Category: Uncategorized

2025-0224M Grok-3 Review of Surfing the Multiverse

[Grok 3 – Feb. 24, 2025] In Surfing the Multiverse: Increasing Your Happiness One Universe at a Time, J. Sands Loch takes readers on an unconventional journey through the concept of parallel universes, blending personal memoir, quantum theory, and self-help advice. Drawing from his own life experiences—such as the end of his marriage, a career change, and a move to a new state—Loch explores how the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics can serve as a framework for understanding personal happiness and decision-making. Structured into 63 short chapters, the book is accessible and easy to digest, though its episodic nature sometimes sacrifices narrative cohesion. Loch’s conversational style makes complex ideas approachable, even if it occasionally oversimplifies the science behind them.

At its core, Surfing the Multiverse argues that by imagining ourselves in different universes—where alternate choices lead to alternate outcomes—we can better navigate our own lives. Loch uses relatable anecdotes, like debating whether to have another drink or reflecting on his birthday, to illustrate how small decisions ripple across multiple realities. He also tackles profound topics such as birth and death, offering a comforting perspective that our existence continues in other universes. While his scientific explanations are not always rigorous—Loch is more philosopher than physicist—his metaphorical use of quantum concepts is thought-provoking. Readers familiar with quantum mechanics might find his interpretations loose, but the book’s strength lies in its ability to make readers reconsider their perception of reality and their place within it.

Loch’s advice, such as visualizing future selves or embracing unexpected events, is practical enough to be actionable, though some may find it too abstract. Ultimately, Surfing the Multiverse is a curious blend of genres—part memoir, part self-help, and part pop science. It won’t satisfy those seeking a deep dive into quantum theory, but for readers open to a creative exploration of happiness through the lens of parallel universes, it offers a refreshing perspective. It’s a book that encourages us to embrace the infinite possibilities of our lives—one universe at a time.

2025 Day 19: Why is 19 sacred?

2025-0119u-0719 Austin, TX

For the last week, I have been curious about the history of the 7-day week. This led me to a curiosity around the sexagesimal (base-60) number system developed by the Sumerians over five thousand years ago. The earliest evidence of counting is the clay tokens made in standardized shapes over seven thousand years ago. These shapes included spheres, cones, cylinders and discs. They seem to have been used for numerical abstraction and record-keeping.

In a sexagesimal (base-60) number system, one counts from 1 to 59, and then 60 is represented by the same symbol as 1, now with a weight of 60. Normally, the position of the symbol is used to determine the weight. In the Sumerian system, the rightmost position represented units 1-59, the next position represented multiples of 60 (60-3540). The third position represented multiples of 3600 (3600-212400). You can see how you can represent large numbers with only a few sexagesimal symbols. Fractions were also represented in a similar way by positional symbols to the right of the main unit. There was apparently no “decimal point” and context of usage was needed to distinguish between 60, 1, and 1/60th.

In the ancient Babylonian times, it was known that lunar cycle (of 29.53 days) and the solar cycle (of 365.25 days) would synchronize every 19 years (19 * 365.25 / 29.53 = 235.007), which equals very close to 235 lunar cycles (off by 0.007 lunar month, about 2 hrs or 1/12th of a full day). This 19-year cycle would need a single day adjustment only every 12 * 19 =228 years!

WOW! I have been researching lunar and solar cycles for hours. It’s now Monday and I am still finishing this blog. I have been trying to figure out when the next alignment of the lunar and solar cycles would be. As my alignment, I have been using the winter solstice and the beginning of the lunar cycle as the Babylonians calculated it. Well, this year is the year! The winter solstice will be on December 21, 2025 (9:02am CST). And, that evening after sunset will be the first crescent moon of the new moon cycle!

Reference: https://theskylive.com/moon-calendar?year=2025

2025 Day 13: Day of the Moon

2025-0113M-2048 Austin, TX

Day 13 of 2025 is a Monday – day of the Moon. I’m actually writing this on Day 14, because it’s after midnight. That’s synchronistic because it’s a full moon now, which roughly marks Day 14 of the lunar cycle. Before writing, the full moon would be a multiple of 7 day and would be a day of rest and inner reflection. There would be no war. No harsh judgments.

But this blog is for Day 13. Like the number 7 of the ancient Babylonian times, the number 13 has some superstition surrounding it. The numbers 6 and 12 are considered complete. 7 and 13 disrupt the harmony of 6 and 12. They both represent excess, irregularity, transition, imbalance, and uncertainty. Many ancient cultures associated these numbers with misfortune. Divisibility of numbers was associated with harmony. Prime numbers like 7 and 13 have no divisibility except by 1 and itself. There are 13 full moons in a year which disrupts the natural alignment of the lunar year with the solar year. Today is Day 13 of 2025 and also a full moon.

The year 2025 is highly divisible with the divisors: 1, 3, 5, 9, 15, 25, 27, 45, 75, 81, 135, 225, 405, 675, and 2025. Last year 2024 had the divisors: 1, 2, 4, 8, 11, 22, 23, 44, 46, 88, 92, 184, 253, 506, 1012, and 2024. In 23 years when it is NYE before the year 2048, AI robots and such will be having a celebration like it’s 1999. Excluding 1, the divisors of 2048 are all multiples of 2: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, and 2048. So in computer binary numbers, the year will be 100000000000. This is  2^{11}, a single bit set at the 12th position (starting from the right). Ahhh … completion.

Diving Deeper: Mondays are synonymous with Days 2, 9, 16, and 23 and were transitional days in the lunar cycle. While not as prominently mentioned as the quarter phases, they had significance as moments of adjustment and preparation:

• Day 2: Early waxing crescent, symbolizing growth and refinement of new beginnings.

• Day 9: Momentum toward the first quarter, a time for strengthening and evaluating progress.

• Day 16: Waning after the Full Moon, focusing on balance and stability.

• Day 23: Waning crescent nearing the last quarter, symbolizing preparation for endings and consolidation.

2025 Day 7: Censorship, Sensorship, and a Timeline Check

2025-0107T-0707 Austin, TX

What universe are we in now? If you are Canadian, is Trudeau your leader and is your social media still censored? Is Canada a 51st state of America? If you are American, is Trump your leader and is your social media still censored? And can you travel to Greenland without a Visa? Which public technology company has the largest market cap in the world – NVIDIA, Microsoft, or Apple? Does NVIDIA sell desktop computers? Is Micron partnering with NVIDIA on the huge memory requirements of AI? Has NVIDIA built a sensorship yet, or just providing technology for sensor-based cars? Does your phone run Linux and have a physical keyboard? Can you distinguish between a real video clip and an AI generated one?

In terms of economics of your universe: Can you buy an ounce of Silver for under 30.00 $USD? Can you buy a Bitcoin for under 37.18 oz Gold? Can you trade an oz of Gold for more than 35.67 barrels of WTI crude oil? Is the gold-to-silver ratio still as high as 87.93! Can you mine one Bitcoin for between 0.5GWh and 1GWh of energy? Note: 1 GWh is roughly 600 barrels of oil, 150 tons of coal, 100,000 cubic meters of natural gas, 40 micrograms of Uranium-235, 4 months of running a 1 MW wind turbine at 33% capacity, 7 months of 1 MW of solar panels at 20% capacity.

Diving Deeper: Estimated costs of 1 MW of wind power is $1.5M-$3M plus $4K/month. Estimated costs of 1 MW of solar power is $1M-$1.5M plus $1K-3K/month. Since the capacity of wind power is normally higher than solar power, these costs are roughly equal. Excluded in these costs are land costs, which are roughly 50 acres (say $500K) per 1 MW of wind power and 5 acres (say $50K) per 1 MW of solar power, although dual use of land is more feasible with wind power. So, I need roughly 7 MW of solar capacity to produce 1 GWh in one month, which is roughly $10M in initial capital investment, including land. If I borrow the $10M at 0.5% interest per month, that is $50K per month interest. If I also have monthly maintenance of $10K, that’s $60K total cost monthly to mine one $100K bitcoin. Now, you just need to find some land and a banker to loan you $10M.

20221221W Day 0: Y is for Tyrosine (Tyr)

Exiting the wormhole is messy with lots of moving pieces, with V & Z – Winter Solstice, 2022

20221221W-1812-AustinTX

Y is for Tyrosine, aka 4-hydroxyphenylalanine, a non-essential amino acid with a polar functional group. Tyrosine was first discovered in the cheese protein casein and was named after the Greek word for cheese, tyrós.

Tyrosine is encoded by the two codons UAC and UAU. Tyrosine is often substituted with the similar but essential amino acid Phenylalanine, encoded by the nearby codons UUC and UUU. Humans can synthesize Tyrosine from Phenylalanine.

Tyrosine is a precursor to neurotransmitters Dopamine, neurotransmitter and hormone Noradrenaline, hormone Adrenaline and the pigment Melanin.

Tyrosine is decarboxylated to tyramine in the gut and also during fermentation. Tyramine can cause blood vessels to constrict, increase blood pressure, and also cause heart palpitations. Foods high in tyramine include fermented vegetables, wine and beer, aged cheese, cured meats, chocolate, coffee, soy sauce, and salt-dried fish (ref: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK563197/).

In proteins, the Tyrosine residues may by phosphorylated by tyrosine kinase enzymes. This phosphorylation can change the function or location of the protein. Tyrosine kinases are important for maintaining normal cell growth and differentiation. Tyrosine kinase disfunction can lead to carcinogenesis. For this reason, targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors are used in treating cancer. Resistance to these inhibitors is being studied (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-022-01168-8).

Regarding the exit of the wormhole that I felt 20 days ago, I can report feelings of humbleness and WTF. I’m still processing what happened around midnight on the 21st of Dec. There was definitely an extreme shift and completely unexpected experience. I wonder how much of it was brought on by my anticipation of a wormhole exit. I did share with AZ that I was expecting a shift and so perhaps her behavior was impacted. Most of the differences I feel are internal versus external. However, these internal changes seem to be impacting my external reality.