January 19, 2006

When I was in tenth grade I did a project in geometry class about geometric string art. Like my Latin project a few years earlier, the geometry project inspired me to new creative heights. It featured a character named Wally the Math Nerd, who had a crush on another character named Hester Hexagon. He saw Hester across a swimming pool and started walking towards her, but she saw him and started walking away from him, and if you drew lines in between the points at which they found themselves at any given moment, you’d end up with some sort of curve the name of which I’m sure I knew then but have long since forgotten. I presented the project in character as Wally, with my hair slicked back, my pants hiked up above my waist, my eyes squinched together behind my glasses, and my voice as nasal as I could make it. I demonstrated the phenomenon not only with a piece of poster board with string sewn onto it (labeled “W” and “H” at the appropriate points) but also with a computer program I wrote myself, in BASIC. I got an A+ and had no friends.

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13 Responses to When I was in tenth grade I did a project in geometry class about

  1. Adrienne says:

    That’s awesome.

    Reply
  2. Hanuman says:

    Never mind then! We all love you now Dahling!!!

    Reply
  3. David says:

    The two tend to go hand in hand.

    Reply
  4. Joe says:

    This is just about the sweetest story I’ve ever heard. Any pics from that momentous day? (pleasepleasepleaseplease!!!)

    Reply
  5. Jeffrey says:

    Do tell us, how have things changed?

    Reply
  6. Jeff says:

    I used to know someone just like you.

    Reply
  7. Mush says:

    That is, bar none, the sexiest blog post I have ever read.

    Reply
  8. chris says:

    gee i had no idea you were a computer nerd tee hee *points at faustus*

    Reply
  9. tim says:

    BASIC… I think I can still program in it.

    Reply
  10. Monica says:

    You were just ahead of your time–Todd Oldham featured it on this fall.

    Reply
  11. Rob7534 says:

    WOW Joel.

    Just WOW! 🙂

    Talk about over-achiever!

    Reply
  12. mia thermopolis says:

    you had no friends, but u’ve got a fan!
    =*

    Reply
  13. Patrick (the other one) says:

    I loved BASIC, and getting into an unbreakable loop:

    10 PRINT “I like guys”

    20 GOTO 10

    Had completely forgotten about it – thanks for the posting…

    Reply

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