Thursday, February 24, 2005

Prayer Request (Updated)

Hey guys.. I just got off the phone with my dad. When I called him he was crying because he had found out about 5 minutes before that my uncle Frank in Utah has cancer. This is my dad's brother. My uncle sent him an email saying that he only has about 2-3 weeks to live. I don't know any details, and I didn't want to ask because my dad is absolutely devastated. My dad refuses to accept this and he asked me to pray for him. Any support would be appreciated. Thanks.

Update- My uncle talked to some doctors and he has colon cancer. He will be operated on in two weeks. The doctors feel they can cut out all or most of the tumors. There is also either cancer or a cyst on his liver. The doctors told him that they feel they can surgically remove the tumors, but he will have to go through chemotherapy (which is very painful and ongoing). Yesterday Frank expected to live just a few weeks. Today he was told that with a successful surgery and chemotherapy, he expects to have his prognosis extended to two or three years. Of course, with today's technology and lots of prayer, he can be completely cured and outlive us all.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

i love math.

I was on my way to class this morning, when staring out the window of the top deck of the bus I was struck with a math problem. It was inspired by some colorful apartment building doors facing the street. This is not a difficult problem, and it doesn't require any complex operations. This is not necessarily a challenge, however the first person to give me the correct answer will have the claim to fame, and receive the title "Math Virtuoso" to add to the end of their name. I'm not a great story problem writer, but all the necessary information is there. Here it is:

You are a flower delivery person attempting to deliver a bushel of begonias to an old customer. This is going to be a difficult task, but you'll be paid handsomely so that you may buy that new dining set you've had your eyes on.
The only information that you have been given is that the apartment is located on Vine St. and that the apartment is the exact middle door of the complex. The Vine St. apartments are all located on ground level in a single row, and are all evenly spaced. Unfortunately they stretch for 51 miles. The entire length of the street is filled with apartments, but they do not exceed 51 miles. Starting with the first apartment on the end, they are labeled A, B, C, D, etc. until you get to the end of the alphabet, then they are labeled AA, BB, CC, DD, etc. continuing on in this fashion to triple letters, etc. The first apartment is labeled A, but the last apartment is not given. The width of each door is 3'9", and there are 8' between the closest edges of each door.
In order to complete this delivery, you must find out if there is, a middle door, or if the old hag was playing a practical joke on you. If there is a middle door, what is it labeled?

***Ok, there's been an alteration to the problem. CHAP SOLVED THE ORIGINAL PROBLEM in about 2 minutes (after asking me how many letters there were in the alphabet), and he deserves all the credit for it. However, I didn't realize how easy the problem was when I posted it, and I want to tickle your brain bone. This is a slightly NEW problem that requires more work because some numbers have been changed. Sorry Chap for stealing your thunder, but I'm sure that brain of yours could use more of a challenge. Chap gets the original deal, "math extraordinaire" added to his name***

Sunday, February 20, 2005

I miss my sister

fun with garageband