Monthly Archives: December 2021

Dtik Ang – Stuttering in Thai

December 20, 2021 – 7:25 am

My speech problems were many in my youth across the harbor from Portland, Maine. A stutter coupled with a lisp and stammer forced the school authorities of Falmouth Foresides to test my mental competence. The teachers were surprised to discover through a battery of intelligence exams that I was the smartest child within the school […]

By Peter | Posted in language, superstitions, Thailand | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

1 + 1 = 2 Circa 1972

December 18, 2021 – 10:47 am

The simple addition of 1 + 1 is the first math learned by children. Addition is followed by subtraction, division, and multiplication. The nuns at Our Lady of the Foothills believed in the power of rote education and each student was expected to memorize the math tables from 1 to 12. Fingers and toes aided […]

By Peter | Posted in 70s, boston, Education, semi-fiction, youth | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Bah Fucking Scumbug

December 16, 2021 – 3:14 pm

I remain true to the old school despite my non-believer status. Today we were hanging ornaments on the tree at the residence in Luxembourg. I came down in a Scrooge-like night garment. The young people regarded me strange and I explained that I was Scrooge. They had no idea what I was talking about. “Don’t […]

By Peter | Posted in heresy, holiday, Traditions, youth | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Linear Algebra 101

December 10, 2021 – 8:15 pm

Back in the 1960s most New Englanders’ were loss at sea when asked to count beyond ten on their fingers. Multiplication and long division flummoxed college students. Calculus was the Black Plague, but I loved the intercourse between numbers and in 1966 I was awarded a scholarship to Xaverian Brothers High School on strength of […]

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A Lengthy Hiatus

December 10, 2021 – 2:58 pm

I was born in 1952. The numbers add up to a Prime of 17 sandwiched between 13 and 19 and is the sum of four consecutive primes; 3, 5, 7, 9. Any other four prime would add up to a number divisible by 2 and thereby not prime. For the most part 17 is considered […]

By Peter | Posted in Life, math | Tagged , | Comments (0)