Rest and Relaxation

I was out of town this week end. While there I was so tired yet so relaxed. It was great feeling relaxed. I am never that way here at home. I always am working, in my mind, on what I need to be doing on my job or am seriously thinking/reading in regard to my blogging and e-listing, or other things. Even when I take a day off like yesterday, I may be cleaning the car or mowing. But there is an intensity in my thought life. The mind is always churning. I wonder about that.

Nuclear Energy

I began work at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Dec of 1978 where we were involved in the uranium enrichment enterprise for providing fuel for nuclear power plants. Then the Three Mile Island accident occurred in March of '79 and in time it led to the deterioration of support for nuclear energy and the demand for nuclear fuel. In 1985, enrichment R&D shut down. Nonetheless I stayed with the same employer and my work began to be aimed in many other directions. Though there have been ups and downs, looking back, it has been great. We commenced looking to other customers for our skills. We worked on projects for the Air Force, Army, NASA, EPRI, and Rolls Royce, as well as many DOE sponsors. Finally as I am approaching age 60, nuclear energy is making a comeback. Even the New York Times has seen the light, as noted here.

Right Brain/Left Brain

I took the test to see if I'm more right or left brained and it turns out I'm pretty balanced. I usually responded to the worst qualities of each. I desire to follow rules but I'm messy.

Brain Lateralization Test Results

Right Brain (48%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain. Left Brain (46%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain

Are You Right or Left Brained?
personality tests by similarminds.com

A Molecular Thermometer for a Distant Universe

This is the coolest thing.

Step 1 Quasar emits light

Step 2 Intervening galaxy has a cloud of elements that like to absorb certain frequencies of light

Step 3 Quasar light passes through the galaxy

Step 4 Human's observe that the specific frequencies are missing from the quasar light since the galaxy has absorbed them

Step 5 Humans quantify what is is absorbed and from that determine cosmic background temperature that is in harmony with what is expected from the Big Bang.

From A Molecular Thermometer at Physorg.com

Insight from The New Christians

I never have time to write anymore. I'll just quote something interesting I've found.

Max Weber (1864-1920), the founder of modern sociology, famously wrote that the success of capitalism was due in large part to its partnership with Calvinist theology: the strict modesty of Calvinism provided a moral curb to the relentless growth impulse of a free market. Weber, who also wrote extensively about religion, said that religious movements founded initially on the charisma of a leader or leaders will inevitably settle into routine patterns of administration and bureaucracy.

from Tony Jones, The New Christians Chapter 6 Inside the Emergent Church page 186.

54th International Instrumentation Symposium - Pensacola

The 54th International Instrumentation Symposium of the ISA is being held in Pensacola in the Hilton Hotel. This is the view from our room. Highlights from yesterday:

1. My Vanderbilt student colleague wins a presentation competition and gets an expense paid trip to Houston in Oct to the ISA's EXPO Conference.

2. "Black Holes, Chocolate, and Nano" was the keynote address and I took away several ideas from it. Dick Morley, the speaker, claimed that using several "flaky" sensors is better than using one highly accurate sensor. That is my paraphrase. He makes chocolate and sells it. He claims one of his products is designed for the women's brain and the other or men's. He passed out samples. As luck would have it I got the female variety and it was good. His chocolate hobby ties in with black holes in that it is surface area that is important to both......

3. My wife is with me and having a good time.

4. Have met some interesting people and had beneficial conversations.

Why Everything Must Change

For a detailed review of Brian McLaren's "Everything Must Change", go here.

In reading Brian's book, the idea of a framing story struck me as very important and insightful. The Romans had there framing story. The Pharisees theirs. the Sadducees theirs, and so on for the Zealots, Essenes, etc. They were all stuck in dead end stories. Jesus said no to all of those and his was "Listen to the Good News that will heal, feed, and transform the World".