Math, the Devil's Subject.

I am not good at math, want to add two numbers together, no problem, subtract one number from another, heck yeah, give me some paper, a pencil, with a good eraser and I can even lay some multiplication on you, daddio, not much, but some.  Of course, division is a problem, fractions are tough, and any math that uses letters is just ridiculous.  Unfortunately, I am the only one in the family who has not succumbed to the dark magic of math.

My wife has a photographic memory for numbers, she can tell you how much the payment was on our first car.  She figures percentages in her head, and knows how much the bill should be at the checkout when we are shopping, so if the price on the avocados was wrong, she can make them fix it, right then and there.

My sons both take such advanced math classes in school that I can not even operate the calculators they use.  I tell them both "yeah, if you are so good at math why do you need a calculator?"  They roll their eyes to the heavens, asking the Lord for strength, and sigh, kind of like their Mother, it is something I see often.  Then all three of them walk away discussing exponents, and other words I think they may be fabricating as they talk.

It makes for some difficult times watching basketball.  If our team is doing well I will say something like "wow, a 12 point lead with 4 minutes left, that's great."

And, without fail, "No, dad," they can make the word 'dad' sound like an insult, "it is a 14 point lead."

"Oh, right, well it was a 12 point lead."

"No, dad, it was an 11 point lead and they made a three point shot."

"Oh, yeah, right, right,  I was thinking of another game, it might not have been this team, maybe a different sport, where some team had a 12 point lead, it was great."

Three sets of eyes roll upward, and the sighs are almost in harmony.  It is kind of intimidating to have the power to trigger such a choreographed response.  I try to use it only for good.

But, I have the answer, a Casio Calculator Watch.  Then I can say, "look a 14 point lead, at 7:46 in the evening."  And if I get the right watch, I will be able to tell them, "look, a 14 point lead at 7:46, which, is 9:46 AM in Tokyo."  They will be so impressed, and I will look pretty darned cool, too.  So, if you need some numbers crunched, send them my way, I will be happy to help.

High Tech Happiness One Glass at a Time!

Samsung has just introduced a "smart watch," and, at $300.00 it should be pretty bright.  Somehow, the watch ties to their line of phones, so you can make calls right through your watch, maybe.  I'm not sure.  But, the watch face is pretty small, relative to watches, that is, when compared to the some of the monstrously big phones they offer the watch seems petite.  Due to the limited size of a watch face its usefulness as a computational device would seem somewhat limited.

Sometimes I have trouble typing on the virtual keyboard of my iPhone, admittedly, I am kind of big person with large fingers, and that is part of my problem, but many people have funny stories of how "auto correct spelling" and a typo caused them to send an inappropriate message detailing something distasteful, and private to a clergy person, or worse yet, their Mother.  These problems were not normally caused by typing the correct word.  

Now, imagine typing out your evening plans on the face of your watch.  OK, there is voice recognition, and that has many possibilities, but is far from perfected.

Just this week, on my way to work  "Siri, play 'Devil's Sidewalk'."

"OK, Tim, calling Satan on his land line."


What!?!?!!?  I have, over the years, indulged in some fairly risky behavior, but, it seems like that is one guy you don't want to annoy with a prank call.   "SIRI, FORTHELOVEOFGOD, HANG UP!!!!"  I screamed, almost running into the back of the police car in front of me.

"Just kidding, Tim, now playing "Devil's Right Hand."  Not what I wanted, but still a relief.

Without a convenient, reliable input device, a smart watch is just a little bitty television for watching youtube videos, as long as you have good eyesight or decent magnification, or making phone calls, but is it worth the price tag?  My watch is solar powered, has a thermometer, a compass, a stopwatch, a calendar, an alarm, syncs nightly with the Atomic Clock in Boulder, CO, plus it tells time.  And it costs less than $50.00.  Now, who has a smart watch?

Be sure to tune in next week when we discuss the advantage of Google Glasses.  We here at Life Explained are particularly excited about the introduction of the Google Beer Glasses.  Those folks at Google are doing everything they can to make life better for the common man.