Ten is such a nice even number. It equals the number of fingers on both hands. Modern man looked for a way to keep track and that was the first thing he saw.  What could be more obvious than building a counting scheme around 10?  It's amazing how pervasive the number is and how much impact it has on our daily lives.

Everything we do is impacted by our base 10 system of numbering.  The decimal system with all of it's inherent logic results from our system of 10s.  The metric system of measures uses it to great effect.  Our monetary system relies on this concept. We even use the number "10"  to score the perfect result - whether we're talking about figure skating or the ideal physique. 

What if we used a system based on the number of fingers that a Tyrannosaurus has?  That would be 2 fingers on each hand for a total of 4.  So your $5 bill would be "11" in a base 4 system.  I don't even want to think about the number of slots you would need in the cash register drawer to handle the change.

What an age.  It seems so old when you have been alive 17 years, but to the rest of the world it is so young.  It is a gateway age.  It's the last year to be considered a minor for legal purposes. But it is a very long year when you are trying to hurry through your childhood. 

It is a tough year to be in an automobile accident.  To instantly lose your ability to drive.  To be thrust back into the arms of your parents, fearful that your injuries might not heal, and fearful that you will somehow be a different person as a result of the accident. To watch as others are free to resume their carefree lives, while you have to deal with permanent changes to your physical and emotional self, and struggle to perform mundane tasks. 

But being 17, your body is able to rapidly repair itself.  And soon, as you move beyond this and into your final year of high school, the memories and many of the scars will have faded.  Only your appreciation of what really matters will remain.

Your parents are left with 17 new wrinkles and 17 more grey hairs and 17,000 thank yous that you will be alive to see your 18th year.    

No matter what you call it, Zero is a magical number. First of all, how many words do you know of that start with the letter "Z"? Three of them refer to a quantity of nothing. 

For an accountant, a zero sum is proof that our work is done properly.  Try explaining that to a client.  "Yes sir, I have completed the work, and as a result of my valient efforts over the course of three weeks, your Trial Balance now equals zero."  Part of the beauty of accounting is that you are always able to see if you are in balance by looking for that zero.  Imagine if we could apply a similar test to all aspects of our life. 

Nine has special significance for an accountant. And it has nothing to do with lives. 

When you add a column of numbers twice and subtract their sums, if they are off by a factor of nine it means you have a transposition error. I think that is amazing.

It would always make me pause and reflect each time I found it to be so.  And apparently, I have a touch of dyslexia because I found it to be true often. Or maybe I was subconsiously finding ways to test the theory.  Try it for yourself.  96-69 = 27, divisible by 9. 

That is the number of attempts it took me to set up this website using Weebly.  But now that I've mastered it, it was well worth the effort.  And it was certainly worth the price - $0.00.