Isaac Newton

I just finished reading a biography about Isaac Newton. It was written by James Gleick who written a number of successful and  interesting books, mainly about science and technology. What I liked about this biography is that fact that it looked at Isaac Newton as a complete person and not just at Isaac Newton the scientific genius. Unlike other books about Newton it is not a hagiography. In fact, Gleick goes out of his way to include Newton's foibles as well as his genius. This presents a more realistic and human portrait of Newton than I have ever seen before.

What I really found interesting about Newton was that he was not a scientist in the sense of most scientist today in which he strictly followed the scientific experimental method and ignored or discounted things that we would consider to be pseudo-scientific or non-scientific. As it turns out, Newton was the greatest and most accomplished alchemist of his day. he spent at least twenty years of his life in futile attempts to transform lead into gold. In the mean time, he exposed himself to many hazardous chemicals such as Mercury which he handled frequently.

Newton also spent many years writing about religion, interpreting the bible and engaging in biblical prophesy. Activities that many today would consider quaint, odd or even appropriate for a scientist.

Of course, Gleick goes into great detail regarding Newton's personal development and discoveries in the fields of optics, mathematics and physics. Issac invented the mathematics of Calculus so that he could calculate the mathematics that supported the new science that he developed. Until Einstein developed the theory of relativity, Newton's explanation of the physical world was the most complete. Even today, Newton's description of the physical world still holds true. He truly saw further than anyone else, even if he stood on the shoulders of giants.

In later life, Newton devoted a good deal of attention to the Royal Society in London and he eventually became the Master of the Mint, a position that he took quite seriously and performed diligently for the remainder of his long life.

WHAT I DID ON OUR VACATION : TOULON FRANCE

Our first stop on our cruise was in Toulon, France. The one thing that I knew about Toulon is that it was the harbor where Napoleon launched his fleet for his Egyptian campaign in 1798. We arrived in Toulon after spending a rocky night on board. At on point I was dreaming that I was on a roller coaster. When I woke in the middle of the night I could feel the boat pitching back and forth. We were ready to go ashore!

Toulon turned out to be a quiet port town at the west end of the French Riviera. It would be a wonderful place to spend a winter vacation. It is only about 40 kilometers from Nice so you could easily drive there and spend the day but the costs of renting an apartment in Toulon is a fraction of what it would cost in Nice.

The first thing that we did when went ashore was to find a patisserie where we bought pain au chocolat.

Their pain au chocolat were wonderful, crisp and buttery on the outside, soft, warm chocolate on the inside.

After we visited the patisserie we walked through the market on our way to the tourist bureau where we picked up a map of Toulon that showed all the spots of interest.

This is the Toulon opera house where they show movies and stage live entertainment as well such as plays and opera and recitals. It is the second largest opera house in France.

We had lunch in at Place de la Liberte in front of the Grand Hotel. The fountain was magnificent. Unfortunately I could not find any information on the fountain but it is well worth seeing.

After lunch we explored the older parts of Toulon, wandering up and down the streets. There were a few sights that we found in the tourist pamphlet but we mostly had a good time soaking up the ambiance of Toulon.

 

During our wandering around Toulon we came across this monument to Jules Raimu who it turns out was a famous actor in the 1930's and 1940's. He was born in Toulon then made it big in the French cinema. These are the little gems that you find when you wander around new places.

As we made our way back to our boat I took pictures of scenes that I thought were interesting. This pictures shows one of the many interconnecting alleys and passageways in the old part of Toulon.  they definitely have an air of mystery.

At the end of this alley was a very colorful mural that seemed to be about sea travel.

There were several statues like this one in the old part of Toulon. I have no idea if was modern or ancient art. There was no description or label regarding what this statue might be. Posed as it is against a backdrop of graffiti it makes a poignant statement

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 Toulon was a more interesting and diverse place than I originally thought it might be. As I said in the beginning, It would be a nice place to spend a vacation or an entire winter if one could afford it. We looked briefly at the cost of apartments in Toulon and they are a good deal cheaper than apartments in Nice. It is something to think about!

Eventually, we did make our way back to the boat. Toulon was a very interesting first stop in our cruise. I can't wait to tell you about the rest of the cruise.

Savour Stratford Perth County Culinary Festival

last weekend, my wife and i went to the Savour Stratford Perth County Culinary Festival in Stratford, Ontario. we had a great time. The weather was perfect; it was a warm and sunny fall day with blue skies and few clouds. we arrived about mid morning and parked across the Thames river then walked passed the Stratford Festival theater. On the way to the festival we stopped to look at the art festival that was also going on.

There were painters, and potters and jewellary makers exhibiting and selling their works.

These unusual wooden designs by Paul Szewc caught my eye for their unique forms and colors. Paul also makes tables and cutting boards that are also unusual in their design.

I did not catch the name of the wood turner who makes these lovely bowls but they are first rate work. I understand that these artists and artisans are often exhibiting in the part in Stratford, not only during the food festival so if your interested they will probably be there most weekends until it is too cold to exhibit.

 

 I just had to take a picture of this beautiful black swan that I spotted as we were walking along the Thames river on our way to the food festival. Apparently, the black swans are from Australia! It is an amazing looking bird.

 

So finally, we made it to the food festival. We spent most of our time in the Farmer's and Artisan Market where there were innumerable stalls and kiosks of fresh fruit, vegetables, baked goods and refreshments. The musicians pictured above were playing as we walked by so I snapped a picture. There was entertainment all along the street where the festival was being held. My wife stopped to buy two butternut squash for $1.00 a piece. We later stopped by the same stall and bought two more for a total of $4.00. We stopped for ice cream and we bought fresh buns to eat with our lunch. Most of the food that was being offered was either organically grown or the food was made with organic ingredients. 

We stopped to have a discussion with a person who was promoting Community Supported Agriculture. We told her that we really supported the idea but we did not like the way that Plan B Farm was running the program in our area, they did not give us any choice in what we bought. At any rate, we had a good discussion.

You can see that there were lots of people at the festival and there were a lot of things to see and do and most of all taste!

 

There were also many things for children to enjoy. Even Jack Sprat and his wife showed up for the event.

This puppet show featuring professor GMO kept the children entertained but it was probably as much for the education of adults on genetically modified organisms. Whether or not you agree with their message it was entertaining.

My wife and I enjoyed ourselves immensely so much that we both agreed that we will probably go again next year.