All your base

20 November 2009, 12:05 pm by Giggles
Categories: Random, Science & Tech

In which I spend too much time on the bus thinking about base systems.

We tend to just assume that we use base 10 as our main numerical system because we have ten fingers. But what about the toes? Wouldn’t that put us in base 20?

When using base 16 we have to use letters for some of the digits because we only have ten numbers – 0 through 9. But if we’d started with a base 16 system, would we have come up with 6 more number symbols? If we’d stayed in a base system with fewer numbers, say only base 6, would we have ever come up with 6, 7, 8, and 9?

November 20th is Absurdity Day. And I fully realize that many of my thoughts like these are a bit on the absurd side. But you have to admit, they do make things interesting. 😀

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Where were you then

19 November 2009, 8:21 pm by Giggles
Categories: Life

We all have our awkward stage. For most of us it’s during our teenage years when we are trying to figure out how everything works and fashion and style and growing up and everything. That’s a lot to work through.

A while back I was showing Brett some pictures of me from then. I’ve never thought of myself as ugly or bad looking, but I definitely do better at dressing myself and doing my hair now than I did back then (it did take me quite a ways past my teenage years to do that though). He said I looked great in the picture and I jokingly asked him where he’d been when I was in high school. I could’ve used some guys saying that back then. 🙂 (Mom’s count differently than guys do.)42D

We figured out I’d been a junior at the time the picture was taken, so I was 16. That meant he’d turned 19 during that time and was on his mission in Fresno. So I guess it’s probably a good thing he wasn’t around to tell a girl she looked good then, he had other things to be doing. But maybe my awkward stage was only awkward for me.

And no, I’m not going to show you the picture. 😉

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Reality

18 November 2009, 6:02 pm by Giggles
Categories: Education, Life, Relationships

Reality and I have an interesting relationship. I’ve been compared to a butterfly because I only occasionally touch down on reality, otherwise I’m off doing my own thing. Which explains why every so often reality completely surprises me.

At 18 you are said to be an adult. I moved out of the house at 18 and started college and started working on that adult thing. Every so often though it would hit me what I was doing and I’d wonder, “When did I get to be a college student?” And then after graduating, “When did I get to be an adult and people would trust me to teach their kids?” And then in graduate school it was, “Whoa! I’m a graduate student!”

So I’m waiting for that moment when it hits me, “Wow! I’m married!” So far we’ve just had small brushes with that reality. I’m just waiting for it to hit me hard though. My guesses of when that moment would be keep passing.42D

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In my prime

17 November 2009, 10:47 pm by Giggles
Categories: Random, Science & Tech

Yes, I know I’ve already written two posts about numbers this month, but you have to admit they are real cool!

Prime numbers are defined as numbers who’s only divisors are one and themselves. Two is the only even prime number. Then there’s 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47…

I like them because when I am that age, I can honestly say that I am “in my prime.” And it happens rather frequently. I like my definition of “in my prime” better than what I think the rest of the world does. There is no one defining moment of my life when I can say that that was when everything was at it’s best. I prefer to see life as continually moving and changing and improving.

Prime rectangles though aren’t that pretty for me. At least not in the way that palindromes are. Prime rectangles are too long. I like more boxy rectangles.

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License to drive

16 November 2009, 7:17 pm by Giggles
Categories: Life, Venting

My high school didn’t have driver’s ed. at the school, and my parents told me that if I wanted to learn to drive then I had to make the arrangements for driver’s ed. I have a great dislike for phones so it wasn’t until after I’d turned 16 that I got around to calling to register for the classes and taking them.

My driving career has been largely uneventful since then, until this last month.

This last month I’ve had an accident. I’ve had to replace the starter on my car. And then Wednesday when I was out doing the last of the wedding errands (dropping off ribbon for the cake) discovered my tire was flat. The tire place discovered that a nail had not only gone into my tire, but had then tried to go back out. So that tire would have to be replaced, which meant I needed to replace the other one as well. Not only that, but my alignment was so off that the sides of the tires were worn down anyway and they were not safe tires. I’m actually wondering if the alignment has been off all year and that’s why I was having trouble last December. I haven’t driven my car more than around town since, so it’s a big possibility.

So in the last couple of weeks I’ve replaced a bumper, a starter, two tires, and had my alignment adjusted. And we need to get our struts looked at when we get back to Tucson.

Enough with the car already!!

Although we must say that out of all the other “Just Married” cars we saw this weekend, ours is the best. And the person who uses those window washers next at that gas station is going to have some real pretty water.42D (pictures of decorated car eventually)

And that’s our continuing epic of car problems, that really needs to get to a “the end” real soon.

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Never a wish better than this

15 November 2009, 2:44 pm by Giggles
Categories: Family, Relationships

I’m the type who frequently has one song or another in my head. Last night at our reception we played some wonderful music we love and it keeps floating in and out of my head. The chorus from one especially is stuck, but I don’t mind.

Fifteen there’s still time for you
Time to buy, Time to lose yourself
Within a morning star
Fifteen I’m all right with you
Fifteen, there’s never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live

I’m not fifteen. I’m more than twice that. But it is still wonderful that there is still time for Brett and I. And I really couldn’t wish for anything better than this. We’ll have more than 100 years to enjoy together.42D

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Mental Snap Shots

14 November 2009, 8:40 pm by Giggles
Categories: Family, Gospel, Happy Things, Relationships

Earlier this season, Pam and Jim of The Office got married. As they were driving to their wedding they had this conversation:

Pam: Hey my aunt told me something neat.
Jim: Yeah?
Pam: She said everything with the wedding goes by so fast we should try to take mental pictures of the high points.
Jim: Oh, wow, that’s cool.
Pam: Yeah.
Jim: (mimes taking a mental picture) Click! Oh, you blinked. Dammit, now that’s in my brain forever.
Pam: Oh.
Jim: (mimes scrolling through his mental camera looking at mental pictures) Lousy picture.
Pam: We should have hired a professional to take the mental pictures.

Here are 14 of my mental snap shots from our day, in almost no particular order other than the order they were thought of. Each of these could easily be a story all on their own, but for now, just a snap shot. 42D

  1. A morning run with my dad.
  2. The cute old lady telling me my bridegroom waits.
  3. Hiding behind the door with Brett.
  4. Looking in Brett’s eyes and being completely calm.
  5. Snow so bad we though we’d passed the temple, and then absolutely beautiful weather for pictures.
  6. Our photographers completely geeking out together.
  7. Brett singing to me and wondering if he’d practiced enough to not cry, because I was.
  8. Walking across the street to take pictures from where most people take them.
  9. Brett warming his hands in my coat.
  10. Taking a moment in the Celestial Room after the sealing.
  11. Being in the temple with all those who got us there.
  12. Having Grandpa there with us.
  13. Our first dance together.
  14. Dancing with my dad.

Brett and I are working on a combined “scrap book” of mental photos from our whole weekend. You’ll find it over on Ooh Shemo when we sit down to put it up.

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