So we have peered in to the depths of the universe and seen Galaxies that are around 13.1 Billion years old (13.1 Billion light years away.) What that means is that the light we are now seeing took 13.1 Billion years to reach us. We are seeing that Galaxy at its early stages. I wonder what the Galaxy actually looks like now? How many "suns" have formed, planets formed; if any life has appeared.
Our Galaxy is about 13.2 Billion years old. That means that if one of those other very old Galaxies formed a solar system with life like ours, they may now be looking out in to the universe and seeing the Milky Way Galaxy and seeing "us" as we were 13.2 Billion years ago. They would be seeing a Galaxy that was just forming. No earth existed at that point. (Earth is only 4-5 Billion years old.) So the Galaxy we are seeing, may have someone sitting at their computer, wondering what our Galaxy looks like now.
But we cannot communicate. There is me, wondering what the 13.1 Billion year old distance Galaxy looks like and contains today. And there is that Galaxy, 13.1 Billion light years away, possibly with a person wondering what's going on in the Milky Way. We can't communicate in our life time or even in the life time of our solar system. It is even possible that that distant Galaxy no longer exists. We would not know for another 13 Billion years.
It's also possible, that within our Galaxy or the other one, a solar system formed, planets formed, life formed, flourished and died out; all with no-one else (us for example) every being aware. Here or there a planet could have formed life that became technologically advanced; even maybe a million years more so than we are now and then died out when their sun went supernova or died out. If that happened between 7 and 8 Billion years ago, we would have no idea. And the planet(s) on which that life flourished may not even be around anymore to be discovered.
This could also be taking place (or have taken place) in that distant Galaxy 13.1 Billion light years away. How small we are and incapable of really finding out much about the existence of things outside our tiny realm in time and distance.
Not to diminish science and our attempts to try. It's fun. But we are such a simple but complex thing trying to derive (and actually thinking we can) a theory of everything. If it is possible through, Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology to at least think we understand everything; some other culture on a long dead planet in our solar system or in a Galaxy 13.1 Billion light years away, may have already been there, done that and dissapeared.
Good luck to us and to the possible inhabitants of a possible planet in the Galaxy 13.1 Billion light years away. I hope their Large Hadron Collider is doing better than ours.
I hope my possible doppleganger in that Galaxy can explain his thoughts better than me.
In a few years, the atoms of my thoughts will be spread out. The atoms of energy in which I am now typing my thoughts will be dispersed in a few years as well; unable to be reassembled, never to be heard again. Never heard by a curious person, typing at their computer on some other planet, that has developed life, after ours has died out.
I love that our brains can imagine and comprehend what they can!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Art Display
The Renaissance woman of whom I have posted about before is putting an art show on display at Central Library today (lasting the month of August.) This and the other's to come should definately be visited. You'll be impressed.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Renaissance woman
There is an amazing woman named Melissa Holly. She constantly studying and thinking about mathematics, chemistry, law, world affairs, art and other eclectic topics.
She recently created beautiful paintings in multiple media and has them heading in to shows. All in a very short period of time.
We talk about the "renaissance man" but we should also talk about the "renaissance woman".
You go girl!!!
She recently created beautiful paintings in multiple media and has them heading in to shows. All in a very short period of time.
We talk about the "renaissance man" but we should also talk about the "renaissance woman".
You go girl!!!
Monday, June 22, 2009
How the world is looking at us now
Quoted from the UK.
As a world leader Obama is already looking like the Jimmy Carter of the 21st Century, passive in the face of an array of adversaries, and actively weakening America’s defences by cutting defence spending while adopting an apologetic tone for his country’s past. In his first six months President Obama cannot point to a single foreign policy success. He should though acknowledge that the Obama doctrine of reaching out to America’s enemies, including Iran and North Korea, has been a spectacular failure.
As a world leader Obama is already looking like the Jimmy Carter of the 21st Century, passive in the face of an array of adversaries, and actively weakening America’s defences by cutting defence spending while adopting an apologetic tone for his country’s past. In his first six months President Obama cannot point to a single foreign policy success. He should though acknowledge that the Obama doctrine of reaching out to America’s enemies, including Iran and North Korea, has been a spectacular failure.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
What to make of it: from an objective view
This all quoted from other sources:
With every speech he gives, President Obama goes further and further in diminishing Christianity in America while inflating Muslims here and around the world.
For Americans this appears to be at best an incredibly bad choice of rhetoric or at worst the manifestation of a prejudice hidden in Obama, finally making its way out.
To Muslims though, it has a much deeper meaning tied to the concept of “Dhimmi,” the subjugation of other religions to Islam. I’ll define that in more detail at the end of this column, but first let’s examine the proof that Obama is diminishing Christians while inflating Muslims.
It started in a speech he gave in 2007 when he stated, “Whatever we once were, we’re no longer a Christian nation.” At that same speech he criticized Christian leaders, claiming they have used their religion for political purposes.
I guess he thinks “Jihad” is a Christian word.
...
To further diminish American Christianity and inflate Muslim presence here, on June 1st President Obama told French television, “If you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we’d be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.” In his speech in Cairo today, he put the number of Muslims in America at 7 million.
According to the CIA World Factbook, there are only 1.8 million Muslims here. President Einstein miscalculated by almost 400%.
...
Obama has made no bones about his wanting to get on the good side of Muslim nations. He clearly has no reservations about diminishing Christians, consistent with Muslim “Dhimmi” tradition, to do so. Sadly, it’s a racist gesture.
With every speech he gives, President Obama goes further and further in diminishing Christianity in America while inflating Muslims here and around the world.
For Americans this appears to be at best an incredibly bad choice of rhetoric or at worst the manifestation of a prejudice hidden in Obama, finally making its way out.
To Muslims though, it has a much deeper meaning tied to the concept of “Dhimmi,” the subjugation of other religions to Islam. I’ll define that in more detail at the end of this column, but first let’s examine the proof that Obama is diminishing Christians while inflating Muslims.
It started in a speech he gave in 2007 when he stated, “Whatever we once were, we’re no longer a Christian nation.” At that same speech he criticized Christian leaders, claiming they have used their religion for political purposes.
I guess he thinks “Jihad” is a Christian word.
...
To further diminish American Christianity and inflate Muslim presence here, on June 1st President Obama told French television, “If you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we’d be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.” In his speech in Cairo today, he put the number of Muslims in America at 7 million.
According to the CIA World Factbook, there are only 1.8 million Muslims here. President Einstein miscalculated by almost 400%.
...
Obama has made no bones about his wanting to get on the good side of Muslim nations. He clearly has no reservations about diminishing Christians, consistent with Muslim “Dhimmi” tradition, to do so. Sadly, it’s a racist gesture.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Java- no, you cannot drink it.
I just got the thumbs up for a fast paced six day Java class. In this course I will be teaching the students in such a fashion so they can take the Sun Java Programmer Exam (SCJP) (not the "bootcamp" method though). When done, students are encouraged to apply to local companies in the area that use Java (hence the concept of the course) and companies coming to the area; once the student has taken the exam. I've been working on this (with a local college) since last fall so it is nice to see it come to fruition; and hopefully lead to more classes or next level certification courses.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Summer Teaching
I'm looking forward to teaching pre-calculus this summer. I've been teaching some of the lower level math courses which has given me a re-found appreciation for more fundamental mathematics concepts; especially rational, irrational and prime numbers. What is really nice is passing on the passion of a known, new or learned concept to others - i.e. teaching. It will be nice to re-visit and pass on my passion for the next level and teach college algebra; matrices; and algebraic, exponential and logarithmic functions in the pre-calculus course.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Tracking Joy
With so many uncertanties in the world today and in life in general, the "what if's", "but's", deadlines, etc. can unfortunately creep forwards as we proceed through life's work and play and be used to dampen the feelings of Joy or Happiness that might be felt over an achievement or even over a momentary thought or feeling.
When we have a moment of happiness or joy, we need to make sure we do not follow it up with a dampening thought.
If we do not learn to recognize, allow ourselves to feel and hold on to the moments of happiness or joy, then when things get tough there will be nothing positive to hold on to to help you make it through the uncertain times. If you are religious, I suppose you can "look to God"; but I prefer to focus on something more tangible.
As an example, I was working this morning and quickly got a login procedure working in a large web application. It felt good when done; as how to best make it work was alluding me yesterday. I could have easily dampened the good feeling by thinking of how much more work there is and deadlines but I didn't. A few minutes later I had an email for a support issue that started yesterday. I resolved it in about an hour. It felt good. I could have dampened it by thinking about the entirity of the application that the support was needed for. But I didn't.
So Hopefully, I'm learning to Track the Joyous moments.
Well. Back to work and tracking the joy.
When we have a moment of happiness or joy, we need to make sure we do not follow it up with a dampening thought.
If we do not learn to recognize, allow ourselves to feel and hold on to the moments of happiness or joy, then when things get tough there will be nothing positive to hold on to to help you make it through the uncertain times. If you are religious, I suppose you can "look to God"; but I prefer to focus on something more tangible.
As an example, I was working this morning and quickly got a login procedure working in a large web application. It felt good when done; as how to best make it work was alluding me yesterday. I could have easily dampened the good feeling by thinking of how much more work there is and deadlines but I didn't. A few minutes later I had an email for a support issue that started yesterday. I resolved it in about an hour. It felt good. I could have dampened it by thinking about the entirity of the application that the support was needed for. But I didn't.
So Hopefully, I'm learning to Track the Joyous moments.
Well. Back to work and tracking the joy.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Numbers with 4
Every number between 1 and 100 can be created by combining 4's.
1= 4^0 (where ^ is "power". 4 to the 0th power)
2=(4+4)/4
3=(4-(4/4))
5=(4 + (4/4))
Note. There may exist more than one solution. For example, 5=4+(4^0) or 4+(4/4)
6=((4 *4) + (4+4))/4
...
Try some others.
1= 4^0 (where ^ is "power". 4 to the 0th power)
2=(4+4)/4
3=(4-(4/4))
5=(4 + (4/4))
Note. There may exist more than one solution. For example, 5=4+(4^0) or 4+(4/4)
6=((4 *4) + (4+4))/4
...
Try some others.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Numbers2
Other than minimal thought, I have not worked on my previous problem of having a number (not necessarily prime) but who's decimal expansion is made up of only primes.
3/4 is an example. It is a Rational Number, 0.75, but it's digits are all prime.
2/3 is not an example, it a a Rational Number, 0.6666... but none of the digits are prime.
We can construct Integers, Rational, Irrationals, Primes, etc, but is there a way to construct what I will call "prime expansions" for now?
More later as some part of my Gray cell collection works on it.
3/4 is an example. It is a Rational Number, 0.75, but it's digits are all prime.
2/3 is not an example, it a a Rational Number, 0.6666... but none of the digits are prime.
We can construct Integers, Rational, Irrationals, Primes, etc, but is there a way to construct what I will call "prime expansions" for now?
More later as some part of my Gray cell collection works on it.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Moderate Muslims?
Muzzammil Hassan started a cable TV network after 9/11 in New York state to prove to America that American Muslims are a moderate, peaceful people. Today he is charged with killing his wife, Aasiya, by beheading after she served him with divorce papers and a restraining order. Blogger Debbie Schlussel wonders why Hassan has only been charged with second-degree murder. "It's not that easy to behead someone, and it was likely planned in advance 'with malice aforethought,'" she writes.
Schlussel notes that such killings are not rare among Muslims. Known as honor killings, they are typically directed by a male head of household against his spouse or other female family members for violating the honor of their family.
From http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2009/02/moderate-american-muslim-tv-executive.html
Schlussel notes that such killings are not rare among Muslims. Known as honor killings, they are typically directed by a male head of household against his spouse or other female family members for violating the honor of their family.
From http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2009/02/moderate-american-muslim-tv-executive.html
Friday, February 13, 2009
Numbers
Teaching the Real Number line is fascinating. How dense is it? Are there any holes?
I start off teaching the Natural or Counting numbers. These are easy. They are the numbers you naturally count with, 1, 2, 3, ... where the ... means keeps going to infinity. We can also have the opposites of these, the negative counting numbers,-1, -2, -3, ... off to negative infinity. We can also add in the number 0. It turns out 0,1,2,3... has a special namec alled the Whole Numbers. And if we take the whole numbers and negative counting numbers we get the Integers. So, now we have a nice set of numbers called the Integers that looks like
...-3,2,1,0,1,2,3...
But what's between 0 and 1? 1/2 or 0.5; 2/3 or 0.666... are examples. And, as before, their opposites or the negatives of these. So we can really pack them in. The Integers and all the stuff in between the integers.
The problem is numbers like 1/2, 3/4, 2/3 are very well behaved. They act rationally. As a matter of fact, they are called Rational Numbers. By definition, the Rational Numbers are numbers of the form p/q where p and q are Integers and q cannot be zero.What throws alot of people is that 5, for example, is a Rational Number because 5=5/1 and so fits the definition. An interesting property of the Rational Numbers is that their decimal versions either Terminate (3/4=.75) or Repeat (2/3=.666...)
So our Number line is filling up with the Integers and these things called Rational Numbers between the Integers (and actually including the Integers - as seen before 5=5/1)
What else is there? What about numbers whose decimal expansion do not repeat and do not terminate. For example, 3.1415926536897... These have a name also. They are the Irrational Numbers.
So finally, once we put in the Integers, Rational and Irrational numbers we end up with a verydense set of numbers, the Real Numbers that make up the Real Number line:
As an example ...-3,-2,-1,0,0.5,0.666..., 0.75,1,2,3,3.14159...,3.5,4... Hopefully you get the picture. Between any two numbers, Integer, Rational or Irrational, are more numbers.
There is an Infinite number of Integers
There is an Infinite number of numbers between any two numbers
There is an infinite number of even numbers {2,4,6,...}
There is an Infinite number of odd numbers {1,3,5,7...}
There are even special numbers called prime numbers divisible only by 1 and themseleves:{2,3,5,7,11,13,17...}
There is an infinite number of primes also.
Are we missing any numbers? or are we as dense as can be? Any holes?
You think about it.
Oh, one last thing. Are there any numbers whose digits are all primes? There must be beut how can we construct them?
I start off teaching the Natural or Counting numbers. These are easy. They are the numbers you naturally count with, 1, 2, 3, ... where the ... means keeps going to infinity. We can also have the opposites of these, the negative counting numbers,-1, -2, -3, ... off to negative infinity. We can also add in the number 0. It turns out 0,1,2,3... has a special namec alled the Whole Numbers. And if we take the whole numbers and negative counting numbers we get the Integers. So, now we have a nice set of numbers called the Integers that looks like
...-3,2,1,0,1,2,3...
But what's between 0 and 1? 1/2 or 0.5; 2/3 or 0.666... are examples. And, as before, their opposites or the negatives of these. So we can really pack them in. The Integers and all the stuff in between the integers.
The problem is numbers like 1/2, 3/4, 2/3 are very well behaved. They act rationally. As a matter of fact, they are called Rational Numbers. By definition, the Rational Numbers are numbers of the form p/q where p and q are Integers and q cannot be zero.What throws alot of people is that 5, for example, is a Rational Number because 5=5/1 and so fits the definition. An interesting property of the Rational Numbers is that their decimal versions either Terminate (3/4=.75) or Repeat (2/3=.666...)
So our Number line is filling up with the Integers and these things called Rational Numbers between the Integers (and actually including the Integers - as seen before 5=5/1)
What else is there? What about numbers whose decimal expansion do not repeat and do not terminate. For example, 3.1415926536897... These have a name also. They are the Irrational Numbers.
So finally, once we put in the Integers, Rational and Irrational numbers we end up with a verydense set of numbers, the Real Numbers that make up the Real Number line:
As an example ...-3,-2,-1,0,0.5,0.666..., 0.75,1,2,3,3.14159...,3.5,4... Hopefully you get the picture. Between any two numbers, Integer, Rational or Irrational, are more numbers.
There is an Infinite number of Integers
There is an Infinite number of numbers between any two numbers
There is an infinite number of even numbers {2,4,6,...}
There is an Infinite number of odd numbers {1,3,5,7...}
There are even special numbers called prime numbers divisible only by 1 and themseleves:{2,3,5,7,11,13,17...}
There is an infinite number of primes also.
Are we missing any numbers? or are we as dense as can be? Any holes?
You think about it.
Oh, one last thing. Are there any numbers whose digits are all primes? There must be beut how can we construct them?
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
A horse of a different color
So the US will get rid of GITMO and not engage in torture but they will allow RENDITION. What this means is that we can send suspected terrorists to countries that do believe in torture. So how is this different from the US just doing it? Got me.
Ask yourself a question.
If your child was being held by terrorists, and they knew where they were, wouldn't you do anything to get back your child? This includes torture to extract the information on the whereabouts of your child? (maybe you would just talk to the terrorist or wait for the Judicial system to do their job -- I'm sorry but your child would be dead in the six months it takes to go to trial.
This scenario is no different than the "child" being the US and its citizens.
Let the pro's do their job.
Ask yourself a question.
If your child was being held by terrorists, and they knew where they were, wouldn't you do anything to get back your child? This includes torture to extract the information on the whereabouts of your child? (maybe you would just talk to the terrorist or wait for the Judicial system to do their job -- I'm sorry but your child would be dead in the six months it takes to go to trial.
This scenario is no different than the "child" being the US and its citizens.
Let the pro's do their job.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Ya Think?
According to the Times, "The provision illustrates that the president's order to shutter foreign-based prisons, known as black sites, is not airtight and that the Central Intelligence Agency still has options if it wants to hold terrorist suspects for several days at a time."
More change we can believe in?
The Times notes: "The exception is evidence that the new administration, while announcing an end to many elements of the Bush 'war on terror,' is leaving itself wiggle room to continue some of its predecessor's practices regarding terrorist suspects."
Imagine that. There must be some dangerous people out there after all.
Quoted from Gather News
More change we can believe in?
The Times notes: "The exception is evidence that the new administration, while announcing an end to many elements of the Bush 'war on terror,' is leaving itself wiggle room to continue some of its predecessor's practices regarding terrorist suspects."
Imagine that. There must be some dangerous people out there after all.
Quoted from Gather News
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Torture? Hmmm...
What constitutes torture? Are you for it or against it?
Let's think this way:
Suppose your child, spouse or loved one has been taken hostage. The hostage taker will have them killed. You capture the hostage taker but they refuse to talk.
To what lengths would you go to get your child (or loved one) back? At what point would you say "that's torture, let my child (or loved one) die?"
What if it were you who was taken hostage?
Now, let's take that child, loved one or yourself and make it America (of which you and your loved ones are a part by the way.) How do you feel now? I cannot answer that. It is up to you.
There are fine lines no doubt. But we should think before we damn something.
Let's think this way:
Suppose your child, spouse or loved one has been taken hostage. The hostage taker will have them killed. You capture the hostage taker but they refuse to talk.
To what lengths would you go to get your child (or loved one) back? At what point would you say "that's torture, let my child (or loved one) die?"
What if it were you who was taken hostage?
Now, let's take that child, loved one or yourself and make it America (of which you and your loved ones are a part by the way.) How do you feel now? I cannot answer that. It is up to you.
There are fine lines no doubt. But we should think before we damn something.
Change? Less than you might think
As some of us who do not wear blinders are becoming aware, Obama is not "changing", the way he said he would.
In particular, the ways of keeping our nation safe. As is quoted,
"Obama will be loath to throw away the tools that have kept the homeland safe. Just as he will be loath to jeopardize the remarkable turnaround in American fortunes in Iraq. Obama opposed the war. But the war is all but over. What remains is an Iraq turned from aggressive, hostile power in the heart of the Middle East to an emerging democracy openly allied with the United States. No president would want to be responsible for undoing that success."
Obama is learning the truth about the economy, terror and what it means to be President, etc. It is a shame that he waited until he was elected to learn these things.
Hopefully his learning curve will be short and he will rely on "those in the know."
I'll back whoever becomes President, because that what Americans do (to a point. Clinton should have been impeached.) That's what people do who love America (hey Michelle) and want the best for the next generation.
Please, future Presidential candidates, have more experience and less naivety.
Good luck Obama, and I mean that!
In particular, the ways of keeping our nation safe. As is quoted,
"Obama will be loath to throw away the tools that have kept the homeland safe. Just as he will be loath to jeopardize the remarkable turnaround in American fortunes in Iraq. Obama opposed the war. But the war is all but over. What remains is an Iraq turned from aggressive, hostile power in the heart of the Middle East to an emerging democracy openly allied with the United States. No president would want to be responsible for undoing that success."
Obama is learning the truth about the economy, terror and what it means to be President, etc. It is a shame that he waited until he was elected to learn these things.
Hopefully his learning curve will be short and he will rely on "those in the know."
I'll back whoever becomes President, because that what Americans do (to a point. Clinton should have been impeached.) That's what people do who love America (hey Michelle) and want the best for the next generation.
Please, future Presidential candidates, have more experience and less naivety.
Good luck Obama, and I mean that!
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