Randy and Caroline

Randy and Caroline
A lovely July in Seattle!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Mid-Life Metanoia: Run! Middle-aged woman trying to learn to blog!

I highly recommend Sharron Cox's new blog about her experiences attending the Episcopal Seminary at Sewanee in Tennessee--Enjoy!

Mid-Life Metanoia: Run! Middle-aged woman trying to learn to blog!: From a simple e-mail with instructions and encouragement from friend Christi, I am attempting to start a blog on my excellent, ecclesiastica...

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

An Obvious Mathematical Breakthrough!

Bill Gates, in his fascinating book The Road Ahead, first published in 1995 (the same year I graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center!), presciently foresaw what he called "an obvious mathematical breakthrough," namely, "development of an easy way to factor large prime numbers."  I'm happy to announce that I've managed to make this obvious mathematical breakthrough!  Give me any prime number, no matter how large, and I can develop an easy way to factor such a large prime number!  For example, you can give me the 225 digit prime number: 
3011684434270246290531649722016778440996627108537
4051680825787892441039027182441095592352415876075
3504018345029958824712015457312062590110182837940
9572517144993258842135900335759766170969093183692
46861620075335839843749999903 ,

and I will factor it as follows: since this 225 digit prime number is a prime number, it must necessarily have 2 and only 2 factors, 1 and the 225 digit prime number itself!  Of course, I'm not the first person to solve this somewhat trivial problem posed by Bill Gates (undoubtedly inadvertently and/or accidentally--he's obviously been the victim of a poor proofreader!)--for example, Wolfram's wonderful website notes this statement in the last paragraph of the entry on prime numbers!  By the way, my chemo treatments are going miraculously well, thank God!  Keep all those prayers and good wishes coming my way--they really are helping a lot!  10 chemo treatments down and only 2 left to go!  Here's hoping that my next CT scan (scheduled for early September, shortly after our 14th anniversary on August 30th) will show no trace whatsoever of any cancer or tumors, because they will all have been annihilated and thoroughly terminated with extreme prejudice!  Amen!