So how does the Universe really work

Up to now, most scientists have been too occupied with the development of new theories that describe what the universe is to ask why. On the other hand, the people whose business it is to ask why, the philosophers, have not been able to keep up with the advance of scientific theories.... Philosophers reduced the scope of their inquiries so much that Wittgenstein, the most famous philosopher of the twentieth century, said, 'The sole remaining task for philosophy is the analysis of language.' What a comedown from the great tradition of philosophy from Aristotle to kant!

If we do discover a complete theory, it should it time be understandable in broad principle by everyone, not just a few scientists. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist.-A BRIEFER HISTORY OF TIME by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow

This year I have read three books trying to upgrade my physics knowledge and my understanding of the universe. I have enjoyed the topic, but it reminds me of how much still can't be explained, and maybe never will be. Granted my knowledge of Higgs boson and string theory is a little thin. That being said, here is a short list of that which amazes and confuses me.

• The two most complete theorems for how the universe works are General Relativity and Quantum Physics. The former doesn't account for the quantum uncertainty principle and the latter doesn't explain the force of gravity. Our two best explanations for the universe contradict each other. In spite of that experiments designed around each theories are consistently prove specific aspects of each of them independently.
• The Universe is both expanding and accelerating. What force is causing the acceleration?
• The Universe looks the same in all directions. All of the galaxies seem to be moving away from ours. The background radiation from the big bang comes from all directions. Are we in the center of the universe? What are the odds of that?
• Experiments with electron refraction show that a single electron when moving takes all possible paths at the same time. How does that work?
• Einstein shows that speed and gravity affect time.  The GPS satellites orbiting the earth hold highly tuned atomic clocks. Since the clocks are farther away from the earth, time moves faster for them.  These satellites have to be adjusted according to the theory of relativity. If they weren't the clocks would be off by 45 microseconds a day (10 KM of accuracy in a GPS fix) http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast162/Unit5/gps.html
• String theory also seeks unlikely to explain the universe. There are too many dimensions needed to make it work, and I'm a little hung up on that. But I haven't yet read that much on the topic yet.

If anyone has any recommendations on higgs boson reading let me know.

Brecon birth announcement

Stationery Card

View the entire collection of cards.

My Switch to Chip Credit Cards

You have probably seen stories on the security problems with standard credit cards and the push to switch over to Chip And Signature cards. The Target data breach is providing a lot of motivation. After Europe switched to Chip and Pin cards they saw a huge decrease in credit card fraud.

After some consideration I decided to be an early adopter and switch over to a Chip and Signature credit card. There are only a few banks in the US that are offering these cards, although the target for the US switchover is 2015. Because chip cards are required overseas, the available choices are often aimed at travelers. So I applied for a new card and just now received it. In the next week or so I will see how widely I can use it and report back.

Geeky details for those who are interested

I can’t find a lot of technical detail on the chipped cards, but I can do a little reading between the lines. The card contains a computer chip that stores a private code along with the more public card/account number. The chip can also execute an encryption function (probably a one way hash). The reading terminal would likely pass transaction details like the date/time and vendor name to the chip on the credit card, the chip would then compute an authorization code based on the private code and the transaction details. The private code is never communicated to the terminal, only the authorization code is. The authorization code changes based on the cyphered transaction details and is extremely difficult to fake. Because each authorization code is pseudo-unique, the code can’t be reused in a fake transaction. The credit card company also has a copy of the private code, and when provided with the transaction details they can easily generate the authorization code and verify that it matches what the vendor sent.

September 2014 Update

I got my chip card after noticing how many stores around me had the new readers. I found grocery stores, home depot, Target, Walmart, and Subway locations in my area that had the brand new card readers. But while everyone had the hardware, only Walmart has turned it on. It was very disappointing to go to all these locations and find that I couldn't use my card in readers designed for it. I continue to be amazed that a year out from the nationwide switchover most retailers are still so far behind. This is kind of hard for me to say, but here goes. Good job Walmart, thanks for looking out for your customers.

An early retirement milestone

Recently our household passed an interesting financial milestone. We now have 1x our annual salary in retirement savings (The strong market over the last few years has helped). Evaluating retirement savings can be voodoo math, but several experts say that you should have 1x your salary at age 30, others put that goal at age 35. Often that milestone sounded out of reach, especially looking at how slowly we started. Other experts say you should save 15% a year, which is a rate we have never hit. But as a couple we consistently save for retirement and reached that important milestone alongside paying off debts and the evil student loans (I’m getting close). It’s fun to celebrate a milestone and see how far we have come, but that is not the main reason I’m writing this.

The Millennial generation has been facing a tough financial environment for years. We have rising education and health care costs on one side and lower employment rates and household pay on the other. It also takes some faith to invest, adjusting for inflation the market is still below the high point that was reached while I was in college.

It seems clear that this generation faces a very difficult challenge in finding financial security. I think the only way for us to do it is to be better informed and to make wise decisions when it comes to our finances. I think the Wired generation has the tools to evaluate our spending, loans, and investments. I hope that we can learn from some of the mistakes around us and start preparing now.

Note: I think the 1x by 30 rule is simplified and overemphasizes your current salary. But even simple projections are better than nothing, if this simple goal doesn’t help you then find your own goal. Also, to quote J. Scott Armstrong “One of the most enduring and useful conclusions from research on forecasting is that simple methods are generally as accurate as complex methods.”

One

One Year Old

And then she wakes up and is one.
Well, there were many days and steps before that, but it did all pass by rather quickly.
She says uh-oh and da. Though da is what she says for almost everything.
She shares and offers you toys.
She loves pancakes.
She walks. Everywhere.
She started those first tentative steps right after 11 months and now she zooms to wherever she wants to go.
She babbles. She likes to "read" us books by babbling an appropriate length and then turning the page.

Everywhere she goes we hear "oh what beautiful big blue eyes."
She melts hearts.
She coos and snuggles.

She likes to say "ooo" and point.
She likes to snuggle with all her stuffed animals. Especially her bunnies.

She is growing. She is in the 50% for height and 30% for weight.
She has five teeth.

She has the most adorable pouty bottom lip when she is unhappy. It juts straight out and those big blue saucers plead with you to make it better. I don't think I have a picture because it is so precious it makes me laugh and then she can't stay upset.

She likes phones and remotes. She likes to press buttons over and over. She will turn up the volume on the receiver over and over until she scares herself with how loud it gets.
She loves her trucks and backhoe and elemental building blocks.

She loves to giggle. She loves when you scoop her up and dance. She loves hanging upside down.
She loves to crawl over daddy when he is doing his exercises. She has a great downward dog.

She loves carrots, sweet potatoes and chicken with apples. She loves bites from daddy's plate and pancakes. She does not care for peas nor avocado nor peaches.

When she is tired, she rubs her hair.
She sleeps with her head down, butt up in the air with her knees underneath.
She is a good sleeper.

She is a tremendous little person and we love her dearly.

Countdown to 1

This grid shows Kiri's dramatic growth in the past 11 months.

She has 4 teeth and curls in hair. She weighs about 19 pounds.
She eats a lot of food and drinks a lot of milk and enjoys a little bit of juice.
She is walking with assistance. She uses walls or furniture or hands or her little walking toy.  She will come over to us and grab our fingers to tell us she wants to go walking.
She is so precious and adorable. We are totally in love.
Now the countdown to turning one.  She is looking more and more like a little girl rather than a baby, but it is still hard to believe she is now officially becoming a toddler.
Better start thinking about a party to celebrate all this growth...

Remembering Jason Timmerman

 

A good friend

It’s been ten years since the Iraq war started and it’s been a little over eight years since my friend Jason Timmerman died in Iraq. Jason and I went to college at Dakota State University and we both studied math. I saw Jason pretty much every day at college, we were always in the same classes and he was very active around campus.

Jason became a teacher and taught high school math for a while before he was eventually deployed. He was killed in February 2005 by a roadside bomb. It’s very sad for me to think about losing a great leader and teacher like Jason. Remembering those we have lost can be a great inspiration and Jason has been one for me.

I’m excited to announce that this year we will award the Jason Timmerman Memorial Scholarship at Dakota State University. This scholarship will go to a student who is working toward a Math Education major. I wanted to ask my friends if you would help with a donation to remember Jason and the many others who have sacrificed for our country. The scholarship is just starting up and it would mean a lot to me if you would consider helping us out.

Steps to give

1.       Open http://foundation.dsu.edu/giving-online.aspx

2.       In the “Select a Fund” box choose “Annual Academic Scholarships”.

3.       The “Annual Academic Scholarship Designation” field will display.

4.       Enter “Jason Timmerman Memorial Scholarship” in as the scholarship name.