Gravity waves are not new, Einstein predicted their existance a hundred years ago. My sophmore physics course (50 years ago) covered them.
Gravity is a very weak force compared to the electromagnetic force or the strong nuclear force. Which makes gravitational waves hard to detect. Indeed, the detectors only managed to detect the most violent event imaginable, the collision of two black holes.
The unscientific newsies have failed to report on a bunch of interesting questions. Such as how do you figure the distance of the gravity wave source? It's been reported that the two colliding black holes are billions of light years away. I wonder how they figure that?
What is the signal to noise ratio from the detectors? Detectors of anything, including gravity wave detectors, tend to output low level random noise all the time. Signals have to be stronger than the noise to be detected. How much stronger than the noise was this event? What causes the noise and could it be reduced in an advanced detector somehow?
Do gravity waves propagate at the speed of light? We all kind of assume that they do, but it would be nice to have some measurements to confirm our ideas.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Monday, February 15, 2016
Living Constitution, fancy words for judicial tyranny
Advocates for a "living Constitution" say that things have changed since the Constitution was adopted way back in 1789 and that judges [usually the Supremes] should change the way the Constitution works "in order to bring things up to date". The appeal to the courts is a way of side stepping the democratic requirement that laws are only made or changed by the duly elected legislature. It's easier to sell your changes to 5 out of 4 unelected lawyers possessed of lifetime tenure than it is to sell them to the much larger legislature all of whom needs to stand for reelection in the near future.
The proper way to change the law in a democracy is to have the votes to pass your changes into law in the elected legislature. Many will complain that this is just too difficult, which is another way of saying that they don't have the votes for their pet programs. The Constitution allows for amendments. We have made twenty seven amendments since 1789, the most recent in 1992. It can be done, but the Constitution calls for super majorities in both houses of Congress and among all the states. Amendments only happen with widespread political support.
The late Justice Scalia was opposed to the notion of a "living Constitution". He preferred to call it the enduring Constitution. I'm with Justice Scalia in this.
Obama wants a "living Constitution" person to replace Justice Scalia.
The proper way to change the law in a democracy is to have the votes to pass your changes into law in the elected legislature. Many will complain that this is just too difficult, which is another way of saying that they don't have the votes for their pet programs. The Constitution allows for amendments. We have made twenty seven amendments since 1789, the most recent in 1992. It can be done, but the Constitution calls for super majorities in both houses of Congress and among all the states. Amendments only happen with widespread political support.
The late Justice Scalia was opposed to the notion of a "living Constitution". He preferred to call it the enduring Constitution. I'm with Justice Scalia in this.
Obama wants a "living Constitution" person to replace Justice Scalia.
Stuart Weitzman: Wonder what he is selling?
Saturday was heavy WSJ day. They pack a 184 page 10 by 12 inch slick paper fashion magazine inside the paper. Makes for very solid feeling newspaper.
Not that I am deeply into woman's fashions, but I like to look a pictures of pretty girls as much as anyone. So I'm thumbing thru it and come to an arresting full page ad by Stuart Weitzman. Three very slender, pretty models standing in front of the camera, completely naked except for high heeled shoes, the kind with big clunky heels, hugging each other. If it had been in color it would have been porn, but a nicely lit black and white is arty.
It did get my attention. On the other hand, I am still wondering what Stuart Weitzman is selling. Normal fashion ads have the models wearing the product they are selling. These models weren't wearing anything except clunky shoes, and somehow I didn't think that was the product. Two following full page spreads with the same models only one of which was wearing an outfit that a girl might appear in public wearing. The rest of them were in underwear. Perhaps Stuart Weitzman is a modeling agency?
Not that I am deeply into woman's fashions, but I like to look a pictures of pretty girls as much as anyone. So I'm thumbing thru it and come to an arresting full page ad by Stuart Weitzman. Three very slender, pretty models standing in front of the camera, completely naked except for high heeled shoes, the kind with big clunky heels, hugging each other. If it had been in color it would have been porn, but a nicely lit black and white is arty.
It did get my attention. On the other hand, I am still wondering what Stuart Weitzman is selling. Normal fashion ads have the models wearing the product they are selling. These models weren't wearing anything except clunky shoes, and somehow I didn't think that was the product. Two following full page spreads with the same models only one of which was wearing an outfit that a girl might appear in public wearing. The rest of them were in underwear. Perhaps Stuart Weitzman is a modeling agency?
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Mclaughlin Shouting Hour debates drafting women
They spent 15 minutes of the 30 minute show discussing this one. To be technical about it, they were discussing requiring women to register for the draft, the way men are required to do. All the obvious arguments pro and con were advanced.
Actually, Nixon ended the draft back some 40 odd years ago. Because the government can never shut anything down, they left the requirement for men to register, just to give Selective Service something to do and avoid massive layoffs of bureaucrats.
Nobody really expects to start up the draft again. The all volunteer army seems to attract enough recruits to fight things like the Iraq war. Nobody expects to do a World War III with 10 million men under arms. So to my way of thinking we might as well drop the requirement for men to register for the draft and then we have full sexual equality about the draft.
I remember going back to my old high school for alumni day many years ago. I ran into a few students all hot and bothered about the requirement to register for the draft. This might have been sometime in the 1980's. I laughed at them. I told them when I was a senior there we had a real draft and we wound up carrying M-16's thru the rice paddies of south east Asia. I went and my two brothers went. All these kids had to do was fill out some paperwork.
Actually, Nixon ended the draft back some 40 odd years ago. Because the government can never shut anything down, they left the requirement for men to register, just to give Selective Service something to do and avoid massive layoffs of bureaucrats.
Nobody really expects to start up the draft again. The all volunteer army seems to attract enough recruits to fight things like the Iraq war. Nobody expects to do a World War III with 10 million men under arms. So to my way of thinking we might as well drop the requirement for men to register for the draft and then we have full sexual equality about the draft.
I remember going back to my old high school for alumni day many years ago. I ran into a few students all hot and bothered about the requirement to register for the draft. This might have been sometime in the 1980's. I laughed at them. I told them when I was a senior there we had a real draft and we wound up carrying M-16's thru the rice paddies of south east Asia. I went and my two brothers went. All these kids had to do was fill out some paperwork.
Maggie Hassan on the Sunday Pundits show
Maggie Hassan, incumbent NH governor, and candidate for US Senate. WMUR's "Closeup" show with Josh McElvane gave her 15 minutes of pretty much un interrupted air time. This is fairly important coverage in NH, WMUR being the only real New Hampshire TV channel.
And, in fifteen minutes of happy talk, Maggie managed to say exactly nothing. Pols must go to school somewhere to learn all the happy talk words that mean nothing, don't commit them to anything, but sound good. Maggie used them all, and gave no hint as to what she might do in the future, what she wants to accomplish either as out going governor or newly elected senator.
And, in fifteen minutes of happy talk, Maggie managed to say exactly nothing. Pols must go to school somewhere to learn all the happy talk words that mean nothing, don't commit them to anything, but sound good. Maggie used them all, and gave no hint as to what she might do in the future, what she wants to accomplish either as out going governor or newly elected senator.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Where is George Orwell when we need him?
Actually Orwell has been dead since 1950, but we need him back. In Orwell's time Communism was a virulent ideology spreading world wide and fast. Communism was so compelling as to cause people to risk their lives spying for the Soviet Union. The Rosenbergs were caught passing secrets of the Manhattan project to the Soviets and were executed for it.
Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984 did more to kill off Communism as any other event during the Cold War. The two novels spelled out the evil at the heart of communism in simple terms clear to the average reader. Anyone who read either book could never be a true believer in Communism ever again.
Today we are afflicted with two dangerous ideologies. Communism, which I had thought really dead since 1989, is making a come back in the US. The Bern is preaching communism. He calls it "democratic socialism" but it's Communism. And ISIS and company is preaching a horrible fanaticism that leads people to massacre innocent bystanders, Christians, Kurds, Yazidi's, anyone not a Shia Muslim.
We need another Orwell to point out the evil at the heart of both these dangerous and horrible ideologies.
Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984 did more to kill off Communism as any other event during the Cold War. The two novels spelled out the evil at the heart of communism in simple terms clear to the average reader. Anyone who read either book could never be a true believer in Communism ever again.
Today we are afflicted with two dangerous ideologies. Communism, which I had thought really dead since 1989, is making a come back in the US. The Bern is preaching communism. He calls it "democratic socialism" but it's Communism. And ISIS and company is preaching a horrible fanaticism that leads people to massacre innocent bystanders, Christians, Kurds, Yazidi's, anyone not a Shia Muslim.
We need another Orwell to point out the evil at the heart of both these dangerous and horrible ideologies.
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