Last week my eldest child turned the ripe old age of 11. Tonight is his party where he and some of his friends are going to shoot each other with “lasers.” It will be a great time for all. I have no idea how this much time has passed since we met the little bugger in person so many years ago. It seems like it was just yesterday. However, it was not just yesterday, it was 11 years ago. So this week’s topic is the number 11.
Thanks this week go to Maj McArmypants, Chris Ring, Dr JHP, Newbold, Chris Corrigan, and some other guy. Onto the questions…
1. Was I the only one in grade school who had a really really hard time grasping that November is the 11th month instead of the 9th? I mean WTF!
Yep, you are the only one… I learned the months of the year prior to their Latin word roots. It wasn’t until later that I put those 2 things together to realize that conundrum.
2. What is the best thing that has ever happened to you on the 11th of a month?
For me? Hmmm… I cannot think of anything that really stands out from being on the 11th.
3. Clearly all of Western Europe agrees that "11" should be the coolest sounding number. So ONCE, ONZE or good ole "eleven". Which sounds the coolest to your ears?
Onze en Fancais. J’adore la Francais.
4. Any special Birthday 11 celebration going on this week?
There will be some food consumed in some fashion. Special birthday celebratory foods chosen by the birthday boy.
5. Why is Ocean's 12 so crappy?
Because there is no tension in it. The tension was all played out from Ocean’s 11.
6. Greatest athlete to wear number 11?
Gonna go with Messier.
7. On a scale from 1 to 10, how good is 11?
8
8. If a baker's dozen is 13, whose dozen is 11?
The fat baker’s dozen
9. Is 11 really "1 louder" or is exponentially louder at that point?
I would say that it is geometrically louder, and not exponentially, logarithmically, or arithmetically.
10. When you don't know the answer, go with eleventeen . . . you might get points for humor. Right???
I have never gotten points for humor on tests… and I have tried… many times.
11. Why doesn't my amp go up to 11?
Because your amp displays an arbitrary base 10 system of measurement.
12. Give us some of that fancy math stuff you know where the answer is 11.
3 in binary
13. Eleven written out is awfully close to elven so does it have some mystical qualities?
It does have some mystical properties to it. It is the first double numeral number and the first two digit prime.
14. What is the birthday wish for the young man this 11th year?
To continue building a strong cadre of close friends.
15. Oceans 11, thoughts?
Better than Oceans 12.
16. Do you have any significant memory of being 11?
That would have been in 1985… well, at least the second half of it. Was that significant enough?
17. Top ten sounds better than top 11. However, top 11 moments of the past year?
Hmmm… Not in order.
Both the wife and I and my two closest childhood friends turned 40… so that is 1 through 4 right there.
so 5: Wife did the Ultra Marathon
6: baby girl turning 6
7: maintaining the 4.0 in this grad school
8: this world cup, a very entertaining cup indeed
9: won a sketch challenge
10: a great vacation in North Carolina
11: baby boy turning 11…shut up, he is still my baby, gottdamnit!
18. What are some cool math properties of 11? One I can think of is that 11x11 is 121. If you take the outside numbers of that number 1 and 1 and add them together, you get 2, which is the middle number. Same works with 11x12=132, 11x13=143 and so on. You’re a big math geek…what are some other ones?
Well, I think I went into that a bit with question 13. Weren’t you reading that? It is like you just skipped to your question without reading any of the other questions. For shame
19. Apollo 11 was important, right?
Super important. Very. Super. Important.
20. Hey, how many years is that there sunspot cycle run?
11, Baby!
To recap:
My oldest = 11
My sleep is all out of whack
I am super tired
But I think I know what I will be working on for my research in this degree
That is good
This weekend is Guardians of the Galaxy weekend
Really looking forward to that there movie
It looks fun
I am a bit hungry at the moment
Snacks should help
Have a great week everyone!