Pic-a-nic baskets

I've said it before, but Excel Esports is a great pastime for anyone who's even slightly smarter than the average bear. This month's challenge involved calculating the revenue and costs of selling picnic baskets, with the added complication that any bears in the vicinity will steal the baskets and not give them back unless you give them a treat. And then for the final task, the bears are all out to get you and you have to calculate the quickest escape route!

As before, I did okay with it, but with a little bit more practice of thinking at high speed, I could do better. I've definitely got a real buzz of adrenaline after this session! Well, either that or I've drunk too much cherry coke again.

Anyway, this weekend it's back to merry old Cambridge for the EGP othello tournament! You know, twenty years ago at the 2003 tournament I was temporarily living in Cambridge and doing a course in teaching English as a foreign language. It turned out not to be a great career choice, and I quickly went back to number-crunching. But that weekend it unexpectedly snowed a blizzard and I was caught outside in Cambridge city centre in light, summery clothes. I hope that doesn't happen again this time, but I'm not packing any winter woolies anyway, so it'll be entirely my fault if it does.