Happy Pi Day! Fun and Facts about Pi

Pi - you know it from all those boring math classes you had to take in school... But Pi is actually much cooler than math class.  Did you know that?  Also, today, March 14 is international Pi day!  No, not pie.  Though I think it is perfectly okay to celebrate Pi day with pie.

Why is it Pi day?  Well, simply because March 14 or 3/14 is the first three digits in the number Pi.  Technically, Pi day starts at 1:59 pm (since the next three digits after 3.14 is 159 [making the first 6 digits 3.14159]).

So, what is Pi?

Pi is simply defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle (technically a Euclidean circle - circumference is simply the length around the circle) to its diameter.  Remember diameter is just the straight line distance across a circle through its center.  Said less mathy - Pi is the number of times the diameter of a circle will wrap around the circumference.

Pi is also an irrational number.  That simply means it cannot be expressed as a simple fraction (like 22/7 for instance).  Therefore, when you write Pi as a decimal it never ends and it never repeats.  Crazy right?  It just keeps going on forever.

Some interesting facts about Pi:

• Albert Einstein was born on Pi day - 3/14/1879
• Pi has been studied for over 4000 years dating back to the Babylonians in approximated 2000 BC
• Beginning at position 762 in Pi, there are six nines in a row.  This is called the Feynman point.
• In 1897, the Indiana State Legislature tried to "square the circle," and therefore legislate the value of pi.
• Pi occurs extensively in Physics (and other sciences) especially when a formula or problem has rotational or spherical symmetry involved.

Well, I am going to go and find out where I am going to eat pie for lunch today.  I am suddenly very hungry.  I leave you with a math joke:

The Painful Truth of xkcd

Nothing like a geek comic make me feel old:

All the cool kids are doing it

So, as is typical of the Berserker Clan, the weekend was spent all together.  Since both of the grownups are so busy with work during the week, we try to spend every possible minute together as a family on the weekends.  We all go to the grocery store, we all go to Target, all go to Home Depot.  It is sort of a production, but it is what we are about.  Yes, I know, I could get it done in about 1/10th of the time alone.  But I miss my kids.

So, Sunday, Beautiful Wife and I brought the kids out to soccer practice.  We both play so we thought why not bring the kids.  We are trying to start a new adult club here, so we both really wanted to be there.  Well, one of the wives of the players volunteered to watch the kids as we all practiced... SAWEET!  An hour in or so, she asked to take them to the bathroom in the church next door.  We said sure, and THANK YOU SO MUCH!

So, a while later, we are wrapping up practice and we realize they are not back yet.  I brush it off - they probably found something fun to do in the church.  I see them all holding hands walking back through the parking lot 10 minutes or so later.  Well it turns out that Little Berserker Spawn had to go poop, not just pee.  So, this person who I have met a total of 2 times was kind enough to wipe my 4 year old's butt.  Now that is a good person to know!**

The funny part is this:  We are sitting at lunch after practice at the dining table and LBS says to Beautiful Wife, "I have two underwears on."  BW and I just look at each other, skeptically."Just kidding," he says quickly afterward.  We just brush it off.  It turns out 4 year olds have weird things running through their heads and they like to say them out loud a lot.  We completely discount it. 

That night, getting the kids ready for bed, it turns, yes, in fact he is wearing 2 pairs of underwear.  The outer one is on backwards too!  Great!  That must be comfortable...

So, our 'friend' (I only put it in quotes because I hardly know the women - she is actually very nice and kind and we both really like her, but we are not really friend yet) must think we are really on the ball parents.  Little boy running around with 2 sets of undies, one on backwards...  Parenting fail.  PARENTS 0 - Berserker Spawn 1. 

Well played son, well played.


**The real test is next week - will she watch them again? DUN DUN DA DUN.

Haiku Monday - Marriage

Marriage

It's hard to explain

But you can't marry your sister

Nevermind, you are 4...

A PhD Comics Movie!

I am having a bit of a geek freak out moment here... there is going to be a PhD comics movie!  Piled Higher and Deeper (or PhD) comic is about the insanity of grad school and all the bullshit you put up with from research to teaching to grant writing, etc.   It is a great comic and really helped me make it through some of the more insane parts of grad school.  Knowing other people had just as weird and insane experiences as me, made me feel better.

So check out this trailer and go and see it if you can!

PHD Movie Trailer from PHD Comics on Vimeo.

ELLLLMMMOOOO!

Picture from Wikipedia.  Author David Shankbone.

I was starting to despair a little, when after this weekend my kids didn't say any really weird things.  Last night, however, they came through with flying colors!

Scene: Beautiful Wife and I were sitting on the couch reading after dinner, waiting for the magic 7pm when we let the kids watch one cartoon before bed.  Against the side of our couch is bank of bins filled with the kids' toys.  Since Sweet Little Hellion (my 1 year old daughter) is not tall enough to reach the top bins, she likes to try to climb onto the back of the couch to reach toys.

"AHEM, little girl, what do you think you are doing up there?" BW says in her 'your in trouble kid' voice.

SLH turns to her, balancing precariously on the arm of the couch, and says "ELLLLLLL MOOOOOOO!" In a tone that just screams I told you this a thousand times Mom, so back off! 

She is 1... ONE!*

Attitude...  I am not looking forward to the teenage years if this is the precursor.

Then she grabs her little Elmo doll and scampers down to play with it.

Not to be outdone by his sister, Little Berserker Spawn decides to get in on the action

LBS and BW are talking after Dora is all done with.  He just randomly blurts out "You're funny looking Mommy!" in this sweet, little adorable tone.  "BWAHAHAHAHA!" I blurt out pointing at her.  Murder-Death-Kill gaze falls on me from BW.  I don't care.  It was cosmic retribution for the hair color incident.

LBW looks at me, confused (he is only 3) and laughs a little, pretending he gets the joke.  BW says, offended, "LBS that was not very nice." LBS saunters over and gives her a big hug.  He says, "It's ok mommy, your pretty too!"

HAHAHA!  So, funny!


*Well, she will be 2 next month, but still!

Helicopter Waterskiing!

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and user Jonathunder

It appears a man in Australia was towing his 15 year old son around on waterskis.  The funny part, instead of a boat, he chose to use his helicopter!  Read the story here: http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2011/03/29/220831_ntnews.html

Basically, some aviation authority in Australia is trying to get a hold of the video footage to see if they want to charge him with some sort of crime.

But helicopter skiing?  That is so full of win.  It really is outrageous.  And they let people do stupid things all the time on waterskis.  Why not let the kid ski behind a helicopter?

What other types of crazy things could be done behind a helicopter?  

Helicopter skateboarding?

I think the extreme nature of skateboarding would call for a more extreme form of propulsion.  How about airplane skateboarding?

Any other insane combinations of sports and machinery? 

Catapult soccer... for the more martially inclined.  Sure, every "player" has a catapult.  Sounds fun.

Rocket sledding for our northern friends?  Rocket sleds have already been thought of I see, with excellently horrific consequences.

If rocket sleds exist, there must of other really excellent ideas out there that crazy people have attempted.  Anyone know of other good stories?

Barak Obama is Luke Skywalker

John Stewart with some epic commentary. All full of geeky, Star Wars goodness! Why yes, Barak Obama IS the New Hope. And yes Biden is a Wookiee.  And the most obvious reference of all, Sarah Palin is a Wampa from the icy planet Hoth! 

May the force be with you!
~Berserker