Yesterday I intercepted a throwaway comment about how "you can throw away the laws of physics close to absolute zero". The commentor eagerly clarified that he meant "zero" on the Kelvin scale.

This was a puzzling statement, my own thesis involved materials below 23K and there is a good body of physics involving the behaviour of superfluids. Of course - he could be meaning "common/school Laws of physics - like Newtons Laws of motion and accepted behaviour of fluids under gravity: flowing down-hill for example. But then, that's a pretty trivial statement since all those "laws" are known to be wrong anyway - so they can be safely thrown away in any circustances. (Though the math gets harder.) My point here is that there is nothing special about ultra-low temperatures which warrents such a statement.

It is easy to get confused however - with quite esteemed sources misrepresenting uncertainty theory like this:

Atoms obey the rules of Quantum Mechanics, and one of the rules is that an atom can not have a definite position and simultaneously a definite momentum. [snip] Therefore, the atoms of the crystal are always moving; this movement which is present even at extremely cold temperatures is called "zero-point motion."

To pick a reference at random. And that is my bold-face in there. That bit is bold face becouse it is plain false.

Randall is talking about the Uncertainty Principle. But it does not say that. What it says is that the position and momentum of a partical cannot be known, simultaniously, to arbitrary accuracy. See how that is different?

To know a thing you have to detect it, measure it. For small objects, this usually means hitting it with something. To know, say, the position very accurately, you have to hit it hard. Which means you'll be knocking it off at a different speed to what it had. The act of measuring position changes the speed (thus - momentum), and the more accurately you know position, the bigger the change in speed. So the better you know position, the worse you know speed.

This is not just when you try to measure stuff either. Atoms are measuring each other's position all the time, so they can form molecules, crystals, people and so on. They do this by electromagnetism... which is a fancy word for shooting photons (light) at each other. When a photon hits an atom, the atom gets a knock. All these photons hitting atoms from all over gives rise to the small random motion which we end up experiencing as temperature.

As we remove the motion from a bunch of atoms - there are sophisticated means of doing this, but for most things you can just blow on it - the temperature decreases. However, as we keep removing the motion, the temperature approaches a constant value above absolute zero. The exact value depends on the material and is called the freeze-out temperature of that material.

The atoms remain in motion because of the remaining photons which must be present along with the matter. Another way of putting it is that any system at absolute zero contains no energy (matter, photons etc). If it is empty, though, then the concept of temperature is, itself, meaningless.

Well done, you've made it through the lecture. Go get yourself a drink.

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Fortunately, the pool is is good order. Which is a small mercy - BBQ-season!

Of course - seasons coming and all where the community focusses on family in general and children in particular. So our thought tend to stray into our own lack... basically, Xmas is time to hide. Some readers, you know who you are, have contacted me with various well-meaning things to say. There is no possibility of saying the right thing - it's saying something which counts. So if you don't get a reply or find me a little terse - please don't take offence.

I've picked out the xmas movie for this year - Hogfather - seen it, and it's watchable. The rest of them will be splatter and SciFi. Anything which cannot be confused for uplifting, wholesome, or twee. For someone using an operating system whose mascot is a penguin - that's a tall order.

The picture shows a shot out the port-window of a Namu FeA Interceptor, looking at (left to right) a Namu Patrolcraft, and two Weta FeA. This is a composite shot taken from Oolite - normally you only get the one target reticule. So the "two" Wetas are actually the same one as I flew around it.

It's a wonderfully immersive game.

The ships shown are composits of four individual models each - which allows for more sculpted details. I've also used a full texture/shader combination as well as classical "flasher" effects - which produces the purple glow around that blue thingy under the Weta (far right). That blue/purple thingy is the FTL Drive... and it spins.

Having separate models for eac component means that I can now create an internally consistent set of ships... something oolite does not have. And the Maori names are turning out to be fun. All the small craft are named for annoying insects. The middle-sized set are named after sharks. The really big fearsome set are all Taniwha... it works, it works.

My ideas to do a PhD in Education next year seem to have been skuttled - I am a whisker shy of the minimum qualification, with MSc 2nd Class Honors, 2nd division - where the first division is needed.

Taking the teaching scholarships offered ($30000 to train!) is out because I already have a basic teaching qualification... it just won't get me a job because it's out of date. Maybe a masters in education? An advanced diploma? I'll have to see.

Meantime - next-year's GNU/Linux course is on schedule. I've just proofed the booklet copy. Details when everything is confirmed.

I expect ane more post before the end of the month. Cheers.

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The OOlite OXPs have been updated - solved that niggly problem with the special effects in Typhoons. Just need to work out how to get the exhaust effects to be more orange - not that the blue is not nice.

The Waka ships OXP is too big really - I should separate off the different sections. However, I've been distracted by applying what I know now about modelling to the models I designed then.

The political blogging has centered around the MP pay rises. As usual, the prevailing opinion is that, if there is to be talk about tightening belts, then MPs should turn down their rises. So far, no sign of MPs doing this.

Well... would you?

Curious, the rise is supposed to be "cost of living" related - which is given as a percentage of income. But surely, cost of living relates to expenditure?

It's supposed to be about the price of goods and services considered essentials... essentials are not charged according to income, they have a flat price. When was the last time you were charged x% of your pay for a loaf of bread?

Surely a family can only eat so much bread, use so much electricity, before it stops being an essential and starts getting classed as a luxury? Nobody seems to be thinking about this.

Does it really cost an MP an additional $14000 a year over last year, while the person who cleans the toilets ony pays out an extra few cents a week?

In this model, cost of living rises should be a set amount across the board. If it now costs an extra 2% to run your Mercadese, sorry: you'll have to drive a normal car, or take the bus, like the rest of us! (But, since when do MPs drive their own cars?)

In short: all public servents should have the same dollar amount increase (by need) regardless of salary.

Rainy and cool today - thoughts turn to the pool, which will need it's Ph adjusting. Rain is acid dontcherknow.

Not serious lab-acid: as the water drops fall through the air, carbon-dioxide dissolves in it making "carbolic acid". It also carries dust, pollen, and spores... the spores turn the water green when the algae blooms. So - dumping alkalines and carbonates in the pool tomorrow.

Cathy and I have had a lazy day in bed reading - Polar Star (Martin Cruz Smith), and watching TV. "Bones" - silly, but doesn't take itself seriously, unlike the even sillier "Numb3rs" right after it, which thinks we are supposed to believe that "running an algorithm" can tell you that the person you want has blue eyes and a scar.

We don't watch TV much after getting rid of Sky: reception is bad and the ads are worse. But that's another rant. Cathy has been wanting DVD-Videos this week - preferably a bit light, she says. I'm thinking: "UFO", "Thunderbirds", maybe a Spaghetti Western? No, she says, lets see resident Evil!

Engfeh?

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Polished off the HUD today - the long nose on the Taniwha keeps washing-out the scanner, and blocks everything else, so I've added a mask to the standard HUD. The updated OXP is available for download from my Oolite page.

Cathy has been somewhat down - one of the people at the churge group she went to used to help take care of Corwin... someone he really liked and responded to. So there was demand for Hubby-cuddles.

The pool has turned a milky-green... that's the algae at the bottom circulating. I'll have to give it another shock-dose tomorrow. The patio can have it's next dose of herbicide then too. Maybe I can tackle the windows ... .

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Cathy has been spirited off by a local Xian group, trying to convert her. Unfortunately these are a group which believes in eternal damnation... she was not impressed. She reasons that, even if they are right, she doesn't want to worship a diety that would do that.

Yesterday was glorious, and spent entirely with Cathy. We got a lot of work done together, including cleaning up the pool and patio - it's hard work: you may pity me when you are ready. Swimming afterwards, then the late-afternoon spent in bed. Then a champaigne (-ish) dinner (Lindauer and Chips!) Cathy cannot have more than a glass because of her meds, the cork won't go back in, and it don't keep. I was forced to drink the rest of the bottle. I'm not sure what happened that night.

I'm finding that being married is like living through the book of psalms... at first it's all: Blessed is the Wife, she taketh me and lies me down in green pastures... or the other way around... but soon enought it is Oh Wife, why hast thou forsaken me? Bring back thy bounty and delight... including sacrifices. Then it's back to, The Wife in Greatness... all over again. The cycle takes about four weeks... ... and yae though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death, I shall fear no evil, for She shall be back to normal in a few weeks... please?

Today, I spent recovering. I've been working on a set of starships for Oolite, using the tricks I've learned over the last couple of months. I keep running faul of names - ergo: the cool names are mostly taken. So I'm cheating by uing Maori names - heh heh heh.

The ships are under the heading "Waka Ariki" (Star Canoes - I hope).

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The install was super-smooth and the first-boot was unbelievably fast. The entire install to running was about a half-hour, including messing about. Your performance will vary.

Each release I come up with some Ubuntu themed artwork, and each time, the official artwork beats mine hands down. This time is no exception with an abstract Ibex painted on the desktop and a return to the older coffee color-scheme.

Advanced desktop features came up without a fuss.

Suspend works!

Hibernate was a little hesitant - the yellow sleep-light turned on, and a black screen. But wait a little, and the machine shuts down. Wake is similarly hesitant, making the recovery only a little faster than a full boot.

Suspend and Hibernate both take you to your user login screen.

The wireless card is detected and the free drivers are loaded. Unfortunately, no wireless networks show up and iwconfig fails to find any wireless devices. The hardware controller insists that the drivers are in use. But what by?

It seems that the incorrect driver is being loaded. The correct one is ath5k, and it is not installed by default. You have to remove the existing support, install the correct driver package, and configure it to start at boot. All sweet.

Everything else goes - including the microphone - except for the modem. Even if a given linuxant modem driver does work, it will break as the maintainers and Ubuntu move out of step. Maintaining linux proprietary drivers is extremely difficult. The consequences of breakage in this case are so dire that I am unwilling to test them further.

At this point though, I am very happy. Anyone who hung on to this notebook can feel smug.

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Curiously, Labours support remains firm. They won about the same number of seats as last time. National seems to have taken their seats from minor parties... killing off the likes of NZ First.

Meantime, lets look at the likely National+Act effect on my favorite topics.

Software Freedom and Fair Copyrights have been dealt a mixed hand recently with the Coprights Amendments Act. While we have some substantial gains in terms of audio copying and decompiling programs, there are retrictions attached which mean that the results cannot be distributed as Free Software. Mysteriously, these gains do not extend to video, and the opposition has won the ability to get your internet access cut off on an unsubstantiated accusation.

I would like to see:

• Liabilities for false accusation, and/or this clause removed.
• Exemptions for audio files extended to multimedia.
• The ability to distribute all source code as free software.
• I'd like to see copyright law as a limitation to contract law when it comes to giving up ones personal freedoms.

Existing laws hamstring NZ artists in favor of major overseas companies. Long term, I'd like to see fairer management of copyright in support of the arts in NZ.

So what do these worthies think?

The international recession we keep hearing about will have the spotlight. National expects to remove business obsticles and increase help for businesses. How about helping businesses cut their dependence on expensive proprietary licence fees? This has the side-effect of nurturing that home-grown knowledge economy everyone's been paying lip service to.

Not a show! I expect we will see large overseas businesses lured to NZ for the short-term gains in employment - to match benifit cuts.

National IT policy statements:

Five Principles Looks like the software burden is on the suppliers who compete to provide ultra-fast service over the new fibre-network. I also see a nod to 3G mobile providers. One of the principles is that none of the existing ISPs are to be favoured with the new network Telecom but how about removing the support software monopoly while you're at it?

More fibre rollout tacked to to a general statement about economic policy. So it seems that Key planns to roll out the cable, and let the pennies fall where they will.

National Arts Policy statements:

Things are looking up as there is a pledge here to Update the Copyright Act and Oppose resale royalty rights for art. Lets hope the consultation process is better than Labour's "select commitee reccomendations? Surely you knew these would not be followed?" We'll have to look alert that this "update"ing does not mean "get out own DMCA".

As usual, these policies are short on method. This means it may be possible to push a Software Freedom agenda and actually make some headway. For example - take the copyright review together with the call to place a greater emphasis on emerging artists and we could push for a Stallmanesque copyright reform, where royalties go into a pool, divvied in non-linear relation to sales.

Worth a thought or three.

How do Act measure up?

Act NZ have absolutely nothing to say about IT or the arts. Ther answere to everything is to create a competitive market which is bang alongside Nationals fibre-roll policies.

Large, monopolistic suppliers are anathema to Acts free-market oriented ideas, so we need to keep emphasising the free-market benifits of free software. IT service providers get to compete on services in a marketplace of informed consumers.

Apart from that, we can expect little impediment from these guys to National's interests.

Of course - that is all a bit naive isn't it? For all their free market pretensions, we know that Act is susceptible to a bit of Big Business brib lobbying. It will take some effort to hold them to their ideals, or, at least, hold them to ridicule when they fail to live up to them.

You've got to keep an eye on these polititians.

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Guy Fawkes was quieter this year, though some people have saved fireworks to let off over the next week - grrr! I am beginning to sympathise with the people who want to ban fireworks completely.

We didn't have any fireworks this year. Last year's close call was a bit much, though we could have gone to the rocks and let them off over the sea.

I've been under something of a black depression over the last few weeks. I'm feeling the loss of Corwin quite keenly for some reason. Motivation is very hard.

However - cost of living means I have to get off my sorry but and get out there and get work. Checking my options - my Teaching Certificate has lapsed, Wendies don't want me back any more , but night school has started up.

I have eight students this term and I've filed to teach three courses next year - submitting three forms in the hope the school notices this time.

I considered going back to teacher training - needed as the rules have changed since I was last in a classroom. Perhaps I could do an advanced course. But it turns out that I cannot get one of those fancy scholarships because I already have a teaching certificate. Blast it all! Thing is, my registration has expired.

But maybe that is the path to take - I'll have to check with the University, maybe I can do a PhD in education instead?

People are asking about Richard Stallman again. Some people are starting organising things - it is likely that there will be a return tour in September. We'll see. I may or may not be involved - my brother in law has invited us to the UK around that time.

Meantime, I've been amusing myself with some advanced OpenGL work in Oolite. Observe: The Arachnid "Katipo" Fast Courier ... final version.

The album for this month is Alchemy by Cargo Cult. (Under "Goodies", right.) Enjoy.

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