Wine gift baskets aren’t exactly the first place to find much math, but in the proces of putting together a few for my friends and family this Christmas, I found it an enjoyable way to teach some basic math to my toddler.

First, we had to find some generic costs for shipping.  Luckily, the Fedex website gave us a good idea about the cost of shipping wine and our baskets to our family in New York City.

Secondly, we had to add up everything we wanted to include to not only check the price, but to also get some idea about sizes, since our box was only going to hold so many items.

Lastly, we had to add up the size of the basket, along with packaging supplies in order to get some idea about the size of a box that we needed.

While I realize, that we usually talk about much, much more complicated math on this site, I thought it might be interesting to see what affect doing some math calculations like this could have with my toddler.  He seemed to not only enjoy it, but now seems to be more interested in counting things as well, so it is clearly a huge “win”

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One of the most intriguing things about Mathematics is the patterns that can be found within the subject. It is possible to use a formula from one equation across the board and apply it to something else. It certainly helped me to make sense of the subject when I was at school as there seemed to be connections woven throughout the area of Mathematics.

Patterns have always fascinated me, and it’s interesting to look into previous events and try to predict what might happen in the future. In terms of society, the ‘Arab Spring’ is also something that I have become interested in over the last couple of years. It could be argued that the uprising across Africa and Western Asia stemmed from the War in Iraq, and the citizens of these countries were inspired by the overthrowing of Saddam Hussein.

From there, the citizens of countries such as Egypt and Libya revolted against their respective leaders, with varying degrees of success. The media is now obviously focused on events surrounding Syria and it remains to be seen whether there will be some sort of intervention from outside forces; of course this all depends on the Western media’s portrayal of the issue.

The uprising in Egypt was generally successful, compared with that in Libya. Although the majority of the people of Libya, and Western leaders, got what they wanted, there is still unrest in the country where opposing forces are still fighting and the newly appointed provisional parliamentary republic is having trouble enforcing their control on the country.

It is important to look at the patterns of the past to determine what the future holds for the country of Syria.

Further Information

Harry Collins – Using a VPN to Communicate in Middle East and Africa –

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This 2013 military pay chart is the result of a complicated algorithm of pay considerations based on a members rank and length of service.  The charts origins are a feat of mathematics.

Military pay charts are available through multiple different websites. However, understanding or locating all the different types of pay and allowances can seem like an overwhelming task, because currently there are over 70 different types. The most simple and straight forward to locate is the base pay chart.

Whether the active duty member is enlisted, commissioned officer, or a warrant officer the different ranks equate to a pay grade. The pay grades translate uniformly across all the different branches of the military. Beyond the individual’s pay grade, the amount of time in service is also a factor of pay. For every two years of service the active duty member receives a slight increase in pay. This last bit of information can be difficult to decipher because after certain number of years a pay grade will hold steady until the end of the chart. The reason for this occurrence is that if a member is unable to attain the next higher pay grade, then the individual is discharged from service. It works in a similar way to some European forces, in particular check out the French armed forces, although you’ll need a French IP address to check online.

The pay grade will traditionally appear on the left side of the chart in descending order the hierarchy, while the time in service will appear along the top running from left to right, least to greatest. To obtain a member’s base, simply locate his or her pay grade on the left, and follow the row over until the column that reflects time in service is attained.

However, base pay is not the entirety of what an active duty member’s Leave Earning Statement, LES, reflect for the monthly monetary amount paid to the individual.  Military members are entitled to Basic Allowance for Subsistence or BAS which can be found on a different chart.

Basic Allowance for Housing, also known as BAH, is paid to the active duty members that have earned the privilege to not be required to live in the barracks. Since, the different military bases/posts and duty stations are located in areas that have varying costs of housing prices, BAH amounts will increase or decrease depending on the surrounding area’s market. In addition, large sums of BAH are allotted to the individuals that have achieved higher ranks, and there is difference in the amount between a single active duty member with no dependents, and one that has dependents. It should be noted that having additional dependents beyond one will not increase the amount BAH.

Cost of Living Allowance, or COLA, is also meant to help the active duty member be able to maintain living in areas where the cost of living is higher than the base pay, and all the other allowances could sustain. When changing duty stations, both the amounts allotted for BAH and COLA should be understand so that the member can understand the options for housing.

Finally, there are Special Pay(s) that certain active duty members warrant. Some occupations within the armed services are deemed more hazardous than others. Thereby, all who perform these occupations are entitled to hazardous duty pay. When active duty members go into combat zones, they are awarded combat pay, and there are many more allowances and pays. For this reason the military pay chart quickly becomes a complex thing to understand.

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Not strictly a maths post, but more a need in order for me to watch a programme being rebroadcast and thus watch BBC Iplayer in USA.  It was released a year or so ago, but I have been tipped off that it is being shown again and so for US citizens possibly a chance to catch it on the IPlayer application.  The series is called The Story of Maths and is presented by Marcus du Sautoy, it chronicles the history of maths through the ages and I am expecting great things.

But first the problem – BBC Iplayer doesn’t work in the US as when you try and access it does some sort of lookup and blocks non-UK addresses.  So I did some reading on geotargeting, proxies, VPNs and IP addresses and finally found a way to bypass these blocks and watch whatever I like.

So here it is –

How to Watch BBC Iplayer in America

Now I don’t know if you’ve tried at all but when you visit the BBC Iplayer site, if you’re not in the United Kingdom, you get redirected to the Radio section (which you can use).  However if you persist and try and watch something on the main BBC site – you get the following message below.

This happens whatever you try to watch and it’s purely down to the location registered to your IP address.  At this point of course many people give up or try but it’s actually not that difficult to bypass these blocks.

Firstly you need to know what’s happening – when you connect to the BBC website your IP address is recorded.  This is the unique number that is assigned to you by your ISP when you connect to the internet, everyone has one.  Next this address is checked against a large database which contains all assigned IP address ranges and which country they’ve been allocated to.  So if you’re in the US or using a USA Proxy then you’ll have an American assigned address, explained here.

That’s pretty much it, if your IP address is registered anywhere other than the UK then you’ll get the above message. So in theory all you have to do is change your IP address so it’s a British one and not American registered.

Now you can’t change the initial address you’re allocated because a US ISP can only assign the addresses it has been allocated.  Occasionally you might get lucky and an address range is incorrectly listed in  the database – but that’s a bit of a long shot.

The trick is to use a proxy or VPN service to connect through.  This is a server that sits between you and the website you visit, it simply forwards all information acting like a middle man.  However if this server is based in the UK, the BBC application will think you are also based in the United Kingdom.

So here’s the application I used, there are lots of others available but I used this one because it’s one of the cheapest and I know someone who worked on some of the code so I know it’s a legitimate company.   Here’s the screenshot from the program I use called Identity Cloaker.

 

This is the screen where I select which server to connect to, they have lots of countries but I need a UK one. After clicking on a UK server I then can go back to the BBC Iplayer site and try again.  This time I connect the site sees a UK based IP address (from the proxy) and so allows me to watch whatever I want.

In fact you can even disconnect the proxy after the program has started and it will still work as the IP address is only checked at the beginning of the show. So that’s it really – how you can access BBC Iplayer in America! I’m really pleased with Identity Cloaker,  it’s super fast and very easy to use – you can get a 10 day trial here if you want to try it.  My only issue is that there’s no sign of The Story of Maths yet so I have to keep checking!

 

Additional Reading

http://www.anonymous-proxies.org/2009/02/using-iplayer-abroad-viewing-bbc-via.html

http://www.theninjaproxy.org/tv/how-to-use-a-bbc-iplayer-proxy/

 

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Understanding how loan amortization works can be a bit tricky, even for math-minded individuals.

These days, most people would rely on mortgage amortization in order to repay all their debts. Mortgage amortization is considered as a situation where the principal balance of a mortgage is gradually reduced over time as the borrower makes monthly or periodic payments. However, some people find it difficult to keep up with the scheduled payment for amortization. This causes delays and more expenses on the part of the borrower. Fortunately, there are already several tools that can help people manage their monthly amortization payments properly and on time.  Depending on where you live they should be accessible but it might be worth investing in as if you are getting blocked at all.  One of these tools is none other than the famous amortization calculator.

Understanding the Use and Function of Amortization Calculators
An amortization calculator is a very useful tool that can help you make payment schedules that are easy to follow. The calculator can provide a detailed table of your amortization that can be used to keep you updated with your repayment. All you have to do is to enter all the features of your mortgage, which includes the amount of the loan, the interest rate, the date the loan starts, and as well as the terms of the loan. A reliable calculator can provide a table that shows the breakdown of your payment every month until the entire debt is covered. The calculator can also provide an abbreviated table that shows a detailed description of your previous monthly payments and the annual total for the rest of the years for your mortgage.

Using this unique calculator is actually not difficult. The data boxes to be filled out are properly labeled to help you know the right information or detail to encode. Aside from this, the calculator also does not require a lot of steps in order for you to get your schedule of payment. This schedule can help serve as your guide to keep you reminded of your deadlines. In addition to this, most calculators also provide you a schedule for pre-payments. These pre-payments are very useful since they can help you save more money just by adding a small amount to your monthly payment requirement. These are just some of the wonderful benefits of using these calculators.

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