Kris Kristofferson as a muse.

The sun was well up this morning for my walk. But the axis of the planet has not been turned far enough for us to call it Spring. Another 3-4 weeks should do it. But I can feel it coming.
Last night I saw Kris Kristofferson on the Colbert Report. He was in bad shape, barely able to finish the song. He was either drunk, stoned or sick. Whatever, I wish him well. He has a way of taking a picture in his mind, writing it down on paper as text and then putting that picture in my mind. He has to be one of the peoples muses.
Heart shaped waffles for breakfast.
One Bonanza flying overhead this a.m.
Sunny days always light the way to show me that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

A physics course in four chapters.

Yesterday while surfing the internet I came across this series of limericks. Besides liking limericks now and then, I think this is the quickest introduction to physics I have ever seen.

A Brief History of Gravity

It filled Gallileo with mirth
To watch his two stones fall to Earth
"Their rates are the same,"
He gladly proclaimed,
"And quite independent of girth!"

Then Newton declared in due course
His own law of Gravity's force,
"It goes, I declare,
As the inverted square
Of the distance from object to source."

Next Einstein revealed his equation
Which succeeds to describe gravitation
As spacetime that's curved
And it's this that will serve
As the planets' unique motivation.

But the end of the story's not written,
By a new way of thinking we're smitten.
We twist and we turn
Attempting to learn
The Superstring Theory of Witten.

The only other thing to know is that Witten refers to American theoretical physicist Edward Witten who first proposed a complete Superstring theory.

Just the thought of Superstring theory soothes me knowing that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

The sound of the Sound of Freedom

These pictures are all that is left of the Sound of Freedom, aside from the propeller. On the left is a section removed from the port side of the hull under the horizontal stabilizer. The right side is a closeup of the registration plate and Dave Browning's signature. Dave Browning, bless his heart, painted the plane during the hottest part of the summer. It was 103 degrees out and Dave painted away without air conditioning. And I had to coax him to sign it. Rembrandt signed his work. Why not Dave? I apologize again to Dave for destroying his beautiful artwork.
Recalling the sound of the Sound of Freedom sounds like we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Comment on the Obama speech to the Joint Houses of Congress.

The blog today is X rated.
It's cloudy out, my knee hurts and all the meds I took this morning don't help. So, a day off. And a chance to comment on the Obama speech to the Joint Houses of Congress. First, Liberal Barbara Boxer is getting better looking as she gets older. I remember seeing her at a July Fourth day parade in San Anselmo. As her float passed the rowdy local biker bar she was greeted by cheers of "Show us your tits". Which she cooly ignored. Second, Conservative Dianne Feinstein in getting downright dowdy. Obviously due to her uncompassionate position on the use of medical marijuana. She continues to believe that marijuana is a gateway drug. A position for which there is no scientific evidence. Third, Nancy Pelosi was looking directly at ME through the whole event. I never thought she considered me attractive. And Fourth: When Obama flashes that smile the whole room lights up. That's all I have to say about that. Except to ask if I should have used colons or semi-colons instead of commas to separate the items?
On a walk the other day I considered that quantum mechanically until an event or object is 'observed', all possibilities exist. Therefore, before his inauguration, an infinite range of possibilities was available to him. From a god-like administration, good for everyone and every thing, to a repeat of the last administration. When he became President of us all, the possibilities for the new administration collapsed ( again in quantum mechanical terms) to what we have before us.
What's interesting here is that quantum mechanics (the science of the small) tells us that a lot of your interpretation of the universe (or administration) depends on your point of view. How true of politics (the art of bullshit)! But on a cosmic scale only a tiny shift is required to bring the furthest apart beliefs into line.
Some of the ridiculous things quantum mechanics tells us are as true as the fact that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Another beautiful day in Paradise.

Another beautiful day in Paradise. This morning the sun was out and the warmth starting to be felt. I felt stronger on my walk than I have in months. The walk was to the sound of the iPod playing folk kinds of music.
It's 9:30 now and the sun is out, sprinkled with some very high broken thin clouds.
In an hour I'm off to see Dr. Lee, my dentist. She's like an Asian mother about my teeth. Today will be the last extraction in preparation for a denture. At last when an Angel of Mercy asks, "Do you have any dentures" I'll be able to answer in the positive. For what that's worth.
For a discussion of which side of a roll of toilet paper from which to unroll see: http://foundbypat.com/2009/02/great-debate.html.
I always thought I was the only person who would gratuitously change a roll of toilet paper from A to B when visiting a bathroom, public or private. And put points on the end. It's nice to know I have company.
Every day in Paradise is further proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

I looked West and saw darkness.

The picture you see displayed before you is of brother Bob. Taken by driving buddy Dennis on his iPhone. This was taken the same day as the one of me displayed on this blog on Feb 16 where I commented that aesthetically I should have been facing the other way. Here is Bob facing the other way, into the text. See what I mean?
As I stepped out the door this morning I looked West from whence cometh the weather and saw darkness. I looked East and saw the rising sun shining through. So off I went. East. As I approached the most distant point on my walk it started to rain. Not hard. More of a precipitated mist. What choice did I have? As long as it was a gentle Obama rain I was all right but if those dark clouds turned to a Bush downpour, I'd get wet. It turned out to be more Obama-like than Bush-like.
The music today started out with Arlo Guthrie singing "Don't Think Twice". But I tell you that to tell you this; I am not usually a fan of pianos as part of Country music. But here is a riff unsurpassed by a tasty guitar riff. Very nice addition to the song. Today Arlo, son of Woody, is long haired and gray but still with us.
The concept that we all get older with time makes it clear that we're all on this flight together.

Dick.

Gott Mit Uns

I've been less than diligent lately about listening to my gospel songs when I walk on Sundays. So this morning I picked up my iPod on the way out the door. Let's see.... Playlists... Gospel..... scroll down a few tune to select a random song. Up came the Bob Dylan classic," With God on Our Side". Immediately I was carried back to the folk festival in Southern California where I heard this by the Neville Brothers. It was like a light went on. I had never questioned whether God was on our side during WWII. It was a given. Not so sure about Korea and Vietnam. They're too far away to make a difference.
Then I remembered "Gott Mit Uns". He was on the side of the Germans too. Or were the Germans wrong? If they could be wrong, could we be wrong? And don't forget Allah or Mohamed. They'll take sides too. If you come right down to it, why should an Almighty anything give a damn who wins? To someone like that we are are a quantum video game.
That God can be on both sides at the same time is further proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Is February 20 a holiday?

For some reason it feels like today should be a holiday of some sort. I can't figure out what it is.
My daily counter terrorism activities locally have successfully rebuffed any terrorist attacks in Fullerton... or the Fullerton area... or Southern California.. or all of California. It amazes me what a little bit of concentration can achieve. I did see one small plane fly over during my walk but based on past experience it did not transport a terrorist.
The universe as a hologram manifests itself as the flight that we are all on together.

Dick

Something mystical about country duets

Today I carried my iPod on my morning walk. The warm baritone of Michael Martin Murphy singing a duet with an unnamed female singer floated through the air to the tune of 'Happy Trails". An old Gene Autry song . There was an album made several years ago by Nancy Griffitih titled "Duets" in which she sang duets with the the original writers of the songs on the CD. There is something mystical about country duets. And female too.
It's a beautiful day. Clear and cool. The forecast is to get to the mid 60s this afternoon. A few more degrees and it's bike time again.
The blend in music of a female duet assures me that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Perchance the moisture content of the atmosphere...

The rain started about 3 am and hasn't stopped since. Although not hard it is persistent. This 'no walk' is getting too easy. Rain rain go away, come again another day. Maybe the sun will come out again tomorrow.
Come to think about it, the phrase "the sun will come out again" can't be right. The sun always shines (or has for the past several billion years). The problem is the photons get blocked by earthly meteorologic conditions. Perhaps a more correct phrase would be, "Perchance the moisture content of the atmosphere will be such that tomorrow a fair proportion of the photons will be transmitted". It maybe more accurate but not nearly as romantic. Write it off to poetic license.
The falling rain reminds me that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Oh Mr... Edison what have you wrought?

It's been raining pretty hard all night and the forecast is for more of the same. So the walk is off for the day it seems. Maybe I can find an old movie on the electric TV. The photo was one taken by Dennis (brother Bobs driving partner) with his iPod. The subject is mundane but the technique is startling. For aesthetic purposes it should be reversed with me facing left but it is what it is. This was taken with a telephone. What next? Video? Oh Mr... Edison what have you wrought? There is a companion to this picture of brother Bob which is lost in the complexities of my computer.
I really love technology but videos from a telephone make me question whether I am on the same flight as everyone else.

Dick

Valentines Day plus 1

About a month ago I broke down and bought a waffle maker. Not Belgian just regular waffles. But all the waffle irons I've seen in the past make round waffles divided into quarters. This one has heart shaped sections of which there are five. Now the problem is to evenly distribute the required butter and syrup evenly into each depression. Much easier with the round waffles divided into horizontal and vertical rows of depressions as opposed to the five heart shaped sections which are not straight or evenly distributed. I still can't imagine a bunch of executives sitting around a table saying,"Let's make it heart shaped for Valentines Day".
The photo is of a flag some dedicated patriot discarded like a stale dishrag. I'll bet he/she waved it into war.
One plane headed East on my walk.
Heart shaped waffles bind me to the idea that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Parkinsons Progress rePort

Last week I had two molars removed as part of my geriatric dental health program. It was no big deal, one of them was ready to fall out anyway. But I tell you that to tell you this: I am routinely able to stop the shaking from the Parkinson's for the entire time I meditate. It just happens. And I can generally control the shakes by focusing on it when I'm not meditating. Now I can see the effect of stress on the disease. As I sat in the dental chair (a high stress situation for me) trying to meditate... I couldn't. I sat there with my right arm and left leg shaking up a storm. Finally after the needle was gone I calmed down and away we went. But what a time getting there. But the lesson I had to learn (again) was that the anticipation of pain is worse than the pain itself.
The anticipation of pain makes me wonder if we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Paraphrasing Richard Nixon.... I am not a sinner!

Happy Charles Darwins Birthday plus 1.
Today it raineth. You may not be aware of it but I have a philosophical belief that it is immoral to get wet when the temperature is less than 80 degrees. Right now it's 60 degrees. Paraphrasing Richard Nixon.... I am not a sinner!
So I do the blog early. There was something I wanted to write about but I forgot what it is. I'll remember it sometime and write about it then. But I won't necessarily note that it is an intellectually stale idea when I do.
Writing the blog early makes me feel that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Happy Birthday , Abe!

Happy 200th Abe. And many more. And tomorrow is Valentine's Day.
The weather today is sort of cool but a very nice day. The visibility this morning was poor but has cleared up nicely.
Yesterday I had two teeth extractedl Ouch! It really wasn't bad. One of them almost fell out.
If it doesn't rain tomorrow maybe I'll try to go for a bike ride along the beach.
Rides along the beach give me confidence that we're all on this flight together.
Dick

What I promised in the previous post.

The LHC is designed to accelerate beams of protons at relativistic speeds around a circular particle accelerator at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland. There has been a huge, organized effort to distract from the amazing science that lies in store for us, focusing on extreme and vanishingly unlikely negative impacts the LHC might won’t have (and yes, the Swiss dairy cattle will continue to happily graze without being sucked into a black hole long after “switch-on”). All going well, we’ll start seeing the results from the LHC toward the end of this year, giving us a unique and historic peek into the innermost workings of our Universe. Theorized particles, new physics and new dimensions are on the discovery menu and the LHC physicists must feel like they are approaching the apex of scientific ingenuity, about to revolutionize our view on the fabric of space-time forever. The best thing is, particle physicists have hopes for what they are about to discover, but there’s a possibility that previously unknown physics will surface, causing a stir amongst the scientific community.

Veronica Sanz of Boston University and York University in Ontario, Canada is one such excited physicist. She is pinning her hopes on probing beyond the smallest scales imaginable, possibly injecting energy into microscopic, curled-up extra dimensions. These dimensions are predicted by string and brane theory, so should the signature of tiny dimensions be seen, some of the more extreme theories on superstrings and alternate universes will have a more stable footing. However, there’s a twist. Sanz points out that an ‘observation’ of this extra dimension may in fact be a hologram of some other complex Universal computation. “While the LHC may uncover what appears to be an extra dimension, it could really be a hologram of some more complicated physics theory,” she says.

For example, this complicated physics theory may operate through several dimensions and manifest itself as a three dimensional hologram as seen in our four (three space and one time) dimensional world. Physicists will have to be at the top of their game to recognise whether the LHC is in fact uncurling the theorized extra dimensions or whether they are actually seeing a holographic manifestation of something more complex. Our current understanding of the Universe involves four fundamental forces, the strong force, weak force, electromagnetic force and gravitational force. However, the Standard Model ignores gravity as it is very weak and doesn’t “fit” with the theory. Obviously something is off-kilter, more work needs to be done before a complete understanding of the fundamental forces can be arrived at.

However, even if the “gravity situation” (shhhhh, we don’t need to mention that again) is ignored and the Standard Model is accepted, there is still one gaping hole in the theory… the Higgs boson. The Higgs boson was pretty much why the LHC was built (watch the great video presentation by Brian Cox for a clear explanation). Basically, if discovered, the Standard Model will be “proven” and we can all have a celebratory pint in a nice little pub at the mouth of the River Rhône on the banks of Lake Geneva. But it probably isn’t that simple.

The Higgs boson is a massive particle that should be out there. There is some detailed theory as to why it should be there, but say if the nature of our universe has other ideas? The Higgs boson gives matter its mass, plus it explains why relativistic particles effectively have no (or very little) mass. What if nature has a different way of giving matter mass? What if these extra dimensions, or the holographic manifestation of a deeper space-time ‘calculation’ provides mass? Co-investigator, Johannes Hirn from Yale University agrees with this possibility, “For all we know, extra dimensions may be nature’s way of computing the masses of particles.”

Happy Birthday Sarah Palin.

Happy Birthday Sarah Palin. Go shoot a wolf from an airplane to celebrate. On my walk this morning I heard three planes but saw only two. Maybe one of the was SP.
For a while in my life I came across books that radically changed my thought processes. In 1970 I discovered shamanism which has been a art of my life ever since. In 1980 a book was published that suggested the universe in which we live is a giant holograph with detailed reasons why it might be so. The concept was intriguing but I couldn't follow the math needed to go further. I 1990 a book was published about string theory which suggests that all of the fundamental particles of which we are made consist of wiggling strings. The mode and frequency of the 'wiggle' determines what particle it will show us in the quantum mechanical world. The criticism of string theory is that all the possible proof is smaller than anything we can detect. My problem was that the first book published on string theory was far too esoteric for popular tastes. I tried but couldn't get past the basic concept. In 2000 a book was published which popularized string theory. There is even a video shown on the electric TV about. Great for rolling ideas around in your head but still nothing provable. Then last week while perusing the Internet I came across an article about the LHC in Switzerland and what it might find. Lo and behold but what should appear but a piece on how the universe may be a combination of a hologram expressing itself as tiny wiggling strings which manifest themselves in our observable universe as fundamental particles which make up US!. There's more to it. I lost the original reference. I did copy it. It is reproduced on the following entry.
Holographic wiggling strings are proof that we're all on this flight together

Dick

A visit to Historic Flabob Airport.

Chapter One of the EAA met yesterday afternoon at Historic Flabob Airport. I drove out there for two reasons. I had some business to do with one of the members and I always enjoy the meeting topics. When I started out it was raining lightly but soon turned to a real George Bush downpour. It all turned out alright and I enjoyed being there once more.
It's been raining all morning but is forecast to stop this afternoon. For the time being I'm listening to the gentle patter of raindrops on the roof. I'm ready for the sunshine again.
Real downpours remind me that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Seven of Nine systems?

On February 8, 1587, Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded.
I shortened my walk and limited it to a walk to the corner to pick up a newspaper. I carried an umbrella but didn't open it. I just got a little wet. I did see two planes so the visibility is OK with high clouds giving an Obama rain (light and gentle).
Yesterday on the Olberman show on the electric TV, someone referred to a person being dressed in a Seven of Nine costume. For those who don't know, daughter Deborah has called her company Seven of Nine systems. Coincidence? I think not.
The forecast is for cloudy with rain tomorrow. Still no good biking weather.
Obamas policies assure me that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

How many women would hobo on a freight train?

Ahhh how sweet it is. I started off my walk this morning to the dulcet ones of Jerry Garcia and David Grisman riffing to "Freight Train". Jerry's baritone voice and deft finger picking along with Grisman's tasty mandolin runs made the perfect pace for my walk. So I played it twice. Freight Train is the first song to which I learned to finger pick the guitar. And one close to my heart. It caused me to reflect on the time Suzy (bless her heart) and I hoboed from Watsonville to Fullerton to visit brother Bob. I remember the train stopping in Paso Robles to shuffle some cars around at one am in the pitch dark. Suzy stood ready with her Mace to let anyone have it who showed his/her face around our gondola car. And I'll never forget the sunrise as we passed Santa Barbara. Waving to the field workers picking the fruit of the land. How many women would hobo on a freight train all night? Actually I do know at least one other.
The picture of Budda is just because I wanted to.
Knowing that a song can recall memories proves once again that were all on this flight together.

Dick

Oh! What a beautiful morning.

Another Obama day. Cool and a slight breeze. There is however a forecast for tonight and tomorrow of a Bush rain. Oh well, now that he's gone (or nearly so) we can use a little rain.
The sun was above the horizon as I started my walk but it looked like there had been a beautiful sunrise. There aren't enough of them. Since sunrises are the result of pollution in the air we breathe , it's probably just as well we don't have too many of them.
It's time for me to renew most of my prescription meds. They all ran out together. So I'll see how much the AARP sponsored bill hurts.
Prescription med costs determined by an insurance company remind me that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Tuesday sooouuuuup.

Today is laundry day so I elected to skip my walk to do the laundry directly after my meditation. Which reminds me of a song we sang as children about what to do on the days on the week. I remember "Tuesday sooouuuuup". And there was a day to do the laundry which brings us back to the beginning. And the cycle repeats itself again.
The humility of doing laundry indicates that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Another Obama day in Fullerton

It is truly a gorgeous day this morning. Slightly cool but clear and bright with the sun just up.
Then I had a thought. When one obtains a loan against the purchase of a house, there are always numerous papers to sign. Should one default on the loan someone takes the original agreement into court and says,"See. Right here!" and 12 jolly local men foreclose on another house. Now just for fun imagine that the original bank is purchased by a bigger bank and that bank swallowed up by a bigger bank. And along the way the agreements were digitized and filed. And copied and filed. Now there is an opportunity for an enterprising hacker. The idea is to delete the digital files and make them produce the original signed agreement (fat chance years later) and someone walks away with a house free and clear.
Now that I read this it makes no sense.
Delete
Delete
Screwball ideas just prove that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

GO NINERS!!

There was a very low ground fog on my walk this morning. Horizontally the visibility was about 1 mile so there was visible fog giving the idea of a fog on the moors . However, looking up there was blue sky. By the time I had finished the walk the fog was gone, gone as soon as the sun got 15 degrees above the horizon.
It's now 1 1/2 hours to the Superbowl. GO NINERS!!
Niners in the Superbowl hides the fact that we're all on this flight together.

Dick