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June 19, 2002

From correspondence
Posted by Teresa at 10:03 AM *

This is from Jim Macdonald. He and Debra Doyle are hanging out, waiting for a plane to arrive in Manchester, NH:

After this —- it was nine o’clock, and we went over to the Wendy’s in Bedford (the other side of the Merrimack from Manchester, but essentially part of the same city). … I had a bowl of chili, Doyle had a baked potato, and we sort of hung out. And while hanging, in came a group of Minority Youth, in the colorful costumes that such lads assume. They take the next table, and whoop and yodel, and carry on in the ways that make Upright Citizens tremble. I, however, listen to their conversation. They’re throwing numbers at each other, and extracting the square roots in their heads.

“What was that?” Doyle asks after they’ve departed. “‘We the Math Club, and We Bad’?”

Comments on From correspondence:
#1 ::: Jordin Kare ::: (view all by) ::: June 19, 2002, 10:39 AM:

If only we provided better facilities for playing chess in parks and playgrounds, kids wouldn't be tempted to join gangs and spend their time extracting square roots in public places.

#2 ::: Erik V. Olson ::: (view all by) ::: June 19, 2002, 12:03 PM:

Yeah, old man? Derive this!

#3 ::: Kip T. Williams ::: (view all by) ::: June 19, 2002, 02:07 PM:

"I have a marvelous proof of this, but it will not fit on this wall."

#4 ::: Steve ::: (view all by) ::: June 20, 2002, 12:50 AM:

If only a zero-tolerance policy had been in place, we might have prevented William Hamilton from defacing Brougham Bridge with his obscene graffiti.

#5 ::: Christopher Hatton ::: (view all by) ::: June 20, 2002, 08:25 AM:

Hey, the same thing happens in Brooklyn. They grow up to join the Fibonacci crime family...

#6 ::: Jordin Kare ::: (view all by) ::: June 20, 2002, 10:36 AM:

"He's gonna make you an offer you can't understand."

#7 ::: Steve Cook ::: (view all by) ::: June 20, 2002, 12:58 PM:

"He's gonna make you an offer as big as his last two offers put together, kapische?"

#8 ::: Teresa Nielsen Hayden ::: (view all by) ::: June 20, 2002, 02:43 PM:

Phone (112) 358-1321 for your free sample today!

#9 ::: Christopher Hatton ::: (view all by) ::: June 20, 2002, 04:10 PM:

You're Golden, man, you're Golden!

#10 ::: Bob Webber ::: (view all by) ::: June 20, 2002, 04:40 PM:

I'm just glad M. Macdonald didn't say that these young people had natural logarithm.

#11 ::: Benjamin Kepple ::: (view all by) ::: June 20, 2002, 07:15 PM:

Two small quibbles:

1. There are no Wendy's restaurants in Bedford, New Hampshire. There is one on Second Street, which is on the city's West Side. While close to Bedford, it is certainly not in it.

2. The Upright Citizenry in New Hampshire does not and has no reason to fear minority youth. We do, however, fear with good reason the large burly people who travel along our highways in motorcycle gangs.

Cordially,

Benjamin Kepple
Manchester, NH

#12 ::: Teresa Nielsen Hayden ::: (view all by) ::: June 20, 2002, 08:09 PM:

Reason's all very well, but if Being Bad didn't get a rise out of people, they wouldn't bother to do it. Besides, if there are no reactionaries in New Hampshire, who reads the Union Leader?

#13 ::: Jordin Kare ::: (view all by) ::: June 20, 2002, 08:56 PM:

>Phone (112) 358-1321 for your free sample today!

I tried calling 602-1023, but Avogadro wasn't there.

#14 ::: Christopher Hatton ::: (view all by) ::: June 20, 2002, 09:45 PM:

He was at his daughter's wedding to that Fibonacci boy...

#15 ::: Bob Webber ::: (view all by) ::: June 21, 2002, 12:22 AM:

Jordin, I grind my molars at you.

#16 ::: Christopher Hatton ::: (view all by) ::: June 28, 2002, 03:41 PM:

I realize that at this point no one but you is going to read this, Teresa, but: It just occurred to me that these kids must have a GREAT teacher. Getting kids to enjoy math is hard enough, but getting them so excited that they do it on their own time, for fun is...miraculous. Just plain miraculous.

#17 ::: Teresa Nielsen Hayden ::: (view all by) ::: June 28, 2002, 09:52 PM:

Agreed. There's a math teacher somewhere in New Hampshire who deserves a MacArthur grant.

There's no guarantee others won't see your message. If they subscribed to the thread, your message and my reply will be turning up in their e-mail.

#18 ::: Teresa Nielsen Hayden ::: (view all by) ::: June 30, 2002, 10:42 PM:

Hold it. Where's the subscription capability? Must fix that.

#19 ::: john casey ::: (view all by) ::: July 13, 2002, 03:51 PM:

BWAAAHAHAHAHAHA

I read right down to the end of the thread...

AND YOU COULDN'T STOP ME!!

JC

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