# Happy Pi-Day All Y’All

Oh my FSM, it’s here. It’s finally here. You wait all year, maybe patiently, maybe not-so-patiently, and it is FINALLY HERE! That’s right folks, it’s Pi-Day. Today is the day we celebrate the nerd in everyone. Today we celebrate the amazing and ubiquitous constant known as $\pi$.

For those who haven’t been following along the last few weeks, I’ve been prepping for this day for some time.   I can’t help myself.  It’s just too nerdy for me not to celebrate.

As I post this, I will be sharing some great Pi-Day related things with my class (read mathematical geekery). Later, I have plans to meet up with some of the members of the Nerd-caucus1. Our mission: to geek out and enjoy some pie in the company of good friends. Because beyond the celebration of all things nerd, Pi-Day is just like any other holiday; a time to gather with those you love, eat, chat, talk mathematics and statistics, and laugh. Okay, maybe not every one of your holidays involves math or stats, but mine generally do.

For those keeping track, last year I celebrated Pi-Day at Williams with a delicious slice of bumbleberry pie; a pie filled with a mixture of blueberries, rhubarb, blackberries, and apples.  YUM.  Sadly I had to celebrate around 5pm in the eve as I was in meetings when Pi-Minute arrived.

Wait, what?  Pi-Minute?  Are you crazy? Well yes, but that’s not the point.  While Pi-Day is celebrated on March 14th (3/14), true nerds also hold Pi-Minute very sacred.  Pi-Minute falls either at 1:59am or for those that aren’t awake, 1:59pm on March 14th.  And then there are those that would go the extra distance and identify Pi-Second.  Pi-Second occurs on March 14th at 1:59 (am or pm) and 26 seconds.

So to recap:

• Pi-Day = March 14th (3/14 $\rightarrow$ 3.14),
• Pi-Minute = March 14th at 1:59 (3.14159),
• Pi-Second = March 14th at 1:59:26 (3.1415926),

which represent the first 3, 6, and 8 digits of $\pi$, respectively.  This level of nerdery speaks to me.

And for those that wish to celebrate $\pi$ on a daily basis, they need only look to Pi-Time.  That is, 3:14 am or pm each and every day.  Of course, I’m not recommending that you celebrate 3:14 every day with a slice of pie, but once in a while wouldn’t hurt.

Anyway, what follows are some random Pi related things that I think you might enjoy.  Stay tuned for updates regarding the winner of The Interweb Gangsta Pi-Off.

Happy Pi-Day all y’all.  Happy Pi-Day long time!

• I found this online and thought it was hilarious. It’s a comic about the other Pi-Day, which is really Pi-Approximation-Day. Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely celebrate Pi-Approximation-Day too. I don’t think there is anything wrong by approximating $\pi$ with $\frac{22}{7}$ (hence the reason Pi-Approximation-Day is on July 22). Regardless, this cartoon is HILARIOUS. My favourite line is the last line by the T-Rex.  I think I want that on a T-shirt.

• Want to know when a certain sequence of numbers first appears in $\pi$? Check out this site.  My birthday first appears at the 9,792,936 position after the decimal.  The digits 31415926 first appear at position 50,366,472 after the decimal.  The sequence 12345678 first appears at position 186,557,266.  And finally, the first 7 Fibonacci numbers (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13) appear at position 48,300,974.
• Want to know your age in Pi-Years (where a Pi year would be ~3.14159 regular years)?  Check out my friend Jasper’s most excellent website.  Today I am officially ~11.32 Pi-Years old.  That has a much nicer ring to it than 36 :).  I will be 12 Pi-Years old on April 26, 2013.
• Can you determine the next 3 sets of digits?  111 1111 99999 66 33333 88888 777777777 333333333 33 88888888 222222
• If you are on Twitter, you should follow @ChrisLikesPie, because he’s quite hilarious and as he writes “My name is Chris. I like pie. I also like pi. And pie charts made of the pies I like.”

• Celebrate Pi-Day by singing the Approximately Four Pi days of Pi-Day.
• To fully celebrate Pi-Day, you should enjoy any or all of the following foods/drinks (or foods that contain these foods as a main ingredient): Fruit Pi, Meat/Veggie Pi, Pizza Pi, Pi-tini, Pi-stachio, or Pi-ckle.
• I also recommend watching the movie Pi, or the television show Magnum P.I.  If you do watch Magnum P.I., be sure to wear a Hawaiian shirt and short cut off jean shorts.
• For a great Pi related read try The Joy Of Pi.  Seriously – it’s great.  I’ve owned this book for many years and I often look through for some nerdy fun.

1 Check out this video regarding Nerd-caucus. It really will explain it all.

1. Jorge says:

Happy Pi day, my friend.

May all of your pies be round and delicious.
Unless they are not round.
In which case, may they still be delicious anyway!

1. dangillis says:

You too. Mmm, pie.

2. Gerarda says:

Happy Pi Day, Dan!!!

1. dangillis says:

You too!

3. Rick says:

Happy Pi Day! Great post- there’s so much in here to think about…. 🙂

4. Gerarda says:

I want the last line of the cartoon on a T-shirt: “Failure is just success rounded down.” Fantastic!!!

1. dangillis says:

Me too!