Calendar trick!
Usually I don't talk about this in class until Feb. 28 or 29. But over time I've found it quite handy so, what the heck, here's a page devoted to it. URL: http://russillo.weebly.com/bull-calendar-trick.html
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Usually I don't talk about this in class until Feb. 28 or 29. But over time I've found it quite handy so, what the heck, here's a page devoted to it. URL: http://russillo.weebly.com/bull-calendar-trick.html
====================================================================
QUESTION. What do the following 14 dates ALL HAVE IN COMMON?
• 4/4, 6/6, 8/8, 10/10, 12/12
• 5/9 & 9/5
• 7/11 & 11/7
• Pi Day (3/14), July 4, Halloween........and Mr R's birthday!! (12/26)
• The last day of February (2/28 or 2/29.) [1]
ANSWER: EVERY YEAR, ALL 14 FALL ON THE SAME DAY OF THE WEEK.
That day changes every year; in 2023 it was Tuesday • In 2024 it's Thur • '25/Fri • '26/Sat • '27/Sun • '28/Tue ....(Hmmm, how far forward do I need to run this? I'm due to retire in 2025, but this page isn't a GCS page...so as long as weebly is a thing, I'll probably have this site up!)
Easy ways to remember the days:
• 4/4, 6/6, 8/8, 10/10, 12/12. What could be simpler? All even numbered months except Feb.!
• 5/9 & 9/5, and 7/11 & 11/7. Use the sentence: "I work from 9 to 5 at 7-11." (7-11 is a chain of convenience stores like Circle-K.*)
• Pi Day (3/14), July 4, and Halloween. "Patriotic Pumpkin Pie," if you need a cheesy mnemonic, but July already has the 7/11 thing, and October has 10/10. March doesn't have a mnemonic, so for me Pi Day is handiest of these three. (In a way March is the easiest month because that 14 means that in March the multiples of 7...7, 14, 21 & 28...are all on the day.)
(* You probably knew that, but it seems—to me anyway—like we have few 7-11s around here compared to Circle-Ks. Which may be true locally, but worldwide there are way, WAY more 7-11s than Circle-Ks. In some Asian countries 7-11s are like Starbucks are for us: coffeeshop atmosphere with WiFi & light food!)
EXAMPLES:
"So wait...NC law says school can't start before Aug. 25, so is that the first school day this year?"
For a long time the rule was "if Aug 25 is a weekday it is the first day of school," but lately when Aug 25 fell on a Thursday or Friday the first day of school was the following Monday. (Quick history lesson: Back around 2005, school was starting earlier and earlier; one year we teachers came back on August 4th and students came back on the 10th! These early starts take a HUGE chunk out of NC's $12 billion summer tourism industry, and NC passed a law saying school could not start before Aug. 25.) So again, if Aug 25 is a weekday, it is the first day of school—with noted exceptions—otherwise school starts the Monday after the 25th.
In 2024, we know from our calendar trick that 8/8 is a Thursday. A week has 7 days, so add or subtract 7s to find other Thursdays in August: 8/1, 8/15, 8/22, 8/29. There it is: Aug. 22 is a Thursday so Aug. 25 is Sunday, so the first day of 24-25 is Mon. Aug. 26.
"When's Thanksgiving this year?"
Thanksgiving is always the 4th Thursday of November. We know from the calendar trick that, in 2024, 11/7 is a Thursday...with 7 days in a week Nov 7 must be the first Thursday, so three weeks—21 days—later is the fourth Thursday. 7+21 = 28. 11/28, Happy Thanksgiving!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
21st CENTURY FRACTIONS.
Speaking of calendars, here's some nerdy fun. Assuming that the 21st century begins a minute before 12:01 AM on Jan. 1, 2001 and ends a minute after 11:59 PM Dec. 31, 2100*, here are the dates on which the following fractions of the century fall:
1/12 of the 21st century has elapsed as of 02MAY09, which was a Saturday.
1/11 = 03FEB10, Wed.
1/10 = 01JAN11, Sat.
1/9 = 10FEB12, Fri.
1/8 = 02JUL13, Tue.
1/7 = 15APR15, Wed.
1/6 = 01SEP17, Fri.
1/5 = 31DEC20, Thu.
1/4 = 31DEC25, Wed.
1/3 = 02MAY34, Tue.
1/2 = 31DEC50, Sat.
2/3 = 01SEP67, Thu.
(*And why should we assume this? Because when you count things you don't start with zero, you start with one**. You're not born one year old, you turn one when you've clocked a full twelve months on your odometer. AND, from an aesthetic standpoint, a "1 to 100" century is simply more elegant than a "0 to 99" century. Look at that list above, specifically at the years that represent the 1/5 mark, 1/4 mark, and 1/2 mark of a century. In a "1 to 100" century those years end in -20, -25 & -50. Makes FAR more sense than if those milestones were on -19, -24, and -49.
** Can you imagine...starting counting with zero? "How many guys were in the Beatles? That's easy: Zero, one, two, three. Three guys in the Beatles." (Sigh.)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
RE-USE YOUR FAVORITE CALENDARS!
There are 7 days a week and 2 types of years—leap years and non-leap (aka "common") years—which means there are 14 possible calendars. Plug any year into this link...
https://www.hermetic.ch/cal_sw/idcal/idcal.php
...and see what years have identical calendars!
- – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – —
And by the way, if you've read this far down, especially on this page, you are way down the rabbit hole and are in danger of going full nerd like me. You might want to resurface and hit the Supply List or Contact pages to get re-oriented; cleanse the palate, if you will!
:-)
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
NOTES FROM FARTHER UP (OR, "THE KIND OF NESTED DIGRESSION THAT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME IN CLASS")
[1] Feb 28/29 is sometimes referred to by we calendar dorks as "doomsday" or even "March 0th." [2]
[2] I myself pronounce that as "march oath" but some folks say "march zero"
and still others opt for the—to my ear, prohibitively unwieldy—"march zeer-oath." [3]
[3] What an idiot. I can't be troubled to say "March Zeer-oath," but
I'll say "prohibitively unwieldy"[4]...all the while not realizing
that if you're the kind of person that has dug this far down into
my website, there are likely very few things that are "prohibitively
unwieldy" to you!
[4] This actually points up a big difference between spoken and
written language, and how there is—or should be, if you're a
considerate person—an entirely different standard for the two.
If you're a writer you already know this. You have, in spoken
conversation, defaulted to your writer's voice and spoken a phrase
like "prohibitively unwieldy," at which point your friends, who
know you and have seen this before, roll their eyes and say something
like "Ah yes, another $1.98 word from Steve." Spoken language gets
all sorts of slack cut for it that written language doesn't because they're
two different animals. (And these days it's even MORE complicated
because: texting! Texting is spoken language disguised as written
language, and if you drop a $1.98 word into your texts you'll get similar
grief, as if you'd spoken it! Again, if you're a writer who has friends who
are not, you already know this.) [5]
[5] Must...stop...footnoting! Can't...stop...footnoting! ;-)
• 4/4, 6/6, 8/8, 10/10, 12/12
• 5/9 & 9/5
• 7/11 & 11/7
• Pi Day (3/14), July 4, Halloween........and Mr R's birthday!! (12/26)
• The last day of February (2/28 or 2/29.) [1]
ANSWER: EVERY YEAR, ALL 14 FALL ON THE SAME DAY OF THE WEEK.
That day changes every year; in 2023 it was Tuesday • In 2024 it's Thur • '25/Fri • '26/Sat • '27/Sun • '28/Tue ....(Hmmm, how far forward do I need to run this? I'm due to retire in 2025, but this page isn't a GCS page...so as long as weebly is a thing, I'll probably have this site up!)
Easy ways to remember the days:
• 4/4, 6/6, 8/8, 10/10, 12/12. What could be simpler? All even numbered months except Feb.!
• 5/9 & 9/5, and 7/11 & 11/7. Use the sentence: "I work from 9 to 5 at 7-11." (7-11 is a chain of convenience stores like Circle-K.*)
• Pi Day (3/14), July 4, and Halloween. "Patriotic Pumpkin Pie," if you need a cheesy mnemonic, but July already has the 7/11 thing, and October has 10/10. March doesn't have a mnemonic, so for me Pi Day is handiest of these three. (In a way March is the easiest month because that 14 means that in March the multiples of 7...7, 14, 21 & 28...are all on the day.)
(* You probably knew that, but it seems—to me anyway—like we have few 7-11s around here compared to Circle-Ks. Which may be true locally, but worldwide there are way, WAY more 7-11s than Circle-Ks. In some Asian countries 7-11s are like Starbucks are for us: coffeeshop atmosphere with WiFi & light food!)
EXAMPLES:
"So wait...NC law says school can't start before Aug. 25, so is that the first school day this year?"
For a long time the rule was "if Aug 25 is a weekday it is the first day of school," but lately when Aug 25 fell on a Thursday or Friday the first day of school was the following Monday. (Quick history lesson: Back around 2005, school was starting earlier and earlier; one year we teachers came back on August 4th and students came back on the 10th! These early starts take a HUGE chunk out of NC's $12 billion summer tourism industry, and NC passed a law saying school could not start before Aug. 25.) So again, if Aug 25 is a weekday, it is the first day of school—with noted exceptions—otherwise school starts the Monday after the 25th.
In 2024, we know from our calendar trick that 8/8 is a Thursday. A week has 7 days, so add or subtract 7s to find other Thursdays in August: 8/1, 8/15, 8/22, 8/29. There it is: Aug. 22 is a Thursday so Aug. 25 is Sunday, so the first day of 24-25 is Mon. Aug. 26.
"When's Thanksgiving this year?"
Thanksgiving is always the 4th Thursday of November. We know from the calendar trick that, in 2024, 11/7 is a Thursday...with 7 days in a week Nov 7 must be the first Thursday, so three weeks—21 days—later is the fourth Thursday. 7+21 = 28. 11/28, Happy Thanksgiving!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
21st CENTURY FRACTIONS.
Speaking of calendars, here's some nerdy fun. Assuming that the 21st century begins a minute before 12:01 AM on Jan. 1, 2001 and ends a minute after 11:59 PM Dec. 31, 2100*, here are the dates on which the following fractions of the century fall:
1/12 of the 21st century has elapsed as of 02MAY09, which was a Saturday.
1/11 = 03FEB10, Wed.
1/10 = 01JAN11, Sat.
1/9 = 10FEB12, Fri.
1/8 = 02JUL13, Tue.
1/7 = 15APR15, Wed.
1/6 = 01SEP17, Fri.
1/5 = 31DEC20, Thu.
1/4 = 31DEC25, Wed.
1/3 = 02MAY34, Tue.
1/2 = 31DEC50, Sat.
2/3 = 01SEP67, Thu.
(*And why should we assume this? Because when you count things you don't start with zero, you start with one**. You're not born one year old, you turn one when you've clocked a full twelve months on your odometer. AND, from an aesthetic standpoint, a "1 to 100" century is simply more elegant than a "0 to 99" century. Look at that list above, specifically at the years that represent the 1/5 mark, 1/4 mark, and 1/2 mark of a century. In a "1 to 100" century those years end in -20, -25 & -50. Makes FAR more sense than if those milestones were on -19, -24, and -49.
** Can you imagine...starting counting with zero? "How many guys were in the Beatles? That's easy: Zero, one, two, three. Three guys in the Beatles." (Sigh.)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
RE-USE YOUR FAVORITE CALENDARS!
There are 7 days a week and 2 types of years—leap years and non-leap (aka "common") years—which means there are 14 possible calendars. Plug any year into this link...
https://www.hermetic.ch/cal_sw/idcal/idcal.php
...and see what years have identical calendars!
- – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – — - – —
And by the way, if you've read this far down, especially on this page, you are way down the rabbit hole and are in danger of going full nerd like me. You might want to resurface and hit the Supply List or Contact pages to get re-oriented; cleanse the palate, if you will!
:-)
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
NOTES FROM FARTHER UP (OR, "THE KIND OF NESTED DIGRESSION THAT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME IN CLASS")
[1] Feb 28/29 is sometimes referred to by we calendar dorks as "doomsday" or even "March 0th." [2]
[2] I myself pronounce that as "march oath" but some folks say "march zero"
and still others opt for the—to my ear, prohibitively unwieldy—"march zeer-oath." [3]
[3] What an idiot. I can't be troubled to say "March Zeer-oath," but
I'll say "prohibitively unwieldy"[4]...all the while not realizing
that if you're the kind of person that has dug this far down into
my website, there are likely very few things that are "prohibitively
unwieldy" to you!
[4] This actually points up a big difference between spoken and
written language, and how there is—or should be, if you're a
considerate person—an entirely different standard for the two.
If you're a writer you already know this. You have, in spoken
conversation, defaulted to your writer's voice and spoken a phrase
like "prohibitively unwieldy," at which point your friends, who
know you and have seen this before, roll their eyes and say something
like "Ah yes, another $1.98 word from Steve." Spoken language gets
all sorts of slack cut for it that written language doesn't because they're
two different animals. (And these days it's even MORE complicated
because: texting! Texting is spoken language disguised as written
language, and if you drop a $1.98 word into your texts you'll get similar
grief, as if you'd spoken it! Again, if you're a writer who has friends who
are not, you already know this.) [5]
[5] Must...stop...footnoting! Can't...stop...footnoting! ;-)