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WiFi

Having got me a laptop with WiFi connectivity, I figured I should know something about how it works ... so I google and read about direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) and other spread-spectrum communication techniques. Huh? I got a headache after reading for five minutes. Further googling and I find that (gulp!) Hedy Lamarr co-invented such a scheme (and had a 1942 U.S. patent). Aw ... c'mon. If that actress can devise such a scheme surely I can understand it, eh? Gimme a day or three

 

More on Camping

The campground at Isle du Boise has free WiFi! SO ... I bought me a (used) laptop with WiFi connectivity. Then I couldn't get the WiFi to work Then I bring it back to the store. The guy goes into the backroom. When he returns he's connected to the Internet!! I ask: "How'd you do that? I tried all day!" He says: "I'm not gonna tell ya." Then he turns to Heidi and (with a BIG smile) says: "You should get a new husband. This guy don't know nothin'." I suspect they'd forgotten to install the wireless driver. When we get home, we drive to a local WiFi hotspot. VOILA! ... I'm connected!! Now I can stick pictures here: http://www.gummy-stuff.org/camping-texas.htm And, best of all, we get to see our GRAND kids. Whooeee! P.S. Many of the keys on the keyboard of that (used) laptop were worn. It took me four days (after I brought it home, "fixed") to finally notice that they were no longer worn. The guy had replaced the keyboard when he went into the back room!!! So Heidi & I went to a local Pizza Pizza, bought a large pizza with chicken nuggets and dipping sauce and four Cokes and brought it to the computer store ... to say Thank you! to the guys at the computer store. They were happy! As we were leaving, Heidi said: "See? My husband is SO schmart. It only took him four days to notice the new keyboard!"

 

Camping

Once upon a time we had a motorhome and, later, a 5th wheel ... and enjoyed camping. Tho' we no longer have an RV, Debbie & Johnny have an RV ... so we'll borrow theirs for a couple of weeks in July and camp at Ray Roberts State Park, in North Texas. Besides having an opportunity to visit two kids and six grandkids in Texas, we'll also have three of our grandkids camp with us (so Kevin is free to study for exams). We're looking forward to it!

 

Peak Oil

When things go up exponentially, then smooth out -- like so: one (often) assumes a Logistic Curve will fit the data. That's the case with the H1N1 Swine Flu cases. On the other hand, if things go up then down, one (often) assumes the notorious "Bell Curve" will fit the data -- like so: That seems to be the case with Peak Oil data. That is, one assumes the worldwide production of oil increases, then decreases as supplies run out. That suggests that we might try fitting such a "Bell Curve" to the oil production numbers over the past umpteen years. This is what I get: How does it look?

 

What to bring

Since we're going on a cruise, soon, we surf the Net to see what people bring on these ships. It's quite amazing. There's important stuff, like passports, etc. ... then there's this (where one would need several suitcases and a small trunk): Credit cards(!), plastic picnic kit, sewing kit, zip-lock bags, safety pins, small umbrella, small reading light, bright digital alarm clock, power bar, extension cord, water shoes, highlighter, scotch tape, extra duffel bag (for items purchased), insulated drinking cup, small coffeemaker, water-soda-alcohol, binoculars, carry-on bag (with emergency stuff, in case your luggage goes astray), over the door shoe rack (to hold lots of stuff), clothes hangers, Q-tips, shower cap, nail clippers, sun screen, duct tape, bungee cord(s), bathroom spray, note pad & pencil, post-it notes ... and the kitchen sink.

 

H1N1 ... again

I'm always amused by the "mathematical" fitting of curves to the worldwide cases of H1N1 virus. I started with the standard Logistic fit. How well the curve fits the data is measured by the Root-Mean-Square (RMS) error. That currently gives this: Note the predicted Eventual Value. I migrated to a sexier curve, with more parameters and a Weighted error (where the recent errors are weighted more heavily than the ancient ones)... and I got this: Note the predicted Eventual Value. Of course, one could assume (almost) any curve with sufficiently many parameters and get a reasonable fit. Indeed, even something simple like: y = A xb gives a respectable fit: However, it's that Eventual Value that should be reasonable. von Newmann said: "With four parameters I can fit an elephant and with five I can make him wiggle his trunk."

 

Cruising, eh?

We're heading off for a Caribbean Cruise later in the year. Tho' the Caribbean ain't (normally) the hangout of pirates, I understand that our ship will be outfitted to deal with any untoward occurrence:

 

Best Countries, eh?

I happened to run across what the U.N. calls the Human Development Index. HDI measures things like: Life expectancy at birth, as an index of population health and longevity. Knowledge and education, as measured by the adult literacy rate (with two-thirds weighting) and the combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrollment ratio (with one-third weighting). Standard of living, as measured by the natural logarithm of gross domestic product per capita. There's a Dec/08 report that ranks countries according to their HDI (which is interpreted to mean "The Best Countries to Live In"). Ready for the report?

 

GM, eh?

So General Motors declares Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 1. The company notes that: "GM management strongly believes that any recovery for the common stockholders in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process is highly unlikely, even under the most optimistic of scenarios." So the stock drops to $0.00, right? Wrong! It drops to $0.27, gets put on the Pink Sheets (reserved for sick stocks), removed from the DOW ... then recovers: Who says investors aren't optimists, eh?

 

H1N1

I've been following the (almost) daily updates on the worldwide H1N1 Swine Flu cases (as reported by W.H.O.) I've also been trying to fit some "S-curves" to the data in order to predict the eventual number of cases. There are currently about 30,000 cases. So far I've got this fit ... and it predicts some 66,000 cases - eventually.

 

R and R

We just got back from a very relaxing three days at Woodhaven Lodge. The host, David McKinstry, does the cooking and runs the place (almost) single-handedly. There were some dozen interesting guests at the dinner table and we talked and talked. There's a short video here.

 

Italy's Got Talent

Okay, so we all know about Britain's Got Talent, eh? Aaah, but have you heard of Italy's Got Talent?

 

another CRUISE

We finally sold our townhouse (and actually have the money in hand) ... so I managed to convince Heidi to go on a cruise in Nov or Dec, this year, on this ship. I figure that's another 5 pound weight gain.

 

Obama in Deutschland

 

TFSA

Heidi & I went to TD/Waterhouse yesterday to register for a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA). If we want monthly documents mailed to us (showing account activity) it'll cost $50 per year. If we register for a "paperless" account (where we get all the activity info online) then there is no fee. We can contribute just $5K per year of after-tax monies. The TD/W gal said they've been swamped with people registering for these accounts (which have been available since Jan 1, 2009). Apparently TD/W is one of the few banks that allow you to trade in stocks, bonds and mutual funds with your TFSA account (as opposed to just a "savings" account). This TFSA thing seems strange to me, for retirees whose tax rate don't hardly change. It's (somehow) regarded as a big tax break. The old-fashioned way to set up a (registered) Retirement Savings Plan (RSP) was like so: [1] You get paid $A, before taxes. [2] You invest $A in an RSP. [3] After umpteen years the account has grown by a factor G and is valued at A*G. [4] You withdraw the A*G and pay taxes at the rate T. [5] You then have A*G*(1-T). With a TFSA the ritual is like so: [1] You get paid $A, before taxes. [2] You pay taxes at the rate T, leaving A*(1-T). [3] You invest $A*(1-T) in a TFSA. [4] After umpteen years the account has grown by a factor G and is valued at A*(1-T)*G. [5] You withdraw the A*(1-T)*G and pay no taxes. Okay, here's the big Math Question: Is A*G*(1-T) more or less than A*(1-T)*G?

 

Kim Wins!!

I got me a GRANDniece, Kim Farlinger. She just won the $50K Grand Prix at the Caledon Equestrian Park. Whatta gal, eh?