tom.bl*g

Departure, GNV

Thursday I finish my research. Friday I graduate. Saturday I'll be out of Gainesville. Sunday I drive out of Florida. Monday I leave civilization.

That last part isn't true; I'll be using high-tech synthetic fabrics, refined metalwork, and electronic digital imaging equipment. My hike would be impossible without the support of a large network of farms, mines, factories, trains, trucks, public roadways, public transportation, workers, managers, and others. But still, there is something I'm leaving behind, and it's not just my friends and the people I care about—almost none of whom I will get more than a terse goodbye in the steely Clint Eastwood fashion of rugged individualism and alienated is-anybody-out-there American independence.

I may train my parents to use this site to post pictures and journal excerpts.

which is why I don't shoot myself

...just back from a lecture from the handsome (right) Dr. P. Oscar Boykin from UCLA. He's a fun guy (left), and smart. He was here presenting "Physics of Information and Computation: from Quantum Computing to Large Scale Engineering Systems". The abstract:

In this talk, I will discuss two fields of study where unexpected overlap with physics has resulted in exciting advances in understanding. The first is the area of computation. Quantum computing, first proposed by Richard Feynman in 1982, has evolved from purely theoretical principles to actual laboratory devices. The Schroedinger equation from quantum mechanics may be viewed as a law of computation, one which allows quantum computers to solve certain problems exponentially faster than their classical boolean cousins. The chief barrier to large-scale quantum computing is the physical process called decoherence, which destroys the fidelity of quantum systems. Fortunately, universal fault-tolerant quantum computation has been developed to help make quantum computing a reality. I will discuss a promising silicon-based architecture for fault-tolerant quantum computing. The second area is the statistical mechanics of large-scale systems. Just as quantum mechanics has given us insight into the fundamental rules of computation, statistical mechanics gives us tools to understand large-scale systems. Originally conceived to provide a statistical description of gases, statistical mechanics has recently been applied to large-scale engineering systems. I will discuss the rate-equation approach to modeling large interacting systems. Just as in physical systems, we use the microscopic interaction rules to derive macroscopic properties of the system. This approach can explain the power-law behavior of many real-world systems such as the Internet, scientific citation indices, and disease transmission networks, to name a few. I will discuss the solution of the percolation problem from physics, and discuss its application to the fault tolerance of large systems.

Dr. Boykin received his PhD from UCLA specializing in quantum mechanics, information theory and cryptography. His research interests include: complex networks, P2P computing, quantum fault tolerant computer architectures, quantum information theory, and engineering/computing/biological systems.

He also has a decent sense of design, if a somewhat subversive aethetic. After hearing a sir talk about "unitary transformations" and "power-law graph generation", it's pleasantly disconcerting to find webcam self-portraits.

We talked briefly about the coming arms race between quantum computers and quantum cryptography. Shor's O(n^2*log(n)) integer factorization algorithm is the only thing we currently know quantum computers can do much better than classical architectures. The advent of a quantum computer make mean nothing more than the destruction of classical cryptography.

Ta-blah!

So much for insightfully retelling the weekend's events, including a road trip to Tampa and about 200 pictures out of my S4i. Instead I drink beer and flop around like Robert, the epileptic salmon. I love you, sirs and madames!

...

You know you're sloxored when "Robert, the epileptic salmon" is the best you can do.

Into the Church

Yesterday at the Easter Vigil mass I was recieved into the Catholic church and confirmed, before celebrating my first Eucharist.

My sister—driving north on I-75—missed the opening procession because she missed the last Gainesville exit, but my parents had arrived on time. They are all "high-church" Lutheran converts, and enjoyed the mass to the dissapointment of all my fears. I said "I do" to statements like "Do you reject Satan and all his works", and I remember watching a wasp fly up behind Fr. Julien and alight on his vestements, between the neck and the shoulder; Ninja Scroll came to mind. More importantly, his homily was Christocentric and the music was beautiful and I am happy for now.

Sitting under an A/C vent, my candle melted at a furious rate. The care I took not to spill wax distracted me from the liturgy, but later Fr. Julien took the Holy Chrism—oil blessed by a Bishop and scented typically with balsam—and annointed my forehead with the sign of the cross. The draft magnified the smell of balsam. Molecules evaporate from the oil, flow down the front of my face, up with an inhale through my nostrils. Some of the molecules land on the mucus membrane, and disolve into the thin layer of mucus for identification. The olfactory bulb communicates this information to the primary olfactory cortex and the limbic system; it is the only sensory organ that bypasses the hub of the thalmus; it is an older, primitive structure. It is likely that after everything else is fuzzy and blurred that balsam will still stir the memory and revive the emotions of my confirmation. I have lost sympathy for anyone who speaks about "smells and bells" church with anything but pleasant familiarity.

At a small reception afterwards, David—the other convert—and I were given rosaries. My family met the RCIA team, including my sponsor Robert—an adult convert from mainline protestantism with an analytic intellect that I enjoy—and later Fr. Julien. AFterwards my parents, my sister, and I went to Chopsticks for dinner.

I love my family.

My mom tried the smoked eel nigiri, twice, and she had several bites from my seaweed salad. Everyone tried the fried tofu, and we all agreed that Laura's General Tsao's Eggplant was yummadelic. Layered on top of this activity, we were discusing The Church. Our family discussing religion is like, well, our family discussing religion; thoughtful nods and "that seems a lot like when we" and "you have a point" and "it's never been explained to me like that". A strange dive into what I retrospectively identified as apologetics. Anyhow, it was good food, and Laura complemented my hair, so I was happy.

Into the Mood

Paul Magnanti thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1998, and put his journal online. I fell in love with his writing, and was happily reading over his more recent Long Walk:

Friday, February 22 — Boulder, CO — Mileage 0.0

Why give up half a year’s salary to get sunburned, become thirsty, get rained and snowed on?

Why walk day after day with chafing and sore muscles?

Why be hungry all the time, only to have yet another mass of a soggy noodle dish for dinner?

Because the body heals. The pain is forgotten. The stomach eventually has its fill of food. But the memories linger on: A sunset at Greenleaf Hut at the base of Franconia Ridge. A quiet campsite at the shores of a lake in Maine. Seeing ponies graze in the Grayson Highlands after a snowstorm.

Saturday, June 1 — Sanford Campground — 604.7 miles

Not much to write tonight. The hiking was through shaded groves of trees all day, plenty of water and easy climbs. Just feeling content in the knowledge that life is just the way I want it. Should be a clear night to look at the stars before I sleep.

Saturday, Sept. 7 — Stehekin, WA — 2569.4 miles

It is difficult to sum up the experiences of four and half months of hiking.

Tuesday, Sept. 10 — Campsite near ridge — 2613.9 miles

Sharp, jagged peaks and a landscape that made me feel uplifted as I became tired and sore myself.

Thursday, Sept. 12 — Castle Creek — 2651.7 miles

"Oh sh*t. We’re here."'

. . .

When am I getting back to the real word? For me these long treks ARE the real world. Mountains, rivers, deserts and snow are more real to me after two extended treks in the mountains than a world consisting of six years of car payments, rising to the top of the business ladder and whatever else is generally defined as being successful.

I'm ready now, but I have to wait 24 days. That's just about 400 hours of consciousness, and 180 of sleep.

The Tarp

This afternoon I tried putting up the tarp. It came out pretty well, I think, and only took me half an hour, which means that once I know what I'm doing--5 minutes. Plenty of room and decent tension for a first try, including a root that prevented proper stake placement.

I thought running the guywire for the ridgeline through the strap on my hiking pole was a clever Idea, but I'm not sure if it would be better to hitch the line straight to the pole.

Several neighbors drove by while I was erecting the tarp. I think they are going to have a party tonight.

The Belated Fool

Ha!

I got you all good. You thought I was dead because I didn't post yesterday.

Who's the April Fool, now? Hmm?

P.S. -- A few shout outs: to God, for giving us caffinated coffee beans; to Publix, for marketting generic ibuprofen; to Latex for kicking MS Word to the street and then curbing thrice for good measure; to coffee, for being that magical elixer which incarnates nirvana; and to my spare change, for buying that coffee.