I just finished writing a practice test for the mathematics portion of the SAT for one of my clients and doing some answer checking for another one of my clients. In addition, I just agreed to write another practice SAT test, so I’m certainly staying busy.

Also, I recently finished the book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins, and I’m just about to finish Sword and Blossom by Peter Pagnamenta and Momoko Williams. Usually the cover of a book doesn’t really matter to me – it’s what’s inside that counts. However, when I saw the cover of Sword and Blossom, I couldn’t help but be very curious. It was genius to put that photograph on the cover – it’s one of the most enticing covers I’ve ever seen. When I’m finished with Sword and Blossom, I plan on reading Tokyo Year Zero by David Peace.

Tags: math, mathematics, book, books, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins, Sword and Blossom, Peter Pagnamenta, Momoko Williams, Tokyo Year Zero, David Peace

Recently I bought one of Lance Armstrong’s LIVESTRONG technical shirts. At the Boston Marathon expo, the Lance Armstrong Foundation had a booth, and they had a bunch of yellow wristbands that they were giving away in exchange for a donation. Usually people were giving one dollar for a wristband, but all I had was a twenty-dollar bill, so I took a wristband for nothing. I kind of felt guilty about it, so when I saw the LIVESTRONG technical shirt on sale at Finish Line, I had to buy it, especially since the profits were going to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Speaking of Lance Armstrong, he was in Columbus last week, but unfortunately I was busy and couldn’t go meet him. Oh well, maybe next time.

Tags: Lance Armstrong

Lately I’ve been doing some answer-checking of high-school mathematics problems for one of my clients and writing a practice test for the mathematics portion of the SSAT for another of my clients. Although its name is similar to that of the SAT, the SSAT is a completely different test and is not related to the SAT. The SSAT is used by private junior high schools and high schools to help determine admission. There are two levels of the test – a lower level for grades 5 – 7 and an upper level for grades 8 – 11. Currently I’m writing a mathematics practice test for the upper level, and I’m told that they’ll be many more practice tests for me to write (both upper level and lower level). I’m looking forward to it.

Tags: math, mathematics

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do in the future as far as marathoning goes. First of all, I realize that nothing is ever going to top the Boston Marathon for me. Also, I hope that I haven’t run my last Boston Marathon, even thought I don’t have any plans to try to re-qualify this year. With that said, I was thinking about trying to get into a large international marathon in a place where I have a little history. The marathon I’m thinking of is the Tokyo Marathon.

They have a lottery system, and from what I’ve read, they had over 100,000 applicants last year, of which they only accepted about 20,000. Therefore, my chances of getting in may not be very good, but I’m going to apply anyway. I believe that the application process starts sometime in June, and I won’t know until October whether or not I got in. The race itself is in March. Hopefully I’ll get lucky – if so, it will likely be a much different experience than my previous marathons.

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

Some books I’ve read recently are The Planiverse by A.K. Dewdney, Shimura Trouble by Sujata Massey, and The Runner’s Guide to the Meaning of Life by Amby Burfoot. Amby Burfoot is an editor at Runner’s World magazine and was the winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon. He has run the Boston Marathon every five years since his 1968 victory, which means that he ran this year’s race. He doesn’t run competitively anymore – just for pleasure. I always enjoy reading his articles in Runner’s World. Speaking of Runner’s World, I just renewed my subscription for another three years. A lot of people on the online message boards like to slam Runner’s World for some of their fluffy articles. I agree that there is a little fluff, but in general, it’s a great magazine!

Tags: marathon, marathons, Boston Marathon, running, Runner’s World, Runners World, book, books, The Planiverse, A. K. Dewdney, Shimura Trouble, Sujata Massey, The Runner’s Guide to the Meaning of Life, Amby Burfoot