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Mike’s blog – for his amusement

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Alternative home page

  • I’ve been listening to Luca Stricagnoli

    Monday, Mar 24, 2025

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  • A walk to Leatherhead

    Thursday, Mar 20, 2025

    A repeat of a 5-mile walk I did a couple of months back.

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  • Eastbourne

    Wednesday, Mar 19, 2025

    I saw a man smoking a pipe. Who still does this?!

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  • My backgammon program

    Monday, Mar 17, 2025

    My latest VB.NET program, to play the board game backgammon, is done (subject to fixes and further work!). It’s been through many, many iterations. I’m happy with the result despite more work needing to be put into improving game strategy. I’ll see. Here’s a video of a game.

    And here is a sample of the code….

    Module PlayFunctionsModule
    
        Public Function AbleToPlay(ND As Integer) As Boolean
            '
            ' See if there is any move that can be made with the current dice
            '
            If IIf(CurrentPlayer = Whois.human, HumanBlotCount, RobotBlotCount) > 0 Then
                If AbleToPlayBlot(ND) Then Return vbTrue Else Return vbFalse
            End If
            If AbleToPlayNormal(ND) Then
                Return vbTrue
            End If
            If InBearOffZone() And AbleToBearOff(ND) Then
                Return vbTrue
            End If
            Return vbFalse
        End Function
    
        Public Function AbleToPlayBlot(ND As Integer) As Boolean
            '
            ' See if there is a blot move that can be made with the current dice
            '
            Dim p, d As Integer
    
            If IIf(CurrentPlayer = Whois.human, HumanBlotCount, RobotBlotCount) > 0 Then
                For d = 1 To ND
                    p = Dice(d)
                    If PointOwner(p) = CurrentPlayer Or (PointValue(p) <= 1) Then
                        Return vbTrue
                    End If
                Next
                Return vbFalse
            End If
            Return vbFalse
        End Function
    
        Public Function AbleToPlayNormal(ND As Integer) As Boolean
            '
            ' See if there is a normal move that can be made with the current dice
            '
            Dim p, pTO, d As Integer
    
            For d = 1 To ND
                For p = 1 To nLandingPoints
                    If PointOwner(p) = CurrentPlayer Then
                        pTO = p + Dice(d)
                        If pTO <= nLandingPoints Then
                            If (PointOwner(pTO) = CurrentPlayer) Or (PointValue(pTO) <= 1) Then
                                Return vbTrue
                            End If
                        End If
                    End If
                Next
            Next
            Return vbFalse
        End Function
    
    End Module
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  • Book Links

    Monday, Mar 17, 2025

    My favourite second-hand bookshops

    Dapdune Wharf book shedGuildford, Surrey
    (15 minute walk from Guildford station)
    https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk
    Kirkdale BookshopSydenham, South London
    (close to Sydenham station)
    https://kirkdalebookshop.com/about/
    Sam Beare BookshopWeybridge, Surrey
    (20 minute walk from Weybridge station)
    https://wsbh.org.uk/support-us/shop-with-us/find-local-charity-shop/weybridge-bookshop/
    FARA Teddington BooksTeddington, South-West London
    (10 minute walk from Teddington station)
    https://www.faracharity.org/shop/teddington-books/
    Morden Hall Park bookshopMorden, South London
    (20 minute walk from South Merton station, or 10 minute from Morden tube station)
    https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/london/morden-hall-park
    Mrs Lofthouse’s EmporiumScarborough, North Yorkshirehttps://www.mrslofthouse.co.uk/

    Some book links

    The Book GuideSecondhand and Antiquarian Bookshops in the UK and Republic of Irelandhttps://www.thebookguide.info/bookshops/
    The Book Guide (Facebook)Ditto (Facebook)https://www.facebook.com/thebookguide
    Charming Book Shop Cafes In LondonA magazine articlehttps://londonist.com/london/food-and-drink/book-shop-cafes-london
    Second Hand Bookshops In LondonA magazine articlehttps://londonist.com/london/books-and-poetry/buy-second-hand-books-shops-stalls-london-rare-antiquarian
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  • Black Bag

    Friday, Mar 14, 2025

    An interesting spy movie with lots of dialogue and very little action. Despite struggling with making out some of the dialogue, I just about followed the tricksy plot. I enjoyed the film.

    A glass of Malbec and a packet of crisps in the Throwley Yard cinema bar, accompanied by a book, completed a pleasurable afternoon.

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  • I’ve been listening to…

    Tuesday, Mar 11, 2025
    Luca Stricagnoli
    Lose Yourself
    David Bowie
    Where Are We Now
    GlobalSoundDownCorona FlashMob
    2025-03-08
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  • Sam Beare Bookshop, Weybridge

    Tuesday, Mar 11, 2025

    Some interesting pre-owned books bought from the fabulous Sam Beare Bookshop, Weybridge, Surrey.

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  • Knole House, Kent

    Wednesday, Mar 5, 2025

    A beautiful day and a beautiful National Trust house and grounds. Wonderfully pleasant and helpful staff / volunteers. Bookshop sells new books, not second-hand – boo.

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  • Dorking-Pixham-Brockham

    Monday, Mar 3, 2025

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  • Home
  • Home (alternative)Show posts sequentially
  • Book stuff
    • Books I’ve read
    • Authors I like
    • Book links
      • The Book Guide
      • The Book Guide (FB)
      • Links page
    • Grandkids’ reading
  • My stuff
    • My Chess Page
    • Films I’ve seen
    • My images
      • Daily images
      • Scarborough, North Yorkshire
      • Germany
      • Lisbon
      • Austria
    • My other blogMy other blog (Southampton prefabs)
    • Subscribe
    • Contact me
    • About me
  • IT stuff
    • my Computer posts
    • WordPress stuff
      • Query Loop block
      • Shortcodes
  • Unblogged stuffStuff that didn’t get a blog post
Subscribe

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