Great are the Works of the Lord

Office Fridge Label Win!

2012-02-01T13:42:00.002-06:00

It contains so little information, yet it is all I need to know.

Our 2011 Christmas Tree, with LED lights

2012-01-29T15:32:00.002-06:00

More Blessed to Give

2012-01-29T15:11:00.000-06:00

"It is more blessed to give than to receive." - Jesus (Acts 20:35)

This aphorism was reinforced to us with great joy when we were visiting my family for Christmas. My mother had given some indications that she was ready to take a technological step forward into the computer age. She wanted something on which she could type letters rather than handwriting them. This may not seem like a big technological step, but bear in mind that she got her first cell phone for Christmas ... in 2010!

Kelly and I decided to refurbish my old laptop and give it to her as a surprise. It has grown rather slow with age; it is old enough that it is actually and IBM (not Lenovo) laptop! Kelly did a lot of work installing a new operating system, Xubuntu, and several useful freeware programs (word processing, photo manipulation, DVD player, etc.) to make it as fast and novice-friendly as possible. I made sure to capture the moment of her opening this gift on video:

Her joy seems to have made her a fast learner. She just sent us friend requests on Facebook! The internet will never be the same.

Just Decided Who I Wish I Could Vote For...

2012-01-22T17:57:00.000-06:00

Beginning the Year with a Short Prayer from the Longest Psalm

2012-01-18T15:04:00.002-06:00

Give me understanding, that I may keep your lawand observe it with my whole heart.
Lead me in the path of your commandments,for I delight in it.
Incline my heart to your testimonies,and not to selfish gain!
Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;and give me life in your ways.

- Psalm 119:34-37

Faster than Light Neutrinos

2011-11-07T20:03:00.000-06:00

From the BBC to the AP, and from The Huffington Post to Fox News, the press has been abuzz with stories of particles traveling faster than light.

The original press release and paper preprint are probably the best sources for information about this analysis. The experiment on which I work, MINOS, is gearing up to reproduce this measurement as soon as possible.

If this result is real, it would be one of the greatest shocks to hit the physics community for about a century. Given this extraordinary implication, the measurement will need to be reproduced (preferably multiple times) before it becomes accepted.

Photo Backlog 4: The British Museum

2011-11-07T19:43:00.000-06:00

This album is from the 30 min. we managed to spend at the British Museum during our trip to England in January.

If you are curious or confused about my work ...

2011-10-31T13:12:00.000-05:00

For those of you who are interested in learning more about what I do for a living, Symmetry Magazine just published an article and photograph gallery about NOvA, the experiment on which I work that is under construction now. Quotes from yours truly bookend the article! Another article provides a good summary of the current questions particle physicists have about neutrinos and the experiments we are using to answer them. Symmetry is "a magazine about particle physics and its connections to other aspects of life and science, from interdisciplinary collaborations to policy to culture."

"It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out."- Proverbs 25:2

David, God, and the Law for Kings

2011-10-20T13:01:00.002-05:00

In my Bible reading a few days ago, I read with much interest about the law God proclaimed to govern Israelite kings.

One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, 'You shall never return that way again.' And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.

- Deuteronomy 17:15-17

My first reaction was to be impressed that God gave laws that even kings had to obey, a concept that modern America still holds. Richard Nixon and Rod Blagojevich discovered the hard way.

I also noticed one of the clauses requires that the king "shall not acquire many wives for himself."

I Chronicles 3:1-3 lists six wives of David, and II Samuel 3:13-16 recounts another (Mical). This is not counting Bathsheba. If seven wives can be considered many, then David broke the law, which is no surprise given the adultery and murder his is famous for committing. What surprises and confuses me is part of the condemnation Nathan relayed from God regarding David's sins, "I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more" (II Samuel 12:7-9). This raises several questions that I do not know how to answer. Is God saying that he gave David at least some of his many wives? If so, does that mean God was abetting David in breaking his own law? I would welcome any suggestions you have.

Answered Prayers This Week

2011-10-13T17:36:00.003-05:00

Sold my first ticket in The Well's raffle
I think God just answered my prayer for my internet connection to work!

A Good Old Fashioned Church Raffle! You could win $5000!

2011-10-11T08:39:00.000-05:00

If you would like a raffle ticket with a chance to to win a $5000 cash prize, an iPad or a $500 gift card, e-mail me, call me or comment on this entry. $25 for a ticket will help our church raise some needed funds. Only 2000 tickets available so your chance of winning is at least 1 in 667! Tickets will be sold until October 30th, and the prizes will be awarded on November 6th.

"Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

- II Corinthians 9:7

Planes, Physics Talks, and Automobiles

2011-09-26T20:22:00.003-05:00

It seems God has decided that I have not done enough traveling and presenting my work yet this year. Here are the upcoming presentations and travel planed between now and Thanksgiving. Among these trips are 3 plane flights and more than 1000 miles of driving.

Most of them have come up only in the past few weeks! Please pray that I will represent God, particle physics, NOvA, and Indiana University well at all of them.

Job Interview by Skype, morning of Sep. 27
Seminar on the NOvA Experiment, Indiana University, Oct. 3
Presentation on NOvA at the Advances in Neutrino Technology conference, Philadelphia, Oct. 10
NOvA Collaboration Meeting, University of Minnesota, Oct. 14-16
Seminar on NOvA, University of Pittsburgh, Nov. 21.

Photo Backlog 3: 2010 Small Group Game Night

2011-09-22T16:07:00.001-05:00

Click on the photograph below for the full album.

Photo Backlog 2: Winter of 2010

2011-09-19T13:23:00.003-05:00

Dec. 2010 Snow. Click on picture for full album.

2010 Young Adult Small Group Christmas Party. Click on picture for full album.

Photo Backlog 1: Steely the Snowman

2011-09-14T13:01:00.000-05:00

In what may be the greatest display of procrastination in my life, I have started posting online photos that date back to late 2010. Here is the first album in the series, Steely the Snowman. I think he was there for the Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore game on Dec. 5, 2011.

Softball, Success, and God

2011-08-31T16:25:00.000-05:00

Behold, the 2011 Boomers of the Fermilab Softball League! We played our final game of the season on Aug. 25. All of the teams in the league make it to the playoffs, which are a double-elimination tournament. We lost both of our playoff games, all but one game (out of 12) of the regular season and all but 2 games of the previous season. Given those records, you might be able to see why being on this team reminds me of an article that my wife sent me: "Why You Need To Fail."

This might prompt you to ask why I am smiling in the photograph above, something that my wife will confirm is too rare for me. It is because, in addition to the lessons of humility, reliance on God, resilience, compassion, humility, wisdom, and simplicity, failure has helped me "learn what really matters" and what doesn't. God has used it to teach me that being a "successful" softball player is far less important than doing my job well, which is less important than loving my wife well.

Also, I have learned that success and failure are not always as easily defined as one might think, and they are often defined by one's goals. I am certainly a much better softball player and in better physical shape than when I began playing; that can be considered a success. If the Boomers' goal was to win the most games, we were certainly not successful. However, if we our goal was to follow my wife's motto for our team, "we lose the most games, but we have the most fun," I think we were a success.

Words I Have Learned Playing Wordfeud II

2011-08-30T13:53:00.006-05:00

Thoughts about Slavery from my Daily Bible Reading

2011-08-10T12:40:00.001-05:00

For me and probably for many other American Christians, slavery is one of the most uncomfortable topics to read about in the Old Testament. Given the horrors of past and modern slavery, I have difficulty understanding how the loving God in whom I believe and trust could condone such an institution. I want to find the language of the 13th Amendment in the Torah, but it is not there.

However, some time ago during my daily Bible reading, I read this passage. Though I must have read it multiple times before, I didn't remember it.

If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: he shall be with you as a hired servant and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers. For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God. As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly.

- Leviticus 25:39-46

This prohibition seems absolute to me, but it only applies to Israelite "brothers;" ownership of "strangers" and members of other nations was still explicitly allowed and regulated. However, in the New Testament, the difference between brothers and strangers becomes much less clear.

In fact, Paul says that gentile believers are grafted onto a Israelite root.

Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

- Romans 11:13-24

I wonder if this is why Paul asked Philemon to accept Onesimus, his slave, back as a brother.

For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

- Philemon 1:15-16

Cool Memories for a Hot Month

2011-08-01T14:09:00.000-05:00

As we prepare for sweltering August, I thought I would share a few cool photographic memories from the Groundhog Day Blizzard (a.k.a. my wife's Birthday Blizzard) that was about six months ago.

Words I have learned...

2011-07-28T14:48:00.001-05:00

... playing Wordfeud:

See one of the Men behind the Computer that won Jeopardy!

2011-07-25T09:45:00.001-05:00

The principle investigator on the Waston project, which build the computer that beat Ken Jennings at Jeopardy! will be giving a colloquium at Fermilab on Wednesay, July 27 at 4pm in Wilson Hall, room One West. Let me know if you are interested in coming.

One of the benefits of being on swing shift is seeing beautiful sunsets...

2011-07-09T21:03:00.000-05:00

...he has set a tent for the sun,
   which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
   and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
   and its circuit to the end of them,
   and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

- Psalm 19:4-6

I want to be able to bike to church. (mailed July 5, 2011)

2011-07-06T13:30:00.000-05:00

Commissioner Thomas Van Cleave
Forest Preserve District of Kane County
1996 South Kirk Road, Suite 320
Geneva, IL 60134

Dear Commissioner Van Cleave:

As a resident of Batavia and an avid bicyclist, I am writing to ask about a possible extension to the bike trails which intersect at the corner of Kirk Rd. and Fabyan Parkway in Geneva. Would it be possible to construct an extension from that corner to the parking lot of the Fox Valley Ice Arena? This extension would allow a cyclist to ride to Cherry Lane from the south without needing to ride on Kirk Rd. or walk through knee-high grass and thistles along sections of Kirk.

This is of interest to me and multiple other members of The Well, which is a church congregation that has recently begun sharing the Fox Valley Church of God building on the corner of Kirk and Cherry. Several of us would like to be able to bike to church on Sunday mornings. We have even discussed having a “Bike to Church Sunday.” However, there is currently no safe or convenient bicycle route, and the extension I have suggested would complete one from the south.

I realize that such a suggestion would require considerable money and time, so if such a trail extension is impractical at present, it would still be helpful if the grass on the west side of Kirk Road could be kept short enough to make walking though it practical. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Luke Corwin

Ask Your Senators To Support the TVPRA

2011-07-06T12:56:00.000-05:00

I called both of my senators today.

If you have trouble viewing this email, please click here.

Dear Friend,

On June 29, 2011, a bill called the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Leahy (VT), Brown (MA), Kerry (MA), Boxer (CA), Cardin (MD), and Wyden (OR).

Your voice matters. Take one minute NOW to urge your Senators to co-sponsor the TVPRA.

This bi-partisan legislation is critical - it will renew the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, which established the State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, authorized the annual Trafficking in Persons report, and established human trafficking as a punishable crime here in the U.S.

Abolitionists around the country are calling on Congress to pass the TVPRA quickly. Will you join us? Thank you for your support!

Gratefully,
Eileen Campbell
Director of Justice Campaigns

P.S. Stay tuned for updates on the introduction of the TVPRA in the U.S. House of Representatives!

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www.ijm.org \| PO Box 58147, Washington, DC 20037 All text and images © 2011 International Justice Mission.

One Reason I Enjoy Giving Tours of the MINOS Underground Area

2011-07-06T10:41:00.000-05:00

Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 17:11:53 -0500 (CDT) [18 May 2011 05:11:53 PM CDT]

...

Subject: thanks!

Dear Aria, Art, Zeynep and Luke,

Thanks so much for the tunnel tour Friday at MINOS. I totally love going down there and I really appreciate your time and patience with my science writing students so they can love it too. I am endlessly fascinated by the concept of sending neutrinos through a tunnel and then the Earth to Minnesota...I don't think there'll ever be a day when I'm not amazed. You do a wonderful job making the science accessible and explaining what goes on in the tunnel. Then there are those elephant doors....

The students told me afterward they thought the tour was awesome...they even liked your elevator.

I look forward to visiting again.

All the best,

Donna

Poor Neighbors

2011-06-10T13:10:00.001-05:00

Somehow, I never noticed that these two proverbs are right next to each other.

"The poor is disliked even by his neighbor,
but the rich has many friends.
Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner,
but blessed is he who is generous to the poor."
- Proverbs 14:20-21

Summer Travel Plans

2011-06-10T13:04:00.001-05:00

June 12-17: We will be in Ely, MN for the MINOS Week in the Woods Collaboration Meeting at Vermilion Community College. This will be a particularly important meeting as our far detector has recently been restored to working order after a fire.
June 24-26: We will be driving to Independence, WI to visit my parents and sister.
June 30 - July 2: We will be traveling to Arlington, VA to witness the marriage of our friend Cate.
July 16-18: Yet another wedding! Our maid of honor Kristen will be getting married in Letchworth State Park, which is near Buffalo, NY. We will be flying there to celebrate with her and hope to visit Niagra Falls and Canada.

Fighting Slavery

2011-06-01T12:20:00.000-05:00

The Blogger outage of May 11 seems to have deleted the original version of this entry, so I have had to re-write it.

The Well has joined the fight against human trafficking, which is the name commonly given to modern day slavery. This is a horrific organized criminal reality, and we believe God has called us to actively fight against it. Our contribution to this cause is called Making Waves.

We are raising funds and raising awareness in many ways, including a garage sale this weekend that my wife and I hosted and a plant sale that another church member hosted. Both were part of the Batavia city-wide garage sale and raised a total of more than $500. The Well also sponsored and organized and a 5K run/walk on May 14 to raise funds for a community training class on May 21. "The training is for first-line responders (or anyone in a position to serve youth). The training will equip participants to recognize the signs of human trafficking and will empower them with the proper tools for response."

"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the LORD his God,

who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever;

who executes justice for the oppressed,

who gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;

the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.

The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;

the LORD loves the righteous.

The LORD watches over the sojourners;

he upholds the widow and the fatherless,

but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin."

- Psalm 146:5-9

Photos of the NOvA Prototype Near Detector

2011-05-16T15:13:00.000-05:00

This photo is linked to a album showing the detector and many of the people who helped install it.

Softball Season at Fermilab!

2011-05-10T09:45:00.001-05:00

Kelly & I are on the Boomers again, and this year the league has added a fifth team, the Prairie Fire. The picture above shows Kelly batting during our first game of the season on Thursday. It along with the other pictures in the album were taken by another teammate.

National Day of Prayer: My Prayer for Education

2011-05-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

This was the prayer I gave at the 2011 National Day of Prayer gathering at Fermilab.

Lord and Father,

You are the Creator of education and teaching, and we thank you for the opportunities to teach and learn with which we have been blessed. We come to you with petitions for this vastly influential institution.

We confess that we have all at times be timid in sharing your gospel with our colleagues, students, and teachers. We ask your forgiveness.

For the teachers, administrators, and students in our schools, colleges, and universities who do follow Jesus, we offer our deep thanks. For them we ask that they will always seek your understanding, insight, and knowledge above all. We ask that they will have courage to speak your gospel with truth, love, and patience. We ask that they will accept the truth even when it forces them to admit error or overturn their previous understanding.

We ask that you will continue to protect the freedom of your people to gather in your name in places of learning. We ask that those who do not yet believe will se your light shining in their peers and be cultivated to receive your word. We ask that all educators will use their influence well.

Your will be done.

In Christ's name, amen.

Starting a Fire with a Piece of Plastic...

2011-03-28T12:50:00.000-05:00

...and the sun.

The piece of plastic is a fresnel magnifying sheet.

Earth Hour 2011

2011-03-26T15:35:00.000-05:00

Earth Hour 2011 will be celebrated by the city of Batavia and Fermilab this year.

Another Election Already?

2011-03-24T09:49:00.000-05:00

While a surprising amount of news coverage has been given to the beginning of the 2012 Presidential Election, in our own city, there is another election coming much sooner: April 5 to be exact.

It is the local spring election, and three contested races appear on my ballot.

Batavia City Council, Ward 4
Batavia School District 101 Board
Kane County Forest Preserve Bond Referendum

The people and issues that win or lose these races will have real impacts on how we and the children in our community live. They are also the races in which individual voters have the most power because of the small electorate and low turnout involved. For instance, in the 2009 spring election, only 426 ballots were cast in the Ward 4 election.

God Provides

2011-03-11T11:45:00.000-06:00

The title of this post may strike some as cliche, but it was true for us. We were planning to be on a bus to Columbus, OH today, but Kelly became quite ill yesterday. We decided to cancel the trip.

From Columbus, we were scheduled to fly to Venice, Italy for a conference at which I am giving a presentation. Then, we were going to fly back from Venice to Chicago.

I called United to see how much it would cost to change our flights so that we would depart from Chicago rather than Columbus. Given the last minute nature of this change and airline's penchant for charging fees, I thought it would be prohibitively expensive if there were even any seats available. This is where God provided.

In what was probably the most productive half-hour I have even spent on the phone with an airline employee, he found seats on a flight from Chicago to Frankfurt, where we could connect with the same flight to Venice we had already booked. The seats are a pair, so we will still be able to sit together in the kind of seats we prefer (window and aisle). He made the change for free! Anyone who has navigate the world of airline fees will realize why calling this an instance of God's provision is no exaggeration. He mentioned something about bad weather in Cleveland, but I didn't ask any other questions.

Our plans for Venice and the return flights are unchanged, so we would appreciate your prayers that we will both be well enough for our trip and my presentation.

"Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds." - Psalm 36:5

The President's Budget and Me

2011-02-15T10:12:00.002-06:00

The President released his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2012 this morning. It may not mean much since we don't yet have a budget for this year. However, the New York Times has a nice chart showing how the administration is proposing to spend our tax money.

The part of the budget that affects me most directly is the Department of Energy because a grant from that Dept. pays my ~~celery~~ salary, and it provides most of the funding for the experiments on which I work. It is marked "ENERGY" in the lower right hand portion of the Times chart. More specifically the budge of High Energy Physics, the subfield in which I work, receives a small increase, as you can see in Slide 24 of Secretary of Energy Steven Chu's presentation of the proposal.

Secretary Chu's FY 2012 Budget Briefing

On Slide 6, you can see that the Tevatron run will not be extended. This was officially conveyed in a Dept. of Energy memo and has gotten coverage in Fermilab Today, the Beacon News, Science News, and The New York Times.

Upcoming Travel: Miami, Columbus, and Venice!

2011-01-30T23:27:00.001-06:00

From Feb. 5 - 8, my wife's late birthday and early Valentine's Day present is a trip to someplace warmer than here! That doesn't narrow things down very much, but having a friend offer to host us in the Miami area certainly does. When I planned this trip, I didn't realize it was Super Bowl weekend. However, we certainly plan to be watching Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay. I am from Wisconsin and married into the Steeler Nation, so whoever wins, I will have a reason to celebrate.

On Mar. 13, we will be in Columbus, OH to see our friends Stephen and Danielle get married.

That evening, we will fly from Columbus to Venice, Italy, where I am scheduled to give a presentation on the MINOS experiment at the 14th International Workshop on Neutrino Telescopes! We are going to be in Italy for a week. It should also be warmer than Chicago. This will be my second trip to Italy and Kelly's first.

It really is amazing all the blessings God has given us, and the places (both literal and figurative) that he is taking us.

Super Bowl XLV

2011-01-26T20:49:00.000-06:00

I believe

2011-01-26T11:12:00.000-06:00

I believe

God can heal

all our wounds.

Cold Ride

2011-01-21T17:38:00.002-06:00

This is what the thermometer read when I left to ride my bicycle to work this morning. The bottom number is the outside temperature in Fahrenheit. In this weather, I appreciate the irony inherent in the fact that I ride in part to combat global warming.

NOvA's First Neutrino!

2010-12-22T12:28:00.000-06:00

"It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out."- Proverbs 25:2

"An Acquisition" A short play

2010-12-06T13:11:00.002-06:00

Scene 1

[Interior, sparsely decorated kitchen with Roommate 1 sitting at a table eating cereal. A calendar on the wall indicates the date is Oct. 30]

[Enter Roommate 2]

Roommate 1: Morning

Roommate 2: Morning. The house seems warmer this morning.

Roommate 1: Yeah, it got cold enough last night that I finally turned on the heat.

Roommate 2: Okay...

Roommate 1: Don't worry; I only put the thermostat at 60. I'll still be able to pay my share of the gas bill.

Roommate 2: Thanks. By the way, we're low on toilet paper.

Roommate 1: Oh. [pause] I'll pick some up tomorrow.

Roommate 2: Thanks.

[End Scene I]

Scene 2

[Exterior, A scarecrow sits in a lawn chair near a tree in front of a house. Lit jack-o-lanterns are also present. Sounds of children trick-or-treating are in the background.]

[Enter several youths wearing mischievous grins and bearing toilet paper.]

Youth 1: [whispers] Ready?

Rest: [whisper] Ready.

[Several youths cock their arms to throw the toilet paper.]

Scarecrow: Hey you kids, get off my lawn!

[Scarecrow leaps out of chair brandishing a large menacing gun, pointed at the youths]

Youths: [Various profanities]

[Youths drop toilet paper and run off stage]

Scene 3

[Interior, same as scene 1]

[Enter Roommate 2 in full paintball gear]

Roommate 2: Morning.

Roommate 1: Morning.

Roommate 2: Have you seen my paintball gun?

Roommate 1: I put it back on your dresser.

Roommate 2: Ah, thanks.

[Exit roommate 2]

Roommate 2 [from offstage]: Oh, thanks for getting the toilet paper.

Roommate 1: You're quite welcome.

Roommate 2: How much do I owe you for it?

Roommate 1: Nothing. It was a donation ... of sorts.

Roommate 2: Okaaaaaaaaay.

[End]

My Favorite Thanksgiving Verse

2010-11-23T16:26:00.001-06:00

"When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day." - Deuteronomy 8:10-11

And then there was one (physicist in Congress)

2010-11-13T09:14:00.000-06:00

With the retirement of Vern Elhers, the defeat of Bill Foster, and the unsuccessful candidacy of Ruth McClung, only one physicist will be in the 112th Congress: Rush Holt.

"From my experience let me say this: in today's world it is no bad thing for a politician to have had the benefit of a scientific background." - Margaret Thatcher

Paris, Better Late than Never

2010-10-29T12:22:00.000-05:00

From my lovely wife Kelly's blog:

Paris was... delicious. ;) The definite highlight for me was trying new and interesting and even international foods! Surprisingly, we ate at a Brazilian restaurant, Indian restaurant, a North African restaurant, Japanese sushi place, and an Italian restaurant while we were there, in addition to various cafes and such! There's also a famous ice cream shop on the central island that I got to try. Hopefully you can see the pics that we posted on Facebook from the trip; much of the food is chronicled there, such as the AMAZING desserts and yummy baguette sandwiches that we got from the bakery on the corner, the awesome cheese plate we had for dinner our last night there, and the escargot and steak tartare (which were the "new and interesting" foods of the trip, and both surprisingly delicious!)

We saw lots of things too... Luke dragged me through the Louvre while I was still mostly-asleep and exhausted from jet lag, but hey, he wanted to see it... We got an awesome tour of the Eiffel Tower! We had a great tour guide, and we got to go underground to an old radio station and tunnel that goes under the tower and nearby area, and we also got to go up on a platform in the tower that isn't actually open to the public, so that was nice to get a non-crowded view of the city... and of course great views from all sides. We also had a guided tour of the Marais, which is a very old part of town where they were surprised to find walls that were thousands of years old when renovating that part of the city in recent decades. That was also where we had the escargot, and some of the best steak I've ever had... did I tell you the food was the highlight for me? ;)

We also saw a couple of the famous old churches: Notre Dame, of course, located in the very oldest part of the city, and Sacred Heart, which is on pretty much the only hill in the city. You can get a very nice view of the city from the steps of the church, and we were there near sunset, which was nice. However, it's also a place where beggars/pickpockets/etc. congregate and try to get tourists to buy their (whatever junk they happen to be selling) or just try to get money from tourists. In some cases they are very aggressive... one guy tried to follow us and kept asking us something (I don't even remember what) but we were able to shake him. It's definitely a conflict: how do you be kind to people who are chasing after you in order to cheat you out of your money? The Eiffel Tower was another place we encountered this... people everywhere, all selling the same cheap plastic copies of the tower, and all kinds of trinkets. Near Sacred Heart, though, was where we had French onion soup and cheese fondue... mmm :)

One cool thing we did at the end of the trip was go on a cruise of the Seine across the city. It's just a recording, but they do tell you about the various buildings and bridges and their history.

From our experience, stuff we have read, and people we have talked to, it seems that we really did avoid the "rude French" stereotype by just trying to speak a little bit of their language. The more touristy places had signs and staff who spoke English, of course, but in bakeries and shops and restaurants (we tried our best to go to not-so-touristy places to eat) it was useful to just know a few words, and we were definitely carrying phrasebooks everywhere to look things up (like menu items).

It was nice being connected to the conference too. Although I did not get to go, Luke got to hear the President of France (Nicolas Sarkozy) in person as he gave the opening address for the conference. We also got to go to the natural history museum and their "Grand Gallery of Evolution", which has models and skeletons of oh so many animals, birds, butterflies, etc... We were supposed to have a banquet there, but in the words of Luke's colleague, it was an "unmitigated disaster" as they were only serving (very few, at that) snacks to a huge group of people who were expecting dinner... we ended up leaving and finding the Brazilian restaurant, lol. And the best event (well, tied with the Eiffel Tower tour, perhaps) in my book was visiting the Paris City Hall, which is more like a historic palace than an office building, and getting to see and hear a wonderful string quartet performance there. It was extremely hot (there are very few air conditioned places in such old cities with old buildings!) and at intermission we ended up getting up and opening these huge old windows.

I was so thankful for the hotel we found. Since Luke's notice of acceptance to the conference came rather late, all of the reserved rooms were taken, and we had to find our own... no small task to find a room overseas in a country that speaks another language! But we found a place, and it had a teeny elevator so we didn't have to lug suitcases up and down the small curved staircases, and-- it even had an air conditioner, which was so very welcome after walking up those four flights of stairs to get back to our room. :) It had a tv, but of course everything was in French, so we really didn't watch anything.

~~~

I am thankful to Annette who motivated me to write something about the trip (finally)!

Who are these people!? (2010 Election Local Candidates)

2010-10-22T20:38:00.001-05:00

For those of us who respond with the title of this entry when we see the proliferation of political yard signs this time of year, I have compiled a list of sources that I have found useful in deciding who to select in some of the less publicized races.

Project Vote Smart
Chicago Tribune Election Center
Kane County Chronicle (Endorsements)
Daily Herald (Endorsements)
Batavia Republican (Election Guide)
League of Women Voters of Central Kane County (Candidate Forum)
League of Women Voters of Elgin (Candidate Forum Videos)
Illinois Civil Justice League, which the Tribune describes as "a pro-business group" has questionnaires from candidates for several competitive and retention judicial elections.

Articles About NOvA

2010-09-26T15:52:00.001-05:00

From next Thursday through Monday, Kelly and I will be in International Falls, MN for a NOvA Collaboration Meeting. I thought I would share a couple of articles about the experiment that I had not posted before. One is a good description of the experiment for the general public that appeared in the Washington Post. The other is an article in the Minnesota Daily (the University of Minnesota's student newspaper) and quotes my supervisor Mark Messier.

Tevatron Decision ... sort of.

2010-09-23T16:30:00.002-05:00

http://www.fnal.gov/pub/today/archive_2010/today10-09-21_readmore.html

Big Decision Upcoming at Fermilab

2010-09-16T15:16:00.005-05:00

Fermilab's directorate is currently deciding whether or not to extend the run of the lab's collider, the Tevatron, as described quite well in this story in the Beacon News. I have an obvious interest in this decision because I work on two of the experiments "involving neutrinos."

In the article, the caption to the photo above indicates accurately says, "a life-size photo of a cross section of the Tevatron hangs in the CDF building at Fermilab." Also in this photograph, the two long white objects in the foreground are part of a test stand for NOvA, one of the neutrino experiments. The lab's present and future captured in a single image.

"I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of ... all who are in authority" - I Timothy 2:1-2

The ARRA in Action

2010-09-16T14:15:00.000-05:00

Whether you spport it or not, I thought you would want to know that the ARRA (a.k.a. the Economic Stimulus) is partially supporting NOvA, one of the experiments on which I work.

Did the whole world share this ... 44,000 times?!

2010-09-12T08:26:00.000-05:00

Look closely at how many people shared the stories of the Colorado wildfire and a woman's "regenerated fingertip." I know our population is growing, but this is ridiculous! This is a screen shot from CNN on Sep. 10, 2010 at 14:55:06 CDT.

Softball Update

2010-08-30T10:26:00.004-05:00

We (the Boomers) were eliminated from the playoffs on Aug. 12 with our second loss. Our opponents in that second loss, the Big Bangers, went on to loose the championship game to the Lighting Rods.

Though the season is officially over, we still hope to have a few informal games while the weather allows.

I had fun this season, learned a lot about how to gracefully handle loss and keep my own performance in proper perspective. I am able to share in one of Kelly's favorite passtimes, and I also am better at playing softball than I ever have been :)

Heads Up Friends in Columbus: Travel Plans for the rest of 2010

2010-08-30T09:25:00.000-05:00

Sept. 3 - 6: We plan to be in Columbus, OH for the wedding of our friends Jesse and Mollie.
Sept. 30 - Oct. 4: We plan to fly to International Falls, MN for a NOvA Collaboration Meeting.
Thanksgiving: We plan to visit my family in Wisconsin.
Christmas/New Year's: We plan to visit Kelly's family and our friends in various cities in Pennsylvania, including Clarion and Pittsburgh.

Softball Playoffs

2010-08-10T14:26:00.003-05:00

Our Fermilab Softball League Team (the Boomers) start in the league playoffs tomorrow (Aug. 11) if weather permits. We go in as the fourth seed with a 3-8 record.

Who wants to show off their engineering or problem solving skills?

2010-08-05T12:08:00.000-05:00

If you look at this picture carefully, you will notice something odd. Specifically, the antenna cable is plugged into the wall rather than a TV. This is because our TV is in our living room on the first floor, but the best reception is obtained with the antenna on the second floor. Since previous occupants of our house had cable and satellite TV, we were able to use coaxial cable they left here to connect the antenna to the cable jack as seen above, run a cable from that jack to another one downstairs, and finally, run a cable from that jack to our TV. It's amazing what one will do to get good TV without paying for cable!

The problem alluded to in the title is that this antenna (a Terk HDTVa) receives almost all of the broadcast channels from Chicago that we want to see. One channel is missing.

MISSING: Channel 2

Call Letters: WBBM

Network: CBS

Frequency: VHF Ch. 12 (204 - 210 MHz)

Broadcast Power: 8 kW

Distance: 34.2 mi

URL: http://cbs2chicago.com/

Why Wanted: Steelers Games and The Big Bang Theory

For various reasons, we would rather not try to put an antenna on our roof.

So, if anyone wants to demonstrate their technical prowess and give ideas for receiving WBBM, please do so.

Thank you in advance.

ICHEP 2010 Summary

2010-08-05T12:06:00.000-05:00

Given the size of ICHEP, my experience is only a small sample.

Overall, I got the impression that neutrino physics is an extremely active field with a large number of experiments either collecting data or being constructed. The only real disappointment at the conference with neutrinos was that NOvA did not get a talk and that not many abstracts from MINOS were accepted.

I also was personally glad to see that my thesis work on B→ τ ν was mentioned several times and is a source of tension with the Standard Model. See slides 21-23 of the plenary Rare B Decay talk and slide 31 of the plenary CKM review talk.

As expected, the LHC experiments showed their first results. They are rediscovering the SM quite quickly. I was surprised at how many analyses had results ready for the conference.

The only other disappointment came in the form of the Conference “Dinner.” The quotation marks are very deliberate. The reality is described in part on an ICHEP 2010 blog entry. It was not a dinner; it was a cocktails and appetizers with too many people, too little food, and too little space. It was, in the words of one of our colleagues, an “unmitigated disaster.” To the organizers’ credit, they did give 50% refunds of the accompanying person fee.

The coffee break food and beverages were quite good with large fruit baskets being part of most of the coffee breaks.

The conference had two big surprises. The biggest surprise for most people was that “opening” talk given on Monday by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France! I thought his speech was very good, even though he made one historical error (Galileo did not go to prison). He talked much about the need to defend and promote science to the general public. He also announced a large proposed funding project for Saclay. The speech was interpreted into English in real time via headsets; that led to some interesting artifacts like people laughing at two different times to the same joke and the English interpreter consistently referring to members of our field as “physicians” rather than physicists.

The biggest surprise for me was winning the First Prize Poster award. Thank you for your help, and I thank God for giving me the opportunity and ability to do so. My poster is available online as a PDF.

This entry is intended a summary of the conference in Paris. Details about the rest of our trip will come when we have finished sorting through the hundreds of pictures we took!

A Dialogue on Origins

2010-07-12T12:23:00.000-05:00

THEIST: If the Universe had a beginning, as science now seems quite sure, who began it?

ATHEIST: I presume you would like me to answer "God."

THEIST: Ideally.

ATHEIST: You answer that question with "God," but then I must ask the obvious question "who made God?"

THEIST: God is eternal and has always existed. He had no beginning and thus no need for a beginner.

ATHEIST: Well, as Carl Sagan said, why not just save a logical step and say that the Universe is eternal and has always existed. It had no beginning and thus no need for a beginner.

THEIST: As I said, the overwhelming scientific evidence points to the Universe having a beginning.

ATHEIST: Then, your "evidence" for a god or gods becomes dependent on scientific understanding, which is, by definition, subject to change. Suppose science finds that the Universe is oscillatory. This Universe ends and another begins in an infinite cycle into the future and the past.

THEIST: So, crudely we could imagine time being bent into a circle in your picture of the Universe.

ATHEIST: Yes, although I prefer the image of a Mobius strip.

THEIST: Whatever geometry you choose, I still ask who made the circle or strip?

ATHEIST: Whatever answer I give does not solve the problem, it only moves it around; the question still remains: Who made the maker?

THEIST: Well, I believe God is eternal; he has always existed. We know our observable Universe well enough to know that everything here has a beginning, but God is transcendent. He is outside of our Universe, so we cannot just assume that he had a beginning.

ATHEIST: So are you telling me that you are so desperate to cling to the idea of God that you are willing to forsake even cause and effect?

THEIST: Yes! That's it! This is an exciting realization, not desperation. I believe in a God that is so thrillingly different from anything in nature, from anything I know that even the rules of cause and effect may not apply to him.

We're going to Paris!

2010-06-12T16:59:00.002-05:00

I just learned that my abstract was accepted for the International Conference on High Energy Physics 2010 in Paris, France! Kelly and I plan on traveling there in July.

Minnesota's Governor Pawlenty on NOvA

2010-05-28T12:55:00.002-05:00

Courtesy of Symmetry Magazine, one of the experiments on which I work (NOvA), received a visit from Gov. Tim Pawlenty during the Minnesota Fishing Opener.

"It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out."

- Proverbs 25:2

Traveling to Bloomington and Columbus

2010-05-17T16:02:00.006-05:00

Currently, Kelly and I are back in Bloomington, IN for a MINOS Collaboration Meeting at Indiana University. While the weather has mostly been wet and grey, I have had a productive meeting, and we have enjoyed sampling several of Bloomington's fine restaurants. We will be meeting some friends from the IUGFM group tonight!

On the weekend of July 2-4, we will be back in Columbus, OH for the wedding of our friends Jon and Sara.

Softball!

2010-05-17T10:40:00.000-05:00

As a way to stay fit, enjoy the summer weather, and just have fun, Kelly and I have joined the Fermilab Softball League! We had our first two practices already, and our first game is this week.

The league consists of four teams (one more than 2009), and we are on the Boomers. We have even ordered our own jerseys; Kelly is #1, and I will be #42. We were scheduled to play the Lightning Rods on Wed. May 12th at 5:30 pm, but the game was cancelled due to rain. No word yet on when the game will be rescheduled.

Our games are at the corner of Che-Che-Piqua St. and Blackhawk Blvd. on the Fermilab Site. Feel free to come to cheer us on!

Our next scheduled game is on Thur., May 20th at 5:30pm vs. Final Force. The schedule for the remaining games is available at the team captain's website.

National Day of Prayer

2010-05-06T16:30:00.000-05:00

Let us remember in our thoughts and prayers those suffering from natural disasters in Haiti, Chile, and elsewhere, and the people from those countries and from around the world who have worked tirelessly and selflessly to render aid. Let us pray for the families of the West Virginia miners, and the people of Poland who so recently and unexpectedly lost many of their beloved leaders. Let us pray for the safety and success of those who have left home to serve in our Armed Forces, putting their lives at risk in order to make the world a safer place. As we remember them, let us not forget their families and the substantial sacrifices that they make every day. Let us remember the unsung heroes who struggle to build their communities, raise their families, and help their neighbors, for they are the wellspring of our greatness. Finally, let us remember in our thoughts and prayers those people everywhere who join us in the aspiration for a world that is just, peaceful, free, and respectful of the dignity of every human being.

- President Obama, National Day of Prayer Proclamation for 2010

The Bible Exploration for Lunch League organized a prayer meeting today. We prayed for the laboratory, economy, military, and government. We also prayed much about the as yet unnamed young woman who died in the Wilson Hall atrium less than two hours earlier.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ...

- Colossians 4:2-3

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

- Romans 12:12-15

Blogcaster Test #2

2010-05-02T16:41:00.001-05:00

If you can see this on Facebook, this test worked!

Testing Blogcaster on Facebook

2010-04-30T16:45:00.001-05:00

This is a test. This is only a test. This is a test of the app I just installed on Facebook to allow my blog posts to be automatically "blogcasted" on Facebook. Had this been an actual blog post, it would have been (I hope) at least mildly interesting.

A Little Bible Quote Quiz - Answers

2010-04-07T11:20:00.000-05:00

As David correctly deduced in a comment to the quiz I posted a few days ago, the quotes were inspired by a segment of The Colbert Report. The four quotes can be found between 1:02 and 1:30 in the video clip below.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Mary Matalin

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care reform

The four quotes and the answers to the quiz are...

1. "I will make you fishers of men." Colbert correctly quoted these words of Jesus, found in Matt. 4:19 when he is calling his Apostles.

2. "Teach a man how to fish..." This, as Darius said, is an "old, wise proverb." Maitlin incorrectly attributes it to Jesus. As far as I know, it is not in the Bible anywhere.

3. "If you don't work, you don't eat." Maitlin claimed that Jesus "preached" this; however, it is actually from a letter written by Paul. Specifically, is a reference to II Thessalonians 3:10, which the NIV translates as "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." One could argue, as Darius did, that all the words of the Bible are form Jesus because he is the Word (see John 1:1-18); however, he did not preach these words directly.

Colbert also incorrectly attributes this to Cool Hand Luke, which I have never seen.

4. "Sell everything you have and give the money to the poor..." Colbert quotes this from what Jesus told to a rich young man asking about how to obtain eternal life in Mark 10:17-22. The NIV translates the command as "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." Note that Colbert incorrectly quoted the last part of the statment; Jesus spoke of treasure, Colbert spoke about the Kingdom of God.

So, the answers are: #1 and 4 are the words of Jesus, #3 is also from the Bible, and #2 is neither.

My Second Journal Article!

2010-03-31T12:23:00.000-05:00

My Ph.D. dissertation has now officially produced two publications! The first was the one I wrote about earlier (Phys. Rev. D 76, 052002).

The review process was slowed by my graduation, my moving to another experiment, and the other main author also moving to another institution. However, it was finally officially published yesterday as Phys. Rev. D 81, 051101(R). You can read the preprint online for free.

The subject of the paper is the same as my dissertation, which was an expansion on the work in the previous paper. We were searching for three rare decays of a particular subatomic particle called the charged B meson. We found some evidence of one decay, which is consistent with what other experiments have found. We did not find evidence of the others (also consistent with other experiments), but our search method had not previously been used for these two decays.

A Little Bible Quote Quiz

2010-03-27T16:47:00.002-05:00

Below are four quotations. Of the four, which are from the Bible or at least approximately so? More specifically, which are the words of Jesus? More than one may be correct.

1. "I will make you fishers of men."

2. "Teach a man how to fish..."

3. "If you don't work, you don't eat."

4. "Sell everything you have and give the money to the poor..."

Return Visit to Columbus

2010-03-24T12:28:00.002-05:00

Those of you in Columbus probably already know this, but Kelly and I will be visiting Columbus, OH (the city where we first met) this weekend (Mar. 26-28). We are free the afternoon and evening of Saturday and Sunday.

Responses to "Can a Biologist Trust an Evangelical Christian?"

2010-03-18T12:20:00.005-05:00

As an indicator of how incendiary these issues can be, even on this small blog, my entries on a panel discussion about Christianity and evolution prompted some controversy in the comments on my original entry and the entry with a link to the audio of the event.

In other words, it will consist of a one-sided dialogue on the topic? No opposing views from scientists who haven't "been convinced"? So much for building trust...

We were trying to build trust with the non-Christian academic community at Indiana University, and we realized that could cost us the trust of some of our fellow Christians.

I count myself among the scientists who have been convinced by the evidence for evolution and often wrestle with how this evidence and my faith can work together. I cannot speak for the other organizers of this event, but one of them signed a letter to the editor of the Indiana Daily Student in preparation for the panel discussion.

A large volume of evidence exists in favor of evolution from paleontology, genetics, and multiple other fields. If we are to make any progress on shining Christ's light into the corridors of academia, we cannot ignore, mischaracterize, or mock this evidence or the people who have spent their careers researching it. To advocate intelligent design would, in my experience, immediately vaporize any credibility or trust we had built.

To be fair, I wouldn't like it if a bunch of intelligent design supporters had a "panel discussion" under the guise of promoting trust between science and Christians. It's not helpful on either side of the debate to do this sort of "let us explain how you're wrong" thing.

Our goal was not a debate; our goal was to reach across the gap that currently separates many in the scientific community form the Kingdom of God.

In practical terms, if we wanted to find a scientist who was "not convinced" by the evidence for evolution, I think we would have wanted someone who is doing active, high-quality research in biology like Dr. Jeff Hardin, our panelist from the University of Wisconsin.

I don't know of any scientists who fit that criteria other than Michael Behe, and I doubt we could have afforded is honorarium on our budget. Campus Crusade had a philosopher rather than a scientist argue for "yes" in answer to "Is Intelligent Design Viable?" This debate was their contribution to the themester; it was much larger than ours.

Well, it didn't start out terribly well in the opening comments:

"The stereotypical evangelical Christian culture is deeply anti-intellectual and forces its members to choose between their faith and good science, like biological evolution."

Already, a bias against and uncharitable understanding of the other side is introduced here. While some evangelicals are certainly anti-intellectual, I have found this to be largely the exception and not the rule. Evangelical Christians are some of the most intellectually honest thinkers in society, particularly the leaders of Evangelicalism. Also, you say that biological evolution is "good science." I know of many scientists and other bright minds who would disagree strongly with that view. Are they being "anti-intellectual?" It seems a bit unfair to call anyone who disagrees with you "anti-intellectual"...

In my comments, I was simply acknowledging that, for better or worse, the stereotype I described exists and is believed by many members of the academic community, probably including many members of the audience. Darius' opinion of the intellectual prowess of evangelical leaders is not shared by a large number of my colleagues, and that is a painful reality for me. It is a reality that we had to address directly in our discussion, and that is what I tried to do in my comments.

If any of you have suggestions for how to better overturn this stereotype in the minds of my scientific colleagues, I welcome them.

I haven't listened to the rest yet, but already this is set up with certain prejudices already assumed. I think it would be good to do a panel discussion on "Can an Evangelical Christian Trust a Biologist?" :)

We talked about that. It is an excellent idea and a logical compliment to the event we held. We decided to keep our focus narrowly on reaching into the academic community. However, this is the sort of event I would like to see happen as the science community tries to reach into the evangelical Christian community.

About My Readers

2010-03-15T14:42:00.001-05:00

I was pleasantly surprised by the response to my curiosity about my readers for three reasons.

I cannot count you on only one hand!
You follow this blog from four countries on three or four (dependent on how you count Europe and Asia) continents!
Some of you explicitly encouraged me to write more!

I am now trained as a Radiological Worker at Fermilab

2010-03-10T14:53:00.004-06:00

Despite my bike having a flat tire (I took the van), I arrived at the class on time for an 8am start. After the six hour class and a 40-question test, I am now trained as a Radiological Worker at Fermilab.

Listen to "Can a Biologist Trust an Evangelical Christian?"

2010-03-08T13:40:00.000-06:00

The audio from panel discussion on biological evolution and Christianity that I helped organize at Indiana University last November has been posted online, along with a nice summary written by the InterVaristy staff leader for our group, Paula Puckett. You can hear the audio from all three panelists opening remarks and the introduction to the discussion by yours truly!

I thank God for the opportunity to participate in this event, and I think it was very successful. It was a good step in reaching out from the Kingdom of God to academia at Indiana University.

I am curious about my readers.

2010-02-26T11:47:00.002-06:00

If you are reading this, I ask you to leave a comment. It can be as long or as short as you like; I am just curious about who reads my blog and how many of you there are.

My Apartment in Indiana was Rented

2010-02-25T09:33:00.003-06:00

As you may have read, I was advertising for someone to take over the lease on my apartment in Indiana. Thank God that he provided someone in late January; it was a big weight off of our shoulders.

What Happens to Losers Merchandise?

2010-02-19T11:32:00.003-06:00

Have you ever noticed that after a Super Bowl win (or other professional sports championship), the hats, shirts, and other merchandise proclaiming the winner are already being worn by the winning team at the end of the game? That means they must have been manufactured before the winner was known; therefore, merchandise proclaiming he other winner (e.g. Arizona in Super Bowl XLIII) must also have been made.

I've often wondered what happens to it. Well, I finally found the answer; the "misprinted" merchandise is given to World Vision.

The international Christian humanitarian aid group works with Major League Baseball, the NFL, and the NBA to collect misprinted merchandise and distribute it to people living in impoverished nations.

I can't help but wonder if the confused look on the little girl's face means she knows that her T-Shirt is wrong, but I'm glad the merchandise doesn't go to waste.

Richard Lidnzen At Fermilab

2010-02-09T14:50:00.001-06:00

Richard Lindzen, who is arguably the most credentialed and respected sceptic of anthropogenic global warming, will be giving a colloquium here at Fermilab on Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. If you are in the area, you can come; the colloquium will be in Wilson Hall, 1 West. I hope to have an opportunity to ask a question; any suggestions about what I should ask?

Abstract:

I will briefly discuss why this is a peculiar issue, and illustrate this with various examples of how the issue is being exploited and portrayed. In particular, I will show how much of the science and phenomenology being presented is contradicted by both logic and data. Although there is a profound disconnect between the commonly cited IPCC conclusion and the various projections of catastrophe, it is nonetheless worthwhile to examine the basis for the IPCC attribution of recent warming to man because the arguments are profoundly at odds with normative scientific logic. Even so, the claimed result, itself, is consistent with low, and hence unworrisome, climate sensitivity. This talk will discuss how one can ascertain the sensitivity. Most approaches are faulty in that they use observed temperature behavior and assume its cause. We show how this trap can be avoided. There are several approaches, and they each lead to the conclusion that current models are substantially exaggerating sensitivity. However, because of the peculiar nature of this issue, it seems unlikely that either this or the evidence of data mishandling will serve to diminish the commitment of many individuals to the seriousness of the alleged problem.

First Blog Entry as a Married Man

2010-02-09T13:55:00.001-06:00

It has been a long time since I wrote something in this blog. As you can see from previous entries, I have been very busy with a wedding, holidays, and moving to Illinois. You can see (and post) photos of our wedding here!

Of course, I don't have enough time to write about all of that, but I hope to start posting photos in the coming weeks. I am settling in to my new location at Fermilab, though I am still working for Indiana University. My wife (that still sounds strange) and I are settling in to our new home and life together.

In these first (almost) two months of marriage, we have been doing a lot of learning. We have been learning how to communicate, how to cook together, how much fun it is just to finally be together, and overall, how to love each other.

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

- Genesis 2:24

Anyone want my apartment?

2009-12-02T14:38:00.002-06:00

Since Kelly and I will be relocating in January, my apartment will be available for rent then. If you are interested, see the ad on Craigslist.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T08:18:00.002-06:00

God, I am thankful for:

Your love, salvation, and redemptive transformation of my life through your son Jesus and your Holy Spirit.
Kelly, the wonderful woman who I shall marry in a little more that 16 days!
Kelly passing her candidacy exam.
Her family's hospitality in hosting me this Thanksgiving.
My loving and supportive family.
So many good friends around the world.
The campus group and church congregation in Bloomington.
Friends to host us apartment shopping in Illinois.
Good health and access to good medicine.
A safe, abundant, and reliable food supply.
A job I enjoy that enables me to explore your Creation.
The skills, talents, opportunities, and people who made it possible to have this job.
The technology to compose and communicate messages like this.
The freedom to practice my faith and express my opinions, even the negative ones.

"When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you."

- Deuteronomy 8:10

Can a Biologist Trust an Evangelical Christian?

2009-11-12T10:12:00.003-06:00

You are invited to a panel discussion on building trust between scientists and Christians. It is related to the IU themester of "Evolution, Diversity and Change" and is on the official themester calendar.

The panelists will each give brief opening statements (10 min.) followed by about an hour of Q&A.

More details are below.

What: Panel Discussion "Can a Biologist Trust an Evangelical Christian?"
When: Nov. 12 at 7:00 PM
Where: Indiana Memorial Union, Dogwood Room
Why: We believe there should be no conflict between science and faith, because God is the author of both. We believe that Christians can and should explore the natural world and have the courage to accept that evolution is the best scientific explanation of evidence spanning billions of years into the past and within our own DNA. To this end, we hope to engage in the spirit of IU’s Themester by hosting an academic discussion, open to all who are interested, with panelists who are Christians and scholars, and who wish to build trust between the academy and Christianity.

Panelists
----------

Dr. Jeff Hardin
Professor and Chair, Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin at Madison

Dr. Tim O'Connor
Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, Indiana University

Dr. Richard Holdeman
Pastor, Bloomington Reformed Presbyterian Church

Lecturer, Department of Biology, Indiana University

Moderator
------------

Kerilyn Harkaway
Doctoral Student, English and Religious Studies, Indiana University

Sponsors
------------
InterVarsity Graduate and Faculty Ministry at IU
Indiana University Student Association

Letter to the Editor on Evolution and Christianity

2009-11-12T10:03:00.003-06:00

[Published in the Indiana Daily Student, Wed. Oct 21, 2009. I know I should have posted this sooner, but I have been very busy with wedding planning and the event described at the end of the letter.]

Science and Religion Can Work Together

Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, in his lecture at IU on Oct.12, presented a strong and unflinching defense of biological evolution. He also relentlessly attacked religious faith of any kind, particularly Christianity and Islam, calling the biblical book of Genesis the “scribblings of goat herders.” During Dawkins’ talk, Christians outside the auditorium handed out cards insisting that evolution is incompatible with the Bible.

Both views seemed to agree that we must choose between acceptance of legitimate scientific evidence and sincere faith. For those of us who are professional scholars and practicing Christians, this false choice is personally frustrating and cultivates potently corrosive distrust within our society. It robs far too many young Christians of the ability to realize their potential for exploring our universe and too many scholars of the redemptive power God offers for their lives and their universities.

We believe there should be no conflict between science and faith, because God is the author of both. We believe that Christians can and should explore the natural world and have the courage to accept that evolution is the best scientific explanation of evidence spanning billions of years into the past and within our own DNA.

To this end, we hope to engage in the spirit of IU’s Themester by hosting an academic discussion, open to all who are interested, with panelists who are Christians and scholars, and who wish to build trust between the academy and Christianity.Please join us at 7pm Nov. 12 in the Indiana Memorial Union Dogwood Room for a panel discussion in response to the question "Can a biologist trust an evangelical Christian?" For more information visit http://iugfm.blogspot.com/. We hope an honest and communal search for truth can evolve out of the false choice between science and faith.

Luke Corwin, postdoctoral fellow, Physics
Scott Lamanna, doctoral candidate, Spanish
Kerilyn Harkaway, doctoral student, English and religious studies
For the IV Graduate & Faculty Ministry at IU

Is Intelligent Design Viable?

2009-11-09T14:54:00.005-06:00

Update from Brian: For those interested in the audio, it can be found here.

On Nov. 5, Campus Crusade Sponsored a debate entitled "Intelligent Design: Is it Viable?" between philosopher William Lane Craig and biologist Francisco J. Ayala at the Indiana University Auditorium. While I cannot recap the entire debate here, I would like to state a few important points.

Dr. Craig gave the best spoken presentation of Intelligent Design (ID) that I have ever seen. He kept the debate at a very respectable and dignified level. His points and questions made me think more about this issue than I have in some time. He argued simply that ID is viable, not necessarily true. His definition and presentation of ID were also surprisingly narrow and modest for three reasons.

First, he accepted some level of common ancestry for diverse organisms. While he did not accept that all organisms were descended from a common ancestor, he easily accepted that all organisms in a given order or family could share common ancestry. I found this surprising because he made no attempt to challenge the descent of humans from earlier ape-like ancestors.

Second, many alleged flaws and cruelties in nature were cited as arguments against design, such as parasites, male baboons killing the babies of a rival, or the high spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) rate (at least 15%) in humans. Dr. Craig responded that a designer can still be inferred from very sub-optimal designs, such as the East German Trabant, a notoriously low-quality car. Even devices that are cruel and immoral can still be the obvious products of design; he used the example of a medieval torture rack. Overall, he argued that ID makes no claim that the designer is all-good or all-powerful. He quoted another ID advocate who said, "Zeus will do!"

Third, Dr. Craig conceded that ID might not be science; he argued that this was not relevant because an idea need not be scientific to be true. I think the question is more relevant than Dr. Craig does for practical reasons. For instance, if ID is not science, advocates should not sue school districts for not including it in science classes.

In defining ID theory, Dr. Craig used two criteria that William Dembski has posited to justify an inference of design. First, the event or object in question must be wildly improbable. Second, it must conform to a pre-specified pattern. Dr. Craig claimed that these criteria are used to detect design in fields like cryptography, forensic science, arson investigations, and the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He claimed that to declare ID non-viable, one must either attack the criteria or show that biological systems do not satisfy them.

I take issue with the second criterion. Police can use it to determine if arson caused a fire because they know how humans start fires. SETI implicitly assumes that the aliens will be enough like us (or want enough to be found by us) that we will be able to differentiate their signals from natural sources. This is a limitation of SETI that I had not recognized before this debate.

In Dr. Craig's formulation of ID, the designer can be anything from Jesus to Zeus to the designer of torture devices. With such a vague definition of a designer, I do not understand how one could pre-specify any pattern with enough precision to ever use Dembski's second criterion. When confronted with a seeming violation of the second criterion, even a determined ID advocate who specifies the Christian God could simply refer to our limited knowledge of God's intentions, reasons, and motivations (e.g. Isaiah 55:8) to avoid the criterion and thus render it useless.

While I was impressed by Dr. Ayala's overall performance, he did leave one important question, which Dr. Craig asked multiple times, unanswered. What is the evidence that natural selection, which works on small scales, is powerful enough to explain all of life? He cited the specific example of a whale and a bacterium being descended from the same ancestor. I would appreciate if any of the readers of this post could point me to such evidence.

Garden

2009-11-07T22:02:00.005-06:00

Above, you can see a slide show of the plants and some of the harvest from the garden Kelly and I planted in front of my apartment in Bloomington. While our garden was not in favorable conditions since it was shaded by trees and on the north side of the apartment building, we were able to keep many green plans alive in pots and in the ground. We also harvest several tablespoons of fresh and dried basil and a few cucumbers.

Though my mother has gardened for as long as I can remember, this was my first attempt, and I consider it a success. I look forward to Kelly and I gardening together whenever we are able.

My First Seminar! (UW-Madison)

2009-11-06T18:39:00.000-06:00

I have been invited to give my first seminar, other than job interviews, Nov. 30. This is a nice milestone in my career, and I am quite excited about it. The seminar will be at UW-Madison, and it will be about the work I did for my Ph.D. dissertation.

Title: Fully Leptonic Charged B Decays at Babar.

Abstract: The Babar detector was a multi-purpose particle physics detector at the PEP-II accelerator in SLAC National Laboratory. It is named after its primary objects of study, the B mesons, and a cartoon elephant. The accelerator was tuned to produce the Upsilon(4S) resonance, which almost always decays into a pair of B mesons. In this talk, I will describe the challenges and methods of searching for events in which a charged B decays into a charged lepton and a neutrino. The primary focus will be the search for charged B mesons decaying into a tau lepton and a neutrino in the recoil of a semi-leptonically decaying B. I will review complementary searches at Babar and the Belle experiment in Japan, and I will present the implications of these results for physics beyond the Standard Model.

Travel Plans for 2009

2009-10-15T08:08:00.006-05:00

Trip to MN, OH, and PA

Oct. 15-20, Minneapolis, MN: For the first four days, I will be attending a NOvA Collaboration meeting; Kelly will join me Sunday (18th) evening, and we will visit friends until Tuesday (20th) afternoon.
Oct. 21-23, Columbus, OH: We will be in Columbus for several meetings and appointments about planning our wedding and our lives together.
Oct. 24, Erie, PA: We will be attending the wedding of one of Kelly's friends.
Oct. 25, Columbus, OH: After the wedding, we will drive back to Columbus, and I will return to Bloomington in the afternoon or evening.

Update: I have color coded the future dates to indicate how (or if) I can be reached.

Green = full e-mail and phone contact

Orange = sporadic e-mail and full phone contact

Red = no contact

Kelly's Candidacy Exam, Thanksgiving, and Seminar

Nov. 20-25, Columbus, OH: Kelly's Candidacy Exam is on the 24th.
Nov. 25-28, Pittsburgh, PA: Thanksgiving with Kelly's Family
Nov. 30-Dec.1, Madison, WI: HEP Seminar at UW-Madsion

Home Search, Wedding, Steelers, and Holidays

Dec. 7-9: Warrenville, IL: Searching for a home near Fermilab
Dec. 9-12: Columbus, OH: Wedding! Marrying my love Dec. 12!
Dec. 12-18: Honeymoon
Dec. 18-21: Pittsburgh, PA: We have been given tickets to the Steelers vs. Packers game!
Dec. 21-22: Bloomington, IN
Dec. 22-26(?): Independence, WI: Visiting Family for Christmas
Dec. 26(?)-Jan 1: Minneapolis, MN: Visiting Friends for New Year's

Michael Ruse Lecture this Afternoon

2009-10-02T09:42:00.002-05:00

http://themester.indiana.edu/events/ruse.shtml

Student Loans

2009-09-29T11:09:00.002-05:00

After several years of saving, I paid off my student loans recently. Yesterday, I received a notice in the mail from the University of Minnesota officially informing me that my loans from them were "paid in full." I also paid off my loads from the Department of Education, so I hope to receive a similar notice from them soon.

Introducing the Groomsmen: John Yackovich, Brother of the Bride

2009-09-25T20:26:00.000-05:00

John and Kelly have known each other for all of his life and most of hers. In other words, he is Kelly's brother.

John and Luke met for the first time when Kelly's family hosted Luke for Thanksgiving in 2008. He accuses Kelly of "stealing his major" because they both have undergraduate degrees (and are pursuing Ph.Ds) in Computer Science. He lives with his girlfriend, who is also named Kelly, which creates an understandable amount of confusion and humor. John is pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh.

National Postdoc Appreciation Day

2009-09-24T13:23:00.002-05:00

Apparently, it is today. I feel quite appreciated.

Introducing the Groomsmen: Jonathan

2009-09-21T14:53:00.000-05:00

Of all the groomsmen, Jonathan has known Luke the longest. They met in the Autumn of 2001; Luke had returned from studying abroad in Australia in July. Both were students and members of Christian Student Fellowship (CSF) at the University of Minnesota, which was a singularly important group in Luke's spiritual growth. When they met, Jonathan did not yet have the beard or mustache.

Jonathan and Luke became friends in CSF. They have much in common, including their faith and a desire to wrestle with difficult and important questions. On issues ranging from childbearing to global warming to the interpretation of Genesis to cosmology, they often have strongly divergent views; however, and they also share a mutual respect and durable friendship even when their answers sharply differ. They have both grown and learned much through their friendship.

Jonathan recently received his MBA from the Carlson School of Management; he works at Syngenta as a NAFTA Business Development Analyst. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife Christina, who is a professional photographer and took the photograph above. They have welcomed into their home a black Labrador Retriever named Dietriech and their daughter Luciana Shalom, who was born on Sep. 3, 2009.

Introducing the Groomsmen: Paul Rimmer

2009-09-10T08:46:00.000-05:00

Through a warp in the space-time continuum, the TARDIS has brought Doctor Who to be a groomsman in Luke and Kelly's wedding! Actually, this is Paul dressed as The Doctor at the CGSA end-of-year party from the Spring of 2008.

Paul and Luke met when Luke returned from California at the beginning of 2007. He and Luke met in CGSA, and Paul has served as its co-president.

Both were graduate students in the Physics Department, and this created many opportunities for profound discussions about the relationship between faith and physics. Paul also has a deep interest in church traditions and history, which has been the source of more great conversations and opportunities to learn. Paul is a man of profound thoughts and deep dedication to truth.

Paul is currently a graduate student seeking is Ph.D. in Theoretical Astrophysics and Astrochemistry at Ohio State. He lives in Columbus with his wife Arwen and their two cats Mab and Merlin.

Blogging Milestone: 101000 Entries!

2009-08-19T09:05:00.000-05:00

For those of you confused by the number, I have a hint. "There are 10 kinds of people in the world..."

Introducing the Groomsmen: Markus Dickinson

2009-08-16T20:42:00.000-05:00

Markus is a proud alumnus of the University of Illinois. He and Luke met in CGSA shortly after Luke began his graduate studies at Ohio State. Markus was President of CGSA. Markus and his wife Stephanie were generous hosts of bible studies and other events at their home; they were also great supplies of utensils, cookware, and other useful items for the CGSA camping trips. They were also wonderful friends will to provide a laugh, a ride or a listening ear as needed. Lessons about linguistics, statistics, and The Who in casual conversation were an added bonus.

Markus graduated with his Ph.D. in Linguistics and is now a professor at Indiana University. So, when Luke accepted a job there as a postdoc in the Physics department, it was an opportunity to be reunited with these wonderful friends. As Luke progressed in his romance and engagement with Kelly, he came to realize another benefit of their friendship: they are a real and great example of how to be a married Christian couple.

Introducing the Groomsmen: Gary Nielson, Best Man

2009-08-16T20:33:00.005-05:00

Gary and Luke have known each other since Luke started graduate school at Ohio State in the Summer of 2003. Gary was a staff member with the InterVarsity graduate student chapter at OSU, which is known as CGSA. Gary remembers well Luke cutting firewood and tending the fire on the CGSA camping trip that summer.

Gary is one of several leaders and friends in that group with whom Luke has been able to wrestle with profound questions, have fascinating discussions, and see how his faith impacts his life, research, and the world around him. Luke was a leader in CGSA and worked with Gary extensively. Gary was also a great encourager and wise counselor when Luke was thinking about romance in general and one young woman in particular, who is also a member of CGSA.

Gary is currently still a volunteer with CGSA and Executive Director of Second Fiddle Ministries; his wife Peggy is Treasurer. They keep in contact with their seven children around the world and with many of the graduate students whose faith has been immeasurably strengthened and matured in CGSA.

InterVarsity Graduate and Faculty Ministry at IU - Bloomington

2009-08-06T08:53:00.001-05:00

The group of people in the photograph above are part of the InterVarsity Graduate and Faculty Ministry here in Bloomington. They are one of the two Christian fellowships (the other being my church) that I have joined since starting at Indiana University.

This picture was taken after our planning meeting for the Fall Semester by Erika, the eldest child of Paula (back row, 2nd from left) and Blake (back row, rightmost). She used the camera on my phone.

Relocating

2009-08-04T16:31:00.000-05:00

After much prayer, discussion, consultation, and thought, Kelly and I have decided to relocate to the western suburbs of Chicago in the first week or two of 2010. This will allow me to be based at Fermilab rather than in Bloomington. I will still have the same job working as a postdoctoral fellow for Indiana University. For those of you who remember, this will be much like my relocation to SLAC in California while I was a graduate student at Ohio State.

The reasons for this relocation stem from the experiments on which I work, primarily NOvA. The first full prototype of the NOvA near detector is scheduled to be assembled and commissioned sometime next summer or autumn at Fermilab. This will be a period of intense activity and will require the presence of as many collaborators as possible at the lab, including me. We concluded that it would be better for our marriage and my career for me to be based at the lab rather than to frequently travel back and forth between there and Bloomington, sometimes for long periods.

We will miss Bloomington, especially the new friends we have made and the old friends with whom we have been reunited. However, we are confident that our Heavenly Father will provide us with friends and fellowship in our new home.

Any help moving or recommendations for house would, of course, be much appreciated.

Wonderful Weekend

2009-08-04T16:20:00.000-05:00

My fiancée came to visit me in Bloomington this weekend with her new roommate and two mutual friends from Columbus. A great time was had by all.

The highlights:

Time with Kelly
Watching Kelly and Stephanie, one of our friends in Bloomington, play softball for Exodus Church. They lost to St. Paul's 14-10, but it was an exciting game.
Having dinner at Lennie's, including some of the best cheesecake I've ever tasted, with local blackberries.
Discussing our wedding, honeymoon, relocation, and other parts of our future as Dr. & Mrs. (then Dr. & Dr.) Corwin!
Touring the Oliver Winery
Having a BBQ at Markus & Stephanie's, which was a great meal from a team effort.
Church at Exodus, with a sermon on Matthew 5:33-37
An excellent lunch at Cafe Turkuaz
Spending a restful afternoon and evening with my future wife
Working in my office, then having lunch with her before saying goodbye on Monday
Finding several romantic and loving surprises in my apartment when I returned on Monday evening.

Climate Change and Trust II

2009-07-29T12:34:00.000-05:00

Let me approach this issue from another angle. For those of you who are skeptical of climate change science or are suspicious of its political implications, I have a thought experiment.

Let us imagine, just for a few minutes, that the following statements are true.

Average global temperature is increasing.
Human activity, such as the industrial production of greenhouse gasses, is the main cause of this warming.
Anthropogenic global warming (AGW) will have negative consequences for large numbers of people during the coming decades if present trends continue.
Conditions on this planet decades from now are affected by actions humans take now.

If this were all true, what would the proper response be by our nation and world?

Neutrino Overload

2009-07-12T15:09:00.003-05:00

I am currently in St. Charles, IL, at the Pheasant Run Resort, where I am staying for the International Neutrino Summer School. We have had a very busy schedule filled with mostly interesting lectures. The resort is beautiful, and I am relaxing by one of the pools right now. I only wish my favorite companion could be here to share it with me.

The curriculum has been so packed with fascinating and complicated physics that I am not sure I can absorb any more, but the school is only half over. The organizers have given us the weekend off; yesterday I traveled into Chicago to see the Museum of Science and Industry. Today, I am taking a much slower pace with church and lunch with a friend my only activities so far.

Need Help Unloading a Moving Van In Bloomington

2009-07-02T14:37:00.001-05:00

I am writing to ask for your help unloading furniture and other items from a moving van at my apartment on Saturday, July 18. My fiancée Kelly will be moving most of her possessions into the apartment then, and we could use your help hauling and re-arranging.

Her lease expires in August, and she will be moving in with friends of ours until we are married in December. Most of what she has in her apartment will not fit in the new place, so she is moving it to Bloomington.

So, can any of you help us?

Feel free to pass this along to any mutual friends who might be interested.