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Author Topic: Red Face Moments
Shan
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Mind you, I have to pay attention to $400,000.00 budgets, line items, audit findings, invoices, etc. (The unfun part of my job.)

So today, I call the school cafeteria and ask them why they didn't credit my son's account with the 10 lunches I paid for. "You only gave us enough for 6 lunches," they reply. In all my astute wisdom, I say (and yes, this is a direct quote):

"Well, 10 times $1.75 IS $10.75, is it not?"

Stupid zeros. They always end up in the wrong places when I don't use my calculator. [Embarrassed]

All right - help me feel not so alone here. share YOUR idiocy of the day. [Big Grin]

[ January 21, 2004, 11:24 PM: Message edited by: Shan ]

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Hazen
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I'm just starting a computer science class. We turn in some assignments online. The first week the teacher warned us that the first assignment was due that Friday. So I turned it in on Friday. The next Friday comes along (the 16th), and I do assignment #2. I go to turn it in, and I find that it only has a spot for the assignment #3. I figure, no biggie, they just misnumbered, so I submit it their. Then today I look, and I notice that assignment #2 was due the 14th, Wednesday, and it is #3 due on Friday. [Embarrassed] I had just assumed that we only had one a week! So I got 0s on #s 2 and 3. Luckily they aren't worth a lot, so I can recover, but I still feel dumb.
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Tstorm
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Ok, I'll share. Mine brings a smile to my face everytime I think about it.

I work at a retail electronics store. My section is cameras, camcorders, and printers, and I sometimes assist customers from the general merchandise section (video games).

A kind, naive-looking lady walks over to me with a controller for a Playstation 2 and asks, "What does this mean...it says it has a vibration function."

I said, with absolutely no hesitation or forethought, and to me, it was utterly obvious, "That means it has a vibrator in it."

[Embarrassed] [Embarrassed] [Embarrassed]

Ha. I was right...naive. She didn't even notice the obvious double-meaning until I stammered out something about, "That could be taken the wrong way...basically, it gives feedback to the user, like it vibrates when driving a car game."

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Zotto!
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I just looked at Shan's "Well, 10 times $1.75 IS $10.75, is it not?" quote and didn't realize what was wrong with it for nearly a full minute.

I blame society.

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Princess Leah
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PSATS. Rather vital for my future. So naturally:

Q: Write out the numbers 1-25 on slips of paper and put them in a bag. What is the probability that you draw a prime number.

So I look at this question, thinking it must be a trick. Basically what you have to know is what a prime is and how to count. But I am nervous because I am sure there is a catch. Those test-writers are not known for kindness. So I very carefully write out all the prime numbers from 1-25 as follows:

2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 23.

I am careful to not include 1 and 9 and 15 and 21. That might be the trick they wish to snare me with!!!

I never considered that it was to make me forget something rather neccesary, in fact rather the "prime" requirement in answering the question: 19

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BannaOj
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psst... isn't 1 considered the ultimate prime number too?
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ClaudiaTherese
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I forgot the word "temperature." And I'm wearing a princess tiara to work.
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Hobbes
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As far as I know, 1 is in fact, not prime.

Hobbes [Smile]

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ClaudiaTherese
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Bet you don't have a tiara, Hobbes.
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Hobbes
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No, but I'm about to leave for a CS lab with my staff. [Cool]

Hobbes [Smile]

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Ayelar
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I once forgot the english word for "potato"! I could only think of the german.

I have red face moments every single day. I'm very prone to blushing, and I'll turn a bright red pretty much any time I'm the center of attention here at work. Very embarrassing. [Razz]

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BannaOj
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why isn't one prime? Is it something else?

AJ

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msquared
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It probably has to do with definition of prime, which, IIRC, is divides evenly only by 1 and itself. Now it can be argued that 1 meets this criteria, but others would say that it is redundant.

Any math majors?

msquared

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rivka
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Whether 1 is prime or not has been debated for a LONG time. It is usually defined as being in a class alone, neither prime nor composite.

The interesting debates are about whether -1 is prime. [Big Grin]

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jack
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http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/57058.html

From that same site, but on a different page, "Prime numbers have exactly two factors, not 'at most two' or anything like that."

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ClaudiaTherese
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[Self-bannage, 2 days in the penalty box. Don't ask.]

[ January 22, 2004, 12:45 PM: Message edited by: ClaudiaTherese ]

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Bob_Scopatz
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Let me guess...you sat on your tiara...

...

And that led to a surgery...

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Hobbes
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How about having a teacher of a big lecture think your asleep and try to come up and sit down next to you continuing the lecture. Especially when you aren't really alseep! [Mad]

Woah, that came out of left center.... calm down Hobbes. [Wink]

Hobbes [Smile]

[ January 22, 2004, 01:41 PM: Message edited by: Hobbes ]

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Noemon
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Maybe you were just pining.
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BannaOj
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Ok, I'm surprised I didn't know that about one, especially considering the number of math nerds I've been around in my life. I sort of viewed one as the "ultimate" prime number. It makes sense about excluding it because of the factoring issues.

AJ

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Shan
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[ROFL]

You guys are great! I feel oh, so much better!

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