APG>Speaking of appeasing Wolfram, I recently launched a distributive search of random initial configurations in lifelike cellular automata. In order to contribute, it's as simple as running the Python script in Golly (preferably n instances if your computer has n cores). We're at 66 billion objects so far for the most popular search (Conway's Game of Life with no symmetry), which is satisfying given that it's only been running for 11 days: http://catagolue.appspot.com/census/b3s23/C1 (At the moment I'm running the script on 44 CPUs to attempt to reclaim my position as most prolific contributor, after it was stolen from me by my trans-Atlantic friend Dave Greene. He's only got 12 CPUs at his disposal, but they can run 24/7 rather than just overnight when no-one's looking!) Sincerely, Adam P. Goucher ---------- I expected little more from this effort than some tedious statistics. Instead, this search is turning up new and interesting stuff: oscillators, puffertrains, improved syntheses, a period 24(!) that should have been found by Conway and Guy decades before mine, a period 3 oscillator that cannot be stabilized by other than a (central) period 2. ...ooo.....ooo . ......o...o o.......o.......o o....ooooooo....o o...o.......o...o ..o.o..ooo..o.o ....o.o...o.o ...oo.o...o.oo ....o.o...o.o ..o.o..ooo..o.o o...o.......o...o o....ooooooo....o o.......o.......o ......o...o . ...ooo.....ooo Is this a period 6?? Even more fun: The long awaited invulnerable fighting gun-- a puffertrain that shoots gliders backwards. When two ordinary guns "cross swords", retaliatory gliders and stalagmites soon end the experiment (unless it loops quickly). But these babies are invulnerable. My very first "war" lasted nearly 40000000, gosper.org/invulgun.png , while doing remarkable things. --rwg