of code is a small but necessary part of my current project to write a Visual Basic program to play the card game cribbage.
    I’m rather please with this, though younger brains might be able to come up with something slicker.

    Sub HowMany15s(Cards() As Integer, Ncards As Integer, ByRef HowMany As Integer)
        '
        ' How many 15s are there in the supplied cards
        ' (uses a binary mask to generate all combinations of cards)
        '
        Dim i, f As Integer

        HowMany = 0
        For i = 1 To 2 ^ Ncards - 1
            f = 0
            Select Case Ncards
                Case 3
                    If (i And 1) > 0 Then f = f + Cards(2)
                    If (i And 2) > 0 Then f = f + Cards(1)
                    If (i And 4) > 0 Then f = f + Cards(0)
                Case 4
                    If (i And 1) > 0 Then f = f + Cards(3)
                    If (i And 2) > 0 Then f = f + Cards(2)
                    If (i And 4) > 0 Then f = f + Cards(1)
                    If (i And 8) > 0 Then f = f + Cards(0)
                Case 5
                    If (i And 1) > 0 Then f = f + Cards(4)
                    If (i And 2) > 0 Then f = f + Cards(3)
                    If (i And 4) > 0 Then f = f + Cards(2)
                    If (i And 8) > 0 Then f = f + Cards(1)
                    If (i And 16) > 0 Then f = f + Cards(0)
            End Select
            If f = 15 Then HowMany = HowMany + 1
        Next
    End Sub
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  • My Visual Basic code

    I’ve re-written my reminder program AGAIN, the one I wrote for work many, many decades ago!

    The first re-write was done using Python (see this post), and the second was using Fortran (see this post).

    This time I’ve taught myself Visual Basic (well, some of it) using Microsoft Visual Studio. It’s a monster of a system and great fun trying to get to grips with. On the right is a screen shot of the running program (note the garish colours!) and below are the two code files. [Updated 28.3.23 to correct major sorting bug]

    I tentatively have another project lined up, to write a program to play cribbage, my other newly discovered interest. It would be a pretty difficult task – watch this blog…..

    vb1-2
    vb2-2
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  • End of life for a couple of oldies

    End of life for a couple of oldies

    ​Before disposing of old pcs or laptops I always remove the hard-disk which I sometimes keep (just in case) but otherwise I take a hammer to.

    These two ancient beauties have now been hammered.​​

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  • The Banshees of Inisherin

    The Banshees of Inisherin

    It's been a long while (Knives Out in January 2020) since I last went to the cinema but today I viewed The Banshees of Inisherin at the Wimbledon Curzon. It's a great film, both funny and sad as well as beautifully shot. I loved it.

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  • Sutton 0-1 Grimsby

    Sutton 0-1 Grimsby

    Grim! A wicked night with persistent, drizzly rain throughout the second half. Sutton had few attempts on goal in the first half and none in the second half. Grimsby were lively, performing well above what their much lower league position would suggest. A grim performance and result from Sutton on a grim, Sutton night.

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  • Our Future Health

    ourfuturehealth.org.uk
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  • What a nice surprise

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  • Games with the kids

    Games with the kids

    A 5 mile circular stroll with the little ones as well as our Berlin son began just outside Reigate, (near a couple of fine pubs) and took us through woods into the centre of the town. A fine walk on a dull day. On another day we’ll do it again but make use of one of the pubs.

    Back home for a late lunch followed by a long session playing Monopoly Deal, a great card game for young and old. Congratulations to 8-year-old Chloe on her wins!

    I’ve recently become a cribbage fan and I’ve got Chloe playing the 5-card version, whilst for us grown-ups the 6-card version is a better challenge. I’m doing pretty good playing random Internet opponents.

    What with the pre-dinner pints with my son at one of our local pubs, it’s been a lovely few days with the family.

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  • Oxfam Books, Reigate

    Oxfam Books window display, Reigate

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