Lunch With George!

November 29, 2001 - La Parrilla Suiza

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Agenda

• Searching for Lunch With George!
• Dreamcast
• Harry Potter
• Pitch Black
• Digital Camera
• Shrek
• The Dish
• Paper Power
• Half.com
• One Share
• General Relativity
• Don't Throw Up if You Don't Want To
• Golden Dollar UPDATE

Lunch With George! Can Now Be Found.

I periodically check the various search engines on the web to determine whether they have yet added Lunch With George! to their list of sites to index. And we have finally appeared! Just go to Lycos (my new favorite search engine!) and search for "Lunch With George". We're the first entry in the list!

Movies

Harry Potter

I took my daughters to see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone last Wednesday. It was great! I've read th first book, and all the places, people, and things were just as I had imagined them (or better, in the case of the quidditch match!). they has to cut out a lot of the less-critical portions of the book, but hey! You can only fit so much of a 400-page book into a 2.5 hour movie!

The movie really brought the book to life for me. There were many "name" actors, and they added quite a bit, too. Richard Harris was good as Dumbledore, Maggie Smith was very convincing as Professor McGonagall, and Alan Rickman was Snape himself!

I would definitely recommend the film.

Shrek

George saw it, and was disappointed. The digital animation of Shrek's face was excellent, but the animated movement of many of the characters seemed no better than that of a video game. He also was disappointed that most of the content which was geared toward grown-ups was pretty crude (e.g., Shrek farting in the bathtub). He liked Eddie Murphy's character, the little donkey, quite a lot!

I have only seen excerpts (as much as I could watch at Target while waiting for my daughter to pick out shampoo). What I saw seemed situationally funny, but I don't know if the story holds tegether. I did enjoy the Disney slams, though!

I asked George if he had seen Final Fantasy - the Spirits Within, which is supposed to contain amazing computer-generated animation of humans. He has not, but still hopes to rent it.

Shrek is also available on VCD for $10.99 at CoolVCD.com-- I think I'll get it! Animation usually fares much better on VCD than live-action films.

the Dish

George saw another movie in the last week and LOVED it: The Dish. It's an Australian film based on a true story about a large radio dish and the scientists/technicians that operate it. The story takes place during the Apollo 11 Moon landing-- the "Dish" is part of the network of antennas which work together to maintain communication with the astronauts around the clock. George says the characters are quirky and quite enjoyable. He says the movie was really more about how the moon landing was such a unifying event for the whole world.

George's only problem was with the accents-- most of the characters were Australian and he had trouble understanding quite a bit of dialog. My response was swift-- but a DVD player! Teri and I often turn on the english subtitles which are present on most DVDs when we cannot understand what someone is saying. George said he's never had a good reason to get a DVD player... until now!

George was impressed by the film enough that he did some internet searches for films by the same director (Rob Sitch) and found The Castle. This comedy tells the story of a man living on the edge of an airport who loves his home and it's convenient location so near the airport! All is well until the airport needs to expand, and plans to invoke Emminent Domain to acquire his property! George found a separate reference to this film from a legal organization which does pro bono work to help people who are threatened with losing their homes in similar situations. They recommended the film for anyone who wanted to know what sort of work they do.

Pitch Black

I recently borrowed Fred's copy of Pitch Black, an Australian-made Science Fiction thriller that had the misfortune to be released the same summer as Star Wars Episode I. It wasn't the kind of film that Teri would enjoy (there's a bit of a high body count), so I watched it in pieces over a few days. This was bad, because I kept wanting to get back to it! I still hope to get a copy and watch it all the way through in one sitting.

The story involves the survivors of a crash-landing on a hot desert planet that reveals its mysteries to them as the film progresses (the scene showing the crash of the spaceship is very dramatic and well-done, too). Among the many plot complications: a dangerous prisoner who escaped following the crash, the officer guarding him who has his own secrets, a hot planet with three suns (it's always daytime), dangerous carnivores that keep below ground out of the light. Oh, I almost forgot... all the suns are about to align AND set!

If you enjoy good science fiction films and feeling tense and anxious for a couple of hours, this movie is for you!

Digital Camera

George remembers that not too terribly long ago, digital cameras in the megapixel range were much more expensive. Even my old Quicktake originally retailed for over $700! You'll be able to find it on ebay next week.

Here are two pictures I recently took with the camera:

Sega Dreamcast

I purchased World Series 2K2, and have really enjoyed playing this excellent baseball game. You can match up any two teams in major league baseball in any stadium, make substitutions, etc. During gameplay, you have control of what pitch to throw and where to throw it. Once the ball is hit (and if you're batting, you choose when and where to swing), you have control of the fielders and can make the play at any base. It is quite complex, but I found it easy to get started. I've been adding new things each time I play (most recently, I figured out how to bunt!). Each player's batting stance is modeled after the real player, and the windup and delivery motions of starting pitchers is uncanny! Randy Johnson's three-quarter delivery looks pretty familar, and there is no mistaking the submarine pitches of Byung-Hyun Kim!

The free driving game allows you to choose from many cars and a variety of track types. All in all, the graphics are quite good (maybe not as good as a PS2, but way beyond the Nintendo 64 and the original Playstation). I keep oversteering, though. More Practice Required!!!

Since getting the Dreamcast, I've found other reasons to like it-- it has a 56K modem! It comes bundled with its own browser on CD-ROM. You can use the controllers, or add a very inexpensive Dreamcast keyboard and mouse. Voila! You're surfing the web on your TV!

I also read a posting on a discussion board that it is possible to play Video CDs (VCDs) on the Dreamcast console. The necessary software even comes with a remote control! See the Dream VCD Player.

One Share

I stumbled upon a web site for a company who sells single shares of well-known companies, intended primarily as gifts. Oddly enough, they are called

Paper Power

Some medical applications:

• Microsensors on disposable strips with a readout for home recording and diagnosis (particularly useful for continuous monitoring of glucose levels)
• "Microinfusion" pumps embedded in skin patches for non-invasive trans-dermal drug delivery
• electrical stimulation patches to stimulate muscles for pain control or physiotherapy

I'm not sure how many of these things have actually been built, but the potential seems vast.

Half.com

I don't hold it against a business or web site if they do not accept the Card, but Half really irritated me because they STOPPED accepting American Express. I had been very pleased that they did accept the Card, so to receive an e-mail (over a year ago) from them indicating that they would no longer accept the card REALLY tecked me off, and I told them so. I discovered that buying used books on Amazon was actually a more pleasant and convenient experience, and they accept American Express.

Golden Dollar Coin UPDATE

I also discovered that the newer Coke machines, as well as the newer snack vending machines at Honeywell accept the coins! Not so the Pepsi machines, however.

I was telling George earlier in the week that I finally spent some time digging through the Relativity FAQ long maintained by Chris Hillman of the University of Washington. I found answers to all of the questions we had been asking, and more! It turns out that for the last six or seven years, Dr. Tom Van Flandern has been a frequent poster to the sci.physics.relativity news group. He's been involved in many interesting discussions with other physicists, but it seems they have had a difficult time finding common ground. If you decide to join this newsgroup, please read Welcome to sci.physics.relativity.

Some Answers

Here are some answers to the questions we've been asking:

• Gravity Propagates at the Speed of Light.
  According th GR, as a mass moves through space, the curvature which it imparts on spacetime moves outward at the speed of light. (see Does Gravity travel at the Speed of Light?). It is important to note, however, that no direct measurements of the speed of gravity have yet been made!

• General Relativity Answers the Propagational Latency Problem.
  The field equations which define GR account for the propagational latency of gravitational fields. It turns out that the relative velocity of a mass causes the apparent force vector of its gravity (when acting upon another body) points not at the mass, but in front of the moving mass. The delta cancels out the propagational latency almost exactly, and would only differ from the Newtonian concept of instantaneous action in systems involving extremely high masses and velocities (Observations of distant binary pulsars are consistent with this). See again Does Gravity travel at the Speed of Light?.

  Great Quote:

  "In general relativity, there actually is no answer to the question, 'What would happen to the Earth's orbit if the Sun suddenly disappeared?' The equations of general relativity simply have no solution that corresponds to this situation. The reason is that the equations contain the law of (local) conservation of mass-energy built into them in a fundamental way.

  To give an analogy, asking the above question to a general relativist is a little bit like asking a number theorist a question like 'If there were an integer between 29 and 30, would it be prime or not?' There just isn't any answer, since the hypothesis is impossible."

          -- Emory F. Bunn, Cal Berkeley

  
• There are Good Not-too-technical Sources which Explain General Relativity.
  Steven Carlip, from the University of California at Davis, recommends the following books for the faint of calculus heart:
  • Black Holes and Time Warps, by Kip Thorne
  • The Riddle of Gravitation, by Peter G. Bergmann
  • Journey into Gravity and Spacetime, by John Wheeler

  By dumb luck, I already have a copy of Kip Thorne's book. George and I wondered aloud just who was Kip Thorne... but a glance at the inside title page gave us quite an answer: He is the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology. The book is great so far! I've read about 60 pages or so. He begins with a 30-plus page science fiction story about a starship and crew investigating black holes. It turns out that Black Holes are really great ways to describe General Relativity, since near a black hole, everything is extreme. The differences between Einstein's Theory of Gravity and Newton's theory become glaring (this is analogous to Special Relativity-- Newton's Laws of motion differ most from Einstein's when you approach the speed of light).

sci.physics.relativity

I just read a post tonight by Allen C. Goodrich (username GRAVITYMECHANIC2), in which he declares that many of the current views and laws of physics are false. He has conveniently published a book, which can be purchased for only $55.00 plus tax and shipping. I clicked through to his website, and it seems that his posting to the newsgroup is the entire contents of the web page.

Oh, here are his credentials:

• Amateur Astronomer for 70 years
• Licensed Engineer
• Graduate of RPI (that's pretty good!)
• holder of several copyrights and patents

These people seem to have little or no actual background in physics, yet they have no problem with throwing around wild ideas using terminology they do not understand... some dedicate entire websites to their alternative theories. Many of them have authored self-published books to publicize their theories (it's the only way for them to get exposure since the "establishment" is conspiring to supress their ideas). Here's one: http://www.rlgerl.com/

Even though there is a lot of good info at sci.physics.relativity, you really have to wade through a lot of this stuff to find it.

Oh, I just found another interesting post from a David Orton. If you go to the web site, you can read his own Quantum Inertial Dynamics theories.

Being a fan of the Absolute Frame of Reference myself (even though I know its not true-- I just like it!), I was drawn to the theories of Gerald L. O'Barr... at least for a second or two. He likes aether, too! His theories can be viewed on his lengthy website. His posts are very entertaining, and always include lots of exclamation marks!!!!

Steve Carlip and Tom Van Flandern

Steve characterizes Tom's general approach as taking Newtonian mechanics and trying to directly apply light-speed propagation delays (this doesn't compute-- Tom says (and Steve has agreed) that the orbits of planets under such conditions would spiral out of control).

John Baez (at UC Riverside) has a great webpage which addresses misconceptions in physics. He dedicates a specific section to the Speed of gravity issue, and it features Dr. Tom Van Flandern. He has also collected numerous posts from sci.physics.relativity over the years made by Steve Carlip, himself, and other leading gravitation physicists. They make for really good reading, but there is a LOT of material. It is broken up into two large pages:

• The Debate from 1995 to 2000
• The Debate from 2000 onward

Steve Carlip published a rebuttal paper in the same journal entitled Aberration and the Speed of Gravity.

Not swayed, Tom has responded with The Speed of Gravity - Repeal of the Speed Limit.

In 1997, Steve wrote a well-reasoned response to Tom in a so-called final attempt to help him understand GR (their discussions continued well past this time!). He does a good job of relating the curvature of spacetime and the propagation of gravitational field changes to similar phenomena in electromagnetism. I've added this post verbatim to the gravity page.

Experimental Idea

Figure 1.

Try to imagine it in two-dimensional terms using a rubber sheet (see Figure 1) upon which you place a bowling ball and a marble. You can see that if you place the marble on the sheet close enough to the bowling ball, it will be in a place where the sheet is curved by the weight of th bowling ball. The marble will immediately begin to roll toward the bowling ball. When it does so, it is interacting with the curve of the rubber sheet right at the point where it is in contact with the sheet. It is NOT interacting directly with the bowling ball, but is instead interacting with the curvature created by the bowling ball.

So, to us the bowling ball appears to be acting on the marble [instantaneously] at a distance, but instead the marble is being acted upon by the "field" created by the bowling ball when it curved the rubber sheet.

Okay... so what about the propagation issue? It seems to me you could expand the analogy by rolling the bowling ball across the sheet. If the ball is rolling, I can easily imagine that the shape of the indentation in the sheet is NOT circular, but rather is compressed on the leading edge (this is the result of the indentation propagating forward ahead of the bowling ball).

Not only is the indentation not circular when viewed from above-- the actual curvature is probably deformed in 3 dimensions when compared to the indentation occurring when the ball is at rest. So while a marble placed in the indentation created by a ball at rest would begin to accelerate directly toward the ball, I would expect that a marble under the influence of an indentation created by a rolling bowling ball would accelerate along the deformed curve and it might NOT be directly toward the bowling ball.

It would be very interesting to create such a physical experiment. One could:

1. suspend a flexible rubber sheet in a frame
2. paint grid lines on the sheet
3. position several time-synchronized digital video cameras to capture the action from a variety of angles
4. roll a bowling ball across the rubber sheetwith the cameras running
5. Use the synchronized digital video to create a 3-dimensional model of the shape of the bowling ball's indentation while it is moving
6. Mathematically determine the vector which a marble would follow along the deformed indentation.

I predict that a marble placed on a point whose direction from the bowling ball is perpendicular to the balls movement would roll in a direction which would point in front of the moving ball. I'm assuming that this would compensate for any delays in propagation of the "field."

What To Do When Something Makes You Want To Puke

These devices are called Relief Bands, and a LYCOS search turned up oodles of sites which recommend or sell the device. Here's a Sport Fishing site which sells ReliefBand: Blue Ocean Tackle. Here's a great informational page at AV Web.