Will Morris's LiveJournal

[Error: unknown template qotd]Yes, I'm going to dress up.

I will be wearing a pointy hat adorned with tea bags and a black robe, and I will carry a pocket Constitution.

That's right, I'm not a witch. Now where does it say 'separation of church and state' again?

Yesterday, in calculus III class, we learned that the formula of a sphere is given by:

[;(x-h)^2+(y-k)^2+(z-l)^2=r^2;]

where the center is at [;(h,k,l);] and the radius is [;r;]. Now, my professor has decided to give us problems like this:

[;x^2+y^2+z^2-4x+6y-2z+6=0;]

asking whether this is a formula for a sphere, and if so, what is its center and radius. This problem would be solved like this.

[;x^2+y^2+z^2+4x-6y+2z+6=0;]

[;x^2+4x+y^2-6y+z^2+2z=-6;]

[;x^2+4x+4+y^2-6y+9+z^2+2z+1=-6+4+9+1;]

[;(x+2)^2+(y-3)^2+(z-1)^2=8;]

This shows a sphere with a radius of [;2\sqrt{2};] and a center of [;(-2,3,-1);]. (We would not have a sphere if we ended up with a nonpositive radius.)

Now, rather than having to trudge through that work every time we do this problem, I think I'm going to be clever.

Suppose we have a problem in this form:

[;x^2+y^2+z^2+Ax+By+Cz+D=0;]

We can do the same thing to this problem.

[;x^2+y^2+z^2+Ax+By+Cz+D=0;]

[;x^2+Ax+y^2+By+z^2+Cz=-D;]

[;x^2+Ax+\left(\frac{A}{2}\right)^2+y^2+By+\left(\frac{B}{2}\right)^2+z^2+Cz+\left(\frac{C}{2}\right)^2=\left(\frac{A}{2}\right)^2+\left(\frac{B}{2}\right)^2+\left(\frac{C}{2}\right)^2-D;]

[;\left(x+\frac{A}{2}\right)^2+\left(y+\frac{B}{2}\right)^2+\left(z+\frac{C}{2}\right)^2=\frac{A^2+B^2+C^2}{4}-D;]

This leaves us a sphere if and only if [;\frac{A^2+B^2+C^2}{4}>D;]. Now if [;D;] is negative, then this will always be true. If [;D;] is zero, then [;A;], [;B;], and [;C;] would all have to be zero for this to be false.

Any sphere, then, has a center of [;\left(-\frac{A}{2},-\frac{B}{2},-\frac{C}{2}\right);] and a radius of [;\frac{\sqrt{A^2+B^2+C^2-4D}}{2};].

I think this is a valid shortcut. What say the rest of you?

[To see formulas: http://thewe.net/tex]

So I help out at the local bar, writing one themed round of trivia for the weekly trivia contest.  I offer three possible rounds a week, and just roll forward the two that aren't used.

This week, we ended up doing the Shakespeare category.  This got me gripes, because apparently I write the questions too hard.  You guys tell me.  I present the round.

1. Shakespeare’s plays were often written in iambic pentameter. How many syllables are there in a standard line of iambic pentameter?


2. In which of Shakespeare’s plays can one find the title character lamenting, “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!”


3. What 1999 film starring Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles is a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew?


4. In the backstage world of theatre, one of the Bard’s plays is cursed. Which play is often referred to as “The Scottish Play” to avoid saying its name aloud?


5. The line “All the world’s a stage” from As You Like It might be a reference to what London theatre, home to Lord Chamberlain’s Men?


6. Upon his death, pianist Andre Tchaikowsky donated his skull to the Royal Shakespeare Company for the use in productions of what play?


7. The name of what character from The Merchant of Venice has become a verb, meaning to lend money at exorbitant rates?


8. The Bard wrote many plays about kings. Who is the only Shakespearean title character that is a queen?


9. Rupert Everett and Michelle Pfeiffer played the king and queen of fairies in the 1999 film version of what Shakespeare play?


10. Romeo and Juliet is one of the Bard’s most famous plays. Name the households to which the two young lovers belong.

You tell me, was it too difficult?

Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you.

From dark_puck: math, sports, supermarket, Dragnet, politeness.

math: Well, what can I say, I've always been good at math, and I am going to college to become a math teacher.

sports: Ah, yes, the human drama of athletic competition. I'm a sports nut, and have been since I was eight. I try to follow as many as I can.

supermarket: My job for the last four years. Would be a lot easier if it wasn't for the customers. Then again, if it wasn't for the customers, I would be out of a job.

Dragnet: The format of most of my customers_suck entries. I forget exactly why I started doing it, I think I just liked the way I could phrase the opening line.

politeness: How I was raised. As someone who is supposed to be the epitome of the Christian Gentlemen, I try to act it as much as I can,

Just throwing this out there, 'cause I can...

Let's say that you were playing poker with a standard pinochle deck. What order should the hands rank in, if you assume that the least-likely hand ranks highest and the most-likely hand ranks lowest?

Note: eligible hands are as follows, as done with a standard poker deck:

5 of a kind
straight flush
4 of a kind
Full House
Flush
Straight
3 of a kind
Two Pair
One Pair
High Card

So our friends at Dairy Queen have this new "Sweet Deals" package, where it's any two of nine items for $3, any three for $4, any four for $5, and they advertise over 20,000 different combinations.

Sounds like false advertising to me, there's only 705 by my count:

36 possible: 2 different items from 9
9 possible: 2 of the same item from 9
45 possible two-item combos

84 possible: 3 different items from 9
72 possible: 2 of one item, 1 of a second from 9
9 possible: 3 of one item from 9
165 possible three-item combos

126 possible: 4 different items from 9
252 possible: 2 of one item, 1 of a second, 1 of a third from 9
36 possible: 2 of one item, 2 of a second from 9
72 possible: 3 of one item, 1 of a second from 9
9 possible: 4 of one item from 9
495 possible four-item combos

45+165+495 = 705, which is a far cry from 20,000.

And it's going to be Flyers-Penguins in the first round. Hey, Justin? You up for a gentleman's wager?

( PETA seeks Spearfish High School name change )

Wait... what?!

How is it that I have a coworker that apparently has the hots for me? This is not supposed to happen.