(x, why?)

Tree Diagram

2012-01-27T01:00:00.000-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Name withheld to protect ... well, me, actually. I don't want to be fired or, worse, given the third-year freshmen pre-algebra class.

If You're Still Interested ...

2012-01-26T01:00:00.001-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Anyway, the problem posed in the previous picture had an incorrect solution. Mike inadvertantly used phi instead of phi % when solving his imaginary interest inquiry.

The actual result was a loss of about 1% of 1% of your original principal, which is better than many mutual funds performed in the past year. However, you would have picked up only an imaginary nickel, rather than a few imaginary dollars.

Special thanks to "anonymous" for running the numbers. I don't have the budget for a staff of fact checkers around here. And, oddly enough, although I managed to get the correct solution out of wolframalpha after the mistake was first pointed out to me, it took about five tries to get the equation entered correctly when I wanted to write this entry. Too many divisions and parentheses!

Oh, and ....
I meant to do that.
Yeah, that's the ticket.

If You're Interested...

2012-01-23T15:49:00.001-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

If you're interested in a problem with four funny math 'numbers'.

To some of the guys I work with, all paper currency is imaginary dollars...

Drive-Thru

2012-01-20T13:43:00.001-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

That is, 100%, without fail, metaphysical certitude.

Tongue Twister

2012-01-18T01:00:00.000-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

" /> (C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

I think a bakery run by a clam would be even more annoying.

Then and Now

2012-01-17T19:23:00.003-05:00

It occurs to me, that they aren't too different:

Supermarionation -- Super Mario Nation?
I'd like to drive Thunderbird 2 in Mario Kart. Or maybe the Mole.

Simple Harmonic Motion

2012-01-13T12:08:00.003-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Give them the Hooke already.

M4+h My Dad Says

2012-01-06T10:00:00.001-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

The Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge when it opened and about the seventh longest at the time this image takes place.

For more Math my Dad says, you can follow My Father's Footsteps.

More About My Dad

2012-01-04T09:04:00.002-05:00

My father's eulogy is posted on my writing blog.

Below is a picture of one of the Christmas presents I just gave him.

When we were little, we joked he was as old as the dinosaurs. When he got older, we still joked he was old. This was the "funny" gift, which he liked better than the "real" gift (a nook, he liked reading and liked Barnes and Noble). Everyone loved it.

My sister thought we should have it in the funeral parlor, and it lightened people's spirits. Priests for two parishes commented on it, one at the funeral parlor, and the other at Dad's parish. There was a moment of laughter when father said, "I didn't know that about God."

It was an impulse buy that I almost didn't get because I didn't know if he'd laugh or be insulted. Now I just wish that he'd had the chance to wear it. But he has it with him.

Mathy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T10:44:00.003-05:00

Wishing everyone a happy and mathy New Year in 2012.

For those inquiring after my last message, my father passed away suddenly a few nights ago. He had been in decline but the events of Wednesday night (early Thursday morning) were still unexpected.

The next comic will probably be one dedicated to my father as soon as I have time to put down my thoughts and convert those into pictures, which doesn't come easily for me -- at times, these comics take me a few hours. In fact, had I had my New Years comic already in mind when events started to turn, I probably would have buried myself in it for a few hours to take my mind off the other things I've had to take care of.

See you in a few days.

Probably off-line for a few days

2011-12-29T10:17:00.001-05:00

A family situation. Not a creative time and not feeling particularly funny right now.

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T22:58:00.001-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Wishing you exponential joy this holiday season.

Merry Christmas!
and Merry=2^xmas

Marley Was Dead ...

2011-12-23T13:59:00.003-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Read the original story. You'll be amazed at the stuff that's either left out or altered.

I'd love to see John Cleese do a "Dead Marley" sketch.

Stars

2011-12-21T08:31:00.002-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Stars R Ours

This one was a little late because I redid the original version.
Originally, I had the regular polygons included along with all the diagonals, which formed all the stars.
At the last moment, I realized that Little Miss Tree was asking for a pentagram, which wasn't really the mood I was shooting for. Back to the drawing board.

And for once, I can actually use that expression in almost the way it was originally intended.

Venite

2011-12-19T12:31:00.002-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

This is what Bing Crosby was singing, wasn't it?

I was going to name him "Benito", making him Italian, and a paesan of Dominic the Donkey, but I thought something might've been lost in translation.

Figgy

2011-12-17T01:00:00.001-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Whether I want some or not, I won't go until my designated driver gets some.

Tis the Season

2011-12-15T12:19:00.002-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Counting down the days.

Trapezoid

2011-12-12T16:24:00.000-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

The rule of the Trapezoids swept over the domain like a wave.

Chocolate

2011-12-06T16:59:00.002-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

My comfort zone for comfort food is a balancing act along a trend line, looking for rich chocolate for the not-so-rich consumer.

Talking Too Much

2011-12-02T01:00:00.001-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

This is similar to an older one, but the difference here is that this one happened, except it was more "not a logical fallacy".

But, seriously, anyone who gives people permission to tell him to shut up should realize that those around him will most likely feel free to do so even without his permission.

Third Millennium Mathematics

2011-12-01T23:07:00.001-05:00

Well, I know where I'm going to be spending some upcoming spare time ...

Third Millennium Mathematics

And then maybe I'll "Go to Mesopotamian Mathematics".

Extra Credit: Mathy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T23:27:00.002-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Some of the kids had fun and some of the kids just scribbled on the paper for points. I was happy at those who did the work -- even though it was 'Make-Up' Day and they were supposed to be finishing undone assignments.

Thanksgiving Logic

2011-11-23T13:27:00.002-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Happy Thanksgiving. Hope you weren't expecting a pumpkin pi joke or something.

Coffee for a Saturday Morning

2011-11-19T10:50:00.004-05:00

I've been a little under the weather this week, so fewer updates (sorry).
So here's a bonus comic. The link was posted by Anonymous on the thread back in September when that thread seemed to get a popularity boost.

I've chosen to be sincerely flattered by the imitation, particularly because all my marks are still included. It makes for a good explanation of the first comic were it introduced in a math class.

Middle of the Road

2011-11-15T01:00:00.000-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

One of those things ... maybe more than one ...

Veterans Day 2011

2011-11-11T18:09:00.000-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

He exaggerates with the grandkids. It was really Rommel.

Good thing he'd been raising those dinosaurs since he was a wee lad himself. Actually, that's a story we used to tell him.... and, ccasionally, still do.

Probability Question: Monday

2011-11-07T01:00:00.001-05:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

The only good thing about Mondays is that many students hate them more than I do. I still show up.

For the decimal expansion of this answer, please recall the Remainder of 7 wheel.

A Couple of Shoutouts

2011-11-05T01:00:00.001-04:00

Every now and then I check the traffic to my two websites. The numbers are nice to know, but even nicer is where people are coming here from. Just curious, really.

And curiosity gets the better of me when I see a domain name that's unfamiliar. Yeah, I have to check it out. Usually, it's nothing more than a mention in the blog roll that someone clicked on, probably the blog's owner. I use my own blog roll as a set of bookmarks, and I can't be the only one.

However, sometimes I get a real mention, in an actual post, and that (usually) makes me happy. (Okay, so bad reviews can sting, even in no-name blogs.)

Two recent ones, which I'd like to give a shout-out to:

Yan Jiang's Blog Site calls (x, why?) "Math without tears", and singles out the Coffee Logic post, along with its Spiked Math variant. Yan Jiang is an academic staff member at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. So my modest, humble little side project is making people happy all around the world. Yes, that makes me happy, which, I guess, means no tears.

The second recent mention was in Tech @ BB&N, the blog of Buckingham, Browne and Nichols School. A recent entry (actually from July, but I'm still getting pings) spoke about the use of technology in the classroom, mentioning iPads and webcomics. While they primarily mention Brown Sharpie, there's a list of other math and science webcomics. The review: (a math comic - tends toward puns)

Can't dispute that. And I'm happy to be mentioned in the company of xkcd, Peebles Lab and (again) Spiked Math.

Batteries

2011-11-04T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Not currently a problem, but when the zombie apocalypse comes, do you think that these won't be included?

Happy Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Sounds totally logical, so he should wear blue.

Except that he isn't 100% correct. In fact, in Mike's first appearance, he wore a blue shirt. I was determined not to have my characters wear the same thing all the time, so the second appearance, he wore a yellow shirt.

And it ended right about there.

Tragic

2011-10-28T14:01:00.001-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

In this area, you encounter many accents which will make this joke work as well as a lot of outdated linoleum.

Irregular Webcomic Guest Comic

2011-10-27T06:40:00.004-04:00

David Morgan-Mar, creator of Irregular Webcomic asked me to contribute a strip to his Guest Week of strips, which is now in its second week. My strip appeared yesterday.

It's my first Lego bricks strip that I photographed myself, rather than adapting David's previous work. (Look up some to the strips with the Teacher Center tag.

Chai Tea

2011-10-26T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

1/2 a tea squared. That's my position, and I'm sticking to it.

Inspired by some of the comments on the Coffee Logic thread, and those over on the Language Log blog.

HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY!! (A Day Late!)

2011-10-25T20:54:00.004-04:00

I did plan to put it on my calendar, so I wouldn't forget.

But I didn't, so I did. Oopsie.
It's probably just because it seems so hard to believe that it's been four years since I published that first comic on this blog.

The blog itself is older as it was originally intended for my students, a few of whom actually viewed it and left comments. And then I decided to take the plunge into posting some poorly drawn MS Paint pictures with words attached. I figured I could come up with a few jokes and pass a couple of months. But 600 comics? And four years? That's a Leap Birthday!

New comic tomorrow.

Side-Side-Side

2011-10-24T01:00:00.001-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Everything shines, How sweet!
Parallel lines Who -- wait, what now???

BASE Jump

2011-10-19T16:45:00.002-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Remember, kids, don't try this at home!
Well, I guess you really can't try this at home
unless you live in a really tall building
or have a cliff in your backyard . . .

Sandwich

2011-10-17T01:00:00.003-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.
She gave me a chance! She gave me a sign!

EDIT: Yes, it's an unauthorized follow-up to this xkcd comic, set to the sounds of the 80s.

Another EDIT: Apparently, it's also an unauthorized follow-up to this (x, why?) comic, which I'd totally forgotten about. (Pretty sad when I forget my own comics.)

Fridays

2011-10-14T11:35:00.006-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.
Do you know one person who you have to constantly tell, You know what I meant.
Only one?

It was a short week, and I was still ready for Friday early.

Coffee Logic, Part 2

2011-10-10T10:15:00.001-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

And there's probably a .9375 probability that someone will be offended by the phrase my girl.

Follow-up to Coffee Logic, which has been getting a bunch of hits and comments lately, which in turn inspired this and another forthcoming comic.

The Funniest Joke in Grad School

2011-10-05T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.
(*) I didn't say it was a Math joke.

On the Edges

2011-09-30T11:50:00.001-04:00

Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.
Sometimes I like to get a little edgy.

EDIT: Another mathematical take on the same song is here:https://sites.google.com/site/taylorspolynomials/specials/003-parasingsedgesareglorious.

The site is Taylor's Polynomials, written by a math teacher who likes anime. How could I NOT plug that??

Recent statistics: And the Hits Just Keep On Comnig.

2011-09-28T16:06:00.001-04:00

I have to thank Mike at Spiked Math for prominently featuring a link to my Coffee Logic strip. Traffic to this blog is up dramatically this week, as well as traffic to the comic only mirror site as well.

How much? (You may be asking...)

Normally, only a good day, the blog gets about 500 hits. September 20th and 21st were, obviously, not good days. After that they days got very good indeed, almost hitting the 10,000 mark. It's been quite a while since I had an outlier like that!

The day isn't over yet, so I can't comment on the drop-off just yet. I'm hoping some of the new visitors will check in again from time to time.

Regional Power and Math Joke

2011-09-26T01:00:00.001-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)
(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Sometimes the humor is right there in front of you, just waiting to be made fun of.
My apologies for using a joke that might not be so obvious to those outside this area who are served by different power companies.

I miss the old Brooklyn Union Gas cones, which read BUG Co.

Pi-Rate

2011-09-20T13:07:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

And a bonus for a matching pair.

Tanning

2011-09-16T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

When it comes to unnecessary math accessories a tan cot is the one..

Parallel Lines Perpendicular to a Plane

2011-09-11T15:34:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Real-world examples shouldn't be overlooked nor forgotten.

Golden

2011-09-08T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

I wanted use 'Go Into' for 'Do Unto' but that gave the reciprocal value.

Choosing Sides

2011-09-04T15:13:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Someone always has to be last. It's being the one left over that's the bigger bother.

I Am I

2011-08-29T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

You know that imaginary team member who gets blamed for everything that goes wrong? Yeah, that's him.

Being Positive

2011-08-27T10:43:00.002-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

I don't mind the negative ones so much as the guy that keeps going back and forth.

Ready to Sail

2011-08-25T14:16:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

The anchor weighs about a ton, Cap'n.

Mathematical Bias

2011-08-23T09:16:00.001-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

She's more like The One Point Six One Nine Eight.

Not Enough Memory

2011-08-18T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

When I say refer to Notepad, I'm usually talking about the spiral memo pad in my shirt pocket. It's the only way to remember stuff.

Home of the Original Farmville Funnies!!

2011-08-17T14:21:00.003-04:00

Yes, when I'm not making math comics, I'm wasting way too much time playing Farmville on Facebook. One of the features that they have is to take pictures of your farm and allow you to post them. Naturally, I saw the comic potential there, and I've posted some comics on this blogs as Bonus comics, not in the regular numbering, mostly because I don't own the artwork.

What makes me want to take today to flaunt Home of the Original Farmville Funnies?
Well, yesterday I was given a heads-up that I stole the name of the feature.
By someone who started using it about 8 months AFTER I first used it.
Now, someone might have beaten me to using it given that it's an obvious thing to call them, but it definitely wasn't the Anonymous poster.

So lest anyone believe that I actually stole anything, here is a listing of the five Farmville-themed comics I did before getting it out of my system:

Farmville Funnies #1.
Farmville Funnies #2.
Farmville Funnies #3.
Farmville Funnies #4.
Farmville Funnies #5.

Almost Three

2011-08-16T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Almost only counts in horseshoes and handgrenades and rounding errors of Biblical proportions. (*)

That's a pun: smile or groan, but don't start an argument. It shalt be deleted.

Cardinality

2011-08-14T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

It's like Wessonality, but with Cardinals.

Something told me to upload this on Sunday instead of waiting for Monday.

I Don't Plan on Using Google Plus for the Comic

2011-08-12T16:28:00.003-04:00

I, personally, am on Google+. Unfortunately, when I clicked on the invitation to join, which was sent to my hotmail account, I was logged into gmail as mrburkemath and not my personal gmail account (which I really don't use because I still have the hotmail account).

Anyway, I am on Google+ as mrburkemath, but don't expect to see comics and stuff realeased or promoted regularly on it.

I bring this up because a total stranger added me to his circles. It turns out that he's an educator and probably follows either the comic or the entire blog. I have no problem with that, but you're more likely to hear me talk about science fiction or Munchkin or what a day it's been than about math or webcomics.

Pi-Rate of Speed

2011-08-05T11:29:00.001-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

I like pirates, okay?!
And after botching the last strip, this one was going to be a simple one.

Would Anyone Buy an (x, why?) eBook?

2011-08-04T12:45:00.003-04:00

Not that there is one at the moment. Or plans to make one.

Assembling one would take a bit of time, especially when you consider that I'd have to figure out how to make one first. And then collect and format a bunch of the comics.

If the answer is yes, what would you want to see in it? Just the comics. The notes. Behind the scenes stuff.

A print book would be ridiculously expensive to consider, but ebooks are cheap, so I've toyed with the idea. And then reality sinks in.

If ... and ... and ...

2011-08-03T13:48:00.007-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

That's what you call a mighty big IF!

And, yes, it's really, really much bigger than that, but there aren't enough letters in the alphabet for all those conditions. On the flip side, the chance of being wrong is really, really small (cf. infinitesmal).

EDIT: Yes, only half the table is there.
The final column uses u as if it were v, which is missing.
My odds of being right just went up to 99.2%!
So this comic falls into the 0.8.

Dork Tower: Good Grief!

2011-08-02T19:56:00.002-04:00

This Dork Tower comic is either funny or not funny, but you won't know which until you click on the link. Until then, it's half-funny.

Something Greater

2011-08-01T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

When you get right down to it at the end of the day, it is what it is.

(And what it is is a set of three overused cliches.)

Circumnavigation

2011-07-29T16:16:00.002-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

I guess they could bring some tau-rists along for the ride...

Fixed That

2011-07-25T01:00:00.001-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

(*) Fixed That For You

When You Play . . ., Part 3

2011-07-24T01:00:00.001-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

I like the word MATHS. On one side of the pond, it's a proper term. On the other, it's just a silly word.

That's it for now. I had a few more of them that I didn't get to do.
Many more, once I threw out the "throne" rhymes and near-rhymes.
But I saved you from that fate ... for now.

When You Play . . ., Part 2

2011-07-20T01:00:00.002-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Yes, I know you don't "play" Marines, and it isn't a game,
but I had the image and I was using it!

When You Play . . .

2011-07-18T06:52:00.001-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Anyone up for a game?

Summer Relations

2011-07-16T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

There's a simple reason why I used an exponential function instead of a simple parabolic, and it's not because you go even farther.

After all, if you think about it, there are upper boundaries.
And I guess there are lower boundaries as well.

Ice Cream Cones

2011-07-13T13:45:00.001-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

What's a Parabola?

About time I had a Conic Comic.

Flag Tessellation Wallpaper

2011-07-09T13:41:00.003-04:00

I have three sizes of flag images for anyone who wants to use them as wallpaper.
At the moment, none of these is tilted, like the Fourth of July comic because that requires a little more precision to line up seemlessly if your computer tiles the images. I welcome suggestions other than "Make one Really Big image."

These should tile up without any problem.

They can also be downloaded here, here, and here.

On Top of Ol' Ogy!

2011-07-06T14:31:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Nor can he make those on the inside to be on the outside, short of redefining those terms.
But I wouldn't put that past the administrati--, er, I mean, some theoretical 'management'.

More on Pi and Tau

2011-07-05T11:14:00.003-04:00

Mike from Spiked Math has issued his own Pi Manifesto in response to other mathematicians who would wish to dispose of of pi in favor the nonsensical tau. (Go ahead look it up. "Nonsensical", I mean. You really don't need to look up tau.)

One simple reason the switch would never work for me: my students don't even use radians yet. And I, along with my colleagues, spend hours before every Mathematics Regents exam not only resetting calculators and clearing their memories, but also switching them to degree mode because the default is radians, and the student might fail to recognize that. And they shouldn't lose points because of a quirk of technology.

A Tessellation Celebration!

2011-07-04T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

There's a party goin' on right here. A tessellation to last throughout the years!
So bring your good times to your barbecue. We're gonna tessellate Old Glory with you!

Happy Independence Day!!
Happy Fourth of July to everyone not celebrating today.

Science Fiction Giants

2011-07-01T16:15:00.001-04:00

Pi (and Tau) Set to Music

2011-06-30T22:20:00.003-04:00

Did you know that if you translate the numbers of Pi into musical notes and record it and upload it, you'll get a cease and desist letter because SOMEONE HAS ALREADY COPYRIGHTED PI ... set to music, that is.

Take a look at this, anyway, while you still can:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOQb_mtkEEE&feature=player_embedded

Frankly, I think it would be great if musically-inclined mathematicians did their own interpretations of pi (maybe starting with a different digit in the sequence or going longer or changing whatever musical minutiae necessary) and uploading them.

Oh, and here's Tau, which isn't quite as interesting in my opinion, but your kilometric may vary.

Romeo and Juliet

2011-06-29T11:24:00.002-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

When their paths cross, they go off in a different direction.

Remember this: it's a fundamental rule that not all love is doomed.

It's Tau Day Today

2011-06-28T21:24:00.003-04:00

What's Tau Day, you ask?

Nothing important. Something silly someone made up because Pi Day wasn't geeky enough and they had to have something extra geeky based on pi ... but more.

Silliness.

Explanation of Grades

2011-06-24T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

Pleasant thoughts take some of the stress from a stressful part of the year.
And, yes, this was said for real from an equally unlikely source.

Happy Birthday, Alan Turing!

2011-06-23T21:14:00.002-04:00

In honor of famed mathematician Alan Turing being born on this day in 1912, here is a link to a Turing comic: Full and Complete Stop.

Fun with DOS

2011-06-22T23:08:00.005-04:00

Fathers Day 2011 (featuring Super-Stickman!)

2011-06-19T13:21:00.002-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

It's been a while since I posted a Super-Stickman comic.

Mostly because I didn't like the look of the scanned images and I wasn't sure how to fix them.
And partly because the story wasn't nearly as good as I remembered it.
And, by now, I would have had to have actually finished where I left off back in the 80s.

Ken Do #7: Bathroom Humor

2011-06-17T07:24:00.001-04:00

A Bear in the Woods

2011-06-16T01:00:00.000-04:00

Video: the Counting Principle

2011-06-14T01:00:00.002-04:00

A few summers back, I had to make a video for a summer grad class at NYIT. The course was online, and the work was uploaded to the professor.

I took the occasion of the lazy days of June and the installation of new Smart boards to show my students. They love a chance to make fun.

Now, I've uploaded the video to TeacherTube so it'll be there when I work on another presentation for yet another professional development class on Notebook tools. The video was shot all in one take, and updating it with a title page is now on my list of Things to Do This Summer. That, and finding a different home for it, without the pop-up ads.

The video is The Counting Principle.

The Six Hundred

2011-06-13T07:10:00.004-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

I hear these questions about 24 times per class, five classes per day, five days per week. Yeah, that's 600, alright.

Okay, maybe not Do and Die. I'd settle for Do and Pass.

This is it, I think. I don't expect to be doing a 700 Club reference in 100 more comics.

The Charge of the Light Brigade, (1897), by Richard Caton Woodville, is in the public domain.

Base

2011-06-08T01:00:00.002-04:00

Hitting the Pools?

2011-06-06T18:19:00.002-04:00

I don't accept advertising here, and I generally delete posts which are here solely for the purpose of hawking their stuff without contributing in any way to the discussions over here. On the other hand, I've been known to rant on occasion (and more often than that if you've ever met me in person!), so I thought I'd say something nice for a change, free of charge.

If you're looking for pool supplies in Brooklyn, head on over to Best Quality Pools on McDonald Ave, in the Gravesend section. Not only do they have what you need, but they're friendly about it. And unlike some other place in Brooklyn -- which I won't name because I don't want more mail from their legal representatives in New Jersey -- the folks at Best Quality Pools won't refer you to their legal representatives in New Jersey if you say something they don't like.

But, hey, what's not to like?

Empirical Data

2011-06-03T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

You still have to count all 100 coins if you can find them.
And then re-wrap them before your Dad kills you.

New Comics Coming Soon

2011-05-29T22:06:00.002-04:00

One would think that as the school year winds down, that there would be more time rather than less, but that hasn't been the case this year. It's been crazy.

I've been tempted to throw together a couple of quickies, but I'm getting close to comic 600, and, of course, I wanted to do something for that. And then there was another comic that needed to be done during the month of May, which is almost over and I've barely begun. That one couldn't be hurried, and it can't be late, so it might not happen at all.

In any case, at any time between now and Wednesday, I hope to start posting new ones.

The Inverse Law of Puns

2011-05-20T01:00:00.000-04:00

Anyone good at doing web searches?

2011-05-19T19:43:00.002-04:00

The reason I ask is because, about a month ago, according to Google Analytics, the xwhy.comicgenesis.com site over a hundred hits from, of all places, craigslist.org. More specifically, mostly from sfbay.craigslist.org, with hits from other locations as well.

I haven't been able to track down where the link might've appeared, but it seems to have happened on April 17, 2011. Yes, I curious about the context in which it was presented.

And, hey, if you're someone who found this blog because of craigslist, you should be able to point me in the direction of the correct forum. Right?

Coffee Logic

2011-05-18T01:00:00.003-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

That's English-teacher code for I'm not with them.

Edit: More about chai tea.

Edit: It occurred to me today that I could have just had a tablecloth over the table instead of sitting them all behind a counter. My artistic ability needs to catch up with my mind's eye.

The Way the World Ends

2011-05-15T01:00:00.000-04:00

Newtonian Motion

2011-05-11T01:00:00.002-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

External, though non-maternal, forces kept me in motion and not resting in the chair when I make these comics.

Happy (belated) Mothers Day, all.

Down on the Farm

2011-05-06T14:14:00.004-04:00

Because e i e i = -7.389056..., and e i e i 0 is just zero and that's boring.

Wolfram Alpha's explanation

Update: I wasn't going to run this comic today because of yesterday's Spiked Math, but Mike encouraged me to post it anyway.

Shakespearean Logic

2011-05-05T01:00:00.001-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

You have to give the whole "+/- 2b" thing a rest once in a while and pick a different quote. The trick is to find one non-English majors (particularly math geeks) will recognize.

EDIT: Was this anyone else's first exposure to Hamlet?
Hamlet: the Musical

Final Entry?

2011-05-02T07:00:00.002-04:00

In the South Pacific

2011-04-29T01:00:00.000-04:00

(Click on the cartoon to see the full image.)

(C)Copyright 2011, C. Burke. All rights reserved.

It's Spring Musical time again, isn't it?
I was going to write my initials in the dotted islands, but thought better of it.

Happy Easter 2011

2011-04-24T13:13:00.000-04:00

Super duper

2011-04-22T08:58:00.000-04:00

(x, why?)

Tree Diagram

If You're Still Interested ...

If You're Interested...

Drive-Thru

Tongue Twister

Then and Now

Simple Harmonic Motion

M4+h My Dad Says

More About My Dad

Mathy New Year 2012

Probably off-line for a few days

Merry Christmas 2011

Marley Was Dead ...

Stars

Venite

Figgy

Tis the Season

Trapezoid

Chocolate

Talking Too Much

Third Millennium Mathematics

Extra Credit: Mathy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Logic

Coffee for a Saturday Morning

Middle of the Road

Veterans Day 2011

Probability Question: Monday

A Couple of Shoutouts

Batteries

Happy Halloween 2011

Tragic

Irregular Webcomic Guest Comic

Chai Tea

HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY!! (A Day Late!)

Side-Side-Side

BASE Jump

Sandwich

Fridays

Coffee Logic, Part 2

The Funniest Joke in Grad School

On the Edges

Recent statistics: And the Hits Just Keep On Comnig.

Regional Power and Math Joke

Pi-Rate

Tanning

Parallel Lines Perpendicular to a Plane

Golden

Choosing Sides

I Am I

Being Positive

Ready to Sail

Mathematical Bias

Not Enough Memory

Home of the Original *Farmville Funnies*!!

Almost Three

Cardinality

I Don't Plan on Using Google Plus for the Comic

Pi-Rate of Speed

Would Anyone Buy an (x, why?) eBook?

If ... and ... and ...

Dork Tower: Good Grief!

Something Greater

Circumnavigation

Fixed That

When You Play . . ., Part 3

When You Play . . ., Part 2

When You Play . . .

Summer Relations

Ice Cream Cones

Flag Tessellation Wallpaper

On Top of Ol' Ogy!

More on Pi and Tau

A Tessellation Celebration!

Science Fiction Giants

Pi (and Tau) Set to Music

Romeo and Juliet

It's Tau Day Today

Explanation of Grades

Happy Birthday, Alan Turing!

Home of the Original Farmville Funnies!!