Thursday Thirteen - Numbers!

Sometimes, I just browse the internet aimlessly for the express purpose of stumbling upon something interesting that I would never have thought of to search. Today, I came upon numbers and followed that train of thought.

Here are 13 Interesting Facts About Numbers & Maths

1) 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321.

2) 1234567.9 x 9 = 11111111

3) Multiply 37,037 by any single number (1-9), then multiply that number by 3. Every digit in the answer will be the same as that first single number.
For example: 37,037 x 5 = 185,185; 185,185 x 3 = 555,555

4) 2 is the only even prime.

5) 18 is the only number that is twice the sum of its digits.

6) 81 is the square of the sum of its digits.

7) 12+3-4+5+67+8+9=100

8) A Googol has 100 zeros.

9) 25 (5 x 5) is the smallest square that can be written as a sum of 2 squares
(3 x 3 + 4 x 4).

10) 40 is the only number whose letters are in alphabetical order.

11) 89 = 8^1 + 9^2 (What I mean is 8 to the power of 1 and 9 to the power of 2.)

12) Pi has been calculated to 2,260,321,363 digits. The billionth digit in Pi is 9.

13) This one is for people like me who can't remember their multiplication tables.

You can use your fingers for 1 x 9 to 9 x 9.

Hold both hands out in front of you, palms facing away. For 1 x 9, bend the little finger on your left hand. You're left with 9 fingers to the right of that little finger. Of course, you probably didn't need to use this method to get the answer to 1 x 9.

For 2 x 9, bend the ring finger on your left hand. Now there is 1 fingers to the left of the ring finger and 8 to the right of it. The answer is 18.

Jumping to 5 x 9. Bend your left thumb. Now you have 4 fingers to the left of your thumb and 5 to the right of it letting you know the answer is 45.

Its so much easier to explain if you could all just see my fingers! Try it out anyway :)

The Habit of Cramming

I was never one for studying consistently throughout the semester. I always start out with good intentions and would probably carry out the plan for a good week or two but then, I'd fall into old habits and in the end, I'll spend the final few weeks cramming for the exams.

Thank goodness I don't need to sit for any exams these days. My brain is obviously not as "fresh" as it used to be and is too full of other rubbish to cram anything in quickly.

That didn't stop me from trying today.

I might have mentioned in previous posts that I have started clogging here in Brisbane. Its been 5 weeks since I first started and I don't want to be a beginner anymore. Actually, there are very few beginners around.

At tomorrow's class, there will be no teaching. Instead, its going to be a social where there will just be 3 hours of dancing. I don't want to be SITTING during that time. Hence, the cramming.

I've been wearing my dad out making him teach me all the dances he knows. My mother usually looks after Aaron for the morning while I go to this class with my dad. Its really the first time since Aaron was born that I've had some time to go learn something new. It is definitely refreshing (physically and mentally)!

For those of you who don't know, clogging, in a nut shell, is like tap dancing without needing to remember a routine. You just need to remember the steps that they call out and you're set.

Now here's the funny part to clogging. There are some really strange names for the steps. Names like, Emu, Donkey, Creeper, and even Outhouse! So...thats what I have spilling out of my ears at the moment. Wish me luck for tomorrow!

Then and Now

Look at the difference a year makes when you're 1 and 2 years old.

This post was about Aaron going to a park in Milton in August 2007. He still looked like a baby at that time!

And here he is today, on the same climbing dome thingi. I have no idea what its called!





He's moved on to the more challenging pyramid so who knows where he'll be in the 2009 photo!



We went to that park because I wanted to register him at the school adjacent to it. Supposedly, he'll be ready to start prep in a mere 3 years from now. Imagine that! I was excited for him just filling out those forms but at the same time, I have no idea where we'll be and am half preparing myself for home schooling during his early years.

An Unexpected Lesson

Every mother knows to expect the unexpected. And by keeping that in mind, I think many mothers have learnt to keep an open mind when watching for possible dangers. Think like the child. What does he see? What looks interesting?

Sometimes, we make last minute saves but other times, we're not so lucky. But, thats just part of growing up. Thankfully, nothing serious has happened yet.

And then of course, you have those times where there is absolutely nothing dangerous in the environment. You can let your guard down. A public restroom used to be one of those places. (Yes, dirty but not much room to physically hurt himself) As long as I gave him a bit of toilet paper to avoid him grabbing it himself, he wouldn't need to be tempted by the only interesting thing in those little stalls.

That was when he was short and clumsy. He's now taller and his little fingers can open just about anything. My first shock came when he reached up, played around with the twisting lock and opened the stall door. It was one of the normal sized stalls and thankfully, I had our bag leaned against the door. That gave me time to slam it shut again.

So what happens when you have a pram and have to go into one of those big stalls? Don't forget to put toddler in pram and strap him in! Otherwise, you'll find yourself shaking your head and screaming "Noooooooo!" while the door just swings open.

No matter how quick you think you're going to be, the toddler is quicker!

Lesson learnt!

Aaron's dreams come true

After the months and months of steam engine talk going on in this house, we finally got to go on a few today. Even though they were just miniature ones, it didn't take away any of the thrill and excitement that trains have come to evoke in this house.

You can see Aaron and my mom peeking out from behind the driver here.


There is a park about 30mins drive from our house that has miniature railway tracks on it. And, once every month, train enthusiasts will bring their trains here, attach 'coaches' and give rides. It was AUD 1.50 a ticket and the proceeds went to one of the Lions' clubs in the area.

Aaron lined up patiently for nearly 30 mins for the first round with no complaints at all. It just shows that when the incentive is attractive enough, he'll comply. After that, the crowd was gone and he went for two more rounds without having to line up for more than 5 mins. I think each trip around the track lasted about 10 minutes.

These little trains were more powerful that I thought they would be. Just take a look at how many people they're pulling along. There were a couple of instances where the trains did break down and had to be retired to the workshop. Just part of a routine steam engine day I guess.

Aaron and I are on the very last bench.


Here is a closer look at some of the engines.







At the end of the day, it was another great Sunday adventure. Aaron was totally satisfied and so were we all.

Photostory Friday - Alma Park Zoo

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Apart from the trip from Palembang to Brisbane, today is the first time Aaron and I have been on an "big excursion" alone. Of course, we go for short outings everyday but never for something that takes a whole day. Today, the both of us took a 1 hr drive north of Brisbane to Alma Park Zoo. He was an angel in the car.

When we were there, he was the perfect little guy. Cute, obedient and full of smiles. He missed his morning nap but still, he behaved.



He finally did fall apart right at the very end when a deer came, snatched our bag of feed and munched everything up (including the paper bag). We headed straight for the car and he was asleep even before I left the car park.

I really had a wonderful day and I'm pretty sure Aaron did too. Its great that he's now old enough for us to do things like this together.

While I have many cute photos of Aaron, it might be this shot of the donkey that will stand out in my mind.

Thursday Thirteen - TV Show Characters

13 TV Show Characters I Like

1. Barney Rubble from The Flintstones

2. Hawkeye from M*A*S*H

3. Fran Fine from The Nanny

4. Q from Star Trek : The Next Generation

5. Quark from Star Trek : Deep Space Nine

6. Alan Shore from Boston Legal

7. Ling from Ally McBeal

8. Lynette from The Desperate Housewives

9. Agent 13 from Get Smart. (I think thats his number. He's the one thats always hiding in weird places)

10. MacGyver from MacGyver

11. Punky Brewster from Punky Brewster. (I still want a bed like hers!)

12. Spike from Buffy The Vampire Slayer

13. Ren from Ren and Stimpy

What about you? Which characters have been memorable for you?