Author: Katherine J Krein

My name is Katherine J. Krein. I lost my father in June of 2013, and then I lost my mother in November of the same year. After they both died I went through a mind-warping number obsession that has taken me years to control. This is my story. It is now 2025. I still use this site to post some poems and thoughts. My obsession has faded, however, I still notice the numbers. Faith, hope, and love is what guides me now.

Mascots and Team Spirit

Sunday, February 9th, 2025, will be a big day for players, mascots, and fans.

I am not a huge football fan; however, this upcoming Super Bowl has the potential to be a record-breaking game. 

I have my pretzel bites and buffalo chicken dip ready to serve on Sunday.
I have some whole wheat pizza dough ready to defrost. 
I might not need it. My husband brought home a Sam's club pizza tonight.
I don't have an appetite for eating pizza all weekend.
I do have some orange juice and blue moon beer.
I rarely drink alcohol. I might have a beer mimosa this Sunday.

I looked up the team mascots today. They are cute and look like they can rally up their team's spirits and get the crowd roaring!

Good Luck to all and let us all hope the game is fairly played.


A Prayer for Mourners

On this Sunday, the second day of February, 2025, my heart is feeling the  tragedy of the recent plane collision.
It is reported that sixty-seven people were killed. Only forty-one sets of remains have been found, and that leaves twenty-six bodies still unrecovered. This has to be agony for the families and friends of those that were killed.
 
I did not know any of the victims of this tragic accident. However, I do know what it feels like to lose loved ones, so my mind knows a little of what the families and friends of these victims must be feeling at this time.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who might be mourning the loss of a loved one. I can tell you that in my experience everyone grieves differently, and this is okay. Some take a long time to get over it, while others find a mission to occupy themselves to lessen the grief, while others see it as a inevitable part of life, and move forward stoically. When the victims are young it is hard not to dwell in the "what could have been", if not for this tragedy.

My hope is that the families affected by this tragedy can find emotional support, peace, and resolution in some way.

Can You Guess the Correct Number of Gumballs in this Machine?

I was introduced to the “gumball problem” when I read about a mall contest that offered a prize to the person that could most accurately guess the correct number of gumballs in a giant machine. This image is AI generated.
There is a statistical theorem called the Central Limit Theorem that addresses this problem. If you want to get technical, you can research this theorem. I looked to Microsoft's co-pilot to explain it in simple terms. I wanted to make it understandable to school children with short attention spans.
Ask Microsoft co-pilot if you want to dive into another math challenge.
If you want the most accurate average, it is best to have a large number of random educated guesses. The more guesses you have, the more likely you are to arrive at the correct answer.

Also, having a diverse group with a range of perspectives can lead to a better average that hits or gets closest to the correct number.
Here is my editorial opinion: I think the "wisdom of crowds" can be used in many ways. We all want to be right or think we have the best answer, and the best way of arriving at it. However, I think it would be far more interesting to see many different methods of trying to guess the correct answer. This way you can learn something about how different people think about different problems, and the many methods you might try. Keep in mind the gumballs have to stay in the machine. You cannot remove any during the contest, or else the number will change.

 

Drum Roll Please (Timpani)

The 10th anniversary was in 2021. I was reminded of this earthquake when I read about the 2.8 earthquake today.
I vividly remember the earthquake in 2011. I was in my kitchen in Sterling, Virginia, and it sounded and felt like a giant was jumping on the roof of our house. Today's earthquake was not felt by me. I happened to read about it in the news, though, it was not big news, especially with everything else going on in our country and around the world.

I did not know that the 2011 earthquake was the most widely felt earthquake in America. I learned this today.

update 4/14/25: I deleted this, then restored it to drafts. Today I was debating whether to permanently delete it. My decision was to republish it because of the drum roll. Also, it shows a fact that I learned many years after the event.

Don’t Quit

I was reminded today of the Middle School I attended in 1972-1973.
The most interesting things I remember about these years were the sludge test we had to do in science class,and my confrontation with a male student in band class. He was a trumpet player, and I played the timpani (aka a kettle drum). He kept trying to put his hand up my skirt on several occasions. I told our band teacher, and he told me I had the right to defend myself.(In other words, he was not going to stop the boy.) So, one day when the boy was harassing me again, I tried to slap him, and he jumped down a step and grabbed my hand. I had no other recourse than to kick him, and because he had jumped down a step, my kick landed squarely between his legs. He immediately let go of my hand. He spent the whole class on the floor in the instrument room. He never bothered me again. Neither one of us was ever reported nor punished for this conflict. He did not appear to suffer any permanent damage from my kick.

In case you were wondering what a sludge test is, here is a good description: 
"A 'sludge test' for students is a hands-on science activity where students are presented with a mysterious mixture (the "sludge") containing various unknown substances, and they must use scientific techniques like filtration, distillation, and observation to identify the individual components within the mixture, essentially acting like mini-forensic scientists to "solve" the sludge puzzle; often used as an assessment to test their understanding of different chemical properties and separation methods.

Times have changed dramatically since my middle school years. Sexual harassment is taken much more seriously than back in 1972-73. Also, a sludge test would not be attempted today since open burners were used, and there were a few other dangerous components of this assessment.

My old middle school was named J.G. Whittier. The school was closed back in the 80's.

Tonight I decided to look up the poet J.G. Whittier. I found a poem of his which I really like, and think is motivational for anyone facing difficult times. See below a copy of this poem.

In Honor of President Jimmy Carter

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1762479

Jimmy Carter became president of the United States my senior year in high school. My mother was a Carter delegate from Virginia. The Robbs from Virginia stopped by our house briefly for a campaign event. My mother was very excited. I don’t remember this belt buckle, however, it was used in his campaign advertising. It is representative of his Georgia family history.

Jimmy Carter was an honorable man. I want to recognize and honor his contributions to this country and to humanity. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

To read a little about his campaign history you can go to the American History museum and their collection of President Jimmy Carter memorabilia.

One of his greatest contributions to society was his work with Habitat for Humanity. Look here:

https://www.habitat.org/carter-work-project

His life history speaks for itself. He was a great man and will be remembered for his faith and his integrity. Amen.

Give Me a High Five, Please <..>

One goal I have for 2025 is to have more fun, laugh more, and not be afraid to be silly.

Casper the Friendly Ghost was my favorite cartoon as a kid growing up. To be honest, though, I have not followed his reincarnations in the entertainment industry.

If you happened to be named Casper (any spelling), and I were to meet you, I could not help but think about the friendly ghost cartoon I watched as a child. Past memories impact my thoughts and actions even today. I think a lot of us are that way. We have been molded by our life experiences. We have to consciously work at editing ourselves if our past notions are outdated.

My hopes for 2025 are that I continually update myself with information learned from new experiences, and yet not so much that I edit out any humor. We all need to laugh more and not take ourselves so seriously.

I wish health and happiness to all the good people in our world. Let us make 2025 a good year working together for the benefit of all.

Happy Birthday! Dad

   

My dad was born December 30, 1930. He passed away in 2013. I was inspired for several reasons to find the picture of him climbing a palm tree in Hawaii when he was stationed there with the Navy. My brother was born there.

The background picture today on a new family computer was full of needle palms, and I recently purchased a new shower curtain with a palm tree and beach scene. The ponytail palm I purchased within the past 12 months is doing well. In any case, all these connections to palms, and the fact that today was my dad’s birthday, made me remember the picture of him climbing a palm tree. Happy Birthday Dad– you are remembered fondly!

I also added the picture of myself, my dad, and my brother pictured next to the Lincoln bust located at the Gettysburg, PA cemetery. My brother was the family comedian and always had us laughing as we were growing up. My brother and dad were about the same height around 6’1″-6’3″. In this picture my brother looks much taller because (if you notice his feet) he is standing on his toes with his heels resting on the back wall. He is pranking my dad.

Another funny thing I remember fondly about my dad was his sense of fashion. Being a farm boy he was always early to rise in the morning. I have several memories of him getting ready to head out to the hardware store early on a Saturday morning wearing a combination of clashing colors all connected to the red color family. It turns out he was partially color blind, and he could not distinguish the difference between colors in the red, orange and maroon family. When going out to an important event he needed to rely on others to help him coordinate his colors.

Today I found a good graphic which tries to illustrate how different people can perceive or not perceive colors. There are several different types of color blindness, not just the total absence of color. This problem is apparently more common in men than women.

There is much more available information about this topic today than when I was growing up. I did not include it here because it can be easily researched now.

From Year to Year

Which comes first? The chicken or the egg. Does it matter?
Soon 2024 will be left behind in an archive older than time itself.
The year becomes new again in 2025.
There is a beginning and an end to every new year.
The ever-moving hand of time turns the dial of this transformation.

Those of us who live within time's framework must follow along.
What would it take to escape this framework?
Could one enter into a melting pot of the past, present, and the future existing all at once? Could one move freely from one to the other, and to the other? Would you turn into a chameleon in the process?

Keeping track of the chicken and the egg would be nearly impossible.
Does it really matter who came first?
Side note: I was inspired after reading some Ogden Nash poems, and reading about Puff, the Magic Dragon. The year of the dragon is coming to an end soon.
The new year requires some introspection before it begins.