Expired Registration

About an hour after I went to bed last night, Rachel noted to Laura that the registration on the Honda had expired. Given that the registration is due each June, that would make it really expired. Laura woke me up to let me know. It's weird how you can be 100% sure of something and still be wrong. Well, I was 100% sure I had renewed the registration before we left Walla Walla. I still, even now, seem to have a memory of putting the new sticker on the license plate. However, after searching my records (credit cards, checks etc) in the middle of the night, I was forced to acknowledge that somehow, I didn't renew the registration on the car. So, changing tack, I started figuring out how to renew it. Turns out, it was pretty easy. Just do what I would (and should) have done back in May/June, log on the the registration renewal site and renew the registration. I did that. The registration will go to our house in WW. I gave Halley a heads-up to forward it the Rachel ASAP. And, Rachel will have to cross her fingers that she can make it through another week or so in Miami without getting pulled over by a FL cop for having an expired tag. (Given that she's made it 8 months, there is some reason to hope that she'll make it another week.)

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Speaking of paying things on line for our WW life. The property tax bill came today (electronically). That one I paid right away, even though it's not due until April. That definitely a bill you don't want to miss. I relayed to Rachel after paying the registration that this was only the second time I'd ever missed a payment. The first time was a missed credit card bill the month that Emily was born. I supposed lots of people go through life never missing a bill, but I guess missing two in a span of 30 years or so of paying bills isn't the end of the world.

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In a completely unrelated matter, the chairs in our flat our falling apart:

The joints and cushions all do this to one degree or another. Mario intended to get them repaired way back last summer when I pointed it out to him, but I guess it just slipped his mind (and we didn't really pursue it either). Anyway, we started with 4 of them, but at this point, there's only one left that is really safe to use. I finally sent Mario a message this morning about it. He apologetically said that he'd get right on it. I'd be happy to fix them myself, but I just don't have the right tools.

Math History

I spent most of the day reading about the math history of the idea of "center of gravity". I'm hoping to include a nice overview in the paper I'm writing. Turns out the first recorded mathematical treatment is due to Archimedes in the 3rd century BC. Archimedes of  "give me a long enough lever and a place to stand and I can move the earth" fame. Turns out, that has a lot to do with centers of gravity. Folks in the middle ages sort of rediscovered Archimedes and started applying methods of infinitesimals to the problem of finding centers of gravity of solids. Indeed, their methods were important precursors to the discovery of calculus, particularly the work of Leibniz in the 17th century. It's fun to read about these ideas and at the same time routinely encounter buildings here in Sevilla that predate the development of calculus by some 300 years.

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There were two new students in my Spanish class today. We had a nice time exploring the past tense of verbs like "me gusta". Not sure I could get it right in an extemporaneous conversation, but at least I understand the grammar.

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Didn't walk/run too much today. Still resting a bit of  a foot injury. That said, the two walks I did do today (about a mile each) were essentially pain free. I'm optimistic that I'm past the injury now.

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The winter in Walla Walla won't quit. Normally, this time of year, daffodils are blooming and buds are developing on trees. Instead, it just keeps snowing and giving sub-freezing weather. I'm glad I'm missing it.

Tour de Sevilla

I tweaked my foot, so I'm trying to minimize walk/running on it for a couple of days. Today, to get some exercise, I rode one of the bike shares for about 90 mins. Since you can only keep a bike out of the system for at most 30 mins at a time, I had to stay close to the bike share stations and keep myself on a 25 min timer. I managed to avoid any overages and rode to some parts of the city down south that I hadn't explored before. This part of Sevilla has the other soccer stadium for the other pro team in town, Betis:

The neighborhoods in the vicinity of the stadium are quite nice. Mostly newer construction (within the past 10 to 15 years):

There are several nice green spaces down there too:

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I didn't do much math today. Instead I watched a bit of Netflix and talked to Rachel, Jo-Anne and Kathy on the phone. I tried Emily, but she didn't pick up. I may try her again after I finish up here. I'm hoping to get a start on a draft of a paper this week. Most of the math is done, it remains to write it up in a cohesive and interesting way.

Guided Tour

Palma and Mario came over this afternoon around 5pm and took us on a walking tour of the city. They spoke alternately in Spanish and English. During the Spanish I guess I was getting about 50%. Palma told us about several churches in the Alameda neighborhood. I think she know the area well because she used to live there. We also walked in front of the school where Mario teaches. Built in the 60s, it has the feel of a Soviet style concrete building. Even the tiled murals are things we could easily have seen in Budapest:

Along one of the streets during the walk, we encountered some men practicing for the processions of Semana Santa (in April). I guess it only occurred to me today that carrying a 2000lb paseo is a physical activity that you must train for. These guys were carrying a platform stacked with steel I-beams and they were working:

Here's a close up of them walking by:

 The weather was warm this evening. Palma says that we've enjoyed an unusually mild winter here:

We stopped for tea in a cafe on the way home. We discussed politics. It's interesting how the rightward turn of Spanish politics is just as concerning for many Spaniards as our own baffling rightward turn in the US is to us. They asked us about Trump and whatever the latest horseshit emerging from that corner is. I got the sense that they were trying to get tips on how to process the emerging idiocy in their county by asking people that are dealing with already. Sadly, I don't think we were much help, haha.

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I found a few good references for some math I'm working on today. Scott read over my proof from yesterday and seems good with it.

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I have a bit of a pain in my right foot, so I'm taking it easy on the running for a couple of days.

Green Book

I got up early this morning and noticed the moonlight reflecting off of the tile floor in the living room:

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Had a good math day today. I finished the draft of a proof of a result. It seems solid, but it'll have to sit for a few days before I'm sure. I've been collaborating with a friend from graduate school, Scott Dillery, on this recent effort. We'll see if he can poke some holes in it.

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Laura and I went to see the movie Green Book at the one theater here that screens movies in English. Great film, highly recommend.