CAROL'S BLOG (archive, 2016)

• Ray bought about 200 dance DVDs when there was a huge sale, and I've been copying them onto the computer and appropriately naming all the files (typically 10 to 20 for each DVD). This will make the entire collection searchable and most useful to us. It takes an enormous amount of storage space; so I've got to stop for a few days now and wait for the new hard drive to arrive!
• We've got lots of Christmas music for church. I'm the alto in a quintet of Mary, Did You Know? (Pentatonix). I'm playing the piano for a choral version of "Oh Holy Night"; the piano accompaniment is challenging. I'm also accompanying another choral piece for January with challenging accompaniment. Plus, I'm singing in lots of other pieces. So, I've been doing lots of piano practicing and singing!
• It took me days to sort/organize all the stuff that was brought back from clearing out the Nielsen Lane home. In particular, I made up a nice memorabilia scrapbook for loads of the cards, photos, newspaper clippings I ended up with.
• I'm making small personalized Christmas gifts using my embroidery machine; again, lots of time.
• I've had a bunch of miscellaneous projects: making a cover for our hauling trailer (so the trash doesn't blow all over the desert); making custom visor covers for Ray's van; making a batch of apple core jelly for Ray; going through hundreds of my old address book entries to update/delete/edit in transferring over from my MAC to my new PC.

• Nielsen Lane Items:
  After photos of items were taken, they were posted here for people to vote on. After the expiration date, they were moved into the following files:
  • Decisions
    Earlier Decisions (first three-week period)
  • No Interest Items
    Earlier No Interest Items (first three-week period)
• An early document, before the system fully evolved:
  Nielsen Lane Items
• A special file for the sheet music:
  Nielsen Lane Music
• I was inspired to do a similar system with some of our own stuff! (Two months of cleaning out a family home makes one want to take inventory of their own belongings!)
  Burns Family Online Tag Sale
• Finally, here are the memory board photos from my Mom's funeral:
  Memory Board Photos: Pauline V.K. Vreeland

• Past Patterns: patterns for historically accurate clothing from earlier eras
• Barbara Szabo: Familiar Faces
• Barbara Szabo's Kindle book: Clay in the Potter's Hands
• Barbara Szabo's geology cartoons: GeoloSpeak
• Barbara Szabo: Short Stories
• WaterSeer: Water from Air, No Power I supported it! Looks like I'll be digging a hole in our Arizona desert within the next couple years.

• I created a new section, Dividing More Than One Term by a Single Term.
  I'm really pleased with case 2!! It was a lot of work.
• I put the rectangle word problem in Solving More Complicated Quadratic Equations by Factoring .

• open TERMINAL
• put in:
  defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
  Press ENTER.
• put in:
  killall Finder
  Press ENTER.

• open TERMINAL
• put in:
  defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
  Press ENTER.
• put in:
  killall Finder Press ENTER.

• Work Problems: Basic Concepts
• Work Problems: Guided Practice

• Jump right to the exercises!
  See the best Algebra Pinball time.
  The concepts for this exercise are summarized below.
  For a complete discussion, read the text.
  
  was replaced by:
  
  PRACTICE (online exercises and printable worksheets) ...
  ... and lots MORE PRACTICE!
  This page gives an in-a-nutshell discussion of the concepts.
  For a more thorough discussion, read the text.
• I inserted the word ‘PRINTABLE’ on the worksheet buttons
• After ‘Want to time yourself?’ I inserted a link ‘(See a blazing fast time at Algebra Pinball.)

• the main table of contents now includes new entries for:
  • Algebra Pinball: Peter/Ron
  • Journeys through Tree of Math
• We put in a place-holder for the page that Peter/Ron will create that documents their progress through the curriculum.

• have fun
• deepen their understanding of existing math, and learn lots of new math
• learn about web design while creating their own web pages that document their progress through Tree of Math

• Get feedback on what works and doesn't work. I believe that my curriculum, starting with Algebra I, is accessible to self-motivated middle-schoolers. Peter/Ron will go through the lessons, and help me locate places that could use improvement.
• Peter/Ron will put up Algebra Pinball scores, so other users can have a sense of what people their age are able to do.
• I want parents/teachers world-wide to say to their children/students: ‘Go visit Peter and Ron online—they'll guide you through Tree of Math’!

• crazy square block
• turning fabric scraps into yardage
• I've got a good variety of leaf dies for my Big Shot, so this pretty leaf design (coaster?) would be beautiful

• Wolfram Mathematica Online (free)
• the Wolfram Language: Fast Introduction for Programmers (free)
• An Elementary Introduction to the Wolfram Language (free)

• To call up the Terminal window:
  command-space "terminal" (then enter)
• To SHOW all hidden files:
  • In the Terminal window, type:
    defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE (then enter)
    killall Finder (then enter)
• To HIDE all hidden files:
  • In the Terminal window, type:
    defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE (then enter)
    killall Finder (then enter)

• when I use overset/underset constructions in display math, the baselines are often incorrect
• when there is a mix of text and math in a special text phrase (like emphasis, bold, highlighted), every time math is hit it is moved to a new line

• Chrome version 49.0.2623.112 (64-bit)
• Firefox version 45.0.1
• Safari version 5.1.10 (6534.59.10)

• baseline issues:
  
  displaystyle\frac{2}{7} = 0.\overline{285714}
  
  

  $\displaystyle\frac{2}{7} = 0.\overline{285714}$ MathJax rendering in current browser

  image: rendering in Chrome

• The $\,5\,$ should be on the same line as the $\,4\,,$ with the $\,n\,$ and arrow beneath the $\,5\,.$ It renders fine in Chrome and Firefox.
  
  {}_5P_2 = \overset{\text{2 factors}}{\overbrace{ \underset{\underset{\displaystyle n}{\uparrow}}{5}\cdot 4} }
  
  

  $$ {}_5P_2 = \overset{\text{2 factors}}{\overbrace{ \underset{\underset{\displaystyle n}{\uparrow}}{5}\cdot 4} } $$ MathJax rendering in current browser; display mode

  image: rendering in ancient Safari

• Here, the $\,i^2\,$ should be centered on the summation symbol. It's fine in inline mode; just breaks in display mode. It's fine in Chrome and Firefox.
  
  \sum_{i=1}^{10}\ i^2
  
  

  $$\sum_{i=1}^{10}\ i^2$$ MathJax rendering in current browser; display mode

  image: rendering in ancient Safari

  
  Consequently, Summation Notation and Mean, Median, and Mode look horrible (basically unreadable) in ancient Safari.
• Not aligned properly in display mode in ancient Safari; fine in Chrome and Firefox:
  
  \overset{\text{coefficient matrix}}{\overbrace{ \begin{bmatrix} 2 & -3\cr 1 & 7\cr \end{bmatrix}}} \ \underset{\text{variable matrix}}{\underbrace{ \begin{bmatrix} x\cr y \end{bmatrix}}} \ =\ \begin{bmatrix} 5 \cr 4 \end{bmatrix}
  
  

  $$ \overset{\text{coefficient matrix}}{\overbrace{ \begin{bmatrix} 2 & -3\cr 1 & 7\cr \end{bmatrix}}} \ \underset{\text{variable matrix}}{\underbrace{ \begin{bmatrix} x\cr y \end{bmatrix}}} \ =\ \begin{bmatrix} 5 \cr 4 \end{bmatrix} $$ MathJax rendering in current browser; display mode

  image: rendering in ancient Safari

• (\overbrace{\vphantom{(x+h)^2} x^2 + 2x + 1}^{f(x)})
  
  There is horizontal space left for the $\,(x+h)^2\,$ (there shouldn't be).
  
  

  $(\overbrace{\vphantom{(x+h)^2} x^2 + 2x + 1}^{f(x)})$ MathJax rendering in current browser; inline mode

  image: rendering in ancient Safari

• Inside emphasis, bold, italics, etc., math is being put on a new line:
  <em>this is $\,x^2\,$ and $\,t\,$</em>
  yields:
  

  this is $\,x^2\,$ and $\,t\,$ MathJax rendering in current browser

  image: rendering in ancient Safari

• Limits are not rendering correctly in display mode:
  \lim_{x\rightarrow c} f(x) = \ell
  
  

  $$\lim_{x\rightarrow c} f(x) = \ell$$ MathJax rendering in current browser; display mode

  image: rendering in ancient Safari

• Here, there are thinspaces around each $\,x^2\,$:
  
  

  It's $\,x^2\,,$ it's $\,x^2\,,$ it's $\,x^2\,,$ it's $\,x^2\,,$ it's $\,x^2\,,$ it's $\,x^2\,.$ MathJax rendering in current browser

  image: rendering in Chrome and Firefox

• Here, there are NO thinspaces around each $x^2$, and everything displays correctly:
  
  

  It's $x^2$, it's $x^2$, it's $x^2$, it's $x^2$, it's $x^2$, it's $x^2$. MathJax rendering in current browser

  image: rendering in Chrome and Firefox

• Wash / core / quarter / remove seeds on about 16-24 apples (Macs are good). (Do NOT peel; the skins add color and flavor to the sauce.)
• Put in large pot (about 8 quarts) with about 1 cup water.
• Cook on low heat, stirring and smushing occasionally (with potato masher), for 20-60 minutes (depending on type and hardness of apples). There can still be chunks; apples just need to be soft enough to put through the food mill.
• Put through rotary food mill (this removes peels).
• After putting through food mill, add about 1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon, if desired.
• Eat, freeze, enjoy!
• Makes about 8 cups applesauce.

• ONLINE PHOTO DEVELOPING:
  Mpix: their prints were a bit more expensive than Snapfish, but (in my opinion) definitely worth the extra money. The Mpix prints had better color, and the weight and feel of the photo paper was much more desirable.
• MAGNETIC/ACRYLIC PHOTO FRAMES:
  I ordered three different kinds online from Amazon, and bought two kinds from Walmart. All were for holding a 4in x 6in print horizontally (i.e., positioned with the long side left/right, the short side up/down).
  • MY FAVORITE #1
    Walmart, Mainstays rigid acrylic, for table display. Only 94¢ each (I made several trips, buying them out each time). You remove a protective film and a paper insert; photo slides in effortlessly. This and the other Walmart frame below are my favorites—most economical and easiest-to-use. Walmart ‘beat out’ Amazon on this particular item.
    
    Also, both of the Mainstay frames are borderless, which I like. The three more expensive (Amazon) ones end up with a narrow white border around the picture, which I don't like.
  • MY FAVORITE #2
    Walmart, Mainstays magnetic photo frame (rigid acrylic). Only 98¢ each. You rip open the plastic bag and remove a plastic insert from the frame; again photo slides in effortlessly. Has a small magnet centered in the back, which is more than enough to hold it securely to the refrigerator. I prefer this to any of the full-magnetic-backing flexible (not rigid) frames below (all of which were more expensive).
  • Magtech white magnetic photo pockets, set of 10; full magnetic backing; final cost \$1.20 each; ordered on Amazon. The two short sides are open; photo is a bit easier to slide in than the two (more expensive) kinds below.
  • Magnetic photo sleeves by Regent Products Corp., comes in set of two, full magnetic backing; flexible (not rigid); final cost \$1.50 each; ordered on Amazon. Only one (long) side has an opening; a bit tricky to get photo in. Feels sturdier and higher-quality than the (more expensive) one below.
  • Freez-a-Frame magnetic photo pockets, comes in set of five, full magnetic backing; flexible (not rigid); final cost \$1.85 each; ordered on Amazon. Only one (long) side has an opening; a bit tricky to get photo in.