The Column
Motto: This Motto isn’t Orange, it’s Golden.
Yesterday a few things happened. My new Nexus 4 became my official “make calls on” phone. My Galaxy Nexus went to my father… as did my old phone number. I got a new phone number. I signed up for a Google Voice number. I became no longer funded by my parents on one more thing. The last step between me and full-blown adulthood is the fact that I still drive around a hand-me-down car. That will change one of these months. With that, I’ll be on my own car insurance, and I’ll be 100% self-funded.
Why get a Google Voice number? If you are REALLY interested, watch this minute and a half video Google made. There are two reasons I got Google Voice, none of which are listed on that video -
- There was a Google service that existed that I wasn’t using… of course I want it. I want to be knowledgeable in ALL facets of Google services such that I’m capable of fielding ANY question about any of them. This is the same reason I really want to get a Chromebook.
- The ability to search for and pick out my own phone number.
The phone number I was assigned is actually pretty good. I’m not going to put it online, but it’s fairly easy to remember. It has a ring to it and is somewhat repetitive somewhat repetitive.
My Google Voice number, however, is way more awesome. The area code I’ll keep to myself, but the last 7 digits are so cool and nerdy I just have to share:
6180339
What? Why is that cool and nerdy?
The Golden Ratio, represented by the Greek letter Φ (Phi), is 1.6180339. The Golden Ratio is an amazing number for many other reasons. The Top 5 will go into 5 of them. One of its properties, though, is that it is larger than its own reciprocal by 1. In other words:
1/1.6180339… = 0.618339…
So. My phone number is:
(Area code), 1/Φ
And that’s awesome.
Semi-related story:
If I live in Kansas whenever I get a new car, I’m getting a vanity license plate that reads “Aaron”. You would probably say “good luck with that”, but I found this website that allows you to search for available plates. As of right now, my name is still available. I have tried several other common names, none of them have worked.
Both times I thought, “I can’t believe this is still available!”
I sincerely hope to make that license plate a reality someday. You can call it tacky if you want, but if you do, I will exercise my right to call you wrong.
Deep Thought: The box that the contains the garbage bags you buy usually ends up in one of the bags it contains.
Also, I think I’m going to start hiding movie/tv show references in the column on purpose. I do them all the time as it is, but I think it would be fun to start intentionally using them. The title of this column, for example.
Top 5: Other Reasons the Golden Ratio is Awesome
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It is the ratio for which this is true:
From Wikipedia -
It is the ratio of successive terms in the Fibonacci sequence as it approaches infinity. This also leads to the following picture, showing the Golden Spiral:
From Wikipedia
- It shows up here:
From Wikipedia
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It has been a part of human culture for centuries. It’s present in music, art, architecture, and many other things we create. Example - it is approximately the ratio of the length of the base to the height of the Pyramids at Giza. Also, look at the Parthenon:
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Oh, and it shows in so many other places in nature (especially the human body), that Leonardo Da Vinci (and others) referred to it as the “Divine Proportion”. If you are of a faith that believes the universe was created by a supreme being, I think it’s safe to say this is one of his favorite numbers. Right up there with Pi and e. Examples of the Golden Ratio in the human body (from this Google search:
Yeah, my phone number is cool.
Quote:
“You know your stuff, don’t you” A guy at the phone store. To him I’d like to say, yes, yes I do