Thursday, March 15, 2012

It's (belated) PI DAY!!!!!

Picture by Mykl Roventine.
Well, Happy (belated) Pi Day everybody!

I'm sorry this post isn't on Pi Day, but I really just took it easy, did some work, had myself some apple and chocolate pie and some pizza pie with pineapple sprinkled on top. Wrote a pi-ku, make a paper crane to honor the birthday of Akira Yoshizawa, the father of modern origami (sadly, learned of it via Google. But thanks anyway Google! I love origami. :), read some of David Berlinski's 123:Absolutely Elementary Mathematics. It's a fantastic book, definitely worth checking out.

So anyhow, I thought a slightly belated Pi Day post was better than none, so I decided to go for it. ^J^
Well, as you may or may not know, Pi Day, on March 14th, is a very special day in the hearts of math lovers everywhere (excluding those who insist celebrating Pi Approximation Day or Real Pi Day is better...Personally, I just celebrate the lot of them. 3x the pi, you know? ;)

Pi, of course, is the irrational number 3.1415926535879...etc. and happens to be the ratio we use to find the circumference of a circle. Pi Day celebrates this amazing achievement in mathematics and in humanities efforts to discover and explore as a whole. Pi may not seem like a big deal to non-math lovers, but it's huge. It has a ridiculous amount of applications, but was discovered approximately 4000 years ago, first alluded to in the bible in verse 7:23 of Kings “And he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim . . . and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.” You can read more about that here.

So we celebrate Pi Day not just for the novelty of being awesome math geeks and nerds (okay, a little, but that doesn't mean non-geeks and -nerds can't join in on the fun! I mean who doesn't need a reason to eat more pie?), but for to celebrate and perpetuate the love of math, and to celebrate the incredible minds and passion for creativity and discovery given to us by our loving, math-happy God. Spread the love! :)

Also, for those who missed this years Pi Day, why not try for "Real" Pi Day or Pi Approximation Day instead? Or just wait until next year, but how long can you put off eating pie for breakfast, really?

Here are a few of the most useful "How to's" to get your celebration started.

Some more on the history of Pi. And some facts here.

And my favorite Pi Day post I've read yet. Pi Day facts, tips on celebrating, etc. :)

Also, here is my favorite Pi Day song, which I tend to play over and over again (but not so much that I bug my family...almost, but not quite. :) which I posted about prior. There are a few other fantastic Pi songs out there, but I think I've bombarded you with enough links already.

Well readers, have fun! I usually write poetry to celebrate holidays, particularly Valentine's Day and Pi Day, but I haven't finished those yet(to satisfaction, anyhow). I'll post them when I can!
Anyway, have a wonderful After Pi-arty! (Forgive me XD)

~RRC

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Vocaloid 3, IA and Aoki Lapis

Well, a new wave of Vocaloids has been released, and I know I'm slow on the uptake, but I just downloaded one of IA's demo songs and find I am completely smitten-- her voice is beautiful, full, and real, her avatar is gorgeous and more enchanting to me than some of the "cute style" popular Vocaloids, and her personality is unusually dreamy and ethereal. Check it out:




Another Vocaloid 3 that I really liked is Aoki Lapis, which they are currently in the process of releasing. According to the Vocaloid Wiki, she will be made avaliable on the 16th of April, 2012.




Yes, her voice and avatar is cute, but I really appriciated the slow, softness to her voice, a style which seems to be difficult for some of the previous Vocaloid models.

Anyhow, enjoy!