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It’s been nearly a year and a half in the making, but my friends and I finally got our Pi tattoos.  Chris Armenio, John Belter, Sean Teller and I went to Smokin’ Tattooz last night (11/29) in Kent and all got inked — some of us for the first time.  Noticeably wussing out and NOT getting a tattoo (even though she promised she would) was half-Asian Sarah Scroggy who nonetheless provided event planning services, and moral/emotional support.  

The tattoo appears slightly to the left of the center of my wrist, and along my watch band (so it can be hidden when it needs to be).  The entire tattoo fits within a 1 inch square.  The image on the bottom shows off 3.14 – 3 fingers up, wring finger down (point), pinky finger up for 1and the entire count of up fingers being 4.

Other important attendees during this historic event include: Mike Pavis, Lou Colorito, Katherine Dunn, Matt Coleman, Jeff Zimmerman, Caitin Ganley and Jeff Burk.  All of whom looked on as the rest of us endured.  Honestly, the needle wasn’t painful at all, and I was expecting much worse.

Why get Pi as a tattoo?  I can’t answer for anyone else, but for me I’ve wanted it for a long time.  There is beauty in mathematics, and Pi is an important number (ratio) used in calculations that define our world.  It’s infinite, never repeats itself, powerful in its simplicity and unique.  Pi is God’s number.

Additionally, the Greek letter Pi resembles neolithic Irish dolmens – or altars.  Dolmens pepper Ireland, and my dad and I saw a lot on our first visit there.  So in that way, my Pi tattoo will help remind me of those fun times.

Some of the dolmens my dad and I saw on our first Ireland trip.  Notice how similar dolmens are to the Greek letter Pi?

I ran across this video while on http://www.worksmart-emarketing.com/ and thought it was awesome.  Enjoy.

Go watch this CNN clip.  It’s about this guy who had his new Xbox and games stolen from him on a basic traffic stop.

Cops Steal Xbox from Guy

The link was on the CNN homepage and I was so intrigued by the headline I had to see what it was.  I think it’s crap they targeted this guy and put him through the hassle he had to go through to get it back.

If you have a Gmail/Google account you MUST go login now.  Then open another window and do a normal Google search.  See anything different in the result listing?

There are a couple of new icons along each search result that allow YOU to vote/score/rank results higher/lower, remove results that you’ll never care about or need, and to comment on results.  You can also add a link that you always want to appear for the phrase you searched for.  Want “cats.com” to come up as your second result when you search for dogs?  You can make it happen now!

AWESOME!

I have thought for a long time how great it would be to simply remove a result listing you know you’ll never need, but they go even further.  These features make it easy to find repetitive information very quickly and to tailor it to your needs.

You also know Google’s taking all that feedback and making their system even smarter.  If a thousand people hide a result, or a thousand people promote a result to a higher rank, that will have an effect on future searches for everyone.  It’s ingenious!

While the commenting feature is very much like the old “Note This” feature which was bulky and mostly unusable, the commenting feature is super easy and intuitive.  I WISH they kept the “Note This” feature, however, for personal use so you can maintain individual notes on a website that don’t become public.

Anyway, I felt the need to let more people know about it because it’s slick.  And of course Google integrate these new features in an unobtrusive way — they’re known for that.

Kudos to Google!

This story occurred many many years ago when I was in 8th or 9th grade.  Everytime I think about it my heart starts racing, and I remind myself how lucky I am to be alive.

It was the middle of the summer and my friend Mike LaNasa and I were going to Geauga Lake with a group of other people.  Since it was hot out we all brought our swimsuits, and planned on hitting the water rides.

I can’t remember exactly why some of us split up, but we did.  A small group (including myself) decided to hit the water attractions to cool off.  I personally decided to go down a water slide I had never been on before.  But it wasn’t just a normal water slide, it was one of those racing slides where another idential one is right next to you.  You and your opponent sit on a board that is being held back by a peg underneath, and the lifeguard pulls a lever releasing the both of you at the same time.  Pretty simple right?

Well, I had never been on this type of slide before, and I didn’t know what to expect.  I didn’t know that the lifeguard was to pull the lever to release the peg; so I incorrectly started pushing my board over the peg to begin my journey down the slide.

That was a fucking mistake.

Before I knew it I felt the lifeguard grab me hard while she yelled, “NO!”  I had already begun my momentum down the slide, however, and her jerking motion so forceful and strong, that she literally held me back.  My board went down the slide without me, and to my amazement I had been pulled off from the slide etnirely.  I was literally dangling from 8 stories high, holding onto the side of the slide, and a piece of wood I had somehow managed to grasp!  Never in my life have I ever had an adrenaline rush like I did then.  Even thinking about it now brings back some of those feelings.  Can you imagine looking up from below and seeing a 13 year old kid just swinging above?

I didn’t have time to be mad, upset, or scared.  I didn’t scream, curse or say anything.  I was so focused on holding on as tight as I could that nothing else mattered right then.  Surivival instincts kicked in and through some amazing strength on my part, and the help of my would-be assasin, I was able to climb back to the platform.  The entire episode took less than 15 seconds, but it seemed like an eternity.

Only atop the platform again did I have time to reflect upon what happened, and realize how close I was to dying and/or becoming seriously injured.  I began shaking uncontrollably and didn’t know what to say.  Then the lifeguard began crying.  I looked at her, first out of anger, then out of curiosity, and finally out of sympathy.  She was really sorry and upset for what happened.  She apologized, asked me about a thousand times if I was okay, and then continued crying.  I said I was okay, that it wasn’t her fault (lie), and that she shouldn’t worry about it.  I then said I didn’t want to go down the slide anymore, and walked back down the stairs I came up on.

When I remember this story today I’m shocked nothing worse happened.  For starters, the board and slide I was holding on to was wet and slippery.  People who have been in perilous situations similar to mine talk about having a “death grip,” and I certainly believe that’s what I had that day.  Second, once I knew something was wrong, I had a split second to physically turn my body 180 degrees to be able to grasp anything.  This happened instinctively, and perhaps accidentally as well.  In both cases I could have just as easily fallen straight down.  

At no other point in my life have I ever been that close to death.  Maybe once in a car when I didn’t see a stop sign, but even that didn’t compare to this experience.

If that lifeguard is out there and reading this, be sure to drop a line.  It’d be interesting to hear your side of the story.

Directions: Each question is based on a set of conditions.  It may be useful to draw a rough diagram to answer some of the questions.  Choose the response that most accurately answers each question.

Questions 1-3

Three people are studying for the LSAT, Art, Beth and Charles.  Each person handles the stress associated with studying in a different way subject to the following restrictions:

Art handles stress better than Charles, but only if he strangles a cat.
Beth handles stress better than Art, but only if Art does not strangle her cat.
Charles relieves his stress by hitting Art or Beth with a frying pan
The stress of everyone increases when they practice for the LSAT on the same day.
Art and Beth study Monday through Friday, and Charles only studies Friday and Saturday.
No one gets more than 6 hours of sleep at night.
All people begin the day with an equal amount of stress.

1. If Art strangles Beth’s cat, and then dodges Charles’ frying pan swing who mistakenly hits Beth, what is the order of who has the least amount of stress to who has the most amount of stress?

(A) Art, Beth, Charles
(B) Beth, Art, Charles
(C) Art, Charles, Beth
(D) Art, and Charles/Beth have an equal amount of stress
(E) No matter what the fuck happens everyone is more stressed

2.  If no cats are strangled, and no one is hit with a frying pan, but at least one person’s stress has gone down, who might it be?

(A) Charles
(B) Beth
(C) Art
(D) Everyone remains equally stressed
(E) No matter what the fuck happens everyone is more stressed 

3.  Suppose Charles hits Art with his frying pan while Art is strangling Beth’s cat.  If this happened on a Friday night at 11pm, and only Art and Beth had gotten their 6 hours of sleep that day, what comical scenario could be imagined to end this blog post?

(A) Beth cries in the corner as Art dies from blood loss, while Charles runs off stress-free
(B) Beth attempts to save her cat just as Art ducks, and Charles’ frying pan connects with “Fluffy” to send the feline careening towards the wall resulting in a faint *thud*
(C) Art Hulks out and kills Charles and accidentally rips Beth in half mistaking her for her cat
(D) Everyone has a false sense of relief when they realize they have 3 weeks before the LSAT still
(E) No matter what the fuck happens everyone is more stressed

Answers
To be honest the answers to 1-3 are all E.  However, for the sake of drawing this out further one may also take these as the “real” answers.

1. C, Art is instantly more relieved than Charles once he strangles Beth’s cat by rule 1, and then once Charles connects his hit with Beth he has become more relieved than Beth by rule 3.  Beth is the only one who has remained as stressed as she was before (or perhaps more so since her cat died).

2. B, Beth is the only one who’s stress goes down since her cat has not been strangled by rule 2.  Both Art and Charles have not relieved any stress because of rules 1 and 3 respectively.

3. B, This was a trick question and the answer is whichever you think is the funniest. I thought B was the funniest because imagining a cat being hit by a frying pan is laughable.

It’s the first snow of the season here in Northeast Ohio, and again I’m reminded of how awesome it looks outside.  Sure it’s cold out, and driving is a pain, but you can’t deny that it’s really beautiful.

It’s this time of year people seem to utter, “I keep asking myself why I live here.” 

I can’t speak for them, but I like Cleveland, and I like the seasons.  I don’t mind the changes in weather, and actually look forward to it.  When I was weighing the possibility of moving away from this state (to somewhere that didn’t get snowfall) it was one of the things that ran through my head.  Honestly!  I thought, if I move there, I will miss the snow.  

So anyway, for me, this morning is awesome.  I can’t wait to go sledding.

CNN report on Northeast Ohio snowfall

It’s morning and I’ve been up all night working on a website.  The large Dunkin’ Donuts coffee I drank a few hours ago, and the Coke I chugged within the last hour has left me wide awake.  Yet the sight of daybreak is a good cue that maybe I should try and get a few hours of sleep before “waking up.”

I’m really glad I didn’t buy one of those 5 hour energy drinks… I’m not even sure if those work.

Anyway, good night (err… morning)!

AG

After I graduated from Aurora High School I was accepted to Hiram College, a private liberal-arts school in Northeast Ohio. I brought to college a more sophisticated work ethic than I had in high school, and an open mind. My first course, The Quest for Justice, was taught by one of my favorite professors, Ken Alpern. I’ll never forget my first class with him. Imagine 20 or so students loudly piling into a classroom. Ken just sat there, like a stone, stoic in his stature. Settling whispers and coughs crescendoed to a roaring silence. Still, he sat there gazing upon each of us. Clutching our copies of Plato’s Republic we sat there not knowing what to expect, and in a state of paralytic fear. Then he spoke, quietly and somber, yet somehow loud and thunderous, “Open your books. We will read the first sentence together. This will be the first sentence you will read as college students, and it will be from a text that has had profound impact on humankind. Remember this moment.” As he began to read aloud we read along in silence. It was Socrates talking, “I went down to the Piraeus yesterday with Glaucon, the son of Ariston.” In that day, my first day of classes, Ken set the tone for the way I approached higher education. He also, perhaps unwittingly, peaked an ongoing interest in philosophy. Over the course of 4 years at Hiram I had 3 courses with Ken all of which were top-notch. When one speaks of memorable teachers he surely has a place among my top 5.

Unlike many other students I knew coming into college exactly what I wanted to major in, computer science. Hiram’s CS department is extremely focused, challenging and educationally demanding. We are the only college in America to have an all female faculty, and also one of only a few that require 2 research projects before graduation instead of just 1 which others schools normally ask of their students. There will always be a place in my heart for the 2 senior faculty members, Obie Slotterbeck and Ellen Walker. Their lifetime experience alone is a wealth of knowledge, and their enthusiasm for the subject matter second to none.

My proudest moment as a professional student was my research project done in Ellen Walker’s Computer Vision course. I developed a fully supervised and trained vision detection system for classifying sign language letters within photographs. I approached the project with the same energy and determination I had in my chemistry project. I dominated the research and understood every technical detail required to make my system work. The satisfaction I had from the project was some of the purest ever felt. When I gave my presentation to my fellow students and professors a great exhilaration came over me. You know what’s a great feeling? Working your ass off for something that you know you’ll get an A in, and having 100% confidence going into a presentation that you won’t get anything but an A.

Like most people who look back on their college years I remember mine as being some of the best of my life. Unlike most people, however, I don’t want to look back on them as if I can’t have even better times ahead of me! I am not done with life! I still have things to offer this world and things to do. After graduating it was a very strange feeling to not be returning to school the next fall. I miss learning. I miss research. I miss that undescribable spark a person feels when they’re on a campus with other smart people who are equally active in educational endeavors. The atmosphere is viral and electric. Hiram College, if nothing else, injected into my soul a desire to learn even more than I know today. To defend freedom of thought. Lastly, by generating a pang (sometimes painful) that I should strive for even more learning.

In the words of Hiram’s motto — fiat lux — let there be light.

Tennis has been a huge part of my life since I was very young.

My mom swears that I started playing tennis at age 3, however I don’t know this for a fact. I’ll take her word for it though

Anyway, my mom was a YMCA tennis instructor in Solon when we lived there. I helped her with her classes and would hit with her before and after the lessons. She and I would also play every summer and very quickly I developed my natural talent into a pretty impressive force. I was still very young when I had a coach (Pat Smith) ask me to join her traveling team one summer. That was a lot of fun, and it felt good to be the youngest kid on the team.

As I grew older into my teens my parents paid for private/group lessons at Western Reserve Racket Club. They also sent me to a Nike Tennis camp which was intense to say the very least. I also had the good fortune of hitting with the Jenson brothers when they did a promotional visit to Northeast Ohio.

It was no surprise once I got to Aurora High School that I was accepted on the varsity team. I would remain on the varsity team for the rest of my high school career to retire as a 4 year varsity letter award winner. That was a proud moment for me, and something I thoroughly enjoyed accomplishing. I even had my senior graduation party there and everyone signed a gigantic Penn tennis ball! It was awesome!

When I got to Hiram College I was intent on continuing my competitive play for their team, but the time requirements they asked us to put in pulled me away from my studies. It was a hard decision to make but I chose education over tennis.  Thankfully for me the choice paid off and I finished Hiram with good grades. Sadly, though, tennis seemed to slip away and I hardly played while at Hiram.  After graduating I played even less.

It wasn’t until 2 years later that tennis came back into my life. Aurora High School, my alma mater, was in need of a JV tennis coach and the athletic director, Dick Bliss, called me up. He knew my dad for many years (they taught together) and remembered I was a good tennis player. Apparently he figured out I was still in the area and offered me the position. Of course I jumped on the opportunity and was excited to get back into tennis!

In 2007 I assisted head coach Ron Bratton, and in 2008 I assisted head coach Dania Banc. It was so much fun to work with high school students in a sport I loved and had such an appreciation for when I was in school. Most of all I enjoyed joking around with the kids and thinking back to my time as a player. In fact, in 2007 our team ended up winning the CVC, the first time in many many years! It was rewarding, exhilarating, and most of all got me back into the swing (no pun intended) of tennis.

Following the 2008 high school season I was invited to join a 3.5 USTA team by my friend Derek Kohanski. Derek and I played together back in high school so it was fitting that we were on the same team again. Getting involved with the USTA team was terrific. It kept me active, reignited my competitive spirit, and brought back memories from many years before. Only those people who play tennis can speak of the smell of a newly opened can of balls, the feeling of a hard court under your feat, and the sensation of pulling off a killer put away.

I love tennis and I can guarantee it will continue to be a part of who I am.