My mind is fried from work and he comes to me for help. He never says help. I have to force the issue. Is the homework finished? It is a good sign that the homework isn't finished if music is blasting from the computer that I don't like. If it is music that I like they are trying to get my attention. If it is music that I hate, they are trying to forget something. (it is not a hard and fast rule, but it can be counted on in a pinch) I drag myself up to the stairs to inquire of the cacophany. What is the deal?
He silently brings the Algebra book to me. This means there is a problem. There must be a trick to this. We pull out Brittanica, Algebra for dummies and the calculator. 50000 times 1.03 to the 25th power. I really think that there is some trick where you subtract the exponent for every zero somewhere, but I can't remember the rule. I look and we didn't find it. Finally, we multiplied 1.03 twentyfive times on the calculator. Neither of us got the same answer twice. The two of us lazily gave in to our ignorance. That is the wonder of Algebra. There is a right answer and when we find it, we will say Eureka. It was right in front of us all along.
Ethan stood on the side laughing at the 2 of us unable to multiply a number between 1 and 2. He said the 1 times tables are not so hard. I said well we had to consider the hundredths place. He and I were rolling at the thought of memorizing the 3hundredths times tables. In the end Ethy and I read some of Stuart Little and fell asleep wondering why anybody would want to drink something with a wierd name like "sasparilla". All in a good nights sleep.
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