I like python

I just got done reading

Chance

by Amir D. Aczel, which was a fun, quick book about probability and how it applies to various scenarios in our lives, including gambling. This book was by no means a rigorous study, but it had some good explanations on determining probabilities for simple situations. What I got out of it was a little motivation to revisit my gambling past and, along the way, mess with python.

One of the blackjack games I used to play had a side bet called a “Royal Match”, which was basically a bet that 2 cards of the same suit would be dealt to you. The probabilities for this side bet when playig with a full deck of cards is fairly straight forward. But I wanted to run some simulations to see what the probabilities looked like at various points dealing from a randomly shuffled deck. So I started writing a python script to simulate any number of decks being dealt and to determine probabilities. Within a few hours I had all the data I wanted generated by this script. I used a few online references for some syntax help, but it was relatively painless to whip out the script. So I think I’ll start using python more often for prototyping algorithms and such.

As far as the results of the Royal Match bet, I’m working to devise a count that can take advantage of positive situations. As soon as I get to a point I’m happy with I’ll add it to my projects page.

Another Day at the Circus

I’m juggling so many projects that I feel like I’m a clown at the circus. Having your hands in a couple of potential money making software projects is a good thing, but also I’m trying to make sure I don’t spread myself too thin and get stuck with 10 unfinished apps.

Since I’ve struck out on my own as a software developer, I’ve been learning many good lessons on software project management. I’m realizing how difficult it was for those who I have worked with in the past. And now with myself being the sole developer AND project manager, I sometimes feel overwhelmed. The most difficult part I’ve found is stepping back from the code enough to work on solidifying design and making time estimates. I, like most coders, I’m sure, have a tendency to want to jump in to writing code and not look away from the screen until it’s finished. It’s difficult to recognize when to take a break and gather new requirements, define pieces that were left for later in the project, and to estimate how far along the project really is. Personally, I have difficulty with cramming at the end of projects because I always feel they are closer to completion than they actually are. I’m working on that one.

Now about those projects…

The prediction market software isn’t much more than some database tables at the moment. Design is nearly complete, but I’ve been busy with the other projects for now. I have been thinking about this one, though. My direction will be to crate a PHP/MySQL based prediction market solution as a plugin to wordpress and/or drupal. Then I supply a free download of a user-limited version which will allow corporations interested in using the software to install and test it out before they commit. Also, having an online demo is a good way to draw interest. Since this project is moving the slowest, I may solicit help in its development. This is also, in my eyes, the best potential moneymaking project I have right now, so I should bump its priority up.

The second project is a 2D game running on Windows, in partnership with a designer/artist. I’ve been hard at work on the engine/framework and am getting into the game logic code right now. This project was great for bringing back my game coding, Windows API, and DirectX skills. It’d been years since I’d touched games and I had forgotten how fun they are to develop. I’m putting in as much time as I can with this project and it’s making alot of progress. Unfortunately, this is where I need to step back and make sure design precedes code. While I’m waiting for design and artwork from the other guy on the project, It could be possible to whip up a small design for a card game or puzzle game, something simple to show off the work I’ve done for the engine/framework which wouldn’t take much time to code. I’m anxious to have something to show for the work I’ve done here.

The final project is my most time consuming. It’s a contract job for which I’ve signed an NDA, so I can’t say much about it other than it has to do with gaming. Not as fun as designing my own game, but not as terrible as being a database developer. I’m hoping this project will wrap up within the next week and I can focus on other things. Unfortunately, when it comes to paying the bills, I have to put projects like this one first.

Which reminds me, anyone need a coder?