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On Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:46:05 -0800, Michael Foukarakis wrote:

> On Feb 10, 6:08Â*pm, "bartc" <ba...@freeuk.com> wrote:

>> What's the answer then, use a 230-bit PRNG?
>
> Possible ways to shuffle a deck = 52! ~= 8 * 10^67 ~= 2^3 × 2^3*67 ~=
> 2^603

~= 2^220

3.x bits are needed per decade.
Other method: count in binary.

counting bits to encode the deck:

52 .. 32 : 6 bits * 21 items 126
31 .. 16 : 5 bits * 16 items 80
16 .. 8 : 4 bits * 8 items 32
8 .. 4 : 3 bits * 4 items 12
4 .. 2 : 2 bits * 2 items 4
2 .. 1 : 1 bits * item 1 (redundant!)

Total: 254 bits

HTH,
AvK

Keith Thompson <kst-> wrote:

> William Hughes <> writes:
> > On Feb 10, 6:27Â*pm, Keith Thompson <ks...@mib.org> wrote:
> [...]
> >> "We must do something. Â*This is something. Â*Therefore, we must do this."
> >> Â* Â* -- Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, "Yes Minister"
> >
> > I love this quote. Which show is it from?
>
> If you mean which episode, I have no idea; I've never actually seen
> the show.

If you are at all interested in British politics - or even in Great
Britain, or in politics - do so as soon as you can.

Richard

ralt...@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) wrote:
> Keith Thompson <ks...@mib.org> wrote:
> > William Hughes <wpihug...@hotmail.com> writes:
> > > On Feb 10, 6:27*pm, Keith Thompson <ks...@mib.org> wrote:
> > [...]
> > >> "We must do something. *This is something. *Therefore,
> > >> we must do this."
> > >> * * -- Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, "Yes Minister"
> > >
> > > I love this quote. *Which show is it from?
> >
> > If you mean which episode, I have no idea; I've never
> > actually seen the show.
>
> If you are at all interested in British politics - or even
> in Great Britain, or in politics - do so as soon as you can.

And if you like Nigel Hawthorn, get a hold the 79 TV movie
"The Knowledge".

--
Peter

Richard Heathfield <> writes:
> William Hughes wrote:
>> On Feb 10, 6:27 pm, Keith Thompson <ks...@mib.org> wrote:
>
> <snip>
>>
>>> "We must do something. This is something. Therefore, we must do this."
>>> -- Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, "Yes Minister"
>>
>> I love this quote. Which show is it from?
>
> "Yes Prime Minister", Series Two, Episode 5, "Power to the People".
>
> Sir Arnold Robinson: "He's suffering from politicians' logic."
> Sir Humphrey Appleby: "'Something must be done; this is something;
> therefore, we must do it'."

You mean I've had the quote wrong all these years?

Initially I didn't have an attribution, because I wasn't sure
where it came from; I had just heard it somewhere. It's possible
I got it from somewhere else, and the writers of "Yes Minister"
either adapted it from the same source or came up with something
similar independently.

--
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith) kst- <http://www.ghoti.net/~kst>
Nokia
"We must do something. This is something. Therefore, we must do this."
-- Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, "Yes Minister"

On Feb 15, 5:12*pm, Richard Heathfield <r...@see.sig.invalid> wrote:
> William Hughes wrote:
> > On Feb 10, 6:27 pm, Keith Thompson <ks...@mib.org> wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
>
>
> >> "We must do something. *This is something. *Therefore, we must do this."
> >> * * -- Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, "Yes Minister"
>
> > I love this quote. *Which show is it from?
>
> "Yes Prime Minister", Series Two, Episode 5, "Power to the People".

Thanks - William Hughes

On Feb 15, 4:57*pm, ralt...@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) wrote:
> Keith Thompson <ks...@mib.org> wrote:
> > William Hughes <wpihug...@hotmail.com> writes:
> > > On Feb 10, 6:27*pm, Keith Thompson <ks...@mib.org> wrote:
> > [...]
> > >> "We must do something. *This is something. *Therefore, we must do this."
> > >> * * -- Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, "Yes Minister"
>
> > > I love this quote. *Which show is it from?
>
> > If you mean which episode, I have no idea; I've never actually seen
> > the show.
>
> If you are at all interested in British politics


or Canadian politics, (or I suspect anywhere with a
British Parliamentary tradition), or if you like
incredibly good comedies,

> or even in Great
> Britain, or in politics - do so as soon as you can.
>
> Richard

On 15 Feb, 20:57, ralt...@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) wrote:
> Keith Thompson <ks...@mib.org> wrote:
> > William Hughes <wpihug...@hotmail.com> writes:
> > > On Feb 10, 6:27*pm, Keith Thompson <ks...@mib.org> wrote:
> > [...]
> > >> "We must do something. *This is something. *Therefore, we must do this."
> > >> * * -- Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, "Yes Minister"
>
> > > I love this quote. *Which show is it from?
>
> > If you mean which episode, I have no idea; I've never actually seen
> > the show.
>
> If you are at all interested in British politics - or even in Great
> Britain, or in politics - do so as soon as you can.

apparently both Margaret Thatcher (right wing politician) and Tony
Benn (left wing politician) who had both tangled with the foot
dragging ways of the British civil service thought that the program
was great and very true to life. It has also exported remarkably well.