My one that got away happened when I was 27 or 28.

My problem is that I don't actually meet many new people over the age of 21, since I work at a college.

Why would you fear me travelling?

cause you'd be alone and not in phone call of friends space for the travel time and possibly in lots of pain and I dunno, possibilities for major discomfort without proximity of a bed or a friend.

Me, I am in mother hen mode.

Great. My supervisor's being snippy to another office about something that our office fucked up. Also, our incredibly annoying office manager just sent an email to see if I could come to an office party -- gee, that sounds fun. No one can stand you, half the office is engaged in a cold war with the other half, and none of us is entirely comfortable with the New Big Boss. Oh yes, let's!

its, I just sent you an e-mail. Looks like there are flights to Roatan for $135.

you'd be alone and not in phone call of friends space for the travel time and possibly in lots of pain and I dunno, possibilities for major discomfort without proximity of a bed or a friend.

Your concern is very sweet. As far as I can tell, though, it's only pain. It can't kill me or last forever. I just wish, well, if it's not going to stop, that it could fuck less with the things that have to be done. Flying in pain is easier than working.

Do you know what sucks? Having sniffles etc. sufficient to wreck my singing voice at the time of year when the best sing-along stuff is playing, ie, Christmas carols. Especially the old-fashioned ones I learned when I was lead in the church choir.

We won't even speak of the debacle of the last time I tried a Messiah sing-along.

Feh.

Received, Stephanie! Thanks so much. Honduras (and Roatan) are firmly at the top of my choices now.

Allyson, you're already Jewish, so it even makes things easier.

I was trying to convince a coworker that I can have citizenship in Israel and he just didn't believe me.

Gah. He's just such a pretty boy. Maybe I'll steal a smoochie when i go home and be that home-wrecker.

Freakin' morals. Bleh.

Emily, I find it difficult to type a general case (I'm not good enough with HTML or anything), so let's look at a simple example, OK?

f(x)=x²-x-b and we want to divide it be x-a. So the first element in the result will be x, and x*(x-a)=x²-a*x. When we substract that from f(x) we get (-1+a)*x-b and that's what we should be dividing now. So the new element in the result of the division is (-1+a), and in multiplying it by (x-a) we get (-1+a)*x-(-1+a)*a. So the element that "builds" the original polynom, in the sense that it multiplies the x in order to continue with the division process, now multiplies the a as well, and instead of the polynom with an x times that coefficient, we get a times that coefficient. So now the result of the final substraction is a²-a-b=f(a).

Did it make any sense at all? Each coefficient which multiplies the x in the division algorithm, when we try to move from one step to the other, to the next in-between polynom we use now in the division, also multiplies the "a" in the (x-a). So after all the multiplications, we end up with the same coefficients multiplying the "x" in the "negotiating" polynoms, and in the "a" in the remainder. So all that's left for that remainder to be is the f(a), the shape of the original polynom.

I'm afraid I only confused you more. Grr, this ocean that preents me from scribbling this on a piece of paper in front of you.

[Edited because this post is too messy as it is and doesn't need typos in it]

I've marked your post and will try to read again when I get to work and have successfully edited my Turing paper. Gosh, I hope they don't expect me to do any actual work.