Number 6's Blog

Nashville Cats 2014

July 17, 2014

Nashville Trip (June 27 through July 2)

Heber Springs

We (all 5 of us) cruised to Heber Springs in a tricked out Chevy Suburban. We lodged at the Red Apple Inn on Greers Ferry Lake. Its a quaint little place and probably the best lodging in town, although it’s a couple of miles outside of town which was fine with us.

Dinner was at the Red Apple Inn Restaurant. The food was okay and we had to wait at least an hour for it so bring a book to read.

This part of the world is beautiful. Kind of place you could come back to and jus veg our. The biggest downside for me is there is no walking trails or nature trails. I guess they expect everyone to drive a car. We had a hard time finding access to the lake but once we did the views were spectacular.

Greers Ferry Lake

Searcy

The next morning we headed on out to Searcy where we partook of breakfast at the local Waffle House. Most of the group had never eaten at a Waffle House. All were surprised at how good the breakfast tasted and the clean restrooms. After breakfast we walked the hallowed grounds of Harding where Kara attended college for two years. The Harding campus is quite impressive and much larger than I’d imagined.

Memphis

We left Searcy bound for Memphis on U.S. 64 through the flatlands of Arkansas. It’s a different and strange world in that part of the state. Much of the land is covered with rice. All of the land is flat. All of the land appears to be water logged unlike Texas which is crying out for rain.

Our first stop in Memphis was the Rendezvous Barbecue (http://www.hogsfly.com/) , a basement joint reached via an alleyway behind the Peabody Hotel. Of course since we were in Memphis the ribs were dry rub and delicious. Definitely a must stop for anyone in Memphis. I’ve eaten at Corky’s several times. Corky’s is darn good also but both the atmosphere and ribs are better at the Rendezvous.

Rendezvous Ribs

After a great lunch we and about 10,000 other faithful toured Graceland. The lines were long but I learned a lot about Elvis and life. His grandmother outlived him and his parents. And money can’t buy you everything. Elvis dies at 42 of “heart problems” according to the tour. I’d always heard it was drug problems that killed the King.

Graceland

Before leaving Memphis for Nashville we watched the ducks waltz from the lobby fountain at the Peabody into the elevator for their ride to their rooftop home. Someday I want to come back to Memphis, book a room at the Peabody, and watch the ducks from a table in the lobby while sipping on a martini. After the duck watching we headed out for Nashville only stopping at a Subway for dinner and a wine shop to ensure a celebration toast once we reached our Nashville destination.

During our drive to Nashville we encountered the usual 45 minute delay because of road construction. Hint: Never drive I40 in Arkansas or Tennessee if you can avoid it.

Nashville

In Nashville we divided out time between enjoying good restaurants, taking in local attractions, and vegging out in the condo.

As you can see from the restaurant list below we placed an emphasis on breakfast.

Most of the local attractions were country and western oriented which is not a surprise since Nashville is the C&W capitol of the World.

Restaurants

Loveless Cafe

Pfunky Griddle – you cook your own breakfast place. Food was good. And we did cook it ourselves at a griddle in the middle of our table.
The Row – a causal dinner joint. I ate barbecue again
Pancake Pantry – World famous pancake house. I was disappointed because I did not have to wait in line for an hour. Otherwise lots of kinds of pancakes including my favorite , buckwheat.
Jack’s Barbecue – On Broadway in the midst of all the honky tonks. Definitely good barbecue Nashville style. Try out their white barbecue sauce. Apparently white barbecue sauce is a Nashville delicacy. It’s composed of mayo, horseradish, and some other secret ingredients.
Loveless Cafe (http://www.lovelesscafe.com/) – Its about 40 miles outside of Nashville at the terminus of the Natchez Trace. Well worth the drive at least for breakfast. The place alone is a good reason the drive the Natchez Trace
The Pharmacy – Billed as the “wurst hamburger beer garden in Nashville.” I ate curried wurst. Go there when the weather is nice because your most likely to eat outside and even if you don’t the inside does not appear to be air conditioned.
Five Points Pizza (http://www.fivepointspizza.com/) – In a dumpy neighborhood NorthEast of downtown. However, the pizza is fantastic and the craft beers are all great. Don’t worry about getting mugged. Apparently this is the new neighborhood in Nashville for the locals in the know.

What we did besides eat

Ryman – High Church of Country Music

The list of things we did that I’d recommend:

Ryman Auditorium – the high church of Country Music. Interesting visit. Apparently Gwen and I did not realize how lucky we were to watch a concert there several years ago. I recommend the tour if you have not taken it.
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum – My 2nd visit. They trade out many of the exhibits or I am old enough to forget because much of it seemed different to me. On a side note, I wonder where the Western Music Hall of Fame is located?
Grand Ole Opry – Of course if your in Nashville you’ve got to attend the Opry. Saw lots of good acts both old and new. My favorite was the Old Crow Medicine Show. We liked them so much we bought tickets to their July 7th show at the House of Blues Dallas. They have to be one of the best musical acts I’ve ever seen.
Broadway and 2nd area: Walked honky tonk heaven. Went into a couple of joints and listened to the music
Parthenon – replica of the original in Greece.
Swimming in the condo pool with AG
Watched World Cup matches, especially the USA

Other Photos

Leave a Comment » | Family, Vacation | Tagged: Barbecue, Memphis, music, Nashville | Permalink
Posted by molson46

The Music I Like

June 12, 2014

Yesterday I listened to: Muddy Waters, Jack White, Building 529, Concert at Calico Flats, and Vivaldi. It was a typical day. What kind of music to I like? Turns out just about anything that sounds good. I even like some hip hop as long I can’t understand the words.

A few years ago I sat down and wrote down my top ten favorite music list off the top of my head in under five minutes. Every once in a while I go back and update it. Here’s my current list updated this morning:

Somewhere Over The Rainbow – Izzy – Youngest daughter’s wedding (tie)
True Companion – Marc Cohn – Oldest daughter’s wedding (tie)
Desolation Row – Bob Dylan – Turned me on to music as a message
9th Symphony – Beethoven – Turned me on to classical music
Four Seasons – Vivaldi – I just love it – 1st time I heard is was driving State College to Baltimore and it made me forget all the stress, cares, and worries of work and life, mostly work
The Perfect Country and Western Song – David Allen Coe – because it is the perfect county and western song
Sounds of Silence – Simon and Garfunkel – this was the song I had to explain to Gwen when we were taking a class a TCJC and had to write a paper explaining it
A Day in the Life – Beatles – revolutionary song on a revolutionary album (Dr. Pepper). You can’t have a top 10 without the Beatles
Oceans by Hillsong UNITED. The part where she takes off and just makes noise. Also Oceans by Pearl Jam is darn good.
I’m a Man – Quicksilver Messenger Service – best guitars ever only Jessica by The Almond Brothers comes close in my opinion. This version of I’m a Man is the best even better than the original by Bo Diddley

Footnote: No Blues in the list even though I currently listen toBlues more than any other genre. Seems strange, right now I can’t imagine removing any of the above from the list.

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Posted by molson46

The Doomsday Book

April 29, 2014

There are many science fiction genres: space opera, steampunk, cyberpunk, etc… The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis belongs in the near-future and time travel genres I suppose. The main theme of the book is time travel back to the 1300s to record life during the Middle Ages. The heroine calls her record The Doomsday Book.

The Doomsday Book published in 1992 won both the highly prestigious Nebula, Hugo, and Locus awards.

This is the first Connie Willis book I have read and on a scale of 1-5 stars I would give this book 4 stars.

The book is set in Oxford England where the hero (Kirvin) is a female student. This alone makes the book unusual. There are not many heroines in science fiction novels. The setting is at the University in a near future (2054) where time travel is possible. A few pages into the book Kirvin travels back to the Middle Ages. Meanwhile life goes on in the near-future with Kirvin’s Professor James Dunworthy as the main protagonist. The book flips back and forth between Kirvin in the Middle Ages and near future Oxford.

Life both in the Middle Ages for Kirvin and the near future Oxford for Professor Dunworthy is chocked full of trials and tribulations. They battle tremendous problems in their respective times as the narrative switched back and forth.

Wikipedia contains a good summary of the book but I don’t recommend reading it if you plan to read the book. It will spoil the surprises.

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Posted by molson46

California Dreaming on a Winter’s Day

April 21, 2014

California vacation Winter 2014

Summary

We recently traveled to Northern California for a short vacation (February 27 through March 5). While their we visited Lake Tahoe, Napa and Sonoma Valleys, and San Francisco.

Lake Tahoe on a Cold Winter’s Day

Lesson learned on this trip: It does not pay to worry. Having worked in the Bay area for several years I remember the passes over the Sierra’s were often closed in the Winter or only open to vehicles with chains. In the days before our trip I worried the passes would not be open because of inclement weather. In fact the passes were closed several days the week before the trip only heightening my angst. To top it off the passes were closed the morning of our departure due to a snow storm. Thus we boarded the plane wondering if the passes would be open when we landed.

Well, I was worried about the wrong problem. Our 9:30 AM flight was not air born until 4:30PM CST! We boarded the plane some 4 hours late because of a mechanical problem. After we boarded they discovered another problem. by the time that problem was rectified the flight crew had reached their on-duty limit and disembarked the plane. We had to wait for another flight crew. We finally landed in San Francisco 6PM west coast time.

After picking up the rental car we drove into San Francisco, across the Bay Bridge, through Oakland and its suburbs, and over the Sierras to Lake Tahoe. Fortunately the Sierra pass on U.S. 50 was open that evening and we arrived at our destination shortly after midnight.

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe Condo Friday Morning

We awoke the next morning to heavy snow over which the locals were elated. Turns out they were in the midst of a two year drought and this was the first good snow fall for them this season. No snow is not healthy for a ski resort.

We don’t ski but we had a great time at Tahoe anyway:

Watched the snow fall from the comfort of our Condo or a great wine bar
Drove around the lake on a Sunny day with snow piled high everywhere
Strolled downtown South Lake Tahoe watching the people
Spent one afternoon sipping wine at the Apres Wine Company . Unfortunately their web site says they are going out of business on April 20th.
Ate several delicious breakfasts at Red Hut Cafe and the Driftwood Cafe

Santa Rosa

Napa Oyster Bar

Santa Rosa was our next stop after Lake Tahoe. We used it as a hub to tour Napa and Sonoma.

At Merryvale, Clos Pegase, and Titus we enjoyed private tours thanks to Chris Morrow (our son-in-law).

There is really no comparison between sitting in a 20,000 gallon wine barrel at Merryvale tasting reserves with just your hostess as opposed to standing at a bar with a dozen or so other people slurping up the economy vintages.
Or touring the caves 200 feet under the surface of Clos Pegase where they age the wine.
Or sitting in the Titus farm house at a 100 year old dining room table next to a wood burring furnace.

We also stopped at two of Gwen’s favorites: Milot, Peju just to order wine to be shipped home.

Unfortunately for me, the Titus lady told Gwen about an olive oil shop in the Village of Napa named Lucero. Of course we had to stop there and another shipment home ensued. The bad news is she really loved their olive oil. The good news is they ship free when the orders are $100 or more.

The Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch is adjacent to Merryvale tasting room is a great lunch spot. Its also very crowded. We arrived at 11:30 AM and they were booked solid for the entire day. However we looked so disappointed the hostess hinted that setting at the bar was on a first come first serve. So we ambled over to the bar and were sitting down ordering lunch 10 minutes later. I had some combination arugula, roasted brussels sprouts, goat cheese salad that was great. They grow their own veggies right on the premises. While eating we watched a man harvesting greens in the garden between the restaurant and the highway.

On our second day in the area we lunched at Redd Wood in Yountville. Recommend it also.

The Russian River Brewing Company is in downtown (not sure) Santa Rosa. We decided to try it out on Sunday night thinking Sunday would be a slow night for a combination microbrewery/pizza joint. How wrong we were. The wait was 45 minutes to sit down. However the beer tasted great and the pizza was delicious.

Sebastopol and Bodega Bay

We left Santa Rosa bound for San Francisco and traveled the scenic route through Sebastopol, Bodega Bay on the coast and down Highway 1 across the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco.

Florence street in Sebastopol is a must see. Strange yard art in every front lawn

Florence Street Yard Art

We arrived at Bodega Bay just before lunch. It’s a picturesque village on along the banks of the bay. We ate lunch at “The Tides Wharf Restaurant and Bar” to a stunning view of the bay. Of course its seafood and very good or I would not recommend it.

After lunch we headed down California Highway 1 expecting a very scenic drive down the coast. I was disappointed. Gwen would have been but she slept most of the way. We did not see the coast except for one bay until we reached Stinson Beach just north of Muir woods. Next time I’ll take the straight route to the city.

Coast at Bodega Bay

San Francisco

Chocolate Yummy!

We arrived in San Francisco mid-afternoon and proceeded to our hotel, the Argonaut Hotel at the end of Fisherman’s Wharf. During past visits to the city we’ve stayed at budget hotels or our Wyndham time share. They were all good but the Argonaut was great! Its a luxury hotel with free wifi, a perk only other nerds would understand. It’s at the end of Fisherman’s Wharf district a block from the cable car terminus and Ghirardelli’s Marketplace.

We mostly just walked Fisherman’s Wharf and surrounding neighborhoods because we had one afternoon and evening in the city and then flew out the next day.

Dinner was at Fog Harbor Fish House at Pier 39. Are there any bad restaurants in San Francisco? If so, I’ve never found one. Of course we tend to study the restaurant reviews before trying out a restaurant. Maybe I should try a restaurant that gets bad reviews.

The next morning we bade a fond farewell to the land of milk and honey after a great breakfast at the Argonaut restaurant and headed home. The good news was the plane was on time flying home!

The coast at Stinson Beach Overlook

More Photos

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Posted by molson46

The Scarlet Letter

March 1, 2014

I just finished “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I read this book 50 years ago in high school but I don’t remember anything about it except the location was Salem Massachusetts and a woman wore a scarlet “A” because she was an adulteress (pretty exotic when you are are 17 year old farm boy in Backporch Illinois).

Although my favorite book genres are science fiction and history I surprisingly really enjoyed reading “The Scarlet Letter”.

I read the book because its one of the Scientific American’s 10 novels that will sharpen your mind. I’ve read 8 with 2 remaining. The list below shows my progress.

~~The Sorrows of Young Werther (1787) by Johann von Goethe~~
~~Pride And Prejudice (1813) by Jane Austen~~
~~The Scarlet Letter (1850) by Nathaniel Hawthorne~~
~~Madame Bovary (1856) by Gustave Flaubert~~
~~Middlemarch (1870) by George Eliot~~
~~Anna Karenina (1877) by Leo Tolstoy~~
~~Mrs Dalloway (1925) Virginia Woolf~~
Beloved (1987) by Toni Morrison
Disgrace (1999) by J.M. Coetzee
~~The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007) by Mohsin Hamid~~

I thought the book would be boring because of the subject matter but it held my interest on every page. Of course being much shorter than Anna Karenina helps hold the reader’s interest. So far “The Scarlet Letter” is one of my three favorites. The other two being “Anna Karenina” and “The Reluctant Fundamentalist“. As an aside, my least favorite was “Middlemarch“.

Don’t expect a cliffhanger. The reader can guess almost from the beginning that the reverend Arthur Dimmesdale was Hester Prynne’s (the adulteress) partner in love (er, crime in those days). However, the author’s exploration of the effects of sin, guilt, and intolerance are fascinating.

Other points of interest:

Author’s vocabulary was much more extensive than mine. I can’t remember when I had to look up so many words!
Can a guilty conscience really ruin your health and cause death?
Witches and the “dark man” (the devil) were part of everyday life in those days.

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Posted by molson46

A day in Charleston

January 31, 2014

We recently took a quick January road trip from Texas to Charleston South Carolina. On the way we stopped in Birmingham for the night. We found a great place to dine on the south side of the city – Tavern on the Summit.

Summerton Diner

The next morning we woke to hear the local schools were closed because of the 9 degree temperatures. After coffee and bagels at a close by Panera’s we drove on to South Carolina. We stayed in Santee, about an hour from Charleston, because our lodging was free there. It’s mostly a Summer spot with lots of lakes in the area. We did locate a great inexpensive dinner nearby in Summerton with the unique name Summerton Diner. The menu is simple. There are two to four meals on the menu each containing vegetables and desert. My meal had four tasty vegetables. Strangely enough I had never heard of any or them.

Ft. Sumter from the ferry

Ft. Sumter

We arrived in Charleston early the next morning, visited Ft. Sumter, lunched at one of the seemingly 1000s of great restaurants in the city – Amen Street Fish and Rawbar, visited the old slave market, and shopped King Street. My favorite shop was Bicycle Books.Alas, a used book store. Alas, the day ended too soon and we had to leave.

We were only in Charleston one day but I want to returnsoon. The Spring would be the right time when the flowers are blooming and before the temperatures are steamy. Charleston seemed to be a city I would enjoy exploring for a few weeks like San Francisco, Seattle, San Antonio, or New Orleans. Ft Sumter is a ferry ride away from downtown. There are numerous other national historic sites in the neighborhood. Beaches are nearby. Old Charleston contains many fine restaurants based on reading the reviews. The city overflows with ante-bellum architecture including numerous steeple crowned churches. King street is a shopaholic’s heaven. Beaches are nearby. Furthermore Charleston lies within the South Carolina low country which is quite different than my Texas home base.

We stopped in Jackson Mississippi on the way home for the night. Dinner was at Bravo! – not the chain – but Italian and good. It’s tucked behind a small shopping area and hard to find but worth the effort to locate.

Boat dock at our Condo in Santee

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Posted by molson46

My 2013

January 2, 2014

Executive Summary for people that only read the 1st line of emails: I retired. We took numerous trips trying to make up for lost time. We spent a lot of time with our grandchildren.

Lessons learned:

There is no privacy on the Internet
Backup everything on your computers several times

What Happened

For everyone else, another year has come and gone. Every year seems to flash by faster than the year before. This year was no exception. Here’s what went down:

January: The year started out with Gwen staying with Sara and Mike to help take care of our newest grandson Paxson who was born on December 19, 2102.
Paxson’s 1st birthday
January 22-25: mini-Vacation to San Francisco.
February 16: Gwen’s laptop died. This was a very traumatic experience for two reasons. First, I had not backed up her Outlook “pst” file and quickly discovered it contained all her important data. It’s now December and has taken most of the year to recover. Secondly, we bought a Samsung ultrabook laptop. Its a really good computer but the OS is Windows 8. Microsoft really made a big mistake here by putting the Windows phone interface on computers!
March 15-22: Rangers Spring training trip in Sunrise. Stayed in Sedona. One day trip to the Grand Canyon which never ceases to leave me breathless at the first site. Also, hiked around Sedona quite a bit and dined at some great and not so great restaurants. Our two favorite’s were Beckett’s Table in Phoenix and Elote in Sedona.
March 28: Retired after 39 years at E-Systems
April 29: Took a nice long bicycle ride but half way through the ride a rammed a parked pickup doing 15 mph. My ribs took the full impact of the collision. I did not break any ribs. However, I bruised the bones in my sternum and sprained the ligaments. The end result is breathing hurt for three weeks. I could not sleep laying down for a month, read sleeping in a chair. And my ribs were sore for 4 months. Don’t ask me how it all happened because I don’t know. I saw the pickup and thought I was clear of it but apparently not.
June 1-14: Baseball and visit family vacation to St. Louis, Monmouth, Chicago, and Cincinnati. The new Busch Stadium is a great place to watch baseball. It’s downtown and within walking distance of many hotels and restaurants. The downside to Busch Stadium is the food concessions there are dark and boring. Wrigley Field is an icon and a must see for any baseball fan. The Red’s park was easily the best of the lot. The stadium is downtown with a great view of the Ohio river. The concessions are outstanding also.
Reds ballpark
July 3-5: mini-Vacation to Ft. Worth with Andy, Kara, and Averi Grace to see the Stockyards, Museum of Modern Art, and the Symphony perform at the Botanical Gardens.
July 11-19: Vacation in Colorado. Started out in Pagosa Springs. Spent a few hours at the hot springs and developed a great sunburn. Dined at a couple of good restaurants. Then drove up the spine of Colorado to Steamboat Springs stopping at Leadville for lunch on the way. This is a very spectacular drive. I’d recommend it to anyone. Outside of Chicago, The High Mountain Pies in Leadville has the best pizza I’ve ever eaten. This was our first time at Steamboat Springs. We loved it and plan to go back. More to do here than Pagosa Springs including restaurants.
Clear blue Colorado Mountain Lake
September-November: I signed up and attended the Colin County Master Gardener classes this fall. I am now officially a Master Gardener Intern.
September 27 – October 3: Vacation to Great Smoky Mountains and Arkansas Ozarks with our firends Vicky and Paul to see the Fall color. Unfortunately the Fall color came after we left but we did purchase a really neat kitchen table.
October-December: Gwen went back to work for two months. She really enjoyed the work but neither of us liked getting up a 5:30AM.
December 05: the Mother of all Ice Storms slams through Dallas
December 28: Claudia and Chris opened WineThirty in Murphy at the end of the year.
On the downside some good friends passed away including Rick Trimble. He was always a joy to be around and never met a person he did not like. On the famous side we lost Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, and Peter O’Toole, and Lou Reed. Not so famous was Doug Engelbar who invented the computer mouse.

Bests of the year:

Best musical performance: Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s “Pines of Rome.”
Best book “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” by Neil Gaiman
Best song: “Beggar in the Morning” by the Barr Brothers
Best day: March 28 – the day I retired
Best movie: I only saw two at the theater but the best was “The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug.”
Best Experience: Playing with the grandchildren

Goals:

~~Retire: retired March 28~~
Lose 20 pounds – lost 4.5. Not good but better than gaining weight
~~Vacations: visit at least one new destination and visit family in Midwest – Vacation to Great Smoky Mountains and visited family in June~~
Ride HHH – did not ride this year
~~Become a Master Gardener – took the class and am now a Colin County Master Gardener Intern~~
Digitize photos and slides – very little progress
~~Setup my own web site and landing page – done www.molsonno6.com~~

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Posted by molson46

The Theory of Everything

December 18, 2013

I noticed this book in the science section of a used book store while searching for an inexpensive copy of an astronomy book I wanted. Of course the title caught my eye – The Theory of Everything. Wow, it would be really cool to know the theory of absolutely everything! Sounded too good to be true! Since I was in a used book store the book was cheap. It was also short and the author was Stephen Hawking the famous physicist.

One thought struck me as odd. I had never heard of the book before even though I minored in physics in college and follow the topic as I have time. I checked Stephen’s web site. The web site does not mention the book although it does list all his books, lectures, and publications. Finally, I googled “The Theory of Everything” and discovered the book is an unauthorized publication of some of his earlier lectures. Stephen, in fact, filed a complaint with the FTC to stop it’s publication which obviously was not successful. However since I had already purchased the book I decided to go ahead and read it

The first chapter covers the evolution of man’s concept of the Universe starting with the Earth being the center of the Universe. Then the chapter progresses through time ending with Hubble’s discovery that the Cosmos is expanding more and more rapidly.

The second chapter continues with the ever expanding universe evolution. Many scientists believed the universe to be static and worked diligently to disprove Hubble’s ever expanding universe. In the end however the ever expanding Universe became universally accepted based partial on the work of:

Alexander Friedmann who based upon General Relativity showed the Universe should not be static
Penzias and Wilson working at Bell Labs discovered the microwave radiation that started as bright light at the moment of the Big Bang
Roger Penrose who proposed the concept of the Black Hole.

Chapter 3 delves into Black Holes in depth. It covers the evolution of the Black Hole concept which was first proposed in 1783 although the term Black Hole was not coined until 1969. A Black Hole is simply a star sufficiently massive and compact that no light can escape from. White dwarfs and neutron stars are two closely related concepts. In all three cases this final state of a star is reached when it has burnt up all it’s fuel (hydrogen). The final state is determined by the mass of the star. Smaller stars become neutron stars; medium stars become white dwarfs; and larger stars become Black Holes.

Chapter 4 reveals that Black Holes ain’t so Black. Basically, paired particles (one with positive energy and one with negative energy) near the Black Hole’s Event Horizon break apart. The negative energy particle falls into the black hole while the positive energy particle repels away from the Black Hole’s Event Horizon into the Cosmos. To the outside observer the Black Hole appears to be emitting particles. An interesting effect on the Black Hole itself is the Black Hole loses energy and mass based on E=MC². After a long, long period of time the Black Hole would simply disappear.

Chapter 5 outlines several theories on origin and fate of the Universe. The theories discussed are:

The Hot Big Bang Model: Assumes the temperature was infinite at the Big Bang and the Universe will cool off though the eons of time until it reaches absolute zero. However this model raises some troubling questions such as why was the temperature so hot, why is the Universe so Uniform, etc?
The Inflationary Model: This model assumes a very rapid exponential expansion at the beginning. At some point in time the inflationary expansion ended much as water transitions from liquid to solid when it freezes. This model solves some of the more troubling questions of The Hot Big Bang Model.
The No Boundary Condition: In this model there is no beginning or end of the Universe. There are no Singularities where the laws of physics break down. The Universe has always existed. This model is analogous to the surface of the Earth. If we start at the North Pole the Universe is a single point. As we travel to the Equator the Universe expands then contracts as we close in on the South Pole. Then we start all over again in a never ending cycle. The Universe is neither created or destroyed. The Universe just “is.”

The Direction of Time is the subject of Chapter 6. According to Professor Hawking there are three Arrows of Time:

Thermodynamic arrow of time: The direction of time in which disorder or entropy increase
Psychological arrow of time: The direction in which we feel time pass
Cosmological arrow of time: The direction of time in which the Universe is expanding rather than contracting

The core of this chapter is the direction of the first two times is towards what we perceive as the future. What a surprise!

The Cosmological arrow of time is also towards the future because the Universe is still expanding. The question to ponder is will time reverse when the Universe stops expanding and begins to collapse? The professor believes not. However we have 10s of millions of years before that event so whichever case is true we don’t care.

Finally, the last chapter, we are getting around to the title of the book The Theory of Everything (ToE) refers to a yet to be discovered unified theory that explains the Universe. Currently General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics are two mutually incompatible theories that explain the Universe. That is, they cannot both be correct. Depending on the circumstances either one or the other is used. General Relativity considers only the force of Gravity in explaining for understanding the Universe. Quantum Mechanics uses the three non-gravitational forces (weak, strong, and electromagnetic) in understanding the Universe. Scientist hope to discover the ToE to solve this conundrum. I don’t really understand the weak and strong forces. Perhaps Professor Hawking will write a book “The Theory of the Weak and the Strong?”

At the time of the lectures String Theory and Multi-dimensions were the most likely candidate. Close to 20 years have passed since Professor Hawking’s lectures. Still, the ToE has not been discovered and remains the main goal of most physicists.

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Posted by molson46

Fall 2013 Leaves Turning Trip

October 9, 2013

We just returned from a trip with some friends to view the leaves turning in the Great Smoky Mountains and Northern Arkansas. Lesson learned: September 27 – October 2 is way too early in the year to see the leaves turn in either location. However, it was the only dates we were all free to go and if we had waited we would have been locked out of Great Smoky Mountains National Park because of the Federal Government shutdown. We visited the park the day before the shutdown forced the park to close.

Old Mill Restaurant

Highlights:

Monell’s in Memphis is a great place for fast food “Southern Style”. I recommend the catfish.
Corky’s Ribs & BBQ in Memphis is always finger licking good!
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is free. I was actually disappointed because I did not get to use my National Park Pass. Any Senior can buy the pass for $10 and it is good for the rest of your life. One of the great bargains of our time! However, don’t go until the government sets out the Open for Business sign again.
Old Mill Restaurant in Pigeon Forge. They are open breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We went for lunch and every meal is the same price – $10. Assume breakfast and dinner are similar.
Mountain View Arkansas is a quaint little down in the Ozark Mountains of Northern Arkansas. Mountain View bills itself as the Folk Music Capital of the World. The town square is surrounded by quaint shops and there appears to be live music of the folk persuasion somewhere almost every night.
Woods Pharmacy and Old-Fashioned Fountain is a great place for a root beer float, banana split, or a phosphate.
I40 in Arkansas (triple negative highlight): Don’t ever travel between Little Rock and Memphis on I40. Every time I use that route I swear to never use it again. There is always road construction with long, long, long backups.

More Photos at:

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjKfZpmu

Leave a Comment » | Vacation | Tagged: Great Smoky Mountains, Memphis, Mountain View Ar. | Permalink
Posted by molson46

College Football Season

September 5, 2013

The Corp Marching into the Game

It finally arrived: college football season! Last Saturday, we traveled to College Station to watch the A&M/Rice match with 85,000 of our closest friends. One word describes the game today: HOT! The game started at High Noon. The temperature at game time was 92 and there was not a trace of a cloud in the sky nor a hint of a breeze in the air. The Sun beat down on us like a hammer on a nail!

The Ags were a 27 point favorite but that is not how the game played out. Rice scored first and an atmosphere of uncertainty enveloped the Aggie faithful. After all more than half of the defensive starters sat out the game for breaking team rules. Furthermore, Johnny Football was suspended the 1st half for “not knowing any better!”

The 1st half was murder. The Aggie defense gave up lots of yards willingly and the Sun beat down unmercifully. The first half lasted forever. The Aggies squeaked out a 28-21 half-time lead and we all felt lucky. The real score at the end of the 1st half: Sun 1, Texas A&M/Rice 0.

The second half turned out much cooler. The Aggie defense stiffened up. Johnny Football played until Coach Sumlin benched him for taunting the Rice defense! Best of all, clouds hid the Hot Sun for much of the second half!

The final score Texas A&M 52, Rice 31. However many of us believe the real winner was the Sun.

Leave a Comment » | Sports, texas | Tagged: A&M | Permalink
Posted by molson46