Apparently unreachable goal: To tame the tyranny of the urgent and find time to write blog posts.
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They Grow Up Too Fast!
Even the child in question agrees with that. Chickenfoot is suffering from Peter Pan syndrome: “I don’t want to grow up!” This week, someone asked him, “You’re 17, aren’t you?” Not yet, but 13 has passed into memory…
I got tricky with the hidden present this time. The outside of the envelope changed insignificantly. It read:
I’m your last present.
Can you find me?
I’m hiding some place
That you cannot see…
But the real departure from normal came with the poetry inside. The poem was a success, in that he laughed at all the appropriate spots, but the hiding place turned out to be a little too good. Can you find the two clues in all this mess?
I Need One of These!
It might really help with the 2008 Game. My morning coffee is not doing the job.
Blogging Notes
I confess: I am a FlyLady drop-out. Housecleaning has never been my strong point. But I read 50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog, and I thought Skellie had some good points. I hate crowded sidebars, and moving my blogroll to a separate page sounded like a great way to declutter. If you want to browse some great blogs, the link is at the top of this page.
Now, I suppose, I should put my math notebook away and start clearing off the mess on my desk…
2008 Mathematics Game
Are you ready for a challenge? Join us for the 2008 Mathematics Game. Here are the rules:
Use the digits in the year 2008 and the operations +, -, x, ÷, sqrt (square root), ^ (raise to a power), and ! (factorial) — along with parentheses, brackets, or other grouping symbols — to write expressions for the counting numbers 1 through 100.
- All four digits must be used in each expression.
- Only the digits 2, 0, 0, 8 may be used.
- Multi-digit numbers such as 20, 208, or .02 MAY be used this year.
- The square function may NOT be used.
- The integer function may NOT be used.
By definition:
[See Dr. Math’s Why does 0 factorial equal 1?]
For this game we will accept the value:
[See the Dr. Math FAQ 0 to the 0 power.]
Puzzles for the New Year
As we all head back to school, here are some interesting calendar puzzles:
- 2008 is a leap year. Why do leap years happen? If we didn’t add a leap day every so often, would January eventually come in the summer?
- Today is Thursday. What day of the week will it be exactly one year from today?
- January 1, 2008, came on a Tuesday. When will be the next year that begins on Tuesday?
- My birthday (in March) lands on a Monday this year. When is the next year my birthday will come on a Monday? How about YOUR birthday — when is the next time it will happen on the same day of the week as this year?
- Can you find a pattern in the way dates move from one day of the week to another, year after year?
Happy Birthday, Princess Kitten!
Our youngest child turns 9 today. Time shoots by at rocket speed, doesn’t it? Every year, the older kids complain that their baby sister isn’t allowed to grow up — they still feel like being nine years old themselves!
I have mentioned before our family tradition of the “hidden present.” [See this post and that.] Every year, one birthday present is hidden somewhere in the house, with the clue placed in an envelope to be opened after all the other gifts are unwrapped.
New Year’s Resolutions
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?
Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?
For from him
and through him
and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever!
Amen.
Best of “Let’s Play Math!” in 2007
Farewell to 2007. We have snacks on the table so we can munch the night away, and the little ones are giggling over their Barbies, thrilled at the prospect of more sugar than is good for them.
The teenagers have launched their annual movie marathon. This year, it was the girls’ turn to invite friends over, so the men in my life have all found excuses to run into town.
Meanwhile, I am hiding in my den, indulging myself in a sort of blogger’s nostalgia. Some of the following posts got a lot of attention when they were published, others not so much. Topics range from preschool to high school, 
from kindergarten games to teaching fractions to Shakespearean insults, so I hope there is something to interest everyone.
[The photos are small so this article won’t take forever to load. Click on any picture to view a larger image.]
Christmas Puzzle Answers
Remember the Math Adventurer’s Rule: Figure it out for yourself! Whenever I give a problem in an Alexandria Jones story, I will try to post the answer soon afterward. But don’t peek! If I tell you the answer, you miss out on the fun of solving the puzzle. So if you haven’t worked these problems yet, go back to the original post. Figure them out for yourself — and then check the answers just to prove that you got them right.
Magic Square Puzzles
Alex handed her brother Leonhard a box wrapped in the rocket tessellation paper, with air holes carefully punched in two sides.
“Merry Christmas, Leon!” she said.
He ripped open the gift. Alex winced. Boys have no artistic appreciation, she thought.
“Oh, cool! Thanks,” Leon said.
“His name is Lo-shu,” said Alex. “But be careful. I used non-toxic tempera paint. The design will was off.”
Leon turned the turtle and studied the back of its shell. “Oh, that’s just like in the legend! I’ll copy it down before I let him near any water.”
- What do the shapes on Lo-shu’s back mean?
- Why are some dots white and some black?
Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math 