Happy 4th!

Happy Pi Day

I would have sworn I'd written about this holiday in the past, but I did not find it while searching.

March 14 (03/14) is Pi Day, in honor of the amazing number pi = 3.1459....

Pi is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, or in other words a circle is about 3 times around in length as it is across. But not exactly three and that little difference is very important.

In ancient Greece all the cool mathematicians did geometry and tried to accomplish everything with just a straight edge and compass. One goal that had them stumped was creating a square with the same area as a given circle. Since the area of a circle is pi * radius squared, a square with equal area would have sides of length = radius r  * square root (pi).  Today we know that pi and sqrt(pi) are impossible to construct manually.

For 2000 years after the Greeks, pi was only known to 10 decimals. The first major European contribution since Archimedes was made by the German mathematician Ludolph van Ceulen (1540–1610), who used a geometric method to give an estimate of π that is correct to 35 decimal digits. He was so proud of the calculation, which required the greater part of his life, that he had the digits engraved into his tombstone. (wikipedia)

In 1882 Ferdinand von Lindemann proved that pi is transcendental. This means its decimals never repeat, that it cannot be exactly expressed by any fraction and that it can never be created with a finite number of steps from integers or fractions. This is one reason we always refer to it by name or symbol because it can never be written down exactly using numbers like 3 or 3.1 or 3.1.4.

Bottom Line

Enjoy some pie on pi day!

Leap Day!

It's leap day! Because the earth goes around the sun in approximately 365 and 1/4 days, we must add a day to the calendar every 4 years. But a year is not exactly 365 and 6 hours days (it's 5 hours, 49 minutes, and 16 seconds) so the Gregorian calendar adds a few more rules for leap year:

Occurs in years that are evenly divisible by 4, such as 2012 and 2016, unless the year is also divisible by 100 with the exception that years evenly divisible by 400 are leap years. So 1900 was not a leap year (multiple of 100) but 2000 was a leap year (multiple of 400).

The Julian calendar established in ancient Rome applied a leap day every 4 years, always. This over compensated by a tiny amount that accumulated over the centuries. By 1582 (395 leap years since 1 AD) the calendar had shifted by 10 days and Pope Gregory XIII decreed the new calendar rules described above and moved the calendar 10 days forward to correct for errors since the birth of Christ.

What happens if you're born on a Leap Day? In the comic opera, The Pirates of Penzance,  Frederic celebrates his 21st birthday and his release from apprenticeship to a band of kind-hearted pirates. Or so he thinks. He learns that he was born on a leap day with a birthday only every 4 years and won't be 21 for another 63 years.

In reality the UK recognizes March 1 as the birth date in non-leap years for someone born on Feb 29.

Bottom Line

For the super picky, there is also a Leap Second. Every few years astronomers add 1 second to atomic clocks to keep them 100% on track with the sun. Normal clocks ignore the extra second.

Welcome 2012

The Old Year has gone.  Let the dead past bury its own dead.  The New Year has taken possession of the clock of time.  All hail the duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months! 
~Edward Payson Powell

For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

Happy New Year

"The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible cresent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring).

The beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. After all, it is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.

The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year's Eve festivities pale in comparison."
- from WillStar.com

Boxing Day

"Some boys are rich by birth beyond all wants,
Belov'd by uncles, and kind good old aunts;
When time comes round, a Christmas-box they bear,
And one day makes them rich for all the year." -- John Gay, Trivia (1716),

December 26, Boxing Day, is not about the pugilistic sport nor is it about tossing out empty gift boxes, returning gifts, or getting great bargains. Some historians say the holiday got started when servants, who were required to work on Christmas Day, got the following day off to visit their families. The day took its name from the tradition of presenting gifts of cash, food, clothing and other goods wrapped up in boxes to servants on Dec 26. Another theory is that church donation boxes were opened on the Feast of St. Stephen (Dec 26) and the money distributed to the poor. Wikipedia disagrees with both these theories and claims the day is named after clay boxes that served as a collective piggy bank for servants/workers in a shop or home. On Dec 26 the boxes were smashed open and the contents shared as a Christmas bonus.

Boxing Day is a British holiday for giving gifts to everyone who had rendered a service during the previous year: tradesmen, mail carriers, maids, butlers, doormen, porters, etc. It officially began during the reign of Queen Victoria during the middle 19th century.

Boxing Day is celebrated in Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, other Commonwealth of Nations, and Greece. It many of these countries it is a bank holiday. If Dec 26 falls on a weekend, the public holiday may be moved to Monday. So in a worst case, as a traveler in a British country, you could find yourself without access to a bank from Dec 24/25 thru Dec 27/28.

Bottom Line

Few people can be 100% self-sufficient. We all rely on others, especially during times of crisis. It is always a good idea to build a social network and to say thank you to those that have helped you during the year.

When is "Free" really Free?

"A fool and his money are soon parted"
- Thomas Tusser, 1524-80

Shoppers love the word "free" and so stores exploit that craving with many creative uses of free. For example,

"We'll send you this CD free plus shipping and handling (S&H)". Then when you discover that S&H is $10, it's not so cheap anymore. I recently encountered an odd variation of this. I was shopping for a used book on Half.com and found several copies selling for just one penny (plus S&H). The shipping fee was $5, not pennies, but I had little reason to complain. I was going to get a book I wanted for just $5.01. Perhaps the book was not selling and sellers were just trying to clear space for better inventory? And upon receiving the book I found it filled with yellow underlining and dog eared pages. Not quite the "very good" condition I expected. So I did get what I paid for.

"Buy two, get one free!",  "Half off! (with purchase of similar item)" Sales like this give me glad I studied mathematics. The first sale is 33% off but must buy 3 items.  The second 25% off with purchase of two items. I've seen as high as buy 10 for $X. The problem with sales like this is that you might not want 10 or 3 or even 2 items. Just one. Buying food that will just spoil if unused is no bargain at all. But if the item has a long shelf-life like printer ink or shoes or canned goods, then it might make sense to stock up.

"Free shipping!"  An article at Savings.com points out the possible flaws of free shipping.
1. Free shipping is not always better. Often the item prices are higher to cover the cost of the "free" shipping. Compare the item price plus S&H to find the best deal.
2. Free shipping may not be your best choice. Some vendors block coupon code discounts if free shipping is selected. Check to see which gives you a better deal; 25% off will likely save more money than free shipping.
3. Expect Delays. Free shipping is low priority for the vendor and typically sent by slowest method.
4. Stores vary widely in the shipping fees they charge. Check out a list of fees at Savings.com Top 50 Retailers.
5. Consider "Ship to Store". It may be cheaper (or even free) to have an item shipped to the store nearest your where you can pick it up personally.

Bottom Line

Stay smart when shopping and look at the total cost before buying.

The best Christmas Music is old?

Decorations of red
On a green Christmas tree
Won't be the same
If you're not here with me
- Blue Christmas by Elvis

My current commuting lecture series is the History of Rock & Roll (Part 1) and it was just discussing the first song recorded by Elvis on 5 July 1954, That's All Right (Mama), as I arrived at the office. Before that it looked at the Mississippi Delta Blues and the Rhythm & Blues of New Orleans, Chicago and Memphis. I find it frustrating that the lecture CDs do not sample the songs discussed so I'm very appreciative that the old Blues songs can be found on YouTube, e.g. Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, and Lloyd Price.

This has made me aware that I'm not all familiar with the early Rock music of the 1950's. On the other hand I love the crooners and pop singers of the 50's: Perry Como, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, Connie Francis, as well as country's Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins.

So imagine my surprise, as I'm contemplating the 50's, to see the chart below from comic xkcd. Why is it that the 1950's were such an amazing time for Christmas songs?

Bottom Line

I tried finding new Christmas songs but nothing impressed me. "All I Want for Christmas Is You" became a hit in 1989 but uses a melody from 1964's "My Heart Belongs to Only You". Too many of the new songs are about boy-girl love affairs (or lack thereof) like "Last Christmas" (I gave you my heart) from 1982.

"Mary, Did You Know" (1992) is certainly religious and a nice song but does not "feel" like a Christmas song to me.

And what's up with Christmas blues? "Elf's Lament" (2004), "Even Santa Claus Gets the Blues" (2003)

I'm in the generation after the Baby Boomers so why do I love their music so much?

How to Save Money on a Fresh Christmas Tree

"Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, where are you?
We're lost in the woods and so are you."
-song made-up by daughter when family became lost on a Colorado mountain while searching for a tree.

Last weekend I saw a few Christmas trees tried to the top of cars as we were out shopping. It's that time of year and the WSJ offers some advice at Smartmoney.com for 8 Ways to Trim the Christmas Tree Costs.

1. Compare pricing methods - some price by the foot, others a fixed cost. Call around to find the best deal; "look beyond tree lots to garden centers, supermarkets and home improvement stores."
2. Compare species of trees - there are over 30 kinds of Christmas trees. The Fraser Fir has strong branches for heavy ornaments while the Blue Spuce has "sharp needles that deter a climbing housecat". Some species are more expensive than others
3. Shop Online?  Both Target & Sears are selling trees cuts to order online. It may cut more but will be very fresh.
4. Cut your own. "The U.S. Forest Service sells permits for consumers to cut down their own tree in a national forest. The price: as little as $10." [Just don't become lost while looking for the perfect tree to cut. "It's all woods. You are surrounded by woods until you get up on a ridge, you have no idea where you are going. But then every time we got to the top of a ridge, there was just another ridge,"]
5. Use Coupons - Groupon, LivingSocial, etc
6. Check the quality - you want a fresh tree that will last till Christmas. If the leaves are already falling off, walk away.
7. Wait till last minute - pricing often falls 4 or 5 days before Christmas. You can start a new tradition of decorating the tree Christmas Eve.
8. Haggle - the seller might have only paid $10 if they cut the tree with a US Forest permit.

Bottom Line

Here's some more useful things to know from the WSJ article:

• Despite weather extremes, "Christmas tree pricing nationwide has remained flat."
• "shoppers spent an average $36.12 last year for a real tree" but the price can easily be three times higher depending on tree height and type of tree.
• Christmas is about the people, not the tree which gets tossed out afterwards. Don't overspend on a tree.

My wife made a lovely table-top tree this year. It has red beads strung on a bare tree frame with red ornaments. We like to be creative.

Here are some posts from previous years regarding fresh trees
http://perpetualpreparedness.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-trees.html

and tree fires
http://perpetualpreparedness.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-fires.html
http://perpetualpreparedness.blogspot.com/2008/12/oh-christmas-tree-oh-christmas-tree-how.html

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Thanksgiving in the United States, much like in Canada, was observed on various dates throughout history. The dates of Thanksgiving in the era of the Founding Fathers until the time of Lincoln had been decided by each state on various dates. The first Thanksgiving celebrated on the same date by all states was in 1863 by presidential proclamation by Abraham Lincoln for the final Thursday in November.

It was not until December 26, 1941, that the official date changed to the fourth Thursday in November -this time by federal legislation with the support of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Wikipedia

Preventing Foodborne Disease this Holiday Season

"Holidays are the best. I couldn't imagine being from a small family."
-Kim Kardashian

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that one out of six Americans (48 million people) will get sick, 128,000 will be hospitalized, and 3,000 will die from foodborne diseases this year. (See A Fatal Cantaloupe?) So far in 2011 the CDC has investigated 65 outbreaks of food illness.

Evidence shows that preventing illness begins with the basics. Stay safe during this holiday season by following these safety tips:

• Clean. Wash hands, cutting boards, utensils, and counter tops.
• Separate. Keep raw meat, poultry, and seafood separate from ready-to-eat foods.
• Cook. Use a food thermometer to ensure that foods are cooked to a safe internal temperature: 145°F for whole meats (allowing the meat to rest for 3 minutes before carving or consuming), 160°F for ground meats, and 165°F for all poultry.
• Chill. Keep your refrigerator below 40°F, and refrigerate food that will spoil.
• Report suspected illness from food to your local health department.
• Don't prepare food for others if you have diarrhea or have been vomiting.
• Be especially careful when preparing food for children, pregnant women, those in poor health, and older adults.

Bottom Line

For more information see

• “Check Your Steps”
• CDC Food Safety
• Foodborne Illness
• It’s Turkey Time

The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month

In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.
-José Narosky

This year adds an extra 11 to the remembrance of Veterans Day on 11/11/11.

It was at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 that the Germans signed the Armistice to end the Western Front of World War One. This event is celebrated in many allied countries as Veterans Day, Armistice Day (France), Poppy Day (South Africa), National Day (Poland), Day of Peace (Belgium) and Remembrance Day (British Commonwealth). While the war in Europe ended on this day, hostilities continued in the Russian Empire and in parts of the old Ottoman Empire. 

President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed an Armistice Day the following year on November 11, 1919. However it was not until May 13, 1938 that congress made the 11th of November a legal holiday; "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'."

In 1953 Al King, a shoe store owner in Emporia, Kansas, had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who served in World War I. With the help of Rep. Ed Rees, also from Emporia, a bill was passed by Congress and signed into law on May 26, 1954 by President Dwight Eisenhower. Congress amended this act on November 8, 1954, replacing "Armistice" with Veterans, and it has been known as Veterans Day ever since.

In 1971 the holiday was moved to the fourth Monday of October in accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. It was moved back to November 11 in 1978.

In many parts of the world people take a two-minute moment of silence at 11:00 a.m. as a sign of respect for the roughly 20 million who died in the war. The Service of Remembrance in many Commonwealth countries generally includes the sounding of "Last Post," followed by the two minutes of silence, followed by the sounding of "Reveille" (or, more commonly, "The Rouse"), and finished by a recitation of the "Ode of Remembrance." The "Flowers of the Forest", "O Valiant Hearts", "I Vow to Thee, My Country" and "Jerusalem" are often played during the service. Services also include wreaths laid to honour the fallen, a blessing, and national anthems.

The poppy's significance to Remembrance Day is a result of Canadian military physician John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields. Poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their red colour an appropriate symbol for the bloodshed of trench warfare. An American YMCA Overseas War Secretaries employee, Moina Michael, was inspired by McCrae's poem, and made an effort to have the poppy adopted as a national symbol of remembrance, and succeeded in having the National American Legion Conference adopt it two years later. Some people choose to wear white poppies, which emphasises a desire for peaceful alternatives to military action. The Royal Canadian Legion suggests that poppies be worn on the left lapel, or as close to the heart as possible.

Bottom Line

For grammarians, please note that while Veteran’s Day and Verterans’ Day are grammatically correct, the official spelling of the holiday in the US is Veterans Day with no apostrophe.

Guy Fawkes Night

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot...

The mask pictured here has become "an international symbol for rebellion and anonymity." An estimated 100,000 were sold last year. It's been spotted in Occupy protests from Oakland to Hong Kong and is the face of the Hacker group Anonymous.

Most Americans associate the mask with the comic and movie, "V for Vendetta"  but its history is 400 years older than that. In 1605 conspirators in London plotted to kill King James (a Protestant) and his two sons as they attended Parliament. The conspirators planned to kidnap Jame's daughter, convert her to Catholicism, and put her on the throne. On 5 November 1605 Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was discovered guarding dozens of barrels of gunpowder explosives in a basement beneath the House of Lords.

Celebrating the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life,  Londoners lit bonfires, and months later the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure. Gradually, Gunpowder Treason Day became Guy Fawkes Day with Guy Fawkes burned in effigy and people wearing "Guy Fawkes" masks.

Bottom Line

While Britons still remember the 5th of November, after 400 years Fawkes has changed from traitor to folk hero. As they say, "Guy Fawkes was the only man ever to enter Parliament with honest intentions."

Happy Mole Day!

The Speed of Light = 670,616,629 mph: It's not just a good idea, it's the law!

Unless you're a very early riser you have already missed the celebration of Mole Day at 6:02 am on Oct 23. What the heck?

Mole Day is an unofficial chemistry holiday celebrated on a date that relates to Avogadro's number, which is approximately 6.02 x 10²³. Avogadro's number is the number of particles in a mole of a substance.

Mole Day traces its origins to an article that appeared in The Science Teacher magazine in the early 1980s about a high school chemistry teacher's reasons for celebrating the day. The idea for Mole Day took root and the National Mole Day Foundation was formed in 1991. The American Chemical Society plans National Chemistry Week so that Mole Day falls within chemistry week each year.

So what exactly is a mole? (Not the one's digging holes in our yard.)  A mole is a quantity of any substance where the number of particles match the number of atoms in 12 grams of pure carbon-12, approximately 602,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms. What so special about Avogadro's number of 6.02 x 10²³? It's just the right amount so that the mass of one mole of a substance, expressed in grams, is exactly equal to the substance's mean molecular weight. For example, the mean molecular weight of water is about 18.016, so one mole of water is about 18.016 grams. This property considerably simplifies many chemical and physical computations.

For example: mix 4 moles of Hydrogen gas (H) with 1 mole of  oxygen gas (O2) to get exactly 2 moles of water H2O. This would mean 4 * 1.008 grams of H and 32 grams of O2 (atomic weight of O is 16) to get 36.032 grams of water (2 * 18.016).

Bottom Line

Too much math? I'll digress with a story about the fuzzy moles. We have a cat who loves to sit next to mole and chipmunk tunnels and play wack-a-mole. My wife recently saw him playing with a chipmunk by repeatedly tossing it into the air.

Update  10/26

The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) in Paris, France, has unanimously agreed on a proposal that would lead to reform of the mole, kilogram, kelvin and ampere, according to the international system of units (SI).

The first sign that the SI was flawed was noticed in 1949 in a check on a lump of metal kept inside a vault at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) in Paris. By definition, it is the only object in existence with a mass of exactly 1 kilogram – one of the seven SI base units – so metrologists were unsettled to discover that this mass had changed.

For the kilogram, the proposal is to use the Planck constant, which relates the energy of electromagnetic radiation to its frequency. The Planck constant can also be used to define the Avogadro constant, the number of atoms in 12 grams of carbon-12, which in turn can be used to obtain the mole.

The decision will not be binding without another vote in four years' time.

Happy Independence Day!

Easter Sunday

A Blessed and Joyous Easter to All!

Yuri's Night

"I saw for the first time the earth's shape. I could easily see the shores of continents, islands, great rivers, folds of the terrain, large bodies of water. The horizon is dark blue, smoothly turning to black. . . the feelings which filled me I can express with one word—joy."

— Yuri A. Gagarin

Today, April 12, is the 50 anniversary of mankind entering the space-age and according to MSNBC the "whole world" will be celebrating Yuri's Night. That was news to me and who the heck is Yuri? The answer is Yuri Gagarin (Ю́рий Алексе́евич Гага́рин), the first human in space by completing one orbit around the Earth.  After re-entry, Gagarin ejected from the craft and landed safely by parachute. Yuri Gagarin became a worldwide celebrity, touring widely abroad with visits to Italy, Germany, Canada, Japan, Finland, and the United Kingdom to promote the Soviet coup of being the first country to put a human in space with Vostok 1. [What? No US tour? :-) ]

In a 2010 Space Foundation survey, Gagarin was ranked as the #6 most popular space hero, tied with Star Trek's fictional Capt. James T. Kirk.

Bottom Line

Coincidentally (?) April 12 is also the 30th anniversary of the first space shuttle mission. In a way that's depressing. We've accomplished so little in space in 50 years (or even the past 30). The exploits of science fiction like 2001, A Space Odyssey or Star Trek seem so very far away.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

“The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul”
- G. K. Chesterton

Gift Returns

"Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts"
- Laocoon in the Aeneid, book II

Almost one in five Americans expected to return at least one holiday gift. If you are one of these five then ConsumerReports has this advice for returning gifts at http://blogs.consumerreports.org/money/2010/12/5-tips-to-make-returning-gifts-almost-as-easy-as-getting-them.html

1. Know the time frame
Large merchants usually allow 90 days for returns but some items like electronics, computers, music, and DVDs may have shorter return periods. software, and CDs and DVDs. For example electronics bought at Walmart must be returned within 15 or 30 days. But as a gesture of holiday goodwill, if a gift was purchased at Walmart between Nov. 15 and Dec. 25, the return clock doesn't start ticking until Dec. 26.

2. Use and Keep gift receipts
My wife requested gift receipts for items we bought at Toys-R-Us and I received a hobby kit this year with a gift receipt included. Merchants used to offer store credit without a receipt but don't count on that nowadays. You may have to ask the giver for the store receipt before making a return or exchange.

3. Take your driver's license
Some companies require a government-issued ID with a receipt. This way they can track serial returners who use and return items frequently.

4. Be sure before you open the box
Once you open a box the item is no longer new so merchants may charge a restocking fee, often 15 percent of the product's cost. Digital items that can be copied like computer software, CDs, and DVDs aren't usually returnable once they're unwrapped.

5. Know where to go
If an item was purchased online and the merchant has walk-in stores, check their website to see if you can return it at a store and avoid reshipping fees.

Bottom Line

I'll be sure to use more Gift Receipts in the future.

A Merry Bacon Christmas

A Merry Bacon & Sauerkraut Christmas?

"Remember
This December,
That love weighs more than gold!"
~Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon