Lunch With George!

From: Anderson, James R
Date: Tue Apr 22, 2003 3:44 PM
To: paul AT lunchwithgeorge.com
Subject: That's my Merit

Hello George,

I really enjoyed reading your sailing discussion. I was looking for info on Merit 25’s, and Alta Vista sent me your way.

What was really cool was seeing a picture of my boat on your page. I own the Merit 25 Gaucho. I am sure that you found it on the Merit 25 homepage.

Looks like your pal found a good boat. If you ever come up Seattle way I will buy you a beer and take you out for a sail.

Jim Anderson
4th Grade Educator & Adventurer

[You can see the photo here.]

From: jon katz
Date: Thu Mar 27, 2003 8:42:26 AM America/Phoenix
To: paul AT lunchwithgeorge.com
Subject: Paul

I loved your great review of A Dog Year last year http://www.lunchwithgeorge.com/kbooks/kb_review_adogyear.html and appreciated it. I wanted you to know that my next book, New Work of Dogs: Tending to Love, Life and Family is coming out in May. I hope you'll consider reading that one as well. Your review made me laugh, and I felt you really got the book in a particular way.

If you'd like to get New Work, please email my publicist at Random House. It's a different kind of book, but I get the feeling you'll find it interesting. Thanks again for those wonderful words, and if you have any questions let me know.

___________________________

Jon Katz

From: Jim
Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2003 4:57 PM
To: lunchwithgeorge
Subject: Superbowl pool redux

Were the rows and columns pulled independently? If not, there might still be an on-diagonal/off-diagonal advantage.

-Jim

George's reply:

Yes, they were independent. We pulled the numbers out one at a time and assigned them to the columns, then put them back into the hat and pulled them out one at a time for the rows. So I don't think there's any advantage to picking any one square or set of squares over another before the digits were assigned.

I would like to try doing the measurement again, only instead of measuring the chances of any single digit being a final score, measuring the chances of pairs of digits being competing final scores. While a 7 is a high probability score, I expect the odds of two 7's is slightly less than you would get by multiplying their independent odds against each other, since a tie score would force an overtime.

George

From: Steve
Date: Monday, February 24, 2003 12:42 PM
To: lunchwithgeorge
Subject: Superbowl pool

So, when George bought the square, were the values for the rows and columns already assigned? I'm curious because I remember an office debate long ago (can't remember if it was at my current or previous job) regarding when the row/column numbers were assigned. One side felt that the squares should be sold first, and row/column values assigned after all the squares were taken. The other side felt that row/column values should be assigned first, so that square buyers know what they are buying. I don't remember which way it ended up going.

My opinion is that the row/column values should be assigned after squares are sold. Doing it the other way around allows cognizant players the opportunity to have an advantage, when I always felt that a pools like this ought to be purely chance. The hitch is that the organizers of the pool have to be trusted to randomly assign the values, without giving favor to any of the names in the squares.

SB

George's reply:

Nope. They pulled the numbers out of a hat after all the squares were assigned. I was a witness so there was no hanky panky.

George

From: Angelaraeanne
To: mailbag
Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2003 03:42:07 EST
Subject: Shrimp and lobster that won't shrink your wallet

Seagull's Cafe is one of Redondo's hidden secrets as far as good food is concerned. It is tucked in among the shops and other restaurants located on the Redondo pier. I think the best item on the menu is the Shrimp fajita platter, and the price is surprisingly reasonable. This plate includes one pound of shrimp grilled to perfection. I'm not talking little shrimp either, these shrimp are large and seasoned with onions and bell peppers that just melt in your mouth. If that's not enough, you get a side of coleslaw and a choice of garlic bread, rice or french fries. I chose the garlic bread and was more than pleased. All of this and the price was only $16.99. This is easily a meal to be shared. They also have a Lobster Plate that the manager assures me is grilled the same way as the shrimp, and includes the same side dishes for only $12.99. They have a family special that includes both of these plates for only $26.99.

The atmosphere is friendly and the manager, who also operators the ice cream corner is a delight. The owner is very friendly. Engage him in a conversation and he may even surprise you with a deal on one of his mouth watering funnel cakes that are made fresh daily. The funnel cake alone at this location will bring you back for more. I drive all the way from Whittier at least twice a month now. This restaurant has always had good food, but nothing compared to this plate. Next week I am taking my family again. I am going to try the Lobster.

From: Patricia Vatcher
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 20:56:55
To: mailbag@lunchwithgeorge.com
Subject: Hot Dogs

Ted's Hot Dogs are really good, but if you want the very best you have to go to Flo's Hot Dogs in York, ME.

Pat Vatcher

[Sadly, Florence Stacy passed away on June 25, 2000 (read the story here). Here's a review of Flo's at RoadFood.com! - Paul]

From: Fred
Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 07:51:16 (EST)
To: mailbag@lunchwithgeorge.com
Subject: Look what I found on iWon.com!

URL: http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20030108/D7ODN6980.html

Message: FYI Speed of Gravity

[Here's the story at the publishing journal's website: NewScientist.com.]

From: Jim Kuzeja
Date: Thu Dec 19, 2002 9:55:43 AM
To: mailbag@lunchwithgeorge.com
Subject: Check this article on Rock-Paper-Scissors

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/342/focus/Avalanche_theory_the_science_of_rock_paper_scissors+.shtml

Jim

From: michael otis
Date: Thu Aug 22, 2002 05:37:50 PM
To: mailbag
Subject: more on Maasai cows

George,

I agree with the sentiment of the Washington readers about selling the cows, but think from first hand examination last month (Tanzania), we really don't want to import these animals. Although a measure of wealth (and wife purchases), these cows were almost universally in despairingly poor health. I am not a vet, but close inspection of the animals showed them to be about 4 notches in quality below the Maasai housing (pictured). The beads, however, were quite impressive (picture 2).

I say let them care for our cows and send us cool cultural beads :)

Local African cultural spelling of Maasai has 2 a's. I understand it is an international shorthand that lost the a. It probably fell on the same black hole as the h in Kathmandu. Strange.

[News sources are even worse-- almost half of the stories I saw spelled it "Massai"! - Paul]

From that silly guy who stood on his hands at 29K,

Michael Otis

From: George
Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2002 21:42:59
To: paul@lunchwithgeorge.com
Subject: Cows

Much web searching turned this up at http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020606-11903152.htm:

Of cows and cause
It took only a few hours of irate calls to turn the State Department around. Yesterday, Washington Times columnist Tony Blankley drew attention to the doltish behavior of an Africa-based American diplomat who bungled his mission.

When a remote Masai village recently learned of the September 11 attacks, tribesmen decided to send 14 of their finest sacred cows to the United States as a token of their sympathy. Overlooking the generosity and decorum of the gesture, the diplomat took the cows but told the Masai they would be sold, according to a New York Times account.

It was just too "difficult" to transport them, he said.
An incensed Mr. Blankley suggested readers call the State Department and protest this ham-handed treatment, even offering the phone number. So readers called. And they called. And they called.

With remarkable haste, the State Department reversed course.
"The cows will not be sold," said a spokeswoman yesterday. "The Masai will keep and care for them. Instead, the tribe's women will send their beautiful beadwork to show their concern, and it will be displayed here. We acknowledge that our initial response was disrespectful."

Mr. Blankley is pleased at the outcome, but wonders why we just can't bring the cows stateside.

"Race horses are flown around the world. I know of a giraffe transported on a 747," he said yesterday. "So why not the cows? The continuing value of these to strengthen and hearten our souls would be huge. Still, this has been a wonderful and humane pause in our troubled times."

Beads. Bummer.

George

From: Fred
Date: Sat Jun 15, 2002 01:18:22 PM
To: mailbag@lunchwithgeorge
Subject: automatic faucets

Most automatic faucets I have seen use infrared. Notice the little red window at the base. This contains the IR sensor and here's the trick, it also contains the IR source. The device works by detecting the reflected IR not the IR of the object in front of the faucet.

You can check this by covering the sensor lens with a piece of opaque tape. The faucet should run for about 35-45 seconds then shutoff.

As for the question about "...motionless with your hands in the right place, the water will continue to run indefinitely?":

Well, it's IR based, so motion doesn't matter. Once the sensor detects an object, by reflected IR, a timer is started so the water only runs 30 - 40 seconds. You can remove your hands after the water starts running and it will continue to run for the full timer setting.

Self flushing toilets use the same sensor, only now the water is turned on after the object is removed from the sensor detection area instead of when an object enters the detection area.

see ya!
fred
But it's a dry heat.

From: "Tony"
Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 19:55
To: lunchwithgeorge
Subject: Automatic Faucets

OK....

So I go to lunch with George and discover you guys are wondering about auto-valves on siphons, and I say to myself, "Self? How would I design it?" Here's my take:

The activity is motion-based. The throw pattern (length, depth, width) of detection must be such that a small amount of movement in the middle, narrow band (the water stream) does not indicate 'movement' to the sensor. Activity must occur on a wider range. Perhaps this may be easier to detect also, as the water is, most likely, centered and known. The spigot output size is standard.

How about that?

Tony

[It is a good theory, but it does not address (although it is not ruled out by) my question: Why is it that if you stand motionless with your hands in the right place, the water will continue to run indefinitely?]

From: "George"
Date: Thu May 23, 2002 07:52:50 PM
To: "Paul Wren"
Subject: Weapons-grade pianos!

http://www.borowitzreport.com/archive_rpt.asp?rec=256

From: "George"
Date: Sun May 19, 2002 05:56:39 PM
To: lunchwithgeorge
Subject: RoadFood: We've actually been to this one!

http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Review_Writeup.asp?Review_ID=1141

The first plate of wings we had was awesome. The second plate too dang hot! I don't remember if we ordered the second batch hotter or not, but I remember the pain...

George

From: Gayle
Date: Sun May 05, 2002 10:17:08 AM America/Phoenix
To: Lunch With George
Subject: My service ar Quizno's

Paul,
Hello - we met briefly once but Fred speaks of you often so I thought I could thank you for the recommendation of a sandwich at Quizno's. This past Friday he stated "Paul recommended a great sandwich place - lets go." Great !

Well - management has succeeded in hiring the last living moron and she was making my sandwich. She asked what we wanted - I said "a smoked turkey and a veggie on white". She looked at me and stated - "I can only make one sandwich at a time - what do you want". I looked at Fred and thought - swell - another high achiever and my last nerve just got stomped on. She then said "we are out of smoked turkey so I just used the other kind - the flavor is the same". Seconds later - she again stated - "We are out of mozzarella so I just used cheddar".

As my sandwich came out of the broiler, it was burnt. I mean black burnt. I said this is burnt. She said no it's not - that is how they teach us to make them. I said - trying to speak in small words - it is burnt. She looked at me as though I was from Mars and said - see I have a picture and that is how I am supposed to make them. But I insisted - the first one is toasted and this one is black. She said - that is how I am supposed to make them. My choices are narrowing - where is Paul? I asked Fred.

May I recommend a great sandwich place. Too far for lunch during the week perhaps, but give it a try. It is called Dusty's Bar-be-cue. I would try the pulled pork sandwich - really.

Keep those recommendations coming. You owe me - give Dusty's a try. Fred knows where it is.

Have a great week!

Gayle

From: Sandeep
Date: Thu Apr 25, 2002 09:29:00 PM
To: Paul Wren
Subject: Tendjewberrymud

And you think my accent is bad... :)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The following is a telephone exchange between a hotel guest and room service at a hotel in Asia, which was recorded and published in the Far East Economic Review.....

Room Service (RS): "Morny. Ruin sorbees"
Guest (G): "Sorry, I thought I dialed room-service"

RS: "Rye..Ruin sorbees..morny! Djewish to odor sunteen??"
G: "Uh..yes..I'd like some bacon and eggs"

RS: "Ow July den?"
G: "What??"

RS: "Ow July den?...pry, boy, pooch?"
G: "Oh, the eggs! How do I like them? Sorry, scrambled please."

RS: "Ow July dee bayhcem...crease?"
G: "Crisp will be fine."

RS: "Hokay. An San tos?"
G: "What?"

RS:"San tos. July San tos?"
G: "I don't think so"

RS: "No? Judo one toes??"
G: "I feel really bad about this, but I don't know what 'judo one toes'means."

RS: "Toes! toes!...why djew Don Juan toes? Ow bow singlish mopping we bother?"
G: "English muffin!! I've got it! You were saying 'Toast.' Fine. Yes, an English muffin will be fine."
RS: "We bother?"
G: "No..just put the bother on the side."

RS: "Wad?"
G: "I mean butter...just put it on the side."

RS: "Copy?"
G: "Sorry?"

RS: "Copy...tea...mill?"
G: "Yes. Coffee please, and that's all."

RS: "One Minnie. Ass ruin torino fee, strangle ache, crease baychem, tossy singlish mopping we bother honey sigh, and copy....rye??"
G: "Whatever you say"

RS: "Tendjewberrymud"
G: "You're welcome"

Subject: hungry?
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 07:13:10 -0600
From: Elsie
To: mailbagATlunchwithgeorge.com

You guys must be getting hungry if you haven't eaten since April 4. And what kind of a name is Laughing Lizard anyway....? (maybe we'll be famous after all) love, e.

[Mail from my Mom!]

Date: 08:34 PM MST, 04/24/2002
From: Sandeep
To: Paul Wren
Subject: Re: Lunch Notes Are Posted!

Hi Paul,

I think the J24 is a fiberglass boat. The one George & I saw in lake pleasant definitely was.

Sandeep

[Fred and George also corrected me on this point-- I had misunderstood George when he was describing the J at which he had looked. Sorry!]

Subject: place to go
Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 14:07:58 -0700
From: Fred

To: lunchwithgeorge

Got a new boat, looking for a place to go?

Well here's one suggestion.

  http://www.beyc.com/index.asp

fredg

Subject: Adaptability
Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 10:27:17 -0700
From: "George"
To: lunchwithgeorge

Hi Paul -

Now here's a guy who apparently knows how to display some adaptability.

George

------------ Forwarded by George on 04/20/2002 ---------------------------

From: Sandeep on 04/19/2002 06:09 PM

  http://www.jimrogers.com

Date: 06:41 PM MST, 03/02/2002
From: "George"
To: kactuswren
Subject: Neal Stephenson article

Here's an incredibly long article called Mother Earth Motherboard written by Stephenson for Wired in '96, apparently part of his research for Cryptonomicon:

   http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.12/ffglass.html

It features, among others, the following observation:

According to legend, in 1876 the first sounds transmitted down a wire were Alexander Graham Bell saying "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you." Compared with Morse's "What hath God wrought!" this is disappointingly banal - as if Neil Armstrong, setting foot on the moon, had uttered the words: "Buzz, could you toss me that rock hammer?"

Date: 12:25 AM MST, 03/02/2002
From: "George"
To: kactuswren
Subject: Chicken head

Hi Paul -

I had heard this story, but never actually seen a photo. Check it out, about halfway down the page:

http://www.snopes2.com/horrors/food/friedrat.htm

George

Date: 05:39 PM MST, 03/01/2002
From: Sandeep
To: kactuswren
Subject: Mac OS X 10.1

http://www.networkcomputing.com/1224/1224sp1.html

[Is it perhaps the OS that Linux fans have been waiting for?]

Date: 03:23 PM MST, 03/01/2002
From: "George"
To: "Paul Wren"
Subject: Interesting note from Robert Bruce Thompson's (hardwareguy) daily web journal

From http://www.ttgnet.com/rbt/daynotes/2002/2002-08.html:

People still think I'm kidding about washing keyboards, floppy drives, CD-ROM drives etc. in the dishwasher. I've been doing it for more than 20 years now, but apparently some people just can't get their minds around the idea. Fred Langa has finally gotten the idea (http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-02-21.htm#3), so perhaps those of you who won't believe me will believe him. The only thing I'd add is that particularly for sensitive stuff like CD-ROM drives, I'd drench the part in distilled water before drying to prevent water spotting.

Date: Tue, 19 Feb 02 08:02AM MST
From: Paul Wren
To: Lunch With George!
Subject: Lunch With George: The Card Fiasco

THE APOLOGY

I want to begin by apologizing to all who have attempted to solve this puzzle-- it is not solvable if you follow my instructions!

It seems that the "clarification" which I provided last week guaranteed that no one would be able to solve the problem. On the other hand, if one were to exactly REVERSE the order of the deck...

WHAT HAPPENED?

Well, when I received e-mail over a week ago from George indicating that he was getting some unintelligible message when he tried decrypting, he also mentioned the way in which he ordered his deck.

I had great confidence in the encrypted message I had created, since I had run the keystream three times from scratch to make CERTAIN I didn't provide a bogus message, combined with my knowledge that George is a master at this stuff, I just KNEW I had been ambiguous about the deck ordering.

I immediately posted the clarification, describing what I clearly remembered to be the method which I used to order the original deck. Hmm. Memory is a funny thing...

In any case, after two individuals contacted me to let me know what a cruel joke I had perpetrated upon them, I thought I had better look again.

WHAT'S THE CORRECT ORDER?

OK, using the order which is still specified on the web page:

http://www.fastq.com/~teripaul/lunch_with_george/lwg_contest_cards.html

do it like this:

1. place the 4 of Clubs face down on the table.
2. Place the A of Hearts face down on top of the 4 of Clubs.
3. Continue this until you have ordered the entire deck.

Once you have finished, if the deck is sitting face UP on the table (this is the way you'll use it, anyway), the top card showing is the 4 of Clubs. If you peek at the bottom card, it is the Ace of Spades.

I'LL FIX THE INSTRUCTIONS THERE, ASAP.

WHAT NOW?

If you have already attempted this puzzle and decrypted a message which looked like nonsense, please send me your entry (even if it is only a partial decryption). I will count these entries!

IN THE FUTURE???

I promise to have George double-check any puzzle I post!

Thanks for your understanding,

Paul

Date: Mon, 28 Jan 02 10:57AM MST
From: Corey
To: kactuswren
Subject: More words that add up

Paul,

How about these:

A + FAT = ASS
I + THINK + HE + CANNOT = CHOOSE
ONE + TWO + FIVE + NINE + ELEVEN + TWELVE + FIFTY = NINETY

...Corey

Date: Thu, 03 Jan 02 10:48AM MST
From: "George"
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: The Mythical Man-Month

Hi Paul -

A follow-up from our last lunch - I found this section from The Mythical Man-Month online (at http://www-white.media.mit.edu/~tpminka/brooks.html). It's the part where Brooks describes what makes programming fun.

George

The Joys of the Craft

Why is programming fun? What delights may its practitioner expect as his reward?

First is the sheer joy of making things. As the child delights in his first mud pie, so the adult enjoys building things, especially things of his own design. I think this delight must be an image of God's delight in making things, a delight shown in the distinctness and newness of each leaf and each snowflake.

Second is the picture of making things that are useful to other people. Deep within, we want others to use our work and to find it helpful. In this respect the programming system is not essentially different from the child's first clay pencil holder "for Daddy's office."

Third is the fascination of fashioning complex puzzle-like objects of interlocking moving parts and watching them work in subtle cycles, playing out the consequences of principles built in from the beginning. The programmed computer has all the fascination of the pinball machine or the jukebox mechanism, carried to the ultimate.

Fourth is the joy of always learning, which springs from the nonrepeating nature of the task. In one way or another the problem is ever new, and its solver learns something; sometimes practical, sometimes theoretical, and sometimes both.

Finally, there is the delight of working in such a tractable medium. The programmer, like the poet, works only slightly removed from pure thought-stuff. He builds his castles in the air, from air, creating by exertion of the imagination. Few media of creation are so flexible, so easy to polish and rework, so readily capable of realizing grand conceptual structures. (As we shall see later, this very tractability has its own problems.)

Yet the program construct, unlike the poet's words, is real in the sense that it moves and works, producing visible outputs separate from the construct itself. It prints results, draws pictures, produces sounds, moves arms. The magic of myth and legend has come true in our time. One types the correct incantation on a keyboard and a display screen comes to life, showing things that never were nor could be.

Programming then is fun because it gratifies creative longings built deep within us and delights sensibilities we have in common with all men.

Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2001 3:13 PM
From: Rich
To: Lunch With George
Subject: RE: LWG

Cool deal! I like the topics, but I didn't see any discussion on Brittany Spears new surgical augmentation. ;-)

One suggestion, though: Now that you have a brand, spankin' new digital camera, take a picture of your food prior to eating and paste the photo with your discussion on your website.

Enjoy,

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRich

Date: Wed, 05 Dec 01 15:44PM MST
From: Paul Wren
To: George
Subject: More on the Dreamcast

George,

A new article on the LowEndPC site caught my eye: Surfing With Sega. The author ("Ms. Geek") is advocating the use of a $50 Dreamcast as your net surfer... and it's a pretty good idea (it has a 56K modem built in).

   Surfing With Sega

Even more interesting is a link to a tech article about the Dreamcast on "How Stuff Works"!

   http://www.howstuffworks.com/dreamcast.htm

It seems this is a pretty powerful computer. It sports a 200 MHz Hitachi RISC processor, has 128-bit graphics, and 8 MB of Video RAM.

I know you have no need for such a device given your connection via Cox@home, but I keep finding out cool new stuff about this lame duck system!

See ya,

Paul

Sent: Monday, December 03, 2001 12:43 PM
From: Robert
To: Lunch With George
Subject: Segway Human Transporter

The "IT" machine was unveiled today. This was a machine that was revolutionize mankind, so to speak. It's called the Segway Human Transporter.

Can you figure out the acronym for yourself???

Anyway, I enclose the link here.

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/GoodMorningAmerica/GMA011203What_IT_is.html

Date: Mon, 26 Nov 01 18:37PM MST
From: Paul Wren
To: George
Subject: This is interesting...

I've been reading through a collection of posts by a variety of physicists (many of them are from Steve Carlip, U.C. Davis), most of whom are refuting statements made by TVF:

   http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/PUB/debate

Carlip is replying to people looking for an understanding of GR that does not require all the mathematics... and basically telling them it is a difficult thing to do. Much to my suprise (and delight!), he recommends Kip Thorne's Black Holes and Time Warps as a good starting point! (that's the book I bought for $4 at the library). He also recommends Peter G. Bergmann's The Riddle of Gravitation which I think I'm gonna buy. On the book cover, it says the author has updated the newest edition by discussing gravitational radiation detectors.

cheers!

Paul

Date: Mon, 26 Nov 01 17:56PM MST
From: Paul Wren
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: I found a truckload of arguments against Dr. Tom's Theories

George,

While reading through the relativity FAQ sent by Jim, I followed a link to the Relativity on the WWW page:

   http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/relativity.html

There, the host provides a page of scientifically inaccurate claims. It seems that Dr. Van Flandern figures prominently... take a look:

   http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/RelWWW/wrong.html#speed

I haven't read it all, but I wanted to give you a chance to look it over.

Paul

Date: Thu, 15 Nov 01 11:52AM MST
From: Tony
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: Some Lunch with George info

First...... Sorry I missed lunch. I'll try to make the next one... really.

Second..... Magnus Opus

I have a blind friend, Joe Debenedictus, who spent many hours determining how to play songs using the touch-tone phone. He is quite capable and you would be amazed at what he can do. The one that sticks out the most in my head was the theme from 'M*A*S*H'. Perhaps I'll try to contact him and have him give you a call. Maybe I can get a recording (.wav file) and have you post it.

Third...... Gravity

You use the man-made concepts of time and a precisely (non-infintesimal) defined point in space in your example. In reality, the effect on the earth of the rogue planet would be constant and changing in space. Therefore the effects of gravity can not be measured the way that you want to measure them. Think about it... the gravity effect from the Sun does not take 8 minutes to reach Earth. The warp in space from the sun simply exists because the matter exists, therefore, the earth responds to it. Likewise, the warp in space from the earth (and the sun, and the stars) affects the moon. When you add the concept of precise points in time, you start to screw these things up. There simply is no such thing. Man created increments of time in order to measure the entropy (rate of change) of the universe around him. Light simply electromagnetically changes the space in which it travels, therefore, we can measure it and assign it a 'speed' (a time-based derivative).

If you can figure out a way to spontaneously create matter in a point in space, then you might have something!

One of the problems I have with the 'Big Bang' theory is that it presumes that there must have been a t₀. While there may have been a Big Bang (as we know and measure it), I don't specifically think that it was the beginning of everything. Infinity exists! and so does the infintesimal.

Best always.

Date: Thu, 15 Nov 01 08:50AM MST
From: "Jim"
To: "Paul Wren"
Subject: RE: [Interesting reference]

Hi Paul,

The lottery numbers story is true, and pretty close to correct (it was essentially per carriage return, not per keystroke.) This was back in the DOS days, in 1986. I had just started working at a new company, and I was learning C for real (I had book knowledge before, but you know how that is.) The first toy program I worked on was a command line utility that would expand abbreviated commands automatically - kind of like "alias" on Unix. It would also let you do fancy things in the prompt like change the screen color, put a status line at the top of the screen, and the like.

For some reason, at the time, I thought it would be fun to have an option that could be included in the prompt to draw Megabucks numbers, since I had implemented a bunch of neat escapes in the prompt already. So if you included a $t in the prompt, the abbrev program would pick six numbers out of 36, line them up against the contents of an environment variable that was your picks, and tell you if you won anything (including the minor prizes.) So essentially a new number was picked every time you issued a command.

Let me tell you, it was rare even to get the $40 message, which I think was only four matching numbers. My coworkers and I had an informal agreement with the boss (who also used the program) that if anyone hit the Big One, we'd get the day off. But in several years of usage (until Windows reared its ugly head and the command line became a relic), I can't recall anyone even hitting for $400, which was 5 out of 6 (but I won't swear to that).

If you calculate the odds, you'll see how larcenous the lottery system is: about 298:1 for $40, and about 10,820:1 for $400!

I wish I had more time myself to read up on physics stuff - in particular, I'd like to tackle the math to understand the Lorentz transformations a little better. Oh well, maybe I'll get laid off or something - or hit the lottery! Naaah.

-Jim

Date: Wed, 14 Nov 01 16:10PM MST
From: "Jim Kuzeja"
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: Interesting reference

Hi Guys,

You might want to check out this site: http://www.weburbia.com/physics/relativity.html. Among other things it attempts to explain why gravity appears to propagate instantaneously. It seems pretty hand-wavy to me though. Also, the math in other parts makes my head ache.

Man, there is a lot of content on your site - it makes my own paltry pages feel inadequate and gives them low self-esteem. They are going to eat a gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream now.

-Jim

Date: Tue, 13 Nov 01 20:28PM MST
From: "George"
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: Latest from Afghanistan

http://www.borowitzreport.com/archive_rpt.asp?rec=99

Date: Mon, 12 Nov 01 03:54PM MST
From: Robert
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: Something for your web site?

http://www.ivillagehealth.com/quiz/iqtest/pages/0,12910,261445_295384,00.html

Date: Tue, 06 Nov 01 07:41AM MST
From: Fred
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: lunch reviews

The lunch reviews are great, but where are these restaurants?

Date: Tue, 30 Oct 01 21:52PM MST
From: "George"
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: More Van Flandern controversy, guess where!

Hi Paul -

A Google search turned up the following interesting page on Van Flandern's theories:

http://www.jerrypournelle.com/alt.mail/cosmology.html

I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but it looks like there are some pretty good arguments.

George

Date: Tue, 30 Oct 01 21:39PM MST
From: "George"
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: C-gravitons refuted!

Howdy Paul -

I stumbled across this refutation of the idea of c-gravitons on my nightstand last night. (I found it in a book sitting on top of my copy of Dark Matter).

"Many mechanisms for gravitation have been suggested. It is interesting to consider one of these, which many people have thought of from time to time. At first, one is quite excited and happy when he "discovers" it, but soon finds that it is not correct. It was first discovered about 1750. Suppose there were many particles moving in space at a very high speed in all directions and being only slightly absorbed in going through matter. When they are absorbed, they give an impulse to the Earth. However, since there are as many going one way as another, the impulses all balance. But when the sun is nearby, the particles coming toward the Earth through the Sun are partially absorbed, so fewer of them are coming from the sun than are coming from the other side. Therefore, the Earth feels a net impulse toward the Sun and it does not take one long to see that it is inversely as the square of the distance because of the variation of the solid angle that the Sun subtends as we vary the distance.

What is wrong with that machinery? It involves some new consequences which are not true. This particular idea has the following trouble: the Earth, in moving around the Sun, would impinge on more particles which are coming from its forward side than from its hind side (when you run in the rain, the rain in your face is stronger than that on the back of your head!). Therefore there would be more impulse given the Earth from the front, and the Earth would feel a resistance to motion and would be slowing up in its orbit. One can calculate how long it would take for the Earth to stop as a result of this resistance, and it would not take long enough for the Earth to still be in its orbit, so this mechanism does not work.

No machinery has ever been invented that "explains" gravity without also predicting some other phenomenon that does not exist."

From Six Easy Pieces by Richard P. Feynman, chapter 5.

Funny that Dr. Tom doesn't mention this argument in his book...

George

Date: Mon, 29 Oct 01 17:11PM MST
From: deuce
To: kactuswren
Subject: Re: Link to your Mojave Phone Booth site

>He said he went there with you and also stopped by the Phone Booth during one of your visits there.

actually, though tony attended burning man one of the years i did, we somehow managed not to run across one another. weird, but that's how burning man goes sometimes...

> It turns out that I had visited the Mojace Phone Booth site
> some time ago, and I've been missing that damned Phone Booth
> ever since. Thanks for the site! The Monogram Mountain Project is cool,
> too.

muchas gracias. yes ... i wish that at least pac-bell had let me keep that old booth. but i think they were afraid i might use it to make people more angry at them. maybe i would've, too!

> Anyway, I'm writing you to ask permission to not only link to
> your site, butalso to borrow one of your images of the Booth
> to post as a teaser on my site
> (www.fastq.com/~teripaul/lunch_with_george/lwg_main.html). My three readers
> will probably follow the link anyway without the image, but I think it
> would be much cooler to have it!

by all means, yes. and i took a quick look at your site (i'm visiting friends in tucson at the moment) and it looks very interesting. i like the lunch theme a lot.

> Thanks for a few hours of great diversion from an otherwise predictable
> existence.

certainly ... that's what d.o.c.'s there for, to waste billable and/or company time!

hochste lust! Deuce

Date: Fri, 26 Oct 01 18:36PM MST
From: "George"
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: cheap-cds.com

Hi Paul -

This is the site I found when I went looking around following the Amazon popup. I just went to Amazon to look for another CD and got another quack, [George has a cool utility that "quacks" at him whenever a web site tries to put up a pop-up window. -Paul] so back to cheap-cds I went. It is a very barebones site that looks kind of cheesy, but it's fast and cheap. Plus they have mp3 samples that sound a lot better than the RealAudio clips that Amazon serves.

Now I just have to wait and see if the CDs actually show up! (Speaking of which, Surely You're Joking arrived in the mail from Amazon today - 10 days (!) after placing the order.).

George

Date: Thu, 25 Oct 01 14:21PM MST
From: "George"
To: "Paul Wren"
Subject: Lunch stuff

Hi Paul -

On my way home I was remembering a story about some code in the original Unix kernal. Supposedly there's a particularly tricky bit of code accompanied by the comment /* you are not expected to understand this */. I was pleased to note that this translates to a pronounceable acronym 'yanetut' in the same way that "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch" translates into tanstaafl, or "blow it out your ass" translates to bioya. (I used to have a toolbox with a sticker on it for a company called Bioya Engineering, which used to sell Mini parts.) Unfortunately, a quick google search turns up many references, so I'm obviously not the first to think of this. But yanetut.com *is* available! Here's one of the pages where yanetut turns up, along with a zillion similar acronyms: http://www.ardman.demon.co.uk/acronyms.html.

George

Date: Fri, 19 Oct 01 03:20AM MST
From: "George"
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: Fw: Meta Research membership and subscription

Mail from Tom!

----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Van Flandern
To: 'George'
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2001 11:03 AM
Subject: Meta Research membership and subscription

George,

Many thanks for your membership contribution and subscription to our Meta Research Bulletin. We have processed your order, and will be sending out your copy of the September 15 issue today.

Regarding payment, due to an oversight in the new on-line "store" used on our website http://metaresearch.org, the payment option "American Express" was left turned on when, in fact, we have no such option. Our contract covers Visa, Master Card, and Discover only because of the high "merchant" fees charged by American Express, and our non-profit status. Please accept my apologies for this inconvenience, and allow me to offer some alternative payment options:
1) Re-order from our store using a different credit card. (We won't duplicate the order.)
2) Fax Visa/MasterCard/Discover info to Meta Research at 202/363-7361.
3) Provide an alternative cc number in reply to this email, perhaps divided into two parts split between two separate messages (if you wish) for security reasons). [We have never had a security problem even when open email is used. We are probably too small a target to interest hackers.]
4) Send a check or other instrument or credit card information to our mailbox at: Meta Research / P.O. Box 15186 / Chevy Chase, MD 20825-5186.
5) Phone the payment information to our Washington office at 202/362-9176 between 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

I hope at least one of these options is convenient for you; and we apologize again for this extra trouble. We appreciate your interest in our activities. Best wishes. -|Tom|-

[Wow! e-mail from Dr. Tom Van Flandern! Cool.]

Date: Thu, 15 Oct 01 05:55AM MST
From: "George"
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: Nifty vector cross product demonstration/tutorial

Hi Paul -

Struggling through chapter 2, I was trying to remember what vector cross products were about. A Google search for 'vector cross product' turned up this nifty demo:

http://www.phy.syr.edu/courses/java-suite/crosspro.html

Check it out!

George

Date: Mon, 15 Oct 01 09:21AM MST
From: Paul Wren
To: george
Subject: I bought yet ANOTHER Feynman book...

Hi George!

Sorry I didn't get the photon clock stuff posted yet... and I still plan to create a dedicated discussion topic page to the "gas temperature" subject. Did you get to play with that piston applet yesterday? I managed to get the temperature up to 56.1 K!

Hey... I found a book on ebay which I had never heard of before, and once I checked it out on Amazon (where they accept the Americn Express Card), I bought it! It's called Tuva or Bust! Richard Feynman's Last Journey. It is written by Ralph Leighton, Feynman's drummer buddy.

Talk to you soon,

Paul

p.s. I can't believe you didn't groan at the title of my train experient! :-)

Date: Sun, 14 Oct 01 06:20AM MST
From: "George"
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: Maxwell's demon

Hi Paul -

Here's the article that talks about Maxwell's demon. It bogs down into some theoretical stuff after a while, but the parts about Maxwell's demon and Szillard's engine are interesting.

http://feynman.stanford.edu/class/ap225/2001/chapter5.pdf

George

Date: Sat, 13 Oct 01 06:13AM MST
From: "George"
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: More applets!

Hi Paul -

I was doing some web searches to try and find out more about gas pressure and temperature, and ran across this site of physics applets:
http://www98.phys.virginia.edu/classes/109N/more_stuff/Applets/home.html

In particular, this one demonstrates Feynman's explanation of the temperature rise when a gas is compressed by a slow-moving piston.

George

Date: Tue, 09 Oct 01 10:21AM MST
From: Paul Wren
To: george
Subject: Physics Poetry

I haven't found any physics Haiku, but here are some dandy limericks:

http://www.aps.org/apsnews/11855.html

I did discover Haiku computer error messages at http://www.qni.com/~rgadd/computerhaiku.htm.

Here's my favorite, and no doubt, Neal Stephenson's, also:

With searching comes loss
and the presence of absence:
"My Novel" not found.

Paul

p.s. here are some general science haihkus: http://www.exn.ca/stories/2000/12/14/53.asp

Date: Tue, 09 Oct 01 09:30AM MST
From: Paul Wren
To: george
Subject: Another hoot of an article from The Onion

Boy, this site really cracks me up! Check out this story about God's response to all the killing in his name:

http://www.theonion.com/onion3734/god_clarifies_dont_kill.html

It's mostly funny because it rings so true!

Paul

Date: Thu, 04 Oct 01 10:04AM MST
From: "Wren, Paul"
To: george
Subject: Jerry Pournelle's View Page today is humorous... he's definitely having a bad day!

http://www.jerrypournelle.com/view/currentview.html#Wednesday

Date: Wed, 03 Oct 01 23:39PM MST
From: "Paul"
To: "George"
Cc:
Subject: Not much action lately...

Hi George!

I have been reading chapter 2. Very Interesting! Also, I received vol. 2 of the Feynman Lectures on Physics in the mail yesterday. This volume is COMPLETELY INTIMIDATING!!!! Checkout these items from the table of contents:

Chapter 1: Electromagnetism
Chapter 2: Differential Calculus of Vector Fields
Chapter 3: Vector Integral Calculus
Chapter 4: Electrostatics
Chapter 5: Application of Gauss' Law
Chapter 6: The Electric Field in Various Circumstances
...
it goes on.

There are 42 chapters in all, including "The Flow of Dry Water" and "The Flow of Wet Water." Hmm!

Two days ago I ordered the 3rd and final volume from Amazon (used). I don't expect to see it for a week or two, and I wouldn't understand it, anyway!

Where shall we go for lunch? Would you like to try a "Rice Bowl" kind of place close to Amex? Any ideas?

The web site has been pretty boring lately... I've been a little too busy. Oh! I did see that NASA's Deep Space probe did rendezvous with a comet-- and it took some pretty interesting photos. I want to talk about the comet mission and how it might substantiate or refute Dr. Tom's comet theories.

See you on Thursday!

Paul

P.S. Volume 1 of the Lectures came today... and it at least looks somewhat readable. I'm especially interested in a section on The Theory of Gravitation. This one has 52 chapters in all.

Date: Wed, 26 Sep 01 06:50AM MST
From: "George"
To: "Jim"
Cc:
Subject: Re: delta v perp = v delta theta

Howdy Jim -

Nice flexing there! And thanks for the help - we can use it.

Since you already have the full set of Feynman's lectures, you have a copy of the chapter we're talking about -Six Not-So-Easy Pieces consists of six of the lectures from the set. This one is entitled 'Vectors', and figure 8 shows the 'delta v perp' problem.

One of the puzzles we had with the equation is just which quantity v refers to. I was thinking he meant the magnitude of the difference velocity Dv. Paul figured it was the final velocity v₂. And for your analysis to fit it would have to be the initial velocity v₁. So I guess we've got all the bases covered.

After reading through it again I think you're right. Feynman does specify that Dq refers to a small angle. And the final result of his equations is a = v²R, which sounds right for a tangential velocity, not a delta.

So buoyed with new confidence, I'll proceed to chapter 2. I took a quick look at the Flatland site. It looks kinda strange, but interesting. Should be a good topic for the next lunch.

Thanks again for the help, and say hi to Allison for me.

George

Date: Mon, 24 Sep 01 23:10PM MST
From: "Jim"
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: delta v perp = v delta theta

Hi George and Paul,

I thought I'd flex my geek muscles and take a shot at explaining Dv^ = vDq, from the top of page 18, even though I don't have the book.

If you twist the equation around, it makes more sense. Imagine a right triangle whose hypotenuse is v, whose angle is Dq and whose opposite is Dv^. Then, using a little trig, we get sin Dq = Dv^ / v. Rearranging, that becomes v sin Dq = Dv^. Finally, remember that the limit of (sin x)/x = 1 as x approaches 0. In other words, for small angles, the sine of an angle approximately equals the angle (in radians) - easily verified with a calculator. So, since Dq is a small angle, its sine can be replaced by the angle itself (which is the missing step that is confusing.)

I hope all of the symbols printed properly!

I happen to have all three volumes of the Lectures on Physics - I haven't cracked them open since college, though.

Check out this link for a mind-bending exploration of space-time:

http://www.theory.caltech.edu/people/patricia/lctoc.html.

Keep up the good work - it is interesting lunch time reading!

-Jim

P.S. George - Allison says "hi."

Date: Fri, 21 Sep 01 22:14PM MST
From: "George"
To: "Paul"
Subject: RE: Updates to web site complete (mostly).

Howdy Paul -

Wow, great notes from the lunch! And some nice html work there... I was impressed when I saw the superscripts and subscripts, so I did a view source to see how you did them. Then I was even more impressed when I saw the deltas and thetas, so I had to view source again to see how you did those (Dq = "Dq" in symbol font!). And then further down I was astounded to find you actually located a symbol for that little perpendicular subscript in Dv^. Cool!

For a caption, I dunno. The picture itself is just something like "Demonstration of how a body flies tangential to an orbital path when the binding force is removed (as opposed to the radial path one might expect from feeling the outward 'pull' of the body on the string one is holding to maintain it in a circular path)". But it's really the contraption for the demonstration that intrigued me, more than the demonstration itself. The rubber band beautifully illustrates for the camera the force acting on the body at each strobe in the sequence, and the torch is a great frictionless way to cut the string and release the object. And the fact that the object itself looks like a brass float from a toilet tank adds a nice Rube Goldberg touch. Plus the fact that it's really a 'dry ice puck', sort of an air-hockey puck with the gas pressure built into the puck instead of the table, through the simple mechanism of dry ice sublimation, with the brass toilet tank float serving as both pressure vessel and heat sink to keep the insides warming up. I just really liked the use of the combination of simple mechanical devices to elegantly demonstrate the concept. So maybe the caption should be something like "High school physics text uses cool contraption to demonstrate centripital force".

Speaking of pressure vessels, I'll try to remember to bring this month's National Geographic to the next lunch. It has a great picture of a guy crawling around inside this enormous stainless steel ball at Livermore Labs where they're planning to focus a bunch of lasers on a tiny spot of material in in the middle to try and induce a fusion reaction. They claim that if they're successful, the amount of energy produced for the nanosecond or so that the reaction runs will be greater than all the other energy sources on earth combined. (They don't know yet whether this will actually work.)

You'll be happy to hear your new book The Pleasure of Finding Things Out arrived today. I'll leave it on Teri's desk tomorrow so she can bring it home on Monday.

Have a good weekend!

George

Date: Wed, 19 Sep 01 04:56AM MST
From: "George"
To: kactuswren@usa.net
Subject: Some wonderful photos

Hi Paul -

I found this link on Andrew Tobias' website today. It's pretty touching.

http://thankyou.fast-networks.net/

George

[George is right-- I was surprised at how the photos had affected me by the time I finished. -Paul]

Date: Tue, 18 Sep 01 21:27PM MST
From: "George"
To: "Paul Wren"
Subject: Re:

Howdy Paul -

I started reading through Not So Easy last night. The math makes for some rough sledding. After a while some of it starts to come back, but it's still pretty intimidating and I'm not all the way through the first lecture yet. Nevertheless, the preface promises I'll gain a better understanding of this space-time stuff and how it is fundamental to understanding modern physics, so I'm anxious to make some progress. We'll see...

George

Date: Sun, 16 Sep 01 21:09PM MST
From: "George"
To: "Paul"
Subject: Re: another web site association

Howdy Paul -

Did you catch the Flame to End All Flames on Pournelle's site? A bit lengthy and monotonous, but there's some pretty funny stuff in there. In particular, this physics-oriented rant:

I cannot believe how incredibly stupid you are. I mean rock-hard stupid. Dehydrated-rock-hard stupid. Stupid so stupid that it goes way beyond the stupid we know into a whole different dimension of stupid. You are trans-stupid stupid. Meta-stupid. Stupid collapsed on itself so far that even the neutrons have collapsed. Stupid gotten so dense that no intellect can escape. Singularity stupid. Blazing hot mid-day sun on Mercury stupid. You emit more stupid in one second than our entire galaxy emits in a year. Quasar stupid. Your writing has to be a troll. Nothing in our universe can really be this stupid. Perhaps this is some primordial fragment from the original big bang of stupid. Some pure essence of a stupid so uncontaminated by anything else as to be beyond the laws of physics that we know. I'm sorry. I can't go on. This is an epiphany of stupid for me. After this, you may not hear from me again for a while. I don't have enough strength left to deride your ignorant questions and half baked comments about unimportant trivia, or any of the rest of this drivel. Duh.

Here's the link if you want more: http://users.gurulink.com/drk/humor/flame.html

George

Date: Sun, 16 Sep 01 18:41PM MST
From: Fred
To: Paul
Subject: gas law

Hi Paul,

I shall attempt to explain mechanical refrigeration, maybe it will answer your question.

A mechanical refrigeration consists of the following:
1. a compressor, a device to compress gas
2. a condenser, a coil with a fan blowing air across it
3. a expansion valve, a device that restricts the flow of liquid
4. and an evaporator, a coil with a fan blowing air across it.

So connect this together so that you have the output of the compressor connected to the condenser, then to the expansion valve, then to the evaporator and then back to the compressor.

Start the cycle by the compressor delivers gas at high temperature and pressure to the condenser. Heat is removed (from the condenser) by blowing air across the condenser, resulting in condensation of the gas to a liquid, still under high pressure. The liquid passes through the expansion valve emerging as a mixture of liquid and vapor at a much lower temperature. Heat is added (to the evaporator) by blowing air over the evaporator and the remaining liquid changes into vapor. This warm gas returns to the compressor to start the cycle over.

It is the state changes of the coolant that makes all of this work. Compressing the warm low-pressure gas back to a high-pressure liquid and then allowing it to evaporate (low pressure liquid changes to low pressure gas) creates the cooling.

Hope this helps. If it does, I'll try Special Relativity next. That's not much of a jump.

Date: , 15 Sep 01 21:23PM MST
From: "George"
To: "Paul"
Subject: Re: [Re: A new Feynman Book?]

It's on its way! (Along with Lucifer's Hammer!)

George

P.S. It seems like every time I start to think I've got some understanding of relativity, you feel compelled to throw in a new wrinkle. I was pretty satisfied with my understanding of the twins paradox, and then you threw in acceleration, which I had taken pains to avoid, deliberately crafting models that didn't include it. So I was forced to develop a degree of comfort with acceleration thrown into the mix, and then you had to start questioning inertia. Now I think I've come to a bit of resolution with that - basically I'm happy to take inertia as a given: things don't change course unless they're acted upon. But your question was 'change course relative to what?', ever seeking that elusive preferred frame of reference. The answer I've come up with is relative to *anything*. Screw the two-particle universe, which I never could follow. In a many-particle universe, if one thing starts changing course relative to another thing, one of them is being acted upon. And if you attach an inertial guidance system to your thing, it can serve as 'the other thing', and tell you if it's being accelerated or not. And if it's being accelerated, then it's being acted upon by some force, e.g. gravity in the case of a satellite orbiting earth.

(speaking of which, I hope to remember to bring my college physics book along to the next lunch because it shows a really cool apparatus for demonstrating the force acting on an orbiting body, utilizing a strobe light, a rubber band, a torch, and something that looks like a brass float from a toilet tank.)

Date: Fri, 14 Sep 01 19:02PM MST
From: Paul
To: George
Subject: A new Feynman Book?

Hi George!

Somehow I missed this one... I was poking around looking for another Feynman book on the web when I found The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman. It was published in August of 2000. I guess I better order it!

Later,

Paul

Date: Wed, 12 Sep 01 09:55AM MST
From: Paul
To: "George"
Subject: Re: Twin Paradox

I read the whole article about GPS clocks last night. I took a lot of notes, so I plan to discuss them with you at lunch tomorrow.

I found his explanation of how GPS clocks must be adjusted for relativistic effects prior to launch VERY interesting! I had to re-read several paragraphs many times before it sunk into my brain, however.

I think I understand his concept of "time slippage," but I think it is a cheap way to get around it. More tomorrow!

As for lunch, I'd like to go back to the Villa Deli (is that how it is spelled?). What do you think? Also... where is it again???

Later,

Paul

Date: Mon, 10 Sep 01 21:00PM MST
From: George
To: Paul
Subject: Re: Aether

Howdy Paul -

I guess I read that part about developing the model further differently. I figured he meant after the model was further developed within the book. But you could be right, since he doesn't ever really get back to the aether, as far as I can tell. And he didn't update the index in the new version of the book, so I can't tell if he's added anything new about it in there.

I did find a little more about it in an interesting article on his web site, particularly item 7 "Does the behavior of GPS clocks confirm Einstein SR": http://www.metaresearch.org/cosmology/gps-relativity.asp He also discusses how relativity deals with the twins paradox by means of "time slippage", in item 8 "How does the resolution of the "twins paradox" compare in LR and SR?" although I didn't quite get that. I'll have to read it again and see if it makes any more sense the second time around.

The article talks about how GPS satellites deal with anticipated time shifting effects due to relativity. They are really pretty significant and have to be dealt with given the degree of accuracy that GPS works at.

So, where's lunch?

George

Date: Mon, 10 Sep 01 16:41PM MST
From: Fred
To: Paul
Subject: mini

Paul,

Your email button "file not found"

Here's the mini cooper page

http://www.mini.co.uk/UK/en/home/index/homecontent.jsp

*******************************************************
Fred
But it's a dry heat.

[The Mail button works now!]

Date: Mon, 10 Sep 01 14:44PM MST
From: Paul Wren
To: gcberger
Subject: Aether

George,

I remember you were telling me that Dr. Tom referred to earlier theories of a Light-carrying medium known as the aether, and that his footnote indicated that he would deal with it later. You were saying that you were disappointed that he did NOT, if fact, deal with it later...

Well, I encountered the same footnote on page 38: "Well-known objections to the existence of such a hypothetical medium for the transmission of light, called the "aether," will be dealt with at the appropriate time. The model must be further developed first."

When I read this, I took it to mean that the appropriate time has still not come at press time, and that he has yet to develop his theory to a point where he can refute such well-known objections.

As you asserted, he does not address it later in this book-- the word aether only appears twice more in passing, all in the same chapter on gravity (with the exception of its appearance in the Glossary).

Unless he now addresses it in the second edition (only you would know!), I'll have to assume that eight years has not given him enough time to fully develop the model.

On the other hand-- I could be interpreting the footnote incorrectly, and he may indeed address the well-known objections to a LCM but only calls is a LCM and does not again refer to the "aether." Since you have still read MUCH more than I have, I must defer to you on this issue.

See you Thursday!

Paul