Prologue: why?

I always enjoyed learning about things and about what makes the world go around.

I like to make quantitative estimates, not precise calculations, but simply physically meaningful approximations.

I also like to write things up because in the process of putting things down in writing I discover things I missed, holes in my thinking that I can then correct. Since I have my thoughts in writing, it is easy to share them with others. Also, I would like to join the public debate on some issues. Thus the idea of this blog was borne to post my white paper "From Sr-90 Radiation Hazard to Balancing the Budget"; I started out in one direction and wound up where I was not heading. Other posts may follow later.