Sunday, July 4, 2021

Your weekend guide to interesting days - July 3, 2021

This week










Next week





Next month

July 27 - Walk On Stilts Day, Norfolk Day, Chicken Finger Day, Scotch Whisky Day, Take Your Houseplant For A Walk Day and Gary Gygax Day

July 28 - Milk Chocolate Day and World Hepatitis Day

July 29 - Chili Dog Day, International Tiger Day, Rain Day, Lipstick Day, Intern Day, International Chicken Wing Day and Lasagna Day

July 30 - Cheesecake Day, Friendship Day, Talk In An Elevator Day, Paperback Book Day, International Day of Friendship, Share a Hug Day, Father-in-Law Day and System Administrator Appreciation Day

July 31 - Raspberry Cake Day, Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day and World Ranger Day

August will be Inventor’s Month, Catfish Month, Anti-Frizz Month, Happiness Happens Month, Water Quality Month, Peach Month, Romance Awareness Month and Fishing Month

August 1 - Sisters Day, Doll Day,Psychic Day, Girl Friends Day, Respect For Parents Day, World Scout Scarf Day, Yorkshire Day, Raspberry Cream Pie Day, International Childfree Day, World Wide Web Day, Rounds Resounding Day, World Lung Cancer Day and Planner Day

August 2 - Ice Cream Sandwich Day and Coloring Book Day

August 3 - Night Out, Watermelon Day, White Wine Day, Clean Your Floors Day and Cloves Syndrome Awareness Day


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Saturday, July 3, 2021

The week in review - July 2, 2021

Monday - "Are you in the Postcard Program?" Well, are you? "The postcard program is an easy way to quickly stay in touch with your family, friends, clients and prospects."

Tuesday - "The Apothem Manifesto" What the heck is an apothem? "The apothem of a regular polygon is a line segment from the center to the midpoint of one of its sides."

Wednesday - "The Hidden Qualities of Genius" From The Art of Manliness. "But what makes an actual genius, a genius?"

Thursday - "How to Grill the Perfect Burger #TBT" Another from AoM. "Since Barbecue Day is coming up on the 4th of July, this article from The Art of Manliness seemed appropriate"

Interesting days




Next Friday - Kebab Day and Sugar Cookie Day

Week long celebrations:

Jul 5- Jul 11: Great British Pea Week

August 2 - Ice Cream Sandwich Day and Coloring Book Day


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Thursday, July 1, 2021

How to Grill the Perfect Burger #TBT

Today's blog post was originally published two years ago:

Since Barbecue Day is coming up on the 4th of July, this article from The Art of Manliness seemed appropriate:
Smoke wafts through the air, there’s a cold beer in your hand, and the smell of freshly cut grass drifts by on the breeze. Nothing beats a summer barbecue, and when it comes to grilling, there’s just no substitute for the perfect burger. 
Unfortunately, cooking the perfect burger is an essential grilling skill that lots of people don’t have (and don’t even know they don’t have). Burgers aren’t meant to be football-shaped balls of meat, hidden within the recesses of an oversized bun. Nor should they be dry and filled with non-burger ingredients, like breadcrumbs and eggs. They should be juicy and thick, but not too thick, and seasoned with basic ingredients that don’t hide the burger’s true flavor. If that sounds like a burger you want, read on.

Before you start grilling your perfect burger, make sure to start with the best meat possible — a freshly ground mix of 80/20 chuck. Chuck is a cut of beef and 80/20 means that 20 percent of the ground beef is made up of fat. Any less than 20 percent fat and the burger tends to be too lean, which will make it come out dry. Once you’ve got your meat, it’s time to start grilling.
The article also includes an illustrated guide:


I'll be at my sister's on the 4th of July...she decided to move her birthday from December 23rd to July 4th. I'm not sure what their plans are for dinner.

My sister didn't move her birthday this year, but I think I'll wait a week before I go up. After being cooped up at home for more than a year I'm sure the traffic will be crazy this weekend. So, maybe next weekend.

Also, AoM's latest podcast is on the same subject...maybe I'll write about it next week so we can compare the results.

Interesting days



Tomorrow - I Forgot Day, World UFO Day and Anisette Day

Next Thursday - Scud Day, Chocolate with Almonds Day and Math 2.0 Day

Week long celebrations:

Jul 5- Jul 11: Great British Pea Week
August will be Inventor’s Month, Catfish Month, Anti-Frizz Month, Happiness Happens Month, Water Quality Month, Peach Month, Romance Awareness Month and Fishing Month

August 1 - Sisters Day, Doll Day,Psychic Day, Girl Friends Day, Respect For Parents Day, World Scout Scarf Day, Yorkshire Day, Raspberry Cream Pie Day, International Childfree Day, World Wide Web Day, Rounds Resounding Day, World Lung Cancer Day and Planner Day


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The Hidden Qualities of Genius

Today's blog post is based on a podcast from The Art of Manliness:

We tend to throw the word “genius” around pretty casually, saying so-and-so has a genius for a particular skill, or sarcastically pointing out someone’s failure by saying, “Nice work, genius!”

But what makes an actual genius, a genius?

My guest today has spent over two decades exploring that question by studying the world’s most iconic and original thinkers and creators, both past and present. His name is Craig Wright, he’s a professor emeritus of music at Yale who continues to teach a course there called “Exploring the Nature of Genius,” and he’s the author of The Hidden Habits of Genius: Beyond Talent, IQ, and Grit—Unlocking the Secrets of Greatness. Today on the show Craig reveals the characteristics and patterns of behavior of true geniuses, and begins by answering the questions of whether there’s a connection between genius and intelligence, and whether genius is hereditary. We talk about several drivers of genius, including situational advantages, a childlike ability to play with possibilities, a keen curiosity, a strong memory, broad interests and vision, the ability to toggle between intense concentration and loose relaxation, and keeping a daily routine. We then discuss whether there’s a connection between genius and mental health issues, and what effect being a genius tends to have on someone’s personal life. Along the way, Craig illustrates his points with examples from the lives of Mozart, da Vinci, Steve Jobs, and more.

Here are the highlights from the program:

  • What makes a person or idea “genius”?
  • Is there a connection between intelligence and genius?
  • The inheritability of genius 
  • How situational advantage elevates some over others 
  • The benefits of a lifelong child-like worldview 
  • The value of curiosity 
  • Going broad vs. going deep 
  • Is there any connection between mental illness and genius?
  • The tattered personal lives of most geniuses

Interesting days





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Tuesday, June 29, 2021

The Apothem Manifesto

Since yesterday was Tau Day, it got me thinking about a similar issue with the measurements of a square.

If you read the post referenced above, you'll have seen something called The Tau Manifesto, which says that pi is the wrong number to use in equations dealing with circles, and that the correct number to use is tau, which is equal to 2 * pi.

And now I'm saying the same thing for a square...that we shouldn't be using the side as the unit of measurement but we should be using the apothem instead.

I've had this idea for awhile, but I didn't know the word that I needed to use until yesterday, so I'd been using the letter h for the idea of a half side.

So, what is an apothem? According to Wikipedia:

The apothem of a regular polygon is a line segment from the center to the midpoint of one of its sides.

As you can see, the apothem is equal to 1/2 the length of a side of the square,

The (incorrect) measurements for the perimeter and ares of a square, as well as the volume of a cube are:

Perimeter of a square:

P = 4s (where s is the length of a side of the square)

Area of a square:

A = s^2 (s squared)

Volume of a cube:

V = s^3 (s cubed)

These equations do provide technically correct answers but they don't work in calculus.

Let's look at the equations of a circle (we'll use pi for now, since most of us are familiar with those equations).

If we imagine a circle as being a regular polygon made up of an infinite number of sides and that the radius, r, is the apothem we end up with the following equations:

Circumference (perimeter) of a circle:

C = 2 * pi * r (2 pi r)

Area of a circle:

A = pi * r^2 (pi r squared)

Volume of a sphere:

V = 4/3 pi * r^3 (four thirds pi r cubed)

Ignoring the volume for now, we'll take the derivative of the area, which should give us the circumference:

If A = pi * r^2, then the derivative is dA/dr = 2 pi * r...using the power rule we reduce the exponent from 2 to 1 and multiply the result by 2, and indeed the answer is the circumference.

But if we do the same thing with a square:

A = s^2, using the power rule we get dA/ds = 2s, which is not equal to the perimeter of 4s!

If we use the apothem instead, we have:

s = 2a, then

P = 8a and A = 4a^2 and now dA/da = 2 * 4a or 8a, which is the perimeter!

If you're using the apothem you can find the area of a square by multiplying the semi-perimeter (sp) by the apothem as follows:

A = sp * a or A = 1/2 * p * a, which is the same equation used in a circle: 

A = 1/2 * c * r, where c = 2 * pi * r, so 1/2 * c = pi * r, therefore A = pi * r * r or pi * r^2.

Now, to get to the volume of a sphere, we need to take an intermediate step and find the surface area of the sphere first which is four times the area of a circle (think of the cover of a baseball):




SA = 4 * pi * r^2 (4 pi r squared)

Now, to find the volume we'll use the power rule in reverse: raise the exponent from 2 to 3 and divide the result by 3:

V = 4/3 * pi * r^3

To find the surface area of a cube, you multiply the area of each square (4a^2) by 6 (the number of sides of a cube):

SA = 6 * (4a^2) which equals 24a^2. To find the volume of the cube, we use the power rule in reverse and we have:

A = 8a^3 (because we raised the exponent in the SA equation from 2 to 3 and divided the result by 3).

If we go back to our original (incorrect) volume formula, we have:

V = s^3, but if we replace s with 2a we now have:

V = (2a)^3 or 8a^3!

So, now you know why the apothem is a better measure for the equations of a square that the side is.

Interesting days




Week long celebrations:

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Monday, June 28, 2021

Are you in the Postcard Program?

Many of you have received a postcard from me in the last month or two. And many more of you will be receiving one in the near future. If you haven't received one, let me know and I'll send one out to you.

The postcard program is an easy way to quickly stay in touch with your family, friends, clients and prospects.

There are two ways to find out more about this program: you can click on this link to watch a short video and request more information, or you can attend a live presentation by Jordan Adler tomorrow evening (June 29, 2021) at 6:00 MDT...click here to join (no need to pre-register, although only 250 seats are available, so be sure to join a few minutes early).

Interesting days




Week long celebrations:

Jul 5- Jul 11: Great British Pea Week

July 28 - Milk Chocolate Day and World Hepatitis Day


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Tuesday, June 22, 2021

No blog post today

I was originally going to do a follow up to yeaterday's blog post but I changed my mind and I have nothing to replace it with,

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