Month: January 2006

NOT FOR ZALE(S)

TODAY’S WORRY

For Christmas John gave me a very beautiful wedding band. I love it very much. He bought it at Zales. As part of their promotional material at the time of the sale, they gave him a gift certificate for $100 to be used between 1/1/06 and 1/16/06. The certificate stated that it could be used on any jewelry, regularly priced or on sale. So today we went to Zales in Naples, Florida. I picked out a lovely necklace and earrings that went with the ring that he had bought me. Outside the store there was a sign that said they were having a big sale. We asked the salesman how much the items were and he gave us a price. We asked if the price was the regular or sale price. He said that it was the sale price and that he only quotes customers what they would pay.

Okay, so we say we want the items and would like to use our gift certicate on the necklace. Oh no, he says, you can’t use that on either of these items. It can only be used off the regular price. We say, no, look at the certificate. It can be used on regular or sale items. He says he can’t do it. Zales has put him in a difficult position but it can’t be used. We suggest he try harder to make it work. He calls his manager. He says no. This is even though we have the gift certificate in our hand and it says regular or sale price merchandise. We suggest that this is fraud and give him back the jewelry and walk out.

Next John calls Zales. The customer sales representative listens politely and then says no they will not honor the gift certificate. We explain once again that we were quoted a price, we asked that it be clarified as to whether it was the regular or the sale price. We have a gift certificate for an item that is either regular or sale price. Still no. Reason? It’s not really a sale price, it’s a discounted price. It doesn’t make any difference what we were told at the store or what our certificate says.

Now what? We are waiting for the district manager to call us. This is supposed to happen in the next 2-3 business days. If we are not called back or if they do not resolve the issue to our satisfaction, then we will return the original gift, report them at least to the Better Business Bureau and never, ever shop there again. I would suggest that you think twice before shopping there as well. It is unethical to promote a sale by offering a future benefit that you will not honor.

PRIME TIME

TODAY’S INTERESTING AND COOL FACT

Feeling in your prime? Obviously the researchers at Central Missouri State University are. They have identified the largest known prime number. In case you don’t know, a prime number is a number that can only be divided by itself and one – like 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, etc. This number is 9.1 million digits long. The number is 2 to the 30,402,457th power minus 1.

Okay, so why all the hoopla? What possible uses are there for prime numbers anyway? To find out the answer I went to my best source for finding out useless stuff, John. Here are four of his reasons for why it is good to find new prime numbers:

1. They are cool and interesting. (a very nerdy answer)
2. They are used in encryption. (an actual useful reason)
3. They gave Eratosthenes a reason for inventing the Sieve of Eratosthenes. (wha?)
4. They keep math professors employed. (what I figured)

Not familiar with the Sieve of Eratosthenes? Since I had to go through the humiliation of not knowing either, here it is.

Imagine a giant (actually infinitely big) piece of paper. On this paper is a grid of all numbers. Circle the number 1 and then starting with 2, circle it, and then cross out all the multiples of 2. Go to the next number that is not crossed out, 3. Circle it. Then cross out all the multiples of 3. Go to the next number that is not crossed out, 5. (You crossed out 4 when you were getting rid of multiples of 2.) Circle 5 and then cross out all of the multiples of 5. (Some numbers will be crossed out multiple times.) Then the next uncrossed out number, 7, and cross out its multiples. And so on. Now when you have gone as far as you’d like to go, take a hole punch and punch out all the numbers that are circled. They are the prime numbers and what you’ve got left is what looked like a sieve to Eratosthenes.

It’s so fun being married to John.

P.S. After I wrote and published this I had the opportunity to have explained to me “more than I wanted to know.” This is a familiar event in our house when you ask John a question. Sarah and Jon were often the recipients of this when they asked for some simple explanation on a homework problem. Anyway, I am now the possessor of great prime number knowledge. I know all about encryption and also why you can prove that there can always be another larger prime number. sigh

NHLS

TODAY’S DETERMINATION

Five years ago John and I started what would ultimately be called “the long diet.” The long diet was very successful with John losing about 45 pounds and me losing about 70. We became fit and healthy and it was all good. The bad thing about being on a long diet or any kind of diet is that you are either on it or you are off. So at the end of the long diet we celebrated for three years enjoying the old unhealthy way we used to eat. Of course we gained back all the weight we had lost. But we did keep exercising so that’s a plus.

So now we are starting the NHLS. That is, the new healthy life style. See, not a diet. And although this is exactly the same thing we did last time, because it is a lifestyle and not a diet when we are slim and healthy again we will just continue to do it. “Yeah, sure,” I can hear you saying. But if you can’t trick yourself into believing that this is the last, last time you will have to deprive yourself of all the things you love to eat, how will you ever accomplish it?

In preparation for the NHLS we have eaten everything that we will never eat again. Well, at least not in the quantities that we would like to eat it. There’s been pizza, margaritas, all kinds of chips, dips, hot dogs, cheese, crackers, potstickers, platesful of spaghetti, just a surfeit of yummy goodies. (As an aside, truly the best potato chips ever are the Cape Cod russets.) It is amazing we have not killed ourselves getting ready.

So how’s it going? This is only day 2 but we are off to a good start. We ate lobster tails last night with snow peas and some rice. We had a little wine at cocktail time with some popcorn. We rode bikes and played tennis. Took a nap. Drank gallons of water. This NHLS is not too bad! And here’s a helpful hint for anyone who starting out on their NHLS, a pickle is like a treat that doesn’t count.