Look at the purplemath example again, and follow the example and read the explanation. It’s clear.
MY God, my friend...
Ok, here is a suggestion; go to your nearest high school and talk to the Math teacher or the Computer Science teacher and ask them to explain the answer (288) to you..
I am/was a good soldier.. and I will admit when I am/was wrong... but, in this case, I (and pretty much all the others here in this thread) am not.
Take care FRiend :)
Bikk