Random Thoughts

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Aces and Dice

Effect:

Performer shuffles a deck of cards twice and sets the deck down. Then displays four dice. The specatator rolls the dice to come up with four random numbers. The performer picks up the deck and shows the top and bottom cards, and then deals four piles of cards. The number of cards dealt to each pile corresponds with the number on each die. For example, if the dice showed a 4, 3, 5, and 3, then the first pile dealt would have 4 cards, the second 3, the third 5, and the fourth 3. Turning the top card of each pile reveals the four aces. Continue reading “Aces and Dice”
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The longest flight

Old age sucks. Memories fade. So I thought I would write this story down before more of my memories of it fade away. This is about my longest flight.

I was working for Metheus Corporation at the time. Metheus was building computer workstations used for designing VLSI chips. I was a marketing engineer at the time. Dec 7th, 1983 my boss asked me if I would go to Israel to demo our systems at a trade show. That was the same day that a Palestinian terrorist bombed a Jerusalem bus killing four people. Since I didn’t believe in omens I said sure.

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Aha moments

Have you ever had one of those moments where you have had some nagging thought, which suddenly gains clarity with an aha moment. Here are two that I have had.

My best friend was living just 20 miles north of Yellowstone. I was visiting him and decided to drive down to the park and do some hiking and photography. I had come to a large meadow that had a herd of bison grazing. The path cut across the center of the meadow to a small rise. None of the bison were near the path so I quietly and slowly crossed, without incident, to the rise on the far side.

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Cars that I have owned

  • 57 Chevy Bel Air – Not very cool, it was a four door. But it did take me all the way to Laguna Beach and back when I was seventeen.
  • 67 MGB GT – I blame Chris for this car. It was a rust bucket unfortunately. But it, along with Chris’ MGB gave me my taste for British cars. I didn´t keep it very long.
  • 1978 Volkswagon Scirocco – This was a great car. Virtually indestructible, until I ran a red light and got T-boned right at the driver side door. Car was totaled but I walked away without a scratch.
  • 1957 MGA – Saw this for sale on the road by Beaverton High School in 1985, and in a moment of weakness bought it. I still think that this is one of the most beautiful sports cars to look at. Only a four cylinder, but it handles nice. It was in pretty rough shape mechanically and although I did drive it for a while, it ended up sitting in my garage for a good number of years before I got it mechanically rebuilt.
  • 1988 Honda Prelude – This car was almost as fun to drive as the Scirocco. It had four wheel steering, where the rear wheels actually turned slightly as well as the front wheels.
  • 1999 Accura Integra – A nice solid car, sporty, but not really a sports car.
  • 1960 Austin Healey 3000 – Now this is the car that people drool over when I drive it, at least if they are old enough to remember wanting one, or if they had one and regret getting rid of it. Same size as the MGA, but with an engine twice as large (roughly 3000cc compared to 1500cc). It also weighs 1000 pounds more. Under the bonnet is a straight 6 and it does feel like it.
  • 2011 Mitsubishi Eclipse – This car feels somewhat between my Prelude and my Integra. It drives much more like a sports car than did the Integra.
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Broken nose

I broke my nose in 1978 or 79. I was 28 and had recently started working for a small startup computer company, Floating Point Systems. Looking back at my career this was probably the most exciting job that I had had. We were working in the super computer industry with a product that performed like a Cray supercomputer at a far less cost, for certain applications.

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Home Automation (smart home)

I have had a “smart” home for probably over thirty years.  So I get amused by the “new” trends in home automation such as Philips Hue, and Wink, etc.  The new technology is great, definitely better than what I have been using, but when I look at replacing what I have I find the costs to be prohibitive.  Re-doing my house would cost about $1000 and in some ways not be as good as what I currently have.

Continue reading “Home Automation (smart home)”
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Card stack technique for Xavier Perret’s Da Vinci’s Code card trick

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPQEF24XWAc for the effect.

Steps

  1. Sort the cards into four face up piles, each pile consisting of a single suit in order from the back (A) to the top (K). So when you hold a pile in your hand face up, the Ace is next to your palm and the King is the visible card.
  2. Set the hearts, spades and diamonds aside for a moment.
  3. Take the clubs and divide them into the following three groups:
  4. Ace to six, 7 to 10, and then the Jack, Queen and King
  5. Pick up the Jack, Queen and King and move the Jack between the Queen and King.
  6. Pick up the 7 to 10 pile and interleave the Queen, Jack and King between the 7, 8, 9, and 10 so you end up with the cards in 7, Q, 8, J, 9, K, and 10 order.
  7. Now pick up the A to 6 pile and interleave them into the 7, Q, 8, J, 9, K, and 10 pile so you end up with:
    7, A, Q, 2, 8, 3, J, 4, 9, 5, K, 6, 10
  8. Move the 7 from the bottom to the top so you have:
    A, Q, 2, 8, 3, J, 4, 9, 5, K, 6, 10, 7
  9. Holding the clubs pile face up in your right hand, pick up the diamonds pile in your left hand and Faro shuffle the two piles face up together, keeping the 7 of clubs on top.
    The order of those cards after the shuffle are:   AD, AC, 2D, QC, 3D, 2C4D, 8C, 5D, 3C, 6D, JC, 7D, 4C, 8D, 9C, 9D, 5C, 10D, KC, JD, 6C, QD, 10C, KD, 7C
  10. Place the face up spades packet on the face up hearts, and then Faro shuffle those with the packet that has the 7C on top. Keep the 7C on top as you Faro shuffle
Continue reading “Card stack technique for Xavier Perret’s Da Vinci’s Code card trick”
Copyright (c) 2023, Robert J Wallace