1173. Marc (h00102b024a85.ne.client2.attbi.com) – 04 Jan 2004 18:40:41 [ Stuck! ]

Lasers are what you use to fix robots. Tom is a robot.

1172. Tuuur (supercow.kabel.utwente.nl) – 04 Jan 2004 10:31:54 [ Stuck! ]

Sorry to read about your eye... hopefully that laser thing won't be necessary.

1171. Tom 7 (pcp01253016pcs.hamden01.ct.comcast.net) – 04 Jan 2004 10:09:41 [ Stuck! ]

My eye will be fine if it doesn't have any retinal tears, and if it does, I think it's still a fairly simple laser thing to fix them.

The intersection is aka Whitney and West Woods rd. You probably never need to go up there unless you're going to Cheshire.

1170. Marc (h00102b024a85.ne.client2.attbi.com) – 04 Jan 2004 09:20:16 [ Stuck! ]

Ack, that's really terrible about your eye, I hope that the eye specialist can help! I didn't know about that, sorry to hear.

Dang, I can't even tell you how many times I've been a waiting left turner on Whitney Avenue and someone stops coming the other way and waves me on, while other drivers zip by in the other oncoming lane. I don't get why they do it, and really, it's happened far more on Whitney then anywhere else for me, kind of odd. It's always a mixture of, "Hey, you're trying to be a considerate driver and that's a nice thing," and, "Don't you get it that you're on a two lane road and I will blow up if I try to accept your invitation? Just give it up and keep driving, please!"

So which intersection on Whitney is Death And Dismemberment? I gotta know to avoid it...

1169. Adam (dsl093-061-064.pit1.dsl.speakeasy.net) – 04 Jan 2004 00:24:09 [ Stuck! ]

Actually, it's not even compressed nitrogen, but a chemical pack which generates nitrogen gas with explosive force.

1168. Tom 7 (pcp01253016pcs.hamden01.ct.comcast.net) – 03 Jan 2004 19:10:01 [ Stuck! ]

Oh yeah, I did that too! But coming up with filler was one of the best parts...

1167. ndm (user-vc8fbmi.biz.mindspring.com) – 03 Jan 2004 18:36:39 [ Stuck! ]

whoa holy crap. You finally changed the code of your weblog to display the previous month's contents beneath the current month thus eliminating the hassle of always needing to come up with some filler at the first of the month to prevent your log from looking stupid. Good for you.

sorry about the accident.

1166. Tom 7 (pcp01253016pcs.hamden01.ct.comcast.net) – 03 Jan 2004 13:01:29 [ Newsweek Short ]

Haha, yeah, I don't know what was up with that one.

1165. Andrew (yale128036074100.student.yale.edu) – 03 Jan 2004 12:12:10 [ Newsweek Short ]

"popu-lar"

1164. Andrew (yale128036074100.student.yale.edu) – 03 Jan 2004 12:09:04 [ Evolution Quote ]

Mind over matter!

1163. Tom 7 (pcp01253016pcs.hamden01.ct.comcast.net) – 03 Jan 2004 09:51:09 [ Math Shirts ]

Oh, the diagram is terrible! It's visible in the page source. (Alas, I have nobody to blame but myself...)

1162. Tom 7 (pcp01253016pcs.hamden01.ct.comcast.net) – 03 Jan 2004 09:50:23 [ Math Shirts ]

Hehe. Well, I think you got a minus sign wrong somewhere because 3(-1)^1 - 8(-1) is -5, not 5. The actual answer is much less nice, because it has a square root of 124 instead of 4. But that's the right idea!

The reason that there's a plus-or-minus in there is that quadratic equations (ones with x^2) are parabolas when graphed. That means that they might cross the x-axis twice:

\ /
\ /
---------------------
\ /
~ ~
`___ '

(That probably won't come out, oh well...)

So the quadratic equation has two solutions, one on the right side (plus) and one on the left (or minus). In the case that the square root is 0, then the tip of the parabola just touches the x axis at a single point. If b^2-4ac is negative, then the square root doesn't exist, and that's the case that the parabola lives entirely above the x axis and never touches it at all.

1161. Tuuur (supercow.kabel.utwente.nl) – 03 Jan 2004 00:38:28 [ Math Shirts ]

Lemme see... ehm...

so that's -8, plus or minus (I'll never understand why that doesn't matter, it's quite a difference) square root (is that how you say it in english? In dutch it's 'wortel') 64 minus 4 times 15, divided by 6...

(writes frantically)

Hmmm, according to my computations, x would be -1!

Wow!!! That's the first time since 1984 that I actually USED the quadratic formula to solve an equation!

Thanks!
(insert triumphant trumpet sounds here)

1160. Tom 7 (pcp01253016pcs.hamden01.ct.comcast.net) – 02 Jan 2004 18:16:50 [ Math Shirts ]

Haha, that's great that you bothered to memorize the quadratic formula but not what the inputs are. ;)

(FYI a is the coefficient of x^2, 3 in the above, b the coefficient of x (8), and c the constant (-5)).

1159. Tuuur (supercow.kabel.utwente.nl) – 02 Jan 2004 17:41:52 [ Math Shirts ]

But... but... I REALLY don't know how!!!
I don't see any a or b or c in that equation!
:)

(and yes, I know, I am a hopeless case)

1158. Tom 7 (pcp01253016pcs.hamden01.ct.comcast.net) – 02 Jan 2004 10:32:06 [ Math Shirts ]

Use the quadratic formula!

1157. Tuuur (supercow.kabel.utwente.nl) – 01 Jan 2004 23:48:39 [ Math Shirts ]

Aaaaaargh!!! I don't know how!!!
:)

1156. Anonymous (adsl-68-21-44-61.dsl.sfldmi.ameritech.net) – 01 Jan 2004 18:50:10 [ Evolution Quote ]

What does it matter? Just wait. You'll see.

1155. Tom 7 (pcp01253016pcs.hamden01.ct.comcast.net) – 31 Dec 2003 22:43:52 [ Math Shirts ]

Tuuur, quick! Solve this algebraic equation for x!

3x^2 + 8x = 5

1154. Tuuur (supercow.kabel.utwente.nl) – 31 Dec 2003 21:01:53 [ Math Shirts ]

The quadratic formula is the only one I know by heart.
But I haven't the faintest idea what can be done by using it...

Not that it matters. I haven't needed it ever since I last had to use it during math class.

1153. Tom 7 (pcp01253016pcs.hamden01.ct.comcast.net) – 31 Dec 2003 15:37:12 [ Math Shirts ]

Sure, as long as the functions are continuously differentiable.

1152. Jeff (yale128036076025.student.yale.edu) – 31 Dec 2003 14:45:46 [ Math Shirts ]

But do you really believe in integration?

1151. Tom 7 (pcp01253016pcs.hamden01.ct.comcast.net) – 31 Dec 2003 14:26:24 [ Math Shirts ]

I didn't see anything non-computable there!

1150. Jeff (yale128036076025.student.yale.edu) – 31 Dec 2003 14:21:24 [ Math Shirts ]

...and you believe in real numbers.

1149. Homer (h00102b024a85.ne.client2.attbi.com) – 31 Dec 2003 11:28:02 [ Evolution Quote ]

What is the mind? No matter. What is matter? Nevermind.