4/30    Sorting question!  I have n sorted arrays of doubles.  What's the
        fastest way to sort them into 1 big sorted array?
        \_ as mentioned below: you are describing one half of mergesort
        \_ You really have to ask this question?
           \_ You don't know either, huh?
        \_ If three are n sorted arrays of m doubles each, I think the fastest
           way is O(m * n log n).
              \_ Read up on mergesort, now do the logical next step.
                 \_ Mergesort doesn't take advantage of the arrays being
                    sorted.  You only need to consider the first unprocessed
                    value per array when choosing the next to insert.
                    \_ The second half of mergesort takes advantage of
                       the arrays being sorted.  That's the whole deal
                       with mergesort.  You merge two sorted lists, starting
                       with the trivial case of a single element list.
                       \_ If each sorted array has m doubles, is the complexity
                          for this O(n^2 * m)?  -- yuen
                          \_ No, it depends on you make your max function work.
                             I can think of a pretty simple way to do it
                             in O(mnlogn).
                             \_ Hell, you could just jam the lists together
                                and do a mergesort with the starting list
                                size of m (if the lists are all the same
                                length, add a null list terminator if that's
                                the case.)
                                There's tons of ways to do this all close
                                enough to the same big O that the ultimate
                                "fastest" is going to depend on real
                                limitations like is your data so large that
                                it spans multiple file systems.
              \_ I don't exctly have a pattern handy, but it should be pretty
                 easy.
        \_ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogosort

4/30    What's the over/under on Biden being forced out because of his big
        mouth?
        \_ What did he say?
           \- Monorail

4/30    We should ban cars, too, because they kill!
        http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/04/30/netherlands.queen.car/index.html
        \_ Cars have significant utility to society.  And guess what, there's
           a ton a liscensing and registration needed to drive and own a car
           because they are so dangerous.
        \_ On a related note, I think the California DMV says driving is a
           priviledge and not a right.

4/30    Who would Jesus torture?  Answer here:
        \_ http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/30/religion.torture/index.html
           (According to religious people)
        \_ Nazis. http://www.badkarmaproductions.com/jc/?p=35
           (According to religious people)
        \_ God tortures unrepentant sinners -- see references to Hell.
           \_ This is controversial, to say the least.
           \_ Not to mention, but it is complete and total blasphemy
              for people to assume the place of God.  "Judge not, lest
              ye be judged".  I'm beginning to think that the most rabid
              bible-thumping Christians are actually serving Satan.

4/30    So I have been posting reviews to Tripadvisor. They are usually good.
        A couple have been poor. I noticed that the poor ones tend to
        recieve poor marks for "helpfulness". I think that is someone at
        the establishment marking my poor review as "unhelpful". What
        really irritated me is when my honest and accurate review was
        removed from the site. I got a letter from Tripadvisor saying that
        I had violated policy by "smearing" the establishment. (I actually
        rated the place 3 stars but related a poor experience I had.) So
        Tripadvisor acts under pressure from property and restaurant owners
        to remove bad reviews apparently. This calls into the question the
        value of any reviews on that site. This is certainly unethical,
        but is there a basis for a lawsuit?
        Article I found:
        http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-travelquest_0525_r_lmv_pmmay25,0,5120261.story
        \_ See also the East Bay Express story on yelp.
           http://www.eastbayexpress.com/gyrobase/yelp_and_the_business_of_extortion_2_0/Content?oid=927491&page=1
            -tom
           \_ Good article, thanks.
           \_ I have a friend at yelp who is one of those people who is so
              earnest he pretty much can't tell lie.  (It's kind of embarassing
              how earnest the guy is.)  His take on that article was that
              it is 100% bullshit.  That said, yelp reviews suck so hard
              they are useless.
              \_ The guy who owns Mama's Cafe told me he's repeatedly
                 received calls from Yelp saying that they'll "re-
                 prioritize" bad reviews in exchange for donations.
        \_ This is my least favorite Yelp reviewer on planet:
           http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=G3bUPrjE__b-jKpYASYFxg
           \_ Why? Looks like he gives a lot of relevant information.
                \_ how nice:
                   "It's like the creepy math nerd from high school:
                   I wouldn't hang out with him if I didn't have
                        to get his class notes! "
                   \_ Dude probably was the creepy math nerd.
                      Anyway, I am not on Yelp to make friends. I want
                      lots of accurate info and he seems to provide more
                      than average.
        \_ What would you sue them for? They haven't caused you any harm.
           IANAL, but you have to have some kind of personal stake in something
           to file a lawsuit.
           http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/s064.htm
           \_ "I suppose a disgruntled business could bring an
              unfair-trade-practices-type lawsuit of their Terms of Service,
              but it has to hinge on whether they're saying one thing and
              then are doing something else. That's the only way there could
              be any legal action."