Monthly Archives: August 2010
I could carry less
The fabled carefree residents of the Carryless Islands in the remote South Pacific have very few possessions, which is just as well, since their notion of arithmetic is ill-suited to accurate record-keeping. When they add or multiply numbers, they follow similar rules to ours, except … Continue reading
Posted in mathematics
1 Comment
In the zone
Before leaving on a trip to the West Coast, I copied my return flight information onto my Google calendar: SFO to BOS, 12:50 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Now that I’m nearing the end of my visit to the Mythical State … Continue reading
Posted in computing, modern life
6 Comments
The ormat game
Here’s the deal. I’m going to give you a square grid, with some of the cells colored and others possibly left blank. We’ll call this a template. Perhaps the grid will be one of these 3×3 templates: You have a … Continue reading
Posted in computing, games, mathematics, physics, statistics
2 Comments
The state of the spamosphere
BP has finally stoppered the Macondo well with a plug of mud and cement, but the gusher of spam continues to pollute inboxes everywhere. Maybe we need a relief well? It’s been six months since my last spam update. The good news, … Continue reading
Posted in computing, modern life
8 Comments