10,958 Piper Pandora Pennington threw her backpack on the faded red seat of the booth and slid in beside it. She crossed her arms and stared at the old man sitting across from her. He didn’t lookup. His nose was buried in a notebook full of mathematical scribbles. “Well…are you going to talk to me […]
1:59:40.2 You’ve got to be kidding me. How does a human being run that fast for that long? That’s not possible, is it?Buford Lister (personal communication) Years ago, one of my brothers, J, was coaching a high school tennis team. They weren’t necessarily perennial contenders for the league championship. It wasn’t the coach’s fault; this […]
Corndog! I have a nephew named Corndog. Recently, I was telling a story about him to a friend of mine. He stopped me mid-sentence: “Wait, your brother named his son Corndog?” Uh, no; his real name is not Corndog but he is known far and wide by that moniker. Corndog is my oldest nephew. Before […]
An Unexpected Meltdown To understand and be understood is to be free. Daniel Johnston I did something highly unusual the other day, something I had never done before. Did I beat a Grandmaster at chess? No, I am secretly a checkers guy; chess was never my game. Did I solve an open math problem, somehow […]
A MOST UNLIKELY TRUEL I have to go through a four-way stop on my way to the cemetery where I run every day. It continually amazes me how many times 3 or 4 cars arrive at the stop signs at practically the same time. We all hesitate then creep forward, hit the gas and suddenly […]
THE GRAMMAR POLICE “Detective, this way.” The uniformed officer guided Detective John Gibbons through the back door and toward the kitchen. “You were the first on the scene?” The young officer nodded his head. “Don’t worry son, this won’t always be so hard. The more of these you see, the easier they get. Just try […]
HUMANS AS CYLINDERS: A FEW THOUGHTS ON CHIA PETS & PIGEONHOLES or (alternate title) MY MATHEMATICAL TAKE ON A VERY HAIRY SITUATION A year or two ago, my buddy Mobe and I were, no doubt, engaging in sophisticated repartee when he casually dropped an innocent comment into the conversation. As I recall, we were enjoying […]