How to translate idioms

Philipp Lenssen at Google Blogoscoped has posted a list of idioms written in code.

If you have a quibble with the format of these remember to
take(salt * .01); (That's one of his coded idioms.)

For the full list go to his page -- and for answers read his readers' comments where issues of syntax and well formedness (appropriately) come up a few times.

// idiom
cop[0].goodInPercent = 100;
cop[1].goodInPercent = 0;

// idiom
a = getThickness('blood');
b = getThickness('water');
assert(a > b);

// idiom
die(1000);
function die(max) {
for (i = 1; i <= max; i++) {
cut();
}
}

// idiom
prey = 'worm';
time = getCurrentTime();
if (time >= 4 && time <= 8) {
bird.catch(prey);
}

// idiom
var here = false;
var there = false;

// idiom
if (i == 2) {
tango();
}

// idiom
function tunnel() {
var dark;
for (i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
dark = true;
}
dark = !dark;
return dark;
}

// idiom
function getGain(pain) {
return pain >= 1;
}

// idiom
if (a != 'cake') a.eat();

// idiom
var location = getLocation();
if (location == 'rome') {
do( location.getCitizen() );
}

A simple Sunday post

The Ridger tagged me a while ago. The rules of this one are pretty simple. I have to respond to seven simple prompts.

1. Share one random and or weird thing about yourself.
I used to have 3 widow's peaks.


2. Share a 2nd random and or weird thing about yourself.
I got into linguistics because I like doing impressions and accents.


3. Share a 3rd random and or weird thing about yourself.
I learned how to do a wolf whistle from reading a book. I had always wanted to know how to do one and I finally learned how in high school when one English class was so boring that I started browsing through the bookcases for random books to read to pass the time. (Class was held in the library.)


4. Share a 4th random and or weird thing about yourself.
I never drink with my meals.


5. Share a 5th random and or weird thing about yourself.
In the 4th grade during a football game I go so mad at a classmate that the other kids had to hold me back. I kept fighting to charge at him and an older kid (Melvin I think...) kept saying to me "Stop looking at him. It's just making you madder." He kept blocking my view then turned me around until I calmed down. I felt so stupid afterwards and I haven't lost my temper since. I really don't even get angry anymore. (I'm so proud of myself.)


6. Share a 6th random and or weird thing about yourself.
I started violin lessons by the Suzuki method when I was 5 years old. I loved it. And I was pretty good. In the 5th grade I got a new teacher. She had me learn "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" and I thought it was such a stupid song that I quit the violin.


7. Share a 7th random and or weird thing about yourself.
I haven't trimmed the length of my beard in 2 years.

I'll not tag anyone. But if you choose to do a similar post go ahead and leave a comment and give me a link. Or don't. I promise I won't get mad.

The conquistador

It's hard to say what's so amazing about the site, but I've wasted enough time there to know that something about Wordcount makes pain go away. The site lines up a list of 86,800 words in order of their frequency. They are also sized in a corresponding scale. According to the "about" page the data was compiled from the 100 million word British National Corpus®.

I found the link over on Hosstuff (to which I've added a link in my sidebar).