256 is 2 raised to the 8th power. Most people in math-related fields have the powers of 2 memorized at least up through the 10th power (1024), usually 3 to the 5th power (243), and generally 5 to the 4th power (625). Other common numbers memorized are pi (3.14159265), e (2.718281828), and sometimes the golden ration (1.618). But the golden ratio is not used as frequently in most fields, so it is usually an outcast. Then there are a whole slew of identities and theorems that just get used so often that you can't forget them. I remember that I drilled some of the identities from my integral calculus class for so long that I can still remember some of them. One that actually comes up on occasion is the derivative of arc-tangent = (1 + x^2)^-1.
Anyhow. This morning we had a quiz in investment. I think I was able to drag it out to 5 minutes. It was 4 questions from our incredibly simple homework assignment. Afterwards we went to the atrium and studied for the life con exam for a bit. We had about an hour and a half, and we mainly just quizzed each other over equations and such.
The test was fairly straight forward. There were 8 questions and 6 were pretty basic. The other two were a bit confusing. I got one of them answered, but by the time the exam was over only 2 people finished. So Tim (word-smith that he is) convinced Dr. Foley to let us take the exam and finish it by Monday. Foley agreed. He also said that we can work on it in a group if we'd like. So Tim, Kathryn, and I marched right on over to the library to finish the exam. As soon as we sat down I figured out how to solve the last problem. I just was getting no inspiration while we were in the room.
After we finished I went to go work out. I did biceps and triceps today. I got to the locker room at the same time as Timbo, so we discussed the exam and the problems on which we were stuck. When we got to the gym we saw Adrian. He was in my stats class last semester. This was the first I'd seen him all semester. He currently has an internship working for.... something involving basketball and something or something. If I knew anything about professional basketball I could give you a little more info. Regardless, it's a great internship and he will almost certainly get a job with them, which is pretty much his dream job. So I'm pretty happy for him.
When I got back home I showered and got to work on FM for a couple hours. This exam in particular had about 4 problems that I felt were very poorly worded. Ugh. And two problems that I just had no idea what to do. I keep doing about the same on the exams, getting right around 70% correct. I only have one practice test left, and I'm going to take that as a timed exam tomorrow. Hopefully I can do better. And hopefully there aren't so many bogus questions. Some of these questions aren't difficult, but they just make you assume such outlandish things. I'm not always sure how I'm just supposed to know what they're implying.
I also talked with grandpa on the phone. He's going to let me have his twin beds that he's getting rid of, so now Kimmy and I won't have to buy a bed for next year! Yay!
Anyhow, I made tuna casserole for dinner. It turned out well. It was a bit of an adventure because, as usual, I didn't read the entire recipe before I started cooking. This proved to be a bad things, as one of the last lines involved "mixing with the cooked and drained noodles." At no point was I told to start making noodles... so I hadn't! thankfully my front left burner is very powerful and in about 10 minutes I had boiled water and made pasta. My kitchen was a mess, but it tasted good.
I worked on some probability problems during/after dinner. After an hour or so I needed to get out, so I went to Wal-mart to pick up a new pair of gym shorts and some protein powder. I've used protein a couple of times at Dustin's apartment after our work outs and I really liked it. So I'm going to give it a go and see what happens. I just need to make sure I'm drinking more water than I am right now. I usually drink about 2 quarts a day and I'm supposed to drink about twice that. So... this will be fun.
When I got back I worked a few more probability questions, but it got to the point where I wasn't getting anywhere. I couldn't get my brain in order to actually solve things. I didn't want to just keep referring to the solutions, so I stopped for the night. Then I watched some youtube videos for a while, and now I'm going to bed! So good night everyone.
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