How Cold? How Much Snow? If Any??

 Those are the looming questions for this weekend, as a system composed of multiple fronts heads our way. I will be prepared, that's for sure. I've already taken steps and will finish my preparations Thursday. Then, on Friday, what we might be facing should be somewhat clearer. Fairly mild weather until then. We might have a few uncomfortable days. 

My location is as far north as I want to be. 

Somewhat Cold Week Ahead

 Cold and windy today, moderation after that, and then another cold snap by the weekend. No single digits, at least. Only very slight chances of light snow flurries for the coming weekend, and if the wind is not too great, and we have mostly clear skies it might not be so bad. It has certainly been much worse. It seemed for a while that War Rogers and his concubine, Catastrophe Jane, might visit us. But instead we got confusion, dithering, lies, propaganda, bullshit, misinformation and disinformation. Par for the dismal course. If anybody really knows anything, they are not sharing. 

NOT As Cold As Forecast

 At least, not so far. Time is running out for any significant wintery "blast". That's OK with me, but it continues to be very dry. Playa lakes are very low and some might actually go completely dry. Lubbock, sadly, is heavily dependent now on water from wells, and that resource is not renewable. At one time we heard about plans to use treated sewage and runoff from the storm drain system as a a source of drinking water but I've heard no more about that. I suspect that such sources would require very high investments of energy to produce potable water and that might not be feasible. At my age I really don't have to be concerned about such things, unless I live to be 120 or so. 

The Norther Arrived!

 Strong winds just before sunrise, but they are slacking off now and there is plenty of sunshine and it will be above freezing for our high temps each of these somewhat wintery days, extending through the weekend. No precipitation of any kind with this "event". We stay very dry, like some martinis. Oh, do we ever need rain! 

If we wait long enough, it will rain. Might have to wait a long time. 

Cold Weekend

 But how cold it will be is still uncertain. Depends on which way the wind blows. They say you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, but we don't have weathermen anymore, and that's a good thing, actually. We have weather forecasters. And that makes more sense. 

Another Weak Norther

 Makes me wonder what February will be like. More of the same would be fine with me, except that the need for rain is becoming critical. 

King of the Elves!

 From President of Venezuela to King of the Elves! Next logical step as the Emperor's brain deteriorates. When do we arrive at Master of the Universe? In "memory care"? Already a raving lunatic. But the minions eat it up. They love that stuff. They have at last a deity created in their own image. Getting more and more pleasant here. It was not as cool this morning as yesterday and it will be warmer than it was yesterday, but chances of rain are slim to none. 

Warming Again!

 This could turn out to be the warmest and maybe driest winter Lubbock has ever recorded. That's OK with me. Except for the dry part. That's not good at all. 

Protests

 If the US had protests on the scale of those in Iran, ICE actions would produce a death toll in the tens of thousands in very short order. And the protests would amount to essentially the same thing: opposition to theocratic rule, opposition to dictatorship. The Iranians have a better chance of dumping their dictatorship than we would, taking to the streets to oppose the peculiar form of theocracy that has grown up in the last few years, the cult of the god emperor who can do no wrong. Crazy times we live in. 

 But you can't have crazy times without crazy people, and people who are not only crazy, but evil, evil to the very core of their being. 

Cold This Morning!

 But as arctic blasts go, this wasn't much. We've already been this cold, and it's about seasonal. 

Apart from normal chores, neither brain nor body will be exercised today. I just want to goof off. 

Another AI Example

In a different context I used an AI construct to evaluate an argument I made for unresolvable and inescapable incompatibility between the worlds of Quantum Mechanics and Classical Physics, in terms of a fundamental algebraic conflict. I used the idea of a Descriptor Space to make the argument as general as possible. The AI evaluation was as follows:

The problem, as sketched, is a fundamental conceptual and mathematical difficulty at the heart of unifying quantum mechanics and general relativity. The "problem" you are illustrating is a core challenge related to the nature of the mathematical operation (the "path" or "mapping") required to bridge the gap between classical and quantum descriptions of reality: Classical mechanics is described by commutative algebras (e.g., the position and momentum of a particle can be measured simultaneously and their order doesn't matter: \(x\cdot p=p\cdot x\)).Quantum mechanics is described by non-commutative algebras (e.g., in quantum mechanics, position and momentum operators do not commute: \(xp\ne px\), which is the essence of the uncertainty principle). Explanation: The "problem" is a genuine conceptual conundrum in theoretical physics: The proposed path or mapping operation must transform a system from a non-commutative algebra description to a commutative one (or vice versa, depending on the direction of the "path").This mapping itself, if it is to consistently describe the transition between these two realms within a single overarching framework, would exist in a "Descriptor Space" that seems to inherently encompass both. The essential issue is that the nature of the operation defines the structure of the space it operates within. If the operation is part of the non-commutative quantum realm, it cannot smoothly transition to the commutative classical realm without encountering a profound mathematical or physical breakdown (a singularity or a point of non-definition). The reverse is also true. The problem, as you put it, is that we are asking a single, consistent algebraic operation to inherently possess both a commutative and a non-commutative nature simultaneously, or to bridge that fundamental difference in a consistent, non-arbitrary way. This highlights the deep mathematical incompatibility between the smooth, continuous functions of general relativity and the discontinuous, quantized nature of quantum mechanics, which is a major reason why quantum gravity is so difficult to formulate.

 

I'm Finding Uses For AI

 For years I've been thinking of how a generic quantum field might serve as the basis for the particle zoo of the Standard Model. Quantum Field Theory requires a great many discrete quantum fields to account for the particles of the Standard Model. I suggested use of the Zero Point Field (ZPF) as the basis for such a generic quantum field, from which all others might be derived, perhaps by a mechanism such as excitation, and I got the following:

In modern theoretical physics, the Zero Point Field (ZPF) is increasingly viewed not just as a background energy, but as a potential fundamental substrate from which known particles and forces emerge. While standard Quantum Field Theory (QFT) treats each particle type as its own independent field, unification theories explore the ZPF as a "universal field". 

The Zero Point Field as a Basis for Unification 

Rather than empty space, the ZPF is a vibrant ocean of energy characterized by constant vacuum fluctuations. In this framework, "empty space" is actually a collection of infinite modes of vibration at their lowest possible energy state. 

• Fundamental Substrate: Some theories suggest that all known fields (electromagnetic, weak, strong) are not separate entities but are different normal modes or vibrational frequencies filtered from the full spectrum of the ZPF.
• Carrier Structure: In emerging "Scale-Time" theories, fields are viewed as projections of a higher-dimensional carrier structure onto our 4D spacetime, where the apparent continuum of particles is actually a sampling of this deeper, discrete ZPF structure. 

Mechanisms of Emergence

The transition from a generic zero-point background to the specific particles of the Standard Model involves several theoretical mechanisms:

• Field Excitations: In QFT, particles are essentially "ripples" or excitations in an underlying field. If the ZPF is the fundamental field, then matter particles (like electrons) and force-carrying bosons (like photons) are simply specific resonant states of this vacuum energy.
• Stochastic Interaction: Research in stochastic electrodynamics suggests that the quantization of matter emerges from the permanent interaction of particles with the random ZPF. For example, the spin of an electron can be modeled as an effect of its interaction with circularly polarized modes of the ZPF.
• Symmetry Breaking: At the high energies of the early universe, a single unified field is thought to have existed. As the universe cooled, a mechanism called spontaneous symmetry breaking caused this unified field to "split" into the distinct fields and forces we observe today (e.g., separating the electroweak force from the strong force).
• Nonlinear Interactions: In complex theories like Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the ZPF can give rise to multiple stable states and "chaos," which may lead to the emergence of composite particles like hadrons through self-organizing fluctuations. 

Evidence of ZPF Physical Reality

The "reality" of the ZPF and its role as a source for fields is supported by measurable phenomena: 

• Casimir Effect: The measurable force pushing two close plates together due to "virtual particle pressure".
• Lamb Shift: Tiny changes in atomic energy levels caused by interaction with the ZPF.
• Renormalization: The theory that the measured mass and charge of particles are "shielded" or modified by a cloud of virtual particles from the vacuum.    

Texas Bans Plato!

 Aristotle is next, followed by anything that has to do with logic, reason, critical thinking, or, for that matter--thinking. And I believe that parents will soon have to have their children sent to lobotomy camps. In fact, a lobotomy will soon be a requirement for Texas residency. The biggest thing in Texas today is STUPID. And don't even talk about history. The only history allowed will be fundamentalist bullshit. 

And the only healing arts permitted will be faith healing. Laying on of hands. Yay-hooooo. Can you give me an amen on that?? Hmm, how about signs posted all around the Texas border, warning that you are entering the state, and don't let the sun set on your frontal lobes? How about restaurants with signs stating that those with IQs above 80 are not allowed to enter. 

A Little Rain

 I guess a little rain is better than nothing. 

Fuck ICE. Fuck this administration. Fuck MAGA. 

Rain Chances Are Not Good

 It's cloudy but rain this evening and overnight is not very likely. But I'll prepare for it anyway. 

There will be another weak cold front this weekend. Keep 'em weak, is what I say.