Idea Symposium

The Cosmic Landscape

2010-01-31T12:11:00.000-08:00

I'm just finishing reading "The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design" by Leonard Susskind. Susskind was one of the pioneers of String Theory and has a unique perspective of the current state of the movement. The book's major premise is that the universe is actually a large megaverse, a universe populated with numerouse "pocket universes" with its own physical laws, constants of nature, and cosmological behavior; we exist in one of these pocket universes.

He also examines the claims of the anthropic principle, namely that the universe is suited for the existence of intelligent life. While not arguing for its adoption, he claims that the universe is fine-tuned for such existence, and that the anthropic principle has some merit in explaining the creation of the universe.

This is a fascinating book by a great mind. The Cosmic Landscape he proposes has many different peaks and valleys, explaning such notions as matter, energy, space, and universes in transition and their ground states. Vacuum states and "bubbling" principles explain the creation of new space, "space breeders" as I would call them. He also discusses the notion of a "populated landscape" and how it fits in with the cosmic landscape. Of course M-Theory (the current incarnation of superstring theory which unifies the 5 basic superstring theories, and is actually a "brane" universe existing in 11 dimensions) and it's relationship to the Landscape is discussed.

When I have time, I'd like to discuss this book further. These are the impressions I have for now.

Three Roads to Quantum Gravity

2009-09-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

I'm almost done reading this book called "Three Roads to Quantum Gravity" by Lee Smolin. It's a fascinating subject matter. Quantum gravity (QG) is the theory that unifies the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics.

So how are these 2 seemingly disparate areas unified? After all, general relativity describes the world of large objects like galaxies, stars, and planets, while quantum mechanics describes the world of small objects like atoms, electrons, and quarks. Smolin argues that it requires a radically different view of space and time.

The three roads to QG are respectively derived from quantum mechanics (string theory), relativity (loop quantum gravity), and independent mathematical approaches that have unexpectedly appeared in the other approaches (e.g. spin networks described below).

I've written about string and superstring theory before, but this is the first time I've read about loop quantum gravity (LQG). LQG derives from relativity theory. Some physicists have reformulated the general theory of relativity including Einstein's gravitational equations. Applying quantum theory to these equations led to already known equations describing quantum gravity (the Wheeler-Dewitt equations), but the simpler form of relativity enabled exact solutions to be found (Smolin was among the group to discover them). These solutions describe the quantum states of the geometry of space and time. It was found that these states were loops. As long as the loops didn't intersect, link or knot with each other, they solved the QG equations. Smolin explains that other conditions need to be satisfied in order to handle the intersections, links and knots. Also, the loops can be grouped together to form spin networks invented by Roger Penrose. These spin networks describe the quantum geometry of space!

There are several ideas advocated by the LQG approach. The first is that space and time are discrete, not continuous. This isn't apparent in everyday reality, but is at the miniscule Plank scale. The second is that they are relational, and not absolute stationary entities. LQG thus advances a background-independent view of space & time. All the World is not a stage, but rather a network of interrelated processes.

In later chapters, Smolin shows how the three pathways could be converging into one theory. He is an advocate of M-Theory which unifies (supercedes?) all the previous string theories. I don't know how his thinking has changed since the book was published in 2002; but I've enjoyed reading this book as it is!

Kelev Lavan - RIP

2009-07-04T01:34:00.000-07:00

Our beloved family dog, Kelev Lavan, passed away earlier on 7/3/o9. He was a lovable, active dog (a Westie) filled with great life. Born in March, 1993, he lived through both uplifting and trying family years, including my father and mother's later years, birthdays, weddings, birth of children. Kelev could run and leap with the best of them. He would stand on his hind legs when "begging" for food. Best of all, he would cuddle up to us and had his own way of displaying affection. We remember him and cherish the years he was part of the Epstein household.

What is the justification for morality?

2008-02-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

What is the justification for morality? Is it reciprocity? Is it self interest? Should we only consider behaving morally with respect to those who can reciprocate appropriately, ignoring the poor and the weak who cannot reciprocate in an adequate way? Or, does being moral require that we protect and provide for the weak and the poor? Why or why not?

Here's why I ask this question: if morality obligates us to care for weak and the poor, then why does this obligation not extend to all living things rather than just to people? Nietzsche said something like 'one negotiates with equals; one does not negotiate with inferiors, one simply takes what one wants from them'. This would be a description of motivation from self-interest, I think. If our sense of obligation extends only as far as people, then how can we criticize a rich and powerful person who restricts their range of obligation to only those who are nearly as rich and powerful as they are?

Thinking about this right now, it dawns on me that the poor are powerful in large numbers, as the reign of terror during the period of the French revolution shows. Is that it? Is the principle that morality should be based on the idea that we are only obligated to those who can affect us significantly? Or, is morality a "custom": patterns of habitual behavior which form our personality? In this case, few effect the individual as much as the individual affects him or her self. By our behavior we set the de-facto "rules" of the game called "Existence" or "Life" or "Civil Society" because others see our behaviors, or the effects of our behaviours, and follow suit to compete for survival. Here morality might be providing us with rules for cooperation so that we are not distracted from work, sleep, education and the other endeavors that we would not be able to undertake if we had to spend all our time protecting our interests from others who are not constrained by the rules of morality. Again, this is self-interest. It is mutually beneficial, but still motivated by self-interest. But if self-interest is the principle in play, why don't the superior individuals gang together with only other superior individuals and play as a team against the poor and weak?

Again, the reason I am asking this is because I think we have moral obligations to all living things, and not just to our equals or just to people. The problem I am having is determining whether this is grounded on good principles which can be logically determined or is this just a sentimental impulse, perhaps some vestigial instinct left over from our evolutionary heritage, as per Steven Pinker's "The Moral Instinct" http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/magazine/13Psychology-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ei=5089&en=18a8d2d348782cdb&ex=1357880400&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss, a very interesting article from the New York Times online.

Please note, I am not looking for mere agreement that others feel obligated to care for the weak, poor, inferior or other species; I am looking for *reasons* why this is so, reasons that even a machine could understand; i.e. logically explicable.

Shadows of the Mind

2007-08-26T19:46:00.000-07:00

Every year, I try reading at least one "epic" work that challenges my thinking processes. Last year, it was "On Intelligence" by Jeff Hawkins. That was a great work emphasizing a new approach to understanding and perhaps simulating intelligence: rather than being the result of computational procedures, intelligence is actually based upon the retrieval of stored memories that are utilized to make forward-looking predictions.

This year, I've been working through "Shadows of the Mind" by Roger Penrose. Like Hawkins, Penrose has little faith in computation (either human or computer) in order to understand such attributes as human awareness, consciousness, and intelligence. The difference is that while Hawkins lends some hope for a computer simulation of intelligence, Penrose explicitly rules it out. In fact, he mathematically proves that there are cases where an algorithm can't be proven, but the human mind can comprehend its inner workings and end results (see pp 74-75). He demonstrates this with a procedure that points to an algorithm that allegedly never halts, and thus continues forever. What he shows is that there are cases where the procedure simultaneously indicates the algorithm will halt and will not halt, hence inducing a contradiction that can only be resolved by admitting it continues forever.

Penrose discusses the famed Gödel Incompleteness Theorem and it's implications for formal systems established for proving mathematical propositions. He states that Gödel showed that the consistency of the formal system can't be proven by the rules or axioms of the formal system itself; that in effect, the proof of this consistency is external to the formal system. This is different than other interpretations I've read about his Theorem, namely that there will be at least one general theorem, based upon those rules, that will be true but can't be proven. In any case, he discusses these implications for computer intelligence and robotics and concludes that they can only be programmed with human directives and can't "think for themselves".

Step by step, Penrose dismisses any linkage between algorithmic computation and human awareness. Regardless of whether the system is sound or unsound, or is known or unknown, he is steadfast in his conviction that it can't be simulated. I have to say that I have some reservations about his claims. I'm not convinced with the complete soundness of some of his arguments here (have I myself fallen prey to Gödel's Theorem?!) and feel that he might be missing some logical cases that would weaken those arguments; but I myself wouldn't be able to construct a counterargument to them. Nevertheless, I'm impressed with his general line of reasoning -- he's a brilliant thinker and theoretical mathematician.

Penrose classifies 4 types of views of human awareness, consciousness, and intelligence:
1) These attributes are the results of computational processes. This is the strong view of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
2) These attributes can be simulated by computational processes. This is the weak view of AI.
3) Science can describe these attributes, but they are neither the result of nor can be simulated by computational processes. This is Penrose's position.
4) Science can't even describe these attributes. This is the "mystical" position, and Penrose claims that Gödel himself falls in this camp. He argued that Gödel's Theorem might point to the existence of a "mind" distinct from the brain, outside of the formal system!

The second part of the book, which I haven't read yet, starts with the assumption that consciousness can't be described in classical terms. Rather, it's based upon the indeterminism of quantum mechanics. Consciousness is the result of the collapse of quantum wave functions and the superposition of these events! He argues that these events occur in cellular structures called microtubules.

Well, I'll have more to say when I'm finished with the book. But for now, I recommend you read this book. It's more difficult reading than "On Intelligence" because of the formal arguments and mathematical reasoning presented here. Feel free to comment on the subject matter.

Fred Rogers - RIP

2007-08-26T02:15:00.000-07:00

After an eventful trip to New England, we returned home on Thursday evening. It was a long day, too long of a day. I was ready to pack it in when I received an email entitled "Sad News". I didn't recognize the recipient, but "cautiously" opened it. It was from the uncle of an old acquaintance/friend, Fred Rogers. To my dismay, the email mentioned that Fred passed away on Wednesday. I'm very saddened by this news.

We grew up together at Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo. I remember him in Hebrew School class, volunteering to answer questions in Hebrew. What a brave soul! I'll never forget the visit I made to the kibbutz he was staying on in Israel: Mishmar Ha'Emek, a kibbutz like no other for a soul like no other. I feel his kibbutz experience really opened him up. After that, when he returned home, Fred spoke about raising chickens and bees.

We went to College of San Mateo (CSM) together. At CSM, we attended a "History of Jazz" class. We went to the UC Berkeley jazz festival and other jazz concerts. He opened the door to a better appreciation of music in general. There were many times we went out, sometimes with Raya and their friends. I remember when we drove up from UCSB, in his jeep. We had some fun times.

Fred was a novel thinker. He was often thinking about new products and technology usage. He had great knowledge about the inner workings of businesses, financial markets and trends.

Most distinctive about Fred was his friendliness. He was one of the friendliest, good-natured people around. He was uplifting, and I always enjoyed seeing or running into him.

The last 1 1/2 years of his life, he was living with and was the caretaker of his elderly father, Maurice. There can be no higher mitzvah (good deed) than to take care of one's parent who's in need. That is a testimony to Fred and serves as a reminder of his worth, character, and goodness.

I will miss him. May his life be for a blessing.

New England trip - Portland, and final days

2007-08-26T01:55:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, August 21st. We left Hallowell late morning and headed to Freeport. Shopping had to be done!

We made it to Portland and spent a few hours in the Old Port area. The buildings are well preserved, sporting some classic New England architecture. It was nice to walk up and down the streets. We ate near the harbor -- had tasty soft-shell lobster.

After Portland, we headed to Lake Sebago where Nancy grew up. This is a gorgeous lake. What a beautiful setting.

Then, we went to Lovell where Nancy's parents live. This house is in the wilderness. Say no more! Beautiful country area. We spent the night there, though her parents were away at the time.

Wednesday, August 22nd. We left Lovell pretty late (1 pm). We spent time in Conway, New Hampshire. We were going to take a scenic train ride, but it turned out to be an almost 2 hour ride which was too long, since we needed to return to Burlington before dark. From Conway, one can see the beautiful White Mountains.

The ride back was pretty, of course. We stopped at Willey Pond, right smack in the middle of the White Mountains. Great spot.

Next, we drove by Mount Washington. There's the Mount Washington Hotel there, which resembles the Coronado in San Diego.

We stopped in Littleton, New Hampshire, and Lisbon, New Hampshire, where we heard a Dixieland jazz band perform.

Stopped for a few minutes in Barre, Vermont. Nice buildings there.

Finally, we picked up Thai food in Montpellier, the capital of Vermont. Too bad we arrived there in the dark. It would have been a great spot to take photos.

We arrived back in Burlington after 9:00 pm. A fitting end to our travels.

Pemaquid Point and Camden, Maine

2007-08-26T01:33:00.000-07:00

Monday, August 20th. Travelled with Nancy's friend Dave, and his daughter Gabby, and also Benjamin (Glenn and Sarah's son). We continued to explore the Maine coastline. On this day, we drove out to Pemaquid Point, named after the Pemaquid Indians who inhabited the Maine coastal region. The "Point" features a famed lighthouse, a great lookout point of the Atlantic Ocean, and some interesting rock formations. We stayed there for about 1 hour.

Next, we went to Pemaquid Beach. This crescent-shaped beach is quite beautiful. The sand is nearly pristine white, the shape almost the Platonic Ideal of a perfect curve. The bay that it confines features some small islands and houses situated along the rim. I dipped my feet in the water and it was almost warm. It was a short stay; we would have gone swimming if we arrived there earlier and the weather wasn't getting bad.

At this point, Dave, Gabby and Ben returned to Hallowell. Diana, Rachel, Nancy and I headed towards Camden. We stopped in Rockport for a brief stay, just enough time to take some shots of the harbor and look around town (there's an old-style Opera house on the main street). Next up was Camden. It was getting dark, so the photos and DVD footage didn't come out as well. But there's enough there to get a taste of a classic New England town. The churches, shops, colonial houses, the harbor -- all paint a pleasing picture for the flock of visitors (yes, many tourists were there even though it was getting late and many places were closed). We ate at the Village restaurant.

Five Islands, Bath, & Freeport, Maine

2007-08-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

The Maine coast could take weeks or months to explore, since there are so many peninsulas (and fiords) that aren't connected by bridges or tunnels. This makes it a more environmental friendly place for the local inhabitants; but not for the tourists. So we had to pick and choose our places, primarily close to Augusta/Hallowell.

On Sunday, August 19th, we ventured out along highway 27 & 127 towards Five Islands. It's a nice, scenic drive out to the coast. We passed Reid State Park and drove the final mile to Five Islands. Five Islands is a quaint fishing village that, indeed, features five small islands forming a natural harbor. It also is the spot to get some tasty lobster. Needless to say, we all had lobster for lunch.

Afterwards, we were thinking of going to Reid Beach at the state park; but due to the fact we missed the turnoff (there was no sign on the way back), time constraints, a sleeping toddler, and high admission price per person, we decided to forgo the experience. Instead, we headed to Bath. Bath is a nice town with old buildings and a nice waterfront. Unfortunately, most of the town was closed. We stayed there for about a couple of hours, mostly at the local market and walking around.

By late afternoon, we arrived in Freeport and found Gritty McDuff's, a brewery pub / bar & grill that has a great play area for the kids. We met cousins Donna and Savannah, who drove up from Haverhill, MA (thanks for coming up cuz!). We had a nice time together and Savannah (who just turned 6) had fun playing with Rachel. It was a good experience for the young cousins to meet each other. After lunch, we headed a short distance down Highway 1 to L.L.Beans, one of the largest clothing outlet stores on the East coast and based in Maine. We spent a few hours walking around Freeport which, surprisingly, was a nice old town with colonial-styled buildings housing outlet stores!

Drive out to Maine

2007-08-25T14:25:00.001-07:00

We left Burlington late morning on Saturday, August 18th. It's a beautiful ride, first along highway 89 and then highway 2. Very green, idyllic, sometimes pastoral route. We briefly stopped in Saint Johnsbury, a nice small town. A few miles further up the road is Joe's Pond. I had to get out and take some pictures of the pond, which I thought was a lake because I didn't know at that time it was a Joe's Pond. In any case, it's a beautiful, scenic, peaceful spot.

Right after crossing the New Hampshire border is Lancaster. This too is a nice, small town. Churches, colonial buildings, and so forth. There was an outdoor wedding reception at one of the churches. The remainder of the ride through New Hampshire winds through Santa's Village and features the "backside view" of the White Mountains (part of the northern Appalachians).

Once we passed into Maine, we stopped at a gas station to stretch out and enjoy the view. It's very green there. We passed through Wayne, Maine, and then along some lakes and plenty of pine and maple trees.

Finally, early evening, we arrived at our destination of Hallowell, Maine, which is very close to the capitol Augusta. We stayed at Glenn (Nancy's brother) and Sarah's place. It's a remodeled house that was originally built in 1820!

Trip to New England & Montreal - the first few days

2007-08-25T11:48:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a nice trip to New England (8/14/07 - 8/23/07). We stayed with our dear friend Nancy in Burlington, Vermont. Burlington is situated right on the shores of Lake Champlain, one of the more picturesque places I've ever seen. The first day, we walked through the downtown mall, ate at a Thai restaurant and of course indulged in the delights of the town's landmark Ben & Jerry's ice cream parlor. A couple days later, we spent some time along the waterfront and took Rachel to the Echo museum, which has all types of water exhibits and an aquarium for the kids. Late in the day, we attended services at Temple Sinai (a reform synagogue in Burlington, near where we were staying). The Rabbi wasn't there, but services were led by the Temple educator and the sermon (about the period leading up to Rosh Hashana) was given by her husband.

Between these two days, we took a day trip to Montréal. It's a nice drive up there, highlighted with the pastoral settings of Northern Vermont and the rural environment of southern Quebec. Arriving into Montréal is a treat. The visitor is greeted by the Saint Lawrence river and the site of the biosphere, a giant geodesic dome housing an artificially controlled ecosystem. Also, there's the La Ronde amusement park on Sainte-Hélène Island.

The weather wasn't too great. We dodged thunderstorms throughout the afternoon; but there were enough breaks for us to explore the area. We ate lunch near the waterfront and preceded to walk around the old city. There are many nice streets with restaurants, shops, and old dwellings. With all of the outdoor cafes and signs in French, one can easily get the impression of being in Paris. The buildings that are most visually noteworthy are the Hotel dé Ville, the Chapelle Notre Dame de Bons Secour, and the silver domed Marche Bonsecours (Bonsecours Market).

"I didn't say nothing to nobody"

2007-05-03T00:45:00.000-07:00

I've seen this phrase a few times over the years. "I didn't say nothing to nobody".

But what does it mean? It's a triple negative.

It depends upon how we group the words together. Here are the possible interpretations as I see them:

1) "I didn't say nothing to nobody" = "I didn't say (nothing to nobody)".
Since "nothing to nobody" = "something to at least someone", then
"I didn't say nothing to nobody" = "I didn't say (nothing to nobody)" =
"I didn't say (something to at least someone)" = "I didn't speak to anyone". Fair enough!

2) "I didn't say nothing to nobody" = "I (didn't say nothing) to nobody".
Since "didnt say nothing" = "said something", then
"I didn't say nothing to nobody" = "I (didn't say nothing) to nobody" =
"I said something to nobody".

Here, we have an existential dillema. Common sense dictates that you can't speak to "nobody". The reality is that if someone speaks, it has to be directed towards someone. Even when someone speaks to himself or herself, they are at least speaking with someone.

But what about a world where a nobody is really a someone? If "nobody" is a phantom being, then those speech patterns that apparently aren't directed towards anyone are really being heard by "nobody". In which case, we better hope that nobody is a good listener. ; )

James Brown, RIP

2006-12-26T22:51:00.000-08:00

One of the great entertainers passed away yesterday.

2006-07-03T02:24:00.000-07:00

Hula on Kalapaki Beach, Lihue

2006-07-03T02:23:00.000-07:00

The Epsteins at Waimea Canyon

On Intelligence

2006-06-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

I've been reading this book called "On Intelligence" by Jeff Hawkins. He was the founder of Palm and has been a software & hardware designer for many years, but has also been interested in human and machine intelligence. He took a number of classes in bioscience and was most interested in how the brain actually works. The mistake that Artificial Intelligence (AI) experts made, he argues, is they paid no attention to the inner workings of the brain, or developed a reasonable theory of what intelligence actually is, and instead focused upon emulating human behavior.

Hawkins believes that the brain doesn't work like a computer. Computers are designed to be much faster and possess greater computational power. The AI'ers believe that if we create faster and more powerful computers, we will eventually create a real intelligent computer. Hawkins believes that's the wrong approach. He encourages the reader to look at how the brain works: first, it stores memories, then it retrieves them, and finally makes predictions based upon those memories. This is the crux of intelligence. Pattern recognition doesn't derive from computing pathways, but from reconciling what our senses are capturing with these retrieved memories.

The core component of the human brain is the neo-cortex. That's where most of the action is! It has 6 layers, from L1 to L6. Hawkins demonstrates how different regions of the cortex are hierarchically related. He further illustrates how information is hierarchically stored to mirror the hierarchy of reality! The examples he gives are great, from musical compositions to roadways. What it boils down to is that objects have subobjects which themselves have subcomponents, or a process has subprocesses and so forth. Data merges into higher levels of the hierarchy, percolating all the way to the top. With the example of music, he says "Notes are combined to form intervals. Intervals are combined to form melodic phrases. Phrases are combined to form melodies or songs. Songs are combined into albums."

The organization of information and how it's mentally stored reflects the organization of reality. We don't hear a song in one instant, nor capture all the complexity of an event in one screen shot. Internally in the brain, a song is stored hierarchically to capture the nested structure of reality; the highest part is a pointer to the entire song, the next highest part might store the memories of the phrases, then a lower part will store the intervals, and the lowest man on the totem pole remembers the notes. With an image, complete snapshots are not stored one place in memory. Instead, line segments are stored in lower hierarchical parts of the visial cortex, then shapes composed of these line segments are stored in a higher region, shapes blend into recognizable objects in yet a higher region, and finally what Hawkins calls "large scale relationships" reflecting the entire picture occur on top. Based upon what I've been reading, I interpret the storage of memories as an artistic process, not as a storage of data in a computer.

And how do we recognize patterns in reality? Well, memories reflect the relationships of the compositional components. We remember the sequence of notes in a song. So when we hear a few notes, even if they are in a different key, we remember the relationship of the notes. It's the same with a picture of a face. The face might have a different color, or perhaps part of the face is hidden, but the brain remembers the relationships of the facial components and can make auto-associations based upon what it can view (i.e. it doesn't have to see the entire picture to recognize its contents).

One of the most powerful points in the book is his use of Vernon Mountcastle's idea of a unified cortex algorithm. Mountcastle argued that different parts of the cortex (visual, aural, etc.) essentially have the same operating principles. It's the same signal processing and pattern recognition in all cortical regions. We process what we see, hear, and feel (also smell?!) using the same algorithm. What distinguishes each region are the connections to other parts of the brain and body, relationships to motor activities and responses, and so forth.

I've read about 2/3rds of the book and look forward to the end, which I'm sure will include some discussion about how real machine intelligence could occur with a proper implementation of the "memory/prediction" cortical model. Based upon what I've read, I would highly recommend this book.

Anyone read this or books touching on similar subject matter? Thoughts?

2006-06-24T01:36:00.001-07:00

Northwestern Oahu mountains

2006-06-24T01:36:00.000-07:00

Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Honolulu

2006-06-24T01:35:00.000-07:00

Diamond Head, Honolulu

2006-06-24T01:34:00.001-07:00

Waterfall in Waimea Canyon, Kauai.

2006-06-24T01:34:00.000-07:00

Palm trees near Kalapaki Beach

2006-06-24T01:33:00.000-07:00

Hawaiian musicians and Hula dancer, Marriott Beach Club, Lihue Kauai

2006-06-24T01:32:00.000-07:00

Rachel

2006-06-24T01:31:00.000-07:00

View of Marriott Beach Club pool (the largest in Hawaii) and Kalapaki Beach.

2006-06-24T01:23:00.000-07:00

Tarot fields, Hanalei Nature Wildlife Refuge, Northern shore of Kauai

2006-06-24T01:22:00.000-07:00

Hanalei, Kauai

2006-06-24T01:21:00.000-07:00

Diana and Rachel at the Marriott Beach Club, Lihue, Kauai

2006-06-24T01:20:00.000-07:00

Posing in front of Kalapaki Beach, Lihue Kauai

North Shore of Oahu

2006-06-18T01:16:00.000-07:00

On June 13th, Tues, we took a ride around the island. We rode up H2 (nothing too exciting except some real nice views of the Northwestern Oahu mountains). Then we hooked up on 99 and stopped at the Dole Plantation. Lots of tourists there. We didn't take a tour of the grounds, but walked around and took some pictures. There is supposed to be this giant maze, one of the largest in the world, comprised of over 11,000 Hawaiian plants. It just was too hot to take any tours especially with a somewhat restless one year old.

We continued up 99 and detoured to see the historic town of Waialua, but I ended up driving out to Kaena Point, the most western point on Oahu. This is where the mountains meet the ocean/beach. It's beautiful there. Some of the beaches are near-pristine white. One beach is a great place to watch the para-sailers.

We didn't see historic Waialua, but did see historic Haleiwa. This town has a lot of historic buildings, quaint shops and restaurants. It's also where the surfers hang out (there's even this Surfer museum for G-d's sake!). We ate at a Mexican restaurant, Cholos. The food was OK, but the best part of it was all of the wall hangings incl Mexican art, crosses, other paraphenalia.

After lunch, we took 83 along the northern coast. First, we stopped at Waimea Bay, but it was too crowded. Then we drove past Sunset Beach, stopped at some beach with a scenic coastal view. Drove by Turtle Bay, etc.

Some nice views of the Northern mountains from Kahuku. We briefly stopped to see the Mormon Temple in Laie, and then enjoyed the scenic views from Laie Beach. Stopped in a couple of quaint, small towns like Hauula and Punaluu. It's all very nice. But the most scenic and romantic point has to be Kahana Bay. We actually were able to stop there, and take some great photos and DVD footage. This green giant, jagged-edged mountain overlooks the bay. What a great place to be!

But no sooner than the blink of an eye, and yet another scenic view emerges in Kaaawa. The "triple a" town gives us a peek at yet another jagged-edged peak. Then onto Kualoa where one is greeted by the picturesque Chinaman's Hat! (in Kaneohe Bay).

But that's not all! Stopped in Kahaluu to view the rest of the majestic mountains of Oahu.

Drove back on H3, right through the thick of the northern mountains! What else is there to say.

When we returned to Honolulu, Diana wanted to see Temple Emanuel, the Jewish Reform temple. It's up on the Pali Highway (91). It was late at night, so we didn't get to go inside. But it's a very nice building in a scenic location.

Once we returned to the Outrigger Reef, we had dinner at the Ocean House restaurant. A fitting ending to our trip with a scrumptious meal overlooking the ocean waters, with a nice tropical breeze passing by.

Diana, Rachel, and myself, bid you Aloha from Hawaii. We had a very nice time together on our first family trip.

Ride around Oahu

2006-06-14T02:35:00.000-07:00

We rented a car and had a nice ride around Oahu. I'll give a more detailed description of our trip when we return (it's getting late and I have to pack for the return flight tomorrow). Suffice it to say that the coastal and mountainous scenery was incredible. I just love their northern shore.

Last couple days in Kauai

2006-06-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

Well I finally was able to go kayaking for a couple hours, the next to the last day in Kauai! It was in the bay area where we were staying.

Our last day on the island was Fri 6/10/06. We relaxed at the Marriott Beach Club in Lihue where we were staying. It's situated in this secluded bay that reminded us of the resort we stayed at in St. Lucia on our honeymoon. We hung out at the beach which was nice, but it was very hot. Then we swam in the pool which is the largest area pool in Hawaii. It's tremendous; there are 5 large gazebos covering the 5 jacuzzis!

We then walked around the grounds for a bit. They have beautiful gardens in the open air interior area, interspersed with pavillions covering large Japanese art work and statues. There are some posh shopping stores as well. In the morning, they feed the Koi located in the interior Japanese ponds. There are Ne-Ne and other geese and ducks lounging nearby!

At night, we attended the Luau at the Smith Tropical Paradise in Wailua. We didn't attend the dinner part of it, but saw the performance in the ampitheatre. It was a nice show, with dancers representing Hawaii, Tahiti, New Zealand (Maori), Philippines, Japan and China. There was also a Samoan fire dancer.

All in all a nice stay on the Garden Isle. We hope to return soon.

Waimea Canyon et al

2006-06-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to Waimea Canyon on Wednesday. Took the nice drive along the southern coast. Stopped at the historic town of Hanapepe. It has some nice art galleries, an old theatre, and this "shaking bridge" that goes across the river. We walked on this narrow suspension bridge which rocks back and forth as you walk across it. I noticed that the town, while it retains some of its charm, looks pretty desolate. Someone later said this was due to hurricane Iniki in 1993.

Then we stopped in Waimea for lunch. It too is a historic town, known for its sugar and rice plantations, and the spot where Captain Cook first landed in Hawaii.

Then, we took 552 up to the Waimea Canyon. We stopped at a couple of spots along the way. Rachel has generally been very well behaved on this trip, but this long windy drive was a little too much for her; she let us know about her discomfort! Well, be that as it may, we stopped at the scenic lookout point for the incredible views of the canyon. The green vegetation (a type of fern) intermingled with the red soil and rock paints an amazing picture that is the envy of every good artist!

We drove the next few miles to Kokee State Park, but unfortunately, it was getting foggy and even started raining. Needless to say, we didn't make it out to the Kalalau Lookout, with its majestic peak at a section of the Napali Coast.

Well, we made it back to Wailua in time for a children's Hula show.

Greetings from Kauai

2006-06-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

Hello from Kauai. Diana, Rachel, and myself are here in the beautiful Garden Isle. The weather has been great, and it's been very relaxing.

We took a nice ride along the northern shore a couple days ago. We stopped at Kilauea Point to see the Lighthouse, but it was closed. Also went to Princeville and on to Hanalei. Some nice picturesque shots along the coast.

Still trying to marshal the troops out to Waimea Canyon. Maybe tomorrow.

Activities galore here at the Marriott (Lei making for Rachel earlier today).

2005-08-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh!! 8/05

2005-08-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

Rachel at almost 3 months

2005-05-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

The proud parents with their young daughter (5/22/05)

2005-05-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

5/23/05

2005-05-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

Rachel Rebecca at almost 2 days old. 5/22/05

2005-05-25T13:33:00.000-07:00

Here she is. Rachel Rebecca Epstein. 5/21/05. Almost 1 day old.

Rachel Rebecca Epstein

2005-05-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

Introducing Rachel Rebecca Epstein, who came into
terrestrial existence on Friday, May 20, 2005, at 9:08
pm. She was born weighing 8 lbs 6 ounces, and 20
inches.

Through it all these last few days, she has been an
absolute joy, more than we could have realized.

Rucker and superstring theory

2005-03-22T12:56:00.000-08:00

I just finished Brian Greene's the Elegant Universe, in which he discusses superstring theory with all the troublesome equations removed. I find it difficult to believe that this is a best seller, since the concepts discussed are so abstract and nonintuitive. It is so complex, in fact, that I found myself wishing he would put a few mathematical equations in, just to simplify it.

From that perspective, then, I can add a few comments to Rucker's book.

Rucker discusses the possibility of space travel using strings that can be expanded to cosmic size and then contracted. The paradox is that the string itself has not moved, but its location is now on the other side of the galaxy. Fun to think about, but in no way practical. The energy required to expand a string that far has not been seen in the universe since the big bang. Even if it were possible, mere location on an object does not nullify the theory of relativity's prohibition against an object traveling faster than the speed of light.

Another part of the book takes place in a "brane" dimension. This is a curious place inhabited by virtual people. It's salient characteristic is that it curves back on itself within a short distance. Inside the brane dimension, quantum rules apply. For example, if the trolly doesn't stop where you want to get off, you just walk through the side of the car.

Rucker uses elements of string theory, relativity, et al, as subjects of fantasy. In the same book, he inserts several descriptions of paintings by Hieronymous Bosch, another of his scholarly interests.

His use of these elements creates a startling landscape of ideas, language, and images. He continually answers the questions, what would it look like? and, what kind of intelligent life form would it be?

Ivanhoe, Rucker, and all that

2005-02-18T13:41:00.000-08:00

I'll paste in the discussion we had so far:


David Epstein wrote:   
        
Allan, I finished reading Ivanhoe. I was curious about Robin Hood and where his legendary existence originated. Obviously in medieval England, but who was
the fistauthor to write about him? When did he appear in English literature? I noticed that Richard and John also appear in the Robin Hood fables. So it's a justifiable symmetry that RH and Friar Tuck appear in Ivanhoe.     
 
Allan Masri wrote:
     
I didn't know the answers to your questions, so Ilooked up this article:   
  
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/state/monarchs_leaders/robin_01.shtml
   
As an interesting sidelight, there is a Chinese Robin
Hood saga, called "By the Water Margin". It was
written around 1400AD. Notice, this is a case where
two events took place on different sidesof the world
that are very similar in nature but could not possibly
be related. I believe the term for this is
"synchronicity". The Chinese Robin Hood is a bit more
formal and longwinded than the English. His men were
organized into armies and his "Friar Tuck" was a
Taoist magician. I've only read a few passages from the
book which, strange to say, seems banal to western
tastes. It was translated as "All Men Are Brothers" by
Pearl Buck in 1933. I understand her book is much
shorter than the original. My son Channing went to
school at the University of Leeds in Nottinghamshire,
England. There is a "Robin Hood Oak" there, as well as
other tourist spots. Contratulations on completing
Ivanhoe. You must have the feeling of satisfaction you
can only get from reading a long and well-written book.
Keep me posted on your future progress.If you're
interested in a very different experience,I have just
started reading a book by Rudy Rucker called Frek and
the Elixir. Rucker teaches Mathematics and Computer
Science at San Jose Stateand writes science fiction /
fantasy books on the side. He puts the concepts of
mathematics and advanced physics into his works and
creates a large vocabulary of special terms appropriate
to his futuristic plots. He writes "classic" science
fiction, which attempts to predict possible futures
based on current trends and recent inventions. Also,
I'm still looking for work, so if you have
any suggestions, now is the time to make them!==a  


David Epstein wrote:

Thanks for the link. IT appears he was a
legendary figure, but they can't trace his historical
roots. I wonder when he, Friar Tuck, Little John, and
the Sheriff of Nottingham first appeared in a
literary work.Yes I've heard of Rudy Rucker. I read one
of his "Ware" books some time ago (Realware).
Pretty interesting, interweaving sci-fi with
clairvoyance andoracles. A friend of mine was really
into his "4th Dimension" book. I've written some Math-Fi
which I post up on
my website:http://www.epsteinzone.com/writings/stories/index.html. Two
of the stories ("Microspace" and "Hilbert Space")are
from an unpublished novel I wrote. I really milked it
with Hilbert, and had a lot of fun with
"Quantum Minyan" and "Small Radicals". If you have any
ideas about how I can publish my novel or know of
anyone in the publishing industry, let me know. Even
though I wrote it 1996-2000, I just gave it a title:
"Manifold Destiny". It's a thriller about an adventure
into Microspace, the world of superstrings and such. I'm
keeping an eye out for you for work. I sent you the
name of a headhunter a few days ago. Wha particular
areas are you looking for?- David---

Allan Masri
 wrote: 
    

--- Allan Masri  wrote:


---------------------------------
   I was reading some more Rucker and recalled a
couple of items tha tmight be of interest to you.

Science Fiction is one genre where you can publish
short stories. This is very important. Most areas of
fiction you can't do this and so it is very hard to get
started. So try submitting your short stories
to magazines. Once you figure out what they publish,
you should be able tofind a publisher for your book.

All publishers are very particular about what
submissions they accept and how. So check out the
publishers (or agents) before you mailanything to
them.

Science Fiction readers are typically 12-year old
boys. That is why Rucker's protagonist is a 12-year-old
and his writing style is simplified. Since young boys
enjoy action, Rudy also inserts extra action sequences.
One of the main subjects in this book is video
games. In his future, video games and cartoon
characters are everywhere. Although Rucker is a brainy
guy, it is clear from his appendix that he has read
Sci-Fi fiction series like Bill the Galactic Hero,
which is written in a simple style and has comic-book
plots. Why did I know about Bill? Because my son was
once 12 years old!

It is possible that you don't care to focus your
writing on a potential audience. You see the paradox
here. You can get published if you write exactly what
publishers are looking for, but you only want
to communicate your own ideas -- which are the very
things that publishers don't want to see, except in
very small doses.

The market for fiction is very small and financial
rewards commensurate. First novels sell around 1,000
copies. Your royalty on that will be less than $3,000.
My publisher once told me that the publishing business
is good for publishers but not for writers. So maybe
the answer is to publish your own books, market them
locally, and build up a following that way. Publishing
on the web is cool, but it may be more expensive to
market books that way than through
traditional channels.

Incidentally, Charles Rosendahl ( who works for Mike
Dunn at AOL )wrote a program that helps people
self-publish. You wouldn't need it,of course.

Thanks again for your assistance!
==a



David Epstein wrote:

Yeah I think a dose of reality about the publishing
industry was in order! I just see it as a publishing
dominated industry, rather than artist/writer
directed. I have no illusions about publishing,
certainly not without an agent or publisher that would
insist on altering my work so that even I wouldn't
recognize it! I think you're right: self-publishing
might be the way to go.

I read Rudy Rucker's "writer's toolkit" on his web
site. I really liked what he had to suggest to
would-be writers: treat your book like a fractal. It
IS, in fact, a fractal. You must concurrently write on
different levels, from thinking about the entire book,
to the chapters, sections of chapters, sentences,
phrases in sentences, words in phrases. Each of these
should receive the same care and attention in crafting
your work.

I also was reading some of his interviews. Though it
was a few years ago and he might have changed his
thinking someone, he is decidely a determinist in his
CS, Physics, and Math. Sounds like he was a Set
Theorist by training, and they like exactitude in
their formulas, equations, theorems. So it's no
surprise that he's interested in deterministic
processes such as cellular autonoma, chaos, relativy.
He says he hates quantum mechanics (QM).

Unlike relativity where the equations are simple and
elegant (look at Einstein's General Theory of Relativy
equations: simple, yet powerful; they are loaded with
so much information), indeed, QM is messy.
Determinists like Einstein hated QM's uncertainty,
indeterminism, and most importantly, what he deemed to
be its incompleteness. But QM has been demonstrated to
be correct time and time again in laboratory
conditions. Einstein's completeness idea (exemplified
by the noted Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Effect) lost out
to the quantum interpretation of Bell's Theorem.

Yep, it's true that QM equations are messy. There are
so many displacements, uncertainties, probabilities,
dualities, complimentarities, even fudge factors to
keep the whole system together. And many
mathematicians can't stand that not only is it
unexact, but highly linear as well (that's another
story). But nobody has been able to refute it. It
appears that reality is a very sloppy business.

Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle applies to an
isolated particle. There is a tradeoff between knowing
a particle's position and momentum with precision.
This is built into nature and is not a result of
defective detection. This bugged Einstein more than
anything else. He felt this "tradeoff" led to
incomplete knowledge about the system. But Feynman
showed that the system IS complete with his Feynman
Diagrams (a group of particle position/momentum
"snapshots"). It's only incomplete if you look at one
snapshot; that's where the Uncertainty Principle takes
effect. But the displacement in position or momentum
in one particle can be transfered to a nearby
particle, which in turn passes it's displacement to
another particle, and so forth. The net displacement
in the entire (closed) system is zero!

Another problem with QM is to show convergence. If
there isn't convergence, you get infinite energy,
mass, momentum, and time interval values. That's not
good in physics. It's very difficult to show
convergence. That's where perturbation theory and
renormalization theory come into the picture. If you
look at Feynman's Diagrams (which are pictoral
representations of equations describing particle
interactions), a series of such diagrams might sum to
an infinite value (divergence). Only the "tricks" of
renormalization, moving the diagrams (or terms) around
and regrouping, will allow convergence. One has to be
pretty clever about this for it to succeed. It's
certainly unelegant.

Superstring Theory is the exception to this. It is a
quantum theory that is very mathematical and elegant.
The equations are beautiful, particular string field
theory, and they converge! It's a brilliant theory,
but complicated. One has to have knowledge of such
areas as algebraic topology and advanced number theory
to truly understand it. Unfortunately, it has no
physical principle to speak of. It hasn't been shown
to apply to physical reality in any shape or form, not
yet anyway. The main reason is we don't have nearly
the energy levels available on Earth to probe to such
miniscule levels (10^-33 of a cm to be exact). Here's
an example of limitations in our technology that makes
it impossible to corroborate or disprove the theory:
there aren't large enough particle accelerators to
create the massive energy levels needed to probe a
possible 10 dimensional superstring (actually 11
dimensions due to renormalization theory).

Rucker speaks about "those crappy little string
dimensions". Rucker's very interested in higher
dimensional spaces. He should be fascinated with 10
and 26 dimensional string spaces. But he's perturbed
with the rolled-up spatial manifold. In superstring
theory cosmology, the original 10 dimension universe
was split into the 4D universe we know and love, the
expanding space-time continuum; and the 6D contraction
we don't know and probably would hate! That 6D
universe is known as the Calabi-Yao manifold. And each
dimension is precisely the same length of a
superstring (10^-33 cm). Rucker also spoke about that
maybe someday, someone will discover a transform that
would allow us to enter the superstring world. Well,
that's what my novel deals with. My short story
"Microspace" is essential a user's guide to do that!

I like Rucker's science fiction ideas like aliens
travelling in cosmic rays, and earthly beings
decrypting them to "decompress" them into reality.
Very clever. But I don't like how he poo-poos QM. Oh
well. I could get into areas like quantum relativity
(invented by Paul Dirac) or the quantum theory of
gravity. And even how quantum constructs like
Schrodinger's Equation (which describes the
probabilistic nature of a group of particles) is
applied to the entire universe (see Hawking's theory
about this). But this is a lot to discuss. The point
here is that these areas show that determinism and
indeterminism are weak descriptors in describing these
realities. Something more intriguing is going on here!

Sorry for the long dissertation. I really got into
this! Maybe we can transfer this discussion to my
blog. What do you think?

- David

Allan Masri continues the discussion:

Whew. That's way over my head.

I read quite a bit of Rucker's "Frek and the Elixir". It's hard for me to tell whether he's deterministic or not. The space travel in this book is handled by expanding and contracting superstrings ( yunching ), and the whole text is filled with references to quantum theory. In the last chapter, one of the characters died by springing a "quantum leak". One of the locales is "Planck brane" which is inhabited by "branecasters". But I think he is just playing with these concepts, not making any comments about them. I should mention that this book, I believe, is his longest work of fiction to date and is crammed with unusual images, newly minted words, and oblique references to sci-fi/fantasy literature as well as math and physics.

On the subject of self-publication, the important part is marketing. Since your books would appeal to a small scientifically savvy readership, you should be able to target your audience by making appearances at Universities and/or Sci-Fi conventions. Eli Goldberg was successful in placing his CD of songs about space into gift shops associated with space-related attractions, like the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Smithsonian in DC ( not sure about the details there ). I also made some sales, some years ago, through the Oakland History museum gift shop.

About treating chapters as fractals: Well, that's an interesting way of thinking about it. I prefer to think of writing as an activity whose function is communication of ideas between the writer and his audience, which may be as small as one person. The larger audience you want, the more general the ideas must be and the more abstract the means of communication -- this last because your audience will not understand mathematical concepts, let alone formulae. I just purchased Brian Greene's discussion of superstring theory, The Elegant Universe. In the preface, Greene notes that he wrote the book,

"to make the remarkable insights emerging from the forefront of physics research accessible to a broad spectrum of readers, especially those with no training in mathematics or physics."

Greene's book is currently #296 on Amazon's sales list; Frek and the Elixir is #394,006. In general, non-fiction sells much better than fiction. I attribute this to a human survival mechanism where humans are fascinated with things they consider may help them survive, even if they have no hope of understanding them.

I've gone on too long already.

C# and Paired Programming

2005-02-02T01:07:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, my friend Ravi and I worked on an XML-based customer generation tool for this company we're contracting at (Sentinel Vision). We're doing it in C#, and I'm glad to be getting my feet wet in C# and .NET. I worked hard to break into the Java world (it's a great language), but had no breaks being hired by a company where I could write applets or distributed applications in a QA development environment. So while I'm no fan of MS, I like what I see with .NET/C# and hope to get more exposure.

Well, I don't want to get too sidetracked with discussing this programming environment. What I really wanted to talk about is an unplanned experience with paired programming. In the previous "Extreme Programming" blog posting, I mentioned that I didn't think this approach would work. Well, perhaps I was wrong. You see, Ravi and I were working at his computer. He programmed a bit, while I watched at his side, then I had a burst of energy and a few ideas, and said "let me get in there and drive for a while". So we switched seats and I programmed a bit. Ravi, being by far the more experienced programmer and possessing great alacrity, watched me code and gave some useful suggestions how to do it better. So I made the changes.

Then, he took over and coded away. I didn't correct any of his coding - there was nothing to correct! But I was able to spot other places in the program where the code segments, or similar coding, needed to be applied. So I got in there, and coded a bit more. Then I thought about some of the semantics of customer records, restrictions on what could be enabled and such. That gave me some inpetus to add those code segments. Then, Ravi thought about how we could do it better. And so we did.

Admittedly, one time, I was thinking how to solve a problem, and I told Ravi: "Don't tell me the answer". This was something we did in the Epstein household. I remember mom saying that a number of times: she wanted to remember something on her own. I've always liked to figure out solutions. In this case, I figured out half-of-it, then Ravi just jumped in and finished the job. So I only had 1/2 of the satisfaction I would have normally derived from getting the answer; but we saved some time. Of course, in this case, if the Ravster was programming by himself, he would have done it even faster.

Overall, this paired programming worked well for us. We didn't plan to engage in a "paired" exercise. It just happened, and it worked out for the best (on this occasion anyway).

2005-01-06T18:09:00.001-08:00

Eva (Evita) Peron's tomb

2005-01-06T18:09:00.000-08:00

Inside Cafe Tortoni

2005-01-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

Tango show at El Viejo Almacen club, San Telmo district

2005-01-06T18:07:00.000-08:00

Elephant talk at the Buenos Aires zoo, Palermo district

2005-01-06T18:06:00.000-08:00

Waterfall from Mt. Tronador

2005-01-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

Glacier on Mt. Tronador

2005-01-06T18:03:00.000-08:00

David with Mt. Tronador

2005-01-06T18:00:00.000-08:00

At Puerto Blest

2005-01-06T17:59:00.000-08:00

David and Diana at the Cascades. Near Puerto Blest

2005-01-06T17:57:00.000-08:00

Diana and the blue-green water of Lago Frias

2005-01-06T17:55:00.000-08:00

Lago Nahuel Huapi with Mt. Tronador looming in the background

2005-01-06T17:53:00.000-08:00

At a Swiss restaurant in Bariloche

2005-01-06T17:49:00.000-08:00

Lake Espejo and the Andes along the Argentinian-Chilean border

2005-01-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

Beach along Lago Espejo (Mirror Lake), one of the Seven Lakes. Near Bariloche

2005-01-06T17:44:00.000-08:00

Nahuel Huapi lake, near Bariloche, Patagonia Argentina

2005-01-06T17:42:00.000-08:00

Palacio Salvo building, Montevideo, Uruguay

2005-01-06T17:39:00.000-08:00

David and Diana get a lending hand, Punta del Este

2005-01-06T17:36:00.000-08:00

Playa Mansa, Punta del Este

2005-01-06T17:35:00.000-08:00

Isla de Lobos, where the sea lions are

2005-01-06T17:34:00.000-08:00

Diana and David at Punta del Este harbor, getting ready for boat trip to Isla de Lobos

2005-01-06T17:31:00.000-08:00

Straw roof house, Punta del Este, Uruguay

2005-01-06T17:27:00.000-08:00

Diana and David doin da Tango in the La Boca district, Buenos Aires!

2005-01-06T17:25:00.000-08:00

The Pink House (Casa Rosada), Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires. Their president lives there.

2005-01-06T17:22:00.000-08:00

Diana and Claudia (who we met in Buenos Aires) at the Libertad Sinagoga, Buenos Aires

Family web site

2005-01-05T01:06:00.000-08:00

For those who don't have it, my website is at http://www.epsteinzone.com

Post-trip; back in California

2005-01-02T11:13:00.000-08:00

Well, we're back, Back In The USSA.

It was a loong day yesterday, over 14 hours of flying. The customs line was long in Miami; what a pain in the derrier. We met Diana's father (Murray) and friend (Ron Gold). We had breakfast together before our flight back to SF. Unfortunately, we missed that flight, but fortunately were able to book another one in the afternoon. It was good spending more time in Miami. Thanks to Murray for showing us around the Miami area.

A few reflections about our trip to Argentina and Uruguay.

I'll remember the friendliness of the Argentinian and Uruguayian people. There are some tender souls in those countries. We saw some fine places and had some nice experiences.

Argentina isn't a service-oriented country. Things don't operate too efficiently there, though it appears this is due, in part, to the economic crisis from over 3 years ago. They haven't recovered from that.

Yet Argentinians have a lot of life, and their capital city is filled with it. Buenos Aires is fast paced with motorists and pedestrians everywhere. We'll never forget the cars weaving between the lanes (when there were clearly marked lanes to begin with). I'll never forget the kids who would juggle at intersections while cars would wait for their lights to turn green. We'll remember the gentleman singing Opera on Florida St, expressively moving one hand, with a cigarette resting in the other. And of course, there's the widest Avenue in the world capped with the Obelisk. Diana certainly will recall that LaCoste shirts are still in vogue. And then there are the sweet children begging for money.

There are so many buildings with Colonial architecture; they all are interesting to view and are filled with so much history. It's the city of Evita, Jorge Luis Borges, Jacobo Timmerman, and, unfortunately, also Adolph Eichmann. So much history, so much to learn. We loved La Boca with its colorful houses. We enjoyed walking around Recoleta, a beautiful area of the city. And we ended our trip in that most unique of Argentinian places, the Recoleta cemetary.

It was a good thing we diversified on this trip. Going to Punta de Este was a great move (thanks Murray for suggesting this). Uruguay appears to be more efficient, with better customer service. The beaches are great there. We loved walking in the residential areas, seeing the grand houses in Beverly Hills in Punta. Montevideo is a lively city.

And going to Bariloche -- a beautiful region of Argentina. As I previously said, imagine Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, and Mt. Shasta all in one area. The lake(s) go on and on and on. It's a lake, with an island, with more lake, with another island or two, surrounded with beautiful snow-capped mountains -- in the midst of their summer. The boat ride on Nahuel Huapi and the drive around the lakes were great. And then there's Mt. Tronador. For me, the nature tour to Tronador was the high point of the trip.

We'll remember Argentina and Uruguay. It was our first experience in South American. Diana was able to converse in Spanish (though understanding the double l's and pronouncing them as "sha" was challenging).

We say goodbye for now. Happy New Years.

Recoleta

2004-12-31T13:12:00.000-08:00

We went to the Jewish Museum on Libertad, but it was closed. So we took a cab to Cafe Tortoni. It has a distinctive interior, nice ambience (except for the smoking of course).

Then we took a cab to Recoleta. We saw the Nuestra church; beautiful decorations and art work. Then on to the Recoleta cemetary. The tombs are very impressive, with each one built like a house. We saw Evita's tomb.

Now, we're back at the Howard Johnson Plaza, just hanging out. We'll leave from here.

Tango Show and ...

2004-12-31T06:17:00.000-08:00

We just heard about the tragic accident at a nightclub in the Once district here in Buenos Aires. It was reported that 175 people were killed and over 600 injured. Some flares were shot off inside the club causing a fire. And it appears that there was some negligence because emergency exit doors were tied shut so nobody could enter.

We've noticed that there is a general lack of regard for health and safety in Argentina. The most visible signs are the mass smoking and careless driving. Although accidents like the nightclub fire have happened in other countries (including the US), this is one other example of poor safety conditions in this country. ...

With that said, I'll talk about the Tango show we saw last night. First, when Diana called earlier and spoke to someone at the club, she was assured multiple times that smoking was not permitted in the club. Well, when we arrived, people were lighting up. We were ready to walk out when we spoke with the owner and he said they weren't allowing smoking near the stage area. So they didn't tell us the truth, but I guess some obfuscation of it.

The Tango show was in El Viejo Almacen club in San Telmo, the birthplace of the Tango. It's a nice, small & quaint club with a small balcony (reminds me of a smaller version of the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco), the most popular Tango club in the city according to Frommers. The show began with a 6-piece band playing some Latin pieces (2 violins, bass, 2 accordian players, and piano). Then the entire Tango troupe (4 couples) did some Tango.

Throughout the night, the various couples did their suave moves. They were great. There were classic twists & turns, crossovers, lifts, and dips; but the most impressive moves were the dead-drops where the female drops towards the floor and the male partner catches her just before she hits the floor. There were a couple of incredible dead-drops.

Interspersed throughout the show were singing by a couple of old-timer Latin crooners singing some Spanish pieces. It seemed like Buenos Aires' version of our lounge lizards. The most pleasant surprise was the appearance of a Peruvian quartet who played a few pieces. They really fired up the crowd. The music was great and they played with a lot of passion.

So as you can see, this wasn't a pure Tango show; however, it was a very good show. Our chief complaints were the false advertising about the non-smoking and the show was only 75 minutes (we were told 2 hours, and we paid $35 dollars each).

Surprisingly, we ran into the Israeli couple we met on the boat trip in Bariloche. It was good seeing them again.

Today is our last day in Argentina. We fly back at night. We hope to do something during the day (maybe go to another museum). I'll talk about it later. Ciao, for now.

Happy New Years, Feliz Ano Nuevo ...

Bellas Artes

2004-12-30T13:48:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the Museum of Fine Arts (Bellas Artes) in Recoleta. It's the museum to visit if you wish to see the finest art from Buenos Aires (the 2nd floor, once again, is THE floor).

The 1st floor features several rooms covering modern, impressionist, post-Impressionist, French, Italian, Spanish & other European Classical art. The first room we visited featured the artwork of Jackson Pollock, Fernand Leger ("Marie"), Picasso (not his best work), Chagall ("Los Amantes"), Miro, Kandinsky, Modigliani, Rousseau, and Vuillard. The artist that caught my attention, who I had never heard of, is Franz Von Stuck from Alemania. His "Batsheva" is a beautiful work.

Another room features 19th century French works, including "Diana Surprise" by Jules Joseph Lefebure. There also were 2 statues by Rodin: "El Beso" and "La Tierra y la Luna" (The Earth and the Moon). Also, there were nice pieces by Courbet and especially by Corot.

The next room featured 18th century Italian and French pieces, including fine works by Escuela Ricci and Nattier. Then in another room, there are 16th century pieces, including a great piece by Belgium´s Jan Speckaert who depicted the Biblical scene of Moses transforming the rod into a serpent. Also, there's a large tapestry by Talleres de Leyniers y Gerard (Belgium) called "Celebracion del en lace de Maria Teresa con Luis VIX". Some nice pieces by Rubens as well.

The impressionists and post-Impressionists are on the right side of the 1st floor. This includes pieces by Monet, Manet, Renoir, Pissaro, Gaughin, Lautrec, and one of my favorites, "Retratode Diego Martelli" by Degas. There was one modernist piece I liked called "Immigrantes" by Lorenzo Gigi (1940).

The Medieval art wasn't all that impressive. There were a couple of nice pieces by Tintoretto (16th century Venice).

The Hirsh Collection room is very good, featuring works by Rembrandt , Aert de Gelder (we loved his "Esther and Mordechai Write letters to the Jews", from the story of Purim), and also El Greco ("Jesus ...")

And now, for the 2nd floor featuring some of finest of Buenos Aires and other South American artists.

First, there are 19th Century pieces by Carlos Pelligrini (Buenos Aires) and Jean Leon Palliere (Rio de Janeiro). Then, there are super 19th Century Realism works by Carlos Morel, Prilidiano Pueyrredon ("Un Aldo en el Campo"), Candido Lopez ("Vista interior de Curuzu"), and Pio Collivadino. Diana likes "Desnudo mujer oriental" by Severo Rodriquez Etchart. Great vivid works by these Buenos Aires artists, all of them.

Then, in another room, it really kicks into high gear (19th and 20th Century). First, a great work by Cesareo Bernaldo de Quires: Don Juan Sandoval" (1965); there are other nice pieces by him in the same area. Second, there are the works by B.A.´s Alfredo Gramajo Gutierrez, including "Retablo de Jesus" (1930). After that, there´s "Quietud" by Francisco Vidal from Cordoba, Argentina. This is followed by a collection of pieces depicting various scenes in the La Boca district. One of my favorite pieces in the museum is called "Elevadores a pleno sol" by Benito Quinquela Martin. This wonderful work depicts the stevadores moving cargo to and from the ships, with the colorful La Boca buildings in the background. But that's not all. There are fine pieces from Victor Cunsolo and Octavio Pinto (who's from Cordobo and lived in Montevideo).

Finally, we saw the Bemberg Collection in another room. This features the works of cubists Rafael Barradas (from Montevideo) and Xul Solar (from B.A., whose work we saw yesterday). Also, there are pieces by 2 other Uruguayian artists: Pedro Figari and Joaquin Torres Garcia.

This is certainly a larger museum with finer South American pieces.

On the ride home, we saw all the business folks throw all their papers out from their windows, signifying the end of the year ritual being celebrated all over the world.

At 7:30, we're going to see a Tango Show in San Telmo. I'll blog later about it.

Bye for now.

Palermo

2004-12-29T16:23:00.000-08:00

Before describing what we did today, we want to pause for a moment to reflect upon the preciousness of life. We are greatly saddened by the tragic loss of life in Southeast Asia from the tsunami. Our hearts go out to victims and their families ...

We spent the greater part of the day in the Palermo district. We took the metro underground to Palermo. Our first stop was the zoo. Unfortunately, it started raining once we arrived! Oh well. We walked around and saw several of the animals including elephants, Bengali tigers, lions, zebras, monkeys, Himalayian camels, llamas, exotic birds, and a few others. The reptilian exhibit mainly featured all types of snakes. Some of the windows had fake animals! Who would have thought? The aquarium had a few small penguins and sharks. It wasn't all that eventful. Overall, however, it's a pretty nice zoo. I guess we're revving the engines for parenthood!

Afterwards, we went across the street to a restaurant for lunch. I don't remember the name, and it's a good thing for them. They get thumbs down from us. The food wasn't good, the service bad (the waitress started taking our order, and in the middle went to another table and picked up their plates and glasses). Anyway, after finishing up, we walked back across the street to the Jardin Botanica (Botanical Gardens). There are plenty of beautiful trees and plants there, plus some nice statues. Unfortunately, they don't have flowers. I would say this is Buenos Aires' version of Jardin du Luxenbourg.

Then, we took a taxi to the Malba Coleccion Constantini museum. It's a small but stylish museum of modern art featuring the art work of South American modernists. There is a sculpture of a human figure overhanging the escalator ascending from the lobby area.

The best floor is the 2nd one; this is where the action is! It features Frida Kahlo's "Self Portrait with Monkey and Parrot", the perfect follow-up from our trip to the zoo! The other artists who caught my attention were Alejandro Xul Solar (from Buenos Aires, cubist of sorts), Alfredo Guttero (Buenos Aires), Rafael Barradas (Montevideo), Roberto Matta (Santiago, surrealist), and especially Antonio Berni (Buenos Aires). His large painting called "Manifestacion" is very powerful with vivid depictions of the faces of the working class. I also liked his abstract paintings especially "La Gran Tentacion". Diana liked "Los Viudos" by Fernando Botero (from Medellin, Columbia), and so do I, and she liked Berni's pieces as well. See, more evidence that we're blissfully in love! ... The 3rd floor isn't that that impressive, but I liked the works from Pablo Suarez (Buenos Aires) and Antonio Segui (Cordoba, Argentina).

While reading in the museum book shop, we met a father and son from Virginia. They had taken a trip into the Amazon and were staying in B.A. before heading to Bariloche and Chile. His name is Cliff Krowne, a condensed-matter physicist. He recommended we check out the Jewish Museum (off Cordoba St) and Shoa Museum (on Montevideo) before leaving B.A.

Finally, we walked a few blocks to Persicco ice cream parlor. Thanks to Dawn for the recommendation. It was difficult figuring out what to order, since the signs weren't visible over the ice cream containers, but it's absolutely delicious helados.

We headed back to the hotel. We're thinking about checking out a couple more museums tomorrow and maybe a Tango show at night.

Back to B.A.

2004-12-28T19:02:00.000-08:00

Flew back to B.A. today. On the flight over, we ran into the British couple we met on the boat ride in Bariloche (they're staying one more night before flying back to Venezuela where they're living). We're once again staying at the Howard Johnson Plaza Florida. A few problems happened, like the lights going out, the elevator not working, and internet access is verrrry sloooow. Par for the course!

Anyway, we went to the Puerto Madera area for dinner. Ate at the Puerto Cristal restaurant. Had Patagonian sea bass which I highly recommend. Very good dinner.

Tomorrow we'll probably go to some museum(s) since Wednesday is a free admission day.

Tronador

2004-12-27T16:58:00.000-08:00

What a day. It featured the most compelling nature of the trip. It was more like a Sierra Club trip than a tourist excursion. Unfortunately, Diana didn't join me; she felt it would be too much for her. Most of the people on the trip were from South America, there was an Italian couple as well.

The trip began with the guide describing all the sites we were going to see. Her name is Maria Inez, a very friendly and informative Tai-Chi practicing, nature loving artist who just happens to be a tour guide! We drove by Lago Gutierez just to the south of Bariloche. It's near the Cathedrals where they ski in the winter. Then we drove by Lago Mascardi. This is a large lake with beautiful colors including blue-green which Maria explained is caused by glacier sediments.

We entered Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi where we paid our 12 pesos entrance fee. We saw more of Lake Mascardi, which Maria explained was named after the Mapuches, the Indians in the region. She mentioned they were related to the Incas and were killed off by the settlers (someone we recently met pointed out that the famous Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges claimed the whites killed all the Indians in the area).

Next, we stopped at Los Rapidos at around 10:45. This is a calm creek at one point, then once it passes under the bridge, it becomes the rapids. There wasn't too much of a slope, so I guess it just takes off due to a significant narrowing of the passageway (it didn't appear to narrow that much).

There were plenty of yellow retamas and purple lupinos along the drive (Maria said they were brought over by the Europeans). Parenthetically, we talked about other sites to see in Patagonia. She mentioned Fitz Roy, a place near Chalton which has mountains like the glacier carved Perros, mas o menos, in Chile's Torres del Paine national park.

After this, we saw the Rio Manso which looks very dirty (I'll explain in a minute). There is a nice Swiss style restaurant and some great views of Mt. Tronador, rising over 11,000 ft. above sea level. We were going to stop for lunch there, but they decided to go straight to the base of the mountain, eat there, and give us an extra hour to hike around.

We finally did stop at the mountain's base and had something to eat. Boy are the views incredible (you can see the white glacier overhanging a ledge of the mountain). Most people hiked up to get closer to the waterfalls. I'd say it was about 1 mile hike over trails and rocks from an avalanche.

The waterfalls are gorgeous. I counted about 15 not including those of the trickle down variety. I felt the mist of the far left waterfall even though I was a good 100 feet away from it.

Finally, we saw Ventisquero Negro, the Black Glacier. It actually extended out farther about 30 years ago, but that part broke off, during that time, to become ice bergs of sort. One can see the white glaciers above the black one. To the far left lies the moreno where the glacier passed by.

The ride back was nice. Enjoyed the views of the lake. Had a nice chat with Maria who talked about life in Argentina. She described some of the horrors during the military dictatorship. Thousands of people were killed, many of whom simply "disappeared". She also talked about how difficult it is being an artist.

I returned to the hotel around 6:30, and as soon as I walked off the bus, Diana was arriving at the hotel! Perfect timing -- another sign of simpatico. At night, we ate at the Family Weiss restaurant which is one of the more popular in the city.

This is our last night in Bariloche. Tomorrow we return to Buenos Aires. We bid farewell to a lovely, beautiful region of the country.

Patagonian Bliss

2004-12-26T15:03:00.000-08:00

Well, not exactly. The scenery was certainly beautiful, but the tour we took today was lacking in many respects. First, the operations weren't coordinated too well. We were left hanging at several spots without anyone giving us direction where to go. Second, there was virtually no English translation (well I guess us Americans are being given a taste of our own medicine). Third, the tour bus came almost 45 minutes late.

We started out at around 9:45. We drove in a westernly direction along Nahuel Huapi lake. There are beautiful mountains everywhere and it's a very scenic drive. We arrived at the disembarkation port within an hour. Nearby is the famous Llao Llao hotel (I took a photo).

We had to wait in line with what seemed like 200 0ther people. We paid an entrance fee to the Nahuel Huapi National Park. Then we waited about 1-2 hour for the boat to arrive (it was a catamaran). Like I said before, it wasn't a smoothly run operation.

While waiting on line, we met an Israeli and English couple (I thought the British chap was actually Australian because of the hat he was wearing. Can you imagine that?). We chatted with them throughout the trip.

The boat ride is very scenic and one can clearly see how this lake appears to be endless. At the very least, it's one island and lake segment after the other. After about 1 1/2 hour on the lake, we arrived at Puerto Blest at 12:20. We ate at the restaurant there (salads and desert). Afterwards, we waited for another bus, while Diana was attacked by what she thought were bees (I kept telling her they were large flies impersonating bees, and that she should relax. Hey, remember she's pregnant; I have to keep her calm!).

Fortunately, the bus ride to Puerto Alegro was short. From there, we took a smaller boat across Lago Frias. It's a small lake somewhat akin to Lake Louise in Canada, although not quite as picturesque. The main attraction is the snow-covered volcano Trondanor majestically raising its head just beyond the lake.

We stopped at a ¨rain forest" for 15 minutes. Again, can you imagine that?! That was a disappointment. We returned by boat and then by bus back to Puerto Blest. From there, it was another boat ride to the "waterfalls" (they are really cascades). The trek up the pathway is beautiful. Here was the rain forest we were expecting to see. There are several types of trees here, and one could hear the sporatic sounds of some type of koo-koo bird. About half-way up the trail, one could hear the first rumblings of the cascades. Then without warning, the cascades come into view. It's a picturesque site and we took advantage of it, while Diana kept fighting off the "bees".

I continued upward for the final half of the trail. Diana stayed at the half-way point. It's a bit more strenuous for the last part. At the top is a small lake (Lago Cantaros) with large granite formations as its backdrop (this and some other granite mountains reminds me of Yosemite). Nearby is one of the oldest trees in the world (1500 years old?). I'll have to read up more about it.

So the trip ended with a nice touch. It's beautiful there, but there were too many people on tours to enjoy the nature.

We returned by boat and arrived back just after 6:00.

Bariloche and Seven Lakes drive

2004-12-25T17:14:00.000-08:00

After having an excellent breakfast in the morning (the best we've had on our trip so far), we walked around downtown Bariloche. It's Christmas Day, so many places were closed, but a few restaurants were open. We tried to book a couple of tours, but all the tour places were closed. The only one open is the one who picked us up at the airport. We decided to cancel going to Tronador tomorrow. Diana doesn't want to deal with the windy roads and the long day. Instead, we booked a boat ride and tour for Puerto Blest, the rain forest, and waterfalls. The day after that, I booked for Tronador.

Bariloche is a hodgepodge of Swiss architecture, apartments, run-down buildings, and so forth. Some say it's an Alpine village. I don't think it measures up to Switzerland. Nothing does. It still retains some of the charm it once must have had in abundance, but it needs a good rennovation. The views are great, the lakeside serene and picturesque. I like the Town Plaza area, and some of the side streets are nice. There are a ton of teenages in town for the holidays. Noisy, rowdy, boisterous teens. It's the same all over the world!

We hired a private remise driver to take us around the Seven Lakes area. We started at 3:00. First we drove around the eastern side of the Nahuel Huapi lake. It's beautiful of course. The terrain is arid, semi-desert of sorts. Then we drove along the north side (entering Nahuel Huapi National Park). The roadside is decorated with beautiful retamas (yellow flowers) and lupinos (long-stem purple flowers that occassionally have shades of white, pink, and yellow). There are all types of trees including pine, cypress, and Douglas Fir.

The driver (Julio) stopped along the way so we could enjoy the scenery and take pictures. He was very friendly and explained a great deal about the area. We stopped to take a picture of Bosque de Arrayanes trees with their reddish bark, then continued on to an Alpine-like village called Bahia Manzano. It has a nice lodge and port. There are a few hosterias (lodges) and houses with Swiss architecture.

Next, we stopped in a town called Villa La Angustura. It also has Swiss style buildings. We got some ice cream there and headed towards some more picturesque sites.

Another lake we saw is called Lago Correntoso. There is a small river separating it from Napuel Huapi. We had a beautiful view of both lakes from a bridge towering over them.

After that, we headed close to the Argentinian-Chilean border (we got with 3 kilometers). We saw Lago Espejo (Mirror Lake), so named because it's easy to see reflections in it. To the left are some of the snow-covered Andes peaks in Chile; to the right are some gorgeous Argentinian mountains.

Finally, we drove down to the beach area of Lago Espejo. I swam for a few minutes in what I thought was going to be very cold water. It was just right! Very refreshing in a beautiful spot. Diana dipped her feet for a few minutes.

The weather was great today. It was warm and the sky was clear.

For those of you who celebrate it, we wish you Feliz Navidad!

Bienvenidos de Bariloche

2004-12-24T13:35:00.000-08:00

Well we made it! Almost got stuck in a stop over called Neuquen. We didn't know there was a stop over, so we got off the plane. As we waited for our luggage, a gentleman came into the area and asked who was going to Bariloche. When we replied, he said we weren't supposed to leave the plane. Well, we got back on after putting our hand bags through the X-ray machines (they require exiting passengers to do that in Argentina).

But we're here now. We're staying at the Panamericano which is rated a 5-star hotel, but it's not quite a 5-star by our standards. The room is nice, but not top rated. The view, however, is spectacular. We're overlooking the lake! My first impression is it looks like Lake Tahoe. The lake is surrounded by snow-covered mountains. There's an island in the middle.

Tomorrow is Christmas Day, so we say Feliz Navidad from San Carlos de Bariloche. We're thinking of taking a tour of Trounador tomorrow (the black glacier). I'll certainly write about any day tours we take. One of the receptionists recommended Cerro Campanario; it has great views of the area.

Montevideo

2004-12-22T21:06:00.000-08:00

Or is it Monte's Video? Never can seem to get that one right!

The bus ride from Punta to Montevideo is very scenic. It's very green, idyllic at parts, plenty of trees, and featuring nice views of the coast at times (at points, it reminds me of the coastal ride in Israel and parts of Northern California). There are several farms and small villages to see along the way. One sees both nice homes and poverty.

We arrived in Montevideo at about 1:00. From the bus terminal, we took a cab to Independence Plaza located in the city's center. We went inside the Radisson (where my father-in-law Murray stayed) and stayed for a short time. Then we sojourned outside and spent a few minutes in the Plaza, took pictures of the buildings (i.e. the impressive tall Palacio Salvo), and the statue monument of a man on a horse. Nearby is the Teatro Solis which is the main cultural center of the city.

Prior to this day trip, Diana and I looked up some information on the web about Montevideo's Jewish community. We obtained a list of synagogues to visit. One of them was nearby the city's center. We walked to Canelones St. in a not-so-nice area of the city. At 828 Canelones is the Vaad Hair synagogue. It's easy to miss if one is not specifically looking for it. Diana spoke on the intercom and a man came down to meet us. His name is Shlomo Lerner, a very friendly person who showed us around the synagogue. He is the Shamas of the temple and has lived there with his wife for 25 years. The Shamas is the caretaker of the Temple, traditionally attending to the upkeep of the synagogue, it's sanctuary, even Torah and prayer books. You don't see too many left who live in the Temple's premises and are Jewish. It was a treat to meet him.

The Temple is 60 years old, Orthodox, and Ashkenazi (it's founding members were from Russia). Like the Sephardic temple we saw in Buenos Aires, the Bimah is located in the middle of the sanctuary. It's a beautiful sanctuary. Shlomo explained it used to be a Jewish area.

Would you believe he drove us to the Lubavich site several miles away, in the Posido district?! That's a good example of the hospitality we received in this city.

At the Lubavich center (Beit Chabad), we were given a tour of the premises by a woman who worked there. She showed us the Study area, kitchen (oh did it smell good there), the Mikveh (the ritual baths), and the school for the yeladeem (children). We met the Rabino, Rabbi Shem Tov. He's originally from the French Hill section in Jerusalem. It was good practicing my Hebrew again ("Shachachtee kol ha Ivreet Sheli" for those of you who understand Hebrew).

Nearby is Yavneh. We walked the few blocks to get there. After a short security check (similar to entry in Buenos Aires synagogues where we were required to show our passports), we were allowed inside. Yavneh is actually an Ashkenazi Beit Knesset (synagogue) and school. It isn't orthodox, but more of an amalgem of Conservative (Masorti) and liberal Orthodox. The synagogue is small and more modern. It features a library and study area in the back.

As we were walking out, a man asked us if we "had any questions about the place". He must have seen we were tourists. We struck up a conversation with him, and that formed the basis of the rest of our stay in Montevideo. His name is Ricardo and is the owner of Vitrilan, a heating, insulation and materials company. He was picking up his boy at the school. He offered to drive us to the Sephardic Temple (which he said was the nicest looking temple in the city), but he essentially became our tour guide for the remainder of the afternoon. We dropped his son off at his home which is located in a nice area of the city.

Ricardo is a very interesting person who speaks good English (he explained that's not too common in Uruguay). He drove us along the Ocean boulevard. First, we saw the old lighthouse at Punta Carretas (which means "Wagon Point"). It's in a restricted Navy area so we couldn't go inside, but there are nice views from there. Then we drove by an old jail that was converted into a pedestrian mall. Pretty unusual. As we were driving around, Diana noticed that there are no lanes on the streets. Good catch, honey!

We continued driving along the waterfront, which for me is the nicest part of the city. Along the way, we stopped at the Holocaust memorial. It's not visually impressive, but we were touched the city had allotted space for this memorial.

We finally made it to the Israeli Sephardim temple in the Old Downtown area. We went inside, and while it's not as old as some of the other synagogues we've seen on this trip, it's true it has a beautiful sanctuary. It has a large balcony, nice stained glass, a huppa, and chandeliers with Menorahs anchored with a Magen David (star of David) on the bottoms.

Ricardo mentioned there is one Reform synagogue in the city at NCI.

After the temple visit, Ricardo drove us around parts of the city. We saw a couple of plazas, some government buildings, the old Metropolitan and Anglican churches, and some other sites. Then we went to the Mercado del Puerto. I invited him to join us for dinner. We had a sumptious dinner there. Afterwards, he drove us to the bus terminal. Thank you Ricardo for being our guide and friend for most of the afternoon. It was the high moment of hospitality on our trip.

Overall, we found the Jewish community of Montevideo to be very friendly and pretty well adjusted to life there. There isn't too much anti-Semitism and they practice their Judaism openly.

The city of Montevideo has several poor, run-down sections. The tourist should see these as well as the popular sites. It gives him-her a truer perspective of life in the city. And parts of it are conjested and noisy. However, from what we saw, Montevideo has some buildings with interesting architecture from the Colonial period. We didn't get a chance to see any of the museums -- that might have given us a different "view". But we certainly had an unusual time.

Some of the towns between Montevideo & Punta del Este: Solymar, El Pinar, Pando (off the main route), Pinamar, Salinas, and Atlantica. Well, I fell asleep for most of the ride, so I didn't track the other cities. Oh well. More later.

Boat Ride and the Beach

2004-12-21T18:48:00.000-08:00

We took a boat ride from the Punta del Este port to Isla de Lobos. This supposedly has the largest concentration of sea lions in the world. The ride was 45 minutes to the island. We didn't disembark there, but came close to several schools of sea lions. It was amazing to see so many of them. Because they are amphibious creatures, several were crawling on the island shores. Others came close to the boat and performed breeches out of the water. I felt a little sea sick on the ride back. The water was a bit choppy further out. Still, we enjoyed the experience.

We ate at a restaurant at the port. Had a good fish lunch. Afterwards, we walked along the beach front and rested our feet and buttocks at Playa Mansa (the premier beach in Punta). The sun is deceptively sharp here, so we got a little sun burned. It's about the same latitude from the equator as Santa Barbara, CA; but it seems to have the solar intensity as Hawaii.

Then we went back to Pesca's which serves rich gelato ice cream. I had the Pannacota again (creamy flan flavor). Yum. Then we walked by the large hand in the sand. While taking some photos there, we met a nice couple from Argentina (Peter and Mary). He actually is living in Dallas, while she's trying to obtain her visa to live in the US. They want to get married but have faced the great bureaucratic headache of obtaining entry into the country.

Later at night, we met Peter and Mary at a restaurant in Punta. We had a nice dinner together. It's a treat meeting people while traveling.

Tomorrow we plan to go to Montevideo. I'll make sure to blog again tomorrow.

One funny note about the cab ride back to the hotel. They keep the cabs very dark even when you arrive at your destination. Well, this cabbie saw I had trouble recognizing the bills I was taking out of my wallet. When he turned on the light, I couldn't resist saying "mucho gusto" (nice to meet you).

(note to self: Peter suggested we take tours of the 7 lakes and the Black Glacier (Tronador)

Arrived in Punta del Este ... finally

2004-12-20T13:41:00.000-08:00

Well, we had quite an ordeal boarding the plane from Buenos Aires. We arrived early enough. The problem was the good people of Pluna (the Uruguayian airlines) didn't have their act together with the tickets. I had 2 copies of e-ticket printouts and I showed them to the agent, but he said we had to go to the ticket purchase window. "But I already purchased our tickets," said I. "It's not in our system. Go over there," replied he. When we spoke to the gentleman at the ticket window, he checked our reservation on the computer. We had a reservation, but he said we hadn't made payment yet. "What?!" exclaimed I. ... Well, you get the point. Even though I made a reservation from their website, and gave my credit card number, and the e-ticket confirmation states the dollar and peso amount, apparently they didn't bill me for it. Go figure. Sometimes life is a little difficult to figure out, but it's multiplied ever-more-so when you're in a foreign country.

Anyway, we made the payment. Then with about 1-2 hour before our flight, we received our boarding passes. But needless to say, we didn't get our reserved seats or specially ordered meals. We rushed upstairs where we paid our airport tax, then through the metal detector (Diana got a hand search because she's pregnant and doesn't want to pass through those detectors). Finally got our passports stamped and on to the plane. But every step of the way was an ordeal!

Fortunately it was a very short flight, only 35-40 minutes. We got a remise (reliable cab service) and he took us to the hotel. It was a very scenic drive. The water looks great here. The driver took us through a very posh neighborhood which is called "The Beverly Hills".

We're staying at the La Capilla which is a couple blocks from the beach. It's in the San Rafael area and is near a residential area. We went to check out the nearby pool which now is co-located with a brand new restaurant. It has a very posh look with white couches and seats in semi-enclosed sun protected areas.

We took a nice walk and the neighborhood and found it to be very nice. I would say most of the houses were middle to upper-middle class. Some houses have a South Pacific motif with rooftops made of straw (or some type of related material) making it look like Fijian huts!

Later in the afternoon, we went across the street and laid on the beach for a couple hours. The sun was nice, but the water was cold. Probably need to get there earlier in the day to get more of the warmth. Believe me, we'll try again!

We're talking about a taking a day trip to Montevideo (Uraguay's capital). Maybe a boat trip to see the sea lions. We'll see.

City Tour of Buenos Aires

2004-12-19T18:05:00.000-08:00

Earlier today we took a half-day city tour of B.A. by bus. We started around 10:00 am near the hotel at the end of Florida St. (we´re staying at the Howard Johnson Plaza Florida).

The first place we passed by is referred to as the "Big Ben" Tower. This was given by England to Argentina in commemoration of their independence from Spain. Nearby is San Martin Square named after the famed Argentinian general.

The north area of the city is more spacious, green, and features more of the city's cultural sites. The two major districts are Palermo and Recoleta. Palermo is one of the more affluent areas of the city. We drove by Park Carlos Thays, a classical building in the Roman style that is part of U.B.A. (University of Buenos Aires), and a mechanical flower monument that is one of the largest in the world. Nearby is the museum in Palermo, the Japanese Gardens, Planetarium, Rose Garden, zoo, and Botanical Gardens.

Then we drove through the Recoleta where we passed by the church and cemetary. We stopped in the Recoleta. There are some large trees with twisted trunks (don't know what they're called). Diana and I walked through a small crafts fair near the Cultural Center. There are some photographic shots from there.

We then drove by some of the embassies. On the ride to the center of the city, our tour guide explained that B.A. was founded in 1536 by Mendoza. We drove down the widest avenue in the world: Julio Nueve. It's 144 meters wide.

Nearby is the Teatro Colon where we were last night for the opera. It was built in 1906 and houses about 3500 people. There's also the prominent La Bandera monument (the Obelisk) built in 1936. Nearby is Correntas Ave, where there are many theatres and restaurants.

June 9th is Argentina's independence day. As she was talking about this, we stopped in Plaza de Mayo. This is where there are government buildings, churches, etc. Very historical spot. The Pink House is where the president lives. This is where Evita Peron spoke to the people (from a low balcony). There´s also the Cathedral Metropolitana, a large church where General San Martin (the liberator of Chile and Peru) is buried. There was a Sunday mass going on inside.

Then, we drove passed San Telmo, Evita Peron square, and a Russian Orthodox church. Then we stopped at a Soccer Stadium. We paid 5 pesos each to go inside. Took some photos. A game was just getting under way.

The guide explained that San Telmo used to be where the high society lived until 1870 when there was a Yellow Fever epidemic. They then moved to Palermo.

Finally, we stopped in the La Boca district. This is the poorest area of the city, but certainly the liveliest and most colorful. All of these dwellings and shops, on Caminito Street, were painted in such bright colors. We drove around and saw some of the poverty in that area. While this was sad to see, Diana and I both thought La Boca was the most authentic area we had seen so far.

Enroute back to Florida Street, we passed by the river and the newest neighborhood of the city: Puerto Madero. This is where there are many fine shops and restaurants.

In the afternoon, we ate on a restaurant on Florida St. Then we returned to the hotel for our daily siesta! At night, we ate at the nearby Marriot Hotel. Had a nice buffet topped off with sumptious Torta de Manzana for dessert.

Well, so much for now. We head off to Punta del Este tomorrow. Hopefully will get a chance to blog from there. For now, good night.

Greetings from Buenos Aires

2004-12-19T14:29:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Welcome to Buenos Aires! We arrived on the 17th, but it has been a fast paced 2 days, so it has taken me a while to get to the blog. Generally the weather has been pretty good (warm) except there were thunder showers last night. I don't think I have ever seen such lightning in my life.

On Saturday the 18th, we went to 3 of the city's synagogues, 2 in the morning and one at night. In the morning, went to services in the Once district, first at the Yesod Hadat, a Sephardic Orthodox temple (founded by Jews from Aleppo Syria) with its bimah situated in the center, then at the Gran Templo de Paso (Conservative). Both were fascinating. The Sephardic service featured Arabesque melodies; it was enchanting. Despite obvious differences, what the 2 services have in common is fast tempo and a lot of prayers in Hebrew.

After the service at the Gran, there was a Torah study session in Spanish. We stayed and listened. Of course I didn't understand most of the Spanish, but the discussion was about Joseph and his brothers, so I had some idea what was being discussed. We met a nice woman there who took us to the Libertad, one of the oldest temples in the city. We tried going in, but nobody was there.

At night we dropped by Libertad for a segment of a night service. Another beautiful Temple with some nice Jewish gospel singing of sorts! (like at the Gran, there was an organist and some musicians with microphones, singing away). I even went upstairs in the balcony for a great view. Then on to the Teatro Colon for a masterful operatic performance of Puccini's Manon Lescaut. Bravo! That is one incredible theatre. It has 3 faux balconies with 3 balconies above those.

Well, it certainly is a lively city, but we are dodging the smokers, wild drivers, and noise. It's a little dirtier than we had thought. Today we took a city tour which was fun. I'll write about that later.

Ciao for now!

Leaving on our trip

2004-12-16T01:21:00.000-08:00

We're leaving for Argentina in a few hours. We'll be away for 2 weeks. We look forward to sharing our experiences when we return.

Argentina

2004-11-30T18:42:00.000-08:00

We're going on a trip to Argentina in mid/late December. So far we're booked for Buenos Aires for the entire 2 weeks, but we'll also be going to Punta del Este (a resort town in Uruguay). Possibly might go down to Bariloche in the Patagonia region. It's supposed to be a beautiful sight. Feel free to post any travel suggestions if you have any.

Happy Thanksgiving

2004-11-25T13:32:00.000-08:00

Another Epstein?

2004-11-22T22:13:00.000-08:00

Yes it's true. The latest addition to the Epstein family is under way! Diana is almost 4 months pregnant. We heard a healthy baby heartbeat at her doctor's appointment today.

Black Hole Computers

2004-11-22T14:36:00.000-08:00

Interesting article in last month's edition of Scientific American about Black Hole Computers. I have the hard copy edition of SA, so I can read the entire article. You can read the beginning of the article online but then you have to subscribe to the Digital Edition to read it in its entirety.

According to classical Black Hole Theory (developed by Stephen Hawking and others), anything that enters a black hole is smashed to smithereens. Nothing can escape, not even light. Hawking later revised the theory to account for radiation that does escape, but according to the revision, the radiation is dispersed randomly.

The new theory states that the radiation has encoded information, which is anything but random. The capacity to store and process information, which any unit of matter is capable of, is inherent in the black hole itself. The idea is that if matter containing ordered instruction sets and data is propelled into the black hole, the intense gravitational force causing the collapse of matter will create basic particle collisions, whose scattering velocities and dispersions will result in information sequences. This information will be contained in the radiation escaping from the black hole.

There's some interesting quantum theory applied to black holes that makes the black hole computer theory plausible. The particle collisions triggered by the gravitational collapse in the black hole operate upon the input data & instruction sets described above. Particles have the ability to store bits of information with their spin state. There are two states: left-spin can store one binary bit (say a '1'), right-spin another (say a '0'). Computations occur when the particles "flip over". The resulting arrangement of these flip-overs is the solution to a given problem.

The answer then is "blowing in the wind", awaiting detection.

More Self-Organized Criticality

2004-11-21T14:50:00.000-08:00

I know some of you will find it hard to believe, but I used to love raking the leaves around the house where I grew up. Well, earlier today I returned to the old abode and found some leaves to pick up. I noticed the wind swirled in such a way as to create small piles of leaves, on the concrete that is. I could have easily said "Thank you God" but I was thinking about complexity instead. Self organization is one of the hallmarks of complexity theory and here was an example of it staring me straight in the face. My only gripe is why nature just stops half-way and doesn't finish the job by throwing them away in the cuttings container. I guess this is the criticality point. What a bummer!

Extreme Programming (XP)

2004-11-20T18:08:00.000-08:00

Thanks, Harold, for the comment, and welcome aboard. I don't know too much about XP except what you introduced to me and reading a few articles. It appears to be a more effective approach to software design, resulting in greater programming productivity and better tested software. But I'd like to see data which backs this up. The XP.org site seems to be a good starting point to find out what it is.

The idea of staged, interactive, cooperative software development is compatible with Complex Adaptive Systems which are more reality-based than top-down regimented approaches. These systems depend upon feedback, re-evaluation, decision making based upon that feedback, learning from experienced failures, and of course, adaptation to a changing environment. As I was just Googling on "Complex Adaptive Systems + software development", I did find this article on ASD (Adaptive Software Development) which appears to be akin to XP.

I was just reading the part about paired programming (this is where 2 programmers share the same computer), and you're right; I just can't see that being effective, especially with those endless mouse and keyboard battles! What would appear to be better is developers working on separate stubs (i.e. similar functionality, different approaches or algorithms), test them out in isolated environments, and then upload the best-fit stub. This would still necessitate the "teamwork" approach as it would take several engineers to make this determination.

Thorough software testing is integral to the success of XP. Automation can certainly increase testing coverage; however, experience has shown that automation can be a headache in a perpetually-changing software environment. Automation works best after a code freeze when the features and UI are set. Instead, I think "under-the-hood", or what is often refered to as whitebox testing, is preferred. This is code-level testing. It's effective at finding bugs and failures BEFORE the features are completed. This can help streamline design decisions and feature implementations.

In the Beginning

2004-11-20T03:21:00.000-08:00

Hi all. This is the first posting to my new blog. I envision it to be a place where we can share some of our nifty ideas, thoughts, experiences, knowledge, and have some fun while we're at it. There's no central theme, but we'll cover a wide range of topics: current events, art, travel, scientific developments, the software industry, world affairs, literature, anything else that comes to mind. The basic guidelines are to engage in dialog and discussion, even debate; but not to engage in personal attacks or make inflammatory remarks.

Ah, I don't see that happening anyway. Time's a wasting ... Let's get going!