Lee's Clothing Guide for Work and Church

I've noticed friends and cousins talk about redressing their husbands so I thought I'd write about what my wife did for me. A few months ago, I came home from work and Staci informed me that there was a note for me on the bed. I'm always skeptical when someone wants to tell me something indirectly. It is rarely good, but this time was not too bad.

Lee's Clothing Guide for Work and Church
Pants: Brown, Black, Green, Tan, Blue
Socks: Black, Tan, Blue (Forget about WHITE)



Black belt and black shoes are always worn with black pants (NOT Brown). Black belt and black shoes may be worn with tan and green, NOT Brown or Blue. Brown shoes and brown belt may be worn with green, blue, brown, and tan pants.

Suggestions for making your clothes last longer:
Don't sleep in your work clothes.
If soiled, soak in cold water as soon as possible.
Change into weekend clothes (shorts, jeans) when not working.
When working in the yard, wear weekend shoes.

• Assignments: Try on the new clothes today or tomorrow to show great appreciation to your wife. Let her be the judge (along with you) of what fits. Sew some colored thread on the tip of the blue socks so they can easily be identified by you in your drawer. GO shopping with Staci to buy some new church shoes.

Dress for Success!

Now of course, a lot of that I knew and a fair bit of it I didn't. A lot of what I knew I had been ignoring both because I still think our society is horrendously over occupied with clothing and appearance and because I am lazy. I was a little anoyed (hence posting this to mock the both of us) but also appreciative that she cares enough to do something like this. And yes, I did my assignments. (Well, I didn't sew the colored thread in the blue socks and they are still hard to tell from the black socks in the morning.) I can't tell much difference, but she can so again thank you sweetheart. :)

Magic Mountain

Southern California is the land of theme parks. With Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, and Universal Studios they are just all over the place. But for all out thrills, the hands down tops is Magic Mountain. So today, Perry and I headed up to enjoy the thrills.

I'm sorry to say this was my first time in about 25 years. The last time I went I was 52 inches tall (I know because I could ride on both the kid coasters and the adult ones) and the only roller coasters they had were Gold Rusher, Revolution, and Colossus. (I think they had Freefall too, but that wasn't exactly a roller coaster.) Since then many more have been added and some have both come and gone, but those three were still there and we went on all of them.

We also went on Viper, Ninja, Goliath, and Batman the Ride. We ducked out on Superman (another not quite a roller coaster), Scream, X2, Riddler's Revenge, and Tatsu because the lines looked longer than the value of the thrill. Of course our longest two waits (Goliath and Batman) were also our favorites, so the other long rides might have been worth it.

We had a thoroughly good time, though if I were to do it again I would run for one of the big rides while opening the park. (We started with Revolution and Viper which we got on almost immediately, but it meant that by the time we hit the big rides they already had waits of over an hour. We were there early enough that we probably could have made a break for X2 and been on within 1/2 an hour. Oh well.) I would also try to be in one of the big lines when the park closed, but Perry didn't really want to stay an hour after closing to wait out a line. Still, I think it was a good vacation activity.

WTH???

Occasionally I like to surf over to Craigslist and look at the various boat listings in the area. No I don't need a boat. I have a very nice one that fills my needs nicely. On the other hand there are times it would be nice to have a little rowboat or kayak to cruise up and down the chanel. I would also like a sabot to teach Libby how to sail. My boat is a bit big for her, but a sabot would be great. Besides, if she takes a class through the city next year it would cost $50 extra dollars to rent the boat, so if I saw one for $50 it would be worth it (of course I haven't seen any for under $150 and that was a super good deal).

But that is not the point of this posting. This posting is about the oddest add I have seen yet.

bulldog 4 boat - pic

Yes, you read that right, someone wants to trade their Bulldog for a boat.

As you can see he is a pretty cute dog, but who tries to trade their pet for a boat. I could see someone who had a boat and a dog they couldn't keep looking to give the dog to a good owner and throw in a boat for good measure, but this has me baffled. But I guess somewhere out there may be someone who's fishing days are over but could really use a sweet dog. Still I can't help but think the man would be better off trying to make this as two separate transactions. First sell the dog, then buy the boat.

How Wrong We Are

As many of you know the Nobel Prizes were recently awarded. I decided last night to read through some of the papers that Nambu (who won half of the physics prize) wrote. These papers helped to understand the origin of mass in protons, neutrons, and similar objects and informed our current understanding of how fundamental masses of electrons and quarks are generated.

For me what was stunning though was how wrong the paper is. It was written based on the views of the particle world that were dominant in 1961 with no real concept of quarks or that protons and neutrons are compound particles. This makes the paper rather clunky compared to the current understanding and how the same principles might be presented in a modern textbook.

Perhaps it is a lesson to us. He was not awarded the prize for an extremely accurate prediction but rather for an insight that fueled our undertanding of the masses of subatomic particles. He wasn't the first to have the idea; he borrowed it from theories of superconductivity. He didn't put the finishing touches on it. But he did apply the insight in a new way that has shaped theoretical physics for 50 years. I think that deserves a prize.

What's in a signature?

We'll try this out in the public forum.

I was filling out Perry's Scout registration and I got into a discussion with Staci about what is actually meant by a signature. In specific, I want my signature to mean that Perry and I will abide by scout rules and attempt to uphold the scouting tradition. I do not want my signature to mean that I support the scout policies forbiding openly gay and atheist leaders and scouts.

I wanted to simply add a brief note after my signature stating this. It would not be a loud or public protest, simply a statement of my belief that scouts should be for all boys and that while I am straight and believe in God myself, I don't believe that being gay or basing your moral grounding outside of the belief in deity makes you unworthy or dangerous as a part of scouting.

So here are my questions.

To what extent does silence imply consent? Does signing it without an adendum make me morally responsible in some small part for actions that I think are wrong?

What would be a more productive form of protest? I don't believe that my note alone would do anything except maybe cause a hangup in Perry's registration (which I don't want). Nor do I want to protest from the outside or cause scouting embarassment or hassle. However, I do believe that if everyone that wanted to be a part of scouting but disagreed with this policy voiced that opinion, the scout counsel would reconsider their decisions.

Thoughts and opinions welcome.

Boat Parade II

I think I've come up with a plan to enter the boat parade. I'm going to simply paddle it like a canoe and decorate it with glow in the dark sticks like kids wear at Halloween. This should cost less than $20 for the paddles (my big one broke a few months back and my little ones won't do for the whole parade) and maybe $10 more for the light sticks. So now the question is, anyone interested in joining me? I need at least two others (I figure it is best to have at least two people paddling and one steering) and can probably take at least 6 (including me).

Where's My Application?

I thought a long time ago that a good way to assign congresional districts would be to require that they each have the same population and then minimize the length of the boundaries. In essense this would push the districts into the most square shapes possible and make them geographically localized. For example, Dana Rohrbacher's district stretches along the Southern Califoria coast from Palos Verdes to Hunington Beach, which in my mind is clearly Gerrymandered to be a safe republican seat. (Though Debbie Cook gave him a good run for his money this time.) This would not stand up in my system because the long boundary would be intollerable.

Until yesterday the idea that I could ever advance this idea to anywhere that it might make a difference was unthinkable. Now with the passage of proposition 11 it is only preposterous. I know it is just for state legislature districts, but the idea is the same. So I really do want to apply for the citizens panel and try to promote this idea. I don't think I'm very likely to be chosen, but what can it hurt to apply.

I'm also wondering if I should reregister to drop my party affiliation. I believe my approach is very non-partisan so I would like to be one of the independent panel members.

So the real question is: How do I apply?

What's wrong with this Picture

I saw this banner on my email login page. I don't know about anyone else, but I swear the before picture is way more attractive than the after picture. The before looks like a warm cuddly hourglass shape. The after looks like a semi-emaciated adolescent boy. If that's what a woman wants out of weight loss she is NUTS. (And if that's what we (men and/or society) are telling her she needs, then we have a problem too.)

Fringe Benefits

As many of you know I am currently working several part time jobs teaching at three different community colleges here in the LA area. Two of the positions are near my home so I drive, but the other one (and the one which pays the best and where I have the most hours) is about 30 miles away beyond downtown LA. Because gas is expensive and I don't like fighting traffic, I ride the metro train there. This costs me a whopping total of $27 for a month pass so it is a big savings in gas even with a fuel efficient car.

But perhaps even better are the fringe benefits. I know you're thinking of things like reading or grading in the train and these are all nice, but the benefit I'm talking about is all the great conversations with CRAZY PEOPLE.

To be sure, I'm not refering to the crazy people who smell bad and wander around swearing under their breath at themselves. The ones I'm refering to usually start coming off about like my Uncle Bernell. (For those that don't know Bernell is a delightful man who loves to be the center of conversation. He is an excellent story teller and really only needs you to nod occasionally to keep the conversation going.)

Well, fairly often someone on the train or in the station comes around and just starts some conversation. Usually pretty benign and often interesting. This is no big deal as I do it too. (Of course I may be one of the crazy people.) But occasionally it takes a turn that I would never expect.

For example, last week I got to talking with a guy who seemed friendly enough, and when I asked him what he did he said he was a father figure for the USC football team. I assumed he was a retired coach who still hung around or something along those lines. The next thing I know he's explaining to me that the reason USC lost to Stanford (when I don't remember) was that he had gotten upset with the quarter back and walked out. Without him there the quarterback was so distraught he couldn't play. Before I know it he's explaining to me how Troy Aikman would never have made it in the NFL if he hadn't flown out at his own expense to give him a pep talk. He continued with these stories and complaining about how they never paid him anything out of gratitude until one of us had to get on or off of the train.

Yesterday was even more fun. Some guy comes and starts talking about Amtrak and some monthly pass they were offering. He said it stretched the entire continental US including Maine and Florida so I commented that it would take about a month to get from her to Maine and Florida on Amtrak. (Only a slight exageration. I think San Francisco to Chicago is about a week.) He kept on talking and then asked if I knew anything about nano-technology. I do in fact know a thing or two so I started to talk with him. Suddenly he is talking about how he signed a release for the government to implant a nano-chip in his brain to help with his manic-depression. At this point I'm cautious but not entirely certain that he is crazy. I don't claim to know about all therapies and a small chip that delivers microscopic shocks seemed like a conceivable experimental therapy. But when he started talking about how it was a "really good" "military quality" chip and that they had put micro-cameras in his eyes and he was filming everything he saw for a documentary, I knew he was over the edge.

I didn't have the heart to tell him that he probably had schizophrenia not bipolar and I mostly listened quietly as he told his stories. When he started asking about black holes I though maybe we could talk sense, but he mostly wanted to talk about time travel. (For the record, the evidence is getting stronger and stronger that no, you can't time travel, even with a black hole. Though Michio Kaku might say otherwise, I think he's a little out there himself.)

When he realized I wouldn't bite on the time-travel business, he asked the burly tatooed guy who he had originally started talking to and was now ignoring us. He actually had a good comment that in quantum mechanics nothing is impossible only ridiculously improbable. (In addition to crazy people you also meet people who know a lot more than you would expect at first blush. Riding the train is a good way to smash a lot of predjudices.)

A Project!! The Long Beach Boat Parade, Help Needed

I'd like to enter my boat in the Long Beach Boat Parade this Christmas. I just have to figure out how. There are a lot of small boats in the parade, in fact there have to be to go around the small island in Naples, so that isn't the problem. The problems are

1. How will I propel it? It is a sailboat and under sail power it can't stay in a nice straight line. Besides the parade is at night and the wind will have died down by then. A small trawler moter ought to work. They cost about $100, but maybe I can get one off of Craigslist, or better yet, borrow one for the night. (I'd need a battery too, so maybe I could borrow that.) Otherwise, we could move it with the small oars I have, or get new ones, but that is a lot of rowing for a boat not built for it.
2. How will I light it. Again, I'd need batteries for that. LED lights would last longer on battery power but would be more expensive to purchase. I might need an inverter to ramp the voltage up too. What would happen if we capsized? Would it short at the battery or at the high voltage end. Or is there a safety device. (Acording to what I've read, lots of people use 120 V lights.)
3. If I want to go on the small boat inner loop, I'll have to lower the mast. I could just leave the mast off, but it would be the prettiest thing lit up and lowering it shouldn't be that bad. Or I could just stay on the outside loop. (Come to think of it, leaving the mast off is harder than I thought.)

So if ANYONE has any ideas, or any of the necessaries (old strings of lights for example, I'm looking for the cheesy colorful ones so if you switched to the classier whites your old ones would be great), please let me know.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight

HOLY @$#* !!!!!!!!!!!!!

We got out of the movie almost an hour ago and I'm still shaking. This may be the best movie I have ever seen. (Maybe not, but seriously, this is a contender.) Everything I had heard about Heath Ledger's Joker and all the other perfomances was spot on.

The joker seems to be the one that is always in control. Even when he is losing you never know if he has another trick up his sleeve. Honestly, even in the end I didn't think it was completely clear that he wouldn't show up again.

It is VERY dark and frightening. Even when you know who wins in the end and who loses the suspense is still there. (And sometimes what you thought you knew doesn't turn out to be true.)

It was certainly a thrill ride and well worth the time spent on it. (We used some free tickets from donating blood or something like that so I can't say it was worth the price, but it would have been.) I'm glad I saw it in the theater and almost wish I had seen it in an IMAX theater. That said, no I don't want to see it in a theater again. The next time I'll be perfectly happy to watch it on a small screen with the lights turned on.

Sports Review, Canadian Football

Those that know me well know that I have always been a sucker for something different, odd, or a bit out of the norm. For example, I chose to play viola in elementary school, not because I liked the sound, but because I'd seen a viola on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and had never heard of it before. This was something out of the ordinary, different, 0dd, unique. The decision served me well as I had opportunities that I would not have had playing cello or violin, but that isn't the point.

So it should come as no surprise that when I heard that Canada also plays football (american style football) but that it was a little different, I was immediately interested. In the past I've only managed to occasionally smuggle a recording of the Grey Cup (their championship) into the states (no it isn't really smuggling, its perfectly legal, but it sounds better this way). Now, our current cable provider shows a fairly large number of CFL (Canadian Football League) games and I just catch them on the DVR and watch them when I want.

Personally, I find the differences exciting just for being different, but they do alter the feel of the game significantly. For example, the field is 10 yards longer and teams only get 3 downs rather than 4 to move the ball 10 yards. You would think this would result in a much slower game with more punts and less scoring, but the opposite is true.

You see, in addition to those differences, the field is 15 yards wider. There is an extra player on each team (for 12 each) but that isn't enough space to plug up 30% more field so the game is more spread out allowing more passing and running lanes and a better chance for end around plays to be successful. The endzone is 20 yards deep rather than 10 (the goal posts are in the middle of the endzone rather than the back) so that goal line offense is not as cramped as it is in the U.S. Plus teams are simply more aggressive.

The longer field results in teams rarely being backed up against their goal line (you almost never get a touchback on a kickoff). The kick itself rarely goes past the 10 yard line and is usually run back to the 30 or 40. Interestingly, being backed up against the goal line is considered much worse than in the U.S. Teams will routinely concede a safety rather than have to punt from their own endzone. I'm guessing it is just too hard to get a good long punt and prevent a runback. I figure they would rather take the 2 points loss than take that big of a risk of giving up 7.

One more interesting point is a single point. If a kick is taken for a touchback in Canadian Football (kickoff or field goal, I'm not certain with a punt and have heard both) the receiving team does still get to start from their 20 yard line, but the kicking team gets one point. As a result, field goal attempts almost always score at least one point (it must miss the endzone or be run out of the endzone) and occasionally points are scored on the kickoff by the kicking team.

All in all I find it very exciting and enjoy watching it. That isn't to say that I will stop watching American Football, but I do enjoy the CFL occasionally to change things up.

The Big Bang Theory, Television Review

While visiting my folks this Summer, my dad and my older brother each asked me if I had seen the CBS television show The Big Bang Theory. I hadn't and when the were agast that I hadn't seen a show about physicists I was a bit taken aback. I mean, why would I want to watch a show that was almost certain to make bitter fun of the physicist's inherent quirks.

When I first saw it, I thought it was indeed very funny, but was still bothered that the main character, Sheldon, and the two minor sidekicks, Howard and Raj, were far more disfunctional than any physicists I knew (or at least the vast, vast majority). Only the major sidekick, Leonard, was at all realistic. Still it was cute enough that I started to record and watch the show (Oh the wonders of a DVR.)

Well, I've come to a few realizations

1. Leonard, not Sheldon, is the true main character. (Yes there is room for debate here, but I am convinced of it.)
2. Sheldon, Howard, and Raj are not meant to be real people, but archetypes of certain idosyncracies that yes physicists and other technical guys do have. Just like the women in Sex and the City were archetypes (except Carrie). Thus we get
1. Leonard, a real believable character with aspects of everyone else's idosyncracies, but generally a functional normal guy.
2. Sheldon, probably high functioning Aspergers with no concept or interest in social involvement.
   
3. Howard, sex crazed and clueless about how to pursue this goal. I haven't seen anyone really like this guy since junior high.
4. Raj, terrified of women and introverted.

So, now the show really is quite entertaining. To be totally honest, back as an undergrad I used to think a sitcom about the physics students' antics in our study room would be really funny until I realized that no one else would watch or get it. Now I find that this show is about as close to that as any real show I could hope for. Maybe not my favorite show of all time, but well worth a half an hour a week. (OK, 25 minutes since I fast forward through commercials.)

The End of an Era

OK, many of you will think this hardly constitutes the end of an era, but the comic strip "For Better or For Worse" www.fbofw.com has concluded. It has been going for some 29 years and chronicled the lives of a family in Toronto Canada. Unlike most comic strips, the characters aged in a lifelike manner so I could follow the children (who were only slightly younger than me) through their lives, and they often seemed like extra friends. (I heard on the radio once that people sometimes overestimated the number of friends they had because they counted Ross, Monica, Joey, Chandler, Rachel, and Phoebe from the TV show friends. I was guilty of the same thing but by counting the fbofw characters.) According to the synopsis in yesterday's strip, she probably had enough material to keep it going for several years or more. I'm sad to see it go as I always looked to it for at least one daily smile. It will be running reworked repeats though so I guess it will just be fun to watch Michael and Elizabeth grow up again.

Well, Poo!!!

I got the call this morning telling me that I did not get the full time position at LACC. Since I hadn't heard anything yesterday and knew they would want to announce it today at the whole faculty meeting, I wasn't surprised. In fact I was very glad to find out before I left for the meeting rather than when the announcement was made.

The candidate selected was the one I had seen and who I figured had the strongest Astronomy background. Since that was mentioned as one of the things they were looking for I wasn't surprised. I also found out that I had correctly guessed who the other finallist was.

I had some fun getting in some jabs about him being the one chosen and me being left out. (He says he is suffering survivor's guilt. You'll forgive me if I don't feel much sympathy.)

But the good news is I did well and I still have several assignments. Cerritos will readvertise soon and Pierce College will also be looking soon.

Another Interview, THE BIG ONE

Well, today I had the big interview at LACC. At first I thought I hadn't made it through the preliminary round and wouldn't be one of the three interviewed by the school president, but with much gratitude I was.

The interview went fairly well altough I have to admit the questions caught me a bit off guard. They started with wanting to know who I was outside of the resume. I struggled to come up with answers that went beyond my CV (which they had and is much longer than a typical resume) but were still on the strictly professional. Perhaps I should have mentioned sailing which is a physics inspired hobby, but I wanted to steer clear of family and such.

Next they asked how I dealt with conflict in the class. Well, any answer I gave that was more than broad generalization would require giving an example, and in any example of conflict I have made at least some mistakes. I used two examples where the mistakes were minor and the resolutions very positive.

Questions continued with why I'm applying at a community college when I have a Ph.D. and could apply to a University. (I focused on the strong interaction with students you get at a community college.) Why LA City College in particular. What I knew about learning outcomes and evaluation. How I behaved on commitees (I'm very talkative and free to give my opinion and like to work towards concensus.), etc.

When it was my turn to ask questions I asked about what the school goals were and what they wanted out of me. How consistant the goals were and how smooth and open faculty administration communication was.

On the whole I think it was a good interview. The only thing I'm nervous about is that there are two other excellent candidates. I saw one of them (who I had guessed would be there) and if astronomy is where they want to focus I would say he is the better candidate. (On physics I think I'm stronger.) At this point it is just time to hope and be glad that the school will do well.

Good Deal No Dough

I was looking at boats on Craigslist, just for fun. Unfortunately, the problem with looking is that you might find something you would really like but can't get. I have no problem passing over the $35,000+ yachts or even the boats that are just a few thousand. But I ran across a guy selling two sabots for $600 total. Now the other complete sabots I've seen have been more than $600 each, and even the cheapest versions are probably $1500-$2000 new. And it would be the perfect boat to teach Libby how to sail in. She is the only one that has shown a real interest, and is just barely to the point that she could learn in a sabot.

As you can see, I can make justifications adnauseum, but sooner or later I have to face the facts. I have a perfectly good boat that I don't use enough (a bit big for Libby to learn, but with me in the boat over the next few years . . .) and I don't have $600 (or even $300) burning a hole in my pocket.

(I wonder if I could buy both then sell one for $600. Probably, but still a bad idea. See I can't stop.)

If I weren't attracted to women I'd think I was gay.

The comment I made to two friends who were teasing me about enjoying chick flicks and musicals.

Cultural Differences

I've really enjoyed watching the Olympics. It is a chance to take a deep interest in sports, including ones that I don't often follow.

For example I have really enjoyed watching Volleyball. In part because it is a fun sport, in part because Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh look hot in bikinis, and partly because my second home country (Brazil) is also really good in the sport.

While watching these matches I noticed an interesting difference in the countries' cultures. I've noticed this in other sports too. In the U.S. (and most other countries) the players have their family name on the back of their jerseys. But the Brazilians almost always have their first name on their Jersey. Sometimes it is even a nickname (unless they really have the names "ant" or "large fluffy/cuddly one"). The same is true on the soccer field. "Pele" is a nickname.

When I was in Brazil, someone once said that Americans hand a deeper intelectual awareness of their freedom, while Brazilians had a stronger emotional feel for their freedoms. I think in that culture it must seem ridiculously formal to write your family name on your shirt.

Or perhaps it is just that 90% of the contry has some form of dos Santos, da Silva, 0r Rodriguez in their last name.