In case you weren’t aware of it, this is one of those days referred to as Pythagorean Theorem Day, Pythagoras Theorem Day, or sometimes Pythagorean Triples Day. This day, which carries the name of the great Greek mathematician, is celebrated when the sum of the squares of the first two digits in a date equals the square of the last digit in the date. Today, 8-15-17, is one of those days.

Oh, by the way, two other reasons to celebrate today.

It happens to also be our anniversary. Yes, we were married long ago, in a universe far away. Actually, it was in the chambers of a Santa Clara County judge, Sidney Feinberg. Here’s a slightly blurry photo of Meda and I with Judge Feinberg, taken with my camera, probably by my father. It’s apparent that he wasn’t aware of the focus issue. But it still captured the moment, nonetheless.

We have failed again at devising some fantastic celebration for ourselves. Don’t worry. It’s a longstanding failure. We keep thinking that you should save the celebrating for a really big day, but of course as the next big day gets closer, it just seems a lot like everyday.

Anyway, the third reason to celebrate–the Kahala Hotel has withdrawn their application for a permanent easement to operate commercial activities on public land, including the public beach, adjacent to the hotel. The application, which left the proposed uses vague and failed to adequately guarantee uninterrupted public access, drew opposition from many area residents and beach users, and eventually from the neighborhood board.

I’m guessing that if a new version of the proposal is eventually submitted, it will be more thoroughly vetted in advance, and the public–which learned rather late of the current proposal–will have more time to provide input during the review process.

In any case, Happy 8-15-17.