24 February 2013

EU sues Sweden over environmental 'inaction'

A couple of days ago, I read that the EU will take Sweden to court for repeatedly ignoring an order to regulate its industrial sites. The warning was given to Sweden in 2007.

Now, this is a total surprise for me.

In Sweden, everybody is so environmentally cautious! The people, the government, the schools, every institution... Even at fast food places, like MaxBurgers, you select your hamburger based on two pieces of information: (1) nutrition--KJoules (or calories) and fat content, (2) how much CO2 was used for its production. We recycle in 10 different categories in my neighborhood. We never throw a single piece of garbage in the wrong bin. Buses are coloured green because they proudly run on environmental-friendly fuel. People use bikes rather than cars, one reason being they care about the environment. We are told that, if we have the option, to heat up the car electrically when parked outside in the snow because starting on a cold engine is bad for the environment. We pay more for many things because we care about the environment. The environment comes first. Everything else comes second.

So, I was taken aback when I read that EU is suing Sweden over environmental issues. It's like suing the Pope for not being a good Christian. But The Local is not an untrustworthy source of news, so I accept that this is the case. In fact, the rest of the article also mentions that EU is taking Greece (and the UK) to court for environmental issues. No surprise here! This is totally in par with my experience.

The conclusion is that, despite appearances, despite the promise of "environmental paradise" in Sweden (as advocated by everyone, the government, the industry, etc.), one should be cautious about taking the "obvious" as true. Apparently, there are forces in Sweden which do not care about the environment and which, for some reason, have not been noticed or punished by the government.

I will not stop recycling every little piece of paper, but I will, from now on, be aware of the fact that, perhaps, even if I recycle everything for the rest of my life, the good I'm doing to the environment may not be equal to the damage done to it, in a single day, by a misbehaving factory farting nasty gases into the atmosphere. And I will have to take big words like "the overall goal of the Government's environmental policy is to hand on to the next generation a society in which the major environmental problems facing Sweden have been solved" with a grain of salt.

15 February 2013

Disney World and the Holy Land Experience

Orlando, Florida, is well-known for Disney World. But there is another, more recent, equally interesting amusement park. If you happen to visit Orlando, you shouldn't miss the Holy Land Experience. They are very close to one another (20 minutes by car). You can have a full experience of both sites within the same day.

I would like to make some comparisons between the two amusement parks and see how similar they are and how by visiting one without the other you certainly miss something. For complete experience and fun, visit both.

Disney World Holy Land Experience
You can see parades of Mickey Mouse,
Donald Duck, and other well-known characters
You can see parades of Romans and Jesus
You can have ice cream, pop corn and Dr pepper You can have ice cream, pop corn and Dr pepper
You can experience Jesus' birth (Christmas) You can experience Jesus' crucifixion (Easter)
You will cry out of joy You will rejoice by crying
Walt Disney was a Christian Jew-hater Marvin Rosenthal was a Jew and now a Christian

People who visit the Holy Land Experience are reported to have a life-changing experience. They can witness what is in the Bible, daily, and quite accurately.
People who have visited Disney World have also had wonderful experiences. They can witness what is in the cartoons and see Mickey Mouse alive.



T H E B O T T O M L I N E

What measure theory is about

It's about counting, but when things get too large.
Put otherwise, it's about addition of positive numbers, but when these numbers are far too many.

The principle of dynamic programming

max_{x,y} [f(x) + g(x,y)] = max_x [f(x) + max_y g(x,y)]

The bottom line

Nuestras horas son minutos cuando esperamos saber y siglos cuando sabemos lo que se puede aprender.
(Our hours are minutes when we wait to learn and centuries when we know what is to be learnt.) --António Machado

Αγεωμέτρητος μηδείς εισίτω.
(Those who do not know geometry may not enter.) --Plato

Sapere Aude! Habe Muth, dich deines eigenen Verstandes zu bedienen!
(Dare to know! Have courage to use your own reason!) --Kant