Walker2

 I've redone the code on our Walker image, on the model

offered in the tutorial below. It's clear where the parameters are

in the code...

                        

                                                      *     *     *

NY2021

 

Timer

 This timer thing...

Would like to wait three seconds and add a green box net to the read!

                                *     *     *

Turns out there is a useful increment function for Love2d:

Below, the second function will kick off after 7 seconds:

FirstL

 Found a straightforward tutorial on using Lua/Love 2d.

A Simple Animation in LÖVE (lua) : 8 Steps - Instructables

Breaktout

Started work on the Breakout game assignment. Been changing

the colors on the background, which I expect to be seeing a lot

of in the next few days...🙇‍♀️

For the Win

 Amberlynn Reid's Christmas vlog ends in a very striking

manner: she breaks down in tears and sobs she just wants 

to  be normal. I have a story for her, actually an anecdote:

just happened to me today.

I was grocery shopping - we are in Shutdown - in a convenience 

store, where the aisles are narrow. In front of me, a woman with 

a full cart and two school-aged children. Her daughter was parked 

in the middle of the aisle, staring at a wall of various brands of potato 

chips, essentially blocking the aisle. 'Come along, the mother turns to 

say. 'Why are you not moving.''I'm sad you won't let me buy any chips.' 

the girl answers. The  mother retorts: 'Skip-hop towards us. This is the 

advantage of not eating chips; you will never be weighed down and fat.' 

So the girl did...

Yes, Amberlynn is right when she says, on the heels of many vloggers, 

"There are no bad foods", 'Moderation is the key' and so forth. But is 

the cacophony of wisdom bites about food, no nutritionis would advise 

potato chips. Stuff happens, and everyone will taste the chippers eventually 

but they are not essential food. Are they a bad food? They are not actual 

poison, but they are fattening and addictive. Eaten in conjunction with sugar, 

like a glass of pop, they will lead to bloat of the worst kind.

So the mother just explained to the daughter they are not a food for 

her. And the latter is young enough to remember and put in practice this 

guideline for many years to come. That child will have an easier time being, 

looking, NORMAL.

The Young

 Listened to the Queen's Christmas message; it was

really very moving. She did mention something that struck me

very much this year, in thanking the young.  Here in Quebec,

- with high schools closed - young boys were working away in

a local supermarket, packing groceries and recycling sanitized

baskets at the entrance. And showing competence and good humour 

doing so. It was an act of bravery, and it made me think to be 

careful about buying just what my household really needed.

And I do think of them in reading about how the virus is mutating to

become more infectious, with changes occuring at multiple points on

the protein envelope. I do not know that this variant is more dangerous

for young people, as they have more streamlined immune systems, but

it is in the logic of the situation that there could, over time, emerge a 

variant targeted to them. Because the versions of the virus that

thrive are also those that do not kill their hosts but merely infect them.

Young people is where this pandemic is heading, unless we stop it!!👩‍🔬

X_Mas 2020

 

Pong cont'd

Not letting go of this problem!

My pong game, this morning - if not of pro quality -

has gotten less unnerving:

DEAL💖

source: Le Nouvel Observateur/ AFP

Posted on December 23, 2020 at 4:50 p.m. 

translation: GoogleTranslate/doxa-louise

Brexit: a trade agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom soon validated

Effective from January 1, the agreement should be concluded this evening.

A post-Brexit trade deal is believed to be imminent between the UK and the EU.  (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP)

After ten months of tense and laborious negotiations , the European Union and the United Kingdom seemed, this Wednesday, December 23, close to an agreement on their future trade relationship, which would allow them to avoid in extremis a "no deal"  only eight days from the final break.

"We are in the final phase , " said a European source. A second source evoked "great chances" of concluding an agreement this evening.

The negotiations have since Monday been in the hands of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson , who have been increasing exchanges in the hope of wresting an agreement, according to European sources.

Process launched

The access of European fishermen to British waters remained on Wednesday morning the ultimate sticking point of the discussions, otherwise almost complete, including on previously problematic subjects, such as how to settle disputes and measures to protect against any unfair competition

An agreement on Wednesday 23 or Thursday 24 December would in theory leave enough time for it to enter into force on 1 January, when the United Kingdom, which officially left the EU on 31 January, will have definitively abandoned the single market. 

Member states also began Wednesday afternoon to launch the process in "informal discussions" , said European sources.

Without an agreement, trade between the EU and London would be carried out according to the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), synonymous with customs duties, quotas, as well as administrative formalities that could lead to massive traffic jams and  delays in delivery.

A particularly delicate scenario for the United Kingdom, already battered by a more virulent variant of the coronavirus which isolated it from the rest of the world.

Despite its low economic weight, fishing is of political and social importance for several Member States, including France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland. But the United Kingdom made it the symbol of its regained sovereignty after the divorce.

Disagreements over fishing

Negotiations focus on sharing the  650 million euros of products caught each year by the EU in British waters and the length of the adjustment period for European fishermen.

The EU this week rejected an offer it deemed unacceptable from London, asking it to give up 35% of non-pelagic zone species (caught on the high seas), but 60% of its catch including pelagic zone species, all on a 3-year transition period.

Brussels had proposed a few days earlier to give up about 25% of these 650 million after a period of six years.

"The ball is in Boris Johnson's court , " said a European diplomat, for whom the EU's proposal can only be a "final offer" given the concerns  already raised by some member states , especially Denmark.

"Either a breakthrough is made on Wednesday with a British movement, or the negotiations get shifted to next week, after the holidays,"he added.

A feat

Eu negotiator Michel Barnier told member states on Tuesday (December 22nd) that the EU was ready to negotiate "until the end of the year and beyond" if the blockade on fisheries persisted. The aim is to guard against being pressured by the calendar, even if it means accepting the shock of a "no deal" on 1 January.

The conclusion of a text in just ten months would be an achievement for negotiators,especially for an agreement of this magnitude, since such trade talks usually take years.

The task was further complicated by the Covid-19, which forced negotiators to confer for several weeks via videoconference and sometimes even to suspend discussions because of positive cases in the negotiating teams.

If an agreement is confirmed, the EU would offer its former member state unprecedented tariff-free and quota-free access to its huge market of 450 million consumers, a first.

HoHoSplash!

 

source: US National Weather Service

Everyone should be at home, anyway...🌇

BBC for Xmas

 It's picture postcard snow for southern Quebec, this morning.

But all to naught: it is going to rain Christmas eve and day...🧶

                                          *     *     *

Thought I would share two recent pieces from the BBC site I

found informative.

Milk makes all the difference in the height of a population.

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200823-why-are-the-dutch-so-tall

Taking meds changes us more than we realize.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200108-the-medications-that-change-who-we-are

DisneyW

 Been playing around with the Pong game, trying to give

it a Christmas feel. Found a (rather sad) image of Disneyworld

all decked out but empty. Even jolly London is going down

this Christmas...

Need to get back to the automating the game problem!!

                                                        *     *     *

So I automated player2 (in the update function) so that the paddle y-coordinate is always the same

as that of the ball:

The result is pretty sweet for player2; he never misses. (The qualiry

of gameplay is jagged, because using the camera 'on top' lowers

the framerate on the game. It is supposed to be 60). Whatever!

I now need to make this a bit more interesting for player 1; no

doubt with a random variation on the y alignment so that P2 misses

sometimes.

The following code does that (P2 misses 60% of the time) but the paddle

wiggles and it is annoying...😒

Bad Boys

 Not really fully conversant with what hacking govrrnment systems might be.

Some interesting reads:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/15/politics/what-matters-december-15-russia-hack-explained/index.html

                                                         *     *     *

https://blog.reversinglabs.com/blog/sunburst-the-next-level-of-stealth

                                                          *     *     *

https://www.lefigaro.fr/secteur/high-tech/solarwinds-que-sait-on-de-la-cyberattaque-massive-sunburst-20201217

Sweet!

 It's a thinking of you Christmas. Parisians can order this fancy

log dessert with maple syrup and a Quebecois look. 

https://www.nouvelobs.com/food/20201218.OBS37731/les-plus-belles-buches-de-noel-2020.html

Meanwhile, I'll be attempting to make the Châtelaine log, with

a chestnut cream filling and dark chocolate exterior, quintessentially

Parisian in orientation.

https://fr.chatelaine.com/recettes/desserts/buche-roulee-a-la-creme-de-marrons-et-au-chocolat/

Lebanon

 Lebanon is currently under a caretaker government: in effect,

the government looking after day to day business is one that

has already resigned, because it is proving impossible to form

a new one.

It will be recalled that at the last election, Hezbollah had made 

considerable gains. The explosions in the port of Beyrouth last 

August have yet to be elucidated.

Emmanuel Macron has been acting as Big Brother in the situation, 

trying to put together a workable government that could administer 

much needed international aid...

https://www.lesoleil.com/actualite/monde/crise-au-liban-macron-fustige-la-trahison-des-autorites-a6b48a1dce4e5bfc21f2ec9c541da060

Vlogmas

Maybe I'm freaking out because it is -17 °C in Montreal today, 

but you curvy ladies doing vlogmas never show us any coats.

source: Torrid Clothing

The Party

Found this account of the Roman Saturnalia thorougly enjoyable. One aspect does need to be remembered: in earlier times, Roman women did not eat with men but dined separately. If wives were present, they would be taking care of their hard-partying husbands. Which might explain how the infamous Roman party repas got so... out of hand. This might be misrepresented by painters of say, the 18th century, who appreciated a good party in different terms.

Saint Laurent

Someone made a complaint about this image being

shown on the bus billboards in Paris, on the grounds that it was 

degrading to women.  And it was judged 'somewhat' offensive 

by the relevant authorities. 

In MHO, the whole thing shows the silliness of censorship.

That image is cute, funny and cheerful in an otherwise bleak

Christmas. it is also self-mocking - which for a Luxe brand - is a

joy.

I actually bought a pair of faux leather jeggings earlier in the season,

mine in a nice tasteful dark red for the holidays 😉. Couldn't try them on -

pandémie oblige - but it was in a trusted brand, in my size and I own

some of their products. Long story short, it is actually impossible to move

in these pants: one might stand drink in hand in an event, but forget sitting

down: lying prostrate on the couch is about the best one can do. 

Ended up taking them back; I could hurt myself on a snowy day. And I do

sit at the computer a lot.

That image tells the whole story: wanting a fun Christmas, but cocooned

in a banal reality.

And it does show the posterieur of the model. Those leggings showed that

as well, perhpas a tad rounder and with shorter legs. Oh hum! Merry X!

P_2021

 

#Alone_for_XMas

 As December marches on, one is tempted to look up the precise date 

for the Winter Solciste. This year, Dec 21 at 5 am. So this great darkness

will end...

Discovered, at the same time, the recipe section of the Farmer's Almanach.

Not for the timid; this little pie contains an entire tin of cranberry sauce, to

which cream cheese and cream are added on a chocolate crumb pie. No, thank you!

https://www.almanac.com/content/christmas-dessert-recipes

Not_Amused

 ANY DAY NOW, the vaccine will be approved. For

those following this little drama, Libé spilled yesterday

that neither PfizerBioNTech nor Moderna had sent their

vaccination trial data for peer review before seeking approval;

only Oxford/AstraZeneca did. Soooo...

Aparently, the US authorities just okayed Pfizer. The

review is yet to come.

Does it really matter!? I did read there was some issue about

no one controlling for study subjects havig already had the Covid-19

and recovered from it. A rough estimate of 10% is being thrown around,

on a purely statistical basis (whereas those having recovered might just

be more likely to volunteer. Who knows!!).

One of these days, all this might be amusing in a university theater 

somewhere where there is a lecture on mathematical stats. For the moment,

we are most definetely not amused...

BD

 

Turned 71, today.

Heating Up

 

November was a warm month...

BDay Blues

My birthday is coming up on Tuesday and there is

absolutely nowhere to go.

#I'mNoExpert

 Don't want to be an alarmist here, but the two vaccines

getting great results and early approval are a different

technology. Both Pfizer and Moderna force the body to

reproduce the virus protein itself, and then the immune system

responds. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine will be more conventional.

While still focusing on the capsule protein, the vector itself is a modified

chimpanzee virus. This might be why they can control the dose given

better. 

RNA-messenger vaccines have only been used on animals to date, out of

fear that the genetic material would be incorporated into that of the

host. This does not seem to have happened so far.

As for me...

  A short book with an enigmatic title - Moi, les hommes,

je les deteste' - recently came out in Paris. The current wave

of feminisme in France, written by a 25 year old Communications

graduate, it should be available in English before too long.

'As for me, I hate them"...

Essai | Pourquoi Pauline Harmange déteste les hommes | La Presse

                                   *     *     *

When the fellows fight back:

Back

 A few unknowns, but feeling good about it!

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/dec/02/pfizer-biontech-covid-vaccine-wins-licence-for-use-in-the-uk

User

 Still thinking about what was assignment 1 in the 

Games course: adding code so that the user is playing

against the computer.

The clever code below takes us to randomized code

that gives the user a chance. But the user qua player

wants to be rewarded for his efforts. An actual player expects 

to score on an opponent he has tired out. A virtual game

player wants to win if he has been quick, or enduring.

What would that code look like...