Jul 08

written by Sherri Joubert

This will be a very short post, but it is worth it. Today happened to be the day where a time and the date contain the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 in order at:

12:34:56 07/08/09

(today) those 9 numerals appeared in ascending order.

Like other strange date or time days, this one won’t happen again until the same date and time in 3009. It will happen again once each millennium in the 9th year: 3009, 4009, 5009, etc.

Correction: this date and time will happen once each century, not once each millennium: 2109, 2209, 2309, etc. I forgot to drop the first two digits in the date.

Square Days

Other days of note are the “square” days where the day and month numbers are the same. This happens 9 times each century:

  • 1/1/01 is 1 x 1 = 01
  • 2/2/04 is 2 x 2 =04
  • 3/3/09 is 3 x 3 = 09
  • 4/4/16   you get the idea
  • 5/5/25
  • 6/6/36
  • 7/7/49
  • 8/8/64
  • 9/9/81

Pi Days and Times

There is also pi day (~3.14):

  • 3/14 or March 14 every year
  • Albert Einstein’s birthday is also March 14
  • pi is an infinite, non-repeating number, so it is an irrational number
  • If you convert the first 8 significant figures (3.1415926) to a clock time, you can have a second of geek: 3:08:29.73 am each day

Anyone else out there have some common numbers that would make a great moment of geek? If so, please tell us about them in the comments.

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Jul 02

written by Sherri Joubert

John Hodgman headlined at the Radio and Television Correspondents Association (RTCA) Dinner on Friday, June 19, 2009. The guest of honor was President Barack Obama at this night of comedy:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Our current culture war isn’t about liberals v conservatives, it’s about nerds v jocks.

The most probing question of our time? Is President Obama one of us, a nerd, or is he a jock? Or is he a hybrid? The evidence on this video speaks for itself.

Do you know the answers to Hodgman’s three-part question to President Obama about the novel “Dune”?

If you’re not a Dune geek, you won’t know the answers, so here they are for your edification and enlightenment.

What is the name of the giant sand worm in the original Fremen language of Dune? Shai-Hulud

What is the machine used to summon such a sand worm? A thumper

What is the name of the hallucinogenic vomit that the sand worm expunges when it has been drowned in water? The Water of Life

I have a question for you from the video: Who is Princess Irulan, whom Hodgman quotes? Eldest daughter of the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV

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