Some stuff » moment

whence the sun rises

admin — Fri, 27 May 2011 02:15:23 +0000

Somebody was commenting here that they thought the sun would rise from the Boston (south) side of the river in the morning, but in fact it rises from the Cambridge (north) side these days. A little more than ten years ago, sitting in my northern-latitude abode watching the sun set into the northwest, I wondered the same confused thing: why does the sun appear to venture into the northern part of the sky? (For reference, the sun’s direct projection on the earth never crosses north of the tropic of cancer, and that is south of here.)

The answer is recognized with the aid of this map, which shows the interesting effect due to the earth’s tilt and its spherical geometry. At every point along the day-night boundary curve, the sun’s rays are orthogonal to the curve and on the plane tangent to the earth’s surface at that point. In other words, the sun appears to rise (set) from (into) the direction orthogonal to the day-night boundary. This means between the spring and autumn equinoxes, the sun rises out of the northeast and sets into the northwest, and between the autumn and spring equinoxes, the sun rises out of the southeast and sets into the southwest.

This reminds me of a rather surprising method for direction-finding without a compass. It goes like this: point a stick in the direction of the sun, at any time during the day, and wait a short moment, then the direction of the new (very short, infinitesimal) shadow from the base of the stick points to the east. Here’s a short “proof”: Let the sun’s original location be called Q, let the base of the stick be called A and let the tip of stick be called B. So the vectors AB and AQ are collinear. At any given moment, the earth’s surface instantaneously rotates into the eastern direction at A, so in the earth’s local reference frame (the one we’re interested in) the sun’s apparent location moves slightly to the west to a new point Q’. Now, the shadow cast by the stick has a tip at a new point C (on the ground). Since A, B, C, Q, Q’ all must be coplanar, and the vector AC has no elevation component (same as QQ’), then the vector AC must be parallel to QQ’, and BQQ’ and BAC being similar triangles, AC must point to the east.

The trick is, you can’t wait too long, or else all the linear approximations and Euclidean geometry break down and you won’t get the right direction.

bank of america

admin — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:54:20 +0000

Well, it gets resolved (in the stupidest way), if you’re patient.

Welcome to an online chat session at Bank of America. Please hold while we connect you to the next available Bank of America Online Banking Specialist. Your chat may be monitored and recorded for quality purposes. Your current wait time is approximately 2 minutes. Thank you for your patience.

We are currently experiencing a high volume of chat sessions. All Online Banking Specialists are currently assisting other customers. We apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you for your patience.

Thank you for choosing Bank of America. You are now being connected to a Bank of America Online Banking Specialist.

Alexus: Hello! Thank you for being a valued Bank of America customer. My name is Alexus. How may I assist you today with your personal accounts?

Alexus: How are you doing today?

You: good

Alexus: Good to hear that!

You: this is a countrywide bank account, which apparently got converted to a bank of america account

You: when i logged in

You: today

You: just now

Alexus: Okay.

You: i would like to know, if that means it no longer has anything to do with the countrywide account rules that were previously in place

You: and the fees and disclosures will follow bank of america practices

Alexus: I will be glad to check that for you.

Alexus: To begin with, May I have your complete name to greet you?

You: ok

You: [some_name]

Alexus: Thank you for the details, [some_name].

Alexus: Please allow me a moment.

You: sure

Alexus: Thank you.

10 minutes later

You: Hello?

Alexus: Thank you for waiting. I’ll be with you in just a moment.

You: ok

Alexus: Thank you for your patience, I will be right with you.

Alexus: I apologize for the delay. I’ll be with you shortly.

You: ok

Please wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited Bank of America Specialist.

Thank you for choosing Bank of America. You are now being connected to a Bank of America Online Banking Specialist.

You: ok

Shane: Hello. Thank you for being a valued Bank of America customer.. My name is Shane. I’m here to assist you with online access. How may I help you today with your online access?

You: ok

You: You: this is a countrywide bank account, which apparently got converted to a bank of america account You: when i logged in You: today You: just now Alexus: Okay. You: i would like to know, if that means it no longer has anything to do with the countrywide account rules that were previously in place You: and the fees and disclosures will follow bank of america practices

Please wait while I transfer the chat to Alexus who can best assist you today.

Thank you for choosing Bank of America. You are now being connected to a Bank of America Online Banking Specialist.

Alexus: Thank you for your patience, I will be right with you.

Please wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited Bank of America Specialist.

Thank you for choosing Bank of America. You are now being connected to a Bank of America Online Banking Specialist.

Miranda: I understand your concern regarding the fee .

Miranda: I will explain you.

You: ok

You: please do

Please wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited Bank of America Specialist.

Thank you for choosing Bank of America. You are now being connected to a Bank of America Online Banking Specialist.

Wesley: Hello! Thank you for being a valued Bank of America customer! My name is Wesley.

Wesley: Hope you are doing well!!

Wesley: Let me review the chat

You: ok

Wesley: I see that you had an account with Countrywide and now this account is with US. All the policies and the regulations have changed

You: all right. could you tell me if this account has any fees or minimum balance requirements

Wesley: I am reviewing your account. Please bear with me.

Wesley: May I please have your full name as it appears on the account?

You: [some_name]

Wesley: Thank you for the information, [some_name].

Wesley: Please give me a moment while I access your account information.

You: got it

Wesley: Thank you for waiting. I’ll be with you in just a moment.

You: right

Wesley: The monthly maintenance fee of $10 for your Money Market Savings account can be avoided by maintaining a minimum daily balance of $5000 in the account.

You: this is an account opened in the state of washington, right?

You: i actually have another bank of america account in that state. is it possible to close this one and transfer the amounts to that account?

Wesley: No, in New Hampshire

You: i don’t think i ever opened an account in new hampshire

You: the original countrywide bank account was opened in WA

Wesley: After the conversion of the account, the account is domiciled in New Hampshire

You: but i have no connection to new hampshire. that is not where my mailing address is.

You: i also have a bank of america account in massachusetts, however. the amounts could be transferred to that account, as well.

Wesley: Your mailing address is
Wesley: xxxxxxx
Wesley: SEATTLE, WA 98xxx-xxxx

You: right, that is in washington state

Wesley: I apologize for the delay. I’ll be with you shortly.

You: all right

Wesley: Please be informed that all the Countrywide accounts converted to Bank of America accounts are now domiciled in New Hampshire irrespective of the states there were in the past

You: ok, in any case, could i have the remaining amount in this account moved to another bank of america account i own, and close this account?

Wesley: I see that the Money Market Savings account ending in -**** has $0.03 as available baalnce

Wesley: I apologize for the typo error.

Wesley: Balance

You: yes, and i would like to move this to account # **********

You: and close this account

Wesley: I am able to close the account by sending you the cashiers check for $0.03 to the address:
Wesley: xxxxxxx
Wesley: SEATTLE, WA 98xxx-xxxx

You: ok, if that is easier.

Wesley: Give me a moment please while I process your request

Wesley: I am almost done

You: thank you

Wesley: You are welcome.

Wesley: I really appreciate your patience in this regard.

Wesley: Your account closure request has been submitted.

Wesley: A check for the remaining balance will be mailed within 3 to 5 business days.

You: thanks.

Wesley: No further action is required on your part to remove the account from your Online Banking list of accounts. Once the request is complete, the account will automatically drop from your Online Banking profile.

You: thank you.

Wesley: You are welcome.

Wesley: Is there anything else that I may be of assistance to you?

You: that is all. thank you.

Wesley: Please feel free to chat with us for any query, so that we will be able to assist you

Wesley: We know you have many choices for your banking needs. Thank you for choosing Bank of America.

Wesley: Take Care of yourself

You: good night.

Wesley: Good night

almost dead?

admin — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 02:08:31 +0000

I came across a story today of somebody who avoided a head on collision by moving to the next lane at the last moment, almost by involuntary reaction and without realizing what was going on. The full gravity of the situation always dawns on the survivor slowly, because everything happens so quickly.

This reminds me of my own near death experience. It was in the Bay Area near an airport in the middle of the night, I can’t remember where now. There was a very confusing road division where there were two left turn lanes, and one of them is somehow on top of some kind of surface rail (trolley) track running parallel to the lanes. I couldn’t see clearly at all. The traffic lights were not normal traffic lights, but some kind of symbol for each lane. Anyway, there were no dividers, fences, or barriers of any kind and I somehow ended up half on the tracks waiting for the light to turn green. Then in my rear view mirror, I see the bright lights of a train coming straight behind me. As the train comes ever closer, I get a feeling just like in a dream when something unreal is happening, a feeling of … “wait, this doesn’t make any sense”. So just like you might violently snap out of a dream in cold sweat, I stepped on the gas, ran the red, and moved into the next lane on autopilot, as the train whizzes by not more than a few feet beside me.

No horns, no noise, just a quiet train in the middle of the night. The whole thing still feels like sleepwalking to me and still doesn’t make any sense, but that would have been a terrible way to die.

Just had a random Latin moment

admin — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 07:46:29 +0000

Random being the fragments that I apparently still remember, and surely imperfectly, but hey, with correct grammar…

Gallia est divisa in partes tres…

Quo usque patientia nostra abutere, Catalina…

Arma virumque cano Troiae qui primus ab oris, Italiam fato profugus Laviniaque venit…

Conticuere omnes intentique ora tenebant…

Cenabis bene mi Fabule apud me…