Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[Tal]

What modern (non-Euclidean) maths has taught us is that most of the Ancient Greek accepted basics are essentially true, but only for small values. In other words, they are approximations. On the sphere, the angles of a small triangle will be near enough 180degrees, because there isn't very much curvature to distort it; it is as near as makes no difference a 2D shape.

It is much like time. (Watch maths becoming physics, he says, hopefully getting this right)

Tikay, you're at King's Cross platform 1, oggling the choo-choos. On each platform roof, there is a clock. You see the second hand ticking away on platform 2 quite happily. If I were on that platform, I would see the platform 1 ticking clock ticking at the same rate. Ignore the maths bit but see how the light in blue is just going straight forward and straight back:



What if I were going past in a train?

Then, the light I'm seeing from my train is taking a much longer route to get from clock to me, because I'm not staying still:

Click to see full-size image.

Light moves reeeeeeeally quickly - it is the fastest thing in the universe - so my 50mph train isn't going to make much difference.

If I were travelling past in a futuristic rocket, close to the speed of light, the distance I would cover would be huge, so the distortion of time would be massive.

Now, all the time, my wristwatch would be doing its normal thing, because my time, where I am, is if you like normal. The difference is the time where I am RELATIVE to the time where you are.

This, basically, is the theory of relativity.

[tikay]

Would have been better with some locomotive or train photos.

[Tal]

LOL

In example two, I see a very slow ticking clock, while you see a normal one.

If I'm getting any of this wrong, hopefully our maths boffins will come in and put me straight.

[RED-DOG]

LOL

In example two, I see a very slow ticking clock, while you see a normal one.

If I'm getting any of this wrong, hopefully our maths boffins will come in and put me straight.

Nope! You're doing fine.

[tikay]

The tragic events in Boston were a real shock.

Marathons are synonomous with good vibes, community spirit, good people doing good things, charity.

google images is the place for the graphic photos, which are horrific.

Sky News showed some footage last night which I initially thought was a bit ott, I don't want to see people so hideously injured shortly after the deed.

But without those images, how can we reconcile or visualise the horror of it all?

Without the dreadful film footage & photos, the enormity of it would have been lost in a sea of news, some trivial, some important.

It is not an easy line to tread for the Media. Some, of course, use exaggarated language, & the Tabloids in the UK today were in full voice, "massacre", "slaughter" etc. It was neither, but it was no less dreadful for that.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

It was the "Masters" golf last week, but the final day was marred by persistent rain. Shame really, Augusta looks so much better when the sun shines.

My question is, is there a rule at Augusta National that you may ONLY use an official Masters umbrella, or did the trade stands make a proper fortune from the unexpectedly wet weather?

Not much variety on view, that was some seriously impressive single type umbrella-age.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

A BBC Show last night about F1, back in the 80's.

I was so reminded of this car.

Does not look much now, but then, it was so far ahead of its time thart it took the breath away. I had a photo of it on my bedroom wall at the time, even though I was around 40 years old.

I doubt there has ever been a more iconic F1 image than this beauty.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

The same Show featured footage of the death of Ronnie Petersen, which was in 1978.

There had been a collision at the start, & his car burst into flames. Incredibly, James Hunt & others pulled him from the burning wreckage, still alive.

These days that wold be unimaginable, they are strapped in so tightly.

Petersen never died from burns, as widely thought, but from complications arising from multiple fractures in his legs.

The whole thing though is that was in 1978, & it was 1994 when Senna (seen driving the JPS in the previous Post) died in a crash at Imola. In fact Ratzenberger was also killed at Imola the same weekend.

19 years on, there has not been another fatality in a F1 Race to my knowledge. Given the speed - velocity - of those cars, that must be some testament to safety advances.

[TightEnd]

Been made available free today, no paywall as  normal

http://bostonglobe.com/

[rfgqqabc]

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_topdoc=1&p_docnum=1&p_sort=YMD_date:D&p_product=UKNB&p_text_direct-0=document_id=(%200F9242ED73BC537B%20)&p_docid=0F9242ED73BC537B&p_theme=aggregated4&p_queryname=0F9242ED73BC537B&f_openurl=yes&p_nbid=S58D4CFHMTM2NjExMjA0MS4zNzcyODE6MTo4OnJmLTE5MDcy&&p_multi=LTIB

"Back at the track, in the shattered remains of Senna's car, they discovered a furled Austrian flag Senna had intended to dedicate his 42nd grand prix victory to Ratzenberger's memory."

Before my time but someone I've always heard things about. A very interesting read his wikipedia and the article above. What a tragedy.

[tikay]

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_topdoc=1&p_docnum=1&p_sort=YMD_date:D&p_product=UKNB&p_text_direct-0=document_id=(%200F9242ED73BC537B%20)&p_docid=0F9242ED73BC537B&p_theme=aggregated4&p_queryname=0F9242ED73BC537B&f_openurl=yes&p_nbid=S58D4CFHMTM2NjExMjA0MS4zNzcyODE6MTo4OnJmLTE5MDcy&&p_multi=LTIB

"Back at the track, in the shattered remains of Senna's car, they discovered a furled Austrian flag Senna had intended to dedicate his 42nd grand prix victory to Ratzenberger's memory."

Before my time but someone I've always heard things about. A very interesting read his wikipedia and the article above. What a tragedy.

For those of us a little older, Adam, we watched the whole thing, Live, on BBC Television. I recall it as it it were last weekend.

We saw the crash, & the cameras focused on the crach scene for several hours, with Murray in the commentary booth, blathering his usual meaningless nonsense.

Friends rung me, I rung friends.

Senna is dead, for sure.

We could barely believe what we were seeing.

I can't really think of the modern equivelant, but he was a HUGE sporting icon, as big as, say, David Beckham.  

[TightEnd]

The Senna lap of Monaco in the documentary film is one of the most astonishing things you will see. Pre-traction control and driver aids, he hugged every barrier and had stupendous car control

The year before his death I watched at Donington as he overtook five cars on the first lap of a wet-dry European Grand Prix, before the days of Intermediate tyres

Oneof the great natural talents in any sport, ever.

[Acidmouse]

going back a few pages to when you was put in with the special students as I assume you have dyslexia? Its shameful really, when I was in primary school in the 80s it was the same, they put me in with all sorts of kids, some who didn't want to learn just because my English was poor due to dyslexia, but pretty much top of everything else in the school.

You would think its changed alot now? but due to major restrictions in finances  to look after the lower achieving kids they still get lumped in together right up to local college education. You can have one tutor and a Learning support staff member to say a class of 15, each student needing a totally different learning/teaching'/support program, its criminal.  I was teaching in 2004 a class of 8, 2 perfectly intelligent lads who were deaf, a down syndrome lad, an autistic girl, a few lads who had been abused as kids and struggling with life in general and finally a few simple students who struggled with learning. The college gave you a single curriculum to teach them all the same stuff!? lol.

I took it off my own back to decide learning academic things was one of the least important things they needed. I taught them social skills and life, getting a job, enjoying things, going for walks ~(~4 of them had never been outside Leeds!). Safe to say this did no go down too well with the college 3 of them I got jobs and they left halfway through the course (A result i would class as), at the end of the year I got them all in placements and voluntary work of some sort, some of them were different people, full of confidence and blossoming as adults. Of course education does not allow this flexibility in  "teaching" they more than happy keeping them on meaningless courses year on year and getting funding for them.

Until funding at all levels are pumped up and people categorize the many levels of learning difficulties they will be lumped in together and kept down to a steady life of bullshite.

[VBlue]

Senna - outstanding documentary making and hugely compelling tale.

[Tonji]

Always enjoyed the stories of Gerhard Berger's attempts at winding Senna up. Some are related here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerhard_Berger#Berger_and_Senna