Thanksgiving day plus two.

Another successful food fest was held at the home of Brother Bob& sister-in-law Diane. Usually held on Thanksgiving, the event was moved to the following Saturday as a result of regularly losing attendees as a result of excessive traffic on Thanksgiving Day itself. This year as a result of the acceptable traffic level only one attendee arrived late but still in time for some food. Bob had cooked a free range grown, fresh turkey and did a pretty good job of it. The attendees stretched in age from 7 months to 7 decades. And two double knee replacements. Daughter Deb and son-in-law Rick picked me up on their way down from Studio City. Deb is the family historian-in-waiting , waiting for brother Bob. So Deb got the Full Monty of her ancestors. I learned a lot just listening. Bob showed Deb is collection of antique photos of her family.
On the way home from a distant satellite came the dulcet tones Bruce Springsteen on the radio. I knew of his background in folk/rock music but this was great. I learned something from this.
I was recently asked to clarify the Hall of Fame to which Dianne has recently been nominated.
It is the Senior Softball Hall of Fame. Both males and females are members. But Bob assures me that a personal count showed only 8 female members. None from sunny California. Sounds pretty exclusive to me. Congratulations again to Dianne.
Halls of Fame are clear indicators that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

What a nice surprise.

What a nice surprise. For years public radio in SoCal (specifically KPFK) had two major attractions for me. Amy Goodman and bluegrass music. I used to schedule my Saturdays around KPFK for the music scheduled from 6am til noon. It was the only way to hear new country/folk/bluegrass music on the radio. I heard a lot of talent I would never have heard of but for KPFK. Then little by little the schedules were trimmed and changed until a few years ago the powers that were decided music was to be de-emphasized to the credit of 'ethnic news'. Boring! Now all the great music was gone. Then this morning for some reason I turned it on again. There was a female DJ playing Jim & Jesse! I hope it's permanent. It's the kind of music I really love.
Rick & Deb will be here about noon and off we go to Fallbrook and a turkey dinner.
Jim & Jesse are proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Dark matter, dark energy and anti gravity.

I came across this surfing my surfing over the week end. It's about dark energy and its being the source of anti gravity. Try it .

Dick

I’m not an astrophysicist, but as well as I can follow, the theory goes
 something like this: When a star collapses into what we thought was a 
black hole–violating all kinds of quantum mechanics in a way that can
 only be justified with the technically unsatisfying “quantum
 singularity” tag–the surface of the star actually takes on some rare 
attributes of crystal superconductors. The star forms an outer shell 
where all quantum motion slows down to a near-stop, looking for all the
 world like a black hole with an event horizon that stops time. But 
quantum motion isn’t stopped, it’s just moving so slowly we can’t
 perceive it. This solves the whole “black holes break time” problem in
 quantum mechanics.
Inside the star shell is a matter vacuum filled instead with bizarre
 energies. The physicists call this a “dark energy star.” All the matter 
that falls into the dark energy star passes through the shell and is 
converted into something new–antigravity!
 These stars now pump out the accelerating force that is making galaxies 
move away from each other, precisely counter to what we’d expect if
 gravity was merely slowing or reversing the outward force of the Big 
Bang. This completely explains the Hubble Expansion.
It also is a more rational explanation for what happens to energy and
 matter that drops into a black hole. Instead of the “disappears from
 our universe” excuse that breaks the basic rule of “no matter is ever
 created or destroyed, merely changed” rule, matter and energy are changed into antigravity.
Finally, based on the physicists’ math, it’s very likely that
 super-small versions of these hypermassive dark energy stars were 
formed shortly after the Big Bang, thus accounting for all the 
undetected “dark matter” that must exist for all the observed
 gravitational behavior of galaxies to be explained. The universe is 
brimming with hidden stars, holding galaxies together while pushing the 
universe apart–and solving all the bizarre problems that the
 placeholder idea of a “black hole” could never address. I sure hope an 
idea this cool turns out to be right!

Jay Garmon

A very short post.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.


Dick

A perfect (almost) correlation!

Yesterday I posited that the appearance of three airplanes on my walk today would be confirmation of the predictive character of earthquakes. I saw two planes. Not perfect but not too bad for a first try.
A piece of physics info that I forgot yesterday is that yesterday for the first time protons were collided in the Large Hadron Collider. At reduced energy to be sure but it's still a great step in what could be proof for extra dimensions and/or string theory. Oh boy!
Tomorrow is a football day. I just can't get excited about football since the entire character of my beloved 49ers changed. I think it was an inevitable change undergone by any organization as it goes from a 'family' atmosphere to the bean counter takeover on the 70's and 80's. IBM did it, Hewlett Packard did it and any number of large corporations as well as start ups that never succeeded because they couldn't (or wouldn't) make the change. Well, that's progress.
Or not.
Unequivocal collisions are proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

There was a small earthquake near Sacramento.

There was a small earthquake near Sacramento and a larger one off the shore of San Diego yesterday. There was a larger one in Southeast Asia. If there should appear three aeroplanes passing by tomorrow it will be amazing confirmation of the predictive correlation I made a few days in which earthquakes on day one cause aeroplanes to fly over on day three. We did have 100% correlation last time.
Saturday will be the family gathering to celebrate Thanksgiving. Turkey , football and old acquaintances. Oh boy.
I'm deep in Brian Greene's book on string theory for the second time. What I have never found is a definition of a point in space. Are the points continuous and infinite or are they quantized limited to occurring on a sort of grid? The question is directed at finding where in space extra dimensions can be found to exist.
Infinity is proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

The alchemists dream achieved.

Two days ago there was an earthquake up in Big Bear. It was a 3.7. On this morning's walk a single aeroplane flew overhead. A perfect causal correlation! It happens rarely but it's hard to argue with perfection.
I've been considering some practical applications of string theory. After all changing the mode of vibration of a tiny strings to change a pure substance like silver to gold should be a problem easily overcome. The obvious problem is that the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle says that as the size of an object ( say an electron) goes down to the size of a string, its energy goes up by about 17 orders of magitude. It requires more energy than we could collectively supply. But there is an out here. The energy of the quantum jitters is negative which cancels out almost all of the required energy. A solution would be to find a way to 'activate' the quantum jitters over a measurable spacetime. In that manner the vibrational mode of the strings and hence its value can be modified. For instance, take a small stack of silver dollars and change the vibrational modes of the strings which cause silver to a mode of vibration which results in gold. The alchemists dream achieved.
The problem has been reduced to an engineering triviality.
Engineering trivialities offer proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

OK so I missed Saturday.

OK so I missed Saturday. It will happen in the future. Friday evening I went to Harvey Mudd College. It has a real nice urban campus in Claremont and the Galileo Auditorium is spacious but cozy at the same time. This was were I saw Brian Greene. Friday night was by a Cornell professor talking about synchrony. He had a short video of fire flies in Cambodia which flash in synchrony. Tens of thousands of them all together. He also demonstrated that given a few seconds, every one in the audience clapped their hands in synchrony. All together with no leader. Which was his point: there doesn't have to be a leader for self organization to occur. There are many example of self organization in nature. An argument for the spontaneous emergence of life I suppose. And he offered a small smattering of the math involved since the speech was sponsored by the math department.
No earthquakes registered and no planes observed overhead. But then I didn't look for them either. Conclusion? Inconclusive correlation.
Not looking is dangerous of we're all on this flight together.

Dick

It always leaves a chill down my spine.

It was a beautiful day to walk I felt reasonably strong so I'll probably drive to Claremont unless something changes. The sun is out and the temp is about 70 degrees. Calm and clear. Perfect!
No dogs and no cats spotted. I did see an airplane pass overhead but with no earthquake yesterday I cannot associate earthquakes with planes passing over. I'll cross that one off.
On a linguistic note: I frequently see signs that read "Certified Used Cars" at automobile dealers. The question always springs to mind "Who would need certification( whatever that is) that it is assuredly used. Hell, look at it. More correctly the signs should read "Used Certified Cars". If that's what they mean.
Right now I'm reviewing quantum mechanics. No matter how many times I read this stuff it always leaves a chill down my spine due to the perfectness of the ideas.
Perfect ideas are strong indicators that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Yesterday I entered a very short blog entry.

The photo is of a big mushroom. Just to remind us that I haven't seen any mushrooms lately.
Yesterday I entered a very short blog entry. Half way through the piece my brain went south. I thought sure I was dying but I was wrong. I think now it was a reaction to my Prop 215 meds. I've never had a reaction that way before but it surely was scary. I still feel a little dingy. I plan to drive to Claremont to hear the final lecture in the series I've been attending but am not sure I'll be up to it tomorrow. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
I missed my walk yesterday and today. Besides feeling queasy it's too cold out.
I didn't even read this morning.
This too shall pass ( I hope).
Uncertainty makes me question whether we are all on this flight together.

Dick

The Elegant Universe.

I've started to re-read "The Elegant Universe". It's hard to believe I first read this in 1999. And now it's a decade out of date. Last month I attended an excellent lecture by the author Brian Greene. The biggest change is that the theory now embraces branes. These are like strings but extended through an extra dimension, making like a rumpled sheet in extended dimensions. I keep thinking it gets curiouser and curiouser.
Curiosity is proof that we're all on this flight together.
Dick





















and n

There were two sizable earthquakes 65 miles west of LA

There at the base of the tree is a calico cat. Not one I've seen before but she just sat there watching as I walked by. Nothing notable there but there was a quantum circumstance yesterday. Two airplanes flew over during my walk yesterday. I heard them but did not see them. The previous day there were two sizable earthquakes 65 miles west of LA in the ocean. The first was a 4.5 and the second was a 3.8. Could the warped spacetime due to the earthquakes have caused the airplanes to fly over? Or since quantum mechanics tells us that time does not have to flow in one direction, could the two airplanes have retroactively caused the two quakes the previous day?
Or not.
My confusion is proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Yesterday was the monthly meeting of EAA Chapter One,

Yesterday was the monthly meeting of EAA Chapter One at Historic Flabob Airport. There were only a dozen or so attendees. It used to be 40 or 50 but then there used to be a fried chicken dinner at noon time just before the meeting. Could there be a connection? The 'entertainment" was a short video about the upcoming 100th anniversary of the first aviation show in the US. It was April 1910 about 20 miles from Fullerton and the anniversary will be January of 2010. The event was held over a two week period and special trans hauled attendees from LA to the site. Sort of an early Woodstock.
The cross wind was blowing the car both on the way there and on the way home. And to add to the difficulty, the sun was low in the west, right into my eyes . Well, needless to say I made it home safely.
A new cat was observed on my walk. I have a picture but it wouldn't load. Maybe tomorrow.
Cats are Mother Nature's way to remind us that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

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I braved the darkness last night.

The photo is of the local fire company's ladder truck with the ladder extended. It's about three stories high with out trying I wouldn't mind climbing out to the end.
I braved the darkness last night to drive to Claremont and Harvey Mudd College to hear a lecture by NPR's "The Math Guy". He believes that teaching beginning math from books is inefficient. He believes that beginning math can be taught more effectively using video games. As I understand it the process is one of immersing the student in video games that teach as well as stimulate. It was worth the trip but he's no Brian Greene.
I visited Dr. Chung yesterday morning to discuss osteoporosis and its resolution. Ugh! More pills. And the changes in my body are continuous rather than quantum..
I'm deep in the process of understanding branes, they are really two dimensional strings with different characteristics. Branes, strings and Mexican Hat diagrams. Slowly it comes together. And the fascination remains.
I, I, I and the rest of them are evidence that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

It's the little things.

The picture is one I took a few years ago on the Santa Monica pier. As I recall, the Merry go round had just reopened after an extensive reconstruction. I came across it yesterday and it caught my eye.
It's the little things. I get up every morning feeling pretty good. The sun comes up every day and the car starts when I turn the key. I'm in pretty good shape for the shape I'm in. So life goes on. Yesterday I was on the home stretch when the cane sounded different when it touched the ground. Closer inspection showed that the rubber tip had broken through so the metal tip of the cane made a different sound. No problem, I'll pick one up at the CVS store around the corner. So off I went this am to get a new tip. I tried to use the cane as little as possible on the way so as to not destroy the metal tip. Well the short story is that CVS didn't have the right size. I never realised they came in sizes. So back home I went. Onto the computer to find that the local Wallgreen's has the right thing in stock. So this trifling item will have cost me a half a day to replace it. I'm not complaining, mind you, just a reminder that it was Shakespeare who told us " a horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse". Something like being about being in need of a nail.
"Being about being in need of a nail.
Thinkin' 'bout you, darlin' here on the trail."
That's a country song just crying to be written if there ever was. Three chords and off we go!
Little things and country music show us that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

This is the 500th entry non this blog.

The first photo of the day is of the old Flabob Express, a DC-3 under re-construction off and on for years. It wouldn't get very far without propellers. The second is a Trike with the pilot way out front and the plane is powered with a pusher engine as opposed to the normal tractor (puller) arrangement. You can see that the morning haze affects the picture.
For the second month in a row my bill from Southern California Edison is $7.00. Thanks to the donor of the weatherization process on my house. Life is good to the old folks except that the dollar declined in buying power by 25% in the last eight years. What the hell. Enjoy it while you can.
Friday night is another presentation in the series at Harvey Mudd College where I saw Brian Greene last month. It was worth the drive last time so I'll try it again this week. Then I think the monthly meeting of EAA Chapter One is on Sunday. If don't forget I'll go out to historic Flabob Airport for the meeting.
Spending time at historic Flabob Airport will prove to the unbeliever that we're all on this flight together

Dick

The venerable Cessna 195,

On the left is a photo of a post war Packard. Somehow it's an icon of WWII. In my mind I connect it with Gen Douglas MacArthur. There it sat in all its pristine glory.
On the right is the venerable Cessna 195, a true work horse of airplane. It is turbo charged so you know it's ready for the higher altitudes. In beautiful condition.
Today I'm in search of the theory behind the Higgs fields. We may never find out about their existence by searching for them with the Large Hadron Collider. Two Nordic scientists have suggested that someone in the future has travelled backwards in time to cause problems with the Large Hadron Collider, which if you will recall has been shut down twice to correct serious problems since its start-up. Wouldn't it be interesting if it were to be true?
The Large Hadron Collider will provide proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

What a day!

What a day! But it wore me out by noon. First it was good to see old friends. Then the aircraft! Heaven on earth. But what should I see on first entering the area? A Sonex... for sale... It had the big Jabiru engine and was loaded with extras. He was selling it as an aerobatic plane. But I never did meet the owner. Here's a picture of it. The next plane I saw was the big yellow Stearman painted in Navy training colors. It was just returning from a paying flight with a customer.
The third picture is of the Missing Man Formation using three planes. The "missing man' is represented by the plane climbing off to the right with the smoke on.
More pics to come.
Then I just basked in the atmosphere of the Forties. It was exciting even for a non patriot such as I.
Airplanes that fly are indicators that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Swing music for entertainment.

It's Saturday morning at 7 am. In a few minutes I'll pack up my stuff and head out for historic Flabob Airport. Today is the Veterans Day celebration at historic Flabob Airport. Shit on a shingle for lunch and swing music for entertainment. And of course the usual aircraft both flying in and out but also displayed on the ground for us to drool over. Aside from the usual homebuilts and such which will show up, there will probably be an assortment of period activities. The WWII vets (as well as some of the Vietnam vets) will still fit into their uniforms. Old jeeps, maybe a tank or two and a few WWII era Pipers, Cessnas and Aeroncas which had served as observation platforms.
The weather right now is 2 1/2 mile visibility and the sky is clear. The mist should be burned off by mid morning making for a spectacular day ahead of us.
Part of my problem with the books on quantum theory is that a lot of the terms used didn't exist when I went to school. So I've got to rewire my brain to reflexively convert to the new names. Bosons and fermions indeed. Maybe then I'll have a deeper understanding the relationships between the many fundamental particles.
The reality of historic Flabob Airport is proof enough that we're all on this flight together.
Dick

It's really been just like time travel,quantum-wise.

Wow! It was like someone gave me a week of life back. Yesterday when brother Bob was here (Congratulations to Dianne for her nomination to the softball hall of fame) we spoke of Veterans Day which is upcoming. It's always exciting at historic Flabob Airport since many of the locals are WW II vets. But when I check my computer for the time and day I was disappointed to find out the Veterans Day celebration at historic Flabob Airport was last weekend, November 5 (follow me here). Anyway I tell you that to tell you this. I had an appointment with the doctor at 8 am. When I checked in the lady politely informed me that the appointment is for next week. So I'm back to November 5 and the Veterans Day celebration at historic Flabob Airport is this weekend coming up I haven't missed it after all. It's really been just like time travel to the past (future?).
Time travel is proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Meditating helps me understand.

It's a quarter mile visibility and very low ceiling. I chose to meditate extra in lieu of my walk. Meditating helps me understand the physics I'm studying.
Yesterday I visited the urologist. The chemistry of my prostate is a little high. It always has been a little high due, I believe, to my almost daily bike rides. Anyway when we looked at the chemistry over time it turned out that the results were within 10%. Over 13 years! Going in I expected him to ask to put all sorts of probes in my nether region. Urologists have a habit of doing that. But none of that today thank you. And we had a nice discussion about the cost of health care in the US today.
I've started re-reading Lisa Randall's "Warped Passages" about hidden dimensions. It's a much easier read this time since I have a general idea of what she's saying and where she's going. Still it's very engrossing.
Reading the book, the thought crossed my mind that several influential physicists have been born within a few miles of where I was born and raised. Richard Feynman , Far Rockaway, Leonard Susskind, the Bronx, Brian Greene and Lisa Randall, Queens. And that's without really thinking about it. Could it be the water? Or maybe the long gone, great NY school system.
Unanswered questions are clear indicators that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Black Hole complimentarity.

A new cat on the block. It seems to be Siamese oriented (get the pun here) but meandered off as I approached. Here he is.
I swear it gets weirder the more I learn. We all know that black holes are objects from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The point at which everything is swallowed is called the event horizon. The weirdness is when you take into account the Theory of Relativity and what one would see when passing through the event horizon or when one is sitting outside the black hole watching what happens. The person passing through the event horizon would feel nothing, it would seem to be the same as outside the event horizon. The person outside the event horizon would see the person passing through the event horizon appear to stretch as he/she passed through, finally ending up as electrons, protons and quarks. The two appearances is called complementarity, specifically Black Hole complementarity. The reason they appear different is because inside the black hole time itself is changed while appearing unchanged to the outsiders as shown by Relativity.
Relativity teaches us that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Well, I 'm stuck again.

Well, I 'm stuck again. The concept of exactly how symmetry works is beyond my comprehension. I get the general idea but how to manipulate the equations to arrive at an obscure symmetry confuses me. I figure when I can teach the class, I understand it and I'm a long way from there now.
In the meantime another thought wandered thorough my mind. We can talk about space and points in a space but what does that mean? How are points in space separated? Is there an invisible grid outlined in all of space? Is there a minimum distance between points? Are they related to the Planck length? Even Einstein once considered the possibility of an 'ether' filling all of space. How much of the everyday world don't we understand at a fundamental level? Would that they taught that in school.
Tangled thoughts assure me that we're all on this flight together.

Dick