BAD International Pi Day
The Bay Area Derby Girls opened the 2015 regular season on International Pi Day. Berkeley won the first bout against San Francisco (photo gallery here), and Oakland defeated Richmond in the second bout. (photos here.) Four people competed in a pie eating contest, which the audience won. The derby and sunset were grand, as was the marching band. I searched for circles.
Pi Day is a real thing. In case you forgot the formula for measuring the area of a circle or cylinder, you can find it on the page International Pi Day page. I learned the origin of the joke that “Pies aren’t square; they are round.” I also learned that there was a such a thing as a Pi joke.
I am too literal to laugh at math jokes. I tried to photograph the first several numbers of Pi, but I couldn’t find the necessary skaters after #31. (I wanted a series of skaters so that I could reproduce 3.14159…..
When my daughter walked outside, I found a series of squares (see 25 and 49 on the sail), but we have already learned that pies are not squares. The painted bicycle wheels seemed more lonely next to squares. You can’t fit squares into circles, especially on International Pi Day.
During the second bout, I found more circles and squares. Demanda Riot is sandwiched by two squares. This time 36 and 64 surround 000.
At the Fist of Flour Pizza vendor booth, I found a Fresh Hot Pi. Is this a round pie?
The Greek letter Pi and the number 3.14 change shape in a mirror. People who study these things claim that 3.14 spells pie when reflected in a mirror. The Greek letter creates a slice of pie. I do not understand it, but I not very smart about these things. I was disappointed that my daughter did not enter the pie eating contest… until I photographed it.
When we celebrate the next big International Pi Day in 100 years, I hope this guy competes… and the next time, I hope he wins. After he wins, I hope he does a “Craneway Leap” into the crowd. It was our victory, but mostly because we remained clean.
When I was younger, I loved math, but I do not know if I saw the world as a mathematician. Yesterday was Emmy Noether’s 133rd birthday. (You may have noticed her when you opened your Google browser.) She visualized the world in a way that I cannot begin to understand. I see circles, numbers and square roots; she sees a sonnet or symphony.
Or maybe I can hear music and she sees numbers. Regardless, I like my numbers simple and slightly dyslexic (like my favorite Taylor Swift song titles). I love that my son and daughter enjoy going to roller derby.
EDIT ALERT!!!:!:!:!: As if to prove my point that “I like my numbers simple and slightly dyslexic,” originally I planned to conclude with a comment about yesterday being “International Poker Wheel Day” (or International “Inside Straight Day.”) I inserted a photo with 8 skates and the number 8 (for 8 wheels) AND I started writing how the date (with the numbers 1,2,3,4, and 5) created a straight called a “wheel.” (It’s in Wikipedia, so it must be true.) THEN my slight dyslexia kicked in. Instead of writing 3/24/15 I wrote 1/24/15 and assumed that I had been wrong while preparing the post. This morning I realized I had been correct. Sometimes life is like a circle; other times it is like a crazy 8… now that would be a cool song.
one of these days I will join you!