July 17

Tuesday July 17, 2007 6:50 am Lethbridge

It is +15 C with a high forecast of +34 C. Sunrise 5:42 Sunset 21:33 Hours of daylight: 15:51

A. Morning Musings

6:50 am

Two bookish updates. The two maths books on abstract algebra have been shipped. I expect to receive them early next week, but there is a possibility that they may arrive by Friday. I settled in and finished "Pushkin: A Biography" last evening. It was a very enjoyable biography - it certainly lived up to my expectations of giving me a good sense of the author/poet.

I have a coffee mate scheduled for 8 am. By walking - it takes 30 minutes - I will be able to get my exercise in before the day gets too hot. I do not have enough time to begin anything before leaving, so it is a good opportunity to muse a little.

I am looking forward to doing a few more calculus problems when I return from coffee. But I just realized that the lawn will need mowing. I may do that first while it is still relatively cool (although it already feels warm).

I ignored working on my hypothetical tutorial web site on XHTML/CSS yesterday, so that is another item that is near the top of my list of activities.

Yesterday I played with our stereo/tv system and its 4 different remotes. I was able to determine that the remote for the Samsung DVD player is broken. It does not send a signal to the DVD player under any circumstances. Yes, I did check the batteries. I wonder if I can order a new remote from the web? However I now know the steps to view a DVD using the buttons on the player. With all of the hype about the release of the latest Harry Potter movie and the lst of the books, it is time for us to begin viewing the movies. I should get a laugh when I ask for the first two movies in the series at the neighborhood video shop. I think there are about 5 to see, with the 6th movie just out. It is amazing how this has caught on - both the books and the movies. I remember reading the first two books (I liked the first, but found the second tedious). Perhaps I should begin reading the third and etc.. Then again, this may be a case where the movies are the best way to go. They appear to be fairly faithful to the books and the special effects are very well done.

Immediate	Description	Time
Technology	Continue creating a tutorial web site: general sequence	1 hr
Literature	Begin reading "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami	1 hr
Mathematics	Complete problems 1.7 - 1.8 of "The Humongous Book of Calculus Problems"	1 hr

C. Actual Learning Activities

9:50 am

Mathematics 19

July 17, 2007

3:05PM

I have just finished a one hour session and solved two problems: 1.7 & 1.8

The Humongous Book of Calculus Problems (2006) W. Michael Kelley

Chapter 1 Linear Equations and Inequalities

Here are my scans (original at color - magazine, 100 dpi, export at width of 600 pixels) of the problems I completed in a one hour session this afternoon.

calculus

3:20 PM

Two problems in an hours is not very impressive. My general sense of how to approach the two problems was sound, and my ability to judge the answers as reasonable was also fine. But my lack of intimate familiarity with the formulae for these geometric situations meant that I picked a lengthy approach instead of an easy approach. This should get better as I continue to immerse myself in these situations.

On the plus side, I knew the formula for computing the distance between two points (not bad after 40 years), but on the negative side I failed to realize the much simpler formula for the mid-point of a line. I am also familiar with the slope-intercept equation of a straight line. Also, given two points on the line, I am able to compute the slope of the line and then use this plus one of the points to compute the complete slope-intercept form. This is all basic high school geometry, but that was a long time ago. The good news is that because I once knew this material, the time and effort to relearn it is substantially less than it was originally. Knowing that I once knew it is also a great encouragement that I should be able to handle this without too much real difficulty.

These early exercises are intended as a review and an opportunity to refresh a few basic skills before engaging in the study of calculus proper. I clearly will benefit from treating these activities seriously.

Finally, scanning my worksheets in color allows me to see the red comments and corrections.

7:30 PM

It is difficult, sometimes, to capture the magic of the Web. I have just started reading "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami.

Very quickly, I am enamored with the book, and I am only 30 pages into it. The book mentions the Komura Memorial Library. I am entranced. Does it really exist? Googling yields http://flickr.com/photos/willau/15551827/. Backing through a few of the web sites images yields http://flickr.com/photos/willau/14398969/in/photostream/, which then yields the following http://flickr.com/photos/willau/13859037/in/photostream/. I recognize the inkstand from the 1960's (?). Now I am really interested in the pen. I type "Pelikan Shanghai" into google and get http://www.rickconner.net/penspotters/pelikan.cities.html. Ten minutes ago I did not know such pens existed. Now I want one! It would be great for mathematics! eBay is next. I have just seen one Pelikan model at over $2k! A classic case of a little knowledge being dangerous.