Where the Universe Began

Here is an article about the discovery of the evidence that proved the Big Bang Theory of the Universe. I had the honor of working for Bob Wilson, one of the scientists who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work. I worked at the site of this legendary antenna which is now a national landmark. Tomorrow, the site becomes a public park.

Please read the NY Times article.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/04/science/astronomy-holmdel-antenna-microwaves.html?ugrp=m&unlocked_article_code=1.lk0.O9is.XqnavrqHXBaT&smid=url-share

Colonoscopy

 Every few years, we should get a colonoscopy. This is so things that could become problems are detected early. I’m about to head to my procedure. The past 29 hours, I have fasted and subsisted on clear liquids. I have taken the liquid treatment which makes my body purge its contents. The liquid doesn’t taste as bad as it did in recent years, and that’s a blessing. The purging is the most unpleasant part of the whole experience. It makes me tired and hungry, and my body and mind are weak. I feel like I took medicine to make me sick. I had a feeling I should not urinate while standing, and that turned out to be spot on, because spontaneous defecation can occur.

I will be anesthetized, and there will be no pain. The worst is already over, and I’m still at home. I was able to work while taking in nothing but Gatorade. I took today off work. I’ll go back to work tomorrow.

While the liquid treatment no longer tastes horrific, making Dave Barry’s column from 2008 somewhat inaccurate, I recommend that everyone read it, or at least everyone who thinks they will reach the age of 50.

https://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/article1928847.html

Marshall Walter ("Major") Taylor

 

 

Marshall Walter ("Major") Taylor was born in 1898 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Taylor was the first African American to achieve the level of cycling world champion and the second Black athlete to win a world championship in any sport. This was when cycling was one of the most popular spectator sports in the world.

Taylor encountered racial prejudice throughout his racing career from some of his competitors. In addition, some local track owners feared that other cyclists would refuse to compete if Taylor was present for a bicycle race and banned him from their tracks.

Major Taylor won his first significant cycling competition on June 30, 1895, when he was the only rider to finish a grueling 75-mile (121 km) road race near his hometown of Indianapolis. During the race Taylor received threats from his competitors, who did not know that he had entered the event until the start of the race.

Taylor turned professional in 1896, at the age of eighteen, and soon emerged as the "most formidable racer in America."

As a professional racer Taylor continued to experience racial prejudice as a Black cyclist in a White-dominated sport. In November and December 1897, when the circuit extended to the racially-segregated South, local race promoters refused to let Taylor compete because he was Black.

Taylor's legacy lies in his willingness to challenge racial prejudice as an African American athlete in the White-dominated sport of cycling. He was also hailed as a sports hero in France and Australia. Taylor, who became a role model for other athletes facing racial prejudice and discrimination, was "the first great Black celebrity athlete" and a pioneer in his efforts to challenge segregation in sports. He also paved the way for others facing similar circumstances.

Taylor explained in his autobiography that he had no other African Americans to offer him advice and "therefore had to blaze my own trail."

Excerpted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Taylor

A film about Major Taylor was just published by WTIU, Indiana Public Media. 

A full length film, titled Whirlwind, is being produced and is still seeking funding. Please see https://www.worcesterwhirlwind.com/

 

Adventures on the 1 Train

 Adventures on the 1 Train

It’s amazing to hear the things coming out of my mouth. There was a man across from me on the 1 train. I didn’t see him until he shouted. He had spilled his giant soda from McDonald’s, and all of the liquid was on the floor. Being the parent/teacher/Boy Scout I am, I pulled a wad of napkins out of my bag and handed it to him. He was drunk and incoherent and didn’t know what to do. He wiped a few drops of liquid off his sleeves. I said, “It works on the floor, too.” He was reluctant to do it. In the way I speak to my young students, I said, “You can do it. I know you can do it.” Eventually he did it with enough repetition from me. I told him to put the napkins in his grocery bag. He hesitated, so I repeated that many times, and eventually he did that, too. Of course, in true NYC style, no one revealed that they were aware of the goings on. As the man exited, he thanked me.

How to (Explain) ADHD

I discovered this youtube channel a few months ago. It is helping me hugely understand myself, my challenges, and my advantages with having ADHD. I was diagnosed at around age 50. (I'm 61 now.) This is important to me, because it means I went so far without knowing and having the tools I needed. I believe it was a big component of how my mental health was less than it could have been and how I failed at so many things. (I did succeed at many things, to be sure. I'm not totally down on myself.) I felt I should have risen higher in my career and didn't understand why I hadn't. Then towards the end of my IT career, I started failing miserably and repeatedly.

I've been turning it around in recent years, with a lot of kinds of help, including this kind of learning about the nature of my neurological difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhcn1_qsYmg

Tom

David Graeber's birthday

 

February 12, 2021

High Falls, NY

 

David Graeber died this past fall. He and I met on Fire Island in the summer of 1968 when we were seven years old. We were friends every summer and spent a huge amount of time together, as we were virtually each other's only friend in summers. Today is his birthday, and I remember him at least on this day every year. I haven't seen him since we were 12 years old but we did correspond occasionally. He was 59 when he died. Since we were the same age, it falls uncomfortably close to me. It's also terribly sad because he was a very accomplished and recognized anthropologist.

When we played, one of his favorite toys was his set of toy soldiers. He knew a lot about war strategy and tactics and weapons, and although we were just little boys, he was like a teacher to me.

Then he became fascinated with Mayan history and culture. He became such an expert in the subject that someone anonymously donated enough for him to attend Phillips Academy at Andover. So his fascination was a foreshadowing of his career.

In adult life, he told me that he was turned away from Yale where he was teaching because his ideas were too radical. I understand he was unhappy in his subsequent places, not sufficiently understood or embraced.

He was one of the leaders of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and it was exciting to hear his voice on WNYC at the time. He sounded almost exactly as he did before his voice changed. I could hear familiar mannerisms. David was credited with coining the saying, "We are the 99%" but he insisted that it came from a collaborative effort.

He wrote some pretty important books such as Bullshit Jobs. The idea is that the economy has many job positions which the economy would be better off without because they don't create value and don't nourish the soul of those in the jobs. I was alarmed at the concept, wondering if I held one of the jobs. It turns out that I didn't, which is a relief.

There are wonderful videos of his lectures, and I recommend them. One is on the history of debt.

 

I never learned his cause of death but I know it was sudden and unexpected. Several of my good friends died suddenly in the last year, and I think the lesson is that it does happen and that it will happen with increasing frequency for me now that I'm 60 years old. Improving our health is a worthy cause, to reduce the chances of unexpected death, although we are not in control of when or how we die

I have a couple of mementos from him. I hope to find them and shoot pictures. He did some Mayan style art on some giant clam shells from the beach we played on. They are beautiful.

I miss my old friend.

The love of literature

Today is December 15. It's my father's birthday, may he rest in peace. My classes at Hunter College are over. I returned to Hunter to finish the BA degree I left undone over 30 years ago. My father urged me throughout his life to finish my degree, and at times, I said I would do it eventually, and at times, I felt it wasn't necessary. Now I'm doing it.

I am working on the final paper for English class, an analysis of Shakespeare's Othello.

For the first time in my life, I just might earn an A grade in English. It was always hard for me to do well in English class. I feel my maturity has helped, though it's still not easy.

My father had a great love for literature and constantly urged me to read more. I have difficulty reading, especially certain kinds of material. It's a focus problem and probably a problem with processing certain kinds of information. At the end of his life, he worked as a volunteer teacher for Literacy Partners. He loved teaching adults to read, and he brought the love of literature to them. He loved his students, and they loved him. When his failing health prevented him from teaching anymore, he kept in touch with his former students.

I found a resolution from the NY State Senate about my father. I'd love to tell him about my current experience. I know he would be very happy.

######################################

LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Harry Reingold upon the occasion of
Literacy Partners' naming of its annual Volunteer Teacher's Award the
Harry Reingold Volunteer Teacher of the Year Award in his honor
WHEREAS, Individuals who distinguish themselves in their profession and
in service to others merit the highest commendation; and
WHEREAS, Harry Reingold truly merits the high honor of Literacy Partners' naming of its annual Volunteer Teacher's Award the Harry Reingold
Volunteer Teacher of the Year Award in his honor; and
WHEREAS, The second Harry Reingold Volunteer Teacher of the Year Award
will be presented at the Second Annual Reingold Volunteer Fund Benefit
to be held at TAI on Thursday, June 20, 2013; and
WHEREAS, Harry Reingold was a real New Yorker; he was born and brought
up in Brooklyn; he attended and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High
School; and
WHEREAS, He worked his way through college as a cab driver, a chauffeur for the United Nations, and a post office clerk; and
WHEREAS, He graduated from New York University and went into advertising and started his own agency, Harry Reingold Advertising; and
WHEREAS, Harry was crazy about books and, from the time he learned to
read never went anywhere without a book; riding a bus or subway without
something to read was just not possible for him and, as a teenager, when
he was home with a fever, his mother told him to stay in bed, but when
she left the house he snuck out to the corner store where he had just
enough money to buy a second-hand paperback; and
WHEREAS, At a social dinner he met Marilyn Collins, then one of the
heads of Literacy Partners, and when she told Harry about that non-profit organization and its goal to teach some of the two million illiterate New Yorkers to read and write, he immediately decided to become a
volunteer; and
WHEREAS, He enrolled in a course at Literacy Partners, which has
provided more than 30,000 adults with free educational services and,
after a short time, he was sent to teach in Harlem; once a week, he
would leave his office and rush uptown where he taught and learned to
care about his pupils; forming more than just a teacher-student
relationship, Harry and the people in his classes, all adults, became
friends; and
WHEREAS, They shared stories about their lives, their problems, and
their hopes for the future; growing up in East New York, as he had, they
were able to make comparisons and had much in common; and
WHEREAS, Harry Reingold was a Literacy Partners volunteer teacher for
six years and only stopped teaching when his health would not allow him
to continue; his students never forgot him, and kept in touch with cards
and photos; and
WHEREAS, Harry loved to read, and to write; a number of his articles
appeared in the magazine AD AGE, and he co-authored the published novel
LOVERS with his wife, the writer Carmel Berman Reingold; and
WHEREAS, Literacy Partners has justly and fittingly honored Harry
Reingold by naming its annual Volunteer Teacher Award the Harry Reingold
Volunteer Teacher of the Year Award in his honor; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor the work of and the dedication of Harry Reingold upon the occasion
of Literacy Partners' naming of its annual Volunteer Teacher's Award the
Harry Reingold Volunteer Teacher of the Year Award in his honor; and be
it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to Carmel Reingold and to Literacy Partners.

Letter to John Faso about HR 720

Dear Mr. Faso:

You voted in favor of HR 720, the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2017.

I'd like to remind you that District 19 has a lot of ordinary people of modest means. We are the people who benefit from class action suits. We are not the abusers of these suits. The bill seeks to make it harder to file class action suits. I feel you have voted in favor of my opponents and against me and my peers.

I have no doubt that abuse does happen, because I have read about it. A better way to reduce that is to limit the fraction of awards that goes to the victorious attorneys.

Sincerely,

Thomas Reingold

Letter to John Faso

The Honorable John Faso
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

February 26, 2017
319 Mossybrook Rd
High Falls, NY 12440

Dear Mr. Faso:

I am appalled at your choice to vote to repeal the Streams Preservation Act. New Yorkers need clean water we can trust. If you are ready to empower energy companies to pollute other states, you are moving us in the wrong direction. I urge you to vote in favor of the needs for a clean environment for New Yorkers. Oil companies don’t need help making profits, from you or anyone. Let them do their business without causing us to incur an environmental cost -- our health and well being -- for the sake of their profits. Please don’t make such a horrific error again, and please work to reverse this decision.

You are elected to represent and serve us. Please do the right thing.

Sincerely,

Thomas Reingold

Supply Side Economics

Sometimes, called Trickle Down Economics, the theory was that if we put more money into the hands of those who supply the world with goods and services and jobs, the prosperity would spread to everyone at all strata of the economy.

Now we have the figures. The economy has grown. In other words, the GDP has grown, which is a measure of how many goods and services the economy has created.

And how has that enlarged economy been shaped? The growth -- the bulk of the economy's gains -- has gone to the people at the top, while everyone else has the same (income and wealth) as before or less, sometimes a lot less. More people are underemployed working in menial jobs. Standards of living have gone down for many, while wealth for the very top strata have multiplied by many times.

These facts prove it is a deeply flawed model.

And now, many of those proponents claim that disparity in income and wealth is not a problem. But doesn't that depend on the viewpoint of whomever you ask? If it's not a problem, then what, exactly, were they predicting would happen with Supply Side Economics? They claimed everyone would prosper. But that has, in fact, not happened. Something quite the opposite has happened. Are they for shared prosperity, or are they not? The observed fact is something else.

Will Betsy DeVos be Secretary for Education?

Betsy DeVos bought the position. She said so. Why did the senators who questioned her not ask her about her direct statement? Don't the people deserve to hear exactly what DeVos has intended to do? I think the senators were too kind to her.

In a New Yorker piece from November 23, 2016, she is quoted:

“I have decided to stop taking offense,” she wrote, “at the suggestion that we are buying influence. Now I simply concede the point. They are right. We do expect something in return. We expect to foster a conservative governing philosophy consisting of limited government and respect for traditional American virtues. We expect a return on our investment.”

She wants religious education to have more influence, and of course, specifically Christian religious education. She wants public money paying for that. She has used her money to achieve this and intends this position is part of her plan. She wants to turn education back to before the formation of this country, to ultimately allow control of the nation by the clergy of specific churches.

I can't think of how this appointment can be stopped, but I deeply hope it is anyway.

Waffle at day care in Montclair

The dog sitter added a final 's' to her name, but I can hardly complain, seeing how much fun she is having.

Pictures here.

Lost and found

Adirondack Trailways is a bus company that operates almost entirely in New York State. It's a small, family run company, run the old fashioned way. When I call the company for any reason, I get a helpful human who either helps me directly or takes a message for someone to get back to me. This week, I called because I left my helmet on a bus last week. Eventually, they tracked it down and held it for me. They're sending it to the New Paltz stop where I will be in a few days. That's nice, good old-fashioned service!

The Third Commandment

God is
Whoever or whatever you want God to be.
If you need God to be your father,
God is your father.
If you need God to be your mother,
God is your mother.
God is Mother Nature,
If you prefer.
God is,
if you prefer,
The collective conscious of all life.
God is,
If you prefer,
Not always in the same form.
Instead, God is
All things or anything or everything, or nothing,
If you need God that way.
If you need God to be
Gone,
Non-existent,
since the beginning, now and forever,
Then God does not exist.
God can be the power of positive thinking.
Or of negative thinking.
Whatever you want.
See?
God does not want you to argue about who or what God is.
God is
Whoever or whatever you want God to be.

Today, I hear God's voice. Is it a fatherly voice?
Is it the sound of my father's voice when it was most loving?
Is it the sound of my own voice, when I am most kind?
Yes, I think it's both, and better. It has the voice of knowledge of infinite possibility.

"Dooring" a cyclist

Car drivers/riders, please check behind you before you open a car door. You could seriously hurt a cyclist.

Bicycle drivers, please don't move through the door zone. Even though the car user is violating a law when they open a door in front of you, it's a risk you do not need to take, for your safety or to comply with laws. The law does not compel a cyclist to stay so far right as to be in the door zone, and it's not a good idea in any case.

Love trumps hate. Trump hates love. Hate loves Trump.

Love trumps hate. Trump hates love. Hate loves Trump.

Physical condition

​A few months ago, I developed "frozen shoulder," which is pretty painful. I didn't know what it was, so it was also scary. I didn't know if I should exercise it or give it rest. I eventually went to a physiatrist, which was the best possible move. We don't know what caused the problem, but the theory I believe the most is that it came from disuse. I don't use my arms much, and I don't exercise. Well, I didn't until now. I went through a couple of months of physical therapy, and now I'm going to my followup visit with the doctor. The pain isn't totally gone but it's greatly reduced, and oddly enough, that's a pleasant sensation. My range of motion isn't totally back, but I can do almost anything. I can now lift my shirt up off me using the crossing-hands technique, which I prefer. It's still not easy, but I can do it.

Most of all, it gave me the kick I needed to start exercising at home. I never did it, and I've never belonged to a gym.

I'm going to ask the doctor to help me with other problems I've had so I can learn which stretching and strengthening exercises I should be doing. I have scoliosis and other problems with my back. On the one hand, it's bad that I waited this long to deal with these things. I'll be 55 years old in a couple of weeks. On the other hand, the sooner I treat them and make myself stronger and more flexible, the better it will be for the rest of my life.

Poverty -- a bittersweet moment

New York City is a place of contrasts. I think we see the contrasts of wealth more clearly here than in many other places.

I'm having a good day today, as I have a good job, plenty of nice clothes to wear, and plenty of good food to eat.

There is an increasing number of homeless people in the city. People are asking strangers for help. One such woman got on my subway car as I was headed for work this morning. She had a loud and clear voice. Perhaps she's a singer. She had a prepared speech where she said she's not homeless, she pays rent, and here are her keys, dangling from her waist. She needs help for food and has no food. Some people reached in their pockets and got out dollar bills for her. As it happened, I had packed a nice lunch for myself. I gave it to her, and she seemed quite touched that I gave her a full meal, and she thanked me very well and said I should have a blessed day.

I hope it helped, and I suspect it did. If so, I'm glad it helped. It's a small thing for me, and it might be a big thing for her.

But it's sad that things are like this, that people can't afford food for themselves, even when they are doing the best they can, working and living where they can. Perhaps this woman recently hit rock bottom and is lifting herself up, and if so, she deserved a helping hand. And perhaps she'll be doing better soon. I hope so.

It was a moving moment. I got a little teary-eyed, though I don't think anyone would have noticed. I didn't notice anyone looking at anyone else.

Inspiration from a boy

My friend found a note on her 16-year-old son's desk. It said, "Be better." It was signed by the son and addressed to himself.

What does "be better" mean? What does it mean to this clearly soulful boy? What does it mean for any of us?

It could be a harsh reprimandation for doing badly. I don't really know. This was my first thought. But that reveals too much about me that deprives me of further reflection. At Rosh Hashanah services on Monday, the rabbi, in his sermon, reflected not merely the need for righteous behavior, and we all can agree that we, individually and collectively, could stand to improve our behavior.

There is a point we too often forget, that we are worthy of life, love, and prosperity. (And by prosperity, I mean more than just money.) The rabbi mentioned this, though I don't remember how he worded it. Perhaps I can find the text of his sermon. On Friday, I attended the annual orientation to Manhattan College, where I work. I learned that the college's stated mission is to form full human beings, in intellect, body, and spirit. In one of the talks, the speaker described the life of John Baptiste de La Salle, a man who, in 17th century France, innovated teaching techniques and performed the novel practice of teaching poor, hungry children. He is named Patron Saint of Teachers. The speaker gave his view of what a saint is. It is not someone who only does everything perfectly throughout his or her life. It is someone who becomes the person he or she was meant to be, fully personifying his or her full potential.

And this, I believe, is a worthy goal. No one can be perfect, but aiming for perfection is worth the effort. I fail constantly. I need to realize that this fact will never change. What I aim to change is to act and feel more forgiving of myself. I need to be content and pleased with who I am and what I have accomplished so far. Only by doing this can I continue towards my potential. The first step, I think, is to remind myself that I am worthy of the space that I occupy. Prosperity is nothing to be afraid of or ashamed of. I owe it to myself and to others. We all should be prosperous enough that we can pass some of it on to others. Prosperity is the achievement of our potentials.

Confrontation and consciousness

I stepped out of my building with my dog in tow. In front of our coop building we have a new tree, where we constructed an iron fence around the new tree. The fence is there to keep dogs out. A woman was there, letting her dog in the fenced in area.

In a gentle tone of voice, I stated something I believe is obvious: "We put a fence around this tree because we don't want dogs in there."

Of course, the woman got defensive, and a common way to speak defensively is to avoid what someone has said directly. "I have a bag! It's not like I'm going to leave it there!"

If I had had my wits, I would have repeated my first sentence verbatim. Having a bag does nothing to mitigate the fact that we don't want dogs there, whether you pick up after your dog or not. I told her that it's the urine that is the real threat to the tree's health, which is true, but in a sense, it was also beside the point. We don't want dogs there, and that's really all there is to it, reasons or no reasons, good reasons or bad reasons. Why else would anyone put a fence in? Would anyone rightly think a fence is a reminder to dog owners that they should pick up after their dogs? No. A fence says unambiguously, "Stay out." It does not say, "Behave yourself when you enter (or allow your dog to enter)."

So what thought goes through the minds of dog owners when they allow their dogs inside tree-surrounding fences? Silly question, I know, because I'm using the words "thought" and "mind," as if they are actually involved.

I'm tempted to hang a sign on the fence that says, "The fence is here to keep dogs out. Please don't let your dog in." Is that likely to get people to engage their minds? Maybe not, but it will give some people a chuckle. Or at least, it will give one person a chuckle.