Travel
At 5 yrs of age I entered 1st grade in Sep. 1946. All through grade school I was very good in arithmetic, and still usually do the math in my head, and then check my figures on paper if it's important to me. The only time I use a calculator is to figure the fuel cost of a trip - miles / estimated mileage x estimated cost of fuel per gallon.
But I really wish I had paid more attention in high school math classes - algebra and geometry. I barely passed these classes, which probably has more to do with my state of mind and the anguish of being in high school, than with my innate intelligence. I hated high school! The same with science - as freshmen we had to take physical science which turned out to be biology, taught by the most boring and uninspiring teacher in the school.
When I worked for the COE as a management analyst, my job involved correlation and regression analysis, so I took an Army course plus a college class in algebra, and I loved it. Was pretty good at it too.
Where am I going with this? I have been glued to the TV as many people no doubt are, watching the unfolding of the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight. I just wish I could wrap my head around the math regarding air speeds and locations arrived at by radar pings and Inmarstat, etc. Why was I so sure in high school that I would never ever need to use algebra or geometry in real life?
Speaking of the Malaysian airliner fate, it looks like technology has trumped over decency and good taste. The families were notified BY TEXT MESSAGE??? of the fate of their loved ones.
I bought myself a gallon of vanilla ice cream this morning plus some chocolate syrup, but forgot the whipped cream. It will be tasty anyway.
Yesterday was "walk 3 miles day", and tonight is "work out at the gym evening". I probably can't make anything worse, but I'll try to avoid anything too strenuous.
I should go out and check the weed situation, but it hurts to lean over and pull them.
- Another Day With Liam
Liam, who turned 5 yrs old last week, spent a few hours with me today. As always, he brought along some dinosaur encyclopedias, as well as flash cards for the 50 states. I got my big U.S. wall map and laid it on the big coffee table so it...
- Back To School
I went to school this morning to attend Autumn's ancestor presentation to her class. Jeannie went into work late so she could be there, and Donald was working in another classroom but came in for the presentation as well. Autie stood in...
- Win Some, Lose Some
The win part is that I woke up during the night and this morning virtually free of the abdominal pain I have had since my operation. What a relief, and I just hope it holds out. I should feel energized and do all sorts of things around the...
- Labor Day
My son and his family enjoyed the baseball game on Friday night. It was a level below a farm team I believe, but going to the game is the fun part. A representative from the Hudson Valley SPCA was there with an adoptable elderly black lab...
- Have Dinner In South Africa
Voulezvousdiner Have just launched a new special offer. ...
Travel
Arithmetic
At 5 yrs of age I entered 1st grade in Sep. 1946. All through grade school I was very good in arithmetic, and still usually do the math in my head, and then check my figures on paper if it's important to me. The only time I use a calculator is to figure the fuel cost of a trip - miles / estimated mileage x estimated cost of fuel per gallon.
But I really wish I had paid more attention in high school math classes - algebra and geometry. I barely passed these classes, which probably has more to do with my state of mind and the anguish of being in high school, than with my innate intelligence. I hated high school! The same with science - as freshmen we had to take physical science which turned out to be biology, taught by the most boring and uninspiring teacher in the school.
When I worked for the COE as a management analyst, my job involved correlation and regression analysis, so I took an Army course plus a college class in algebra, and I loved it. Was pretty good at it too.
Where am I going with this? I have been glued to the TV as many people no doubt are, watching the unfolding of the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight. I just wish I could wrap my head around the math regarding air speeds and locations arrived at by radar pings and Inmarstat, etc. Why was I so sure in high school that I would never ever need to use algebra or geometry in real life?
Speaking of the Malaysian airliner fate, it looks like technology has trumped over decency and good taste. The families were notified BY TEXT MESSAGE??? of the fate of their loved ones.
I bought myself a gallon of vanilla ice cream this morning plus some chocolate syrup, but forgot the whipped cream. It will be tasty anyway.
Yesterday was "walk 3 miles day", and tonight is "work out at the gym evening". I probably can't make anything worse, but I'll try to avoid anything too strenuous.
I should go out and check the weed situation, but it hurts to lean over and pull them.
- Another Day With Liam
Liam, who turned 5 yrs old last week, spent a few hours with me today. As always, he brought along some dinosaur encyclopedias, as well as flash cards for the 50 states. I got my big U.S. wall map and laid it on the big coffee table so it...
- Back To School
I went to school this morning to attend Autumn's ancestor presentation to her class. Jeannie went into work late so she could be there, and Donald was working in another classroom but came in for the presentation as well. Autie stood in...
- Win Some, Lose Some
The win part is that I woke up during the night and this morning virtually free of the abdominal pain I have had since my operation. What a relief, and I just hope it holds out. I should feel energized and do all sorts of things around the...
- Labor Day
My son and his family enjoyed the baseball game on Friday night. It was a level below a farm team I believe, but going to the game is the fun part. A representative from the Hudson Valley SPCA was there with an adoptable elderly black lab...
- Have Dinner In South Africa
Voulezvousdiner Have just launched a new special offer. ...