The properties of "hair pi"

Perhaps in an effort to prove how utterly geeky I am, and chase away any potential suitors... I follow up on comments left in another thread. And shoot- since M's the only one who even knows this blog exists, you can blame yourself for this!

What do we mathematicians know about "hair pi"? Here are some facts:

• hair pi is irrational
  definitely true
  
• hair pi is transcendental
  a bit grandiose, but I wouldn't disagree
  
• because of the nature of hair pi, a hairy circle can't be turned into a hairy square
  and who would want to?
  
• the volume of a hair cylinder is length times width squared times hair pi, divided by four.
  Umm... my width- turned into a square, then divided by four??? Ouch... sounds painful


• if a hair cylinder with the same length as a hair gap, then it has a probability of hair pi of actually landing on the gap when falling down towards it.
  That seems like low odds for my hair cylinder. Maybe being a mathematician isn't the way to score some serious "gap" action.


• Given a flow from a hairy place... the direct distance from the source of the hair flow to the mouth, divided into the actual distance required to get there, results in a ratio of hair pi!
  A trifle obtuse, but sadly, actual math was used in the generation of this fact.


• if we put hair pi through a log, we do not know if it is irrational
  Excuse me, but don't we normally try to put the log into the hair pi? No wonder mathematicians don't score much gap action- they've got it all backwards!


• it is not known if hair pi is normal to any base.
  No comment

Jeez... I'm almost embarassed to have spent so long building up this list. And I don't know which is worse- that I spent 30 minutes whipping up these fact, or that I'm actually posting them out in a semi-public forum...

Poetry Corner

For not much more reason than these words carried me off to sleep last night, I'm going to post this work. I just love the way the words flow like the flight of the bird itself, swooping and dancing about. Honestly, the religious implications completely shoot past me, but hopefully that doesn't diminish the enjoyment.


The Windhover
Gerard Manley Hopkins

To Christ our Lord

I caught this morning morning's minion, king-
dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstacy! then off, off forth on swing.
As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on bow-bend: the hurl and the gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird,--the achieve of, the mastery of the thing!

Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!

No wonder of it: sheer plod makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion.

Am I surprised?

I am: -7% Republican.

"You're a damn Commie! Where's Tailgunner Joe when we need him?"

Are You A Republican?

Only that I didn't score lower...

Created to step out of the anonymity cloak on Excavating Witch's page...

Colbert's homage to both of my faiths...

Maybe I shouldn't have enjoyed this as much as I have... but everytime I watch this, I can't help but slip into rote recitation mode and recount right along with Stephen. Plus, he takes on the Unitarians!!