Sunday, October 28, 2012

Binary Birthday

We survived the birthday party.  Erin made another beautiful cake, based on Iris' drawing.  Iris dressed up as the girl in the window, aka "bloody Mary".

She selected a gorgeous white satin from Fabrix during our last trip to SF.  I made the Lois Hinse Barcelona Dress pattern, but I'm not going to show the dress because I sewed the skirt and bodice 90 degrees off.  (Note to self; RTFD.  The skirt seams are at the CF/CB, and not at the sides.)  I figured this out after sewing and serging the seam allowance.  There wasn't enough time to unpick all that stitching, get ready for the party and turn in homework for 2 Coursera and 2 EdX classes and the final for another Coursera class.

Anyway, The dress bubbled badly at the CF and CB waist seam.  But Iris told me not to bother unpicking the seams when she was just going to cover the dress in red paint.  Good point.

We went minimal on the candles.  We were surprised that only Iris knew that the candles gave her age in binary.

The kids use computers from such an early age, and none of the others knew binary?!?  Bad Dad and I really liked alternate number systems in elementary school.  We learned base 2(for computing) and base 9 (for casting out nines) in elementary school!  What are they teaching in school these days?

Bad Dad and I also went to elementary school in California.  The difference is a change in educational philosophy and curriculum.  California used to teach advanced math concepts at an early age.  But, under the guise of competitiveness and raising standards, they are dumbing down the curriculum.  Enough said.  My blood pressure is going up as I type this and I need to relax and wind down from a tough week.

Next week, I have an informational interview, a volunteer day in the classroom, and 4 more problem sets.  If I have enough time, I still have white thread in the serger and two more white print projects for Iris in the hopper.  Perhaps, there will be a white blouse for me, too.

Have a safe, fun and happy Halloween.

3 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday, Iris! What a *great* cake! Yes, I remember learning math in lots of different bases - also in California. Neither of my kids learned much of that, at least not that I recollect. Who doesn't like a little octal math? :)

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  2. I remember that more complex math too. My coworkers are always surprised when I demonstrate these crazy math skills. Pre-prop 13 skills, I tell them. Happy Birthday, Iris! I like the cake. We are in the beginning of our hurricane here. Raining like crazy. I have embroidery and needle felting to do if the power goes out. Keep your fingers ctossed

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  3. We learned a whole bunch of different bases in school in Texas. I particularly remember binary, octal, hex and bases 7 and 9. Some of these proved to be quite useful later in life. They probably don't teach them in Texas any more either and they certainly didn't in NY, at least after nclb. I find the whole thing maddening and not at all helpful for the majority of students, who aren't necessarily fortunate enough to absorb abstract mathematical and language skills from their home environment.

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