I just finished some more middle-school test-prep-book lessons. This batch included some lessons on logic, as well as mathematics. The logic lessons included the Law of Detachment and the Law of Syllogism, inductive and deductive reasoning, the hypothesis and conclusion in a logical statement, and counterexamples. The mathematics lessons included determining the validity of linear, quadratic, and absolute-value equations and inequalities, using opposites, reciprocals, roots, and fractional powers, solving absolute-value equations and inequalities, and solving linear equations in context.

Tags: Math, Mathematics

Last night I went to see the movie Volver at Easton. It’s a foreign film set in Spain and entirely in Spanish. It seems to me that there are a lot more foreign films at mainstream theaters lately. For example, right now there are three foreign films playing at Easton (Volver, The Queen, and Pan’s Labyrinth). It’s always been easy to see foreign films at places like the Wexner Center for the Arts and Drexel Theaters in Columbus, but it’s nice to see that they’re going more mainstream.

Also, I ran sixteen miles with the Premier Sports Marathoner in Training (MIT) group this morning. I had (and still have) a cold and was (and still am) nursing some minor aches and pains, but I got through it OK.

Tags: Volver, The Queen, Pan’s Labyrinth, Wexner Center for the Arts, Wexner Center, Drexel Theaters, Drexel, marathon, marathons, running

Last night at Trader Joe’s in Easton I noticed a new flavor of Clif Bar—Blueberry Crisp! This is the first new flavor that Clif Bar has introduced in years. Of course, I bought one, and I must say that it was very tasty. I think I may have a new favorite flavor. Also, I recently got an e-mail from the makers of the movie Land of the Gods. They said that the movie will be released in March, and that after premiering at a number of film festivals, it will be released nationally. I’m certainly looking forward to that!

Tags: Clif Bar, Clif Bars, Trader Joe’s, Trader Joes, Land of the Gods

Today I ran thirteen miles with the Premier Sports Marathoner in Training (MIT) group. I’m battling a few minor aches and pains, but I should be OK. Part of marathon training is dealing with the little issues that come up. Over the summer when I was training for the Columbus Marathon, I really didn’t have any issues come up at all, but that was very unusual. What I’m dealing with now is more the norm. During the last couple Saturdays running with the MIT group, a few people have congratulated me on qualifying for the Boston Marathon and wished me well on my training. What a nice group of people!

Tags: marathon, marathons, Boston Marathon, Columbus Marathon, running

The mathematics lessons I’m working on now are for a middle-school test-prep book and cover identifying elements of geometric figures (e.g. altitudes, midpoints, diagonals, angle bisectors, and perpendicular bisectors, as well as central angles, diameters, radii, and chords of circles), understanding congruence, analyzing three-dimensional objects, factoring trinomials, finding roots, and graphing equations. After I’m finished with these middle-school test-prep lessons, I have some more word problems to write for the high-school mathematics textbook I’m working on.

Tags: Math, Mathematics

I went to see the movies Ugetsu and Sisters of Gion last night at the Wexner Center for the Arts. I enjoyed Sisters of Gion more than Ugetsu, because Sisters of Gion was a contemporary movie (contemporary for its time at least—it was made in the 1930’s), while Ugetsu was a historical movie set in the 1600’s. It was interesting for me to see what life was like in Japan in the 1930’s, so that’s why I liked Sisters of Gion. It was really well-done—it’s amazing to think that it’s 70 years old.

Tags: Ugetsu, Sisters of Gion, Wexner Center for the Arts, Wexner Center

I ran thirteen miles with the Premier Sports Marathoner in Training (MIT) group over the weekend. I thought it was my best run yet—slowly but surely I’m definitely making progress. Also, I got a lot of new work writing mathematics problems. I’m going to be very busy at least through this month. I’m actually getting more work now than I probably want. More than ever lately, I’ve had to set priorities, and training for the Boston Marathon is definitely priority number one. I always make sure I have my training in before I start my work—not vice versa. Anyway, it’s good to be in demand.

Tags: marathon, marathons, Boston Marathon, running, math, mathematics

I just finished another chapter over the weekend for the high-school mathematics textbook that I’m working on. The word problems I wrote talked about computer chips, web-based e-mail, telephone wire, an e-wallet, an ISP, root beer, an audiologist, Health Savings Accounts, caffeine, measles, an online encyclopedia, crabs, the apparent magnitude of celestial objects, speeding tickets, LCD computer monitors, college tuition, job-hunting, farm loans, a tractor company, and rice farming. Also, I just started reading the novel Plum Wine by Angela Davis-Gardner.

Tags: Math, Mathematics, book, books, Plum Wine, Angela Davis-Gardner