I've had two bizarre numerical coincidences occur in the last few days. Being a mathematician I tend to notice these kinds of things.
Tuesday, I had breakfast at Eat-N-Park. I planned on using a $3 off coupon and the remains of a gift card, $3.58, to pay most of the check. Amazingly, the check came to exactly $6.58!
This morning, I entered yesterday's receipt from Weis in my checking account register, $17.58. My last receipt from Weis five days ago, for completely different items, was remarkably $17.58!
Not to mention the dollar amounts in all these all contained 58¢! What does this mean? Should I but a lottery ticket, 0-5-8? Hmmm ...
No comment is necessary. The following facts speak for themselves. Of the nine starters for the Pirates on Opening Day 2008, only one remains with the team one season and 100 games later.
Not to ring my own bell, but I really like this picture I took this afternoon at the Ft Roberdeau historic site in Blair County, Pennsylvania. I haven't touched it at all. This is just as it came from the camera. Click it to see a larger image.
A dramatic turn, literally. The part of the plant bearing the actual tomato has, as you can see, begun to invert itself as I understood it should have been doing all along. The single lone tomato is now about the size of a ping-pong ball.
Many of my friends have lost their tomato plants to some sort of blight that's going around. But if they think I'm gonna share this little gem with them, well ...
I spent some time last evening and more this morning extracting this great looking motorcycle from its original background using the GIMP. I enjoy doing this kind of thing and find it sort of therapeutic.
This is what my original photo of a neighbor's bike was before I went to work on it.
I captured a bit of video of last night's (Jul 21) thunderstorm. The Weather Channel predicted the storm would hit about 8:40 pm and they were spot on!
Located in Mountain View, CA, the Computer History Museum offers visitors the opportunity to see and experience one of the world's largest collections of computing artifacts. Their exhibits allow you to explore the computer revolution and its impact on the human experience.
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer released by Commodore International in August, 1982, at a price of $595 (US) with 64K of RAM and a 1Mhz processor. The C-64 is the all-time best selling single personal computer.
The Johnniac was an early computer manufactured in the early 1950's by the Rand Corporation in California. It was one of several computers inspired by the IAS computer designed by noted mathematician John von Neumann (after whom it was named) at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study. It was removed from service in February 1966.
In 1956, the first IBM 305 RAMAC was shipped. The RAMAC was the first commercial computer that used a moving-head hard disk drive for storage rather than magnetic tape. More than 1000 systems were built before production ceased in 1961. Weighing more than a ton, it had a storage capacity of 5 megabytes.
IBM promotional video for the 305 RAMAC...
The SAGE system was developed by MIT in the late '50s with Air Force sponsorship to counter the threat of a manned bomber attack by the Soviets. It became operational by 1963 and remained in service until 1983. The project required over 800 programmers and the technical resources of some of America's largest corporations. With 60,000 vacuum tubes and weighing in at 250 tons, the SAGE system was the largest, heaviest and most expensive computer system ever built.
An Enigma machine is any of a number of advanced electro-mechanical rotor machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Several types of the Enigma machine were developed before and during World War 2. The most complex Enigma type was used by the German Navy. The machine has become well-known because Allied codebreakers were able to decrypt a huge number of messages which had been enciphered using the Enigma. The information gathered from this source was a substantial aid to the Allied war effort.
As we approach mid-July, I am very disappointed in how my hanging tomato experiment has progressed (or not).
As you can see, the plant is desperate to grow vertically. I have seen some plants around the neighborhood that look exactly the way they're supposed to look, but not this one. I think the real problem is that I have no location where the tomato plant can get adequate sunlight. I do have a single tomato developing, however! Could be some good eatin'!
Google Voice gives you one phone number for all your phones, voicemail as easy as email, and many calling features for free. I got my invitation last weekend and have been exploring its features for a few days. I've collected several mini-tutorial videos on many of the Google Voice features. Links to these short (60 sec or less) videos follow this brief overview of the service.
How To Use Google Voice
Placing Calls Google Voice calls you on your phone and connects you to any US number for free. Call directly from your contacts list.
Taking Calls Decide what phones ring and whether you answer when your Google number is called.
Call Screening Know who's calling and screen unknown callers before you answer.
ListenIn Hear why someone is calling before you decide whether to take the call.
Voicemail Transcripts Voicemails are automatically transcribed to text and stored in your inbox. You can also have them sent to you via email and/or SMS.
Listen to or Read Voicemail Voicemail as easy as email. View and listen to voicemail online or from your phone. Share Voicemail Forward a voicemail via email, embed it in a website, or download a copy to your computer.
SMS Messages Receive and send SMS and store a copy of all your SMS in your online inbox.
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