The best part about searching for images of 'zeta graph' is all the hits for pictures of Caterine Zeta Jones.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Need A Zero
(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)
(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.
The best part about searching for images of 'zeta graph' is all the hits for pictures of Caterine Zeta Jones.
The best part about searching for images of 'zeta graph' is all the hits for pictures of Caterine Zeta Jones.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Ken-Do #5: Reflections of a Math Teacher
(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)
(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.
Remember: Sometimes it isn't the world that's upside-down.
As you might have guessed, work on the comic has slowed considerably due to
numerous factors from work and at home, which drain the creativity from me.
Remember: Sometimes it isn't the world that's upside-down.
As you might have guessed, work on the comic has slowed considerably due to
numerous factors from work and at home, which drain the creativity from me.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Lunacon and my Irish/Klingon T-Shirt
So I was at Lunacon 2011 at Rye, NY this past weekend. Happening right after St. Patrick's Day, I brought a couple of T-shirts, which I had bought at the Great Irish Fair at Coney Island last summer.
One of them had a Celtic knot similar to the Triquetra, only more knotted, with the following written across it: I Swear to Drunk, I'm Not God.
Amusing as that is to me, I did get a couple of double-takes from passersby because I'm thinking that they, in a possibly sleep-depraved state, saw a Klingon symbol before seeing it for what it truly was.
And speaking of funny looks, I got a kick out of something that happened on Saturday morning. I got my first official "I'm Not Sure if I Know You, So I'm Just Gonna Nod" nod. I'm usually on the other end of that nod after trying to start conversations with people whom it turned out I hadn't actually met over the last25 , er 15 years we've both been attending.
One of them had a Celtic knot similar to the Triquetra, only more knotted, with the following written across it: I Swear to Drunk, I'm Not God.
Amusing as that is to me, I did get a couple of double-takes from passersby because I'm thinking that they, in a possibly sleep-depraved state, saw a Klingon symbol before seeing it for what it truly was.
And speaking of funny looks, I got a kick out of something that happened on Saturday morning. I got my first official "I'm Not Sure if I Know You, So I'm Just Gonna Nod" nod. I'm usually on the other end of that nod after trying to start conversations with people whom it turned out I hadn't actually met over the last
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Triquetra -- St. Patrick's Day 2011
(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)
(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.
St. Patrick was a Klingon -- That would be a great meme to start!
Happy St. Patrick's Day. Go Green! But not with your food or beverages!
Don't drink any green beer or eat any green bagels!
As you might have guessed, work on the comic has slowed considerably due to
numerous factors from work and at home, which drain the creativity from me.
St. Patrick was a Klingon -- That would be a great meme to start!
Happy St. Patrick's Day. Go Green! But not with your food or beverages!
Don't drink any green beer or eat any green bagels!
As you might have guessed, work on the comic has slowed considerably due to
numerous factors from work and at home, which drain the creativity from me.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
You Can Stop Wondering...
In case you were still wondering . . .
So now we know.
Is this an "official" comic or just a bonus?
I don't know yet.
So now we know.
Is this an "official" comic or just a bonus?
I don't know yet.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
On the March (15th)
(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)
(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.
The i's have it.
As you might have guessed, work on the comic has slowed considerably due to
numerous factors from work and at home, which drain the creativity from me.
The i's have it.
As you might have guessed, work on the comic has slowed considerably due to
numerous factors from work and at home, which drain the creativity from me.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Happy Pi Day, 2011!
Pi is Good. Pi is Life.
We should all study The Tao of Pi.
Accept no substitutions,
except for, maybe 3.14 or 22/7, whenever more than two digits of precision aren't necessary.
And if I don't get a comic printed by 11:59pm, enjoy this Blast from the Past.
Update: When I wrote this, I didn't realize (although I should have) that there actually are websites out there called The Tao of Pi. What I wrote was meant as a joke and not an endorsement of any of these sites or products.
If anything I was using Tao to make fun of Tau. You can look it up.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Pythagorean Triples: Rides Again!
Yes, my friends and relatives think I'm crazy, but this is what I do....
Recently, in the comments to my post Pythagorean Triples: An Easier Way, blogger Keith issued a friendly challenge involving primitive triples with the same hypotenuse.
I have to be honest here: it never occurred to me that two primitive triples would have the same hypotenuse for two reasons: first, I hadn't really looked at numbers that went that high (and I'm certainly not using them in class); second, they didn't fit my three models for Pythagorean Triples: a, b, b+1; a, b, b+2; and a, a+1, c.
I explained why b+3 didn't work, but I never pondered if b+9 or b+18 would work. And, I know now, it would have.
Basically, I wanted to investigate this myself, just for fun. So I didn't use the formulas I knew about, namely pick an m and n and calculate a=m2-n2, b=2mn, and c=m2+n2.
That will give you every triple there is, primitive or not, with lots of repeats, in a very disorganized manner. (For one thing, b will always be the even number, not the middle number.)
But since I didn't use it, and despite the graphic I generated in this comic, I omitted the following triples from my original list of Pythagorean Triples (3-50):
33, 56, 65 and 36, 77, 85
This, of course, got me to wondering why some hypotenuses would have more than one. Well, that's kind of obvious, depending on whose lists of numbers you look at. But, of course, I'm more interested in seeing if there's any pattern to be found.
In the meantime, here's an updated list:
Pythagorean triples, sorted by the shortest side, from 3 to 50.
Recently, in the comments to my post Pythagorean Triples: An Easier Way, blogger Keith issued a friendly challenge involving primitive triples with the same hypotenuse.
I have to be honest here: it never occurred to me that two primitive triples would have the same hypotenuse for two reasons: first, I hadn't really looked at numbers that went that high (and I'm certainly not using them in class); second, they didn't fit my three models for Pythagorean Triples: a, b, b+1; a, b, b+2; and a, a+1, c.
I explained why b+3 didn't work, but I never pondered if b+9 or b+18 would work. And, I know now, it would have.
Basically, I wanted to investigate this myself, just for fun. So I didn't use the formulas I knew about, namely pick an m and n and calculate a=m2-n2, b=2mn, and c=m2+n2.
That will give you every triple there is, primitive or not, with lots of repeats, in a very disorganized manner. (For one thing, b will always be the even number, not the middle number.)
But since I didn't use it, and despite the graphic I generated in this comic, I omitted the following triples from my original list of Pythagorean Triples (3-50):
This, of course, got me to wondering why some hypotenuses would have more than one. Well, that's kind of obvious, depending on whose lists of numbers you look at. But, of course, I'm more interested in seeing if there's any pattern to be found.
In the meantime, here's an updated list:
Pythagorean triples, sorted by the shortest side, from 3 to 50.
| Leg | Primitive | Non-Primitive |
| 3 | 3,4,5 | -- |
| 4 | -- | -- |
| 5 | 5,12,13 | -- |
| 6 | -- | 6,8,10 |
| 7 | 7,24,25 | -- |
| 8 | 8,15,17 | -- |
| 9 | 9,40,41 | 9,12,15 |
| 10 | -- | 10,24,26 |
| 11 | 11,60,61 | -- |
| 12 | 12,35,37 | 12,16,20 |
| 13 | 13,84,85 | -- |
| 14 | -- | 14,48,50 |
| 15 | 15,112,113 | 15,20,25; 15,36,39 |
| 16 | 16,63,65 | 16,30,34 |
| 17 | 17,144,145 | -- |
| 18 | -- | 18,24,30; 18,80,82 |
| 19 | 19,180,181 | -- |
| 20 | 20,99,101; 20,21,29 | 20,48,52 |
| 21 | 21,220,221 | 21,28,35; 21,72,75 |
| 22 | -- | 22,120,122 |
| 23 | 23,264,265 | -- |
| 24 | 24,143,145 | 24,32,40; 24,45,51; 24,70,74 |
| 25 | 25,312,313 | 25,60,65 |
| 26 | -- | 26,168,170 |
| 27 | 27,364,365 | 27,36,45; 27,120,123 |
| 28 | 28,195,197 | 28,96,100 |
| 29 | 29,420,421 | -- |
| 30 | -- | 30,40,50; 30,72,78; 30,224,226 |
| 31 | 31,480,481 | -- |
| 32 | 32,255,257 | 32,60,68; 32,126,130 |
| 33 | 33,56,65; 33,544,545 | 33,44,55; 33,180,183 |
| 34 | -- | 34,288,290 |
| 35 | 35,612,613 | 35,84,91; 35,120,125 |
| 36 | 36,77,85; 36,323,325 | 36,48,60; 36,160,164; 36,105,111 |
| 37 | 37,684,685 | -- |
| 38 | -- | 38,360,362 |
| 39 | 39,760,761 | 39,42,65; 39,252,255 |
| 40 | 40,399,401 | 40,96,104; 40,75,85; 40,198,202; 40,42,58 |
| 41 | 41,840,841 | -- |
| 42 | -- | 42,56,70; 42,144,150 |
| 43 | 43,924,925 | -- |
| 44 | 44,483,485 | 44,240,244 |
| 45 | 45,1012,1013 | 45,60,75; 45,108,117; 45,200,205;45,336,339 |
| 46 | -- | 46,528,530 |
| 47 | 47,1104,1105 | -- |
| 48 | 48,575,577 | 48,64,80; 48,90,102; 48,140,148;48,286,290 |
| 49 | 49,1200,1201 | 49,168,175 |
| 50 | -- | 50,120,130; 50,624,626 |
Friday, March 11, 2011
PC Cliches
(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)
(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.
Or even "Thus, serving two scoops with one cone."
As you might have guessed, work on the comic has slowed considerably due to
numerous factors from work and at home, which drain the creativity from me.
Or even "Thus, serving two scoops with one cone."
As you might have guessed, work on the comic has slowed considerably due to
numerous factors from work and at home, which drain the creativity from me.
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Painting
(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)
(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.
And you can get electronic prints of your portrait in your choice of 5 by 7 or 8 by 10.
More on the four-color process.
As you might have guessed, work on the comic has slowed considerably due to
numerous factors from work and at home, which drain the creativity from me.
And you can get electronic prints of your portrait in your choice of 5 by 7 or 8 by 10.
More on the four-color process.
As you might have guessed, work on the comic has slowed considerably due to
numerous factors from work and at home, which drain the creativity from me.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Coplanar
(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)
(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.
It's as plane as day.
It's as plane as day.