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| Well, I got an e-mail about a month ago from xanga claiming that I had taken too long to write a blog and that other people wanted my name and so they were going to remove my site. So I don't know if that really happened. But, for the first time in about a year, I feel like I have enough time to write in my blog, so we'll see if it's true.
If indeed my name is much sought after (we all know how many girls out there want to be identified with sewing), look for my new name, "sewwoman." It exudes more power, authority and wisdom than "sewgirl," don't you think.
We'll see if this blog works before I write anything more. I'm not a real fan of wasted time.
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| Yes, it's true. I was in Geneva for a very brief time on Wednesday. We had to do some banking, and Julie needed to be dropped off. So what to drive in the world of $3.50 a gallon gas? A motorcycle of course! Julie rode in the sidecar and I on the motorcycle. It was fun, but we missed out on the fabulous "car talk time" that we normally have. I had intended on staying longer in Geneva, but the big black clouds were rolling in, and I became quite nervous that I would not get home without getting soaked! So, my apologies to all that I did not drop in on - I really wanted to!
P.S. I made it home 15 minutes before the rain fell. I could see rain falling all over the place in the skyline on the way home and just kept praying that it would hold off! It isn't as much fun to ride a motorcycle when you fear the rain storm. Gonna have to get some rain gear...
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| Well, a miracle of sorts happened last night. For all of those that have tried to convince me how to understand the multiplying of fractions, you will recognize it as a miracle.
It all started when Dad was conversing with a student who came to Bible Study last night. He's in Calc 3 as a junior in H.S. He wants to be a professor of mathematical theory or somesuch thing. He got a higher score on his ACT than Mark. So, Dad, thinking he needed a challenge, told him to convince me of the whole truth of the multiplication of fractions. A young father who is a construction worker clinched the deal by presenting the point number 3 below. I have come to hate this discussion. It has been so futile. It just doesn't make sense to me that you can multiply something and have it come out a smaller number. My contention has been that you are not multiplying then, you are dividing, so call it what it is. But, multiplying and dividing fractions are two different things, so you can't call them the same thing, and so how can this be true that you are multiplying numbers and getting a smaller number? You can't be multiplying, you have to be dividing or subtracting or something. So it just has never made sense to me. People have argued pointlessly with pies and cookies, forever dividing them smaller as they try to convince me they are multiplying. It just didn't ever click in my brain how it could be true.
Behold, the miracle:
1. Multiplication in Math does not mean the same thing as multiplication in English. In English class, we say "Go forth and multiply," and it is understood that it means to get bigger or more, and with that a lot bigger or more or we'd be adding. "Go forth and add" just doesn't mean the same thing. In Math, "multiply" is a function. It simply denotes an activity you're going to do with a number. You have 4 basic functions you can do with numbers, (maybe there are more in Calculus 3 - I'm not sure), add, subtract, divide and multiply. That is why you do all those flash cards in the hall in remedial math in 4th grade, (I digress), to learn the function of multiplication.
2. Fractions, by their very existence are division. When you say "one fourth" the 1 has a line between it and the number 4. The number below the line is the number you are to divide the number above the line by. (Thus you are dividing the pie into 4 pieces: 1 divided by 4).
3. Multiplication does always increase the the number - just like the flash cards said. (Except when they are negative numbers, which don't really exist except in theory anyway). That's why when you multiply 1/4 x 1/4 the bottom number gets bigger. 4x4=16. The number multiplied. It didn't add. It got a lot bigger.
4. Remember point #2? It's still fraction, so you're still dividing. Only, by a lot more. Now it's 1 divided by 16 instead of 4. So you end up with 16 pieces of pie instead of 4.
So, bottom line, when you're multiplying fractions, you really are dividing. I was right all along!
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| Ah! An accusation of untruth! Actually it is true. I did have to plug-in twice in the old/new house, and I really did get that many rooms vacuumed without needing to unplug. That's why it shocked me! It really doesn't feel that small, but vacuum cords don't lie...
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| When cleaning today, I came up with a new thought: You know you've
down-sized when you used to have to move the plug-in for the vacuum
cleaner in order to finish vacuuming your living room, and now you can
vacuum the living room, dining room, kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
and most of the family room without moving the cord - and those rooms
are on three different floors! | | |
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