Isaac Asimov used that same base8/10 quirk in one of his short stories.  It 
was in one of the Black Windows novels.

On Wednesday 23 October 2002 19:47, Jon K wrote:
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> Here is somthing my Math Teacher told us today.
>
> "Computer Nerds" celebrate Christmas on Halloween
> OCT 31 = DEC 25
>
> Must be a super nerd to understand. :)
> If you have already seen this, sorry.  I just had to share it. lol.
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> iD8DBQE9t19XzFstip5OIqgRAu0iAJwNw/SuljYrVSpL/Smp1QgK2ryulQCePrpM
> reC2PF1q1uGHaMPnOsV5xCM=
> =aVeM
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