Google Leave Day 21: June 21, 2009

Dorit took Dan and Rena to Dr. Lon today (Sunday). Rena had 104 degrees (Fahrenheit) fever. Dr. Lon said that Rena has the flu. Shirley felt worse in the evening, and she had a 100 degrees fever. Dorit will take her tomorrow to the doctor.

I am still feeling sick. I slept a large part of the afternoon.

I bought rubber feet for the plastic chairs in the family room and a replacement screw. Now we can use these chairs on the hardwood floor without worrying about scratching it.

I painted the wooden frame around Shirley's planter. I just need to buy a lattice or scaffold for her plants. I adjusted the "smart" power strip downstairs so it will not turn off the power when switching input sources.

Google Leave Day 20: June 20, 2009

Dan coughed a lot today, so he stayed in the basement with a container of green tea, a cup, and a box of tissues. He played games and used his new netbook to look up hints for playing his games. He was shivering due to high fever, so he turned up the thermostat in the basement. He looked really sick.

Rena had a sore throat and high fever (101 Fahrenheit). Shirley had an upset stomach. I felt sick myself (nothing hurts), so I spent the afternoon sleeping.

I suddenly realized that the 4x4 magic square that the Arthur Benjamin (the Mathemagician) solved last weekend is a set of 15 independent linear equations with 12 unknowns. The 12 unknowns are the empty cells in the magic square. The 15 equations represent the sums of the 3 bottom rows, the sum of the 4 columns, the sum of the 2 diagonals, the sum of the 4 corner cells, and sums of the 5 interior 2x2 squares. My understanding of linear algebra is that you may not be able to solve this set of equations because it has more equations than unknowns.

I placed the new Canon MX860 printer in the family room near Dan's new iMac, so both iMacs could print on it. The new MX860 printer is connected wirelessly, which means that you can print on it even if the nearby iMac is asleep. Rena did not want to have any printer on her desk, so I retired the old HP printer which has only a USB connection. Setting up a printer may sound simple, but I spent 5 hours doing it.

The first problem was that the setup program was stuck on the iMac when I first started it. So I tried to set it up using my Windows XP laptop. The installation process ignored the fact that I wanted to set the printer to use the wireless network, and instead it configured it to use the USB connection. I repeated the installation process several times and I explicitly uninstalled everything and rebooted the laptop to ensure a clean environment. Alas, nothing helped. This was really frustrating. I thought to junk the printer (not even return it) since I wasted so much time on the installation.

I saw the first glimmer of hope when I used the printer's control panel to set the printer to access a wired LAN. When I connected the printer to the Ethernet hub it got an IP address automatically, and I could access the printer's HTTP server with my browser. When I followed the instructions for setting the printer for a wired LAN, the installation process again set it up to use the USB connection and not the wired LAN. However, when I simply ignored the installation instructions and tried to discover all printers on the network, I was able to set up the printer on my laptop. I was relieved. At least I could access the printer from the wired LAN.

Finally, when I tried to set up the iMac to access the printer, I discovered that the iMac itself was hosed. I rebooted it, and now the setup program worked. Moreover, I could set up the printer to use wireless LAN without any problems.

This process was complete waste of time, and I learned only one thing out of this ordeal: you should reboot your Mac before installing new software/hardware.

Google Leave Day 19: June 19, 2009

I am feeling much better after the epidural injection. My blood sugars are lower (about 160). My back does not hurt at all.

I compiled a list of items for a car emergency kit and and for a disaster emergency kit. We should carry one of each in both cars. I started thinking about it because the standard disaster preparedness kits (here and there) are never excellent. They sometime contain duplicate or inferior components (for example, the 72 hour survival kit deluxe backpack contains a mediocre first-aid kit and no hand-crank cell-phone charger/flashlight/radio).

I ordered some of the components from Survival Kits Online and from Amazon. I will buy the rest from local stores. I will also need to buy backpacks to store the kits.

In retrospect, I should have ordered the 72 hour survival kit deluxe backpack, and added a decent first-aid kit and the hand-crank cell-phone charger/flashlight/radio. It would have saved much hassle.

Dan came back sick from school. Dr. Lon said that he has the flu, and it is likely to be the swine flu. Dan, Dorit, and I should take Tamiflu tablets to treat and prevent the flu.

Shirley had to cancel her birthday sleepover party because of Dan's illness, and Rena could not attend the two birthday parties she was invited to. Both were upset.

I ordered a hammock for myself today as my father's day gift. It is a quick-dry Hatteras Hammock made in the USA. I also ordered a sturdy stand, a hammock pillow, and a hammock side table. It is more expensive than the Brookstone Heritage Hammock Essentials Package, but I think that my Hatteras Hammock is better made and it is intended for wet conditions.

Google Leave Day 18: June 18, 2009

I got the epidural injection today at the hospital for special surgery in Manhattan. Dr. Gregory Lutz decided to give me a single injection instead of two because I got light headed and had cold sweat after the first injection. It triggered the same sciatica pain that I experienced before. Dorit and I returned home with a taxi. The driver asked for $138 plus tolls, but he did not have an up-to-date rates book. We could not argue with him.

I slept for the rest of the day. I had little discomfort in my back. My blood sugars were elevated (about 240), but not excessively so. I did not have to take any medication to alleviate the pain, and I did not have to ice the injection site in my back. Dr. Lutz is definitely an expert.

The Samsung N110 netbook arrived today. I will give it to Dan only if it will not disturb the preparations for his finals.

Google Leave Day 17: June 17, 2009

I showed my robot to Dan before he went to school. He suggested to attach right-angle gussets to the robots feet to prevent the wobbling motion. I did it.

I took the big car to fix a flat tire.

I showed the walking robot to Mr. Mark Snow and a few of the Summit High School Robotics team. They said it was cool. They made several suggestions to prevent the wobbling motion of the robot:

• Attach the gears of the two legs of the same side to the same axle instead of different axles. The force will be applied to both side of the axle, which should reduce wobbling of the gears.
• Connect the two legs of the same side using a device similar to bicycle pedals, so they legs will not move apart too much.

I suggested the following modifications:

• Reduce the slack between the legs and the gears by adding another washer. However, the screw should not be tight to allow free movement of the leg around the gear.
• Replace the gear hubs from a free rolling hub to standard gear hubs to reduce the slack of the gears relative to the axles.

I got the iMac I ordered for Dan. He moved his home directory to the new computer and set it up. The new iMac should reduce the contention on the old iMac between Dan, Shirley, Rena and Imma by moving the heaviest user (Dan) to his own computer.

Google Leave Day 16: June 16, 2009

Dorit took Shirley to Dr. Positano to look at her small toe. Dr. Positano gave different instructions that the doctor in the emergency room. If Shirley will follow his instructions, she will be able to put on boots for the horse-riding camp and the trip to Japan. I will take her next week for a follow-up.

I called David Smith of Episcopo and Sons to discuss the missing details front walk project proposal. I sent him the signed agreement.

I got the VEX Robotics parts for the walking robot. I assembled it and it walked, albeit unsteadily. I will post a video of the walking robot soon. This robot does not drag its feet on the ground like the VEX Hexbots or the larger Robot that Mathew built in the Summit High School Snowtop Robotics club. I finished building and testing the robot much after midnight.

Google Leave Day 15: June 15, 2009

I started the day by paying bills and handling accumulated paperwork. It took more than 4 hours, and I handled only 2/3 of the pile. It is a distressing to think that this pile accumulated in about 10 days.

I helped Dan to submit his Stokes counselor application after school. I notarized it and he gave it in the last minute to the responsible teacher in the middle school. Then the we took the train to Manhattan to our appointment with Dr. Positano. Dan will get his new walking orthotic insert just before we go to Japan.

When we came back Dorit told me that Shirley hit her small toe. It looked so bad that Dorit took Shirley to the Overlook Hospital emergency room around 9pm. Shirley lost the toe nail, and she will need to change bandages every day until it heals. The toe is expected to grow in a few months. I hope that Shirley could wear shoes for our trip to Japan. It is likely that she could not wear boots for her horse-riding camp.

I assembled a wooden frame for Shirley's planter, so she could cover the planter with a net that is hanging from the frame. I still need to pain the frame.

I ordered a Samsung N110 netbook for Dan from J&R Music. It should arrive in 3-4 days. I also ordered extra memory for it (Crucial DDR2 PC2-6400 2GB SODIMM module) and a protective sleeve.

I was thinking about methods for building a racing robot from VEX Robotics parts using a high gear ratio. The problem with the design is low torque, which means that the robot will have difficulty to start moving. The challenge is that I must use only standard VEX parts. I have an idea how to provide the initial push to start the robot moving with a linear rack pushed a short way by a motor.

Google Leave Day 14: June 14, 2009

I woke up around 10am because I went to bed late the previous night.

I cleaned up my desk from the Vex Robotics parts and placed them in two part organizer trays that I bought for this purpose. I also labeled every compartment in the part organizers.

The we went to Shirley's recital which was held in the Summit Unitarian Church. 16 of Ms. Baldacchini's students played the violin and viola. They performed by the order of their respective experience. The first player was a beginner. The last four players were graduating high school seniors. One of the graduating seniors is going to a music school. The pianist was an accomplished former Juliard graduate. Shirley played well. We had pizza and dessert after the recital. Shirley liked the cream cake squares from Natale's. She wanted to have them on her birthday.

I was impressed by the Unitarian Church motto: "many roots, one community". They did not have a cross in the church. Their web site says: "The Unitarian Church in Summit welcomes people regardless of their race, ethnic background, political persuasion, economic circumstances or sexual orientation". They accept people of all religious beliefs. I think that it is the epitome of tolerance.

After we came home I investigated which netbook computer to buy for Dan. Consumer reports recommended the Samsung NC10. There are two newer models: N110, which has the same dimensions and processor as NC10, but it has a longer battery life, larger track pad, and a glossy screen. The N120 has a slightly larger keyboard than the NC10, but slightly shorter battery life. I found a good deal on the N110 at J&R Music.

In the evening I fixed one kitchen drawer. One of the sliders broke from the drawer frame because it was attached with screws that were too short. The screws broke off with the surrounding wood. I replaced the short screws with much longer ones. This problem was completely unexpected for a custom-made kitchen that is less than 10 months old. One the positive side, the drawers are made from dovetailed solid wood (not particle board or plywood).

Google Leave Day 13: June 13, 2009

This was one busy day. The original plan was to take the entire family to the World Science Festival in NYC. The plan was derailed early. I could not get an extra ticket for Rena to the Time Since Einstein talk, so Dorit could listen. The revised plan was to have full attendance at the Methemagician talk, have lunch, and then Dorit and Rena would return home, while Dan, Shirley, and I would attend the next two talks. However, Shirley missed two days of school due to illness the past week and she has a recital on Sunday, so she wanted to stay home. Dan invited a friend from the Snowtop Robotics team to come instead. We picked Sam on Saturday morning and went to the festival.

The Mathemagician talk was very good. Arthur Benjamin showed his ability to compute magic squares, compute the squares of 4 and 5 digit numbers in seconds, and find the missing digits in the product of a known number (his daughter's birth year) with an unknown 3 digit number. He also explained some of his methods. Arthur Benjamin teaches at Havery Mudd College in California. After the talk Mr. Benjamin explained that Harvey Mudd College teaches only science, engineering, and mathematics. It accepts the same kind of top students that go to MIT and Cal Tech. The difference is that Harvey Mudd College hires professors based on their teaching and research skills and not just research skills. Mr. Benjamin said that Harvey Mudd graduates are most likely to continue their education in graduate school of all colleges.

One of Arthur Benjamin's tricks:

To compute the square of a number x, find a close number y that is easy to compute with. The difference between x and y is d, such that y = x+d or y = x-d. The compute the value of:

(x+d)*(x-d) + (d*d)

which is the same as (x*x).

Example:

Compute the square of 23. The nearest "easy" number is 20, and the difference is 3. Compute the value of:

(23-3)*(23+3) + (3 * 3)

or

20*26 + 9

which is:

529.

We ate lunch at Salem Cafe and Restaurant, a Syrian Lebanese restaurant in 13th street. All of use except Sam ordered a salad platter, and Sam ordered a Syrian hamburger. Sam ordered a marzipan cake, and Dan ordered a coconut cake. Rena and I had a fruit salad. The food was very good.

Rena and Dorit went home after lunch, while Dan, Sam, and I went to the Time Since Einstein panel discussion. I fell asleep almost immediately. I can blame the lunch for it. I woke up near the end. Dan fell asleep as well but for a shorter time. Sam said that he enjoyed the panel discussion. I learned a few things from the panel:

• The universe expands by creating space between the galaxies. There is no "center" to the universe.
• The universe expands faster than the speed of light, but it is not a contradiction to the rule that you cannot travel faster than the speed of light.
• You cannot travel from one distant galaxy to another distant galaxy on the other edge of the universe, because the distance between them grows faster than the speed of light.

After the panel we ate dinner at Vegetarian Paradise II in 144 West 4th Street. Dan and I ate there several times, so we knew that everything is vegetarian. Sam was amazed that his "chicken" was made of soy.

We attended the last talk of the day on Nuclear Energy. I learned that Generation IV reactors can burn trans-uranium elements that are created by bombarding U235 with neutrons. The spent fuel of these reactors and conventional reactors can be reprocessed and then reused in Generation IV reactors. The result is using close to 100% of the fissionable material in the fuel, which is a great improvement over the 1% usage rate with conventional reactors. Other added benefits are much lower half-life of the fission waste and eliminating the heat source of the fission waste. The result is a much easier waste disposal of the fission waste.

I asked what is the fraction of the total human production of CO2 (including electricity generation, transportation, industry, heating, and agriculture) that could be eliminated by wide-spread use of nuclear energy. I did not get an answer, but a long speech about the necessity to replace coal generating plants with nuclear plants. I suspect that the answer is pretty low.

We arrived home around 11:30pm.

While reading the complete program of the festival, Dan said that he would have preferred to attend an earlier show of Mathemagician and attend the talk on Avian Einsteins. The talk on Cyborgs on Friday also seemed interesting.

Living in a Renotated House

We have been living in our renovated house for about 9 months now. We are happy. Here is what happened since we moved in:

• In the first really hot day in May 2009 the outside temperature was 110 Fahrenheit, whereas the inside temperature was 70 Fahrenheit, and it felt so good inside. The central air condition system performed better than I expected, even after the installer could not guarantee any performance metric of his system.
• Two tiles fell of the wall in the dining room area. The contractor sent his person to reattach them free of charge. The new tiles moved a little while the glue was setting, so the contract sent his person again to break the tiles, cut new tiles, and attach them to the wall. Everything was done free of charge within days of our complaint.
• We used cheap Ikea office chairs in the office and and the dining room area. These chairs have hard plastic wheels (not rubber). The chair in the office severely scratched the floor, whereas the same chair in the dinning room area made minor scratches. Using these chairs was our fault, but the new hard oak floor in the office should have been more scratch resistant, because it is the same kind of wood as in the dining room area. The contractor asked the flooring person to refinish the floor in the office free of charge to remove the scratches. Now we use thick rubber feet for all chairs in the office.