Hints of Bubbles in the Background?

Posted in Astrohype, Cosmic Anomalies, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , , on August 4, 2011 by telescoper

Looking around for a hot cosmological topic for a brief diversionary post, I came across a news item on the BBC website entitled ‘Multiverse theory suggested by microwave background‘. I’ll refer you to the item itself for a general description of the study and to the actual paper (by Feeney et al.), which has been accepted for publication in Physical Review D, for technical details.

I will, however, flagrantly steal Auntie Beeb’s nice picture which shows the location on the sky of a number of allegedly anomalous features; they being the coloured blobs that look like Smarties in the bottom right. The greyed out bits of the map are areas of the sky masked out to avoid contamination from our own Galaxy or various other foreground sources.

One possible explanation of the Smarties from Outer Space is furnished by a variant of the theory known as chaotic inflation in which the universe comprises a collection of mini-universes  which nucleate and expand rather like bubbles in a glass of champagne. Assuming this “multiverse” picture is correct – a very big “if”, in my opinion –  it is just possible that two bubbles might collide just after nucleation leaving a sort of dent in space that we see in the microwave background.

It’s a speculative idea, of course, but there’s nothing wrong with such things. Everything starts off with speculation, really. I’ve actually read the paper, and I think it’s an excellent piece of work.  I can’t resist commenting, however, that there’s a considerable gap between the conclusions of the study and the title of the BBC article, either the present `Multiverse  theory suggested by microwave background’ or the original one `Study hints at bubble universes’.

My point is that the authors  concede that they do not find any statistically significant evidence for the bubble collision interpretation, i.e. this is essentially  a null result. I’m not sure how “study fails to find evidence for..” turned into “study hints at…”.

Nonetheless, it’s an interesting paper and there’s certainly a possibility that better, cleaner and less noisy data  may find evidence where WMAP couldn’t. Yet another reason to look forward to future data from Planck!

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Life goes on…

Posted in Uncategorized on August 3, 2011 by telescoper

I wasn’t planning to post anything today, but I’ve been so touched by all the messages of sympathy  I’ve received via the blog comments and elsewhere, both  in public and in private, following Columbo’s death on Monday, that I wanted to register a big public  “Thank You”  for all the kindness communicated to me over the last couple of days.

I know that I’m not the only person who will miss Columbo, but for those of you who have expressed concern for me personally, please don’t worry on my account. It’s no secret that this has hit me very hard, as I always knew it would.  However, I do know it won’t do me any good moping around at home, so I have at least made the effort to find some distraction through work,  and by taking lots of long walks in the sunshine.

They say that time heals all wounds. I hope they’re right.

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If a Married Lesbian Couple Saves 40 Teens from the Norway Massacre and No One Writes About it, Did it Really Happen? (via Talk About Equality)

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 2, 2011 by telescoper

“..let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.”

If a Married Lesbian Couple Saves 40 Teens from the Norway Massacre and No One Writes About it, Did it Really Happen? By this point, most of you have heard about the tragedy in Norway a few weeks ago when a Christian Fundamentalist murdered 92 people and injured another 96. The story has been well-covered by International media and the mainstream press here in the US. What you probably have not heard about is the married lesbian couple … Read More

via Talk About Equality

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Rest in Peace, Columbo

Posted in Columbo with tags , on August 1, 2011 by telescoper

I’ve been dreading the time when I had to say goodbye to my old feline friend, Columbo. Alas that time was today.

Sometime during the night Columbo had some sort of a seizure.  When he didn’t jump on my bed first thing this morning, I thought something might be wrong and when I got downstairs I found him in a state of total collapse in his basket. He was breathing, but cold to the touch. His eyes were open, but he clearly wasn’t seeing anything. His legs were twisted as if they had suddenly crumpled underneath him. Thinking it might be a hypoglycemic attack, I squirted into his mouth some of the syrup I keep for such emergencies. Normally this would cause a quick recovery, but although he did start moving he was clearly in a bad way, lying on one side with his back leg drawn up. I waited by his side for the recovery to come, but it didn’t. He just became more and more agitated, paddling his legs and crying in discomfort.

I got him to the vet’s and they checked his blood sugar, which was fine, suggesting that it wasn’t hypoglycemia behind the problem. They put him on oxygen, but as they checked him out he had another seizure. The vet said he had almost certainly had a stroke at home and then probably another one as they examined him. If that was the correct diagnosis, then his prognosis for recovery was very poor.

Given that, and the obvious fact that, although not fully conscious, he was clearly extremely  distressed,  I felt I had to take the decision to have him put to sleep (although I found great difficulty in saying the words).  The vet was very kind, and gave us a few minutes alone. She said she was sure this was the right decision. I signed a consent form and when the time came he passed away quietly as I stroked him. My old friend was gone, the last of his lives used up.

I knew Columbo wasn’t going to live forever, but that didn’t make it any easier. I had hoped he would pass away peacefully at home, rather than on the vet’s table, but I don’t think he really knew much about what was going on during his last hours, so hopefully he didn’t suffer too much.

I’m not going to try to explain how much I’ll miss Columbo. Cat-lovers, especially those who met him, will understand. Others will just think I’m a sentimental old fool. It doesn’t matter. He’s been a part of me for over 17 years, in London, Nottingham and in Cardiff. He’s put up with me far longer than any human being ever has. And now he’s no more. The house seems dreadfully empty already.

If I don’t post much for a while, I hope you’ll understand why.

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Alexander Nevsky

Posted in Music with tags , , , , on July 31, 2011 by telescoper

I had the good fortune to catch last night’s Promenade Concert, featuring the excellent City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andris Nelsons,  the best part of which was Sergei Prokofiev’s patriotic cantata Alexander Nevsky, which comprises music he wrote for the film of the same name directed by Sergei Eisenstein.  I thought it was a wonderful performance (which you can still see on iPlayer at least for a week) of an amazing piece and was glad I stayed in to watch it. Apart from everything else it reminded me of going to see the film at the Arts Cinema in Cambridge when I was a student. Here is a segment from the thrilling Battle on the Ice. Shot in 1938, without benefit of digital effects, the photography of this sequence is absolutely amazing, as is the music. The point at which  battle commences – and the music falls silent – is one of the greatest heart-stopping moments in all cinematic history.

 

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Light breaks where no sun shines

Posted in Poetry with tags , on July 31, 2011 by telescoper

Light breaks where no sun shines;
Where no sea runs, the waters of the heart
Push in their tides;
And, broken ghosts with glow-worms in their heads,
The things of light
File through the flesh where no flesh decks the bones.

A candle in the thighs
Warms youth and seed and burns the seeds of age;
Where no seed stirs,
The fruit of man unwrinkles in the stars,
Bright as a fig;
Where no wax is, the candle shows its hairs.

Dawn breaks behind the eyes;
From poles of skull and toe the windy blood
Slides like a sea;
Nor fenced, nor staked, the gushers of the sky
Spout to the rod
Divining in a smile the oil of tears.

Night in the socket rounds,
Like some pitch moon, the limits of the globes;
Day lights the bone;
Where no cold is, the skinning gales unpin
The winter’s robes;
The film of spring is hanging from the lids.

Light breaks on secret lots,
On tips of thought where thoughts smell in the rain;
When logics die,
The secret of the soil grows through the eye,
And blood jumps in the sun;
Above the waste allotment the dawn halts.

by Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)

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Legal Insults

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , on July 30, 2011 by telescoper

Here’s something I think is an interesting topic for a quick post.

Apparently, the government is considering proposals to change the 1986 Public Order Act, specifically Section 5 thereof, which states that

a person is guilty of an offence if he … uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour … within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby

The criminal law also contains provisions intended to protect individuals from various other forms of harassment. For example, the 1986 Public Order Act and its amendment in the 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act created the criminal offences of “causing harassment alarm or distress” and “causing intentional harassment alarm or distress”, where an offence is committed if an individual “uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour, or displays any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby.” Incidentally, these offences also apply to comments made on websites, as do the provisions of the Malicious Communications Act 1988.

The particular focus of the current discussion is the presence of the word “insulting” and whether it should be a criminal offence to insult someone. The first discussion of this that I read was in the context of homophobic abuse, and it’s interesting how it has divided opinion. For example, gay activist Peter Tatchell agrees with the proposed removal of “insulting” from the law, on grounds that it is a threat to freedom of speech, whereas the campaigning organisation Stonewall opposes the change.

This is a subject about which I will attempt to tread delicately, given my past experiences, but I have to say that I largely agree with Peter Tatchell. I don’t think it should be a criminal offence per se to make insulting remarks about another person, even if that insult comprises racist, sexist, homophobic or blasphemous language. I’m not saying that it’s right to insult people in such ways, just that it should not of itself be a matter for the criminal law.

The inclusion of “abusive” and “insulting” seems to have led to a situation in which the Police can interpret the law so widely that they can lock up anyone they don’t like the look of at the slightest provocation. By the same token, the law is so blurred that it is hard to apply where it is supposed to be  intended –  to stop harassment and intimidation.  The proposed changes will not completely simplify matters, as judgement will still be required as to whether the behaviour is actually threatening or not. Some people are more easily intimidated than others.

As a matter of fact, I’m not even sure that amending this act is the best way forward. Perhaps it would be better to repeal it and think again, drawing up something less open to abuse. And yes, I do think it has been abused by the Police for their own ends.

Having said that, I don’t think freedom of speech can be absolute. It has always been tempered by wider considerations. The old argument about shouting “fire” in a crowded theatre and all that. I agree that attempts to restrict it should be kept to a minimum, but there has to be some form of redress if someone oversteps the mark.  Abusive, insulting or harassing behaviour in the workplace should be dealt with in terms of internal disciplinary procedures, as many employers  have their own codes of conduct to follow if someone misbehaves in such a way and their employees are bound by contracts to observe them. If the employer decides to enforce them, of course…

I find it even more difficult to support the  current  laws about “incitement”, such as the 2006 Racial and Religious Hatred Act which could be used to prosecute people simply criticising other people’s religious beliefs. It seems to me that it must be a poor kind of faith that can’t survive being questioned by others. If language is used that is intentionally  threatening it is in any case already covered by the other laws I already mentioned.

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A Walk in the Park

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on July 30, 2011 by telescoper

I know my posts about Bute Park tend to be very critical of its “restoration” (i.e. commercial redevelopment) by Cardiff City Council, especially the ridiculous construction project that is doing untold damage opposite the cricket ground. However, I thought I’d balance that with a bit of credit where credit is due. The floral beds in the Park are looking really beautiful, as you can see from these snaps I took on the way home last night. See how many plants you can identify!

The problem is that you’re increasingly likely to come across this sort of thing these days too, as the Council seems to want to encourage private motor vehicles to drive around the footpaths and park on the grass. This was taken just down the footpath, to the south of the flower beds shown in the previous picture.

If you recognize the numberplate please tell the owner he’s a twat, from me. If I had my way there’d be a complete ban on cars and lorries in the park.

Another thing you might be interested to learn concerns the little refreshment kiosk just north of the flower beds:

This little Wendy House was built to replace a Victorian summer house as part of the Council’s “restoration” project. Actually, it’s not a restoration, just a new cafe, next to a paved seating area that doesn’t look anything like the original, doesn’t add anything to the aesthetic of the park,  and  eats even further into the  contiually dwindling green space. What I’d most like to know, however, is how this little building managed to cost the Council £165,778.20. That’s more than the cost of an average home in Cardiff….

…dare I suggest that somebody has been lining their pockets at the expense of the local Council Tax payers?

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More Boring Than Advertised? (via Occasional Musings of a Particle Physicist)

Posted in The Universe and Stuff with tags , , , , , on July 29, 2011 by telescoper

My (probably ill-informed) earlier post about particle physics seems to have generated quite a lot of traffic, so I thought I’d reblog this short article (by a real particle physicist) for the benefit of those people who want to find out about the latest results from someone who actually knows what they’re talking about.

You would be forgiven for seeing the headlines from EPS-HEP 2011 and thinking the LHC is less interesting than maybe you were led to believe. A year or so ago you might have expected hints of supersymmetry, black holes, extra dimensions or even something more exotic to have been found in the ever increasing LHC datasets. But the current story is that the Standard Model is still describing all data analysed so far pretty damn well. There may or ma … Read More

via Occasional Musings of a Particle Physicist

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Billie’s Bounce

Posted in Jazz with tags , , , , on July 28, 2011 by telescoper

I thought I’d put this up because I’ve just found it and I think it’s great. It’s an interesting facet of jazz history that the clarinet, a mainstay of jazz styles from the New Orleans roots through to the Swing Era, fell into disfavour in the post-war era with the advent of bebop when it was largely replaced by the saxophone. Very few musicians persisted with the clarinet into the era of modern jazz, but this is one that did. It’s the superb Buddy DeFranco, one of the most technically accomplished clarinettists in all of jazz – few have ever been able to match his control in the upper register. The tune they’re playing is a Charlie Parker composition called Billie’s Bounce, another tune based on the standard 12-bar blues sequence (in F) but with some alterations. As far as my chord book says, it basically goes like this:

| F7| F7 | B♭7| F7|| B♭7| B♭7|F7| F7| G7| C7| F7| C7|

while the standard blues progression in F would go like

| F7| F7| F7 |F7 | B♭7| B♭7| F7| F 7| C7| B♭7| F7| F7|

It’s a Charlie Parker trademark to have a “turnaround” at the end, with the dominant chord C7 instead of the tonic F and, as you’ll hear, these changes produce quite a different feel to the standard blues sequence.

Anyway, one thing I particularly love about this performance is the perfunctory instruction given by Buddy DeFranco at the start: “Play the Blues in F for a while”. That’s all they needed to send them on their way.

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