So, i'm coming home down i75 on cruise control. I have it set for the highest speed that will take me home without changing it. One of the right lanes is closed for construction, but i know no one is working on it. So, through construction, i'm going the fastest, as the local who drives this all the time, and i'm in the left lane. At the end of the construction zone there's a whole pack of drivers, many i just passed, that now want to floor it. There are a couple miles to my exit, and i'd start merging right, but the pack has already caught up, and impatiently passes me on the right. Fine with me. One driver gets himself boxed in behind me, and decides to tailgate me. He's so close that i can't see his headlights. When trucks do that, their headlights are higher and illuminate my entire cabin. But this bozo has a car, and his lights just disappear. My cruise control is not intimidated. The rest of the pack passes me on the right, without giving me a chance to merge. Then, this bozo takes his turn. There's my exit.
My car is 17 years old. It has a manual transmission. A trailer hitch sticks out the back. If i so much as disengage the cruise, this bozo would smack into my rear end. The hitch would ensure that it would be ugly. It could be thousands of dollars in damage. But not to my car, since it isn't worth that much. And, pretty much no matter what i did, it would be his fault. Further, i could hit a pothole, and it wouldn't even have been my choice. Why would anyone behave that way?
Really, tailgating, and especially extreme tailgating, is not the right of every driver. What it is, mainly, is stupid.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Treasure Island
I recently pulled my old palm pilot from a drawer and started using it again. The display's digitizer is painfully broken, but can be calibrated and made to work for a little bit. I abandoned it two years ago. However, Weasel mostly doesn't need the digitizer, you get to the next screen of text by using a scroll down button. So, i downloaded Robert Louis Sevenson's Treasure Island and read it.
Unlike many of the classics, which are classics because they are early presentations of an idea, this was actually well written. Magnificent. So, go to Project Gutenberg, download it, and read it.
Unlike many of the classics, which are classics because they are early presentations of an idea, this was actually well written. Magnificent. So, go to Project Gutenberg, download it, and read it.
Friday, October 28, 2005
One Pound Bimonthly Diet
I started a diet last spring. Its not very good. It promises that once every two months, you'll loose a pound. It doesn't promise that you'll keep it off. And, you can only do it about once every other month. Oh, it can also leave you tired for an afternoon.
I started giving blood. My employer lets me sign up for it via company email, gives me time off to do it, donates office space where it can take place, and even suggests that its a good thing to do. I get juice and cookies for free, which may be why I don't loose any weight for long.
I started giving blood. My employer lets me sign up for it via company email, gives me time off to do it, donates office space where it can take place, and even suggests that its a good thing to do. I get juice and cookies for free, which may be why I don't loose any weight for long.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Ender's Shadow
I'm always looking for entertainment for my commute to work. My local library completely revamped their audio section recently. Most of the tapes are gone, and a completely new inventory of books on CD replaced it. I scanned it for science fiction. I had listened to the Star Wars and Star Trek tapes in the old collection. The timing is interesting. The tape deck in my car died, and i replaced it with an mp3 capable CD player.
The new collection has two interesting items. The first of the Dune prequels: The Butlerian Jihad, and Ender's Shadow. It turns out that neither of these are acceptable for my eight year old for use during long trips. Yet both are quite interesting. I'll leave off talking about the Jihad for when i've finished the series. There are two more 25+ hour books.
Ender's Shadow is powerful, deep, and dense. The fact that the first five chapters has the principal character basically starving to death, while i was on a diet only added to the effect. It wasn't hard to identify with a starving boy while, uhm, starving. Method reading isn't a requirement for enjoyment, however. You might be put off by the introductory starving segment. The street kid segment is pretty extreme. Though the violence gets much worse later, its just war, which we've all come to accept pretty well. One on one violence is so much harder to take. Besides, when the kids are a little older, there's so much less innocence.
The book is deep. The characters have depth. Not just the heroes. The villains also have depth. Some of the villains aren't so villainous. There is nowhere any black and white characters.
The book is dense. New ideas come at you at high velocity. They just keep coming. You expect the author to run out of ideas, but it keeps not happening for the entire 15+ hours of reading. Amazing. Harry Potter is dense, but you may have to reread it to appreciate just how many ideas there are. The first reading of Ender's Shadow is clearly just full of them, back to back. They follow one after another. And yet, just a few of the ideas are telegraphed. Amazing.
The new collection has two interesting items. The first of the Dune prequels: The Butlerian Jihad, and Ender's Shadow. It turns out that neither of these are acceptable for my eight year old for use during long trips. Yet both are quite interesting. I'll leave off talking about the Jihad for when i've finished the series. There are two more 25+ hour books.
Ender's Shadow is powerful, deep, and dense. The fact that the first five chapters has the principal character basically starving to death, while i was on a diet only added to the effect. It wasn't hard to identify with a starving boy while, uhm, starving. Method reading isn't a requirement for enjoyment, however. You might be put off by the introductory starving segment. The street kid segment is pretty extreme. Though the violence gets much worse later, its just war, which we've all come to accept pretty well. One on one violence is so much harder to take. Besides, when the kids are a little older, there's so much less innocence.
The book is deep. The characters have depth. Not just the heroes. The villains also have depth. Some of the villains aren't so villainous. There is nowhere any black and white characters.
The book is dense. New ideas come at you at high velocity. They just keep coming. You expect the author to run out of ideas, but it keeps not happening for the entire 15+ hours of reading. Amazing. Harry Potter is dense, but you may have to reread it to appreciate just how many ideas there are. The first reading of Ender's Shadow is clearly just full of them, back to back. They follow one after another. And yet, just a few of the ideas are telegraphed. Amazing.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Blood Letting
So, Intelligent Design (ID) is in the news. In the trial, ID is the defendant. The idea is to call ID science, and get it taught in schools. My knee jerk reaction is that ID isn't science - it's warmed over Creationism. My second take is that ID isn't even very good religion. But there's a new way to look at it. First things first.
ID isn't [very good] science. When one looks at the tenants of Intelligent Design, it says that Evolution doesn't explain every detail of how biology works. It complains that the theory of evolution can't explain everything. It suggests that current organisms are so complex that an Intelligent Designer is required to make it work. Unfortunately, it doesn't shed much light on the process that the Designer used, so it doesn't give us any insight into the way the Universe works. Scientists say that ID doesn't make any testable predictions, that it lacks independent verifiability. This is true enough. Another way to look at it is that, as science, ID isn't very good science. So, instead of saying that ID isn't science, perhaps a better attack is to demand some science content from ID.
ID isn't very good religion. ID attacks Evolution for what it does not currently address. For example, an old version of it said that eyes are so complex that they couldn't not have evolved by chance. Too much of the eye has to work for it to be any good. However, since then, the evolution of the eye has been worked out pretty well. One starts by evolving light sensitivity. This is valuable in its own right. There are bacteria that can sense light, where its coming from, and can swim to where it gets the amount of light it needs. For multiple celled creatures, this becomes a light patch. More sensitivity is achieved by having more area be sensitive. A communications network adds the results together to some advantage, and slightly more complex actions can be taken. Adding a lens over the patch increases sensitivity further. Additional neural networking allows better use of the information. And so on. So, ID claims that God, the Intelligent Designer, works in the gaps in Science. But, over the last hundred years or so, this particular gap has been closed. Further, there is evidence to suggest that other gaps may be closed as well. There is no evidence that suggests that any gaps will remain, in principal. So, eventually, ID, as a religion, is closed out completely. Its obsolete. Its also not very good religion for another reason. It doesn't have much to say. It doesn't inspire awe for the Designer, who has less and less to do as time moves on. It doesn't have much to say about ethics, our place in the Universe, etc. ID was built from the start as an attempt to get religion taught in public schools, but in science class.
A new way to look at Intelligent Design is this. Having teachers teach it in school will reduce the amount of time that teachers teach real science in school. Science is already taught at a minimal level or less here in the US. A few years ago, I got to tour a drug store in Philadelphia that had been closed in the 1950's. There was a 50's soda fountain, 50's furniture, and (empty) 50's drug bottles. There were all sorts of poisons - arsenic, hemlock, etc., and they weren't there as rat poison. Patients were expected to consume these things. It was shocking. Modern medicine isn't just a collection of toxins (though there are a few left). Modern medicine isn't perfect - its improving all the time. Its improving because there are people trained as scientists and engineers, using the scientific method to discover better processes. Clearly, if we train our next generation with ID, we'll end up going back to blood letting. Pretty scary.
ID isn't [very good] science. When one looks at the tenants of Intelligent Design, it says that Evolution doesn't explain every detail of how biology works. It complains that the theory of evolution can't explain everything. It suggests that current organisms are so complex that an Intelligent Designer is required to make it work. Unfortunately, it doesn't shed much light on the process that the Designer used, so it doesn't give us any insight into the way the Universe works. Scientists say that ID doesn't make any testable predictions, that it lacks independent verifiability. This is true enough. Another way to look at it is that, as science, ID isn't very good science. So, instead of saying that ID isn't science, perhaps a better attack is to demand some science content from ID.
ID isn't very good religion. ID attacks Evolution for what it does not currently address. For example, an old version of it said that eyes are so complex that they couldn't not have evolved by chance. Too much of the eye has to work for it to be any good. However, since then, the evolution of the eye has been worked out pretty well. One starts by evolving light sensitivity. This is valuable in its own right. There are bacteria that can sense light, where its coming from, and can swim to where it gets the amount of light it needs. For multiple celled creatures, this becomes a light patch. More sensitivity is achieved by having more area be sensitive. A communications network adds the results together to some advantage, and slightly more complex actions can be taken. Adding a lens over the patch increases sensitivity further. Additional neural networking allows better use of the information. And so on. So, ID claims that God, the Intelligent Designer, works in the gaps in Science. But, over the last hundred years or so, this particular gap has been closed. Further, there is evidence to suggest that other gaps may be closed as well. There is no evidence that suggests that any gaps will remain, in principal. So, eventually, ID, as a religion, is closed out completely. Its obsolete. Its also not very good religion for another reason. It doesn't have much to say. It doesn't inspire awe for the Designer, who has less and less to do as time moves on. It doesn't have much to say about ethics, our place in the Universe, etc. ID was built from the start as an attempt to get religion taught in public schools, but in science class.
A new way to look at Intelligent Design is this. Having teachers teach it in school will reduce the amount of time that teachers teach real science in school. Science is already taught at a minimal level or less here in the US. A few years ago, I got to tour a drug store in Philadelphia that had been closed in the 1950's. There was a 50's soda fountain, 50's furniture, and (empty) 50's drug bottles. There were all sorts of poisons - arsenic, hemlock, etc., and they weren't there as rat poison. Patients were expected to consume these things. It was shocking. Modern medicine isn't just a collection of toxins (though there are a few left). Modern medicine isn't perfect - its improving all the time. Its improving because there are people trained as scientists and engineers, using the scientific method to discover better processes. Clearly, if we train our next generation with ID, we'll end up going back to blood letting. Pretty scary.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Too fast
Back in January 2005, i started running on the treadmill. My goal was to run three days a week, for twenty minutes. After six months of running, i was able to increase the distance from about a mile to two and a half miles. However, my average time for a mile stubbornly stayed between 11.5 and 12.5 minutes. My friends suggested that i shouldn't worry about it, that by the end of the year, speed would naturally increase.
However, in June, it became too hot to run indoors. First, i moved the treadmill from the second floor to the first. That gave me a month. Then, i started running outside. Instantly, my times dropped. The induced wind cools me down, and though i'm breathing harder, i'm running faster. After two months of running outside, my times have dropped to about 7 minutes and 20 seconds per mile. My times are erratic, but follow the outside temperature pretty accurately. Hot is slow, cool is fast, more or less.
Now I have a new problem. My speed goal was to get the mile down to nine minutes. All of my problems should be this difficult.
So, i need a new goal. In order to keep the running time over twenty minutes, the distance has to be increased to at least three miles. That's easy enough to do on a treadmill. Outside, it will take a new course. I'll have to measure it.
On the other hand, despite achieving something like running once a week in August, I'm considering attempting to run every day. The New Food Pyramid program suggests exactly that. However, i exceed the suggested pace, as near as I can tell. Yet, though i ran yesterday, it just didn't happen today.
However, in June, it became too hot to run indoors. First, i moved the treadmill from the second floor to the first. That gave me a month. Then, i started running outside. Instantly, my times dropped. The induced wind cools me down, and though i'm breathing harder, i'm running faster. After two months of running outside, my times have dropped to about 7 minutes and 20 seconds per mile. My times are erratic, but follow the outside temperature pretty accurately. Hot is slow, cool is fast, more or less.
Now I have a new problem. My speed goal was to get the mile down to nine minutes. All of my problems should be this difficult.
So, i need a new goal. In order to keep the running time over twenty minutes, the distance has to be increased to at least three miles. That's easy enough to do on a treadmill. Outside, it will take a new course. I'll have to measure it.
On the other hand, despite achieving something like running once a week in August, I'm considering attempting to run every day. The New Food Pyramid program suggests exactly that. However, i exceed the suggested pace, as near as I can tell. Yet, though i ran yesterday, it just didn't happen today.
Friday, September 09, 2005
Food Pyramid
The 20 May 2005 episode of Science Friday discusses the new 2005 USDA food pyramid. This new pyramid has changes in what food is recommended, but also adds exercise. In particular, if you exercise more, you get to eat more. Eating more allows you to have more discretionary calories - sort of a reward for exercise. Though they have a list of things to avoid, like processed sugar and transfat, they emphasize things you are supposed to eat.
In my opinion there are four things to do for good health, not two. Eating right, is one. Exercise for your cardio vascular system is another. In addition to exercise for your body, you need exercise for your brain. The forth is to drink plenty of water.
Exercise your brain. Take up an intellectual hobby. There are a number of good ones. Reading. Crossword puzzles. Building up mental arithmetic skills. Write essays. Astronomy as a hobby, which has the side effect of getting you out of the house. There are plenty of others. Pick one or more that you actually enjoy. One benefit is that you will be doing something you enjoy.
Each of these features of healthy living has a noticeable benefit. Eating right should bring your weight to some semblance of trim. You may not notice being at lower risk of diabetes, etc. Exercise like biking or running will give you noticeable energy and endurance. The most compelling reason for adults, especially over 30, for exercise is sex life. I don't mean attracting partners - as you can certainly be in good physical condition while being overweight. I'm referring to performance. Mental exercise of various kinds can noticeably improve your memory and mood. Drinking more than enough water will reduce the severity and frequency of disease.
I personally have never lost weight through exercise. I have only lost weight by reducing my food intake. I have never gained energy by changing my diet. That requires exercise. These are often confused.
The old recommendation was 30 minutes of exercise, three days a week. The new recommendation is 30 minutes every day. Add 30 additional minutes of lighter exercise.
I did not see water intake in the food pyramid. A search for 'water' does not get any response. For healthy living, drink at least half a gallon of water, every day. That's eight eight ounce glasses. If you work at a desk, you should have a glass in front of you, and you should sip at it all day long. Soda and coffee do not count. There should be no sugar or caffeine in these drinks. You can drink more water if it is room temperature than if it is refrigerated. The noticeable benefits are reduced disease, such as colds, and increased energy. Psychologically, its more difficult to consume soda and other things you should be avoiding if your water intake is high. Its also easier to eat less if your water intake is high.
Changing my habits in these four areas has improved my life in dramatic ways. Avoidance of sugar has allowed me to lose weight - about 35 pounds. I have improved my time for a mile run from about 12.5 minutes to about 8 minutes. This has dramatically improved my energy and endurance. Twenty minutes of mental exercise a day has improved my memory and concentration. Drinking a half gallon of water has contributed the lion's share of essentially eliminating disease from my life. The result is that i feel better, and am likely to live longer.
In my opinion there are four things to do for good health, not two. Eating right, is one. Exercise for your cardio vascular system is another. In addition to exercise for your body, you need exercise for your brain. The forth is to drink plenty of water.
Exercise your brain. Take up an intellectual hobby. There are a number of good ones. Reading. Crossword puzzles. Building up mental arithmetic skills. Write essays. Astronomy as a hobby, which has the side effect of getting you out of the house. There are plenty of others. Pick one or more that you actually enjoy. One benefit is that you will be doing something you enjoy.
Each of these features of healthy living has a noticeable benefit. Eating right should bring your weight to some semblance of trim. You may not notice being at lower risk of diabetes, etc. Exercise like biking or running will give you noticeable energy and endurance. The most compelling reason for adults, especially over 30, for exercise is sex life. I don't mean attracting partners - as you can certainly be in good physical condition while being overweight. I'm referring to performance. Mental exercise of various kinds can noticeably improve your memory and mood. Drinking more than enough water will reduce the severity and frequency of disease.
I personally have never lost weight through exercise. I have only lost weight by reducing my food intake. I have never gained energy by changing my diet. That requires exercise. These are often confused.
The old recommendation was 30 minutes of exercise, three days a week. The new recommendation is 30 minutes every day. Add 30 additional minutes of lighter exercise.
I did not see water intake in the food pyramid. A search for 'water' does not get any response. For healthy living, drink at least half a gallon of water, every day. That's eight eight ounce glasses. If you work at a desk, you should have a glass in front of you, and you should sip at it all day long. Soda and coffee do not count. There should be no sugar or caffeine in these drinks. You can drink more water if it is room temperature than if it is refrigerated. The noticeable benefits are reduced disease, such as colds, and increased energy. Psychologically, its more difficult to consume soda and other things you should be avoiding if your water intake is high. Its also easier to eat less if your water intake is high.
Changing my habits in these four areas has improved my life in dramatic ways. Avoidance of sugar has allowed me to lose weight - about 35 pounds. I have improved my time for a mile run from about 12.5 minutes to about 8 minutes. This has dramatically improved my energy and endurance. Twenty minutes of mental exercise a day has improved my memory and concentration. Drinking a half gallon of water has contributed the lion's share of essentially eliminating disease from my life. The result is that i feel better, and am likely to live longer.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Really Bad
Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other man pulls out his phone and calls emergency services.
He gasps to the operator: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator in a calm, soothing voice replies: "Take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead."
There is a silence, then a shot is heard.
Back on the phone, the hunter says, "OK, now what?"
He gasps to the operator: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator in a calm, soothing voice replies: "Take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead."
There is a silence, then a shot is heard.
Back on the phone, the hunter says, "OK, now what?"
Monday, September 05, 2005
Trip to Maryland
So, Max and i made it back home around 8 AM. It took ten hours and three 20 oz Cokes to get there. 60 oz is just shy of a half gallon. I used to drink that while sitting at work, every day. I get a little retroactive diabetic shock just thinking about it. It shouldn't have been a surprise that i gained weight. The real surprise is how little i gained. 2 pounds a year.
Max fell asleep almost right away, and the tank was about three quarters full. So the first fill up and rest stop was in Ohio. The car ran pretty smoothly, with no significant problems. All things being relative, "no significant problems" means that, well, one of the times when i made a rest stop, the car wouldn't start. The starter motor has a dead spot. So i had to push start it. I couldn't just sit in the driver's seat and push it in reverse with the one foot. I actually had to get out of the car and push it a few feet. Twice. While i wasn't out of breath, it did have me breathing hard for a minute while i pulled the car onto the highway.
Apparently, my endurance for this overnight thing is nine hours, not ten. So, i really had to tough it out once i crossed the Michigan border. The the only rest stop in Michigan is the Welcome Center. It is closed. Visitors take note. You are not welcomed to Michigan. I should have stopped in Ohio near Toledo. I was too tired to think that far ahead. Readers will note the irony. For me, its a way of life. I'm not real sorry if my karma ran over your dogma.
The first tank of gas for the trip got 37 mpg, the second got 36 mpg. Strange. The second tank participated in the new spark plugs. The number two plug was really fouled with charred oil. That's the cylinder that needs the ring job. It was approximately 2.5 tanks of gas, or 45 gallons. $120 in gas, roughly, for the trip. In July, i was paying $2.139 a gallon. That would have been $96. Last year, this trip was $55.
Once home, i unpacked the car and fell asleep. Dawn entertained Max for most of the day. When I woke, I did about three hours of work on the car. There is no evidence of a continuing water leak. The water overflow was basically empty, but the radiator was full. The car needed another quart of oil. I put some electrical tape on the exhaust gas vent thingy. I removed the ground wire on the starter motor, clean up the terminal and plug, and applied dielectric greece, and tried it. It seemed to help just a little bit, but really, i need a new starter. I should have replaced it earlier this summer when i had the new one in my hands. I diagnosed for sure a clicking sound from under the hood. There's a minor exhaust leak near the exhaust manifold. I left the car up on the blocks to work on it tonight, but it just didn't cool down fast enough. It will have to wait until the weekend. Then, something i had wanted to do before the trip, i cleaned the windshields and applied Rainex. I'll be happy if it reduces the dew in the morning.
It was quite an adventure for me. That's adventure as in the UHaul slogan "Adventure in Moving", where you imagine that the front universal joint lets go, and your truck is pole vaulted from the overpass. Max wasn't that concerned about the car, or at least, i've trained him that the problems with the car are my responsibility, and that he doesn't have to worry about it. He sure had a good time over the weekend with George, the Smithsonian, and sailing.
Max fell asleep almost right away, and the tank was about three quarters full. So the first fill up and rest stop was in Ohio. The car ran pretty smoothly, with no significant problems. All things being relative, "no significant problems" means that, well, one of the times when i made a rest stop, the car wouldn't start. The starter motor has a dead spot. So i had to push start it. I couldn't just sit in the driver's seat and push it in reverse with the one foot. I actually had to get out of the car and push it a few feet. Twice. While i wasn't out of breath, it did have me breathing hard for a minute while i pulled the car onto the highway.
Apparently, my endurance for this overnight thing is nine hours, not ten. So, i really had to tough it out once i crossed the Michigan border. The the only rest stop in Michigan is the Welcome Center. It is closed. Visitors take note. You are not welcomed to Michigan. I should have stopped in Ohio near Toledo. I was too tired to think that far ahead. Readers will note the irony. For me, its a way of life. I'm not real sorry if my karma ran over your dogma.
The first tank of gas for the trip got 37 mpg, the second got 36 mpg. Strange. The second tank participated in the new spark plugs. The number two plug was really fouled with charred oil. That's the cylinder that needs the ring job. It was approximately 2.5 tanks of gas, or 45 gallons. $120 in gas, roughly, for the trip. In July, i was paying $2.139 a gallon. That would have been $96. Last year, this trip was $55.
Once home, i unpacked the car and fell asleep. Dawn entertained Max for most of the day. When I woke, I did about three hours of work on the car. There is no evidence of a continuing water leak. The water overflow was basically empty, but the radiator was full. The car needed another quart of oil. I put some electrical tape on the exhaust gas vent thingy. I removed the ground wire on the starter motor, clean up the terminal and plug, and applied dielectric greece, and tried it. It seemed to help just a little bit, but really, i need a new starter. I should have replaced it earlier this summer when i had the new one in my hands. I diagnosed for sure a clicking sound from under the hood. There's a minor exhaust leak near the exhaust manifold. I left the car up on the blocks to work on it tonight, but it just didn't cool down fast enough. It will have to wait until the weekend. Then, something i had wanted to do before the trip, i cleaned the windshields and applied Rainex. I'll be happy if it reduces the dew in the morning.
It was quite an adventure for me. That's adventure as in the UHaul slogan "Adventure in Moving", where you imagine that the front universal joint lets go, and your truck is pole vaulted from the overpass. Max wasn't that concerned about the car, or at least, i've trained him that the problems with the car are my responsibility, and that he doesn't have to worry about it. He sure had a good time over the weekend with George, the Smithsonian, and sailing.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
The One Ring
My son is enamoured of the movie series, The Lord of the Rings. He's been begging to go to Borders, where they sell The One Ring. In what must have been a marketing coup, they also sell The One Ring in packages of five.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Use the Force
The Star Wars saga is over, unless you count the pod cast by by Star Wars fan father Roderick Vonhögen. There are those that haven't seen the series. These include my eight year old. He has known for some time that he has wanted to see them. I have decided that the time has come, and have started by introducing the movies to him, one at a time, in order.
But what order is that? Should it be in chronological order of presentation, or in episode order. That is, now that they are all available, does it make sense to start with episode one? Partly because the video store didn't have episode one available at the time, Episode IV: A New Hope was chosen. That's that.
I don't just set him down in front of the TV, however. I watch stuff with him. This is true even for stuff that I have seen before. I want to see his reactions to what is going on. If i've seen something with him, i will sometimes let him watch it again on his own. He likes watching stuff over and over. I guess i did too, when i was that age. If i don't watch with him, then something always happens, like two years ago with Jurassic Park. He may never watch that movie, because it gave him the creeps when he was six.
We just saw The Empire Strikes Back. I have to say that i didn't like it that much when it came out. Sure, i'm a Star Wars fan. So, when i say i didn't like it, i mean in comparison to the first movie, Episode IV. It doesn't mean, for example, that it rates lower than reruns of Let's Make a Deal game shows.
There is stuff in there that i like. I like the religion that Yoda spouts. Things like, stay focused, and commit yourself to success, and the unpredictability of the future. I've heard people complain that the religion of the Force is thin. Well it is. However, its a movie, not a book. After all, despite 10.5 hours of film dedicated to The Lord of the Rings, it is pretty thin compared to the books. Even if George had more of this religion developed, it could not be presented in the context of a movie, or six movies.
Then, there is stuff i didn't like so much. The ice planet Hoth. Planets are big complicated places. Look at the Earth, or Mars. Mars has Deserts, ice caps, canyon systems, volcanoes, and craters. Earth additionally has rain forests, cities, oceans, underground cave systems, etc. You don't need a whole planet to be all one thing. Painting a planet that is at all capable of supporting life as all one thing is very thin. All the planets in Star Wars seemed to be dedicated to just one idea or other. Star Trek suffered from this. Really, ten or twenty episodes could have been spent beaming down to just one planet.
There was little stuff. One day Luke rescues himself from a wild animal - cut off its arm with a light saber, but instead of staying in the cave where it was safe, he ventures out into the cold. Yet shortly after, he single handedly blows up an Imperial Walker in a dramatic daring feat. Its one thing to show character building, but this was before his Jedi training.
Yet, i sort of like how he lands blind on the planet Dagoba within a few meters of Yoda. Use the Force, Luke.
But what order is that? Should it be in chronological order of presentation, or in episode order. That is, now that they are all available, does it make sense to start with episode one? Partly because the video store didn't have episode one available at the time, Episode IV: A New Hope was chosen. That's that.
I don't just set him down in front of the TV, however. I watch stuff with him. This is true even for stuff that I have seen before. I want to see his reactions to what is going on. If i've seen something with him, i will sometimes let him watch it again on his own. He likes watching stuff over and over. I guess i did too, when i was that age. If i don't watch with him, then something always happens, like two years ago with Jurassic Park. He may never watch that movie, because it gave him the creeps when he was six.
We just saw The Empire Strikes Back. I have to say that i didn't like it that much when it came out. Sure, i'm a Star Wars fan. So, when i say i didn't like it, i mean in comparison to the first movie, Episode IV. It doesn't mean, for example, that it rates lower than reruns of Let's Make a Deal game shows.
There is stuff in there that i like. I like the religion that Yoda spouts. Things like, stay focused, and commit yourself to success, and the unpredictability of the future. I've heard people complain that the religion of the Force is thin. Well it is. However, its a movie, not a book. After all, despite 10.5 hours of film dedicated to The Lord of the Rings, it is pretty thin compared to the books. Even if George had more of this religion developed, it could not be presented in the context of a movie, or six movies.
Then, there is stuff i didn't like so much. The ice planet Hoth. Planets are big complicated places. Look at the Earth, or Mars. Mars has Deserts, ice caps, canyon systems, volcanoes, and craters. Earth additionally has rain forests, cities, oceans, underground cave systems, etc. You don't need a whole planet to be all one thing. Painting a planet that is at all capable of supporting life as all one thing is very thin. All the planets in Star Wars seemed to be dedicated to just one idea or other. Star Trek suffered from this. Really, ten or twenty episodes could have been spent beaming down to just one planet.
There was little stuff. One day Luke rescues himself from a wild animal - cut off its arm with a light saber, but instead of staying in the cave where it was safe, he ventures out into the cold. Yet shortly after, he single handedly blows up an Imperial Walker in a dramatic daring feat. Its one thing to show character building, but this was before his Jedi training.
Yet, i sort of like how he lands blind on the planet Dagoba within a few meters of Yoda. Use the Force, Luke.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Ice Cream
Time heals all ills. A fairly short time covers ice cream headaches.
So, here i am, impatiently waiting for the ice cream headache to subside, so that i can wolf down the rest of the serving. The headache is severe. The ice cream isn't that good, is it? We're talking about severe pain. I know it will go away. But why court experiencing that sort of pain again? Its hard to believe that simple impatience covers it.
Perhaps nature will give us some sort of insight into migrain headaches through ice cream headaches. That would be, uhm, welcome relief for many.
Yes, time heals all ills. But while waiting for even an ice cream headache to go away, i'm thinking, just like AIDS.
So, here i am, impatiently waiting for the ice cream headache to subside, so that i can wolf down the rest of the serving. The headache is severe. The ice cream isn't that good, is it? We're talking about severe pain. I know it will go away. But why court experiencing that sort of pain again? Its hard to believe that simple impatience covers it.
Perhaps nature will give us some sort of insight into migrain headaches through ice cream headaches. That would be, uhm, welcome relief for many.
Yes, time heals all ills. But while waiting for even an ice cream headache to go away, i'm thinking, just like AIDS.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Soroban
Last Autumn, i decided to teach my son how to do arithmetic. I would do it right. I went online and purchased a "how to" book, an abacus for myself and an abacus for my son. He was seven.
I joined a Yahoo discussion group that i found somehow. They're totally focused. I participated avidly for a bit, then got down to business.
The abacus that i'm talking about is the Japanese Soroban. The more common Chinese abacus has a dividing bar with five beads below and two beads above on each rod. It seems to be optimized for doing hexadecimal math - base 16. This used to be used in China for weights and monetary computations. You know, 16 ounces in a pound... that sort of thing. The Japanese abacus, called the Soroban, has four beads below the bar, and one above. It is optimized for decimal. Base ten. By an odd coincidence, that's what we use here in the US. We have a decimal money system, as well as decimal weights and measures. That's right, Congress passed a law in the 1800's proclaiming that everyone should use the metric system for weights, distances, etc. in the United States. That's why speed limit signs are in kilometers per hour.
One can add, subtract, multiply and divide easily on the soroban. I taught myself how to perform arithmetic on the soroban when i was about 17. After three months, i was quite proficient. Then i came on a chapter which told me that i no longer needed the physical instrument. Just imagine one, and move the beads. I was skeptical, but tried it. I went through all the exercises in the book in my head. That includes multiplying two four digit numbers together, and getting an eight digit answer. Or dividing a six digit number by a three digit number, and getting a three digit answer.
Two things struck me about the technique. I was always right. That is to say, after adding and subtracting perhaps a thousand numbers, and performing perhaps a hundred multiplications and divisions, i had not made a single mistake. Had i performed this on paper, i'd have made dozens of errors. It wasn't me. The technique is that good. The reason seems to be that it handles carries and borrows in a simple and immediate manner. There's nothing to remember.
The other thing that struck me was how fast it was. Addition and subtraction on the Soroban was about the same speed as an electronic calculator - which i owned in 1975. Addition and subtraction via mental arithmetic (anzan) was faster. Multiplication and division were faster on the calculator, as you'd expect.
Today, the draw of the abacus for me is that it has the potential to take the fear of math out of students. If there is no fear of math, then math based skills, like science, will have less or no fear as well. Technology is based on science. Our society is based on technology. Under no circumstances do i want my son to be incompetent at life.
Its been less than a year. My son performs two digit adds and subtracts. He's not always right, but he's much better than with pencil and paper. He's faster too.
My own mental arithmetic skills have disappeared from disuse. The brain is like a muscle. You have to use it, or it becomes weak. My mental skills have not come back, as yet. There are hints that it may, if i keep at it. I'm currently performing mixed addition and subtraction with ten five digit numbers, basically every day. Perhaps just one problem over breakfast. I'm still making mistakes from time to time. These stem from losing my place or getting distracted in the middle. Soon, however, i'll move on to multiplication and division. Then, square roots, logarithms and trigonometry functions. I once performed a problem like sin(23.7 degrees) to ten digits in my head. It took about 35 minutes, and i was correct. Those were the days.
I joined a Yahoo discussion group that i found somehow. They're totally focused. I participated avidly for a bit, then got down to business.
The abacus that i'm talking about is the Japanese Soroban. The more common Chinese abacus has a dividing bar with five beads below and two beads above on each rod. It seems to be optimized for doing hexadecimal math - base 16. This used to be used in China for weights and monetary computations. You know, 16 ounces in a pound... that sort of thing. The Japanese abacus, called the Soroban, has four beads below the bar, and one above. It is optimized for decimal. Base ten. By an odd coincidence, that's what we use here in the US. We have a decimal money system, as well as decimal weights and measures. That's right, Congress passed a law in the 1800's proclaiming that everyone should use the metric system for weights, distances, etc. in the United States. That's why speed limit signs are in kilometers per hour.
One can add, subtract, multiply and divide easily on the soroban. I taught myself how to perform arithmetic on the soroban when i was about 17. After three months, i was quite proficient. Then i came on a chapter which told me that i no longer needed the physical instrument. Just imagine one, and move the beads. I was skeptical, but tried it. I went through all the exercises in the book in my head. That includes multiplying two four digit numbers together, and getting an eight digit answer. Or dividing a six digit number by a three digit number, and getting a three digit answer.
Two things struck me about the technique. I was always right. That is to say, after adding and subtracting perhaps a thousand numbers, and performing perhaps a hundred multiplications and divisions, i had not made a single mistake. Had i performed this on paper, i'd have made dozens of errors. It wasn't me. The technique is that good. The reason seems to be that it handles carries and borrows in a simple and immediate manner. There's nothing to remember.
The other thing that struck me was how fast it was. Addition and subtraction on the Soroban was about the same speed as an electronic calculator - which i owned in 1975. Addition and subtraction via mental arithmetic (anzan) was faster. Multiplication and division were faster on the calculator, as you'd expect.
Today, the draw of the abacus for me is that it has the potential to take the fear of math out of students. If there is no fear of math, then math based skills, like science, will have less or no fear as well. Technology is based on science. Our society is based on technology. Under no circumstances do i want my son to be incompetent at life.
Its been less than a year. My son performs two digit adds and subtracts. He's not always right, but he's much better than with pencil and paper. He's faster too.
My own mental arithmetic skills have disappeared from disuse. The brain is like a muscle. You have to use it, or it becomes weak. My mental skills have not come back, as yet. There are hints that it may, if i keep at it. I'm currently performing mixed addition and subtraction with ten five digit numbers, basically every day. Perhaps just one problem over breakfast. I'm still making mistakes from time to time. These stem from losing my place or getting distracted in the middle. Soon, however, i'll move on to multiplication and division. Then, square roots, logarithms and trigonometry functions. I once performed a problem like sin(23.7 degrees) to ten digits in my head. It took about 35 minutes, and i was correct. Those were the days.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Table Lookup
I went to an engineering school. While there, i hung out with a group of about 20 guys (some of whom are women). There were de facto spots to hang out. For three years, it was one of the on campus apartments, large enough to have its own living room. So, a bunch of us would be hanging out, deep in conversation.
Now, in computer software, there is hardly any duplication. If there is any, it can generally be relegated to a subroutine, and calls made to it. The advantage is that if there is an error, it can be fixed once. If there is a new idea, it can be applied once. That's the theory, anyway.
For a group of engineers and scientists, all with excellent memory, the same sort of efficiency could be had with conversations. Whole conversations would be given a label, and references could be made. No need to rehash the debates, a reference to the label was enough to carry all sides. If someone missed an interesting (referenced) conversation, someone could fill that person in, without the need to tie up the whole group. As a result, conversations became somewhat higher level.
Oddly, no one ever wrote any of this stuff down. So who knows what wisdom or tripe has been lost. Perhaps it would have been too much like documentation. Everyone knows that programmers don't like to write English. I thought that was true for me at the time. However, when the group project reports needed to be written, i volunteered every time, even when others competent with text editors and formatting programs were available. Of late, i find myself writing more English than anything else.
We really couldn't say that this task was too difficult, that computers and editors weren't available. In fact, we enjoyed free and unlimited computer time. Text editors and formatting programs were available. We have were able to cut a 9 track tape before we left with all our stuff. One hundred and thirty five megabytes fits on such a tape - which is alot compared with the amount of stuff you can type.
We might argue that it takes longer than a half hour to type up a half hour conversation. We could all remember everything, so why bother. Except that i can't remember any of it, as far as i know.
A quarter of a century or so later, this blog resembles those conversations from time to time, at least in form.
Now, in computer software, there is hardly any duplication. If there is any, it can generally be relegated to a subroutine, and calls made to it. The advantage is that if there is an error, it can be fixed once. If there is a new idea, it can be applied once. That's the theory, anyway.
For a group of engineers and scientists, all with excellent memory, the same sort of efficiency could be had with conversations. Whole conversations would be given a label, and references could be made. No need to rehash the debates, a reference to the label was enough to carry all sides. If someone missed an interesting (referenced) conversation, someone could fill that person in, without the need to tie up the whole group. As a result, conversations became somewhat higher level.
Oddly, no one ever wrote any of this stuff down. So who knows what wisdom or tripe has been lost. Perhaps it would have been too much like documentation. Everyone knows that programmers don't like to write English. I thought that was true for me at the time. However, when the group project reports needed to be written, i volunteered every time, even when others competent with text editors and formatting programs were available. Of late, i find myself writing more English than anything else.
We really couldn't say that this task was too difficult, that computers and editors weren't available. In fact, we enjoyed free and unlimited computer time. Text editors and formatting programs were available. We have were able to cut a 9 track tape before we left with all our stuff. One hundred and thirty five megabytes fits on such a tape - which is alot compared with the amount of stuff you can type.
We might argue that it takes longer than a half hour to type up a half hour conversation. We could all remember everything, so why bother. Except that i can't remember any of it, as far as i know.
A quarter of a century or so later, this blog resembles those conversations from time to time, at least in form.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Tired
I replaced a tire on my car today. You might ask if i got my money's worth out of the old one. You might just as well ask if i cheated death. Its the same question. And the answer is:
Oh yeah.
A couple days ago, i noticed when going under a bridge while in the far left lane, there was an echo off the wall from my car. It was a funny flappy sound, perhaps coming from the driver's side rear tire. I imagined a chunk of tire tread hanging loose, flapping in the breeze. Today i noticed that the car shimmied violently at low speed. So when i got home, i decided on an inspection. It looked bad. It was worn thin - well past legal. It had a bump on it that i could sort of detect, but couldn't really see without taking the tire off of the car.
Time was pressing. I knew that the spare was a spare because it was showing the steel belt. I wasn't going to put something like that back on the car in anything other than a dire emergency. That's right, i have a real tire for a spare - not a donut. The spare was in the trunk, and therefore handy, and the tire store was about to close. If i hurried, and rolled in the spare, they'd put a new tire on it. I could get it onto my car in my leisure.
So, home again, i pulled the suspect tire off the car. No flap of tread hanging loose. It was showing some chord, and there was a bulge. The bulge was big. Huge. What had happened was that a large section of the tread was no longer attached to the tire, and that section had expanded. It made me nervous to look at it. It could explode at any moment.
So i put the new tire on the car, and let some air out of the old tire. No use having it explode in my trunk. Or my face.
The tire store is open late twice a week. Perhaps next week i'll replace this new spare.
In the mean time, i'll put gas in the car tomorrow, and see if i can get another quarter of a million miles out of it.
A couple days ago, i noticed when going under a bridge while in the far left lane, there was an echo off the wall from my car. It was a funny flappy sound, perhaps coming from the driver's side rear tire. I imagined a chunk of tire tread hanging loose, flapping in the breeze. Today i noticed that the car shimmied violently at low speed. So when i got home, i decided on an inspection. It looked bad. It was worn thin - well past legal. It had a bump on it that i could sort of detect, but couldn't really see without taking the tire off of the car.
Time was pressing. I knew that the spare was a spare because it was showing the steel belt. I wasn't going to put something like that back on the car in anything other than a dire emergency. That's right, i have a real tire for a spare - not a donut. The spare was in the trunk, and therefore handy, and the tire store was about to close. If i hurried, and rolled in the spare, they'd put a new tire on it. I could get it onto my car in my leisure.
So, home again, i pulled the suspect tire off the car. No flap of tread hanging loose. It was showing some chord, and there was a bulge. The bulge was big. Huge. What had happened was that a large section of the tread was no longer attached to the tire, and that section had expanded. It made me nervous to look at it. It could explode at any moment.
So i put the new tire on the car, and let some air out of the old tire. No use having it explode in my trunk. Or my face.
The tire store is open late twice a week. Perhaps next week i'll replace this new spare.
In the mean time, i'll put gas in the car tomorrow, and see if i can get another quarter of a million miles out of it.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Comparative Magic Systems
The magic system of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game always seemed to me more or less haphazard. The lists of spells that wizards could cast seemed like a jumble of everything that the game designers could think of. Like the content of many early computer CDs: dumpware.
By comparison, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings Amber, and my own nameless variant of the D & D fantasy role playing games have underlay which seem to make sense of it all. Naturally, if it makes perfect sense, its not magic so much as science. These systems don't give everything away. My own system makes the most sense - at least to me. The magic system is called Lawful Magic - not because the players need to follow the rules, but because the system itself has rules and follows them.
So, Lawful Magic is powered by the individual. An organ, controlled by the brain is developed to a lesser or greater extent. So, some people have more potential than others. Many have potential that goes unnoticed or undeveloped. Magic is difficult, and may require a number of skills. Magic is deliberate. No one accidentally casts it, as with Harry. Casting magic takes practice, requires energy from the body, and due to efficiency issues, is essentially an intellectual exercise. As time goes on, new magic is researched and learned, and magic gains in power over time, the knowledge amassed in libraries.
Magic in Amber comes to a small pool of people - one family. A pattern is encoded genetically, and grants a fairly narrow range of tremendous powers. Magical power comes from desire.
In The Lord of the Rings magic is inherited from ancient god-like creatures. Through time, their descendants blood becomes less potent, and people become less powerful and live shorter lives. So ancient people like Tom Bombadil live forever and have personal power above all magic. The elves live forever and have significant magical powers. Men have less or none. Its an anti-Darwinian universe, where each new generation is less fit than the previous. It appears to be modeled on nobility from the dark ages, where inbreeding leads to such losses. That line is all but spent.
The Harry Potter universe has magic potential as genetic, and random. The power comes from emotion. Magic can happen by accident, for example, when angry or scared. The whole story seems to be about what happens when an evil person makes everyone angry and scared. Yet, there is a knowledge component, and as in my system, knowledge is power.
By comparison, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings Amber, and my own nameless variant of the D & D fantasy role playing games have underlay which seem to make sense of it all. Naturally, if it makes perfect sense, its not magic so much as science. These systems don't give everything away. My own system makes the most sense - at least to me. The magic system is called Lawful Magic - not because the players need to follow the rules, but because the system itself has rules and follows them.
So, Lawful Magic is powered by the individual. An organ, controlled by the brain is developed to a lesser or greater extent. So, some people have more potential than others. Many have potential that goes unnoticed or undeveloped. Magic is difficult, and may require a number of skills. Magic is deliberate. No one accidentally casts it, as with Harry. Casting magic takes practice, requires energy from the body, and due to efficiency issues, is essentially an intellectual exercise. As time goes on, new magic is researched and learned, and magic gains in power over time, the knowledge amassed in libraries.
Magic in Amber comes to a small pool of people - one family. A pattern is encoded genetically, and grants a fairly narrow range of tremendous powers. Magical power comes from desire.
In The Lord of the Rings magic is inherited from ancient god-like creatures. Through time, their descendants blood becomes less potent, and people become less powerful and live shorter lives. So ancient people like Tom Bombadil live forever and have personal power above all magic. The elves live forever and have significant magical powers. Men have less or none. Its an anti-Darwinian universe, where each new generation is less fit than the previous. It appears to be modeled on nobility from the dark ages, where inbreeding leads to such losses. That line is all but spent.
The Harry Potter universe has magic potential as genetic, and random. The power comes from emotion. Magic can happen by accident, for example, when angry or scared. The whole story seems to be about what happens when an evil person makes everyone angry and scared. Yet, there is a knowledge component, and as in my system, knowledge is power.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Speling and gramer
There aren't that many spelling mistakes in these postings. Oh, sometimes one will slip through. Though the spell checker is religiously run, every now and then i just skip going to church altogether. That happens, for example, when proof reading. This is done at the keyboard, and any corrections are made right away. Sometimes i think that, Oh, its only one sentence - it is unlikely that there are any mistakes, and so church is skipped.
Mistakes are still made. The contraction for it is is irregular. Does it have an apostrophe or not? Then, the spelling checker knows that both form and from are words. So, this very common typo slips through the automatic, but very stupid, checker. A grammar checker might catch it, but i've not seen one yet that is worth my time. They complain about all sorts of things that are exactly what i intended.
Then, there's style. Perhaps you've noticed the lower case first person singular pronoun. I try to consistently use upper case if it starts a sentence, whereas i use lower case if it isn't at that position.
Though i proof read my stuff, it usually happens just after i've written it. That means that while i'm reading it, i still remember it well enough to succumb to the temptation of reading what i expect to read, rather than what is really there. My next day proof reading is significantly better. Really, i should have someone else proof read my stuff, while i proof read theirs. That would also teach us both the rules of grammar and spelling that the other knows. Any takers? It could be done by email. There is a little, tiny email link at the very bottom of this page. Go ahead.
So why do i do it? Why bother? This isn't a paid assignment. This is just me rambling into the ether. There may not even be an audience. No one may be reading this at all. In the event that someone is reading it, i don't want to sound completely stupid. I want the reader to work harder to determine that i'm a complete idiot. Its pretty much that simple. Its style - like the goofy thing with the first person singular pronoun.
Some things to check: Remember to never split an infinitive. The passive voice should never be used. Do not put statements in the negative form. Verbs have to agree with their subjects. Proofread carefully to see if you words out. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. A writer must not shift your point of view. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.) Don't overuse exclamation marks!! Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing. Always pick on the correct idiom. The adverb always follows the verb. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable alternatives. Thanks to William Safire.
Mistakes are still made. The contraction for it is is irregular. Does it have an apostrophe or not? Then, the spelling checker knows that both form and from are words. So, this very common typo slips through the automatic, but very stupid, checker. A grammar checker might catch it, but i've not seen one yet that is worth my time. They complain about all sorts of things that are exactly what i intended.
Then, there's style. Perhaps you've noticed the lower case first person singular pronoun. I try to consistently use upper case if it starts a sentence, whereas i use lower case if it isn't at that position.
Though i proof read my stuff, it usually happens just after i've written it. That means that while i'm reading it, i still remember it well enough to succumb to the temptation of reading what i expect to read, rather than what is really there. My next day proof reading is significantly better. Really, i should have someone else proof read my stuff, while i proof read theirs. That would also teach us both the rules of grammar and spelling that the other knows. Any takers? It could be done by email. There is a little, tiny email link at the very bottom of this page. Go ahead.
So why do i do it? Why bother? This isn't a paid assignment. This is just me rambling into the ether. There may not even be an audience. No one may be reading this at all. In the event that someone is reading it, i don't want to sound completely stupid. I want the reader to work harder to determine that i'm a complete idiot. Its pretty much that simple. Its style - like the goofy thing with the first person singular pronoun.
Some things to check: Remember to never split an infinitive. The passive voice should never be used. Do not put statements in the negative form. Verbs have to agree with their subjects. Proofread carefully to see if you words out. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. A writer must not shift your point of view. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.) Don't overuse exclamation marks!! Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing. Always pick on the correct idiom. The adverb always follows the verb. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable alternatives. Thanks to William Safire.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Beethoven
Last June, from the 5th to the 10th, the BBC published the symphonies of Beethoven. They were available for free download for about a week. Early in the sequence, i downloaded the first symphony and listened to it at work. I wrote a short review of the piece and sent it by email to the BBC. They sent a nice note back asking if they could publish it, and, i told them that yes, that is what i had in mind.
I thought it was a little odd that i could download it for free during that week, but the license said that i could not then copy it. The exact quote is You may not copy, reproduce, edit, adapt, alter, republish, post, broadcast, transmit, make available to the public, or otherwise use this audio in any way except for your own personal, non-commercial use.. Naturally, i have to copy it just to listen to it. And, the best way to expand the BBC audience, in my opinion, is to make sure that BBC appears in the file names and allow free distribution. Oh well.
In August, i received a packet by snail mail that i wasn't expecting. In the large envelope were a couple booklets. One is the Concert Programme for Beethoven The 9 symphonies. The other is a small glossy booklet covering the 2005/06 BBC Philharmonic season. In it, they talk about next year's similar extravaganza: Tchaikovsky Symphony Cycle starting Friday, 19 May 2006. On three days, Symphonies 3, 4, then 1, 5, then 2, 6 will be performed. It sounds like a schedule of the firing order of a six cylinder engine. However, i can hardly wait. Now, its unlikely that i'll make the trip across the pond, but the booklet does give the prices for season tickets, and even has an installment plan for easy payments.
Overall, it appeared to me a first rate set of booklets for a first rate set of concerts. I was happy to receive them.
I thought it was a little odd that i could download it for free during that week, but the license said that i could not then copy it. The exact quote is You may not copy, reproduce, edit, adapt, alter, republish, post, broadcast, transmit, make available to the public, or otherwise use this audio in any way except for your own personal, non-commercial use.. Naturally, i have to copy it just to listen to it. And, the best way to expand the BBC audience, in my opinion, is to make sure that BBC appears in the file names and allow free distribution. Oh well.
In August, i received a packet by snail mail that i wasn't expecting. In the large envelope were a couple booklets. One is the Concert Programme for Beethoven The 9 symphonies. The other is a small glossy booklet covering the 2005/06 BBC Philharmonic season. In it, they talk about next year's similar extravaganza: Tchaikovsky Symphony Cycle starting Friday, 19 May 2006. On three days, Symphonies 3, 4, then 1, 5, then 2, 6 will be performed. It sounds like a schedule of the firing order of a six cylinder engine. However, i can hardly wait. Now, its unlikely that i'll make the trip across the pond, but the booklet does give the prices for season tickets, and even has an installment plan for easy payments.
Overall, it appeared to me a first rate set of booklets for a first rate set of concerts. I was happy to receive them.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
What A Gas
Two sixty one nine a gallon? Feh. Its up thirty cents a gallon since last month! Feh, i say again. Something has to be done. What can be done?
A year or so ago, President GW Bush said that, "There is no instant cure for the energy shortage." This was and is wrong. He says these kinds of things all the time, and i'm embarrassed to be an American. My president is scientifically illiterate and must surround himself with illiterates for advice. Regan was charismatic, but his credibility was hurt when it leaked out that he had sought out and gotten advice from an astrologer.
My car, a 1988 Mazda 626 with a 2.2 liter fuel injected 12 valve engine and 5 speed manual transmission, regularly gets about 35 miles per gallon of regular gas. It has an EPA highway rating of 32 miles per gallon. It has achieved 41 miles per gallon on a tank of gas - getting 615 miles on 15 gallons of gas. It isn't modified for economy. It achieves better economy in part because of the kind of driving it has too do (nearly all highway driving) and because of the way i drive it. I like to use the cruise control. My measurements show that at about the same speed, using cruise improves my mileage by about 4 miles per gallon. That's about 10 percent. Further, when on cruise, it is annoying to pull up behind someone and have to change lanes to pass or alter the cruise speed. Sometimes, if approaching a car slowly, when the car gets even with the other car, they speed up to match your speed. I've even seen cars that will pace you so that you are clearly in their blind spot for miles. Worse, sometimes they pace you so that they are in your blind spot for miles. Its better to just go slightly slower than most traffic so that they have to pass you. I let them ride my bumper if they want. Their aggression is wasted on my cruise control.
So my car ends up going a little slower than the rest of traffic. I get to where i'm going in about the same time. I make very few rest stops, sometimes going eight hours between them. On long trips, the same cars pass me again and again.
And, i'm driving some 35,000 miles a year. It wasn't my first choice. I recall when my commute was about 100 yards with fondness. Its just how it is.
My measurements show that my car gets about 17% better gas mileage at 60 than at 70. By going 55 miles per hour, my car gets twenty seven miles per gallon while towing my 16 foot boat. Most SUVs don't get 27 MPG, but my car gets that while towing a boat.
At any rate, one instant fix to the energy crisis is to bring back the double nickles. Post Speed Limit 55 signs on the nation's highways, and the instant effect is more than 10 percent less gas consumed. Why wait for the national mandate? It is quite legal to drive at 55 even if the speed limit is 70. In many places, trucks and busses are required to drive that speed (not that they do). Then you can enjoy your own private ten to twenty percent discount on driving right away. If everyone does it, then demand goes down and, probably, prices go down too.
In the 1970's, conservation made up the lion's share of what it took to get out of the crisis. Wear a sweater at home in the winter, and set your house to 67 degrees F. That's too cold for me, so i set it as low as i can stand - about 70. But in the summer, i try not to use air conditioning. This summer, i have not turned it on once. This has come as a surprise to my friends. It's been hot. Well, i like it hot.
Of course, if you're buying a new car, you can choose one that meets your needs with the best fuel economy.
There's more. Over the past five years, I have been replacing burned out incandescent light bulbs with those screw in fluorescent bulbs. I've tried most brands now. Some take a second to flicker on, but there are brands that come on basically instantly. Unlike the long tubes, which for me seem to always flicker at 60 Hz, the screw in bulbs seem to burn steady. That means i can read by them. This is a good thing, since i want to use them where i need light for long periods of time. The 22 watt bulbs are supposed to be as bright as 100 watt incandescent bulbs - but they seem to me as a little less. Still, i can get bulbs that are bright enough for what i need, and i generally end up with more light everywhere rather than less. So these bulbs turn out to be about four times as efficient as the old ones. They also last much longer. I'd rather have bulbs that never need replacing and pay a few extra bucks for them. They claim that buying them saves money. The bright ones claim to save $75 over their life. My electric company says that lighting comprises about 44 percent of home electricity use. Since one fourth of 44 percent is eleven percent, that should mean that i'm saving about 33 percent of my electric bill. That's one third. Since i tend not to use air conditioning and have gas hot water, it may be more than that for me.
I have also begun a project to double the insulation in my Attic. I'm about three quarters finished. I'm doing it myself in late fall and early spring - where the temperatures are moderate. So far, it has cost about a hundred dollars. It has been worth it in the improvement in comfort alone for the half of the house that is finished.
I have installed a little switch on the vent for my clothes dryer. In the winter, I vent the hot and moist air into the house. In the summer, it goes outside. Its in the basement, and i probably wouldn't do it if i spent most of my time down there. It doesn't seem to add lint everywhere in the house, or even the basement. It may be adding dust, however, requiring more frequent cleaning. This hasn't been really measured, as yet. It was under ten bucks, and has probably saved me more than that - though this hasn't really been measured either.
I'd like to do more still. My roof and attic get very hot in the summer. This makes the upper floor hotter than it might be. Changing my roof tiles from dark material to a more reflective material should make my roof and attic cooler in the summer. There is also a design called a double roof. There is a space between the two roofs, and the air between them is allowed to connectively flow out - so there is always a fresh supply of ambient temperature air. Perhaps when the roof needs to be redone in a few years this could be easily and cheaply retrofitted to about two thirds of the roof area.
I'd like to add passive solar heating to supplement the heat in the winter. This is basically a panel that heats water with the light of the sun, perched on the roof. Perhaps hot water from it could feed the hot water heater too. Then, showers would last longer - because when the main tank runs out, instead of having to heat up cold water, it would get hotter water from the start.
Another thing i'd like to do is vent the heat from my basement dehumidifier to the outside. That wouldn't make it an air conditioner, but as i only run it in the summer, and the heat it produces is not desirable in my house - even in my relatively cool basement.
Most of these improvements would pay for themselves, decrease my cost of living, and increase my comfort level - my standard of living.
It's too late to redesign my house from scratch. What i'd like is a to have more of the living space underground. That would make my summers comfortable without air conditioning. There are some housing concepts out there that promise to cut heating fuel bills by ninety percent. The time has come, and the way for it to happen is for people to demand it. How do you do that? Shop around. If you are building your own house, build it right from the start. It demands something that has been traditionally difficult - consumer education.
A year or so ago, President GW Bush said that, "There is no instant cure for the energy shortage." This was and is wrong. He says these kinds of things all the time, and i'm embarrassed to be an American. My president is scientifically illiterate and must surround himself with illiterates for advice. Regan was charismatic, but his credibility was hurt when it leaked out that he had sought out and gotten advice from an astrologer.
My car, a 1988 Mazda 626 with a 2.2 liter fuel injected 12 valve engine and 5 speed manual transmission, regularly gets about 35 miles per gallon of regular gas. It has an EPA highway rating of 32 miles per gallon. It has achieved 41 miles per gallon on a tank of gas - getting 615 miles on 15 gallons of gas. It isn't modified for economy. It achieves better economy in part because of the kind of driving it has too do (nearly all highway driving) and because of the way i drive it. I like to use the cruise control. My measurements show that at about the same speed, using cruise improves my mileage by about 4 miles per gallon. That's about 10 percent. Further, when on cruise, it is annoying to pull up behind someone and have to change lanes to pass or alter the cruise speed. Sometimes, if approaching a car slowly, when the car gets even with the other car, they speed up to match your speed. I've even seen cars that will pace you so that you are clearly in their blind spot for miles. Worse, sometimes they pace you so that they are in your blind spot for miles. Its better to just go slightly slower than most traffic so that they have to pass you. I let them ride my bumper if they want. Their aggression is wasted on my cruise control.
So my car ends up going a little slower than the rest of traffic. I get to where i'm going in about the same time. I make very few rest stops, sometimes going eight hours between them. On long trips, the same cars pass me again and again.
And, i'm driving some 35,000 miles a year. It wasn't my first choice. I recall when my commute was about 100 yards with fondness. Its just how it is.
My measurements show that my car gets about 17% better gas mileage at 60 than at 70. By going 55 miles per hour, my car gets twenty seven miles per gallon while towing my 16 foot boat. Most SUVs don't get 27 MPG, but my car gets that while towing a boat.
At any rate, one instant fix to the energy crisis is to bring back the double nickles. Post Speed Limit 55 signs on the nation's highways, and the instant effect is more than 10 percent less gas consumed. Why wait for the national mandate? It is quite legal to drive at 55 even if the speed limit is 70. In many places, trucks and busses are required to drive that speed (not that they do). Then you can enjoy your own private ten to twenty percent discount on driving right away. If everyone does it, then demand goes down and, probably, prices go down too.
In the 1970's, conservation made up the lion's share of what it took to get out of the crisis. Wear a sweater at home in the winter, and set your house to 67 degrees F. That's too cold for me, so i set it as low as i can stand - about 70. But in the summer, i try not to use air conditioning. This summer, i have not turned it on once. This has come as a surprise to my friends. It's been hot. Well, i like it hot.
Of course, if you're buying a new car, you can choose one that meets your needs with the best fuel economy.
There's more. Over the past five years, I have been replacing burned out incandescent light bulbs with those screw in fluorescent bulbs. I've tried most brands now. Some take a second to flicker on, but there are brands that come on basically instantly. Unlike the long tubes, which for me seem to always flicker at 60 Hz, the screw in bulbs seem to burn steady. That means i can read by them. This is a good thing, since i want to use them where i need light for long periods of time. The 22 watt bulbs are supposed to be as bright as 100 watt incandescent bulbs - but they seem to me as a little less. Still, i can get bulbs that are bright enough for what i need, and i generally end up with more light everywhere rather than less. So these bulbs turn out to be about four times as efficient as the old ones. They also last much longer. I'd rather have bulbs that never need replacing and pay a few extra bucks for them. They claim that buying them saves money. The bright ones claim to save $75 over their life. My electric company says that lighting comprises about 44 percent of home electricity use. Since one fourth of 44 percent is eleven percent, that should mean that i'm saving about 33 percent of my electric bill. That's one third. Since i tend not to use air conditioning and have gas hot water, it may be more than that for me.
I have also begun a project to double the insulation in my Attic. I'm about three quarters finished. I'm doing it myself in late fall and early spring - where the temperatures are moderate. So far, it has cost about a hundred dollars. It has been worth it in the improvement in comfort alone for the half of the house that is finished.
I have installed a little switch on the vent for my clothes dryer. In the winter, I vent the hot and moist air into the house. In the summer, it goes outside. Its in the basement, and i probably wouldn't do it if i spent most of my time down there. It doesn't seem to add lint everywhere in the house, or even the basement. It may be adding dust, however, requiring more frequent cleaning. This hasn't been really measured, as yet. It was under ten bucks, and has probably saved me more than that - though this hasn't really been measured either.
I'd like to do more still. My roof and attic get very hot in the summer. This makes the upper floor hotter than it might be. Changing my roof tiles from dark material to a more reflective material should make my roof and attic cooler in the summer. There is also a design called a double roof. There is a space between the two roofs, and the air between them is allowed to connectively flow out - so there is always a fresh supply of ambient temperature air. Perhaps when the roof needs to be redone in a few years this could be easily and cheaply retrofitted to about two thirds of the roof area.
I'd like to add passive solar heating to supplement the heat in the winter. This is basically a panel that heats water with the light of the sun, perched on the roof. Perhaps hot water from it could feed the hot water heater too. Then, showers would last longer - because when the main tank runs out, instead of having to heat up cold water, it would get hotter water from the start.
Another thing i'd like to do is vent the heat from my basement dehumidifier to the outside. That wouldn't make it an air conditioner, but as i only run it in the summer, and the heat it produces is not desirable in my house - even in my relatively cool basement.
Most of these improvements would pay for themselves, decrease my cost of living, and increase my comfort level - my standard of living.
It's too late to redesign my house from scratch. What i'd like is a to have more of the living space underground. That would make my summers comfortable without air conditioning. There are some housing concepts out there that promise to cut heating fuel bills by ninety percent. The time has come, and the way for it to happen is for people to demand it. How do you do that? Shop around. If you are building your own house, build it right from the start. It demands something that has been traditionally difficult - consumer education.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
TA - Thinkers Anonymous
It started out innocently enough. I began to think at parties now and then to loosen up. Inevitably though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker.
I began to think alone - "to relax," I told myself - but I knew it wasn't true.
Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time. I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don't mix, but I couldn't stop myself.
I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, "What is it exactly we are doing here?"
Things weren't going so great at home either. One evening I had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life. She spent that night at her mother's.
I soon had a reputation as a heavy thinker. One day the boss called me in. He said, " I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don't stop thinking on the job, you'll have to find another job."
This gave me a lot to think about.
I came home early after my conversation with the boss. "Honey," I confessed, "I've been thinking..."
"I know you've been thinking," she said, "and I want a divorce!"
"But Honey, surely it's not that serious."
"It is serious," she said, lower lip aquiver.
"You think as much as college professors, and college professors don't make any money, so if you keep on thinking we won't have any money!"
"That's a faulty syllogism," I said impatiently, and she began to cry. I'd had enough. "I'm going to the library," I snarled as I stomped out the door. I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche. I roared into the parking lot and ran up to the big glass doors... they didn't open. The library was closed. As I sank to the ground clawing at the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster caught my eye. "Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?" it asked. You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinkers Anonymous poster.
Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker. I never miss a TA meeting.
At each meeting we watch a non-educational video; last week it was Porky's.
Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting. I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home. Life just seemed... easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking.
I began to think alone - "to relax," I told myself - but I knew it wasn't true.
Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time. I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don't mix, but I couldn't stop myself.
I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, "What is it exactly we are doing here?"
Things weren't going so great at home either. One evening I had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life. She spent that night at her mother's.
I soon had a reputation as a heavy thinker. One day the boss called me in. He said, " I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don't stop thinking on the job, you'll have to find another job."
This gave me a lot to think about.
I came home early after my conversation with the boss. "Honey," I confessed, "I've been thinking..."
"I know you've been thinking," she said, "and I want a divorce!"
"But Honey, surely it's not that serious."
"It is serious," she said, lower lip aquiver.
"You think as much as college professors, and college professors don't make any money, so if you keep on thinking we won't have any money!"
"That's a faulty syllogism," I said impatiently, and she began to cry. I'd had enough. "I'm going to the library," I snarled as I stomped out the door. I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche. I roared into the parking lot and ran up to the big glass doors... they didn't open. The library was closed. As I sank to the ground clawing at the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster caught my eye. "Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?" it asked. You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinkers Anonymous poster.
Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker. I never miss a TA meeting.
At each meeting we watch a non-educational video; last week it was Porky's.
Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting. I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home. Life just seemed... easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking.
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