Your age rounded to the nearest decade

[oneagainst]

If you were punching in hexadecimal, you might have been loading up straight machine code, unless it was just data.

Having flashbacks to the absolutely insane ways they used to publish software in magazines for readers to type into their machines, with checksums per line and such. Man, I miss that era of computing.

Loving the way the conversation is dated by hardware. Not a single discussion about remembering the periodic table before un-un-octium was synthesised, or the shit we all used to get up to before we could resolve exoplanet atmospheres.

 

[alohadave]

If you were punching in hexadecimal, you might have been loading up straight machine code, unless it was just data.

Having flashbacks to the absolutely insane ways they used to publish software in magazines for readers to type into their machines, with checksums per line and such. Man, I miss that era of computing.

My first computer was a secondhand Vic-20 that came with two books full of programs in BASIC that you had to type in each time you wanted to run them.

 

[CurvySassyAJ]

Rounding down a year to 50. Sigh, yeah so there is that.

 

[oneagainst]

Rounding down a year to 50. Sigh, yeah so there is that.

Be strong. You're not yet rounding to the next

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Loving the way the conversation is dated by hardware. Not a single discussion about remembering the periodic table before un-un-octium was synthesised, or the shit we all used to get up to before we could resolve exoplanet atmospheres.

We only had to memorise up to element 20 (calcium) on the periodic table, and could readily ignore anything beyond 92 (uranium). But, happy days, Pluto was still a planet (and closer to earth than Neptune!)

 

[nice90sguy]

A few years back I was working with a very smart guy who was five years my junior. I told him that because I was learning my "times table" just prior to decimilazation of British currency, I had to learn up to 12 X 12. And people who went to "posh" schools had to learn up to 16 X 16 (not because of computers, but because of the number of ounces in pound weight). But he only had to learn his ten times table.

He convinced me that learning how to multiply 11 X 12 (instantly I can recall the answer, even now) by "looking up" my memorized table, it was a better use of brain cells to learn only up to 10 X 10, and then to apply a little algebra (distributive rule?):

10 + 1 * 10 + 2 = 10 X 10 + 10 X 1 + 10 X 2 + 2 X 2, which is adding up four very easy multiplications.

He proved it by challenging me to multiply 49 X 53 in my head. He was way quicker than me, because he could use that rule again.

 

[djrip]

(10 + 1) * (10 + 2) = 10*10 + 10*2 + 1*10 + 1*2

That was killing me.

 

[Rainblow]

20

 

[Trinique_Fire]

Rounded up? 40. Feels weird to acknowledge, but I've recently had a few...encounters with some 18-21 year olds that made me realize I'm exactly the kind of woman I was looking for at their age. It's strange to be on the other side, but hot, too.

 

[SirConradPeckereye]

40

 

[Tayloroc]

70

 

[Mtnmike]

60

 

[EmilyMiller]

Oh dear - more work for me

 

[raceryz]

Running score:

20:
30:
40:
50:
60:
70:
80:
90:

We need more data.

Em

American online

 

[nice90sguy]

At the time of posting, my age in seconds is 2,049,207,255

 

[stickygirl]

I'm 10, rounding up a few months

 

[Tayloroc]

Love it!

 

[CurvySassyAJ]

I'm 10, rounding up a few months

Leap day B-day?

 

[Fl_maledad]

50

 

[stickygirl]

Leap day B-day?

Aha!
Well I could take my age from when I finally had surgery. I'll be nine in August this year

 

[AmandaKellyUK]

40 for me

 

[ChloeTzang]

Lol. So close to the big 30 that i hit it this year, soon.

 

[Tayloroc]

that used to seem big

 

[MetaBob]

A few years back I was working with a very smart guy who was five years my junior. I told him that because I was learning my "times table" just prior to decimilazation of British currency, I had to learn up to 12 X 12. And people who went to "posh" schools had to learn up to 16 X 16 (not because of computers, but because of the number of ounces in pound weight). But he only had to learn his ten times table.

He convinced me that learning how to multiply 11 X 12 (instantly I can recall the answer, even now) by "looking up" my memorized table, it was a better use of brain cells to learn only up to 10 X 10, and then to apply a little algebra (distributive rule?):

10 + 1 * 10 + 2 = 10 X 10 + 10 X 1 + 10 X 2 + 2 X 2, which is adding up four very easy multiplications.

He proved it by challenging me to multiply 49 X 53 in my head. He was way quicker than me, because he could use that rule again.

49 * 53 = (50 * 53) - (1 * 53) = 2650 - 53 = 2597

Not a rule I learned, but one I derived.

people who went to "posh" schools had to learn up to 16 X 16

Be thankful we don't live in ancient Sumeria, where they used base 60.

Then again, we still divide hours into 60 minutes and minutes into 60 seconds just like the Sumerians did.

My first computer was a Mac SE, before Apple went to PowerPC. It was outdated when I bought it, though some of its RAM wasn't soldered to its motherboard, so of course I bought a very long Torx wrench and took advantage, upgrading to 2.5 MB and then to 4 MB. A 9" grayscale screen. I used it to write my first novel using MS Word, which was the last version (4.0, as I recall) that I enjoyed using -- I avoid MS Word whenever possible now. I still have that Mac SE's ADB mouse, which is connected to the still-functioning PowerBook 1400c/166 I gave a shout-out to in one of my stories. But earlier, scientists used to pay me to run a card reader so they could copy their programs from punch cards to less-ancient media.

10 + 1 * 10 + 2 = 10 X 10 + 10 X 1 + 10 X 2 + 2 X 2, which is adding up four very easy multiplications.

It's even easier than that: two very easy multiplications.

11 * 12 = (10 * 12) + (1 * 12) = 120 + 12 = 132

Multiplying a smaller two digit number (call it AB) by eleven can be fun: = A (A+B) B . Example: 11 * 34 = 3 (3+4) 4 = 374. When the two digits sum to more than 9 it gets a little more complex since there's a "carry". It's arguably still easier than (10 * AB) + (1 * AB), but I would switch to that more general rule instead.

 

[Rainblow]

20

Rounded up? 40. Feels weird to acknowledge, but I've recently had a few...encounters with some 18-21 year olds that made me realize I'm exactly the kind of woman I was looking for at their age. It's strange to be on the other side, but hot, too.

You dissing me, granny? Cuz that sounds like blatant ageism. Not cool.