Alas, poor Melanie has been around me for too long. We got a new cat from the Humane Society shelter on Saturday. I mentioned that a science type name would be cool. After tossing around a name for her, Melanie came up with Pi (π). Why Pi? Saturday was March 14, aka Pi Day (3.14).

We had planned to pick her up at 1:59 in the afternoon, but missed it by a few minutes - that would have made the cat ours at 3.14159. That is fitting, I suppose, since she is not a pure breed feline - just an approximation, like maybe Ptolemy’s value:

Note the numerator there: 377. That is the number we use often in RF propagation to represent the impedance of free space, which is created on our electronic calculators by the operation 120 * π ... So 120π/120 = π . Sure, it is not a real identity, just an interesting coincidence. (see my Pi page)


If you will send me an e-mail if you have a pet with a name from science and include a photo, I will post it here.

Says Brad: Congrats on your new family addition (Pi). It takes people with warm hearts to help those that cannot help themselves. I know you will enjoy the constant company of Pi. There is always something different about a new friend saved from a humane shelter. They always seen more loving than store purchased pets. I recently save another myself after losing my two cats (Jack & Missy) after 15 years. I have always wanted a Jack Russell terrier and after the loss of my cats I decided I would go to shelters and see if I could find a Jack Russell puppy. Well I found a whole litter in MA. I picked out the runt little female and she is great ! Enjoy you new friend. - Brad E. Says Don: This is Scamp. Named after a Navy sonar system of course. He is also a member of the U.S. Navy Seals. We had to disguise him for security reasons... and don't worry about the dog. He can "undress" himself in about 3 seconds when he gets ready. For some reason, he likes to stick his head inside that cap when you hold it open in front of him. - Don Hicks

RF Cafe visitor Daveid D. sent this photo of his "Pi," or "Cutie Pi" as she is affectionately known. Daveid's Pi was so-named because of the near perfect circle on her back, plus, if you look at the back of her head, there is a π shape formed by the brown fur.