Lava Jewel

The Message in the WD Drive Heat Vents

2011-10-02T18:11:00.001-07:00

I have been using an WD My World Book Edition II external hard drive for my photographs, music, and movies file storage. It has been a great and reliable hard drive up until recently, when it decided that it no longer wanted to power up.

My father and I tried to troubleshoot it, but after some work, we found out that it was most likely the power supply that was failing. Unfortunately, it turns out that Western Digital, the manufacturer of the drive, no longer makes replacement parts for it. I figured that it would be a shame to just throw it out so we decided to just put it on a shelf, and there it stayed for several months.

Every day, I would walk by it and look at the cooling vent holes on the back of it. Last week, I noticed that the vent holes are one of two types:

1. Round holes, and
2. Dashes (with various spaces between them)

I have been studying for a HAM Radio license and suddenly it occurred to me that these holes looks exactly like Morse code. I took a closer look at the drive and, sure enough, it was covered on all three sides with these markings. After closer examination, I saw that some of the groups of symbols appeared to repeat themselves.

Was it possible that Western Digital used these cooling vent holes to encode a Morse message onto the drive? There was only one way to find out!

I took a picture of my drive on all three sides and started to decode it. I first tried to decipher each side independently, but I couldn’t make any sense of it that way. I then tried reading the text from top to bottom and backwards, but I still had no luck. Finally, I tried connecting text on all three sides together and read them as a single message (using a single dot as a word separator, or space). When I reached the end of the line, I just wrapped it to the next line.

.--. . .-. ... --- -. .- .-.. ... .. -- .--. .-.. . .-. . .-.. .. .- -... .-.. . .. -. -. --- ...- .- - .. ...- . -.. . ... .. --. -. .. -. -. --- ...- .- - .. ...- . -.. . ... .. --. -. ... .. -- .--. .-.. . .--. . .-. ... --- -. .- .-.. .-. . .-.. .. .- -... .-.. . ... .. -- .--. .-.. . .. -. -. --- ...- .- - .. ...- . .--. . .-. ... --- -. .- .-.. .-. . .-.. .. .- -... .-.. . .--. . .-. ... --- -. .- .-.. ... .. -- . .--. .-.. . .-. . .-.. .. .- -... .-.. . .. -. -. --- ...- .- - .. ...- . -.. . ... .. --. -. .. -. -. --- ...- .- - .. ...- . -.. . ... .. --. -. ... .. -- .--. .-.. . .--. . .-. ... --- -. .- .-.. .-. . .-.. .. .- -... .-.. . ... .. -- .--. .-.. . .. -. -. --- ...- .- - .. ...- . .. -. -. --- ...- .- - .. ...- . -.. . ... .. --. -. .--. . .-. ... --- -. .- .-.. .--. . .-. ... --- -. .- .-.. .--. . .-. ... --- -. .-.. -.. . ... .. --. -.

I struck gold! Before my very eyes a message started to appear: PERSONALSIMPLERELIABLE… I immediately recognized the first word “Personal”, then “Simple”, then “Reliable”, etc.

After 30 minutes of decoding, I had the entire message:

PERSONALSIMPLERELIABLEINNOVATIVEDESIGNINNOVATIVEDESIGNSIMPLEPERSONALRELIABLESIMPLEINNOVATIVEPERSONALRELIABLEPERSONALSIMEPLERELIABLEINNOVATIVEDESIGNINNOVATIVEDESIGNSIMPLEPERSONALRELIABLESIMPLEINNOVATIVEINNOVATIVEDESIGNPERSONALPERSONALPERSONLDESIGN

Properly spaced and capitalized, it reads:

Personal-Simple-Reliable-Innovative-Design-Innovative-Design-Simple-Personal-Reliable-Simple-Innovative-Personal-Reliable-Personal-Simple-Reliable-Innovative-Design-Innovative-Design-Simple-Personal-Reliable-Simple-Innovative-Innovative-Design-Personal-Personal-Personal-Design

It was very satisfying to have decoded the message. Kudos to .-- . -.. for coming up with the idea!

Annie’s Greatest Escape Part-1

2011-05-24T18:49:00.001-07:00

Annie, the resident of room 337, sat and stared at a plastic tray that held a pile of pureed chicken and mashed potatoes. She didn’t feel hungry but with a shaking hand she lifted a spoonful of food and managed to swallow it down. From the neighboring room, she could hear a TV broadcast of some neverending game show. She wiped her mouth, leaned back in bed and closed her eyes. Soon she was fast asleep.

The tiny room vanished and turned into a big circus tent. She was 19 again, slender and beautiful. Tied to a burning rope two hundred feet above the stage, she prepared to perform her famous high wire escape. The rings master’s voice boomed, “Ladies and gentleman! And now Presenting lovely Annie, in her death defying act!”

As she struggled to untie her hands, thousands of spectators held their breath in terror. Seconds before the rope burned through, Annie successfully released her legs from the knot, caught the trapeze below her and swung into safety. The crowed rose to their feet and went wild. She quickly descended to the stage and bowed to her cheering audience. Back in her dressing room, she was greeted by bouquets of flowers and fans.

While signing an autograph for an admirer, she felt a tap on her shoulder, she turned around and heard the words “time to wake up”. Instantly, her vibrant dressing room dissolved back into her the dreary nursing home.

The nurse was standing in front of her bed. “Annie, it’s time for your evening medication. ”

The medication made her drowsy. She didn’t know what the date or time was. Her mind drifted back to that day not so long ago when everything changed. She was standing on the driveway next to her house shoveling snow. The snowflakes were coming down in droves; it was cold outside and she wanted to clear the driveway so she could get her car out in the morning. Suddenly, she felt her ankle giving way as she slipped on the ice. After that, it all seems to have blurred together…the ambulance, the hospital and then ultimately, the nursing home.

An eternity has passed since then. Every day, a family member would stop by to visit and check on her. That was nice but she missed her house. Whenever she would ask to leave this place to go home, she was told that this was her home now because she can no longer take care of herself. Every discussion always ended with the question “what if she falls again?” This wasn’t a home. Home is where her memories, her cat, and her books were.

The TV across the hall came on again. She heard the announcer say: “And this concludes our screening of the Escape from Alcatraz. Join us next time for an in depth news report.” Annie wished that there was some way to turn off that blasted TV.

Wait! Did he say: “Escape from Alcatraz? Fancy that!” Annie thought. “If someone successfully escaped from the most guarded prison, then why can’t I escape from this nursing home?” she thought. “I wouldn’t even have to swim through shark infested waters, jump over barbed wire, or duck armed guards.”

A plan slowly started to form in her head. At 10:00 PM, with all of the residents safely tucked in their beds and the nurses making the evening rounds, Annie started to work on a plan, there was so much to do and no time to waste.

After breakfast the next morning, Annie wheeled down to the circulation desk. It was time to map the premises.

To be continued…

NYSSMA 2011

2011-05-15T16:22:00.001-07:00

This year has been my 3rd time auditioning for NYSSMA, but this time I played a level 5 piece. Things have not gone smoothly for me while preparing.

I started preparing my piece 4 months ago, but two months into practicing, my school orchestra teacher discovered that I was working on the wrong piece (it was Johan Sebastian Bach’s Sonata No. 1 Presto which is level 6). “Wrong piece?” I said, “What do you mean ‘wrong piece’! It sounds right to me!”

“Sorry honey,” she said, “your piece sounded great, but you will have to prepare for level 5, you can’t skip a level.

So I got over the shock and then quickly got down to preparing. With only a number of weeks to go, I practiced daily. At the beginning it was slow going, as you can see from the video below. My tempo was off, I was missing notes, and just couldn’t get my brain around the piece. Bach is very unforgiving when it comes to mistakes of any sort, so I knew I had to improve fast.

I didn’t think that I would be able to learn the piece well enough to audition. But my mom kept telling me that it’s all about practicing enough and breaking down the piece to manageable units. So that’s what I did.

My action plan was:

1. Learn the notes from beginning to end
2. Work out the difficult transitions and shifts
3. Add dynamics
4. Add vibrato and ornamentation
5. Play it with a metronome
6. Memorize the piece completely
7. Video tape myself and watch to find my mistakes

The days passed by and sure enough the piece got better and better. Two weeks before the auditions, I was playing for several hours every day. A week before the audition, I started dreaming about the piece and before falling a sleep, I could play the whole piece in my head air-fingering it.

Just days before the audition, I found a recording of Hillary Hahn performing the piece. She’s excellent! I listed to her play it several times and I picked up several tricks from her.

Then it was finally performance day. We drove to the audition location, which was packed with hundreds of musicians. Everyone was waiting in the hallway for their turn to get in front of a judge.

In the violin hallway, there was a long lines of violin cases sprawled out along the wall which made the whole scene looked like the violins came to life and left their crypts and walked away.

Ten minutes before my audition, I had a banana to help relax my muscles. Before I knew it, it was time to go in.

I entered a large room with a single stand in the middle. The judge was seated at the table nearby. He asked me to play 3 scales, to play my piece, and then for everyone’s favorite…to do the sight-reading. I took a deep breath and did my best. As soon as I hit the first note, I was magically transferred to a different world. The notes and shifts came naturally and I didn’t even have to think about what I was doing. It all just happened.

And then the magic was over. I was done! I slowly put the violin down. When I looked at the judge, he had a smile on his face. He thanked me and I left the room.

Several days later we got a letter in the mail with the scores and the written evaluation. I read it impatiently and was delighted!

It really paid off to work so hard and reap the sweet rewards of my practice. I can’t wait for next year’s NYSSMA auditions. After all I already have a leg up on my new piece!

Mystery and Intrigue in my Backyard

2011-04-28T05:50:00.001-07:00

At the turn of the twentieth century, Germany led the way in almost every area of technological development. One area of great ingenuity and achievement was the field of communications. What many people don’t realize is that almost a hundred years before the invention of the Internet, Germany had a functioning world-wide wireless communication network.

Map of German World Wide Wireless Network 1913

Just before World War I Germany built a number of transmission stations on land and even used ships to relay the signals from sea.

The Wireless Station Steamer Emperor

Interestingly, I discovered that one of the most important wireless facilities was in my own home town, of all the places in the world!I stumbled upon this discovery completely by chance. While riding in the car one day, I heard on the radio that it was the anniversary of the Zimmermann Telegram. I asked my dad what the Zimmermann Telegram was. He told me that officially, Zimmermann’s Telegram was the excuse that got the U.S. to join in the first World War.

He also said that the message was transmitted through our home town and the whole affair was shrouded in mystery and intrigue. Not being able to resist a good mystery, I decided to check out the station in the hopes that they had a small museum on the site (with original equipment and communications, perhaps?).

I searched our public library; I spoke to neighbors and teachers, and even some older folks who seem to have been around town forever…but everything was a dead end. No one seemed to know specifically where this station was located or even if it ever existed at all.

It was time to dig in and do some real research. We contacted a number of federal agencies including the NSA, the Department of Justice, the CIA, and the FBI, and we asked for any public records about the Zimmermann Telegram and Sayville. We also got copies of local historical newspapers from 1903-1917.

After some digging, I got some interesting material from the NSA (mostly related to the actual Zimmermann telegram) and I managed to locate a 1913 postcard of the station. It showed that the station was located in a large open area.

View of the Sayville Wireless Station, Circa 1913

The first recorded discussions of the station suggest that it appeared on the scene in disguise. It started in 1911 when the Stollwerck Brothers, owners of a New York Chocolate Company, purchased seventy-nine acres of land bordering the railroad track in West Sayville.

The Stollwerck Brothers

From local news reports, the purchase created a lot of excitement as many local residents hoped they would soon land a dream job at the chocolate factory. Shortly after the purchase, however, large amounts of equipment and crates all addressed to the Telefunken Company began showing up in Sayville post office.

The Sayville Train Station Circa 1911

It soon became clear that instead of a chocolate factory, Sayville was about to get some sort of a plant. As time went on, railroad travelers heading in and out of Sayville could look out of the windows and see the construction of a large metal tower in progress right next to the track.

At about this time, the Kensington Hotel had been the center of social life in Sayville. It was located at the northeast corner of Railroad Ave. and Main Street. If you were visiting on business and needed a place to stay, this was surely the place for you. The hotel offered a dining facility, a social room, music, and a place for town residents to get local news.

The Kensington Hotel in Sayville, Circa 1909

After questioning the local workman who stopped by the Kensington for refreshments, Suffolk News reported that they were digging large holes for concrete piers.

Next, the workers reported that they were erecting 3 large piers 225 feet from the main base in three directions to form a tripod. Each one of these 3 structures was a large rectangular concrete base about 15 feet square and 30 feet high. Iron anchors were embedded in these piers so they converged over the central foundation at a point 125 feet in the air.

Concrete Pier at Station Circa 1912

As the construction was progressing, on October 11, 1912, the Suffolk County News reported that an interesting young man and his wife showed up in town and rented a cottage from Mrs. Mills on Colton Avenue and then from Mr. Hamilton on Handsome Ave. in Sayville. Mr. Van der Woude turned out to be the chief engineer in charge of all of the station's design work. Shortly after his arrival he arranged for a local architect (Isaac H. Green) to design the structure and buildings for the wireless station.

Cottage on Handsome Ave. in Sayville

Now the developments progressed at a fast pace and the oystermen working on the Great South Bay could see a large tower rising up in the distance. In December of 1911, it was already about 300 feet tall.

The Great South Bay

After the architectural plans were completed by Green, William Bason & Sons, a masonry firm from West Sayville, started the construction of the buildings on site. The plan called for a concrete floor, brick foundations and framed structure to house the power plant and a separate structure to house the staff.

Construction of Antenna and Power Plant, Circa 1913

In early January, 1912, the local residents and newspaper were referring to the wireless station as “ours”. It was also reported that the parent station was located in Nauen, Germany (outskirts of Berlin). The Nauen station had a massive 640 foot antenna tower (which at the time was the second tallest structure in Europe after the Eifel tower).

The Wireless Station in Nauen

In July 1912, the Telefunken Company completed the staffing of the station by adding a radio engineer. On October 18, 1912 the Suffolk County News, reported that “Our Wireless Tower [would transmit messages a distance of 3,500 miles as soon as the construction of the Nauen is completed].”

Station and its Antenna Base in 1913

Telefunken’s Sayville antenna tower was an engineering marvel. The weight of the entire tower rested upon a ball and socket joint, which was supposed to give it great flexibility and the ability to resist the 70-100 mph wind gusts commonly found on the island’s shores.

The electrical equipment used in sending and receiving wireless signals was said to have the latest and the greatest in wireless communications.

Interior View the Sayville Wireless Power Plant

By the end of January 1913 after almost two years of construction, the station finally became operational. In an official ceremony attended by the representatives of the U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor, a broadcasting demonstration was given by Fritz von der Woude. Despite stormy weather, the guests witnessed firsthand how a message was sent from Sayville to Nauen and back to Sayville.

A Radio Operator in Sayville Station, Circa 1913

In March 1913, the newspaper reported that the station survived a wind storm that uprooted trees and even blew an express wagon and horse over. In the middle of March, 1913, the New Sun newspaper provided a technical explanation of how the Sayville transmitter worked:

“The Sayville station has in reality two actual wireless stations that operate from the same mast. The majority of the time a wave length of 600 meters is used, this frequency keeps in touch with all vessels within a radius of approximately 2,000 miles. For the extreme long distances, the wave is extended to 2,800 meters and it may even be increased to 5,000 meter. Messages to ships 2,000 miles away can be reached within a few seconds.”

During this time period, one of the main uses of the wireless station was to broadcast daily news updates. Every day at 9:15 PM, the station became a wireless newspaper. The news of the day was summarized and transmitted everywhere, from the equator to the arctic circle.

In August, 1914, World War I broke out in Europe. By the end of April 1915, Britain cut Germany’s underwater transatlantic telegraph cables. This made Sayville’s wireless station a critical link in the German communication network. As a result of this, Telefunken continued to improve the facility and added an additional 500 foot antenna tower.

In line with its claim of neutrality, the USA started censoring all messages sent out of Sayville. The U.S. navy took up a permanent position in the facility and assigned two censors to it: Lieutenant Francis Cogswell and Daniel Cozzens (who one day mysteriously got electrocuted on the site, but survived).

The U.S. naval operators were to monitor the station in order to insure that no encrypted military messages were being transmitted. On June 7, 1915, Charles Apgar, a private citizen who invented a device to capture wireless transmissions, started recording Sayville station’s messages and sent them to the U.S. Secret Service. Based on the contents of these coded messages, in July, 1915, the U.S. Government finally ordered United States personnel to take over the station management.

At this time, according to some newspaper reports, a Sayville justice of the Peace, Daniel White who lived at the Kensington Hotel, noticed that Daniel Cozzens, one of the two US Navy men responsible for censoring the messages at the station, was being treated to lavish meals by the German wireless operators.

Mr. White claimed that Mr. Cozzens was partying all night and then sleeping until noon. White (who was either envious for not being invited or not busy enough doing his daily job) connected Cozzens’ laziness with the sinking of the Lusitania, which was torpedoed by a German submarine in May of that year.

Mr. White confided in his personal friend, Francis Hoag the editor of the Suffolk County News, and told him about the evil that was taking place at the Kensington Hotel. White said:

“…They [the German wireless operators] seem to be on the friendliest terms with the young Navy man and buy drinks for him, often late at night with the results that sometimes he doesn’t get around until nearly noon the next day and even then he has plenty of time to go out in automobiles and play tennis with the girls around town.”

In what appears to be a well orchestrated and well timed media blitz, a story about the night adventures of Mr. Cozzens suddenly appeared in the Tribune newspaper. By the second week of June 1915, Cozzens was relieved of his responsibilities and the censorship at the station was increased.

Rumors (most likely spread by British agents and sympathizers) continued to circulate in the local newspapers about the traitorous nature of the Sayville wireless station.

On April 20, 1916, in what was a clear indication of the U.S. decision to side with the allies, Secretary of the Navy Daniels issued a statement saying that it had been decided to strengthen the guard at all German wireless stations in the U.S. including Sayville and the New Jersey facilities.

In April 21, 1916, the Suffolk County News reported the arrival of a company of twenty-one Marines under Sergeant Smith, who had been sent to guard the wireless station. “They were husky, business like looking lads in service uniform and heavy marching order, with cartridge belts filled with ammunition and toting all their hardware...”

In February, 1917, all German personnel were ordered off the station grounds. The Atlantic Communications Company, the U.S. partner of the Telefunken Company, moved the station operators to their New York City office. The station then was taken over by a United States Navy crew.

On January 19, 1917, German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann sent a telegram to the German Ambassador to the U.S., Joann von Bernstorff, with instructions to forward it to Heinrich von Eckardt, the German Ambassador in Mexico. The telegram described the upcoming plan to begin unrestricted submarine warfare against the allies with the possibility of creating an alliance between Mexico, Japan and Germany. This communication, which later became known as the Zimmermann Telegram, was transmitted over three routes, including Sayville.

The telegram was allegedly intercepted by British Intelligence and decoded by them (I will discuss some of the issues that I discovered with this claim in another post). On February 24, 1917, its contents were given to the American Ambassador in London, Walter Hines Page. Page forwarded it to President Wilson, who eventually declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917.

After the U.S. joined the war, in a move that was mostly designed for public relations, the wire fence surrounding the Sayville station was electrified, flood lights were placed at key locations, and armed marine guards were set up to patrol the grounds around the clock.

After World War I, the Sayville station was transferred to the charge of MacKay Radio and Telegraph Company. Several years later, it was converted to a remote transmission station for the Federal Aviation Administration. Eventually, in 1938, it was decommissioned.

From my research, I knew that the station was originally located at the west side of town in close proximity to the railroad tracks (passengers reported a large sign that was visible from the train).

The Sayville Wireless Station View from the Train

I tried looking up some old maps, but had no luck. Then it hit me, why not use aerial photograph of the area! I loaded Google earth and in less than one minute, I located an area that could possibly fit the description. We obtained permission to enter the site to take photographs. Next came the field trip!

Aerial View of the Sayville Wireless Station

I packed my adventure knapsack and with plenty of insect repellent headed out. After walking for some time, we located an old path. The area was completely covered with thick brush and pine trees; there were beautiful lush vines growing everywhere.

There were no signs of any buildings or communication equipment. Using the aerial map and my GPS, I plotted a course toward the center of the site. After about 20 minutes of walking, we discovered some old pavement and suddenly ran into a 30 foot tall concrete pier. I immediately recognized it as one of the 3 main antenna tower anchors.

At that point, we knew that the center of the structure was less than two hundred feet away. After another dozen feet, we found a forest of piles that were cut down with many concrete blocks mingled among them.

Then finally we reached the center of the site. I looked around and discovered a brick wall and a concrete floor (probably part of the original power plant). And there it was, at the corner of the concrete floor were several rusted metal boxes with dials and tubes.

Infamy is strange. Here was a landmark that at one time was considered the most sophisticated communication facility in the USA, a true engineering marvel. It cost millions of dollars to build and maintain. For several years, it was at the center of international intrigue and attention and at one point according to some reports, even controlled the outcome of World War I.

Then one day, it just disappeared from the map, its location and history almost entirely faded from memory.

Sources and Notes:

Historical Long Island images, courtesy The Sayville Library Historic Image Collection of the Sayville library.
Historical newspaper articles, courtesy Suffolk public library archives.
Aerial photograph– Google maps
Constance Currie and her great articles about the history of Sayville.

* Special thanks to Yael Eshkar for helping me with the German translation of the Telefunken Zeitung publications.

The Pixels of Life

2011-04-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

I had an interesting conversation with my dad about simulated reality (like in the Matrix). He said jokingly that as far as we are concerned, we could be living in a dream and everything around us could be just an illusion that the dream maker (or evil genius) created. He suggested I check out the concept of cogito ergo sum.

So I did, Descartes, answers the question of how we know that we exist by stating that if one is capable of doubting one's own existence, it means that something must exist in order to have this doubt…a pretty interesting argument. But even Descartes, fails to prove that the world around us is the way we perceive it?

Some time ago, a county fair came to my town. I seized the opportunity, grabbed my new camera, and ran to take some shots.

I remember how beautiful and inviting the fairgrounds looked from the distance: colorful lights and signs, large tents with flags flying in the breeze, spinning Ferris wheels, organ music, the smell of popcorn and an ocean of of people everywhere.

It’s a kid’s heaven: cotton candy in hands and large brimming smiles, parents and grandparents standing in line for carousel rides or waving to little ones as they zoom by on the mini rollercoaster.

It all seemed so picturesque and magical. After some time of walking around and taking pictures, I finally got tired and went home. I took out the camera memory stick and put it aside.

Today, I got around to checking out my photo session. As I was examining some of the photographs (I use Photoshop and Bridge), I zoomed in on the shots and discovered an entire world hidden inside the small pixels; a world that for some reason, I missed when I was there.

The imperfect pixels showed families stuck for hours playing at the coin pushing machines throwing in hundreds of quarters and waiting in vain for the big windfall that never came.

Endless lines of rigged claw machines (see wiring below) with a one way mirror view that allowed the operators to control who won and when.

This begs the question: how much of what we get to see around us that is bright and cheery is really nothing more than a thin coat of veneer? Does every picture we take contain these imperfections?

Perhaps this is the answer to Descartes’ question. How do we know that we don’t really live in a dream? A well made dream would not have all these imperfect pixels. They make us doubt the world around us. But, on the other hand, maybe that is exactly how the dream maker would make the dream more believable.

Diary of a Bookworm

2011-04-10T10:33:00.001-07:00

Every Saturday we have a literary routine. We read a weekly portion from the Pentateuch. When I was little, my dad used to read to us, but now the responsibility has passed to me. I have been using an older Bible and over the years its binding has been steadily falling apart.

Last week the book cover finally broke off completely and the pages came apart, which for a bookworm like me is very upsetting. I know how to fix many things, but what do you do when your book falls apart?

After a quick inquiry, I discovered that we have a resident expert on the subject of bookbinding right in our own home…my dad.

So out we went to get supplies. We collected the following (see the book part terms image for the definitions of words in italics):

Supplies:
1. Contact cement
2. Paper glue
3. Scissors
4. Paint brush
5. Xacto knife
6. Paper glue
7. Strong thread and needle
8. Ruler
9. Cutting surface
10. Pencil
11. 2 x 24” x 24” sheet of quality acid free paper for the Endpaper
12. 24” x 36” sheet for Case Cloth and Headband (leather or cloth)
13. 6” x 18” linen cloth (for the Crash)
14. 24” x 36” sheet of 3/16” cardboard for the Board
15. 1/16” drill bit with a drill press

I did not realize just how much work goes into making a book. As you can see from the illustration below, books are made up of many parts which have special names and meanings. Because of the poor condition of my book it had to be completely redone.

Book Part Terms

Assembly:
After carefully removing the book’s Signatures (the actual pages with the text), we striped all the rest of the parts and only kept the original front and back Board pieces.

We then took the Signatures, clipped them together tightly and drilled holes one inch apart along the edge. My dad told me that usually you don’t drill holes, but should instead stitch the pages from the back. Unfortunately, our Signatures had completely come apart and turned into lose pages, so we had no choice.

Next we threaded the needle and stitched the pages together in two passes. After that, I laid out the original cardboard pieces next to each other and added a new cardboard piece for the Case Liner. I also took the vinyl sheet (Case Cloth) and cut it to fit over the Board pieces (with approximately 1 1/2” of overlap).

Next we worked on the Liner and the Headbands. We cut five narrow strips from the vinyl sheet and glued them to the back of the Case Liner. These pieces would provide the back of the book spine with a ribbed look.

Next I applied contact cement to the Case Cloth, the Board pieces, and Liner. We waited twenty minutes to allow the glue to set. I then attached the Board to the Liner and folded the corners over. I used the roller to make sure that the Liner was fully attached to the Boards.

Next, I turned the Boards with the liner over and cut two additional rectangular Liner pieces to cover the inside of the book cover. The idea is that the cover should be completely lined (front and back) with the Liner.

I repeated the steps of applying the glue to the front part of the Boards, allowed it to set, and attached the inside Liner cover.

At this point the book cover was done and I was ready to attach the Crash (sheet of linen) to the Signatures.

Next, I applied glue to the back of the stitched Signatures and placed the Crash on top. I allowed the glue to dry for several hours.

Next, I took the Signatures with the sheet of Crash and placed it on the middle of the completed book cover and folded each piece of Crash so it touched the front and back of the book cover.

Next, after verifying that the book cover fit perfectly and that the pages of the Signatures were aligned in the middle of the book cover, I glued both sides of the Crash to each side of the Board and closed the cover and placed the book in a vice to make sure that the Crash would set in the correct location.

Next, I inserted the Endpaper pieces in the front of the back of the book and marked their correct size with a pencil.

Next, I cut the Endpaper to the right size (using the Xacto knife, ruler and cutting board), and using diluted paper glue I glued each side of the Endpaper to both the front and back Boards and each side of the Signatures.

I carefully wiped off all of the excess glue with a wet paper towel and then I placed a piece of thick cardboard and heavy weights on top of the book to make sure that the Endpaper would stick perfectly (to eliminate bubbles, and folds in the paper etc.). I did this part at night just before going to sleep.

In the morning, I anxiously removed all of the weight from the book and opened it to see my handiwork, and lo and behold…it looked perfect! After several days of measuring, cutting, drilling, stitching, trimming, and gluing, my beautiful book is healthy again and ready for many more years of use.

It is true that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but if the book is great, a nice cover couldn't hurt.

The Rise and Fall of the Gnoman Empire

2011-03-13T06:33:00.001-07:00

Over the past few years, I have noticed that some of my belongings have gone missing…a key, a comb, a favorite glove, a pencil. I never would have known where they went….if not for what happened today.

I was in the kitchen making lunch. I took the drying salami off the hook it was hanging from and placed the shiny stainless steel hook on the counter. Then, I went about slicing the salami.

My sister came into the kitchen and spotted the hook. She picked it up, weighed it, and looked at it with an admiring look. When she saw me staring at her, she put it back on the countertop. A few minutes later though, she walked back into the kitchen with a smug look on her face and when she thought I wasn't looking, she picked the hook up and quietly left the room.

I followed her quietly to the kitchen door and peered around the corner to see what she was up to. I saw her going to the living room, nervously checking over both of her shoulders. After reaching the red leather recliner, she coyly dropped the hook into a crevice in the chair. Seconds later, she ran out of the room and disappeared down the hallway.

I snuck into the living room and looked behind the recliner but couldn't see anything. I went back to the kitchen got a flashlight and a large serving spoon and reached inside the crevice. I found the hook, but I also found:

My missing house key
A comb
One glove
My Wallet
My favorite pencil
3 headbands
A UNO game card
3 socks
A hazelnut
A matchbox toy car
A tongue depressor
A beaded necklace
3 different earrings
A plastic cow figurine
A movie ticket from “Nanny McPhee” (dated 2/5/06)!
5 dollars in loose change

I couldn't believe my eyes! It was like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow! If we go by the earliest date on any of the finds (the movie ticket) it means that my sister started collecting these items since she was four years old. This is hard to believe; perhaps there is another explanation. So here is my theory: our neighbor happens to have several garden gnomes on her property. These figurines are less than one foot tall and are mostly hidden among the flowers. Several years ago, I saw my sister hanging around them, and once when she was very little, it looked like she even had a whole conversation with one of them.

So it seems to me that she either works for them or is a member of their gang. When no one looks, she goes around the house collecting various items, delivers them to the gang or stores them for her private gnome museum.

I told my dad about what happen and at first he didn’t believe me, but after I showed him the loot, he couldn’t stop laughing.

If you too have noticed that some of your belongings have gone missing (socks, keys, change, etc.), you may be relieved to know that this phenomenon has a simple and rational explanation... gnomes and family member collaborators!

Now where in the world did I put my earphones?

Villains Rock

2011-03-06T18:28:00.001-08:00

For more great sketches by Drew Graham's visit his Gallery

When I was little, I loved to watch Disney movies. I found myself cheering for the hero and hoping the villain would fail. After a while though, I came to realize that all of these movies had the same basic plot.

In “Aladdin” as well as in many other Disney movies, there is a princess who lives alone (for some reason she has no normal people around her). Often, even though she has everything she needs, she is very unhappy and is constantly looking for that something “special” that will bring satisfaction to her life.

As the story develops, we learn that the heroine is prevented from realizing her dreams because the villain either wants her to himself or wants something precious that belongs to her. She battles the villain for the rest of the story (usually with the help of a friend or sidekick) and always wins in the end.

Other than because of the obvious reasons, there are some real problems with all of these tales. If you examine the cast of characters, you will discover they have the following things in common:

The Villains:

Understand and master advanced technologies which they either invented themselves or else adapted from others.
Are the most intelligent characters in the plot and have understandable human motives for their actions.
Are well educated, analytical, and have a realistic understanding of the world around them; they also plan for the future and adapt well to change.
Are politically savvy, build strong alliances, and are good public speakers.
Have a sense of humor, and use satire and clever sarcasm (which the heroines almost never understand).
Have a strong drive to succeed, and their sense of leadership entitlement is based on their natural talent and ability.
Are experienced, hard working, and recognized by others as experts at what they do.

The Heroines:

Hold a romantic view of life and think that problems just work themselves out magically.
Are naive and gullible and believe almost everything they are told. Which include: taking poison apples from strangers, believing in magical fairy godmothers, and trusting that wishing is a good way to reach goals.
Have no plans for their future or any control of their own destiny.
Lie, disregard or break the law because they believe that it doesn’t apply to them.
Have no real skills or mastery of any field and even when they do study or read, their knowledge is flaky and often not practical.
Can’t defend themselves and are always at the mercy of someone else (father, prince, friend, stepmother etc.).
Can’t perform any useful service and are viewed by their peers as mostly useless.

The psychology of the villain and the heroine is very interesting. It looks like these stories are some sort of a metaphor and if this is the case, why don’t they better reflect the world we live in? I can’t remember last time I ran into anyone that resembled Ariel, Jasmine, Cinderella or Belle.

After thinking about this for quite some time and discussing the topic with my family, I have come to the conclusion that the characters as well as the typical settings in their movies represent certain historical events. So if you would like to peel off the thin veneer of cuteness and see the princesses and villains for who they really are, here is my analysis:

The plot for these stories typically takes place in a palace, a small village, country estate, uncharted dark forest or some other idyllic location. Sounds like a typical setting for 18 century plays. So, relationship between our characters can be seen as the clash between the old world of idealized agrarian life and the modern and scary impersonal industrialized sweatshops. My dad agrees with me, and says that the following events have probably contributed to this struggle:

The disappearance of the old empires and monarchies of Europe and the destruction of the old social and religious orders.
The elimination of professional guilds through the introduction of mass production assembly lines.
The opening of universities to minorities and the quick rise of these minorities to positions of political and economic power.
The mass migration from the country to the cities and the resulting demise of the small village and sense of community.
The emergence of communist, anarchist, and fascist movements.

It also seems that the outbreak of the First World War and its outcome had also convinced many people that technology was a monster that can’t be tamed (tens of millions of people died through the use of chemical weapons, machine guns, and tanks).

So, it turns out that the struggle between the nature loving innocent heroines (the pre-industrial person) and the industrious, self driven and enterprising villains (post industrial person) is the clash of cultures that took place during the Industrial Revolution and in some parts of the world is still happening today.

You may not like it the sound of it, but it turns out that the villain is all of us—the modern person: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jeffrey Zuckerberg, Albert Einstein, and any other entrepreneur and innovative thinker. We’re all intelligent, multi-cultural, enterprising, and ingenious, and we’re all playing to win.

Considering this, who would ever want to be an innocent princess?

Chestnuts Roasting in a Microwave

2011-02-27T13:44:00.001-08:00

It was a cold winter night and the wind was howling outside. It was time for some roasted chestnuts. My mom usually buys chestnuts with the shells on, cuts them, sprinkles them with some kosher salt, and then roasts them in the oven. When they’re done, we sit next to the fireplace and enjoy them with some hot chocolate. Recently at the supermarket, I found a package of chestnuts, all peeled and roasted, ready to eat… SCORE!

So on this cold snowy night, I took the chestnut bag from the cupboard and put it into the microwave and heated them for 25 seconds. Five seconds later, I saw a white blinding flash come from inside the microwave. Realizing that something went wrong—they weren't supposed to explode were they?—I opened the microwave door ready to take the bag out but I noticed the side of the bag was on fire!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I yelled to my mom and dad and they came running to the kitchen. Mom put on an oven mitten and picked up the burning bag and put it in the sink and extinguished it with the towel.

My dad arrived a second later and said, “it looks like you tried to microwave a metal bag. Not a good idea, unless you were trying to start a fire”. How was I supposed to know the bag was made of metal? It didn’t even look like metal! After everything was over, mom told me that when she first looked at me, she saw that I had lost all of the color in my face and I looked like a ghost.

To celebrate the occasion of “trying” to set the microwave on fire, I have composed the following short poem:

(sung to the tune of Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)

Chestnuts roasting in a microwave
Which is now filling up with smoke.
The bag catches fire and I try to be brave
And quickly call for help before I choke.

My folks rush into the room
They see the smoke and start to assist.
I open the door and hope to stave off doom
Dad gives mom a towel covered with water mist.

She grabs the bag and rushes to the sink
Swiftly smothers the fire without fail.
Then looks at me and tries to find the link
to answer why my face is so pale.

“She’s going to faint,” she says looking at my face
She rushes me to go lie down.
After my recovery I get the lecture on microwave rays
No metal in the microwave, you clown.

How was I supposed to know the bag was tin
It wasn’t written on the label or side.
So here’s a warning I’ll give you with a grin
Read the fine print unless you like food smolderingly fried.

I’ll sink, but I’m damned if I’ll strike!

2011-02-20T19:36:00.001-08:00

John Paul Jones was born on July 6th 1747. He was the son of a landscape gardener, and his first home was in the Arbigland House, in Scotland. At the age of 13, John Paul was indentured to an English ship-owner and served on board the ship Friendship. He loved the sea and was an excellent student. At age of 19, he became First Mate of the brig Two Friends, of Kingston, Jamaica. At the age of 21 (in 1768) he was appointed Master of Supercargo of the brig John, of Liverpool.

In 1773, Jones became involved in an argument with a mutinying Tobagon seaman. In the fight that ensued, he ran the seaman through with his sword. Instead of awaiting trial by a visiting admiralty court, he decided to leave for America where his brother William lived and had a tailoring business. But when he arrived in Philadelphia, he discovered that his brother had just died. Jones settled in Philadelphia and came to view America as his new home.

In 1775 Jones offered his naval services to the newly formed American Navy, known as the “Continental Navy”. In the same year, he became first Lieutenant of the 28-gun ship Alfred. Shortly afterwards, because of his excellent leadership skills, he was given the command of the 12 gun sloop Providence. During a period of twelve months, he managed to capture 24 British merchant ships.

In 1777 he was commissioned as a full captain and given the command of the 18 gun sloop Ranger. In 1778, while operating from his base in France, he successfully attacked a number of English harbors and towns and even captured the Royal Navy’s 16- gun sloop Drake in sight of hundreds of spectators on a nearby shore. Building on his military success, he developed a new strategy. Instead of trying to break the blockade on the US by the Royal Navy, he would take the war to the British shores.

In a letter to Le Ray de Chaumont (the French father of the American Revolution), Jones wrote “I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm’s way…”.

While still living in Philadelphia, Jones developed a close friendship with Benjamin Franklin. Franklin used his influence with the French court to assign to Jones a 14 year old 900 ton French East India merchant ship, the Duc de Duras. Jones re-named the ship the Bonhomme Richard in honor of his friend Benjamin Franklin, who at the time was printing the French translation of his popular “Poor Richard’s Almanac” which was translated in French to “Conseils pour faire fotune, la Science du bonhomme Richard”.

Jones refitted his new ship with 34 guns (including 6 old 18- pounders) and went out to sea again. This was to be his voyage into renown.

On August 14^th, 1779 and now with the rank of Commodore, Jones was assigned the command of a squadron of seven American and French ships. His plan was to conduct a raiding cruise around the coast of Britain. Shortly after departure, two of the French vessels the Granville and Monsieur left the squadron to pursue their own targets, a third vessel the Le Cerf was separated because of fog.

For the next five weeks, the four remaining ships, (1) the 34-gun frigate Bonhomme Richard under Captain Paul Jones, (2) the 36-gun US frigate Alliance under Captain Pierre Landais, (3) the 32-gun French frigate Pallas under Captain Denis Cottineau, and (4) the 12-gun French brig Vengeance under captain Philippe Ricot, attacked British harbors and captured a number of British ships including two military supply vessels which were on their way to America.

By the third week of September, the squadron sailed to Ireland and the coast of Scotland and even attacked Edinburgh. They then turned southeastward to the northeast coast of England and headed on to rendezvous at Flamborough Head on the Yorkshire cost.

Thursday September 23rd, 1779 in the Morning

On Thursday morning, a convoy of 41 British ships was sailing on a northeastern course down the Yorkshire cost. The ships were carrying supplies from the Baltic to the Royal Dockyards in Southern England. It was escorted by two Royal navy warships: the 20-gun Countess of Scarborough under commander Thomas Piercy, and the 44-gun ship Serapis under Captain Richard Pearson.

As they passed the town of Scarborough, Pearson of the Serapis noticed a red flag on the ruins of the old Scarborough castle. After sending a boat to inquire about the warning, Pearson discovered that a squadron of enemy ships under the command of John Paul Jones was in the area.

Thursday September 23rd, in the afternoon

By 2:30 pm the front ships of the convoy had reached Flamborough Head. They saw the top sails of Paul Jones’ squadron about nine miles to the south. As the Serapis got closer, Pearson saw the ships and suspected that they belonged to the American raiding squadron. Pearson then fired a signal gun and ordered the convoy to turn towards Scarborough Bay where they would be safe under the guns of the Scarborough castle.

By 4:00 pm, Pearson got a good view of the Bonhomme Richard. He signaled to the Countess of Scarborough to come closer and make preparations for battle. Pearson also orders that the ship’s colors (flag) be nailed to the mast, letting his crew know that he would not surrender.

Thursday September 23rd, in the evening

By 6:00 pm as the sun was setting behind the cliffs of Flamborough Head, Jones evaluated the Serapis through his telescope and formulated a plan of attack. He instructed his officers Sub-Lieutenant James O’Kelly and Eugene Macarthy, of the French Regiment Comte de Walsh, a Gunner’s Mate John Kibly, and two quarter gunners in charge of the sixty men manning the six old 18-pounders to open fire with double loaded round-shot into the hull of the Serapis.

The officers responsible for the twenty eight 12-pounders on the upper deck, French Volunteer Lieutenant -Colonel Antoine Wuibert de Mezzieres, and First Lieutenant, Richard Dale assisted by gunner Henry Gardiner were ordered to fire double-headed shot and chain shot into the rigging of the Serapis in order to disable her ability to sail. Jones was hoping to repeat his success capturing the HMS Drake by disabling her rigging.

The officers in charge of the forty seamen and French marines stationed on top of the Richard were instructed to concentrate on clearing the tops of the Serapis and once successful, to start firing on its top deck.

Midshipman Jonas Caswell with eight seaman and French Marines was stationed in the fore-top (a platform on the front mast). Midshipman Nathaniel Fanning, with Lieutenant Edward Stack of the Regiment de Walsh and eighteen seamen and French marines, was station on the main-top (a platform on the main mast), Midshipmen Robert Coram with thirteen seaman and French marines was stationed on the back-top.

French Volunteer Colonel Paul Chamillard was assigned twenty-five French marines and told to take position on the tallest platform on the back of the ship (called the poop deck) and fire at the deck of the Serapis. This distribution of snipers along the masts of the Richard and their excellent marksmanship would turn out to be critical in the battle to come.

The midshipmen John Mayrand and John Linthwaite remained on deck with Jones and acted as his personal aids (aides-de-camp)

By 7:15 pm under a starry night, the two ships approached each other. Pearson called the Richard from around 100 yards and said “This is His Majesty’s Ship Serapis, what ship is this?”Jones remained calm and trying to prolong the element of surprise he replied “Princess Royal” (a merchant ship that looked similar to the Richard). Pearson spoke again, “Where from?” Jones replied, “I can’t hear what you say.” Pearson asked again, “Tell me instantly from whence you came and who you be, or I’ll fire a broadside into you!” In response, Jones raised the American Continental Navy Stars and Stripes. Serapis ran out her big guns and opened fire.

For the first broadside, the Serapis double loaded its 18-pounders (two shells per cannon) and fired at the American ship. Throwing 465 pounds of steel from around 25 yards meant that the shells completely smashed the hull of the Richard and exited through the other side.

The well trained and disciplined Royal Navy crew of the Serapis loaded and fired much faster than the Richard could. In less than five minutes, the Serapis fired a second broadside.

Next it was the turn of the Richard, her guns were sponged, loaded rammed, primed, run out and fired. But as the Richard fired disaster struck. An explosion shocked the whole ship from below deck when two of the six old 18-pounders exploded causing damage to both the ship side and the deck above. In the explosion, Sub-Lieutenant O’Kelly was killed and many of the gun crews were also killed or wounded.

When Jones learned that the cannons exploded, he ordered that the remaining 18-pounders not be used (because of the fear that they would rupture as well). This further reduced the firing power of the Richard. The prospects for Jones did not look good. His 14 year old ship armed now with a single battery of 12-pounders was fighting against the brand new English double decker armed with 18-pounders which also loaded and maneuvered faster. It was only a question of time before the Serpais would blow the Richard to pieces.

The Serapis continued to fire two additional broadsides into the Richard causing additional heavy damage and destroying Richard’s existing gun batteries. By this point, its stern was smashed into a pulp. Her upper deck was covered with destroyed wreckage and dismounted guns. More then sixty men lay dead and seventy more were wounded. Jones later wrote “She made dreadful havoc among our crew… our men fell in all parts of the ship by scores…”

The Serapis approached the Richard again and fired a forth broadside into her. Jones realized that his tactic of firing grape and chain shots to destroy the Serapis’ rigging had failed. The Serapis was faster “out sailing us by two feet to one.” The Richard was also taking on water from large cannon holes at its water line and was settling lower (which made her less maneuverable). Jones’s only hope was to attach himself to the Serapis on the next pass and try to board her.

The Serapis attempting to maneuver for a fifth broadside shot, got close to the Richard but ended up colliding with her, the two ships were now connected side by side and as a result, the guns of the Serapis could not fire because their ports were forced shut during the collision. When it became clear that the Serapis was trying to disengage itself, Jones ordered as many as 50 grappling hooks to be thrown over to keep her connected.

The Serapis was also now in bad shape. Sails, rigging, and even the areas between decks were ablaze. Because of the steady fire from Richard’s snipers located on the top-masts no crew member dared to climb to the upper decks to extinguish the fires.

As an almost inexplicable side show, Captain Landais of the Alliance approached the area to assist the Richard, but both times that the Alliance shot at the Serapis, its shots hit the Richard too causing it damage and casualties. Jones would later write to Benjamin Franklin that “Either Captain Landais or myself is highly criminal, and one or the other must be punished”. Landais, turned out to be the criminal, and was eventually relieved from his command.

At this point in the fight, Jones began manning the guns himself and even successfully cut down Serapis’ main mast. Unfortunately, by then the Richard also started to show signs of actively sinking. Its master Carpenter realized that the vessel was beyond repair and ran to report the bad news to his captain. When he and one of the gunners failed to locate Jones, they assumed he was dead and called for the crew to “strike the colors”, or surrender. Jones, who wasn’t actually dead, heard this and became enraged and chased those who called for striking with a pistol in hand shouting “shoot them, kill them!”. According to this British myth, Jones fired his pistol at Lieutenant Grubb and then hurled it at another individual hitting him in the head and knocking him unconscious.

Meanwhile, Pearson on the Serapis overheard the cries and yelled over to Jones to confirm his wish to surrender. The famous reply he is quoted to have said at this point: “I have not yet begun to fight” is apparently inaccurate. Instead Jones’ yelled back “No; I’ll sink, but I’m damned if I’ll strike!”

After that, the ships renewed fighting. Some men from the Serapis tried to board the Richard and engaged in hand to hand combat, but the Richard’s crew drove them back to their ship. With almost half the crew dead or seriously injured, and the ship taking water, Jones made the decision to release the prisoners on board the Richard and put them to work pumping water and extinguishing fires.

Then, in one decisive moment, Jones organized a final boarding attempt. One of the boarding party members, William Hamilton, climbed up on the Serapis and tossed a few grenades onto one of her open gun ports or hatches. He hit bullseye! The grenade exploded right next to a series of black powder cartridges that were lying on the gun deck. The ensuing explosion almost completely destroyed the entire side of the Searpis. Pearson, seeing the futility of continuing further resistance, stroke his colors. He and his First Lieutenant, John Wright, then crossed onto Richard’s deck and formally surrendered.

Thursday September 23rd, at night

By 11:15 pm the two crews disc0nected the grapples that held the ships together. The Richard drifted away from the Serapis. As it moved, the Serapis lost its support and its main mast crashed over the side and went under water. The Serapis was also ablaze and both crews desperately fought all night to put the fires down. When dawn broke at 6:00 am, the fires on the deck of the Serapis were finally extinguished. The crew of the Richard in a desperate attempt to lighten the ship, started throwing 18 pound cannons off the side.

Friday September 24th, in the morning

By 8:00 am, Jones realized that the Richard was still sinking. Jones called a meeting with Pearson and the other officers to workout a salvage plan. Both crews worked desperately to refloat her, but the exhausted crews could not pump the water out fast enough

Friday September 24th, in the afternoon

By 2:00 pm, Jones, Pearson, and the other British officers all moved onto the Serapis. The Richard was inspected one more time and it was then decided that she could not be saved. With every minute that passed, she was in more and more danger of going under. At 7:00 pm, Jones ordered that all of the wounded on the Richard be carried off and taken to the Serapis. All vital supplies were taken off the ship and the remaining seamen stopped attempting to pump the water. As the sea and waves rose (about 6-10 feet), the Richard started sinking faster.

Saturday September 25th in the Morning

In the morning at about 6:00 am, Jones ordered the remaining crew of the Richard to abandon ship, as the water was almost up to her gun decks. Jones knew that the Richard could sink at any moment. But even though he left all of his personal papers and money on board, he did not want to risk the lives of any crew member. He commanded his men to get their oars and pull clear as quickly as possible from the sinking ship. At about 10:30 am, on Saturday September 25, 1779, John Paul Jones watched from the quarterdeck of the Serapis as the Richard went under, with her American Continental Navy flag still flying from her mainmast.

After the battle, Jones sailed the disabled Serapis to Texel (in Holland), but as soon as he arrive. British and French diplomats demanded that the Dutch government hand the ship over to them. Eventually, the French took possession of it. Jones, was denied his rightful prize and had to returned to the US on board the Alliance. A year after his return, one of his officers John Mayrant wrote him a letter inquiring about the prize money that the entire crew deserved, Jones replied with the following correspondence:

To John Mayrant [from JPJ]

L’ Orient July 23 rd, 1780

Dear Sir,

I had the honor to receive one or two letters from Amsterdam respecting Prize Money just before I left Paris… …In answer I must inform you that no part of the Prize Money has been or is in my possession. The Prizes are sold ; but Mr. Chaumont does not appear disposed to part with the money, though he has had 100,000 Livers of it in his hands since the month of November last. Messr’s Goulade & Moylan have a letter of Agency from the crews of the Bon Homme Richard and Alliance; and they aught in consequence be Accountable forthwith for their proportion of the Prizes. They are furnished with lists of the Names and Qualities [ranks] of every person who sailed in those two ships from Groa; and the rules of the Navy of the United States with which they have been also furnished must determine the share due to each individual. I wish it was in my power to give you a more satisfactory account, I have done & will also do my best to procure justice to every person whom I had or may have the honor to command ; to procure the free --- of the last Prizes was my only business at Paris. You will be pleased to communicate this letter with my compliments to your brother officers who did me the honor to serve under my command. I hope they will excuse my not writing particular answers to each of them as I have very little time.

I am, with regard, Sir, Your most Humble Servant

South Carolina

Fairfield District

It seems that history is not without a sense of irony. Just like the Richard, the Serapis eventually also met a tragic end. Several years after the famous battle, the French navy commissioned the Serapis, under Captain Roche, to fight the British in India. Roche sailed his ship to fort Isle Saint Marie, off the northern coast of Madagascar. While Roche was ashore, a lieutenant and a sailor went below deck to obtain the daily brandy ration for the crew. While they were diluting the the brandy with water, their lantern fell into the vat and set the entire locker on fire. Attempts to extinguish the fire failed and after two-and-a-half hours, the flames eventually reached the powder magazine (where black powder was kept) and the resulting explosion blew out the stern and the vessel sank.

Click to order a full size version of the battle detail poster

References

Don C. Seitz, John Paul Jones his exploits in English seas

Charles Waker Brown, John Paul Jones Of Naval Fame

Reaveley, Peter, Ships in the Baltic Convoy, 23 September 1779

Pearson, Richard, Report (from captivity at Texel), 6 October 1779

Piercy, Thomas, Report (from captivity at Texel), 4 October 1779

Jones, John Paul Cottage Museum, Report to Benjamin Franklin

Jean Boudriot, John Paul Jones and the Bonhomme Richard

Peter Force Collection, John Paul Jones Manuscripts

Pearson, Richard, Letter from HMS Serapis Scarborough

The Cliffs of Insanity and The Black Forest Cake

2011-02-06T14:40:00.001-08:00

Our family has a medium sized sweet tooth. I remember my dad telling me about his mom’s famous black forest cake. He would go on and on about the layers, the cherries, the whipped cream and how good it was. Unfortunately we don’t have my grandmother’s original recipe, so I decided to consult an authority on German cooking, my friend Yael.

After some research and consulting her friends, she got back to me with several options. Based on these (and with a lot of help from my mom), I proceeded to surprise my dad with homemade black forest cake.

I don’t know if you have ever seen the movie “Princess Bride”, but in the movie the hero, Wesley, goes through several different challenges. He survives the fire swamp (which was filled with rodents of unusual size and fire spitting pits), scales what looks like a mile-high, 90 degree cliff called the “Cliffs of Insanity”, duels in deadly sword fights, and even comes back from the dead.

Making this cake seemed at times a little like going through all of those challenges. Some of our challenges included:

The first cake refused to rise,
The batter spilled on the floor
The cat got into the whipped cream
It took us almost 5 hours of labor to finish putting everything together

If after all of this introduction, you are still unafraid and would like to try this amazing confection, here are the instructions.

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup butter or margarine
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Whipped Cream
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3 cups heavy cream
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Filling and Garnish
2 cans (15 ounces) pitted cherries, drained, juice reserved
3 Tbsp. cherry brandy
Grated semisweet chocolate
Maraschino cherries

Assembly Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and lightly flour one 10-inch round cake pan.
Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Add in the dry mixture plus 1 1/4 cups of water, beating on low speed just until combined.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 10-20 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack to cool completely.

Instructions for the whipped frosting

In a saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over brandy. Let it sit until it is softened for about 5 minutes. Stir 1/3 cup of cream into gelatin mixture. Heat over low heat until gelatin is dissolved. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in remaining cream. Cover and chill for a half hour.
Beat cream mixture at medium speed until soft peaks form. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla.

Instructions for the Sauce

To prepare filling, in a small saucepan, boil reserved juice from the sour cherries until reduced by half. Then add the brandy.

Assembling the Cake

Sprinkle one of the cakes with the cherry syrup. Spread with 1/4 of the whipped cream. Top with half of the canned cherries; press in gently. Repeat with second layer, cherry syrup, and whipped cream.
Frost top and sides of cake with some whipped cream. Spoon remaining whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Make rosettes over cake about an inch away from each other. Top each rosette with a maraschino cherry.
Place grated chocolate in the middle of the cake.
Store in fridge for about an hour before serving.

If you think that all of this work for a little cake was just a bit excessive, then you, me and my mom all agree. But Dad thinks that it was all worth it, to the last crumb!

Great Uncle Willie and Other Family Surprises

2011-01-29T20:47:00.001-08:00

Several times a year we go to the cemetery to visit relatives that passed away. On my last visit I noticed that on the button of the tomb stone of my great uncle Willie, there was an inscription that read “PURPLE HEART”. Not knowing what this meant, I asked my dad.

My dad told me that the purple heart was a military decoration given to soldiers serving in the US military who were either wounded or killed in action. I knew that my Great Uncle Willie had lost one of his legs after he stepped on a mine during WWII, but I didn’t connect that story to the award.

As it turns out, my family has all kind of interesting service stories, including service in the German Air Force during WWI (with an award of an Iron Cross), Polish Uhlan Calvary, and my dad serving as a Paratrooper in the Israeli Defense Forces.

It is interesting how one’s family’s experiences can be so unrelated and yet at the same time have so much in common. But perhaps that's what families are all about.

Let There be Light

2011-01-23T18:00:00.001-08:00

My light’s pull cord is usually the last thing I touch before I go to sleep. I am used to the metallic clicking sound as I pull it down to turn the light off. Several days ago, after finishing a book, I reached for the cord and pulled, but then for some strange reason, the pull cord remained in my hand but the light was still on.

The following day, after I got back from school I decided to look into the problem. I asked my dad to help me reconnect the chain, but after examining it for a second, he told me that I will have take the whole light apart, so I did.

I started by removing the shade; next I unscrewed the bulb and removed the shade holder. After that, I came upon the clamp that holds the light socket. I tried to pull the bulb socket, but it wouldn’t move, so I flipped the base over and peeled off the rubber cover and discovered that I could push the wire and socket directly from there. After that I finally got access to the pull chain switch. I found the groove that holds that pull chain. Putting it in was a piece of cake.

I pulled the chain a few times times and it worked perfectly. I then reassembled the light and that was it. This wasn't a difficult repair (I only used a needle nose pliers to pinch the groove that holds the pull chain), but I still felt proud.

Pull Chain Light Switch Patent by Harvey Hubbell

Afterwards, it occurred to me to check the history of the pull cord switch. It turns out that the device was invented in 1896 by Harvey Hubbell (among his 49 patents is also the invention of the electric power plug). As electric fixtures were replacing gas lamps, wiring of old building required the placement of two circuits for each light fixture, which made the installation very expensive. Without installing a second wire, the light would remain on at all times as there was no efficient way to turn it off. Hubbell realized that if he placed the switch inside the bulb socket, he could eliminate the second circuit. He applied for a patented and the rest is history.

Interestingly, from the patent application, it seems that the pull cord switch has remained unchanged for almost 120 years. I am sure that Mr. Hubbell would be proud that his invention is still around and even if it fails, it is fairly easy to repair.

The Mysterious Golden Ratio

2011-01-17T08:57:00.001-08:00

The golden ratio, also known as Phi (symbol or ), is a numerical constant that equals approximately 1.61803398... Interestingly, the inverse of Phi (1/Phi) equals (Phi-1) or 0.61803398...

There are many ways to calculate the golden ratio. I have included three easy ones in this spreadsheet. I first discovered Phi when my dad told me about a number sequence called Fibonacci (I’ll write more about this interesting sequence in a future posting).

One of the interesting things about the golden ratio is that it can be found everywhere around us, if you know where to look. You can find it in nature, art, design, architecture, and math. To help search for the ratio, I built a special gauge (with little help from my dad). I can check for the golden ratio by simply placing the gauge over an item and extending it until it fits.

After walking around inside the house and outside for about an hour, I discovered dozens of examples. As you can see from the few illustrations below, it’s really easy to find them once you know what to look for.

In our bodies:

In architecture (King Solomon's Temple):

In art:

In design:

In nature:

It is interesting how common the golden ratio is. It is also interesting to see how often it’s used in our daily life. For some reason, we chose it instinctively and we consider it “attractive”. When I asked my mom why she placed the handle on her mugs using the specific proportions that she does (see mug below), she said that she did not know, that it just felt “right”.

Perhaps beauty is not a personal preference after all. Maybe what most of us consider to be beautiful music, art, and architecture have simply been programmed into the universe and by extension into us from birth.

P.S. That charming amigurumi mermaid doll above in the design section was made by Yael. Check out her incredibly well balanced and perfectly proportioned blog: PazzaPazza. It’s wonderful!

Southern Cooking

2011-01-09T16:38:00.001-08:00

One evening several week ago, while my mom was busy teaching one of her Clayground classes, I got a bit hungry and decided to surprise everyone and make dinner. While looking around for some ideas, I stumbled upon an onion and a few beautiful red, yellow and orange peppers. The bright colors reminded me of Mexican food so I decided to improvise a vegetable dish.

The result of my experiment was a delicious smoky salsa which went great with spicy Italian sausages. If you feel like heading south of the border for your next meal, here is my own recipe:

Ingredients:

diced red, yellow, and orange peppers
1 red onion
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1/2 can of sweet yellow corn
one spring of fresh rosemary
spicy Italian sausages

Instruction

Chop up the peppers and onion into small squares
Pour oil into frying pan and turn the heat to high
Put vegetables into frying pan and stir around for about 5 minutes or until vegetables turn golden brown
Put in a bowl and decorate with rosemary
In the same frying pan brown the sausages until nicely browned

Buen provecho!

King Tut and I

2011-01-02T19:50:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago, our entire grade took a field trip to New York City to visit the King Tut Exhibit in Times Square. We had been learning about Egyptian history and the pharaohs and this trip was planned to help us finish the unit. I was excited when I found out that I would be able to see the King Tut exhibit in person.

We took a two hour trip to the city and when we finally got there, 300 grumpy kids stumbled out of 5 buses and got into an unending line that led into the gallery.

Eventually, everyone gathered in a very dark room to watch a brief introductory movie about King Tut and Egypt as it was during his lifetime. After that the real excitement began. Two big doors swung open and we walked into the exhibit. It was amazing to be within arms reach of 3,000 year old artifacts.

We learned that even though Howard Carter was credited with discovering the tomb, it was actually Carter’s water carrier who discovered the steps that led into the tomb. Carter then smashed the upper part of the sealed door that led into the tomb. Surrounded by many people, some of whom included Lord Carnarvon and his daughter, Carter peeked into the tomb that lay undisturbed for almost 3,000 years.

The exhibit was spread out throughout a winding collection of rooms. Among the artifacts, there was a large scale model boat that was found outside Tut’s tomb. The boat was thought to have brought the pharaoh to the afterlife (interestingly, the ancient Greeks believed in a similar idea). There was also a statue of Tut’s father, Akhenaton, who had tried to replace all of the major Egyptian gods with one, Aten, the sun disk.

In other rooms there were statues of other Egyptian Pharaohs who had ruled before King Tut and their relatives. Some of interesting artifacts were King Tut’s daggers and his royal chair and footrest. The chair was made out of wood and was covered with gold leaf and inlays. There was also an Egyptian pillow that was made out of blue glass with a gold band in the middle.

Apparently, King Tut suffered from many diseases. As a child, he had scoliosis and had to use a cane. During the excavations of his tomb, over 100 canes were found. He also suffered from malaria.

The last room in the exhibit was dedicated to theories as to how the young king died. One suggestion was that the King was murdered by Ay, his successor. Another theory was that he may have fallen off of his chariot and suffered severe physical trauma. Yet another was that he died from Malaria or from an infection to his leg.

One of the fascinating things I discovered about King Tut and his family was that his father Akhenaten and mother Nefertiti (possibly The Younger Lady) were brother and sister. King Tut himself was married to his half sister Ankhesenamun.

From the DNA testing of several of the royal mummies, it appears that Egyptian royalty tended to have incestuous marriages. This custom continued to be practiced in Egypt as late as the Ptolemaic period (1400 after King Tut). Cleopatra VII was married to her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII. Her mother and father, Cleopatra V and Ptolemy XII, were also brother and sister.

This widespread practice is interesting because the Egyptian society of the time represented the peak of sophistication and it’s likely that other surrounding cultures imitated the Egyptian custom. Today, however, such marriages are a taboo and are considered the exact opposite of sophistication. It would be interesting to find out what caused this practice to disappear.

When we got home from the exhibit, I made my mother promise to take me back before the exhibit closed. So, this past week we did just that. Seeing it for the second time was just as impressive.

I highly recommend that you take the time to visit this exhibit. It’s on the pricey side, so you may have to bring your mommy’s purse (hee hee!) but it’s worth it.

The Strider

2010-12-25T17:05:00.001-08:00

Just this past year, I graduated elementary school, and moved on to middle school. Our middle school is huge, about 5 times the size of our elementary school. Walking from class to class, I can still get lost sometimes.

One day in gym class recently, the teacher gave everyone a pedometer to wear for 5 minutes. She told us to walk a few laps around the gym and measure how many steps we took.

When I got home from school, I told my mom and dad about it and suggested that we get a pedometer and do some mileage calculations of our own. My dad surprised me by telling me that we already had one and so we’re ready to roll!

The next day when I got ready for school, I put the pedometer on my waist and…

I walked to the building,
then upstairs to homeroom,
then to orchestra downstairs,
then social studies, across the school,
then science and math, just next door,
then Foreign Language, across the entire building,
then gym, downstairs,
then lunch, across the hall
then Reading and Language Arts back upstairs,

At the end of the day when I got home, my pedometer showed that I had walked a whopping 3 miles (4.9 km), in just one day! I would have never known that just going to school required so much walking!

Now it’s YOUR turn. You can put on a pedometer, and do what you do everyday. You might be surprised to discover how much walking you do.

Walk On!

Tea-Licious Chai Latte

2010-12-19T17:07:00.001-08:00

This past week, the temperature in New York dropped below freezing. Winter finally arrived. This is the time to start up the fire and brew a hot drink to chase the chills away. I was in the kitchen playing around with some ingredients and came up with an interesting recipe, I call it Tea-Licious Chai Latte. It’s really easy to make.

Ingredients:

4 cups of water
4 Chai tea bags (you can get it in any supermarket)
1 cup of heavy cream
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
Sweetened condensed milk
Ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Bring the water to a boil and pour into kettle
Put in the 4 Chai bags and let them steep for about 5 minutes
In a mixing bowl or blender, blend the heavy cream,sugar, and vanilla until it becomes whipped cream

Serving:

Pour the tea into a cup. Add half a tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk (stir well until dissolved). Put whipped cream on top and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Best served in a glazedOver stoneware tea tumbler with biscotti or a sugar cookie.

Tea-Licious!

The Shores of Tripoli

2010-12-12T17:34:00.001-08:00

Recently, I read about pirates who captured the American ship Maersk Alabama off the coast of Somalia. After a short battle with the pirates, the US Navy released the ship and her captain. Fighting off pirates is nothing new for US, it has been doing it for over two hundred years.

After the American Revolution of 1776, US merchant ships lost British naval protection. The American ships sailing in the Mediterranean were a favorite target for pirates. They frequently came under attack and their crews were often enslaved . These pirates came from a group of nations including Tunis, Tripoli, Morocco, Algiers, and Libya. In 1784 the American ship “Betsy” was taken by Moroccan pirates. Then in 1785, Algerians and Libyans captured the US ships Maria and the Dauphin.

Not having had a real navy, the US was unable to send ships to the Mediterranean for a rescue, so they tried to appease the pirates instead. In 1784, Congress agreed to make ransom payments to the pirates in order to buy the freedom of the enslaved US sailors.

In 1786 Thomas Jefferson, then the US Ambassador to France, and John Adams, then US Ambassador to Britain, met in London with Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja, the pirate ambassador to Britain, in an attempt to negotiate a peace treaty based on Congress’ agreement to pay the yearly ransom. After the meeting, Jefferson wrote:

“…We took the liberty to make some inquiries concerning the Grounds of their [desire] to make war upon nations who had done them no injury & observed [that we] considered all mankind as our friends who had done us no wrong, nor had given us any provocation.”

When Jefferson became president in 1801 he argued that continuing to pay extortion money would encourage more attacks and he refused to pay the tribute of $250,000. The ruler (Pasha) of Tripoli immediately declared war on the United States.

Jefferson dispatched a squadron of ships to the Mediterranean with instructions to engage the pirates and win at all costs and seize all ships and goods belonging to them.

US Navy Lieutenant Decatur Boarding Pirate Gunboat

In 1803 Captain Edward Preble on board the newly launched USS Constitution (the copper sheathing for its hull was provided by Paul Revere), was on his way to join the fight against the Barbary pirates. Near the Rock of Gibraltar, he sighted an unknown ship in the darkness and gave the order to General Quarters (battle stations). He asked the unknown ship to identify herself, only to receive the same request from the other vessel. He identified himself as the USS Constitution. Then shortly afterwards, he was asked again to indentify himself. Suspecting that the other ship was stalling for time because they were loading their cannons and were about to open fire at him. Preble said: "I am now going to hail you for the last time. If a proper answer is not returned, I will fire a shot into you." The other ship replied, "If you give me a shot, I'll give you a broadside," (I will fire at you with all of my cannons). Preble demanded an answer, to which the other ship replied, "This is His Britannic Majesty's ship Donegal, 84 guns, Sir Richard Strachan, an English commodore. Send your boat to us." Preble, losing his patience is said to have exclaimed, "This is United States ship Constitution, 44 guns, Edward Preble, an American commodore, who will be damned before he sends his boat on board of any vessel." He then turned to his gun crew and instructed them to "Light your matches, boys!" (calling them “boys” because his oldest officer was 20 and the youngest 15).

Fortunately, before any firing begun, a boat arrived from the other ship and a British officer came on board and apologized.

In October 1803, Tripoli's pirates captured the USS Philadelphia, which ran aground while patrolling their harbor. The ship and its crew were taken and held as hostages. The USS Philadelphia was turned against the Americans and anchored in the harbor as a gun battery. On the night of February 16, 1804, in a daring operation, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur led a small group of US Marines in a captured Tripolitan ship called the Intrepid.

To deceive the pirate guards on board the USS Philadelphia, they used an Arabic speaking pilot who said that he could not control his vessel because he has lost his anchor in a storm. As soon as the Intrepid got close to the USS Philadelphia, the marines jumped on board and overpowered the pirates. Decatur then set the Philadelphia on fire and destroyed her in the harbor.

Preble finally attacked Tripoli on July 14, 1804. The attack also included packing the USS Intrepid with explosives and sneaking her into the Tripoli harbor in an attempt to destroy the pirate fleet. Unfortunately the Intrepid exploded before achieving her goal, killing her captain and crew.

But these two setbacks did not stop Jefferson. In 1805, William Eaton and Presley O'Bannon led a force of eight US Marines and several hundred local mercenaries on a 500 mile march across the desert from Alexandria, Egypt to attack the Tripolitan city of Derna (during the march the condition were so bad that they had to eat dry rice and threaten the mercenaries at gun point to continue the march). After leading the charge personally (and being shot in the arm in the process), Eaton successfully captured the city and raised the US flag on top of the palace. The Pasha of Tripoli, Yussif Karamanli finally realized that he lost the war with the US and agreed to signed a treaty with them.

If you think about it, it is amazing what Jefferson was able to achieve in such as short time. He was in office for only 4 years and the US as a country had only been around for 20 years. What was the secret formula behind successfully defeating the Barbary pirates? I think that it was a combination of things.

When it came to piracy and paying protection money, Jefferson had a strong moral stand and refused to conduct business as usual (as the Europeans had been doing for centuries).
The officers and crew sent to fight the pirates were adventurous, creative, and brave, and they didn’t view their assignment just as another “job”.
The American captains were not afraid to engage in battle even if the odds were against them. They where highly skilled, improvised well, and took advantage of every opportunity (even adapted pirate tactics themselves).

Maybe in the end, its not the big navy and a large budget (the Federal budget in 1801 was around 10 million dollars). Perhaps, all it takes is determination, creativity, and perseverance.

How to Build a Poster Hanger

2010-12-06T04:16:00.001-08:00

I am lucky to have a 42” plotter at home and from time to time I use it to printout my projects (1, 2, 3, 4). The problem that I have is what to do with all of my posters after I am done presenting them. My room is pretty full of stuff and I really don’t like rolling the printouts and storing them under my bed or on top of my bookshelf. So I finally decided that I would hang them behind my door with a poster hanger.

I first looked at several commercial blueprint hangers, but they were all too large and very expensive (over $150).

So I decided to design a hanger and build it myself. I wanted to design a poster hanger that would be able to:

Hold more than 50 posters of different sizes and thickness
Allow me to quickly add and remove posters
Allow me to easily put it up and down without any tools
Not take more than 3” behind my door so I could still open and close the door easily

My dad helped me with the cutting and assembly, which in the end took little less than 30 minutes. My total cost for materials was only $12. If you are in the market for a poster or a blueprint hanger here are all the materials, tools, and instructions you’ll need:

Materials

1 x 1” x 1/8”x 43” Aluminum L section
1 x 1” x 1/8” x 36 Aluminum bar
4 x 1/2” Aluminum rivets
2 x 2” x 3” x 1/8” Aluminum sheets
3 x 1 1/2” Fine thread screws with butterfly nuts
6 x 1/2” sticky weather stripping tape
4 wall anchors and screws

Tools

Medium coarse file
Hacksaw with a fine blade
A drill and drill bits
A vice
Measuring tape
Pencil
Center punch
Screw driver
100 grit sand paper

Making the Brackets and Hinges
My poster hanger is supported from two brackets that are attached to the wall. The brackets fit inside the hinges that are riveted to an aluminum channel.

To make the brackets, take the 2 x 3 x 1/8” sheets and form them into C-shapes (you can bend them using the vice). One side of the bracket needs to be bent at 90 degrees and the other at 45 degrees. Next, drill two holes into the 90 degree bend. Round off the corners with the file and smooth the surface with sand paper.

Next, to make the hinges, cut two 3” pieces from each channel and make a 1/4” x 2 1/2” grove inside of it (that’s where the brackets will fit in). Round off the corners with the file and smooth the surface with sand paper.

Assembly
Next, to attach the hinges to the channel, measure 12” from each edge of the channels. Place each hinge at that location and drill two rivet holes through both the hinge and channel. Clean both surfaces and rivet the hinges to the channel.

Next, you’ll need to layout and drill the holes screws that will be used to clamp the posters together. Clamp the 36” aluminum bar and channel together, mark and drill 3 holes at 2” from each edge and one right in the middle (18”).

Now that the hinges are attached and the tightening screw holes are in, glue the weather stripping to the flat 36” bar and channel. The reason we need the rubber stripping is because when we tighten the screws bringing the channel and bar close together, the weather stripping will be compressed and will help hold paper in between softly but firmly. To glue the weather stripping I used contact cement.

Finally, attach the brackets to the wall. You should use a level for this. Fit the hanger’s hinges right over the brocket. And that is it!

Now place your posters in the hanger and sit back and enjoy your handy work.

Note from Paradise

2010-11-29T03:34:00.001-08:00

This past week, we went to Florida to visit my grandparents. They live on the east coast by the water overlooking the Atlantic ocean.

In my home town we have some great beaches and I often go to Fire Island and Jones Beach, but there is something special about the Florida waterfront. For some reason everything in Florida seems brighter, the colors are more saturated, the food tastes great, and there is always a warm salty smell in the air.

I look forward to our trips to Florida and view them as short visits to paradise. Of course, leaving the cold weather behind and getting unlimited attention from my grandparents only helps.

So shortly after arrival, I took off my winter outfit, got into my bathing suit, slobbered a generous coating of suntan lotion on myself, and with my dad in tow, I headed straight to the beach. I turned South and just kept on walking. The beach was empty and stretched on for miles into the horizon, the surf was gentle and the white sand felt soft around my feet.

The ocean at the shoreline was crystal clear and gradually transitioned from light green to dark blue offshore. The water was warm and inviting and periodically I could see a perfect shell sticking out from the wet sand.

Every now and then, I found some interesting creatures on the beach. There was a red fishing buoy with eight mollusk shells attached to it, which made the whole thing look like some kind of a strange crab. There was also a log that had been in the water forever, it had a thick coating of seaweed growing from it and a colony of hundreds of live snails (when I touched them, they would quickly move back inside their shells).

Another sight to behold were the flocks of pelicans that were flying above. They were humongous, their large bills seemed so strange and out of place. They flew by in a wide “V-formation”. I just stood at attention and saluted them as they passed overhead. Once in a while, a lonely pelican would swoop down to skim the water looking for fish.

The upper slope of the beach was filled with coconut trees and other exotic plants and fruits. This time of the year there were no large coconuts on them, but I did manage to find a long pole and picked three little coconuts.

After what seemed like forever, we finally turned around and headed back home. When we arrived, I checked out the map and calculated that we had walked over five miles! Later, during dinner, I couldn’t wait to get to bed, and when I finally did, I fell asleep immediately. Paradise can be exhausting, you know.

Halloween Stats

2010-11-21T14:44:00.001-08:00

This past Halloween, I decided to document every costume that children wore as they came to our house to trick or treat. Even though we don’t celebrate Halloween, we still give the visitors some candy and chocolate. From previous years’ experience, I knew to expect the regular princesses, fairies, pirates, and assorted action figures. But this time, I collected some stats about the visitors and briefly interviewed them about their choice of costumes.

I kept my questions simple and limited them to:

Why did you chose this costume?
What do you like about your costume?

I also categorized the Trick or Treaters by group, age, gender and how comfortable they were talking about their costumes. My age groups were roughly:

Young (3-6 years old)
Older (7-11)
Teenage (12 and up)

The results were as follows:

Costume Choice
The younger kids couldn’t answer my questions, but their parents said that their choice of costume had a lot to do with what was available in the store. The older kids, tended to be more creative and assembled their outfit from several accessories that they bought especially for Halloween. The teenagers just used one or two props like a cowboy hat or a mask .

Age vs. Costume
There was a clear difference between the type of costumes kids under the age of 11 wore and those that teenagers wore. Younger and older kids got all decked out while the teenagers didn’t wear a complete costume. When I asked the teenagers why they only wore a partial costumes some said they simply didn’t feel like dressing up, others avoided the question.

Costumes vs. Gender
For young and older trick–or-treaters , there was a clear difference between what boy and girls wear. The teenagers however, had a mixture of gender costumes.

Handmade vs. Bought
Several visitors had handmade costumes, but most were store bought outfits. The handmade ones were usually more clever and the parents of these kids also seemed more organized and involved in the trick-or-treating.

Age vs. Comfort Level
The young kids enjoyed talking about their outfits. The older kids and teenagers were less comfortable discussing their costume and the reason for dressing up. The teenagers also almost always worked in groups of 3 or more kids and tended to be loud (joking, and singing). The younger kids on the other hand did their rounds solo and tended to be very quiet.

Conclusions
It seem that the very young and older kids enjoyed wearing their costumes and they didn’t feel self conscious. They were just happy to be out trick-or-treating. The teenagers seemed to be in it just for the candy and were more self conscious and almost seemed embarrassed to be dressed up.
The older kids tended to identify with their costumes and wore them because that’s who they wanted to be when they grow up (Doctor and Soldier).

The trick-or-treating style also seemed to be influenced by age, while the young and older kids went individually knocking on the door, the teen agers operated in a pack and stayed on the side walk.

How to Make a Magic Square

2010-11-14T14:43:00.001-08:00

A magic square is a type of square that is populated with integers in such a way that the sum of the numbers of each row, column and both diagonals equals the same amount. In the example below, you can see a 5 x 5 unit square with the sum of the numbers in each row, column and full diagonal equaling 65.

65	17	24	1	8	15
65	23	5	7	14	16
65	4	6	13	20	22
65	10	12	19	21	3
65	11	18	25	2	9
65	65	65	65	65	65	65

Magic squares have been around for over 4,000 years. They have been found in Egypt, India, and China, and were used as good luck charms because of the belief that they offered their wearers longer lives and health.

How to build it
I am not sure how much healthier you will get if you wear one of these squares, but they are fun to build. To start you can either download my spreadsheet or follow these step by step instructions.

Start by drawing a square that is made up of an uneven number of rows and columns (i.e. 3, 5, 7, etc). You don’t have to start counting at number 1, but until you get the hang of it, I recommend you do.

Place your starting number in the top row and middle column (see Illustration-1). The main rule for placing all other numbers is to try and move diagonally upwards to the right. This rule has several exceptions that I will cover next.

Step-1
Move UP and to the RIGHT (diagonally) from the first number. If you can find an empty square (in Illustration-1 this would put you outside the grid), drop down to the bottom row of the column and place it there.

Illustration-1

Step-2
If you can, place the next number diagonally to the right of the previous number (Illustration-2).

Illustration-2

Step-3
If you can’t place the number diagonally to the right and can’t drop to the bottom row of the column (in illustration-3 this would put you outside the grid), loop around (heading left and one row above from where you placed your last number).

Illustration-3

Step-4
If you can’t place the number diagonally to the right or place the number on the bottom row of the column (in Illustration-4 it’s taken by the 2), place the number directly under where you placed the last number (below 5).

Illustration-4

Step-5
Repeat steps 1 -4 until you’re finished.

You may find that completing the first square is a bit confusing, but don’t give up. After you go through a few practice runs, you will master the technique.

If you completed your magic square but are not sure if you solved it correctly, here is a formula for getting the sum for any odd sided magic square.

Where:
n = Square size (i.e. 3, 5, 7, 11, etc.).
M=Magic constant (the sum of the rows, columns and diagonals)

For the magic square above this would be:

M = 5(5^2+1)2
M= 5(25+1)/2
M= 5(26)/2
M= 130/2
M=65

If after all this number crunching you still feel the need to experiment, why not create some magic square art. I call it “The Magic Flower”. It is made out of 6 magic squares sized at: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13.

Doodle Dandy

2010-11-06T21:32:00.001-07:00

Doodle Dandy
Doodle doodle doodle dandy
Cornstalks, rum and homemade brandy
Indian pudding and pumpkin pie
And that will make the Yankees fly!
And ev'ry Yankee shall have on his back
A great big pumpkin in a sack,
A little molasses and a piece of pork
And away we'll march straight to New York!

This song was sung by American troops (Yankees) as they marched from Newburgh to New York City, shortly after the British wee defeated and agreed to evacuate the city.

Jeff Davis at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration

On November 25, 1783 George Washington entered the city from the north and made his way down Broadway towards the main city fort (Castle Clinton). If you are in the area of Union Square park, you may want to check out the statue of General Washington. I think it looks very much like the statue of Marcus Aurelius that I once saw in Rome.

Left: Marcus Aurelius. Right: Washington.

Washington’s entry into the city was delayed until the British flag could be taken down. In a final act of defiance, the redcoats nailed the Union Jack on a flagpole in the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan. They broke, the pole cleats, removed the flag halyards, and greased the pole so no one would be able to climb it.

View of the Battery Flag in 1732

After a number of men attempted to climb the 60 foot flag pole but failed, a nineteen year old veteran sergeant, John Van Arsdale, tried climbing it free style, but he failed as well. The story goes that Van Arsdale refused to accept defeat and instead came up with a plan, people were sent to Peter Goelet’s hardware store in Hanover Square and purchased a rope, saw, cleats, nails, and a hammer. Van Arsdale proceeded to climb the pole using a tall ladder and hammering the cleats for steps as he went up. He fixed a pulley and rope to the top of the pole, removed the Union Jack and gave the rope to Lieutenant Anthony Glean who raised the flag, just in time as the British fleet sailed out of sight.

Arsdale’s climb and The Battery Flag around 1790

John von Arsdale continued to raise the flag each year until he was 83. After his death, his son David took over the responsibility and continued to do so until he reached the age of 87. After his death the responsibility was passed on through the family. This went on until around 1880, when two of Arsdale’s descendants, Christopher R. Forbes and Charles B. Riker, had a confrontation with a man named Colonel Asa Bird Gardiner.

Colonel Gardiner was known for his fantastic fibs. He is said to have awarded himself a Congressional Medal of Honor for a Civil War battle that he was never part of and to have claimed that his descendents fought on Washington’s side, when in fact they where Loyalists.

Gardiner, titled the “a snake in the grass” by the media and his opponents, claimed to represent the Society of the War of 1812. He said that the his society was designated by the Board of Alderman to raise the flag in Battery Park on Evacuation Day and in fact had indeed raised the flag on the previous Fourth of July.

This started an outrageous screaming match. Mr. Riker cried: “That is a lie!” and insisted that the Society of the War of 1812 was a fake organization.

Riker argued that the right to raise the flag on Evacuation Day should stay in his family, and that no “Society of the War of 1812” should be allowed to stop that long and well earned family tradition.

The hearing ended with Riker and Forbes winning, but it was a bittersweet victory. Two years later, the privilege was taken away permanently from Arsdale’s descendents. As the 1892 version of the New York Times wrote:

“Members of the war veteran organizations persisted in their complaints against the policy of allowing one man to enjoy all the honors afforded by these patriotic occasions, and the early in the present month the Park Commissioners decide to make this flag raising a city affair, and ordered that hereafter on National holidays the flag be pulled to the top of the Battery flagstaff by employees of the Park Department.

President Clausen announced that all patriotically inclined individuals and organizations were at liberty to assemble on the Battery at sunrise and celebrate the Evacuation Day flag raising in any lawful way they desired. David Daly, a tool man employed by the Park Department, waded through the snow on the Battery early yesterday morning accompanied by two or three early risers, and made everything ready for the hoisting of the National colors. Just as he was about to raise the flag, Charles B. Riker, an elderly descendent of the daring Van Arsdale of Revolutionary days, appeared.

Grasping the halyards with Daly, Mr. Riker helped to pull the flag to the top of the pole. As the Stars and Strips floated out on the early morning breezes the enthusiastic old man proposed three cheers for the flag and led in the cheering with much vim. Soon afterward Christopher Forbes reached the spot, and the two Van Arsdale descendents congratulated each other that at least one member of the family had taken a hand in the raising of the flag”.

NY Times Articles

In 1863, President Lincoln made his Thanksgiving Day Proclamation and as both events fall on November 25, the public celebration of Evacuation Day eventually slowly disappeared.

Pharaoh’s Two Dreams

2010-10-31T09:56:00.001-07:00

This weekend, we read Genesis chapter 41. In the story, Pharaoh has two terrifying dreams and cannot figure them out completely. He asks his royal magicians and all the wise men of Egypt to solve the riddle, but they fail. Pharaoh’s cup bearer suddenly remembers how Joseph had interpreted his dream which helped him get out of jail. He tells Pharaoh about Joseph, who is finally able to interpret the dream and offer a solution.

Most of the time, the bible tends do be very short in it’s description of events. Stories are almost never repeated, especially not within a few short paragraphs. If you read the story carefully, you’ll see that the two description of Pharaoh’s dream are similar but not identical. While reading it, I commented to my dad that it seamed wasteful to repeat the story for a second time. Why not just say that “then Pharaoh told his dream to Joseph?” I suspected that there was some good reason for this.

The dream itself is very interesting, but more interesting is the way it is told and re-told. There are many unanswered questions. For example: in each telling, why does Pharaoh hide some details and adds others? How does he know that his advisors failed to interpret the dream correctly? Why does Joseph go beyond just interpreting the dream and offers Pharaoh advice?

Here are the two versions of the dreams. The first version is the narration, the second version is Pharaoh retelling his dream to his interpreters and Joseph.

Version-1
”…behold, he stood by the river. 2 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven cows, well-favored and fat-fleshed; and they fed in the reed-grass. 3 And, behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ill favored and lean-fleshed; and thy stood by the other cows on the river bank. 4 And the ill-favored and lean-fleshed cows did eat up the seven well-favored and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke.”

Version-2
”…behold, I stood upon the brink of the river. 18 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven cows, fat-fleshed and well-favored; and they fed in the reed-grass. 19 And, behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ill-favored and lean-fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness. 20 And the lean and ill-favoured cows did eat up the first seven fat cows. 21 And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill-favored as at the beginning. So I awoke.”

In version-1, we read "…and, behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river... and stood by the other cows on the river bank."

In version-2, Pharaoh doesn’t mention that he saw the two groups of cows standing side by side before the lean cows consumed the fat ones. He also adds some new details: "…and when they eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them, but they were still ill-favored as at the beginning."

This is an interesting addition; it also gets repeated twice for emphasis: (1) "…it could not be known that they had eaten them up…” (2) “…but they were still ill-favored as at the beginning."

I think that Pharaoh already suspected that the meaning of the first part of his dream had something to do with seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. What I think he couldn’t figure out was the actual message and the solution. So, he used a secret test to identify the real interpreter who would be able to completely explain the full meaning of his dream.

When Pharaoh tells his dream, he deliberately omits the part about the fat and lean cows standing side by side and instead emphasizes how lean they were. It looks like Pharaoh's royal interpreters all fell into the trap he had laid for them. Not having the missing detail and having been manipulated to think that it was all about a simple equation (seven years of gain will be followed by an equal seven years famine), they concluded that the outcome of the dream was fixed. This meant that by the end of the seven years of famine, Egypt would starve to death.

When Pharaoh repeats this story to Joseph, just like the royal advisors, Joseph starts by interpreting the dream to mean that the seven good years will be offset by the seven bad years. But then he provides Pharaoh with the missing explanation for the secret part of his dream, which is that prior, during, and shortly after the seven good years there will be a period of time (my dad calls it a bubble) in which Pharaoh can take action (this is when both cows stand side by side).

Joseph also tells Pharaoh exactly what to do in order to extend the seven good years to outlast the seven bad ones. The solution was a complete reorganization of the Egyptian economy and land ownership which let Egypt not only weather the famine but also support it’s neighbors (Joseph’s family came down to Egypt during the second year of the seven years of famine).

Music for my Grandma's Supper

2010-10-24T18:37:00.001-07:00

During the golden age of Louis XIV’s reign, the Sun King indulged in elaborate suppers that were accompanied by hunting, fireworks, and majestic music. One of his favorite composers, Michel-Richard Delalande, actually wrote an entire collection of symphonies in honor of his majesty's dining preferences. These pieces became known as “Symphonies pour les soupers du roi” (Symphonies for the King's Suppers).

In one of her letters dated to 1671, Madame de Sevigne describes a festive event prepared for the king by François Vatel, the tragic "Prince of Cooks."

"…the king arrived yesterday evening at Chantilly, he hunted a stag by moonlight; the lamps did wonders; the fire-works (cost 16,000 Franks) were a little eclipsed by the brightness of our serene friend, the moon; but the evening, the supper, and the entertainment, went off admirably well...

“…Supper was served, but there was no roast meat at one or two of the tables, on account of Vatel's having been obliged to provide several dinners more than were expected. This affected his spirits, and he was heard to say, several times: " I have lost my honor! I can not bear this disgrace… At four o'clock in the morning Vatel went round and found every body asleep; he met one of the under-purveyors, who just come in with only two loads of fish. " What!" said he, " is this all ?" "Yes, sir," said the man, not knowing that Vatel had dispatched other people to all the sea-ports around.

“Vatel waited for some time; the other purveyors did not arrive; his head grew distracted; he thought there was no more fish to be had… (he) went to his apartment, and setting the hilt of his sword against the door, after two ineffectual attempts, succeeded in the third, in forcing his sword through his heart.”

My great grandma Annie will be 98 years old this year. She has just recently moved to a rehab facility after falling and breaking her ankle. Since her move, my mom has issued a decree that we will visit her every week. So on Sunday mornings, we get in the car and drive to visit her. The facility is very convenient and looks more like a summer camp than an old age home. It has a physical therapy room, recreation rooms, and even a giant saltwater aquarium (with an angelfish, a puffer fish, and many other exotic varieties). Almost every evening they even have a musical variety show called “Cabaret Night.”

Sometimes while visiting my great grandma we stay for cabaret night and watch the performers with her. One day I got an idea: why not play my violin for everyone? I asked the entertainment coordinator, but she politely declined saying that I was too young. Then I suggested that I could play for the residents while they eat. The coordinator loved that idea, so I scheduled my first performance of the “Symphonies pour les soupers du grandmère”. The repertoire consists of mostly Bach and Vivaldi.

And no, if you are curious, contrary to the King’s supper, nothing dramatic happened. There was plenty of roast beef to go around, and the fish arrived on time (and they tell me it was delicious).

The Mystery of the Time Capsule

2010-10-17T18:28:00.001-07:00

Time capsules are both mysterious and fascinating. I have always wanted to walk on the beach and find one, half buried in the sand and covered with barnacles and seaweed. Finding a time capsule is like playing the ultimate detective game and traveling back in time. It can tell you how people lived, the events of the time, people’s habits, fashion, music, and information about the person who created the capsule.

So, in this spirit, I decide to build my own time capsule, bury it and plan to recover it 25 years from now. If you want to build one yourself, here is my guide:

Choosing a Burial Duration And Target Audience
First you will need to chose the duration that your capsule will be bury. Would you want to open it with your children (25 years), grandchildren (50 years), or your great-grandchildren (75 years)? Or, maybe you would like the capsule to be found by somebody else 100 years or more from now. The duration of the burial will effect the type of information you collect and its location.

Next, you need to determine who the target audience for the capsule is. The most common options are:

Family - These capsules have personalized contents that would be important for your future family members
Public – These capsules have generic public information that would be interesting for anyone

Also, if you are planning to store digital content (like voice and video recording), my dad tells me that common magnetic storage on devices like USB drives, or Flash cards is unlikely to last more than 25 years. So your best bet for long term capsules is to use artifacts printed on acid free paper.

Decide Where to Store the Time Capsule
Next, you need to find a place to store your capsule. Popular public areas like a state park are preferable because its likely that they will not be developed in the future. Some point to consider before taking out your shovel are:

If you bury the capsule in your backyard, you may not live in that house 25 years from now and you may not have access to it.
If you bury the capsule on private property that is open to the public (like an open field or a forest), the property may be sold eventually and redeveloped.
If you bury a family capsule on a beach, the wave and wind erosion my expose the capsule prematurely, causing it to be recovered by a stranger.
When burying the capsule, make sure that you are not being observed. Your audience may think that you have buried a treasure or are hiding something valuable and remove the capsule right after you bury it.
Unless you are planning to include a front page photograph showing you being arrested as one of the artifacts in the capsule, check with your local police department before digging or burying anything on public land to make sure you are not breaking any laws.

Take very careful notes about the burial location. This should include GPS coordinates, hole depth, a verbal description of the site and how to access it, ground photographs showing different landmarks, and an aerial photograph of the location with a mark showing the burial site (use Google earth). You should keep the description of the burial location with other important family documents like birth certificates and wills.

Selecting a Storage Container
How much content do you want to preserve for the future? Think about how long the artifacts must last. If you plan to store it indoors, a simple shoebox or lunch box may do. If you plan to bury it outdoors, you will have to choose a box that is rust and water proof.

I recommend using a stainless steel container with a large rim. Don’t use plastic because it will disintegrate underground. After you screw on the cap, lock it positively with stainless steel wire or encase the whole capsule in a lot of aluminum foil.

If you are burying the capsule outdoors, you should place hydroscopic "gel bags" like those used in the packaging of electronic appliances. These will help to absorb any moisture that is present at the time you close the container and will prolong the life of paper items like photographs.

All paper items should be placed in double heavy duty zip lock bags. If you are storing metal items like coins, keep them separate and don’t allow them to touch each other as the contact will lead to accelerated corrosion.

Collecting Objects for Your Time Capsule
Decide who you expect to open your time capsule and what story you’d like to tell them. My capsule is designed for my family, so my emphasis is on photographs, letters, and information about me, my sister, my mom, and my dad. If you plan to target the public, you may want to focus on news, current events, and social trends like fashion.

You don’t have to store expensive objects. Collect simple items that show who you are and what your present time is like, such as:

Pictures and information about yourself and family members, your house, and your hobbies.
Information about current events and newspaper clippings.
Lists of popular music and movies.
Items in daily use like money samples, jewelry, toys, trinkets.
Letters from family members and art projects.
Recording of voice and video (use a USB stick).

Remember, almost anything that contains current information will be meaningful, if recovered in the future.

Now, go assemble your capsule and have fun!

The Mathematics of Jimmy Neutron

2010-10-10T08:06:00.001-07:00

We don’t watch TV or cable in my house, so our only connection to popular culture is very tightly regulated access to DVDs. Several years ago, my dad surprised me and bought me the whole Jimmy Neutron series (which I enjoy tremendously).

To those unfamiliar with Jimmy Neutron, he is an animated character in a TV series about a kid genius who invents amazing devices but often gets into trouble because of them. My all time favorite invention is Goddard, Jimmy’s dog.

Jimmy’s parents have some funny and strange rules; for instance, Jimmy is not allowed to go into space unless all of his chores are done and he is not allowed to talk to aliens unless his parents have met them first.

The jokes and the science in the series are pretty nifty, but I noticed that periodically there is some interesting (and sometimes flawed) math as well. After watching all of the episodes several times, I decided to dedicate this post to all the Jimmy Neutron/Math fans. So here it is…

Errors in Calculation
In “Happy Hypno B-Day To You,” Mr. Pickles the clown submits an invoice for 12 consecutive birthday parties that Jimmy got after he hypnotized his parents. The invoice shows the total amount owed to be $1695. But if you do the math yourself (see my spreadsheet here) you will discover that the amount should have been $2730. Another error is found on the line item 7/17. The total for the Balloon Art w/Style service should be $270 ($45 x 6) and not $225. Finally, if you calculate the tax rate for Retroville, you will discover that it’s only 2.61%.

Class Blackboard
In most of the episodes, the classroom blackboard has the same math formula on it (see below). The text above the formula says “Fritz Schoenig Theory.” I did some research, but could not indentify this theory or who Fritz Schoenig is.

In “Maximum Hugh,” the above formula changes on the blackboard and instead has the following review list:

Jimmy’s Address
Jimmy’s lives at 3210 Atomic Drive, Retroville. The house number is the same as the count down from the theme song. Interestingly, on the invoice of Mr. Pickles the clown, their home number is 1234.

Jimmy’s Demonstration Board
Jimmy uses several blackboards and whiteboards. These boards usually show the same formulas (see below).

In “Broadcast Blues,” Jimmy describes to the principal his proposal for a weekly TV science show. During the demo, he points at the board and says that this formula demonstrates “the hypo gravimetric effect on all prime numbers greater than the cube root of N” The statement doesn't make sense as there are no primes on the board and the formulas are only showing a calculation of work expressed in joules and watts.

Room Wall Decorations
Jimmy’s room has all kinds of interesting math references including the poster “PI in the Sky” and the “Periodic Table of Elements.”

19+ Year Payment Schedule
In “Time is Money,” Jimmy builds a time machine and travels back in time to convince his parent to buy him the Encyclopedia of Infinite Knowledge. The delivery schedule for the book series is expressed as a whole number and a two place decimal. This doesn’t make sense as 19.23 years = 1003.4 weeks, which should have been rounded up to the next whole week (1004 weeks)

The Effect of Progeny on Happiness Quotient
In “Brobot,” Jimmy uses a presentation (bar chart) to mathematically convince his parents that he would be twice as happy if he had a brother (over 100% increase in happiness).

General Math Trivia
In addition to having a lot of scientific gadgets and jokes, the shows have the following interesting math/numbers:

In most episodes Jimmy uses his special watch/computer/radar to solve different problem. If you look at the right hand side of his watch you will see the telephone numbers of all his friends and family. His robot dog Goddard’s number is 000911 (subtract the zeros and that is the emergency telephone number in the US).
Looking at Jimmy’s watch you can see that Retroville time is 12:00 and so is Chicago time, which suggests that Retroville is located in the central standard time zone.
Jimmy has a cool problem solving calculator (including human ones) that allows him to find solutions using an f (x) function and approximation.
When Jimmy re-plays a conversation he had with his mom, Goddard uses a randomize function to select the movie clip.
When Jimmy mails a letter, the mailbox gives the description of the mail pick-up times as a list made of the word “blah.”
Jimmy’s best friend Carl has a geometry textbook called “Triangles are your friends.”
The time in the classroom is always 2:00 PM.

If you have discovered any other math related content in the Jimmy Neutron series, please let me know and I will incorporate it here.

"Atomic batteries to power!" "Turbines to speed!" "Gotta blast!"

Me Treasure! (Part One)

2010-10-01T13:16:00.001-07:00

Three treasures and a map I buried today,
Here are the hints to show you the way.

The map is hidden in a heirloom ring,
It contains an ancient six cornered thing.

At the 50 mile post, you will stand still,
Go over the bridge, by the old water mill.

Continue due North, to a fork in the road,
Where three coins found a humble abode.

On the northeast corner, where the four paths meet,
Lie two pieces of eight at the lone tree’s feet.

Before the horse enclosure, beneath a v-shaped tree,
Gold and silver doubloons are waiting for thee.

If you’re resourceful and swift, you'll find my loot
But leave it in place, or you’ll taste my cutlass and boot!

Strawberry Tart

2010-09-25T19:27:00.001-07:00

I have a good friend who was born in France. I am inspired by her culture and so I decided to cook something French. Since I have a medium sized sweet tooth, I decided to go with a dessert. Here is the recipe to Strawberry Tart, a popular and delicious French pastry.

1 pastry shell (shortbread pastry is preferable)
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 cup milk
2 egg yolks
1/2 tablespoon butter
2 cups strawberries, washed, stemmed, and sliced

Fit the pie shell to a 11 x 4 inch rectangular baking pan. Prick the bottom of the pie shell with a fork in several places. Place baking paper on top of the pastry shell and fill it with a 1/2 inch layer of dry beans (the beans will keep the pastry from popping up while it bakes). Cook for 15 minutes at 400°F then remove beans and bake for another 10 minutes or until browned.

While the pastry shell bakes, you can start working on the filling.

Warm the milk over medium heat and stir in half of the sugar. Beat the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar until they are light and thick. Whisk in the cornstarch. Then, slowly whisk in the warm milk and pour it all back into the pan.

Continue heating until almost boiling and the cream has thickened, whisking continually. Remove from heat and stir in the butter.

Let the filling cool than spread it in the cooled pie shell. Cut the strawberries into slices and place them neatly on top of the pie. If you’d like, you can sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve cool.

Bon Appétit!

It’s Hot!

2010-09-19T06:37:00.001-07:00

The “authorities” have finally granted me the privilege of drinking coffee. (It’s limited to only one small decaf cup a week, but I’ll take it.) I am very particular about how I make it. I add first a spoonful of decaf instant coffee to a ceramic mug, then freshly boiled water, then a spoonful of sugar. Finally, I top it off with a drop of cream.

Since I stared handling boiling water and warm mugs myself, I noticed that some parts of the mug feel hotter than others. Since all the hot water coming out of the kettle is more or less at the same temperature, what happens to it once it’s poured into the the mug? What is the temperature distribution there?

I decided to conduct an experiment to find out.

My hypothesis was that the water at the top of the cup would be hotter. I thought this because I know that hot air rises and cold air sinks. My mom and dad were mixed in their opinions. My dad said that even though he agreed with me, one could also argue that the water at the bottom would be warmer because it was insulated by three sides, verses the top water, which was exposed to cooling evaporation.

I started the experiment by boiling a kettle of water. Then, I poured it into a heat-proof glass. I used an infrared thermometer to measure the temperature on the bottom, middle, and top of the cup. These are the results that I got:

Measurement	Set 1 (C)	Set 2 (C)
Top	82.1	79.3
Middle	80.1	78.0
Bottom	71.3	72.1

The experiment confirmed my hypothesis. The water got hotter as we moved from the bottom to the top.
After I finished my experiment, I repeated it again (Set 2) to make sure that I would get consistent results.

So there you have it! If you ever wondered where the best place for holding a hot cup is, it is by its handle, of course. But if it doesn't have a handle, try empting some of the hot liquid and grabbing it by the glass on top where there is no liquid (the temperature there was 20 degrees lower). If you can’t do that, then definitely go for the base.

For more thoughts on the proper upbringing of young ladies, hot coffee, and the futility of parental restrictions on drinking it, check out Johann Sebastian Bach’s Coffee Cantata (translation from the German and a short musical excerpt below). First performed by Bach at the Zimmerman's Coffee House, in Leipzip, in 1732.

Narrator
Be quiet, stop chattering,
and pay attention to what's taking place:
here comes Herr Schlendrian
with his daughter Lieschen;
he's growling like a bear.
Hear for yourselves, what she has done to him
Schlendrian
Don't one's children cause one
endless trials & tribulations!
What I say each day
to my daughter Lieschen
falls on stony ground.
Schlendrian
You wicked child, you disobedient girl,
oh! when will I get my way;
give up coffee!
Lieschen
Father, don't be so severe!
If I can't drink
my bowl of coffee three times daily,
then in my torment I will shrivel up
like a piece of roast goat.
Lieschen
Mm! how sweet the coffee tastes,
more delicious than a thousand kisses,
mellower than muscatel wine.
Coffee, coffee I must have,
and if someone wishes to give me a treat,
ah, then pour me out some coffee!
Schlendrian
If you don't give up drinking coffee
then you shall not go to any wedding
feast, nor go out walking. oh! when
will I get my way; give up coffee!
Lieschen
Oh well!
Just leave me my coffee!
Schlendrian
Now I've got the little minx!
I won't get you a whalebone skirt
in the latest fashion.
Lieschen
I can easily live with that.
Schlendrian
You're not to stand at the window
and watch people pass by!
Lieschen
That as well, only I beg of you,
leave me my coffee!
Schlendrian
Furthermore, you shan't be getting
any silver or gold ribbon
for your bonnet from me!
Lieschen
Yes, yes! only leave me to my pleasure!
Schlendrian
You disobedient Lieschen you,
so you go along with it all!
Schlendrian
Hard-hearted girls
are not so easily won over.
Yet if one finds their weak spot,
ah! then one comes away successful
Schlendrian
Now take heed what your father says!
Lieschen
In everything but the coffee.
Schlendrian
Well then, you'll have to resign yourself
to never taking a husband.
Lieschen
Oh yes! Father, a husband!
Schlendrian
I swear it won't happen.
Lieschen
Until I can forgo coffee?
From now on, coffee, remain forever untouched!
Father, listen, I won't drink any
Schlendrian
Then you shall have a husband at last!
Lieschen
Today even dear father, see to it!
Oh, a husband! Really, that suits me splendidly!
If it could only happen soon.
Narrator
Old Schlendrian goes off to see if he can find a husband forthwith for his daughter Lieschen; but Lieschen secretly lets it be known: no suitor is to come to my house unless he promises me,and it is also written into the marriage contract,that I will be permitted to make myself coffee whenever I want.
Narrator, Lieschen, Schlendrian
A cat won't stop from catching mice,
and maidens remain faithful to their coffee.
The mother holds her coffee dear,
the grandmother drank it also,
who can thus rebuke the daughters!

Island of Hope, Island of Tears

2010-09-05T09:21:00.001-07:00

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
by Emma Lazarus, New York City, 1883

When my mom asked me where I wanted to go for my birthday, I gave my answer without any hesitation. I said “Ellis Island!” I had wanted to go there ever since I learned about it in my 5th grade Social Studies class. We spent about a month learning about the U.S immigrants. I read Letters from Rifka and we even reenacted how it would have been like to have made the trip from Europe to America on the bottom of a ship in the steerage section.

I got my wish and to Ellis Island we went. My mom told me that we may also be able to see the Statue of Liberty which was a present given by the French to the Americans in an effort to promote French reputation. So in a way, it is a huge Trojan horse (in a shape of a woman) for spreading French cultural ideas and influence.

On the day of the trip at the crack of dawn, we got out of the house and hopped on the train to New York City. Once in Penn Station, we caught the subway heading uptown (to the financial center of Manhattan). We got out of the subway right next to where the world trade center once stood. Before catching the ferry to Ellis Island, we took a tour of St. Paul's Chapel church. This is the oldest public building in continuous use in Manhattan (it has been around since 1766).

Tombstone dated 1784 from the cemetery in the St. Paul's Chapel church. It has the following poem on it: “Sleep on thou lovely babes, And take they peaceful rest, The Lord hath called you hence Because he thought be it Best”

Then it was finally off to Ellis Island! It turned out that we had to wait on various lines for some time before we could board the boat. The wait wasn't so bad. We were entertained by various street performers including a Jamaican steel drum player who played “Hava Nagila,” a contortionist who squeezed himself into a small 24” box, and a cabaret singer who sang songs by Frank Sinatra, although he didn’t sound anything like him.

View of the New York skyline from the ferry to Ellis Island

After about an hour and a half, we had our tickets and were finally on the ferry. Our first stop: Lady Liberty. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to get off to see liberty island, (the tickets to visit her crown were also completely sold out), so we just stayed on the boat and admired the statue from a short distance.

From the little research I have done, I discovered that originally, the statue was not entirely welcomed in the US at first. Many people objected to it because they felt that it was extravagant. The New York Times even stated that "no true patriot can countenance any such expenditures for bronze females in the present state of our finances." It was only after the newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer started a large campaign (promising to print the name of each donor in his newspaper) that the public warmed up to such dramatic donation stories as "A young girl alone in the world" donated "60 cents, the result of self denial." and the opposition to the the statue disappeared and the money started flowing in.

The Statue of Liberty, under construction in Paris in 1884, six months before it was completed. After completion, it was taken apart, loaded into more than 200 wooden boxes, and shipped to New York where it arrived in June of 1885.

The next stop was Ellis Island and there we disembarked. Built in 1900 by Edward Lippincott Tilton and William Alciphron Boring, its purpose was to regulate the quality and quantity of the immigrants entering the US.

As soon as we entered the old building, I could not stop imagining that I was an actual immigrant, traveling from my home country to America. I thought of how scary it must have been to have made such a long journey across the ocean, and how worried people must have been to start a new life in a new and strange place with no money or language skills or a place to stay.

Ellis Island in 1880

We walked around the whole museum. There was a station where you could look up the names of your family members to see if there was a record of them coming through Ellis Island. We passed a display filled with many old suitcases and bags and then went on to the huge hall where hundreds of thousands of immigrants sat and waited to be processed for entry into the country.

Travel documents of Ester Pirrotto, an Italian emigrant who arrived to Ellis Island in 1921

Each immigrant had to pass through Ellis Island, they were checked to make sure that they weren’t ill, didn’t have a criminal record, and weren’t anarchist or monarchists. Some immigrants (2 out of 100) who were found to be sick (mostly eye diseases or Tuberculosis) were put on ships and sent back home to the country they came from. This earned Ellis Island the name “Island of Hope, Island of Tears.”

I was deeply moved by all of the things that I had seen and learned. It was amazing how many people where willing to leave their home behind and come to America and what hardship and misery they were willing to endure in order to get here, but maybe that is the exact reason why Ellis Island is still there and has been turned into a museum.

Yoo-Hoo, Over Here!

2010-08-23T10:19:00.001-07:00

So even though you have a successfully built a shelter, started a fire and distilled your water, you are still trapped on the deserted island. By now, you may be tired of eating only fish and fruit kabobs, so you decide to find a way to get spotted and rescued. This brings us to Signaling, the last installment from my summer’s survival class.

Signaling and communications is one of the most effective ways to get rescued. Even if other people know that you are lost and are searching for you, making your presence known will shorten the search and will help your rescuers find you.

In my course we covered the following 5 signaling methods:

1. Signal Fire
2. Ground letters
3. Mirror Signals
4. Radio Communication
5. Whistling

Signal Fires
Signal fires are great for showing a rescue team your location. The smoke that fire generates can be seen during the day from great distances. The darker the smoke is the more easily it can be seen. Unfortunately though, most dry natural objects (wood, grass, leaves, etc.) don’t produce black smoke. To achieve this effect, you will need either some green trees (like burning an entire evergreen tree) or synthetic materials like plastic or rubber.

It’s important to locate the fire in an area that will be seen from either the air or the sea. For example, don’t start a fire in the middle of a forest because the trees will obstruct the smoke. Good locations would be on a beach (away from the tide) or up on a hill. Before starting the fire make sure you collect enough fuel to keep it going for several hours.

If you have access to a full size tree, you may want to create a tree torch to attract attention (Figure 19-1). You can set trees afire, even if they are green. You can get other types of trees to burn by placing dry wood in the lower branches and igniting it so that the flames flare up and light the foliage too. Be carful to select a stand alone tree so that you do not start a forest fire.

Illustrations taken from chapter 19 of the US Army Survival Manual

Mirror Signals
First you must examine your surroundings and see what you have. Do you have glasses, a bright colored piece of cloth, a pair of rubber flip flops, sticks, or stones? You can use any one of these materials to make an efficient signal. If you are carrying a compact mirror or wear a pair of glasses, you can always use the reflection to attract attention and let people see you. To use a mirror or a pair of glasses, you need to position the glass part of the mirror (or lens) right under where the sun hits and you should see a bright circle that will start to be created. Once you have the bright white circle, you can position it towards the sky. A passing airplane will be able to see your signal and will hopefully come and rescue you.

Illustrations taken from chapter 19 of the US Army Survival Manual

Ground Letters
If you are near a beach or a clear section of the forest you can use the resources that are already there for writing the message. The forest will provide sticks and logs, and the beach will provide boulders and shells. With these, you should construct large letters (at least18 feet tall and 3 feet wide) to make them visible from the air. The message should be short and spell out a distress signal like HELP or S-O-S (“Save our Souls”).

Another method of signaling is to use standard signs like the following:

Radio Communication
If you have a walkie-talkie or an emergency radio, then that would probably be the easiest way to call for help. Some GPSs have built-in radio communicators and can transmit your messages for miles (I have used my Garmin Rino 530 to communicate with my dad when he was over 11 miles away). Once you are able to talk to someone, you should start by giving your specific coordinates so that they will be able to locate your position if you lose connection. From my experience, it is easiest for your GPS transmitter to receive and send signals if you are standing on a high surface away from buildings and trees; the higher the better. Don’t forget turn off your radio when you are not using it, in order to save the battery.

Whistling
If at anytime you are lost in a mountain range, or some area that is more or less close to civilization, then there is one easy way to get your rescuers attention: by whistling. It might sound silly, but the human ear can hear whistling up to 3/4 of a mile away. If you are lost and a search team is coming to look for you, then you can whistle to tell them where you are.

It is more effective (and easier to hear) if you use a whistle. But you can always whistle with your fingers. When you whistle you would most likely want to stand in a high and clear area, and make sure that you wait for a quite moment. Then you blow three short blows (three’s the magic number when in distress). Then wait a minute and blow another three short blows.

Now that you are ready to leave your deserted island you might be a bit sad to go. I completely understand. After all, you have built a shelter, started a fire, collected water and successfully called for help. I’m sorry survivors, but the vacation is over.

My Optimization Problem

2010-08-16T07:31:00.001-07:00

I have been playing a classical violin for 9 years now. I love the soft sound of the wooden instrument, but once I heard Alexander Markov perform on his electric violin (his Paganini Caprices are incredible!), I was hooked.

In that moment, I resolved to get an electric violin for myself. So for the past two years, I have been saving up my money . I used every opportunity to make money, from working around the house doing laundry and folding it, to washing our cars, vacuuming, watering the garden, helping with cooking, doing dishes, and tutoring my sister. Finally this past week, after adding up all my birthday money, graduation gifts and the rest of my savings, I had a total of $330.

I woke up all excited but then realized that I had never bought anything so expensive before. I had no idea where to start. I got even more confused when I did a Google search for “electric violin sale.” and got over 225,000 results! I clearly needed a plan, so I asked my dad for some advice and he suggested that I follow these steps:

1. Figure out what my budget was (and what my bottom price is)
2. Identify the violin and amplifier models in my price range
3. Find at least 3 vendors that sell these exact items
4. Call each one to verify the package price and availability
5. Compare all 3 vendors and their prices and find the best deal

He cautioned me that each different vendor will deliberately try to confuse me by changing their packages slightly (making some items appear cheaper but charging a higher price for others. This was an optimization problem. I would need to take my time and do my research. My first step was to create a spreadsheet. In it, I wrote the store names, the salesmen’s names, his extension number, pricing information for each item, etc.

Before placing my first call, I was both excited and nervous at the same time. When the representative answered the phone, I felt my heart beating so hard I thought that it was going to jump out of my chest! After a few seconds of conversation I got more relaxed and comfortable working from my script. On my second call, I was already doing much better and even deviated from my script and asked the salesman where he was located. By the time I got the the third vendor, I was enjoying the conversation.

Name	Name	Phone	Violin	Amp	S&H	Total
Music 123	Rick	888 566 6123	299	49.99	7.44	357.42
Musician's	Jeremy	800 860 4077	299	51.98	8	359.97
Woodwind	Lakisha	800 348 5003	299	59.00	0	358.99

After completing the spreadsheet, I looked it over and discovered that even though I had prices, it was still was quite confusing. Some vendors quoted lower prices on some items (like the amplifier) but higher prices for others ( like the violin. In another case, the the amplifier was slightly less expense, but S&H was higher.

The problem was that I couldn't easily calculate the lowest price on any of the packages because they weren't identical.

I decided to select the two lowest price vendors and try to work out their differences. I called both vendors again and asked them to give me another quote for a specific package, (i.e. just the violin, carrying case, amplifier, and cable). I deliberately eliminated all the other confusing items like the extended warranty, bow, extra strings, rosin etc. When I was done with these conversations, I finally had the price of $357.42, which was still $37.42 above my budget. My very stubborn father and mother refused to budge and pay the difference, so I had to go back to drawing board. I figured that maybe I would be able to lower the price a bit more.

I called the last vendor again and told him that I am ready to place an order today, and asked if he would be willing to give me a 10% discount off the package for $322 (which would bring the price down slightly bellow my budget of $330). He seemed a bit annoyed, but after 20 seconds of tense silence, he said that he would. I said: “You’ve ot yourself a deal!” and I told him that it was a “pleasure doing business with him,” and then I put my dad on the phone so he could complete the transaction for me.

I felt proud of myself and for the rest of the day I had a big grin on my face. I managed to save up and buy a big ticket item that I had wanted for two years. I did all the research by myself, I figured out a way to simplify the confusing pricing of the different packages, and I successfully negotiated a price that was below my budget. I went around telling anyone who was willing to listen about my experience…even the mailman!

Yes, sir-ee, Thursday was a good learning day indeed.

So Thirsty… Must Have Water

2010-08-07T18:34:00.001-07:00

Update from survival school. Today’s topic: H20. This week we’ve spent some time learning about finding water, purifying it, and even making sea water drinkable.

So you have built your shelter and lit a fire, but you still need water to quench your thirst. In a survival situation, water problems fall into one of the following 3 situations.

1. You have access to fresh water
2. You only have access to sea water
3. You can’t find any water

1. You Have Access to Fresh Water
Once you have found a source of fresh water, you will need to filter it to make it safe to drink. You need to do that because even if the water is fresh, it may still contain algae, debris, parasites or bacteria. Fresh water sources can be found in puddles, rivers, lakes, ponds, and swamps.

The first step in the purification process is to remove the large debris from the surface (leaves, branches, algae) . Next, take any tight weaved material, like a cotton shirt and fold it over until you have at least four layers. The reason for this is because the water that you collect will be filled with algae and other microscopic creatures so a shirt folded over can serve as an excellent filter. Pour the water over the shirt and then place a canteen or a bottle underneath to collect the water. To help with the transportation of water, you can also easily create a cup by cutting and folding some flexible material and attaching a wooden stick as a handle.

The water is now filtered, but it is still not safe enough to drink. You will need to boil it. For how long should it be boiled? There are several misconceptions regarding this. I’ve heard people say 5 minutes, 15 minutes, or even 30 minutes. Keeping water boiling for a long time is not necessary and can be inefficient, because it wastes fuel and will evaporate most of your water. The correct time is as long as it takes for the water to reach boiling point (100 C or 212 F). To be extra safe, wait another 3 minutes beyond boiling.

2. You Only Have Access to Sea Water
If you don’t have access to fresh water (if you are next to a sea or marsh, for instance), you should remember to never drink salt water because it will make you dehydrated. The problem with drinking sea water is that it forces your body to use its fresh water reserves to get rid of the salt (you do this by urinating). You end up using more of the body’s water reserves to urinate than the total amount of actual water that you drank in the sea water. This negative water intake can eventually lead to kidney failure and death.

But don’t lose hope yet. There are two techniques you can use to distill salt or brackish water (to remove salts and other contaminates from it). These are:

A. Using sun distiller (slow and doesn’t produce much water)
B. Using fire (faster and produces more water)

A – Using Sun Distiller
To use this technique you will need the following ingredients:

+ smooth material like tarp, plastic wrap, etc.
+ a tube or a long straw
+ a collector (about the size of a tin can)
+ a medium sized stone
+ leaves or other source of water

To assemble:

1. Dig a hole about 36” across and 24” deep .

2. Dig a smaller hole in the center of the main hole. Its size will
depend on size of the collector container that you use.

3. Place one end of the tubing or straw in the collector container
(use a string to attach it if you have one).

4. Place the collector container in the smaller hole.

5. Extend the unanchored end of the tubing over and beyond the
edge of the hole.

6. Place the plastic sheet over the hole. Cover its edges with soil
to hold it in place.

7. Place a rock on top of the the center of the plastic sheet.

8. Lower the plastic sheet into the hole until it is about 12” below
ground level (i.e sloping directly over the collector container).

9. Make sure the plastic cover does not touch the sides of the hole
(because the condensed water will drain there first).

10. Place more soil on the edges of the plastic to hold it securely
in place and to seal it in order to prevent the loss of moisture.

11. Plug the tube when not in use to keep the moisture from
evaporating and to keep insects out.

After several hours of sun heating, you can start drinking water from your distiller by using the tube. Avoid opening the plastic cover because you will release the trapped moisture.

Installing 5 such contraptions would provide you with enough water for a single day.

Illustrations taken from chapter 6 of the US Army Survival Manual

B - Using Fire-1
If a container is available, fill it with seawater; build a fire and boil water to produce steam; place a cloth over a container to absorb steam; squeeze water from cloth directly into mouth or a collection container.

B - Using Fire-2
To use this technique you will need the following ingredients.

- two containers, one should be made out of fire proof material
- a 3’ tube or longer (it can be either plastic or metal).

To assemble, fill in metal container with water and attach the tube to its top (making a coil out of tube will improve the efficiency of this design). Next, you should connect the other side of the coil to the second container (receiver). Make sure that the receiver container has a way to relieve pressure (don’t use duct tape to attach the hose). Place the first container over the fire, elevating it above the second container. Depending on the size of your fire and the water distiller, you will eventually see water appearing in the receiver container. This water will be drinkable.

3. You can’t find any water
If you find yourself in the an area that does not have a visible source of water, you can still locate it by digging around. Most areas (even the driest ones) have some water, you just have to find it. To improvise a digging tool you can use your handy survival knife, a long pointed stick, or sharp rock chips. The following are good potential search areas:

At the foot of cliffs or large rocks
At the foot of lowest spot in the banks of a dry river
Under damp surface sand
Next to green vegetation

Collecting Dew
Morning dew can provide you with plenty of drinking water. To collect the dew, wake up before sunrise and tie some absorbent material to your ankles (i.e. cotton tee-shirt). Walk in the wet grass and when the cloth around your ankles gets wet, squeeze and drink the water.

Tracking Animals to find water
Insects crawling into a hollow tree trunk may be an indication that the tree is filled with water. You can get the water out by either using a tube or by tying a string to your shirt and throwing it in order to soak it. Animal dropping near rock cracks or crevices my also suggest the presence of water. Birds will often circle over water holes. They may also fly to water holes before sunrise and sunset. Animal sounds in the evening or early morning can indicate that water is nearby. Finally, an important rule is that almost all trails will eventually lead to water. If you locate one, just follow it.

Water from Plants
Contrary to what you see in the movies, you should avoid drinking a lot of coconut milk because the oil found in them is a diarrhetic. Green bamboo is a good source of water. To get it out, chop of the head of the stalk and bend it (while it’s still planted). After a while, water will start dripping from the stalk.

If you find a banana tree, cut down the trunk, leaving about a 1 foot stump. Using your knife or a sharp stone chip, scoop out the center of the stump so it is bowl-shaped. Water from the roots will fill in the bowl. Taste the water before drinking it because the initial fillings may taste bitter. When not drinking from the stump cover it so it doesn’t dry out.

Illustration taken from chapter 6 of the U.S Army Survival Manual

You have done a good job, now you have a shelter, you started a fire and you have quenched your thirst. Next I will discuss communications and signaling. Drink a lot of water, stay warm, and sleep well.

Me Make Fire!

2010-08-01T18:08:00.001-07:00

So you are in the wilderness with almost no supplies, you are thirsty and need to boil some water or maybe you have been lucky and just caught a fish. How do you boil water or cook your food? You need to build a fire. If you’ve never done it before, it can be a bit tricky. Last week in my survival camp we learned how to start a pilot light and build different types of campfires. In this posting, I will share with you a few of the fire making secrets that I learned.

First, a few important safety rules…

Make sure there is an adult with you when you are working with fire or an open flame.
Never start a fire by pouring gasoline or any other fuels and igniting them. Fuels are very volatile (they ignite quickly from a distance and can easily burn you).
When lighting a campfire, make sure that there is plenty of clear space around it, and that flying cinders will not start a forest fire or light up your tent.
Make sure you have a way to extinguish the fire before lighting it (a sufficient amount of water or sand).
Never play with fire and always treat it with respect. You can easily get skin burns or have your hair catch on fire if you get too close.

Fire Starter Kit Rules

As it is almost impossible to light a large wooden log directly, so you will need to do it gradually using a starter kit. Your starter kit can be made up of dry grass, crumpled paper ( the thinner the better) potato chips, lint, steel wool, dry leaves, or any other material that will catch fire quickly. You also want to make sure that you have plenty of very small twigs around to build-up the flame and help it grow. If you are planning to be adventurous and start a fire by hand, you may consider buying pre-made starter kits that came in the form of fuel cubes. These cubes ignite almost instantly and burn at a very high temperature.

There are several methods for making the starter kit. Three important things to remember are:

1. Place the the starter kit inside (or as close as possible to) the permanent campfire structure in order to minimize transporting the pilot light and taking the chance of extinguishing the flame.

2. If you have to transport the starter kit, place it on a surface that you can hold and move safely back to your campsite, if needed. You can use a flat stone, or a flat piece of bark to move it.

3. Always gradually increase the size of the flame by feeding it fuel slowly without overwhelming it.

Creating the Spark
Using a Lighter
Just point the lighter under the base of the starter kit and light it up. Any lighter would do but if you can, try to get a special campfire lighter as they have an extension that keeps the flame away from you fingers.

Using Matches
The best matches are the strike anywhere, wind proof and water resistant type. The water proofing and strike anywhere capability insures that they will not be destroyed by moisture and
that you don’t need a special striking surface to light the match.

Using Electricity
To light the starter kit with a battery, you will need a 9-volt cell(or any other high capacity battery). If you are using a 9-volt, just roll some steel wool into a long strand (long enough to bridge the terminals).

Step 1: Place the rolled steel wool on top of your starter kit and touch it with the battery terminals. Within several seconds, the rolled steel wool will turn red.

Step 2: Blow gently at the steel wool spread the flame below and to light the kindling paper. Continue to add more fuel until you have a steady flame.

Using Sunlight
Using sunlight to start a fire is relatively easy; all you need is a good lens and open sunlight (you can also use artificial light). The trick in starting a flame using this method is to keep the lens focused and steady.

Step 1: When you focus the light onto the starter kit, make sure that the projected light is perfectly round (if you see an oval shape, it means that you are placing the lens at the wrong angle). As soon as you see smoke coming out of the starter kit, put the lens down.

Step 2: Blow gently at the steel wool spread the flame below and to light the kindling paper. Continue to add more fuel until you have a steady flame.

Using a Spark

The easiest way to start a fire using a spark is to use a magnesium block and a striker (you can also use a traditional flint and a steel striker). Before using this method you should practice your striking technique several time. This will help you get the most amount of sparks per strike. If your magnesium block is new, this will also help remove of the coating on it. Once you feel comfortable operating the striker, you can point it at the starter kit and follow these steps:

Step 1: Point the magnesium block at the center of your starter kit (it should be around 5 inches away). Place the striker on the shaft at 45 degrees and push it down creating as much friction as you can. Be careful not to hit the starter kit when you do that. If you did it correctly the results will be a shower of hot sparks that will instantly ignite the steel wool.

Step 2: Blow gently at the steel wool spread the flame below and to light the kindling paper. Continue to add more fuel until you have a steady flame.

Campfire Construction Techniques
When building your campfire, you can chose from 2 simple campfire designs, and 2 more advanced ones. We will start with the simple designs.

1- Teepee: The name should give you a hint as to how it looks. To build it, you first gather long sticks, and arrange them in the shape of a teepee. Once you are done building the frame, fill-in the space under the tepee with small twigs and other debris (make sure you leave enough space for the fire starter kit).

As the campfire burns, the logs close to the fire will fall inward, feeding the fire. As the fire progresses, you will have to continue to add more wood to keep the fire burning. Because of the high temperature this campfire creates, it will burn well with even wet or moist wood.

Illustration taken from chapter 7 of the U.S Army Survival Manual

2- Lean-To: To build this design, you first drive a long branch into the ground at 45 degrees or so (you can either excavate a hole or sharpen one end with an axe and drive the branch in with a large stone). Once the branch is in place, you pile a row of sticks against each side of the branch. Fill the under side of the triangle with small twigs and branches. Leave enough room for the fire starter kit.

This type of campfire burns very hot and very quickly. You will constantly have to add more vertical pieces to keep the lean-to burning.

3- Cross-Ditch: To build this design, you first draw a 30” X in the ground. Next excavate a trench that follows the outline of the X. The trench should be around about 3” deep (the purpose of the trenches are to provide air draft for the fire). Once you have done digging, place a small pyramid fire (seen below) in the middle of the “X”.

4- Pyramid: To build this design, you need to build several cross layers of sticks (thicker ones go on the bottom). Start with 2 large logs and space them 2 feet apart. Next place 5 thinner branches at 90 degrees on top of the two logs. Next place 10 thinner sticks on top of the 5 branches and so on.

You place your starter kit on top of the top layer and once the fire catches on, it will spread downwards (requiring no attention from you). With this design you can build very large campfires that can be used to send signals many miles a way.

Now, after all of this hard work (it took me 15 minutes to start a fire from scratch), you can finally sit down to the chirping sound of crickets, howling wolves, and the hum of thirsty mosquitoes. Drink your water, grill your fish, and enjoy your hard work.

The Home Away from Home

2010-07-19T06:13:00.001-07:00

You planned a camping trip, but your car breaks down on the side of the road. With nothing but wilderness around you, and no cell phone reception, you need food and shelter and a way to stay dry. What do you do?

You call 1-800-Get-Me-Outta-Here?

No, silly. Besides, you don’t have any cell phone reception. So what do you do? You build a place to sleep for the night.

This summer, I am taking a class called Wilderness Survival. In this course, we learn all types of survival skills. Last week, we learned how to build a debris hut. A debris hut is a shelter made with a lot of insulation to keep you warm during cold nights. A debris hut should be a small structure with only 6 inches of extra space around you. The main goal of the hut is to trap your body heat and keep you warm.

To build a debris hut, you will need:

- Several large branches, twigs, and logs if you can find them
- Pine needles, leaves or any other vegetation (but watch out for poisonous plants, such as poison ivy and poison oak).

You will need to find a flat area (preferably on the top of the hill) to build your debris hut. Once you have found the location, you then need to make an upside down “V” shape with two large branches. Do not make the opening to large because then the entire hut will be too large and you will not be able to heat it up. Take another long branch and lay it on top of the opening. Then slowly build up other sticks and twigs along the opening. You will need to cover the hut with pine needles, or leaves, that’s the insulation. You should cover your hut with enough leaves that no sunlight can be seen from the inside.

Another important piece of advice, is that if you are camping in a remote area, you should always carry a survival kit. My kit has a knife, mirror, compass, “strike anywhere” matches (or a magnesium block), a thermal blanket, an axe, a diamond saw, first aid supplies, a waterproof flashlight with extra batteries, flares, and at least 3-6 heavy duty plastic garbage bags. The garbage bags are excellent for draping over your hut to make it waterproof.

My Survival Kit

Now that you have built your sustainable hut, you must be very thirsty and hungry. But before you drink any water or cook food you will have to light a fire. In my next posting I will teach you how to do that.

Diary of a Fish

2010-05-22T20:23:00.001-07:00

Day: 137
Water Temperature: 78 Degrees
Visibility: 6 inches
Fish Count: 5

Another perfect morning, lately I haven’t been able to differentiate between the morning and the night because the hand has gotten lazy ab0ut turning off the light.

The only thing everyone talks about around here is the beautiful weather, the perfect temperature of the water, shopping bargains, and the new assessment for fixing our coral reef condominium.

The water seems a bit foggy this morning. The hand came back and fed us. For some reason, it seemed to be a bit smaller than the regular one and kept on pouring the flakes until a bigger hand came in and snatched the food container from it. Then loud and high pitch voices could be heard coming from outside of our world.

Vinnie Tetra went mad and swallowed almost all the red flakes on the surface. I tried stopping him, but he just wouldn’t listen. Now he’s looking a bit green at the gills and is swimming in circles and leaning on one side. In fact, he’s been hanging around the heater a lot. Which is a bad sign.

The hand came back and took out our coral apartments and the plants. It brought everything back some time later, all polished, clean, and freshly scented, but it placed them in the wrong spot, so now I’ve lost my favorite reading spot (the one under the florescent light).

The guppies, (I can’t remember their names, for the life of me), seem to be completely unphased by anything. Last night I tried engaging one in a conversation about my proposal to build a library in our sunken ship. He just stared at me, opening and closing his mouth.

I often wonder about the hand. Where does it come from? And were does it go? Does it need to eat too? If so, is there a bigger hand that feeds it? Who created all of these hands? And what happened to Anthony and Cleopatra, the Gouramis, after the four-legged furry creature got them. Where did they go? Will they ever come back?

Speaking of the creature, the four legged thing is back. It has been staring at me intensely for several minutes trying to touch me with its paw. It gives me the creeps, I better go.

That's all for now diary, I will write again soon.

May it Please the Court

2010-05-09T22:06:00.001-07:00

When I was 5 years old, my grandpa took me to court with him where I got to watch him work as a judge. I remember how interesting and exciting some of the cases were and how sometimes it was almost impossible to tell who was right and who was wrong. Somehow he always managed to come up with a ruling that made sense.

In our house we have several unwritten laws, some of which include messy rooms and leaving shoes and clothes on the floor. Over the past year or so, my dad has started enforcing some of his threatened penalties for breaking these laws, which has resulted in some serious disagreements. For the shoes, he would first give me a verbal warning, and then if I didn’t take action, he would quietly pick them up and throw them away. Sometimes if I was lucky, I would notice them in the garbage and take them out. Unfortunately though, on two occasions, I wasn’t so lucky and lost two pairs of Converse sneakers. Harsh, I agree.

Recently, as we were sitting in the living room, I joked with my dad that next time he leaves his shoes around, I will throw them out too. He laughed and said that if I didn’t like it I could either change my ways or sue him. I have already changed my ways and don’t leave my shoes on the floor anymore, but I’m still holding a grudge over my two missing pair of sneakers. So I decided to look into the possibility of bringing a lawsuit against him.

My grandpa and his wife, Karen, are both attorneys. So I decided to go to them for advice. I spoke to Karen, and after a short discussion, she agreed to act as my attorney. She sent me a retainer agreement, which I signed, and I paid her $5. Also, my grandfather agreed to be the judge in the trial.

My attorney asked me to write the events as I remember them and e-mail it to her. She also advised me as to what evidence I should collect. After finishing my research, we got together and completed the official complaint form (I downloaded it from the NY court website). The form required the following information:

1. My name and address (the Plaintiff)
2. My dad’s name and address (the Defendant)
3. The description of the complaint
4. The damages (the value of my loss in dollars)

My Complaint Form

My attorney also told me that I needed to calculate my damages
accurately and back my claim up with as much evidence as I had (receipts, photographs, etc.). I estimated my damages to be $42 based on the price of two new pairs of similar Converse sneakers.

My Damages

After completing the complaint form, Karen wrote the summons (to tell the defendant that he is being sued). That evening, after dinner, Karen casually asked my dad what his full name was. When he finished answering, she stood up, pulled out the summons and complaint and handed it over to him in front of everyone. She than said smilingly “Sir, you’ve just been served. See you in court!”

The day of the trial was scheduled for Sunday afternoon and around 3:00 pm everyone gathered in the court (our dining room table). Present were my grandfather the judge, my attorney, my dad, my mom (who agreed to be my witness) and me.

The following is the description of the trail proceedings.

Then the trial began. My attorney and my dad made their opening statements (I didn’t get to speak because I was represented by an attorney). My attorney stated that she will be able to prove that because of my dad’s “careless and vengeful actions,” her client (that's me) suffered considerable damages. My dad said that he will be able to show that my action against him was baseless.

I was then called to the witness stand and went through a direct examination by my attorney. She presented evidence showing that my dad also left his shoes on the floor (I had a photograph of a pair of his sneakers) and described the conversations I had with him and how I found some of my shoes in the garbage.

After that, I was crossed examined by my dad, who tried to show that I was a troublemaker and was, in fact, warned several times about the possibility of losing my shoes. He challenged the authenticity of my evidence by insisting that my photograph of his sneakers showed they were Adidas brand but his shoes were in fact North Face brand and that he had never owned this pair of shoes.

The judge examined the evidence closely (the photograph and the actual shoes) and took careful notes.

Photographed Shoes Actual Shoes

At that point, my attorney asked for a short adjournment (break) and we discussed the problem with my evidence. She wanted to know if it was possible that I took a photograph of the wrong shoes or that perhaps my dad changed the shoes in the photographs. I said that it was possible because he’s pretty handy with Photoshop. We then decided to get another image directly from the camera, but to our amazement, we discovered that the camera image was exactly the same as the one on my laptop, the data and time stamp of the image on the camera also appeared to be original.

We concluded (we still don’t know how), that somehow my dad managed to change the images on both devices (changing the logos and shoe parts, while keeping the date and time stamps) just before the trial.

When the trial resumed, my dad objected to my shoe photograph on the grounds that they were not his, my attorney made a motion (asked the court to rule on a request) to nevertheless admit the photograph. The judge ruled on the request and agreed to enter it as evidence. The picture of the Converse shoes was also entered into evidence and both were marked with indentifying numbers.

Judge’s Trial Notes

After my dad finished cross examining me, it was his turn to be examined by my attorney, she tried to show that he made several public threats about throwing my shoes away. After his testimony, she called my mom to the stand and mom confirmed that she had had conversations with my dad about this issue and that on at least one occasion she had found my shoes in the garbage. She did however admit that she never actually saw him throw them away.

After another short break (for pizza), both my attorney and my dad made closing arguments. Dad made a motion to dismiss the case because I was a minor (too young to bring a lawsuit on my own). The judge asked if my mom would agree to serve as my guardian and sign the complaint form. She agreed and so the judge rejected dad’s motion. My dad then said that I failed to overcome the burden of proof (convince the judge that he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt) because all the evidence I had were circumstantial (i.e. no one actually saw him do it).

Then it was my attorney’s turn to make closing arguments. She said that she had proven her case beyond a reasonable doubt and had provided a long list of evidence as well as several conflicting statements made by my dad.

Then it was in the judge’s hands. He went over his notes and came up with a verdict (click below to hear it).

So, I won the case because of the overwhelming amount of circumstantial evidence (woohoo!). The judge explained that even though the question of the authenticity of my photograph was interesting, it really had little to do with the basic issue of the case. He also said that $42 was too much in damages because, according to my testimony, by the time the shoes were thrown out they were at least 8 month old and not worth the full price.

I rest my case!

P.S.
After the trial, I asked my dad (who does computer security) about the altered photograph. He said that no one asked him if he had made the changes. If they had, he would have gladly fessed up. He reminded me that the question was “do these shoes belonged to you?” to which the correct answer was “they do not.” He also said that the lesson to learn from this was that I should never take any evidence for granted (not even photographs!) as almost anything can be forged. You should always doubt everything and examine it closely.

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65	23	5	7	14	16
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65	17	24	1	8	15
65	23	5	7	14	16
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65	10	12	19	21	3
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