Oh the Places You’ll Go

Greetings Dear Reader,

Lately I have been doing a bit of reading in the area of travel speeds and measurement of great distances. These kinds of things usually get me into trouble but I have decided there are things I want to know better than I do and am pursuing said knowing. I spent some time with a math instructor colleague discussing substitution cryptography.

I have a cryptographic puzzle that I have been working on for some years now and I have made little headway. On the journey, however, I have learned a great deal about cryptography and it has aided my teaching in network security. It has also, as a side benefit sharpened my thinking in the area of problem solving. I said all that to say that the journey is as much joy as the anticipated destination.

So I was wondering why we abandon some references for time. Most of the English speaking world still uses the term fortnight. This is a reference to a two week period of time. It is much more elegant than two weeks. Instead of bi-weekly one says fortnightly. Something that happens every fourteen days happens fortnightly. I just like it.

When one combines this with addressing small distances using terms for vast distances one can have quite a good time with the words. Since I love to play with words this presents some interesting opportunities. For example if one is traveling forward at 2 miles per hour they could be said to be moving at 32.5 atto-Parsecs per microfortnight; roughly, give or take, if I carried the 2 properly. This of course assumes constants in terrain, ambulatory exertion, and wind resistance and other irritatingly odd variables.

It is really all in how you consider things. We seldom look at the world from differing points of view than our own. When we do can see things in a new way or develop new thoughts. As we think new thoughts we can try new things. In this is the essence of recreating ourselves. That done through the filter of following Christ can bring new and glorious things. The journey will be marvelous.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure store."