Sep 6 2023 - 44 The Number

 

Baxter typed in "44" so let's check it out. 44 is a repdigit and palindromic number in decimal. It is the tenth 10-happy number, and the fourth octahedral number. Repdigit? The word is a portmanteau of "repeated" and "digit". Examples are 11, 666, 4444, and 999999.   The concept of a repdigit has been studied under that name since at least 1974, and earlier Beiler (1966) called them "monodigit numbers".The Brazilian numbers were introduced later, in 1994, in the 9th Iberoamerican Mathematical Olympiad that took place in Fortaleza at Brazil. The first problem in this competition, proposed by Mexico, was as follows: A number n > 0 is called "Brazilian" if there exists an integer b such that 1 <  b < n – 1 for which the representation of n in base b is written with all equal digits. Prove that 1994 is Brazilian and that 1993 is not Brazilian. Palindromic? A palindromic number (also known as a numeral palindrome or a numeric palindrome) is a number (such as 16461) that remains the same when its digits are reversed.  Octahedral? An octahedral number belongs to a figurate number and it is the number of spheres in an octahedron built from closely packed spheres. First, a few octahedral numbers (where n = 0, 1, 2, 3…….) are 0, 1, 6, 19, and so on. Thanks Baxter, I had no idea there was so much meaning packed into 44.   Alternately, in terms of numbers, Baxter could be giving a clear and simple message that Angel 44 - one of the guardian angels - has chosen to show him that he is not alone, and that we who live with him are a blessing to him.   He lies on the  with his feet in the air, and ears over the keyboard.  Is it a repdigit day or an angel day?   One of the Denver convention layout scenes.

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Mar 19 2020 - Early Spring

It is spring today - the March equinox happens at 11:50pm  EDT - just minutes before the normal range of March 20 - 21st.  And this early spring is something that will be around for a while, quite a while. The Old Farmer's Almanac says it is the earliest spring in 124 years.  Here's the explanation for its earliness: "As every century wears on, the date slips earlier to the 20th and possibly even to the 19th of March, but this slippage gets halted and rectified by the omission of a leap day during the next century year, like in 1700, 1800 and 1900. That creates a sudden “jump” of one day, with the first day of summer, spring, and winter pushed to the 21st again, and all seems right with the world." "Anyway, because 2000 had a leap day instead of omitting it, thanks to that once-every-four-century-tweak, ensuing equinoxes were prevented from returning to the 21st, and solstices and equinoxes instead continued to creep earlier. The equinox slipped from the 21st to the 20th, where it’s been for many years now, and it’s still creeping earlier. Now, finally, it’s reached the point where the equinox happens on the 19th for US time zones. Later this century, it’ll even start happening on the 19th in the Greenwich time observed in the UK." On to various jokes: I was up all night wondering where the sun had gone … then it dawned on me. What kind of songs do the planets like to sing?  Nep-tunes And what about this one? If you named your son Dale Jr. and your name isn’t Dale… Wonderful model railroad pictures today - these from the Sacramento visit.

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It is 50th Anniversary Time

Woodstock's 50th anniversary has been in the Canadian news a lot because the world expert on the topic is in Toronto.  I've learned things about Woodstock this year that I didn't know back in 1969.  For example, Credence Clearwater Revival wouldn't allow their set to be included in the movie or on the records.  They 'claimed' the performance wasn't up to standard.  That's been disproved since people got to listen to it.  It is reported they received $10,000 to perform.  Jimi Hendrix was the highest-paid performer at $18,000.  There are a few 50th anniversaries this year. Of course, there's 50 year celebration of the Moon Landing on July 20th.  The idea of it being a hoax was started by Bill Kaysing.  There are still those who claim it was a hoax even with the 382 kg of moon rock now down here on earth. The estimate is approximately 5% of Americans today.  In 1970 a poll found 30% of Americans thought this.  What about 50 years of Sesame Street?  No one claims Sesame Street never happened. It really is 50 years since the first ATM was installed. There are more than a million today, and there are Latin versions at the Vatican. I've often wondered if the Latin is complemented by Roman Numerals on the number pad. Which do we celebrate more? 50 years since The Brady Bunch started or Monty Python's Flying Circus.  It was October 1969 that Monty Python was launched on the BBC. On the serious side, it is the 50th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada. And at the other extreme, it is the 50th anniversary of the little thing people pop into their mouths - Tic Tacs. The name came from the sound of the teeny container being opened and closed.

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BBQ Tidal Wave

The first BBQ event is here.  It begins the tidal wave of BBQ events for the summer. The first rib and craft beer fest in Toronto will be at Yonge and Dundas Square from Thursday May 16th to May 19th. This event will feature the best rib teams in Canada.  There's a Canadian BBQ Society and its events take place from February 2019 with the Challenge Igloo BBQ in Quebec.  The Canadian Stake Championship happened on Saturday in Langley B.C. There are Certified BBQ Judge Classes happening next weekend in Edmonton.  We get one of their events in August when Niagara Falls has the Summer Daze BBQ Classic. The Ontario Champion last year was Team Eatapedia.  Pitmaster was John Thomson.  Their website www.eatapedia.com - has recipes for grilled lime chicken breasts, rosemary-rubbed porch chops - well lots of meats and sauces and seasonings. What will happen on the plant-based front this year?  Does everything BBQ'd have to be meat?  Our local Sobey's had plant-based burgers in the meat section last week, with a promo sign outside of the store so I'm thinking BBQ season may be ready. Food and Wine Magazine had a review of plant-based burgers in its April issue. Their winner is Impossible Burger 2.0.  They compare the flavour to beef, whether it is juicy, density like beef, etc.  "This gluten-free burger has 19 grams of protein, and the new recipe uses soy protein, coconut oil, methylcellulose (a plant-based culinary binder), and sunflower oil. Really succulent and umami-y. Almost identical to beef.” Burger King has the biggest news:  it is testing Impossible Whoppers and supposedly employees can't tell the difference. Here are some views of the Ottawa Layout.

That Lucky Number Seven

We're coming up to St. Patrick's Day and it reminds us that we have an orientation towards luck.  It seems tome that mathematicians moved the term 'lucky number' into number theory.  The wikipedia entry says that it is a 'natural number' in a set which is generated by a certain 'sieve'. While the article describes a methodology that is usually seemingly obscure to us lay people, the origin isn't obscure.  It is termed the Josephus problem.   "The problem is named after Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian living in the 1st century. According to Josephus' account of the siege of Yodfat, he and his 40 soldiers were trapped in a cave by Roman soldiers. They chose suicide over capture, and settled on a serial method of committing suicide by drawing lots. Josephus states that by luck or possibly by the hand of God, he and another man remained until the end and surrendered to the Romans rather than killing themselves." I found this an astounding story.  The wikipedia entry goes on to say that the details of the mechanism remained vague. Various mathematicians have suggested various methods - e.g. arranging the men in a circle and counting by threes to determine the order of elimination.   You can find the solution HERE. The answer is that the problem is solved when every second person is killed - but there is quite a few calculations to get to that. So a lucky number turns out to be Josephus and his companion's 'positions' in the circle.   Well, back to the social unconscious of us humans.  Here are some of the inputs to what make us humans consider some numbers to be lucky numbers: 7 - seven days of the week, 7 colours in the rainbow, 7 seas, 7 continents 3 - on the count of three, third time's the charm, three's a crowd, three strikes and you're out... 4 - four seasons, 4 elements, 4 points on the compass, four-leafed clover 8 - 8 planets, 8 notes in a musical octave See each number and its relevant luckiness summary HERE.  Today's a train day with a visit to the Sundance Layout.  Here's a picture with a person in the setting so you can get a sense of size.