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By Sebastiaan
The fifth and final part to my story.
Lightning Struck, Part Five
If only it had been a dream...
There we were, with the overcast sky howling thunder at us. We argued, I was mad at you for acting so strange. That's when I changed, I lost myself. After all, it should have been you who was mad at me for acting strange.
I threw you out of the car and drove away. But I drove blindly, right into a tree. I was knocked unconscious.
When I woke up, it all seemed a bad dream. A doctor was hanging over me. "Good morning," he said. "Sleep well?" And it was here that the recovery process had started.
It is only now that I understand what beast lures inside me.
"I hope you can hear me, I hope you can see me," I called out loud on top of the hill were we last were. The car was standing next to me, a new car. I looked at the sky, which was rapidly turning a dark shade of grey. "It's these three words: I am sorry." I sat down, and waited for the thunderstorm to get here.
Lightning struck again.
Dust to dust... I thought. Storm clouds gathered all over my head.
Ashes to...
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Short Story: Lightning Struck, Part Four
By Sebastiaan
Part four to my story.
Lightning Struck, Part Four
Perhaps it's time I came to terms with it.
"You don't have to. Tell us, I mean."
I stared him blankly in the eye.
"Are you still with us?"
"Yes I am, doctor Sherman," he answered.
Sherman whispered something in the ear of the man next to him, who then slowly walked forwards and started talking: "This won't hurt, it's just to get you to focus. Do you understand?"
"I certainly do," he replied.
"Good, then..." the man started, but he was interrupted by a smack to his face.
Doctor Sherman stood up and grabbed the sedative from the man who just fell to the floor. "You wouldn't hurt me, now, would you."
"I have... a name..." he hissed through his teeth.
"Yes, murderer is your name. You murdered your wife, remember?"
His eyes turned big. "Liar!" In rage he charged forwards, but the doctor avoided the attack.
Next thing I knew I woke up, bound to a bed... There was something.. vague.. about coming to terms... "Help!" I screamed. A man with a black eye came inside, he looked at me sourly. "That seems painful."
"It is," he said, grinding his teeth.
Then doctor Sherman came inside. "Good, you're awake. I'm sorry we had to bind you. We can't take another risk."
"I'm sorry, but I do not... understand..." I said hesitantly. "Oh.. oh... hey man, I'm sorry... I..." I said looking to the black-eyed man.
"You remember?" Sherman asked uncertain.
"Yes... I think I do." A flash shot through my mind, lighting everything. It was a bright flash. I shook wildly with my head, and then it dawned on me. "No.... no! No!!!" I started screaming. The doctor and the black-eyed man left the room.
Lightning struck again...
Part four to my story.
Lightning Struck, Part Four
Perhaps it's time I came to terms with it.
"You don't have to. Tell us, I mean."
I stared him blankly in the eye.
"Are you still with us?"
"Yes I am, doctor Sherman," he answered.
Sherman whispered something in the ear of the man next to him, who then slowly walked forwards and started talking: "This won't hurt, it's just to get you to focus. Do you understand?"
"I certainly do," he replied.
"Good, then..." the man started, but he was interrupted by a smack to his face.
Doctor Sherman stood up and grabbed the sedative from the man who just fell to the floor. "You wouldn't hurt me, now, would you."
"I have... a name..." he hissed through his teeth.
"Yes, murderer is your name. You murdered your wife, remember?"
His eyes turned big. "Liar!" In rage he charged forwards, but the doctor avoided the attack.
Next thing I knew I woke up, bound to a bed... There was something.. vague.. about coming to terms... "Help!" I screamed. A man with a black eye came inside, he looked at me sourly. "That seems painful."
"It is," he said, grinding his teeth.
Then doctor Sherman came inside. "Good, you're awake. I'm sorry we had to bind you. We can't take another risk."
"I'm sorry, but I do not... understand..." I said hesitantly. "Oh.. oh... hey man, I'm sorry... I..." I said looking to the black-eyed man.
"You remember?" Sherman asked uncertain.
"Yes... I think I do." A flash shot through my mind, lighting everything. It was a bright flash. I shook wildly with my head, and then it dawned on me. "No.... no! No!!!" I started screaming. The doctor and the black-eyed man left the room.
Lightning struck again...
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Short Story: Lightning Struck, Part Three
By Sebastiaan
Part three to my story.
Lightning Struck, Part Three
There was much going on. Mostly there was much confusion, but especially the striking resemblance between the two was remarkable! At least, that's how it looked towards the outside. What few noticed, was what was going on inside the, so to say, spacious cavern that was his. There was a lot of shouting back and forth, a lot of fighting. Yet few did understand...
Perhaps I should first make clear: he is not me. He is not even a part or facet of me. 'He' is just a bad dream, yet a dream I can't seem to control. At times I am not myself. It mostly seems to happen at night, which is why I sleep bad.
Yet perhaps I should first finish the story...
There I was, with you, in the car, remember? It wasn't too long ago, and we were simply waiting for the thunderstorm to pass over, for it was still right on top of us.
"I'm sorry..." you said. "It's just... you're so difficult to live with. Mood swings and such... you don't even seem to notice!"
I did indeed not understand what she was talking about, until much later, when it dawned on me that what seemed to here as mood swings... were...
"Please.. don't... be mad?" you asked. "Please forgive me..."
I stared blankly ahead, deeply in trance or such. Then I said: "It's okay, you have to do what you have to do." I understood perfectly what it was she would do next. Yet I didn't seem to care.
Amidst all the conversation, the storm seemed to grow. It was a perfect projection of what was going on inside the cavern.
"Goodbye." I watched you, as you slowly moved your hand away from me, towards the door of the car. With a soft click it opened, and you stepped outside. Then you shut the door. I couldn't watch. Yet still I knew.
It wasn't 'till much later, I realised this was not the way things had gone. This was my projection in the cavern, this was what my mind seemed to wish had happened...
Part three to my story.
Lightning Struck, Part Three
There was much going on. Mostly there was much confusion, but especially the striking resemblance between the two was remarkable! At least, that's how it looked towards the outside. What few noticed, was what was going on inside the, so to say, spacious cavern that was his. There was a lot of shouting back and forth, a lot of fighting. Yet few did understand...
Perhaps I should first make clear: he is not me. He is not even a part or facet of me. 'He' is just a bad dream, yet a dream I can't seem to control. At times I am not myself. It mostly seems to happen at night, which is why I sleep bad.
Yet perhaps I should first finish the story...
There I was, with you, in the car, remember? It wasn't too long ago, and we were simply waiting for the thunderstorm to pass over, for it was still right on top of us.
"I'm sorry..." you said. "It's just... you're so difficult to live with. Mood swings and such... you don't even seem to notice!"
I did indeed not understand what she was talking about, until much later, when it dawned on me that what seemed to here as mood swings... were...
"Please.. don't... be mad?" you asked. "Please forgive me..."
I stared blankly ahead, deeply in trance or such. Then I said: "It's okay, you have to do what you have to do." I understood perfectly what it was she would do next. Yet I didn't seem to care.
Amidst all the conversation, the storm seemed to grow. It was a perfect projection of what was going on inside the cavern.
"Goodbye." I watched you, as you slowly moved your hand away from me, towards the door of the car. With a soft click it opened, and you stepped outside. Then you shut the door. I couldn't watch. Yet still I knew.
It wasn't 'till much later, I realised this was not the way things had gone. This was my projection in the cavern, this was what my mind seemed to wish had happened...
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Short Story: Lightning Struck, Part Two
By Sebastiaan
Here's part two to my short story.
Lightning Struck, Part Two
"What on earth are you doing?" you said.
"I... I don't know." he replied. "It's just like this body isn't mine, you know? You don't know, of course you don't. No one understands. No one..."
"You're not yourself," you said in a somewhat frightened voice.
"Yet.. I feel... so like myself. So much more myself."
"Snap out of it!"
He fell, face down on the floor. Snapped back to reality.
Next thing I saw was her face over mine. "You had a bad dream," came the words from your mouth.
I shook my head. "No, no, it wasn't a dream... Please, you have to believe me."
"All right, I will, but please, tell me what was in your dream."
"I saw... you, and, well, myself. It was as if I looked upon both of us... Yet.. it wasn't.. me?"
You shook your head, but I could tell from your face, you were bit shocked by me telling this. Yet your words contradicted this: "It was just a dream, come, let's go back to sleep."
"I... I don't think I can. I'll get a glass of water and do some crosswords."
"But... we've slept just over an hour!"
It was this, this last sentence of her, that triggered me. After I went downstairs, I looked at the time. 5:56 blinked the time. "Just over an hour?" I murmured. "And I had a dream in that one hour of sleep?" This can't be right. A great white flash blinded me. It came from outside the window. What to do...
Here's part two to my short story.
Lightning Struck, Part Two
"What on earth are you doing?" you said.
"I... I don't know." he replied. "It's just like this body isn't mine, you know? You don't know, of course you don't. No one understands. No one..."
"You're not yourself," you said in a somewhat frightened voice.
"Yet.. I feel... so like myself. So much more myself."
"Snap out of it!"
He fell, face down on the floor. Snapped back to reality.
Next thing I saw was her face over mine. "You had a bad dream," came the words from your mouth.
I shook my head. "No, no, it wasn't a dream... Please, you have to believe me."
"All right, I will, but please, tell me what was in your dream."
"I saw... you, and, well, myself. It was as if I looked upon both of us... Yet.. it wasn't.. me?"
You shook your head, but I could tell from your face, you were bit shocked by me telling this. Yet your words contradicted this: "It was just a dream, come, let's go back to sleep."
"I... I don't think I can. I'll get a glass of water and do some crosswords."
"But... we've slept just over an hour!"
It was this, this last sentence of her, that triggered me. After I went downstairs, I looked at the time. 5:56 blinked the time. "Just over an hour?" I murmured. "And I had a dream in that one hour of sleep?" This can't be right. A great white flash blinded me. It came from outside the window. What to do...
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Odd Squares
By Sebastiaan
No, this is not a post about strange squares. It's all about odd squares though.
Warning! Non-mathematicians may find this post unreadable.
Let me list the first few:
12 = 1
32 = 9
52 = 25
72 = 49
92 = 81
At first glance, there does not seem to be a pattern. I got this puzzle from my school, where I study to be a mathematics teacher. It stated:
"The squares of all positive odd integers are eightfolds plus one."
First thing to do was translate this into proper mathematics language.
So, odd, would mean the integer can be written as "2k+1" with k any positive integer. Thus we get:
(2k+1)2
Also, an eightfold, is "8n" with n any positive integer. Thus we get:
(2k+1)2 = 8n + 1
Now let's work out the brackets...
4k2 + 4k + 1 = 8n + 1
4k2 + 4k = 8n
for all positive integers k and n.
So now we have a relatively simple statement to proof. First thing that springs to mind is induction, but if you look just a little bit further... you'll find a much simpler and more elegant proof.
So, let's first start by dividing by four.
k2 + k= 2n
What's left to proof is that the sum of an integer and its square is even. There are multiple approaches to solving this, I'll give you two.
Say, k is even. Then k2 is most certainly even, for (2p)2 is 4p2 which is a multiple of four and thus even. When you add another even integer, it will always remain even.
Say, k is odd. Then k2 is odd, for (2p+1)2 is 4p2 + 4p + 1, which are two even integers plus one, making it odd. Now add the same odd integer k, you will get an even integer, for two odds make an even.
So, for any positive integer k, we get an even integer. Thus every odd square is an eightfold plus one.
Q.E.D.
Another approach could be rewriting the left-hand of the equation, that would make k(k+1) = 2n. Now, an integer multiplied by the next integer, would always be 'odd' times 'even' or 'even' times 'odd'. This always makes even.
Q.E.D.
No, this is not a post about strange squares. It's all about odd squares though.
Warning! Non-mathematicians may find this post unreadable.
Let me list the first few:
12 = 1
32 = 9
52 = 25
72 = 49
92 = 81
At first glance, there does not seem to be a pattern. I got this puzzle from my school, where I study to be a mathematics teacher. It stated:
"The squares of all positive odd integers are eightfolds plus one."
First thing to do was translate this into proper mathematics language.
So, odd, would mean the integer can be written as "2k+1" with k any positive integer. Thus we get:
(2k+1)2
Also, an eightfold, is "8n" with n any positive integer. Thus we get:
(2k+1)2 = 8n + 1
Now let's work out the brackets...
4k2 + 4k + 1 = 8n + 1
4k2 + 4k = 8n
for all positive integers k and n.
So now we have a relatively simple statement to proof. First thing that springs to mind is induction, but if you look just a little bit further... you'll find a much simpler and more elegant proof.
So, let's first start by dividing by four.
k2 + k= 2n
What's left to proof is that the sum of an integer and its square is even. There are multiple approaches to solving this, I'll give you two.
Say, k is even. Then k2 is most certainly even, for (2p)2 is 4p2 which is a multiple of four and thus even. When you add another even integer, it will always remain even.
Say, k is odd. Then k2 is odd, for (2p+1)2 is 4p2 + 4p + 1, which are two even integers plus one, making it odd. Now add the same odd integer k, you will get an even integer, for two odds make an even.
So, for any positive integer k, we get an even integer. Thus every odd square is an eightfold plus one.
Q.E.D.
Another approach could be rewriting the left-hand of the equation, that would make k(k+1) = 2n. Now, an integer multiplied by the next integer, would always be 'odd' times 'even' or 'even' times 'odd'. This always makes even.
Q.E.D.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Short Story: Lightning Struck, Part One
By Sebastiaan
I'm as much a poet as I am a writer, so here's a short story for you. It's not based on real events, it's just an exercise in writing. I will be posting it in a few parts.
Lightning Struck, Part One
It all began with the thunder that night, a bolt of lightning striking down mere meters away from us. You shivered, I put my arm around you, lightly caressing your arm, but you shook my hand off.
"What's wrong?" I asked you.
"Nothing..." you said under your breath. Then lightning struck again, and I decided we should hurry towards the car, which was nearby.
Once we had entered the car, I asked once more: "Please, darling, what's wrong?".
"It's just the weather," you replied, looking away.
In retrospect, I should have known. And I guess I secretly knew all along things would never be the same again. Just not exactly how bad it was.
It actually didn't start with the lightning; it started a few months earlier, with, of all objects, a carrot. Such a small and simple vegetable, orange, mostly, with a little bit of green on the top. The dinner you made me was wonderful, but for one small, seemingly harmless thing. You put carrot in the salad.
To any outsider, this would have meant nothing. But even though you knew I hated carrots, you put them in the salad. I didn't mention it to you. Perhaps I should have, but I guess, in the end, it wouldn't have mattered. This time, I couldn't save you, me, or us.
Lightning struck again, you shivered in the car, once more. I noticed you glancing outside. I said: "It's okay, you're safe in here, there's no need to go outside." You looked at me and smiled. A smile I had not seen before. It wasn't your smile... and the glance, it wasn't your glance, yet it told me everything.
You had every reason to go outside. Yet I didn't know it yet.
To be continued...
I'm as much a poet as I am a writer, so here's a short story for you. It's not based on real events, it's just an exercise in writing. I will be posting it in a few parts.
Lightning Struck, Part One
It all began with the thunder that night, a bolt of lightning striking down mere meters away from us. You shivered, I put my arm around you, lightly caressing your arm, but you shook my hand off.
"What's wrong?" I asked you.
"Nothing..." you said under your breath. Then lightning struck again, and I decided we should hurry towards the car, which was nearby.
Once we had entered the car, I asked once more: "Please, darling, what's wrong?".
"It's just the weather," you replied, looking away.
In retrospect, I should have known. And I guess I secretly knew all along things would never be the same again. Just not exactly how bad it was.
It actually didn't start with the lightning; it started a few months earlier, with, of all objects, a carrot. Such a small and simple vegetable, orange, mostly, with a little bit of green on the top. The dinner you made me was wonderful, but for one small, seemingly harmless thing. You put carrot in the salad.
To any outsider, this would have meant nothing. But even though you knew I hated carrots, you put them in the salad. I didn't mention it to you. Perhaps I should have, but I guess, in the end, it wouldn't have mattered. This time, I couldn't save you, me, or us.
Lightning struck again, you shivered in the car, once more. I noticed you glancing outside. I said: "It's okay, you're safe in here, there's no need to go outside." You looked at me and smiled. A smile I had not seen before. It wasn't your smile... and the glance, it wasn't your glance, yet it told me everything.
You had every reason to go outside. Yet I didn't know it yet.
To be continued...
Current Activity
By Sebastiaan
Lately I've been working with flash to create some own material for my internship. I'm currently studying to become a mathematics teacher, thus I use the flash files in my lessons.
Also I've picked up building a website, which is currently on-line, with not much on there except the flash files, a picture of me and some links. I'll link to it anyway: http://www.famnijland.nl/Sebastiaan/home.htm. I'll update today or tomorrow, so that the flash files are easily accessible.
I've bought a book on Java recently and have made my way through it, and I will probably post some applets on my site. I'm guessing I can't add them in a blog post, so I'll just link once I have something up. I'll first have to convert some applications to applets before I can post them, but that should not pose much of a problem.
And to top all that, I've come across Project Euler, a combination of mathematics and programming. I've solved near 20 of the problems in a few weeks time, but it's getting pretty difficult now, not only the problems, but most of all finding the time and concentration to work on some good programming.
That's all for now.
Lately I've been working with flash to create some own material for my internship. I'm currently studying to become a mathematics teacher, thus I use the flash files in my lessons.
Also I've picked up building a website, which is currently on-line, with not much on there except the flash files, a picture of me and some links. I'll link to it anyway: http://www.famnijland.nl/Sebastiaan/home.htm. I'll update today or tomorrow, so that the flash files are easily accessible.
I've bought a book on Java recently and have made my way through it, and I will probably post some applets on my site. I'm guessing I can't add them in a blog post, so I'll just link once I have something up. I'll first have to convert some applications to applets before I can post them, but that should not pose much of a problem.
And to top all that, I've come across Project Euler, a combination of mathematics and programming. I've solved near 20 of the problems in a few weeks time, but it's getting pretty difficult now, not only the problems, but most of all finding the time and concentration to work on some good programming.
That's all for now.
Symmetry
By Sebastiaan
Symmetry is a wondrous subject, which one not only finds in mathematics, but in other subjects as well, and of course, in nature.
First, let's start by defining symmetry. There are different kinds of symmetry, but the one that springs immediately to mind, is reflection symmetry. Look at the following kite:
It has a clear axis of symmetry right through the centre. But we could also look at a star like this one:
This one also has the symmetry axis, but as you can see, it can also be rotated - this is called rotational symmetry.
But there are other forms of symmetry too. What about palindromes? They are found in words, numbers or sequences of words and numbers... Here are a few examples:
eye
never odd or even
1475741
etcetera..
I absolutely love playing with words and numbers. That's why I love symmetry. You can find symmetry in many places, if you look hard enough. Gorgeous symmetry can be found inside music. In the lyrics, but most definitely in the instruments too. But that's for some future post.
Symmetry is a wondrous subject, which one not only finds in mathematics, but in other subjects as well, and of course, in nature.
First, let's start by defining symmetry. There are different kinds of symmetry, but the one that springs immediately to mind, is reflection symmetry. Look at the following kite:
It has a clear axis of symmetry right through the centre. But we could also look at a star like this one:
But there are other forms of symmetry too. What about palindromes? They are found in words, numbers or sequences of words and numbers... Here are a few examples:
eye
never odd or even
1475741
etcetera..
I absolutely love playing with words and numbers. That's why I love symmetry. You can find symmetry in many places, if you look hard enough. Gorgeous symmetry can be found inside music. In the lyrics, but most definitely in the instruments too. But that's for some future post.
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