October 12 2024:
Fun new tutorial I just wrote for general relativity and
special relativity time-keeping dilation computations:
Easily compute non-kinematical and kinematical
time-keeping dilation for anything.
My relativity article is at: relativitytrail.com/preprint.special_relativity.pdf
03/09/2024 note. Einstein gets half-way there:
In February 2024, during the process of researching a definition for use
in my article, I stumbled upon an obscure lecture delivered by Einstein
at Leyden in 1920. I learned, by way of reading the transcript of that
lecture, that Einstein had by that time (fifteen years after his 1905 paper
on relativity) come around to thinking about the nature of space as it
relates to special relativity.
Specifically, he forcefully argued that there is necessarily an underlying
frame of reference for the effects of special relativity, i.e., a background
which needs to be appealed to in order for there to be standards for
distance, clocks and rods. That is in sharp contrast to his original
treatment, in which he had simply disregarded the nature of space.
Having spent my entire adult life searching the literature for anyone other
than myself who has understood and articulated why that background
(call it ether or the totality of the cosmos) is not merely an option when
it comes to explaining the effects of relativity, it seems safe to say that
only Einstein himself rose to the task. Poincare, Lorentz and Fitzgerald
did not come close.
Einstein partially rose to the task. He never did go back and rework
special relativity in absolute terms with new postulates. That fell
to poor me alone. It was a task I never wanted or felt I should have
to do. I did it in 2008. It's my book Relativity Trail, which
I sell at the U of M.
You can read what Einstein said in my article. Take the challenge.
It's a short read:
relativitytrail.com/preprint.special_relativity.pdf
Mini-journal:
June 11 2023
Time flies. Been one year since I had the
honor of playing host for one month to
Scott Booth -- talented folk songwriter
and singer. Four albums to date.
Played lots of catch with the baseball
and rode bikes. Also had the honor of
creating Scott's official website for
his music.
Listen to my favorites at his website:
scotman.net
------------------------------
Old and recent: archives
------------------------------
October 28 2024
Makes the world go 'round: The "printer"
April 28 2024
Spring. Thankful for bicycles and hills.
Hill climbing every Sunday morning until August.
February 12 2024
Reel-to-reel tape decks restoration
February 01 2024
Hi-fi review
March 1 2024
MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) turns fundraising
into riches for its managers and key employees.
The eight highest-paid employees received between
$444,000 and $764,000 each in compensation in 2022.
MPR paid out 10 million dollars to nonemployees for
unspecified services in 2022 alone. Friends of theirs?
85 million dollars in one year just for
employees and professional fees and marketing.
Click on the link above for the full expose'
of their massive ripoff scheme. This is solely
my own investigation.
May 28 2023
Clutter?
March 25 2023
Saturday mornings: Toasted onion bagels and
Roy Rogers movies. I tune in for the songs
and the light-hearted scripts.
March 17 2023
Thankful for the soothing sound of my furnace
and for the sound of Lucky's gentle snoring.
Song of the Birds
Little Audrey and her air rifle.
4 min 23 sec, with audio. Link: This is nonfiction
Cartoon begins two seconds after clicking play button.