31.3.08
Review: Discovery Atlas
A couple weekends ago Mr X and I rented a documentary called Discovery Atlas: Italy. It's made by the same organization/people that created the Planet Earth series. This is a series that explores the people of the earth rather than the places. We are expecting to receive the next in the serious this weekend - it's Australia. I really enjoyed the Italy disk - it was interesting and engaging. I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys documentaries and learning about other cultures and lands.
The need for speed
27.3.08
The $53 trillion asteroid?
Sometimes, when I am responsibly inclined (okay maybe every night while drifting off to sleep), I ponder on my financial situation. Once I start estimating various completion days for my loan payoff in a number of different scenarios, I start to get a little bit depressed. A 30 year loan is a long time. A 15 year loan seems like a long time too. But while that might be depressing, it doesn't seem impossible either.
Then this morning I read this article on CNN. The statement that really hit home to me was that our government's financial irresponsibility translates into "an IOU of around $455,000 per American household." And that is estimated for the debt accrued right now. This doesn't take into effect the debt our country will be in by 2019, when some of that debt is supposedly going to begin coming due. The other statement I find frightening - "Rising costs will ... consume nearly all projected federal revenues ..."
So this leads me to wonder if all this saving I'm doing for retirement will be for naught because our government/society/country will have crashed by then. It also upsets me because I work hard to pay my bills and my debt and I try to remain vigilant about my cash flow - yet the government is allowed to be so irresponsible with their(our) money and you and I will have to deal with the repercussions first hand.
22.3.08
Mmmm....cookies
I self-medicated with cookies tonight. After downing an unmentionable amount of them I am left feeling chunky, weak-willed and nauseous. Damned cookies.
It's nearly 2 am on a Friday night/Saturday morning and I am still working. Normally I'd be partying like a rock star on any other Friday night at this time (and by partying like a rock star I mean sleeping). But unfortunately I own things and have a need for creature comforts like a house and pretty clothes, therefore I must do the responsible thing and bring home some bacon.
Arrrghghg! Why won't my processes finish already so I can go to bed? Good grief! Mr X is probably going to creep downstairs in the morning to find me in the office, face smashed on a very drooly keyboard with fuzzy tartar encrusted teeth, rotten cookie breath and greenish-purple bags taking up residence under my sleep-encrusted eyes. I have no doubt that he will, at the site of me in all my glory, be overcome with desire for me and..... Ah ha ha ha ha ha! I think my lack of sleep is making me delusional so I should quit writing now.
It's no wonder I self-medicate with cookies.
It's nearly 2 am on a Friday night/Saturday morning and I am still working. Normally I'd be partying like a rock star on any other Friday night at this time (and by partying like a rock star I mean sleeping). But unfortunately I own things and have a need for creature comforts like a house and pretty clothes, therefore I must do the responsible thing and bring home some bacon.
Arrrghghg! Why won't my processes finish already so I can go to bed? Good grief! Mr X is probably going to creep downstairs in the morning to find me in the office, face smashed on a very drooly keyboard with fuzzy tartar encrusted teeth, rotten cookie breath and greenish-purple bags taking up residence under my sleep-encrusted eyes. I have no doubt that he will, at the site of me in all my glory, be overcome with desire for me and..... Ah ha ha ha ha ha! I think my lack of sleep is making me delusional so I should quit writing now.
It's no wonder I self-medicate with cookies.
16.3.08
A Random Memory
The other day I was reminiscing about when Mr X and I were dating. Not long before we got married my parents said the following to Mr X (on separate occasions):
My dad said, "She's your problem now."
My mother said, "Have you ever heard that expressions, 'you've got a tiger by the tail'?"
When I later googled that expression I discovered that it's also the title to a Grateful Dead song. Here are some of the lyrics to that song:
I've got a tiger by the tail it's plain to see
I won't be much when you've got through with me
Well I'm losing weight and I'm turning mighty pale
Looks like I've got a tiger by the tail
Well I thought the day I met you you were meek as a lamb
Just the kind to fit my dreams and plans
Now the pace we're living takes the wind from my sails
And it looks like I've got a tiger by the tail
This all makes me wonder exactly how difficult of a child (or teenager) I really was growing up. And I certainly hope Mr X can't relate to those lyrics...
My dad said, "She's your problem now."
My mother said, "Have you ever heard that expressions, 'you've got a tiger by the tail'?"
When I later googled that expression I discovered that it's also the title to a Grateful Dead song. Here are some of the lyrics to that song:
I've got a tiger by the tail it's plain to see
I won't be much when you've got through with me
Well I'm losing weight and I'm turning mighty pale
Looks like I've got a tiger by the tail
Well I thought the day I met you you were meek as a lamb
Just the kind to fit my dreams and plans
Now the pace we're living takes the wind from my sails
And it looks like I've got a tiger by the tail
This all makes me wonder exactly how difficult of a child (or teenager) I really was growing up. And I certainly hope Mr X can't relate to those lyrics...
14.3.08
Happy π Day!
A couple days ago I received this email in my inbox. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, but then at the same time laugh a little. Of course this email would come from a bunch of developers, right? I mean, who cares about the impending and much more well known "Ides of March" or "Saint Patrick's Day". In this business π is apparently a bigger deal. That being said, the historical part is very interesting to me....sorry, can't help it.
"This Friday is a little more important than your normal end of the week. March 14th is an important day, celebrated by millions around the world. Heralded as possibly the most significant number in human history by mathematicians the world over, March 14th is a day to celebrate the ratio of circle’s diameter to its circumference. The Project Manager has been kind enough to help support this holiday by providing some pie (and coffee) for us to enjoy. Please join us at 1:59 PM on Friday, March 14th, to help us celebrate this joyous important day. (3.14 1:59) 2pm is close enough!
The Number
π is an irrational number, a transcendental number, and is the basis for one the 3 classical mathematical problems: squaring the circle.
The History
Though it is sometimes credited to the ancient Egyptians, sometimes to Sumerians, or maybe the Babylonians, or the Hindus, or the Olmecs, the letter itself is Greek, coming from the Greek περίμετρος (perimeter) a term which is normally credited to Euclid in his integral mathematical text, Elements. π itself being used as a constant to represent the ratio was not used until 1706 by William Jones in A New Introduction to Mathematics. Euler’s adoption of this notation in 1737 popularized the notation which we still use today. Though there is much argumentation about which civilization should get the credit, the fact that so many of our ancient ancestors discovered π is proof enough of its historical significance.
Egypt first used the value 3, before refining it to a value of 256/81 (3.1605).
Babylonia used the approximation 25/8 (3.125)
India used 339/108 (3.138)
The best of the ancient approximations of π was Archimedes who realized the magnitude of π could be bounded from below and above by using inscribed circles. He realized π was between 223/71 and 22/7 giving the best approximation of 3.1419
Almost 600 years later, Zu Chongzhi, a Chinese mathematician gave the approximation 335/113 and that π is bounded by 3.1415926 and 3.1415927.
Chongzhi’s approximation stood for 900 years before calculus evolved in mathematics that allowed Madhava of Sangamagrama to discover the first known series which represents π. This was the first historical calculation of Pi accurate to more than 10 decimal places.
Only 20 years later, the Persian astronomer Jamshid al-Kashi correctly determined 16 digits.
The first European contribution since Archimedes was Ludolph van Ceulen to calculate 32 digits of π. So proud was he of this achievement that his tombstone bears his approximation.
Better and better approximations came until the best pre-computer calculation of 527 accurate digits by William Shanks, he had calculated 707, but it was later found his 528th digit was incorrect due to his inaccurate formula.
Finally Johann Heinrich Lambert proved π’s irrationality in 1761.
Due to use of computers John von Neumann calculated 2037 digits of π in 1949, this feat took 70 hours on ENIAC.
1973 finally had π accurate to a million decimal places.
In 1989 π was first calculated to a billion decimal places.
The current record is 1,241,100,000,000 decimals, set is 2002."
"This Friday is a little more important than your normal end of the week. March 14th is an important day, celebrated by millions around the world. Heralded as possibly the most significant number in human history by mathematicians the world over, March 14th is a day to celebrate the ratio of circle’s diameter to its circumference. The Project Manager has been kind enough to help support this holiday by providing some pie (and coffee) for us to enjoy. Please join us at 1:59 PM on Friday, March 14th, to help us celebrate this joyous important day. (3.14 1:59) 2pm is close enough!
The Number
π is an irrational number, a transcendental number, and is the basis for one the 3 classical mathematical problems: squaring the circle.
The History
Though it is sometimes credited to the ancient Egyptians, sometimes to Sumerians, or maybe the Babylonians, or the Hindus, or the Olmecs, the letter itself is Greek, coming from the Greek περίμετρος (perimeter) a term which is normally credited to Euclid in his integral mathematical text, Elements. π itself being used as a constant to represent the ratio was not used until 1706 by William Jones in A New Introduction to Mathematics. Euler’s adoption of this notation in 1737 popularized the notation which we still use today. Though there is much argumentation about which civilization should get the credit, the fact that so many of our ancient ancestors discovered π is proof enough of its historical significance.
Egypt first used the value 3, before refining it to a value of 256/81 (3.1605).
Babylonia used the approximation 25/8 (3.125)
India used 339/108 (3.138)
The best of the ancient approximations of π was Archimedes who realized the magnitude of π could be bounded from below and above by using inscribed circles. He realized π was between 223/71 and 22/7 giving the best approximation of 3.1419
Almost 600 years later, Zu Chongzhi, a Chinese mathematician gave the approximation 335/113 and that π is bounded by 3.1415926 and 3.1415927.
Chongzhi’s approximation stood for 900 years before calculus evolved in mathematics that allowed Madhava of Sangamagrama to discover the first known series which represents π. This was the first historical calculation of Pi accurate to more than 10 decimal places.
Only 20 years later, the Persian astronomer Jamshid al-Kashi correctly determined 16 digits.
The first European contribution since Archimedes was Ludolph van Ceulen to calculate 32 digits of π. So proud was he of this achievement that his tombstone bears his approximation.
Better and better approximations came until the best pre-computer calculation of 527 accurate digits by William Shanks, he had calculated 707, but it was later found his 528th digit was incorrect due to his inaccurate formula.
Finally Johann Heinrich Lambert proved π’s irrationality in 1761.
Due to use of computers John von Neumann calculated 2037 digits of π in 1949, this feat took 70 hours on ENIAC.
1973 finally had π accurate to a million decimal places.
In 1989 π was first calculated to a billion decimal places.
The current record is 1,241,100,000,000 decimals, set is 2002."
11.3.08
Aluminum Free
I have been distressed to [gradually] discover that my favorite deodorant is no longer being carried by the usual stores from which I purchase it: Target, Walgreens, Longs, and even now drugstore.com. Boo hoo. I was running low and frantically searched all over for my deodorant but alas, I could not find it. Finally, using a tricky method and good timing I managed to find it once again at drugstore.com so I bought 5 of them. That's $18 worth of deodorant!
What kind of deodorant is it, you ask? It is made by Adidas and it is aluminum free and fabulous. It's deodorant, not antiperspirant. You might think that means I must get nasty pit-stains or something but rest assured that I don't.
I have tried other aluminum free deodorants and detested them. So I was thrilled to find this one and I'm upset that they might not be making it anymore. If you have any deodorant that you use and love, let me know because it looks like I'll need to find a new brand after my 5 sticks run out.
What kind of deodorant is it, you ask? It is made by Adidas and it is aluminum free and fabulous. It's deodorant, not antiperspirant. You might think that means I must get nasty pit-stains or something but rest assured that I don't.
I have tried other aluminum free deodorants and detested them. So I was thrilled to find this one and I'm upset that they might not be making it anymore. If you have any deodorant that you use and love, let me know because it looks like I'll need to find a new brand after my 5 sticks run out.
7.3.08
So we're all nerds then?
So your responses to my post from yesterday prompted me to pose this question to you: If everybody has some sort of 'nerdy' tendencies, what are yours?
Aside from my obsession with counting and calculating everything, here are some of mine:
1) On occasion, I have been known to read and thoroughly enjoy science-fiction novels. (One of my all-time favorite books is "Ender's Game" *blush*) Mr X harasses me to no end on this one but he can't really talk because he loves to play video games. Oh and he has some sort of DRAGON-creature on his treasured snowboard. Very mythical and nerdy, no?
2) I love documentary movies. In fact, at our house we have "Documentary Sunday" every Sunday.
3) Along the same lines as #2, I love stations on TV like PBS and the History Channel. In fact, when we lived in CA, there was this UCSD science professor that regularly taught classes on the PBS station there and I LOVED it. Much to Mr X's disgust I would sit there entranced by his lectures on things like genetics and such. If Mr X had the remote for the television you can bet we'd have been watching Max X or something.
4) I am a database administrator and a developer for an accounting system. Judging by my coworkers, that's pretty high on the 'nerdy' scale.
Aside from those things, though, I'm pretty darn cool. (aha ha ha ha ha...oh please.)
Aside from my obsession with counting and calculating everything, here are some of mine:
1) On occasion, I have been known to read and thoroughly enjoy science-fiction novels. (One of my all-time favorite books is "Ender's Game" *blush*) Mr X harasses me to no end on this one but he can't really talk because he loves to play video games. Oh and he has some sort of DRAGON-creature on his treasured snowboard. Very mythical and nerdy, no?
2) I love documentary movies. In fact, at our house we have "Documentary Sunday" every Sunday.
3) Along the same lines as #2, I love stations on TV like PBS and the History Channel. In fact, when we lived in CA, there was this UCSD science professor that regularly taught classes on the PBS station there and I LOVED it. Much to Mr X's disgust I would sit there entranced by his lectures on things like genetics and such. If Mr X had the remote for the television you can bet we'd have been watching Max X or something.
4) I am a database administrator and a developer for an accounting system. Judging by my coworkers, that's pretty high on the 'nerdy' scale.
Aside from those things, though, I'm pretty darn cool. (aha ha ha ha ha...oh please.)
6.3.08
(34x * 2y) ÷ 73^2 + (8xy -17)
Okay so this morning when I got out of bed, I didn't necessarily get out on the right side but I think I avoided the wrong side as well. I might have just slithered off the end of the bed instead. (If Mr X reads this he will probably give out a tentative sigh of relief and silently begin praying that my day at work goes well so that by the time I get home I will be the nice lady he married rather than the crazy mean lady he frequently has to endure.)
But anyway, on to my post for today:
I am obsessed with numbers. I count all day long. I count my calorie intake, my days off, my money, my gray hairs, the number of people on my bus every day, how many stairs I climb each day (thank you Mindy), even how many thumb tacks I have at my desk (31).
I believe it drives Mr X crazy because he can't even propose a simple question to me that I don't simplify to numbers. For example...
Mr X might say, "Charlotte, if you won a million dollars would you quit your job?"
Me: "Of course not! A million dollars isn't enough because first you have to consider that you're only going to get __ amount of that because we are in __ tax bracket and then if we paid __ off and put __ amount to this and put __ much in investments we'd really only be left with __ amount and that's makes it financially ridiculous to quit my job with that little money left."
Or Mr X might say, "So when we get our tax refund of __ back, that's extra money so we should do ____ or ____ (exciting fun things), don't you think?"
To which I might reply, "We can't do that because if you want to reach our goal of having ___ in savings/retirement and if you also want ___ and ___ (practical things) like we planned on then we really can't spend any of that on ___ or ___ (fun things)."
At night before bed I count our retirement savings in my head - I calculate, based on the rate at which we are saving now, how much money we will have saved 20 or 30 years from now as it accumulates with interest, in both a (predominantly) bear market scenario and a (predominantly)bull market scenario.
(The funny thing is that I hated all things mathematical during my formative years.)
Do you do this sort of thing?
But anyway, on to my post for today:
I am obsessed with numbers. I count all day long. I count my calorie intake, my days off, my money, my gray hairs, the number of people on my bus every day, how many stairs I climb each day (thank you Mindy), even how many thumb tacks I have at my desk (31).
I believe it drives Mr X crazy because he can't even propose a simple question to me that I don't simplify to numbers. For example...
Mr X might say, "Charlotte, if you won a million dollars would you quit your job?"
Me: "Of course not! A million dollars isn't enough because first you have to consider that you're only going to get __ amount of that because we are in __ tax bracket and then if we paid __ off and put __ amount to this and put __ much in investments we'd really only be left with __ amount and that's makes it financially ridiculous to quit my job with that little money left."
Or Mr X might say, "So when we get our tax refund of __ back, that's extra money so we should do ____ or ____ (exciting fun things), don't you think?"
To which I might reply, "We can't do that because if you want to reach our goal of having ___ in savings/retirement and if you also want ___ and ___ (practical things) like we planned on then we really can't spend any of that on ___ or ___ (fun things)."
At night before bed I count our retirement savings in my head - I calculate, based on the rate at which we are saving now, how much money we will have saved 20 or 30 years from now as it accumulates with interest, in both a (predominantly) bear market scenario and a (predominantly)bull market scenario.
(The funny thing is that I hated all things mathematical during my formative years.)
Do you do this sort of thing?
5.3.08
Beware the angry beast
I'm in a foul mood today and I refuse to permeate my blog with silly negativity. So hopefully tomorrow I'll dazzle you with some witty repartee after I wake up on the 'right side of the bed.'
3.3.08
Last week's news
Last Friday a coworker with whom I share my workspace just spontaneously barfed in his garbage can.....which is right next to me....which permeated the air with the stench of vomit...which made me both furious and nauseous. He walked in here with Lotta Burger (for those of you not from NM, it's like In N Out except it's not as tasty) for breakfast - a wise choice - inhaled it and then spewed it back out for me to enjoy and promptly left with chunks of vomit splash-back all over his shirt. Let that be a lesson to us all - never eat at Lotta Burger, especially for breakfast.
Earlier in the week another coworker with whom I had been working closely with on an issue for several days received word that his test for strep throat (apparently he'd had a sore throat all week and never mentioned a word to anyone and only got tested because his wife found out yesterday that SHE had strep throat) was positive. A few days before that two other people that I sit next to at work were both out of the office, sick with a flu of some sort. And my supervisor, who I also sit near, has had some sort of chronic head cold for what seems like months now.
So with Mr Strep Throat, Mr Spontaneous Vomit, Mr Perpetual Head Cold and both Mr Flu guys - I'm feeling like this whole office is contaminated with infectious germs and I'm so freaking grossed out. I feel like I need to exit this germ infested building and soak in a tub of disinfectant.
Just so you know, I seem to evaded these bugs thus far (knocking on wood...). Hopefully I will be able to continue to be healthy.
Earlier in the week another coworker with whom I had been working closely with on an issue for several days received word that his test for strep throat (apparently he'd had a sore throat all week and never mentioned a word to anyone and only got tested because his wife found out yesterday that SHE had strep throat) was positive. A few days before that two other people that I sit next to at work were both out of the office, sick with a flu of some sort. And my supervisor, who I also sit near, has had some sort of chronic head cold for what seems like months now.
So with Mr Strep Throat, Mr Spontaneous Vomit, Mr Perpetual Head Cold and both Mr Flu guys - I'm feeling like this whole office is contaminated with infectious germs and I'm so freaking grossed out. I feel like I need to exit this germ infested building and soak in a tub of disinfectant.
Just so you know, I seem to evaded these bugs thus far (knocking on wood...). Hopefully I will be able to continue to be healthy.
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