The Best Math Problem Ever

(from one of my friends' textbooks):

"Conan the Great has boasted to his hordes of followers that many a notorious villain has fallen to his awe-some sword: his total of 560 villains consists of evil sorcerers, trolls, and orcs. These he has slain with a total of 620 mighty thrusts of his sword; evil socerers and trolls each requiring two thrusts (to the chest) and orcs each requiring one thrust (to the neck). When asked about the number of trolls he has slain, he replies, "I, the mighty Conan, despise trolls five times as much as I despise evil sorcerers. Accordingly, five times as many trolls as evil sorcerers have fallen to my sword!" How many of each type of villain has he slain?"

I like math, but I don't love it. I wonder if I can make a living doing it.

Quote of the Day: "Wir müssen wissen. Wir werden wissen."

neeed... moreeeee.. disssscwwwooorlllld... Whaddya wanna bet Nick is gonna forget "Jingo" tomorrow? I should remind him. Loudly. Wolfgang is kinda cute. In a deranged homicidal werewolf type way. Yes, I finished "Fifth Elephant", which actually has nothing to do with an elephant. Watch me flunk my math test tomorrow too. Too many tests. It's not that I don't care, it's just that it wouldn't surprise me. BTW, yes, frictional coefficient is 2.3. They should have something for books called a "fictional coefficient" represented by the made up Greek letter "Moo", the amount by which disbelief is suspended. If it's 0, the thing slides right down. If it's.. say.. 2.3, disbelief is not only not suspended, it plummets through the center of the earth and out the other side. It's not a measurement of how outlandish a book is, just how well the writer can carry it off. Like, Discworld is fine, despite it hurting my head whenever I think of a world without a horizon. But some novels really push it... "Look! A giant ferret falls out the sky and rips the villain to shreds!" (I swear to God I'm not making this up) ... "Look! My wand has a never-before-mentioned unique quality of creating beams of golden light when the Bad Guy comes!" Fictional coefficient times the mass of the book = the amount of force needed to get me to read the damn thing.

People ought to realize that if you don't DO any math, your math scores will suck. Your verbal is high because you read books and newspapers and magazines in your spare time, because you watch plays and perform in plays, and because you practice your English every time you blog or IM a friend. I doubt you do equations for fun or IM your friends with the latest algebraic puzzler, so until you do, don't gripe about how low your math skillz are. You reap what you sow. I suppose a more positive way to put it is that it's not that your math sucks, it's that your Verbal is exceptionally good. I have a very long rant about this. For later, because if I blog anymore tonight, you faithful readers will go blind.

I'm blogging today. Three days later. I'm beginning to think it's impossible to blog everyday.

I hate my body. It's too high maintenance. I wish I could be a perfect Asimovian robot or something. Dentists are evil. I happen to not enjoy swallowing my own blood. It's a bodily fluid that doesn't belong there. I don't mind temporary pain, like taking a shot, but dentist appointments are an hour of evil. Brush. Teeth. Better. If I remember after this week.

http://www.songbirdcry.com/Lighthouse.htm Songs don't usually make me want to cry, but this one's very sad.

Calculus is actually becoming useful. Last year David said it would, but I didn't believe him. Speaking of Puffy, Seth cut his hair. I'm traumatized.

I'm rather enjoying math now. Because I'm a freak. And physics.

Willard's Halloween bash was a lot better than one most ravers could throw. BLUE RING OF FIRE!! FOOOOOSH! HOO-AH! I think I'll do that trick with AILD.

I finally found out why I consider Andrew P to be oddly fascinating. It's this. I can't stick him into a category. You'd think I'd know a whole bunch of types of guy dorks by now. Like there's the Political Guy Nerd, and the Dramatic Shakespearean With Literary Ambitions Guy Nerd, and the WarWarWAR!! Guy Nerd, and the Gaming & Card Games & Hobby Shop Guy Nerd and the OTAKU OTAKU anime Guy Nerd and the HistoryFreak Guy Nerd and the ILoveMathDuuuuhh Guy Nerd, the Computer Programming Guy Nerd and the Creepy Stalker Guy Nerd and the JustPlainUgly Guy Nerd. Andrew P (I should just call him Andrew, since there's only one) is... I have no idea. He's like... Foolish Mortal I Will Damn Your Soul Guy Nerd.

I'm reading Alex's blog. He's thinkariffic. Weird, I'm usually of the opinion that everyone is happier than I am (*insert egotistical teenage angst here*) but I guess not. Well, I know that everyone else angsts but just don't hang their dirty laundry up to dry, so most of the time I forget. It's a general rule that other people look so happy until you live with them.

I was also thinking that if I ever got a tatoo, it'd be a calligraphy Pi symbol on my hipbone. Doesn't matter which one. I dunno, it seems like a meaningful symbol of human intelligence, but not just that... but um... human integrity? People look at me funny when I tell them I want pi on my pelvis, but I really do believe that. I'm a humanist. I warned you. No one would ever be able to see it though, unless I one day chose to wear low-riding jeans and a tank top. Woo. YES that's so me. Rhinestone studded jeans and a torn spaghetti strap camo tank top. Maybe I'll get Hermes' wings tatooed on my ankles. That might be overdoing it. T wants angel wings tatooed on her back. Like Rinoa.

I wonder what Nick and Alex would get for tatoos. Andrew wouldn't get a tatoo. If I looked at him, or showed him my blog, he'd wonder a) why I'm consistantly spelling "tattoo" wrong, and b) he'd look at me over his glasses and blink, and then incredulously enunciate, "Why?" And I'd answer something really stupid like, "Um, I was just wondering" or "You'd look cool with a tatoo." And Nick... I dunno, he's flamboyant but not extroverted though he might get one just for the halibut. I don't know what of. Maybe something in Latin. Something like, "Veni, Vedi, Vici" or ...uh. I dunno. Lorenzo D' Medici's balls. Or something totally retarded like "Please mind the gap." Alex would get.. um... something symbolic and thinkariffic whose significance I'd miss. Something real manly like the logo of "Dragon Warrior." No. But I can see him doing that.