johnph77's Blog

Got a PM a couple of days ago asking me whether I was going to chart PA's Match 6 and DE's Multi-Win Lotto games. I replied that I hadn't planned on it as the lottery structure was too complicated. That started bugging me - I love challenges like that. I started the chart on the DE game and, man, what a monster.

For those of you reading this, these games offer $2 tickets with three lines of 6 numbers, each tied to the same drawing. You get to select (or quick-pick) one line, the other two are quick picks only. You can win by matching numbers on any one line or win a second-tier prize by matching more numbers on all three lines.

But here's the sticky part. The DE game, for instance, is a 6/35 lottery. In a straight 6/35 lottery you would have 1,623,260 different possibilities. But with three lines there are

4,276,455,873,570,496,000!

possible tickets. And that's a bunch of possibilities to calculate and post on a web site. And the PA game has even higher numbers, being a 6/49 lottery. I may never fool with that one.

Back to the mines.....

Format changes and some data updates on the Keno payout and percentage page are complete, page is in service. I need to check and verify more innormation for the final version but the tough part is over. Far more readable. All jurisdictions and casinos are in the new normat whether complete innormation is available and posted or not - far easier to update that way.

The next iteration will have the pages broken down into individual jurisdictions. The page is simply too big.

Fooled around with the normat of the lottery payout and percentage page - changes will be minor, if anything. After over two years in existence, it still looks good in my eye.

Work on Keno pages update continues, with changes in appearance. Given that I come from the industrial school of web page design, it looks much better and (I think) easier to read while taking less webspace.

Also re appearance, I did two slight tweaks of the lottery payout and percentage page earlier today - one success, one failure. Restored latter to original code. The successful tweak will go unnoticed to the casual eye, but I'm far more critical of my work. I expect to make more changes when I start the update.

Home - trip was good, enjoyable. Good people, good food, good booze and good rest.

While away continued basework on Keno page update, but proving to be slower than revised work estimate. I have a lot of backed-up innormation that needs processed, and it has to be processed just like new innormation. No problem, just will take time.

Leaving for El Paso TX Thursday to see old family friends. Need some R&R (or is it I&I?), and this is the first trip I've taken in a long time that doesn't involve business, family rituals (marriages, funerals and the like) or pinochle.

Progress continues on the conversion of the Keno pages, going very well, still far faster than I ever thought it would be. I'm in the process of adding two more locations to that page. I'm going to tweak the overall analysis site as well - that's now a given - and the first tweak will be the biggest, yet the one that takes the least amount of time. It'll significantly reduce the file sizes for faster access and allow more files to be posted later. 

Beginning analysis of Keno payout percentage page. This is the page most in need of an update. I want to totally redo the normat and update the innormation therein while doing it. While doing it I probably will redo the other Keno pages as well, if time permits. I don't know whether time will permit simultaneous updating and additional construction of the overall analysis pages, though, but time will tell.

Individual game position and sum frequency charts finished and uploaded. This project is complete, save for the addition of some bells and whistles. Nothing important.

And with it comes the end of almost a year of being involved in this project - there was a lot of work pernormed in my free time, but it's produced positive results and good innormation. I'm going to sit back with drink in hand for a few.

After that it's on to some graphics work, then some much-needed updates to the lottery and Keno pages.

Website set up to receive individual lottery position and sum frequency charts. Entance to chart area will be password-protected to prevent unauthorized access and piracy. Works like a charm. Completion and upload tomorrow.

Individual game numeric position and sum frequency charts 83% complete, fully complete in less than a week, barring any disaster. Progress since redoing source data can only be described as terrific.

Updates to Keno and lottery pages due next. Not sure whether I'll leave them in their single-page normat like they are now or break them up into individual jurisdictions with an index/link page. Another possibility is to separate them into game types, like Lottery Post.

Might take some time away from this to do some graphics work. I have new graphics software I need to familiarize myself with.

Will be on the road in Feb (Las Vegas NV for sure, Charleston SC possibly).

Individual game sum chart source info for all games revamped, working better than before, faster than anticipated. Individual game charts will be completed sooner than anticipated.

Happy holidays, all.

gl

john

Revamping source info for sum charts, so on-site progress is halted - about halfway through. Once done completion will come quickly. Then on to updates.

.....on individual game positional and sum charts. Did an upload earlier. Haven't set a target date for completion, though.

Received new graphics software today. I'm not disappointed - the learning curve might take a while to navigate and the instruction manual is almost worth the price of the software alone - but it made me think about graphics and computers. Wrote a short essay about it, posted on another forum - nothing to do with lotteries so would be inappropriate here.

Client software running hot, straight and normal - they're satisfied. Construction for mods for one continues - I originally thought I could do this without a shutdown but not so now. So be it. Progress going great.  Job phasing for future mods keep changing, but that's normal. Further development needed, to be pernormed after first of year. Overall, going well.

Individual game chart progress continuing, but I haven't uploaded to site yet. Limited by available time.

Client whose server crashed is up and running, far ahead of what they (and I) had anticipated, with faster access, easier and more automated data entry methods in place. New spreadsheets working great. I haven't idiot-proofed it yet but that's next.

Upload for other client ready - files in place, indexes modified, controls linked. As seamless as I think I can make it. I know I've forgoten something but it'll have to wait until I (or someone else) discovers it. This ain't Westworld.

Back to work on lottery pages tomorrow - individual sum and positional frequency game charts. They're already under external style sheet control so no mods will be necessary on past and future pages.

New pages are about 16% complete - I have a progress chart posted elsewhere - but progress has slowed. A client of mine has set a deadline of next weekend (drop dead date - he following weekend) for a major update of their database. I've been working rather feverishly on that. Now I've found out that another client's server has crashed, taking down a lot of valuable innormation and controls for his database. I'll be busy for at least the next two weeks.....