Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> wrote in
news:tmbqvm$30n3o$1@dont-email.me:

> On 2/12/22 05:12, Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha wrote:
>> scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) wrote in
>> news:sW3iL.2762$lzK9.2608@fx35.iad:
>>
>>> Jack Bohn <jack.bohn64@gmail.com> writes:
>>>> On Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 12:12:15 AM UTC-5, Titus G
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I am not a gamer but some decades ago wore out a=20
>>>>> few packs of plastic playing cards playing Spider without
>>>>> takebacks.=20 As an afterthought. That number of games
>>>>> played sharpened the speed and=
>>>> =20
>>>>> appearance of my shuffling skills which probably developed
>>>>> into a=20 routine. So in theory, does that mean that the
>>>>> sequence of cards in a=20 shuffled pack after many, many,
>>>>> iterations would become close to=20 predictable?=20
>
> I am guessing that the insertion of the "=20" is a different
> software interpretation of a system character perhaps where I
> have reworded something or corrected spelling?
>
>>>>
>>>> As Marting Gardner would say paradoxically in his
>>>> Mathematical Games column= s, shuffling is a skill that
>>>> depends on the clumsiness of the shuffler.
>>>>
>>>> It can be shown that a perfect rifle shuffle -- divide the
>>>> deck exactly in = half, alternate one card from each half --
>>>> will return the deck to its orig= inal or "seed"
>>>> configuration after 14 repetitions.
>>>
>>> I believe that is AKA the "Faro Shuffle" which is used by
>>> magicians to move a specific card to a specific location in
>>> the deck with log2 shuffles (carefully selecting which card
>>> ends up on top when starting the shuffle).
>>>
>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faro_shuffle
>>
>> The number of magicians who can do that is very, very small.
>> The number who can simulate it with slight of hand is much,
>> much larger.
>
> The fact that it is possible without slight of hand is
> fascinating to me. I doubt whether I could have even split a
> deck exactly in half!

It's a pretty rare skill - and that it exists at all is at the word
of those who claim to be able to, all of whom are professional
deceivers.

--
Terry Austin

"Terry Austin: like the polio vaccine, only with more asshole."
-- David Bilek

Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.

On 3/12/22 07:34, Joe Pfeiffer wrote:
> Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> writes:
>
>> On 2/12/22 05:12, Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha wrote:
>>> scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) wrote in
>>> news:sW3iL.2762$lzK9.2608@fx35.iad:
>>>
>>>> Jack Bohn <jack.bohn64@gmail.com> writes:
>>>>> On Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 12:12:15 AM UTC-5, Titus G
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I am not a gamer but some decades ago wore out a=20
>>>>>> few packs of plastic playing cards playing Spider without
>>>>>> takebacks.=20 As an afterthought. That number of games played
>>>>>> sharpened the speed and=
>>>>> =20
>>>>>> appearance of my shuffling skills which probably developed
>>>>>> into a=20 routine. So in theory, does that mean that the
>>>>>> sequence of cards in a=20 shuffled pack after many, many,
>>>>>> iterations would become close to=20 predictable?=20
>>
>> I am guessing that the insertion of the "=20" is a different software
>> interpretation of a system character perhaps where I have reworded
>> something or corrected spelling?
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoted-printable

Thank you.

In article <c6s9ohpplp7ka6oe6otkdm7rakm6ej3u2r@4ax.com>,
Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>On Sun, 27 Nov 2022 21:44:24 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
>Heydt) wrote:
>
>>In article <3623f41d-9881-49ec-80aa-18f5e5f6b2a1n@googlegroups.com>,
>>Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>>>As this refers to Jerry Pournelle, a science-fiction author, it is
>>>slightly on-topic...
>>>
>>>Yes, _that_ Star Wars: the Strategic Defense Initiative.
>>>
>>>Making Russia's (and China's) nuclear arsenals "impotent and
>>>obsolete" would be all very well if we could do it. It would be helpful
>>>to Ukraine and Taiwan.
>>
>>(Hal Heydt)
>>There's a report floating around that the Russians are replacing
>>the warheads in some of their nuclear armed missiles with inert
>>weights (to keep the flight dynamics stable) and using them as
>>decoys in hopes of getting other missiles through Ukraine's air
>>defenses.
>
>That's in keeping with a report suggesting that this means they are
>running out of missiles.
>
>And every missile used as a decoy is a missile that will /not/ be
>useable to deliver a nuke. This is a good thing, BTW.
>
>>Or, if you want a real horror... There is an estimate that
>>Russia will lose more troops this winter to hypothermia than they
>>will to the Ukraine army.
>
>I wonder if that can be treated as a Russian war crime. And those
>responsible who survive long enough to be prosecuted for it. What the
>Russians pretend is an "Army" is nothing of the sort.
>
>Historically, disease has always been the major killer in war.
>
>Just as the pursuit after the enemy breaks and runs has always killed
>more of them than the actually battle.
>
>I hope Putin's replacement has enough sense to pull back into Russia
>(not the various land-grabs, but Russia as defined internationally)
>and sue for terms.

(Hal Heydt)
If some successor to Putin were to pull *all* Russian forces out
of *all* of Ukraine (and--moderately likely--Transnistria, too).
The only other thing they'd really need to agree to would be to
help rebuild the damage they did and open up their records about
who ordered what so that war crimnes trials could be held. The
main thing, tough, is pulling back the the recognized borders.

It is unrealistic to consider having Russia give back either
Karelia or the shift west that was done to Ukraine and Poland.
Not to mention the East Prussia land grab.

In article <ajs9ohlnoule17imsd7ckdkflhv8790cr1@4ax.com>,
Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>On Sun, 27 Nov 2022 23:14:41 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal)
>wrote:
>
>>djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) writes:
>>>In article <3623f41d-9881-49ec-80aa-18f5e5f6b2a1n@googlegroups.com>,
>>>Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>>>>As this refers to Jerry Pournelle, a science-fiction author, it is
>>>>slightly on-topic...
>>>>
>>>>Yes, _that_ Star Wars: the Strategic Defense Initiative.
>>>>
>>>>Making Russia's (and China's) nuclear arsenals "impotent and
>>>>obsolete" would be all very well if we could do it. It would be helpful
>>>>to Ukraine and Taiwan.
>>>
>>>(Hal Heydt)
>>>There's a report floating around that the Russians are replacing
>>>the warheads in some of their nuclear armed missiles with inert
>>>weights (to keep the flight dynamics stable) and using them as
>>>decoys in hopes of getting other missiles through Ukraine's air
>>>defenses.
>>>
>>>Or, if you want a real horror... There is an estimate that
>>>Russia will lose more troops this winter to hypothermia than they
>>>will to the Ukraine army.
>>
>>The Russians have been loath to commit their elite troops
>>to the theater[*], for whatever reasons. They're instead sending
>>untrained or poorly-trained conscripts and "volunteer units"
>>and mercenaries. The mercenaries are recruiting from prisons,
>>and many of those recruits fade across the lines and surrender.
>>
>>They've also been running short on uniforms, vests, food,
>>medicines, field hospitals etc.
>
>That tends to happen when the people responsible are more interesting
>in using the money for Swiss bank accounts and super-yachts than for
>such boring things as the items you mention or even on weapons and
>ammunition. Or the factories to produce them, I suspect.
>
>Ukraine might want to consider erecting a bunch of GP Huge tents with
>heaters and putting "Russian soldiers welcome" signs outside. Of
>course, the resulting influx of POWs would have to be handled
>properly.

(Hal Heydt)
Ukraine has set up an "I want to live" hotline for Russian troops
wanting to surrender instead of being fed through the meat
grinder. The major promise that goes with the line is that the
Ukraine is a signatory to the Geneva Conventions and surrendering
Russians will be fed, housed, get medical treatment, and generally
be held in humane conditions.

In article <lgfcohpog6tj373qtiei98lset9uch925q@4ax.com>,
Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>On Mon, 28 Nov 2022 21:50:56 -0800 (PST), Quadibloc
><jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>
>>On Sunday, November 27, 2022 at 2:52:42 PM UTC-7, Hal Heydt wrote:
>>
>>> Or, if you want a real horror... There is an estimate that
>>> Russia will lose more troops this winter to hypothermia than they
>>> will to the Ukraine army.
>>
>>That isn't a horror. That's good news.
>
>Not really. They are as much victims of Putin as Ukraine is.
>
>But that is a problem for the Russians to resolve. They voted for
>Putin, they liked Putin, the question is -- what do they do now?

(Hal Heydt)
There are now reports that it's the *Russians* that are looking
at suffering from winter weather and a lack of home heating.
Seems they conscripted a lot of the people that were keeping
community heating systems and power distribution working and now
when things break down, there's no on to fix them.

On Sunday, 4 December 2022 at 01:22:49 UTC, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> In article <lgfcohpog6tj373qt...@4ax.com>,
> Paul S Person <pspe...@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
> >On Mon, 28 Nov 2022 21:50:56 -0800 (PST), Quadibloc
> ><jsa...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
> >
> >>On Sunday, November 27, 2022 at 2:52:42 PM UTC-7, Hal Heydt wrote:
> >>
> >>> Or, if you want a real horror... There is an estimate that
> >>> Russia will lose more troops this winter to hypothermia than they
> >>> will to the Ukraine army.
> >>
> >>That isn't a horror. That's good news.
> >
> >Not really. They are as much victims of Putin as Ukraine is.
> >
> >But that is a problem for the Russians to resolve. They voted for
> >Putin, they liked Putin, the question is -- what do they do now?
>
> (Hal Heydt)
> There are now reports that it's the *Russians* that are looking
> at suffering from winter weather and a lack of home heating.
> Seems they conscripted a lot of the people that were keeping
> community heating systems and power distribution working and now
> when things break down, there's no on to fix them.

It's nice to think so in a way, but let's keep in mind
that the Russian government is not that stupid,
actually.

As for the "how to surrender" phone line, a call shown here
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63782764>
has a not-yet-conscript in Russia saying "I want to become
a citizen of Ukraine." I thought: then you'd be called up
to fight for Ukraine.

On Sunday, December 4, 2022 at 11:33:41 AM UTC-5, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> On Sunday, 4 December 2022 at 01:22:49 UTC, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> > In article <lgfcohpog6tj373qt...@4ax.com>,
> > Paul S Person <pspe...@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
> > >On Mon, 28 Nov 2022 21:50:56 -0800 (PST), Quadibloc
> > ><jsa...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
> > >
> > >>On Sunday, November 27, 2022 at 2:52:42 PM UTC-7, Hal Heydt wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> Or, if you want a real horror... There is an estimate that
> > >>> Russia will lose more troops this winter to hypothermia than they
> > >>> will to the Ukraine army.
> > >>
> > >>That isn't a horror. That's good news.
> > >
> > >Not really. They are as much victims of Putin as Ukraine is.
> > >
> > >But that is a problem for the Russians to resolve. They voted for
> > >Putin, they liked Putin, the question is -- what do they do now?
> >
> > (Hal Heydt)
> > There are now reports that it's the *Russians* that are looking
> > at suffering from winter weather and a lack of home heating.
> > Seems they conscripted a lot of the people that were keeping
> > community heating systems and power distribution working and now
> > when things break down, there's no on to fix them.
> It's nice to think so in a way, but let's keep in mind
> that the Russian government is not that stupid,
> actually.

Here's a detailed assessment of the effects of winter on combat,
and the relative status of both sides in that regard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI3PpsM3NOI

The "Perun" channel has some of the best researched articles
on the war I've found on YT. Strongly recommended.

Pt

On Sunday, December 4, 2022 at 9:33:41 AM UTC-7, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> On Sunday, 4 December 2022 at 01:22:49 UTC, Hal Heydt wrote:

> > There are now reports that it's the *Russians* that are looking
> > at suffering from winter weather and a lack of home heating.
> > Seems they conscripted a lot of the people that were keeping
> > community heating systems and power distribution working and now
> > when things break down, there's no on to fix them.

> It's nice to think so in a way, but let's keep in mind
> that the Russian government is not that stupid,
> actually.

I will agree that Russians are unlikely to be suffering from
damage to their residences due to having no electricity to
heat them with to the same extent as Ukrainians.

However, this is partly due to the fact that houses in
Russia are likely, like houses in Alberta, to be heated with
natural gas instead of electricity, and for much the same
reason. As well, rocket and missile attacks on utility
facilities are an order of magnitude more serious than
personnel shortages - Russia can find octogenarians who
used to work in power plants to fill in, for example.

I agree that the Russian government is not so stupid as
to fail to take care of... essentials. However, in *this* case,
I don't think that "not that stupid" applies, since as under
the Soviets, amenities for the civilian population are *not*
one of the priority items the government values. Therefore,
it _is_ "stupid" enough to let _them_ fall into desuetude.

John Savard

On Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 3:34:25 PM UTC-7, Quadibloc wrote:
> On Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 8:00:13 AM UTC-7, pete...@gmail.com wrote:

> > John and others in this thread would do well to read the
> > Wikipedia articles on "Random Number Generation" and
> > "Hardware random number generator". Otherwise this is the
> > ignorant talking to the ignorant.

> I read "Random Number Generators" by Birger Jansson. Does that count?

As my AbeBooks order has now been confirmed, I am now
at liberty to disclose that I have this thread to thank for inspiring
me to look, once again, on AbeBooks, for a copy of Random Number
Generators by Birger Jansson, and this time, I found one, and have
ordered it, having considered it an excellent book which I would
very much like to have in my collection.

John Savard

On Sun, 4 Dec 2022 08:33:39 -0800 (PST), Robert Carnegie
<rja.carnegie@excite.com> wrote:

>On Sunday, 4 December 2022 at 01:22:49 UTC, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>> In article <lgfcohpog6tj373qt...@4ax.com>,
>> Paul S Person <pspe...@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>> >On Mon, 28 Nov 2022 21:50:56 -0800 (PST), Quadibloc
>> ><jsa...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>> >
>> >>On Sunday, November 27, 2022 at 2:52:42 PM UTC-7, Hal Heydt wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> Or, if you want a real horror... There is an estimate that
>> >>> Russia will lose more troops this winter to hypothermia than they
>> >>> will to the Ukraine army.
>> >>
>> >>That isn't a horror. That's good news.
>> >
>> >Not really. They are as much victims of Putin as Ukraine is.
>> >
>> >But that is a problem for the Russians to resolve. They voted for
>> >Putin, they liked Putin, the question is -- what do they do now?
>>
>> (Hal Heydt)
>> There are now reports that it's the *Russians* that are looking
>> at suffering from winter weather and a lack of home heating.
>> Seems they conscripted a lot of the people that were keeping
>> community heating systems and power distribution working and now
>> when things break down, there's no on to fix them.
>
>It's nice to think so in a way, but let's keep in mind
>that the Russian government is not that stupid,
>actually.

If you say so.

I would say that keeping Putin in power is, at this point, pretty
stupid.

>As for the "how to surrender" phone line, a call shown here
><https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63782764>
>has a not-yet-conscript in Russia saying "I want to become
>a citizen of Ukraine." I thought: then you'd be called up
>to fight for Ukraine.

Which may be exactly what he wants.
--
"In this connexion, unquestionably the most significant
development was the disintegration, under Christian
influence, of classical conceptions of the family and
of family right."

On Monday, December 5, 2022 at 12:15:51 PM UTC-5, Paul S Person wrote:
> On Sun, 4 Dec 2022 08:33:39 -0800 (PST), Robert Carnegie
> <rja.ca...@excite.com> wrote:
>
> >On Sunday, 4 December 2022 at 01:22:49 UTC, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> >> In article <lgfcohpog6tj373qt...@4ax.com>,
> >> Paul S Person <pspe...@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
> >> >On Mon, 28 Nov 2022 21:50:56 -0800 (PST), Quadibloc
> >> ><jsa...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
> >> >
> >> >>On Sunday, November 27, 2022 at 2:52:42 PM UTC-7, Hal Heydt wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >>> Or, if you want a real horror... There is an estimate that
> >> >>> Russia will lose more troops this winter to hypothermia than they
> >> >>> will to the Ukraine army.
> >> >>
> >> >>That isn't a horror. That's good news.
> >> >
> >> >Not really. They are as much victims of Putin as Ukraine is.
> >> >
> >> >But that is a problem for the Russians to resolve. They voted for
> >> >Putin, they liked Putin, the question is -- what do they do now?
> >>
> >> (Hal Heydt)
> >> There are now reports that it's the *Russians* that are looking
> >> at suffering from winter weather and a lack of home heating.
> >> Seems they conscripted a lot of the people that were keeping
> >> community heating systems and power distribution working and now
> >> when things break down, there's no on to fix them.
> >
> >It's nice to think so in a way, but let's keep in mind
> >that the Russian government is not that stupid,
> >actually.
> If you say so.
>
> I would say that keeping Putin in power is, at this point, pretty
> stupid.
> >As for the "how to surrender" phone line, a call shown here
> ><https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63782764>
> >has a not-yet-conscript in Russia saying "I want to become
> >a citizen of Ukraine." I thought: then you'd be called up
> >to fight for Ukraine.
> Which may be exactly what he wants.
> --
> "In this connexion, unquestionably the most significant
> development was the disintegration, under Christian
> influence, of classical conceptions of the family and
> of family right."

There is a 'Freedom of Russia Legion' of Russians fighting
on the Ukrainian side.

Sometimes things get weird:

https://sofrep.com/news/meet-the-russian-fighters-from-the-freedom-of-russia-legion-fighting-for-ukraine/

pt

In article <tm9d3b$2o7n5$1@dont-email.me>, Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> wrote:
>On 1/12/22 04:34, Chris Buckley wrote:
>> On 2022-11-30, WolfFan <akwolffan@zoho.com> wrote:
>snip
>
>> I've played many thousands of Spider games over the years. It's a
>> very well-balanced optimization game - I enjoy it for the same
>> reasons that I enjoyed the Civ games. It may take a while before you
>> win your first game (especially if you don't allow takebacks), but
>> you can push the optimizations to the point where you are winning
>> over a third of your games (with no takebacks).
>>
>> Watch out for poor implementations - those floating around based on
>> the Windows 7 free version have a remarkably poor RNG. I use
>> SolSuite which I like a lot, but it's Windows only.
>
>I don't understand how there can be somewhat predictable, (or
>"remarkably poor"), random numbers as I had always assumed that
>unpredicability was a subset of randomness and that all random number
>sequences were random. I am not a gamer but some decades ago wore out a
>few packs of plastic playing cards playing Spider without takebacks.
>As an afterthought. That number of games played sharpened the speed and
>appearance of my shuffling skills which probably developed into a
>routine. So in theory, does that mean that the sequence of cards in a
>shuffled pack after many, many, iterations would become close to
>predictable?
>I use Linux and see that Spider is in the AisleRiot package. How would I
>determine which Spider software had a better RNG? Thank you.

(Hal Heydt)
Without something to generate a truly random seed, computers only
generate "pseudorandom" numbers.

On 12/5/2022 9:15 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
> On Sun, 4 Dec 2022 08:33:39 -0800 (PST), Robert Carnegie
> <rja.carnegie@excite.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> It's nice to think so in a way, but let's keep in mind
>> that the Russian government is not that stupid,
>> actually.
>
> If you say so.
>
> I would say that keeping Putin in power is, at this point, pretty
> stupid.
>
Not for Putin and he IS the government.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On Monday, December 5, 2022 at 11:44:06 AM UTC-7, Hal Heydt wrote:

> Without something to generate a truly random seed, computers only
> generate "pseudorandom" numbers.

If one generates multiple "random" numbers from one number that is
the seed, all those numbers are pseudo-random, even _if_ the seed is
truly random.

And, indeed, that's usually what happens; a tiny little bit of "true" randomness
is used for the seed, by, at the least, using the time of day to create it.

John Savard

On Monday, December 5, 2022 at 8:42:08 PM UTC-5, Quadibloc wrote:
> On Monday, December 5, 2022 at 11:44:06 AM UTC-7, Hal Heydt wrote:
>
> > Without something to generate a truly random seed, computers only
> > generate "pseudorandom" numbers.
> If one generates multiple "random" numbers from one number that is
> the seed, all those numbers are pseudo-random, even _if_ the seed is
> truly random.
>
> And, indeed, that's usually what happens; a tiny little bit of "true" randomness
> is used for the seed, by, at the least, using the time of day to create it.

Let's just say that some applications get a *lot* more serious about it.

Pt

On Monday, December 5, 2022 at 9:51:56 PM UTC-7, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Monday, December 5, 2022 at 8:42:08 PM UTC-5, Quadibloc wrote:
> > On Monday, December 5, 2022 at 11:44:06 AM UTC-7, Hal Heydt wrote:
> >
> > > Without something to generate a truly random seed, computers only
> > > generate "pseudorandom" numbers.

> > If one generates multiple "random" numbers from one number that is
> > the seed, all those numbers are pseudo-random, even _if_ the seed is
> > truly random.

> > And, indeed, that's usually what happens; a tiny little bit of "true" randomness
> > is used for the seed, by, at the least, using the time of day to create it.

> Let's just say that some applications get a *lot* more serious about it.

I'm well aware that applications with a _cryptographic_ purpose will make use
of a random number generator, if available, to ensure that every single bit
of a private key produced for public-key cryptography - _and_ the session key
sent as plaintext within it - will be truly random.

And, on much older computers, techniques like using the time of day in
milliseconds for each of a sequence of keystrokes might be used.

But typically, pseudo-random numbers are all there is, and that works for
statistical sampling or games.

And if one wants very high quality pseudo-random numbers, one can use
techiques which, although simpler and speedier, attempt to imitate some
aspects of cryptographic operations.

John Savard

On Tue, 6 Dec 2022 02:40:48 -0800 (PST), Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca>
wrote:

>On Monday, December 5, 2022 at 9:51:56 PM UTC-7, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Monday, December 5, 2022 at 8:42:08 PM UTC-5, Quadibloc wrote:
>> > On Monday, December 5, 2022 at 11:44:06 AM UTC-7, Hal Heydt wrote:
>> >
>> > > Without something to generate a truly random seed, computers only
>> > > generate "pseudorandom" numbers.
>
>> > If one generates multiple "random" numbers from one number that is
>> > the seed, all those numbers are pseudo-random, even _if_ the seed is
>> > truly random.
>
>> > And, indeed, that's usually what happens; a tiny little bit of "true" randomness
>> > is used for the seed, by, at the least, using the time of day to create it.
>
>> Let's just say that some applications get a *lot* more serious about it.
>
>I'm well aware that applications with a _cryptographic_ purpose will make use
>of a random number generator, if available, to ensure that every single bit
>of a private key produced for public-key cryptography - _and_ the session key
>sent as plaintext within it - will be truly random.
>
>And, on much older computers, techniques like using the time of day in
>milliseconds for each of a sequence of keystrokes might be used.
>
>But typically, pseudo-random numbers are all there is, and that works for
>statistical sampling or games.

For games, what matters isn't so much that the numbers be /random/ as
that they be /unpredictable/ -- at least, unless you actually list all
of them in order and use the list to predict what's next.

This is both easy and difficult: easy if you happen to know what the
algorithm being used is, difficult if all you are are results because
(for most games) you have only 6 results (yes, some have 12 or 20) and
may have 64K "random" results. This is because many different "random"
results can produce the same game result.

Well, as long as the game doesn't do something stupid, like start each
turn each time it is replayed with the same seed.

>And if one wants very high quality pseudo-random numbers, one can use
>techiques which, although simpler and speedier, attempt to imitate some
>aspects of cryptographic operations.
--
"In this connexion, unquestionably the most significant
development was the disintegration, under Christian
influence, of classical conceptions of the family and
of family right."

In article <14e897cb-b4fd-45dd-bfe4-62fa7cf0279bn@googlegroups.com>,
Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> wrote:
>On Sunday, 4 December 2022 at 01:22:49 UTC, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>> In article <lgfcohpog6tj373qt...@4ax.com>,
>> Paul S Person <pspe...@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>> >On Mon, 28 Nov 2022 21:50:56 -0800 (PST), Quadibloc
>> ><jsa...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>> >
>> >>On Sunday, November 27, 2022 at 2:52:42 PM UTC-7, Hal Heydt wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> Or, if you want a real horror... There is an estimate that
>> >>> Russia will lose more troops this winter to hypothermia than they
>> >>> will to the Ukraine army.
>> >>
>> >>That isn't a horror. That's good news.
>> >
>> >Not really. They are as much victims of Putin as Ukraine is.
>> >
>> >But that is a problem for the Russians to resolve. They voted for
>> >Putin, they liked Putin, the question is -- what do they do now?
>>
>> (Hal Heydt)
>> There are now reports that it's the *Russians* that are looking
>> at suffering from winter weather and a lack of home heating.
>> Seems they conscripted a lot of the people that were keeping
>> community heating systems and power distribution working and now
>> when things break down, there's no on to fix them.
>
>It's nice to think so in a way, but let's keep in mind
>that the Russian government is not that stupid,
>actually.

(Hal Heydt)
You'd think so, wouldn't you? Given everything else going on in
the war, I'm not at all sure the local parts of the Russian
government would think that through.

On Fri, 9 Dec 2022 04:47:56 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt)
wrote:

>In article <14e897cb-b4fd-45dd-bfe4-62fa7cf0279bn@googlegroups.com>,
>Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> wrote:
>>On Sunday, 4 December 2022 at 01:22:49 UTC, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>>> In article <lgfcohpog6tj373qt...@4ax.com>,
>>> Paul S Person <pspe...@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>>> >On Mon, 28 Nov 2022 21:50:56 -0800 (PST), Quadibloc
>>> ><jsa...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:
>>> >
>>> >>On Sunday, November 27, 2022 at 2:52:42 PM UTC-7, Hal Heydt wrote:
>>> >>
>>> >>> Or, if you want a real horror... There is an estimate that
>>> >>> Russia will lose more troops this winter to hypothermia than they
>>> >>> will to the Ukraine army.
>>> >>
>>> >>That isn't a horror. That's good news.
>>> >
>>> >Not really. They are as much victims of Putin as Ukraine is.
>>> >
>>> >But that is a problem for the Russians to resolve. They voted for
>>> >Putin, they liked Putin, the question is -- what do they do now?
>>>
>>> (Hal Heydt)
>>> There are now reports that it's the *Russians* that are looking
>>> at suffering from winter weather and a lack of home heating.
>>> Seems they conscripted a lot of the people that were keeping
>>> community heating systems and power distribution working and now
>>> when things break down, there's no on to fix them.
>>
>>It's nice to think so in a way, but let's keep in mind
>>that the Russian government is not that stupid,
>>actually.
>
>(Hal Heydt)
>You'd think so, wouldn't you? Given everything else going on in
>the war, I'm not at all sure the local parts of the Russian
>government would think that through.

Or have the authority to do anything about it.

Or even any say at all in who was to be enslaved.

That's what these guys are, BTW: slaves.
--
"In this connexion, unquestionably the most significant
development was the disintegration, under Christian
influence, of classical conceptions of the family and
of family right."

On Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 3:25:13 PM UTC-7, Quadibloc wrote:
> On Thursday, December 1, 2022 at 8:00:13 AM UTC-7, pete...@gmail.com wrote:

> > Donald Knuth famously said "Anyone who considers arithmetical methods
> > of producing random digits is, of course, in a state of sin."

> If he did say that, he was quoting John von Neumann.

I finally found a citation of the original source.

As it's a U.S. government publication, here it is:

https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Monte_Carlo_Method/9BuFsa0J9SIC

to read or download as a PDF. Page 36.

John Savard

On Wed, 30 Nov 2022 08:08:48 -0500, WolfFan <akwolffan@zoho.com>
wrote:

>> I'm guessing you're not a gamer. I lost my previous video card at the height
>> of the crypto craze and ended up having to pay $769 for a comparable
>> replacement. While I personally wouldn't sink $1500 into a card I can easily
>> see serious gamers doing it (the really serious ones would probably go dual).
>> I'm still running on dual 1080p monitors, so I'm definitely not in the
>> "serious gamer" category.

Not sure what you'd call me. Dual 27" 1080p monitors running on a
Geforce 2080ti video card - there's a third monitor port on this card
I'm not using. This machine mostly gets used for this, Youtube, email,
Civ 6 and a couple of video games (the multiplayer type)

Probably a niftier card than I need for that but when you get a gift
horse like the deal I got on that card you grab it with both hands.
Even for a 3 year old card it's pretty durned good

On Mon, 28 Nov 2022 09:39:45 -0800, Paul S Person
<psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

>>Or, if you want a real horror... There is an estimate that
>>Russia will lose more troops this winter to hypothermia than they
>>will to the Ukraine army.
>
>I wonder if that can be treated as a Russian war crime. And those
>responsible who survive long enough to be prosecuted for it. What the
>Russians pretend is an "Army" is nothing of the sort.

Why? In WW2 Russia took more losses than the Germans all the way from
June 1941 - Jan 1945. It was only in Feb 1945 (e.g. 3 months before
the Red Army took Berlin) that German losses were higher than the Red
Army's.

On Sat, 3 Dec 2022 20:49:21 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt)
wrote:

>It is unrealistic to consider having Russia give back either
>Karelia or the shift west that was done to Ukraine and Poland.
>Not to mention the East Prussia land grab.

What would Zelenski do with Karelia?

(Yes I do know where that is - or for that matter Russia's part of
East Prussia)

Trade them for substantial reparations perhaps.....

On Saturday, December 24, 2022 at 11:37:32 PM UTC-7, The Horny Goat wrote:

> What would Zelenski do with Karelia?

Nothing at all. Giving back Karelia doesn't involve giving it to
Ukraine, because it was never taken from Ukraine. It would be
given back to Finland.

John Savard

On Sat, 24 Dec 2022 22:35:40 -0800, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca>
wrote:

>On Mon, 28 Nov 2022 09:39:45 -0800, Paul S Person
><psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
>
>>>Or, if you want a real horror... There is an estimate that
>>>Russia will lose more troops this winter to hypothermia than they
>>>will to the Ukraine army.
>>
>>I wonder if that can be treated as a Russian war crime. And those
>>responsible who survive long enough to be prosecuted for it. What the
>>Russians pretend is an "Army" is nothing of the sort.
>
>Why? In WW2 Russia took more losses than the Germans all the way from
>June 1941 - Jan 1945. It was only in Feb 1945 (e.g. 3 months before
>the Red Army took Berlin) that German losses were higher than the Red
>Army's.

The Army /you/ cite had things this "Army" lacks:

It lacks training.

It lacks equipment.

It lacks discipline.

It lacks morale.

It lacks leadership. From Putin on down.

Without discipline, it is merely a mob. In this case, a mob that may
be armed but which was never trained to use those weapons.
("Equipment" above mostly refers to proper clothing for the
environment and not to personal weapons, although stocks of missiles
and other higher-level weapons appear to be being depleted and so are
lacking.)

Without morale, it will accomplish nothing. Except, perhaps,
surrender, if it can manage to do that while freezing to death.

There was an earlier pattern of entire units surrendering without
being forced to do so. This showed that unit cohesion, at least, was
present.

But whether the freezing untrained draftees have unit cohesion may be
another story.
--
"In this connexion, unquestionably the most significant
development was the disintegration, under Christian
influence, of classical conceptions of the family and
of family right."