New Year's Day is like Groundhog Day, the movie. This is the day when we look at the past, see what we did wrong, and resolve to do it better in the future. Like Bill Murray's character in the movie, we will have to repeat the same scenarios until we learn the lesson and make corrections, before we are allowed to move on. Unless we love the mess we are in (the pigs my granddaddy raised on the farm liked mud and slop), we are going to have to make changes to get out of the mess. It is easy to blame our environment or somebody else for our problems. When we give environments or other people the power over us, we lose hope and become their slaves. To be free, we must do all within our power to get out of that environment we think is bad for us. We must do all in our power to get out from under the influence of those who cause us to react wrongly. We might not have the power to eliminate those influences completely, but we do have some power to make some change. Like muscles, more power will come from the exercise of what power we have. As in Groundhog Day, one little change repeated regularly has a great effect on the outcome. There is power in resolutions. Write down one or a few areas where you want to see change in 2012. Keep your list where you can see it. Work on it a little bit, every day. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish when you make up your mind to be free from slavery to bad environments and bad reactions to people. When you let somebody make you mad, you lose control to them. They become your master. If, instead, you determine in advance what you will do when they say that thing that makes you mad, you will be the master of that situation. You will be free. This is what being filled with the spirit is like. You have so loaded up your mind and heart with God's word, that you know what is right to do. Then, determine to do it. Spirit-filled living is giving over control of your reactions to the influence of the Holy Spirit as mediated through his word. Do what the Spirit says to do, not what you have always done. Don't be led by the flesh (and the habits you have always had), but be led by the Spirit. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sinful, fleshly living. Then he was raised from the dead with power so we can now live new lives. There is nothing holding us back. May 2012 be the year we exercise that power completely and walk by the spirit.

Dog Lessons

We have two dogs. One, Nini, has all the physical features of a Black Labrador Retriever, and the other, Kalena, is golden in color and has the features of a Heinz 57.

Nini's non-Lab features include longer hair and white markings on her chest and feet.

When we go outside, I carry a throwing toy to give them exercise. The funny thing is that Nini does not have the genetic memory (instinct) of a retriever. Nini has never cared whether I throw the toy, or not, but Kalena will eye it and jump up and down and beg me to throw it. Then, the 57 will become the retriever and find the toy and bring it back and dare me to throw it, again.

Nini's behavior, on the other hand, is bizarre. Nini will run interference once Kalena has the ball, and do all in her power to keep Kalena from getting it to me. She will nip at Kalena's legs, try to trip her, and growl and do everything in her power to keep Kalena from bring me the toy.

Today, it hit me that Nini's hair length and foot markings look like those of a sheepdog we once had. And her behavior with Kalena is similar to Colonel's behavior when he was herding sheep. (Colonel was my son's sheepdog when we raised sheep.)

It saddens me that these unique dogs' traits end here. All their mixed-up ways will never be repeated because the animal shelter required they be neutered before we could adopt them. Neither of them will ever mother a litter of strange and wonderful puppies.

Some people want to do the same thing with humans. The focus of Margaret Sanger (mother of Planned Parenthood) was eugenics, good genetic breeding. (http://bit.ly/nTf5B9) Their goal is to keep the un-productive, un-genetically pure, un-fit, un-loved, and un-perfect from procreating, whether by advance planning (birth prevention) or afterthought (abortion).

The role of a gospel preacher, in contradistinction, is to demonstrate to un-lovely and un-loved people that God loves them and can give them the power to rise above whatever circumstances into which they were born. Our history need not determine our destiny. Our past need not determine our future.

Nobody is so bad that they should not have been born. Everybody is somebody in God's economy, and all can be made perfect through God's power indwelling them through the Spirit of Christ.

Even mixed-up people, like our mixed-up dogs, have their own unique gifts they can share, and all of us benefit from each other's gifts. All of us suffer when some of us aren't given the chance to exist and grow into the potential God can make for them.

The wonderful, mixed-up, joy-giving instincts of Nini and Kalena will die with them, but, in the meantime, I will enjoy their erratic behavior!

Pattern Recognition

One of the technical things I am interested in is called "dimensionality reduction." Some real world problems involve such a large amount of information that it is difficult for computers to process them, either because of their computational complexity or the humongous amount of storage space required to examine the problem.

Hyperspectral Imaging in Remote Sensing is one such problem. A satellite passing over an area of the earth's surface can take pictures and record the information that is in view. Because most of these images are composed of reflected light from the sun, each picture element (pixel) in a picture can measure that reflection with sensors that respond to different wavelengths (colors) of light, including both those that are visible to humans, and also those that are not visible, e.g., ultraviolet, infrared, etc.

When you consider that the pixel represents a small area (depending on the optics of the camera), you can imagine that one small section of the earth's surface as small as one square foot would take an array of thousands of elements to record the reflected wavelengths at each pixel. A similar array of elements would be needed for each pixel in the picture, resulting in millions and billions of data elements, for even a small picture of the earth's surface.

You can view something with Google Earth, for example, to get an idea of the amount of information, but remember that Google Earth just shows points in the visible spectrum. Hyperspectral images represent much more information. Every point on the surface map can be represented as an array of points in another dimension, each representing a different wavelength in the spectrum.

Now, consider the pattern recognition problem. How do we recognize what we are seeing? How do we know when something is a building, a tree, a truck, or a person? In military applications, how do we distinguish between a friend and a foe? And how do we get a computer to do the same thing a human would?

The current state of the art involves training the program with known data, and then testing it with unknown data.

Pattern recognition requires training. We cannot recognize things we have not already learned something about.

Now, why is this issue in a web page focused on epistemology?

The most notable form of pattern recognition for people is fault-finding. We recognize faults in others. Why? Because we are so intimate with those faults in ourselves. Unfortunately, we don't like to acknowledge them in ourselves. Something to think about.

Book Review: Plan B by Pete Wilson

I used to follow Pete Wilson on twitter, but the SNR (signal to noise ratio, for you non-engineers) was too low. I grouped him with Chatty Cathy. But I was intrigued by the book's subtitle, "What do you do when God doesn't show up the way you thought He would?" so I agreed to review it.

I needed this book. Pete Wilson has dared to touch a raw spot in most Christians' lives, and he does a great job of helping soothe the hurt. Admitting he doesn't know the answers, he focuses on what he does know, which is how to relate to people's hurts and point them to where to find hope for the hurt.

Be prepared to be confronted with your own self-centeredness and find a fellow traveler who, in this book, will share your burden, and also be prepared to find some comfort for your own suffering.

One drawback was the editorial technique of having short excerpts shown in what I call a magnifying box. This technique is appropriate for a magazine article when the article needs to attract attention to compete for readership with other articles and ads, but is a major distraction when reading a chapter in a book.

Also, I hope the book is out of popularity when his sons are old enough to read it. I don't think I would expose my sons to such ridicule.

Nevertheless, I would rate the book 4.6/5.0. It is really a helpful read.

[Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Book Review Blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”]

Race and Grace

Response to: It's More About Grace Than Race

Richard Doster, Issue Number 26, January 2010

http://byfaithonline.com/page/in-the-church/its-more-about-grace-than-race

I am white. For awhile, concerned with the need for diversity in the church, I asked, "How can we get Blacks to come to our church?" Then one day, it hit me. If I was truly concerned about diversity in Christ's church (not "our" church), then I would have to be the instrument of change, not just wishfully think about getting others to come to us. So I went to a so-called "Black church." Voila! Instant diversity. Added benefit: I learned something of what it really feels like to be a minority. I also learned about the richness of the music and other traditions in "my" new church. Secular life is now integrated. We, Black and White, in the church, are willfully segregated. It is not forced on us. I don't think Jesus is pleased with us.

Front-wheel drive and hydroplaning safety

With so much water everywhere, it is a good time to warn people about the physics and dangers involved in front-wheel drive vehicles when they run into water puddles.

The drive shaft for the powered wheels (i.e., the ones providing the push) must have a differential that allows the wheels to spin at different rates. For example, when turning, the outside wheel must roll faster than the inside wheel.

The front wheels are the ones in front! Obvious, but that means they are the ones which hit the water puddles first. When wheels hit water, they have a tendency to hydroplane, i.e., float on the surface of the water, rather than clinging to the road's surface. Most roads are built up in the center, so water runs off to the edges. This means that water puddles are likely to be on the right hand side of the road as you drive forwards.

If the right wheel hits the water and begins to hydroplane while the left wheel is still on the pavement, the differential allows (actually causes) the right wheel to start spinning rapidly, because there is no friction on that wheel while it is floating. It only takes a second for the wheel to start spinning extremely fast, especially if the accelerator pedal is being pressed.

Now, consider what happens when you have landed on the other side of the puddle and your right front wheel is spinning at high speed. It will force the vehicle to veer to the left, directly into the on-coming traffic lane. If someone is there, a head-on collision would be unavoidable. Otherwise, it is likely you could spin out of control, especially if you overcompensated and turned the wheel to the right to avoid the collision. If you turn too far to the right too fast, you will skid, and the car will keep going in the direction you were trying to avoid.

Safe driving tips: When your car hydroplanes, remove your foot from the accelerator, and let the vehicle get on the other side of the water before you try to get back up to speed. If you find yourself hydroplaning, in addition to removing your foot from the accelerator, grasp your steering wheel tightly and keep it pointed in your original direction. If you are prepared for the lunge to the left, a steady grip can keep your car under control.

General rule: slow down when there is water standing on the roadway. It is when you are trying to accelerate that the danger is worst.

Racial Matters--Black and White: An Introduction to Southern Culture for International Students

Mississippi: Black and White

Although the State of Mississippi began with a White majority (English and French settlers) and a Black minority (slaves from Africa), today, many areas of the state are predominately Black. Some sections of the state have large concentrations of Native Americans (Choctaw Indians).

Historically, Whites in Mississippi were farmers and Blacks were slaves imported from Africa to work in the cotton fields. Whites were free and Blacks were treated as property with no rights or freedoms under the law.
During the first 100 years of the American experiment in democracy, "government of the people, by the people, and for the people," some states (the South) depended on slavery for their agricultural economy, and slavery was legal. Other states, (the North) opposed slavery.

Civil War

Less than 100 years after the Declaration of Independence (from England), the various states were divided over many issues, notably, the right of states to make their own laws (on issues like slavery) vs. states following the laws of the Federated Union of States, i.e., the United States. Thirteen states (the South) voted to secede from the Union and joined together to form the Confederate States of America. The northern states opposed this division of the United States, and war was declared, the North vs. the South.

It was a bitter war, often dividing familes who fought against each other, and it involved many casualties. The North won, and forced the southern states to rejoin the union. To this day, there are influences of this division between Yankees (North) and Rebels (South).

Remnants of the War

After the Civil War, all slaves were given their freedom. Unfortunately, most of them were ill-prepared for the responsibilities of freedom, and their former masters, struggling to regain their own economic strength without the workers who were taken from them by force, were not able to assist the former slaves in their quest for freedom and the American dream, even if they had a desire to do so.

As a result, White and Black Southerners have separate identities and allegiances, even though they have shared the same region for two hundred years. The South developed into a divided culture focused on resentment.
The Whites resented the North for forcing them to accept a federal government, and for taking their livelihood from them. They resented their former slaves for lack of loyalty to them. The Blacks resented their former Masters for their years of Slavery. The result was a segregated society.

The Civil Rights Act

Almost 100 years after the Civil War began, Blacks in the United States began to make public protests over the inequalities that a segregated South perpetuated. Under the "Separate but Equal" moniker, the South had developed a culture of duplication (and duplicity). There were separate entrances to public places for Blacks and Whites, separate sections of public transportation, and separate school systems for Blacks and Whites, even separate water fountains and restrooms! The Black schools and facilities were notably worse than their White counterparts.

In the early 1960's, the US Government responded to the situation with new laws giving Blacks real equality with Whites. Naturally, Whites in the South resented more Federal intervention into their way of life, but the Civil Rights Act has been enforced and the South now embraces Integration and Diversity, for the most part.

Public vs. Private

The public life in the South is one of diversity, but, in their private lives, both Blacks and Whites voluntarily practice segregation, as most people do. People tend to group themselves with others who are similar to them.

Most of you in my audience, as Chinese students, do not look like most of us (Southerners). You will find there is no discrimination against you because of your skin color or national origin. Americans will be friendly and accepting of you in all public arenas. But you must take the initiative to desegregate yourselves. I.e., you must intentionally get out of your comfort zone." You must make concerted efforts to speak English and to spend time with Americans. You must avoid spending large amounts of time with others of your same nationality and language.