Quick lesson in quantum computing?

University of Waterloo explanation:

Quantum computing is essentially harnessing and exploiting the amazing laws of quantum mechanics to process information. A traditional computer uses long strings of “bits,” which encode either a zero or a one. A quantum computer, on the other hand, uses quantum bits, or qubits. What's the difference? Well a qubit is a quantum system that encodes the zero and the one into two distinguishable quantum states. But, because qubits behave quantumly, we can capitalize on the phenomena of "superposition" and "entanglement."
Superposition and entanglement? Pardon?

It’s OK to be a bit baffled by these concepts, since we don’t experience them in our day-to-day lives. It’s only when you look at the tiniest quantum particles – atoms, electrons, photons and the like – that you see intriguing things like superposition and entanglement.

Superposition is essentially the ability of a quantum system to be in multiple states at the same time — that is, something can be “here” and “there,” or “up” and “down” at the same time.

Entanglement is an extremely strong correlation that exists between quantum particles — so strong, in fact, that two or more quantum particles can be inextricably linked in perfect unison, even if separated by great distances. The particles remain perfectly correlated even if separated by great distances. The particles are so intrinsically connected, they can be said to “dance” in instantaneous, perfect unison, even when placed at opposite ends of the universe. This seemingly impossible connection inspired Einstein to describe entanglement as “spooky action at a distance.”

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Perth

Perth

On Saturday last (Apr 2), the Indian Pacific pulled into the Perth Station on schedule at 3pm Western Australian Time. Instead of taking a taxi straight to my hotel, I opted for a three-hour tour of the city. The tour took us (a few of the passengers) all through the city which gave one a good feel of Perth and what it had to offer. One thing I noticed when touring through

 the residential areas that the houses were of two types of architecture: the old two-story style with columns supporting a veranda at the second floor and newer California style of one-story with a terracotta roof. At the end of the tour, the driver drove us all to our respective hotels...mine being the Pan Pacific Perth. It was a nice way to be introduced to the city. Regarding hotels, all six hotels that my travel agent picked for me have all been first class (she did an excellent job.)

After checking in and not being too hungry, I ordered a hamburger and a cup of coffee at the hotel restaurant and was shocked when the bill came to $40. Food is costly in Australia.

The next day being Sunday where everything (except for the odd restaurant) is closed, I had to be content with just exploring the city on foot. With a map in hand, exploring the City of Perth commenced. The city centre is very easy to find one's way as everything is on a square grid. It is a bit hilly though. For the most part it is built around the Swan River which at Perth widens out to become like a lake. There is quite a highway system as a number of freeways feed into the city crossing the Swan River at the Narrows, the Causeway and the Windan Bridge.  There was a bit of confusion on my part when I didn't notice the name change of the street "Goderich" that I was on, to "Murray". Also, later when going out from my hotel, the street name changed from Adelaide to St George. Other than that the city seems to be easy to get one's bearings. On St George Street there sits a

 very large St George Anglican Cathedral. I went in and took a picture as it was very ornate. Next to it was a nice looking Presbyterian Church but one couldn't get in as they were repairing its roof. Finally I saw St Mary's Cathedral, although it had been built 90 years ago, it had been modernized inside (very modern). Since Mass was going on, I stayed and received communion. The

Communion Service from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer and the Catholic Mass are almost identical. One wonders which one is copying whom? They both sing the same hymns and if there are half a dozen verses to the hymn, the Catholics only sing a couple of verses while the Anglicans sing a whole half dozen. As Wendy (my sister-in-law) told me one time, that Anglicans like to sing.

Water front parks cover both sides the Swan River, especially where the river widens between the Narrows at the West and the Causeway to the East. Kings Park (a park larger than Grand Central Park in New York) is located on a hill at western end of the city and has a commanding view of Perth. It is a venue well worth visiting. There are many sport fields and parks scattered about the city as Perth is noted for it sporting activities.

The next day, an all-day tour (7am to 10pm) to the Margaret River Region was made. This area is southeast of Perth. A very modern tour bus picked us up at each individual's hotel for a three-hour journey first to the Town of Busselton a town of 20,000 which is approximately 220 km south from Perth. The Busselton

Jetty (the longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere is located here. The jetty is not used for commercial shipping anymore. Its main use is to convoy tourists out to its end on a little jitney train for site-seeing and picture taking. After Busselton, our driver (who gave us a continuous commentary) drove us to Margaret River a town with a population of 13,000. We did some wine tasting there as this region seems to be the center of grape growing. Lunch (with complimentary beer and cider tasting) was available at the Bootleg Brewery nearby. (I tried the kangaroo and emu sausage at lunch. It was good.)

After lunch we were given a guided tour of the Mammoth Caves which are limestone caves similar to those found at Wookey Hole near Wells in the South of England. (Irene and I visited those caves when we visited Bill and Wendy, when Bill was stationed in Warminster England in the 1970s.) The Mammoth Caves are said to be composed of a number of caves and only recently more and larger caves have since been found in the area. After the cave tour we were driven to the Leeuwin Lighthouse which is the dividing point between the Southern and Indian Oceans. It is also the most Southern Point of the State of Western Australia. (Like all tourist centres, they like to find a superlative to quote. I found this area to be very windy and cold. I would not recommend going there.)

Finally, we were given a stop in the town of Margaret River Township where we could shop for souvenirs. Afterward we enjoyed an excellent and inexpensive dinner at a winery nearby.  (There are some places where one can have a good meal at a reasonable price.) As all things come to an end, we were driven back to our respective hotels arriving there a bit late at 10pm.

On my last full day in the Perth Area, a Captain Cook Boat Cruise was taken from Number 3 Jetty in Perth on the Swan River for a windy 40km cruise to Fremantle and back where the river empties into the Indian Ocean. (The river snakes around the hills of the Perth area.) It was very relaxing (no walking which I had done considerable lately) and just watching the shoreline as our commentator pointed out items of interest. At noontime, a splendid buffet (with free wine) complete with dessert was included in the tour. This tour was a very good deal.

The following day ended my time in Perth by flying to Sydney where the Holland America Ship “Norrdam"  will take me home to Victoria.

Statistics and Observations:
o The majority of the clerks (in all places visited even in Alice Springs) in the retail and hospitality business are Asian.
o The majority of tourists in Perth are from Japan and China. It seems that every second person is Asian...I kid you not.
o Most of the cars and trucks at Alice Springs are white.
o The minimum wage is $20 an hour (more in some states) so tips are not expected.
o Correction...the Opal Pass is only good for Sydney.
o Perth (with a population of two million) did not seem like a metropolis; rather it felt like a tourist town.... very laid back. Sydney felt like a city.
o Many shops (when one pays with a credit card) add 2% to the bill.
o All ATMs charge $2 to take your own money out.
o My tour consisted of four air flights, three train trips, one bus ride, two sight-seeing bus trips, one ferry ride, one sightseeing cruise, six hotel rooms, many subway rides and five taxis. Finally, there will be a 22-day cruise back home to Victoria.

Bon Jour

Dave

Youthful 84!

Happy Birthday Doug!

Ayers Rock to Perth

Dave wrote:

The night before leaving Ayers Rock, we (my fellow travelers) attended the "Sound of Silence" dinner. What this included was a short bus trip out to the Rock (near it) where we would watch the setting sun just like we had watched the rising sun in the morning. Believe it or not, just because the sun is in the Northern Sky, it still rises in the East and sets in the West. (I just put that in as a little joke.) On departing the bus, we walked up a short ramp to a small plateau where we would watch the setting sun. While waiting for the sun to set, we were given any amount of champagne. (I had two glasses.) It was a spectacular sunset, well worth going out there to see it as there were neither clouds to obstruct one's view nor haze to shroud the sun.

Before going on to dinner, being concerned that I wouldn't have a dinner partner, I started to look around to find one. Off to one side was a nice looking old doll, so approaching with caution, I used the line. "Hi my name is Dave and I would like to escort you to dinner as my dinner partner. Also, I don't bite." She looked at me in disbelief. I gave her my card. An Aussie couple behind me, heard my invitation and the Aussie lady said to me and the nice looking old doll, "I'll introduce you two". To the old doll, she said, "What's your name? She said, "Pat". Then the Aussie lady said, "Pat let me introduce you to Dave." Then she said, "Dave, this Pat." Now she said, "You both have been introduced". So Pat and I (She was in her early 70's) sat down with the Aussie couple and three other couples, one other Aussie couple, an American couple from Florida and a couple from Japan. We all had lots to say perhaps as the wine and spirits were all supplied generously. (These dinners are great where everything is included gratis, even though they were paid in advance when making this excursion.)

The dinner was a wonderful buffet which included everything like kangaroo and crocodile as well as other delicacies. Kangaroo tastes like beef and crocodile like chicken.  While there was a short intermission, three aboriginals gave us a small dance recital with the accompaniment of a didgeridoo. (Not to be cynical but I will, the dances reminded me of the Indian dances back home... not much to them.) What fascinated me was the didgeridoo...the unit the guy played was about 1.3 metres long and about 10 centimetres in diameter. The sound is much like that of a Jew’s harp.

After the main course but before dessert, we were given a lesson on astronomy by a practicing astronomer. He started by turning off all the lights so that we could see the stars. Because it was so dark where no light could check the darkness, more stars than normal could be seen. Never have I seen so many stars as there were neither obstructions nor pollution. The astronomer asked us all to be very quiet for a minute or two... which we did. With all the lights out and with the quietness, the stars seem to become more pronounced. It was a wonderful moment to be experienced. After this he began his lecture (with the use of a laser beam) pointing out various constellations. After our desert he had set up two telescopes pointing one of them to Jupiter and the other to the most prominent star in the Southern Cross. Looking first at Jupiter, I saw that planet and three of its moons. When looking at the most prominent star in the Southern Cross, it was found to be actually three stars. The experience of the "Sound of Silence” dinner will be something I will always remember. It was quite overwhelming, almost spiritual.

The next morning, a flight first back to Alice Springs was caught where there was a change of planes for Adelaide. While at the Adelaide Parklands Terminal waiting for the Indian Pacific Train to Perth, my laptop was pulled out so as to begin composing the experience of the night before, the "Sound of Silence".

 Both the Indian Pacific and the Ghan Trains are designed for tourist travel, where they leisurely transport folks around the countryside stopping at various sites of interest and conducting tours of the area just like cruise ships do. For instance, when traveling between Sydney and Adelaide, there were tours planned at Broken Hill but these didn't materialize because of the three hour delay in starting from Sydney. However, there were  tours of Adelaide (a six-hour stop) to visit a Barossa Vineyard or the Adelaide Market as well as tour of the village of Cook (more about that later). Like the cruise ships, they serve first class meals and supply entertainment. We had a singer with a guitar.

   It wasn't until 1960 that one could travel across Australia to Perth in one train. Prior to that date, there were three different gauges of track (standard, narrow and large). This meant that passengers and goods had to be off loaded and reloaded onto different cars each time one track gauge ended and another track gauge started. The world's longest railway tangent (straight stretch) is on the route across the Nullarbor Plain (no trees) for a distance of 478 kilometres. As one can expect the land across the Nullarbor is very flat with no vegetation.

  We made a stop at a place called Cook which in the past housed 200 people with a school for 30 children, hospital, golf course (red sand greens) and shops, but now is down to just four souls. The train stops there for 30 minutes allowing the passengers to tour the town which is still in tacked. One can rent a house cheap here if you like the heat, flies and isolation.  I only stepped off the train for a few minutes and took pictures of the two-cell jail. The jail reminded me of the punishment hut that appeared in the movie "The Bridge Over the River Kiwi".  The heat and the flies chased me back onto the train fast.

Our next stop was for a star gazing dinner off the train at Rawlinna. Tables were set up along the siding for 200 passengers where we were served a three course meal very quickly and efficiently. (The Southern Australian Railway likes to keep the passengers happy, consequently: they seem to hire pleasant and accommodating staff who are well trained.) As it was night time, the temperature was comfortable and there were no flies.

I met a few interesting people such as a young Australian couple who travel the world doing free-lance photography and writing. She was the photographer and he was the writer. Their work has been reported in many magazines and newspapers. That's how they can afford to travel. They've been all over as they showed me pictures of their travels. Another interesting group were three of my luncheon passengers, an Irishman, an Englishman and an Aussie. Each one had done considerable traveling and recounted experiences at various places while we were having lunch.

As we were approaching Perth (about 250 kilometres out), things slowly turned from a bleak flat landscape to something reminding me of the hills around the Okanagan. Yes, instead of being flat, it started to become hilly with some small lakes and many trees as well. However, these small lakes are not large enough to supply irrigation water as they need to pipe water using large diameter pipelines from near Perth. The area does receive some rain as they are able to dry-farm like the farmers do on the Canadian Prairies.

I should say something about the telephone and power poles. The wooden poles are not the tall straight poles seen in B.C. They are short and scrawny. The telegraph poles used by the railway are perforated steel channels with a perforated angle iron fitted into it which can be adjusted for height.

Finally, our train approached Perth and what a fine sight it is!

Bon Jour.  

Celebrating 11 years of Lunacy Cabare