UPDATE ON THE THIRTY METER TELESCOPE IN HAWAII

The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) appears to be going ahead at full speed following the recent approval by the Mauna Kea Management Board and sign off by the Governor of Hawaii of the environmental impact statement (EIS). The $77 million design phase was completed with funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Canada. The early construction phase has begun with $200 million from the Moore Foundation and $50 million each from Caltech and the University of California. Canadian partners have proposed to supply the enclosure, the telescope structure, and the first light adaptive optics.



The construction, which is expected to be complete in 2018, has increased in price to $1 billion, sending TMT staff in search of additional funding. TMT is counting on funding from the University of California, Caltech, and the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy. The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) joined TMT as a Collaborating Institution in 2008. The National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) joined as an Observer in 2009 and this week India also joined as an Observer member.


By the end of this summer the TMT must get over another hurdle when the National Science Foundation (NSF) publishes its Astro2010 Report which recommends the priorities for technical and scientific astronomy activities over the next decade for the NSF, NASA, Department of Energy, and Congress. The stakes are high for the TMT because to maintain momentum in funding their design must be technically desirable and feasible when compared to the competing project the GMT.


The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), designed by MIT and Carnegie Mellon University, is a 25.4 meter telescope, 4.6 meters smaller than the TMT. Unlike the TMT which is a new design, the GMT is based on technology developed and validated by their 6.5-meter Magellan telescopes currently operating in Chile. The construction of the new telescope has been endorsed by Carnegie Institution for Science’s board which authorized $59.2 million for the design, construction, and commissioning of the telescope to supplement the $19.9 million they have already committed to the project. The GMT recently signed an agreement with the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory Mirror Lab to produce the first mirror for the new telescope which is planned for completion in 2016 at Carnegie's Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Other GMT members are Carnegie Observatories, Harvard University, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, University of Arizona, University of Michigan, University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, Australian National University, Astronomy Australia Limited, and South Korea’s Astronomy and Space Science Institute.


The Europeans recently approved their own version of a giant telescope called European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), expected to be complete at the Cerro Armazones site in Chile in 2018. The ELT will have a 40-meter mirror which would make it the largest of all the giant telescopes being planned.


The most prominent optical telescopes today are the Keck on Mauna Kea and the Hubble Telescope floating above the Earth. The Keck has two 10-meter telescopes making it the largest in operation today. The Keck cost over $200 million to design and build. Its annual operational costs of $11 million is covered by Caltech, the University of California, NSF, and NASA, the same funders the TMT is counting on. Hubble has only a 2.5-meter mirror, but is renowned for its price tag. Its original cost estimate of $400 million ballooned to over $2.5 billion due to a flawed mirror and the difficulty of getting to it and maintaining it in space. Hubble's cumulative costs to the US are now estimated at $6 billion and Europe's contribution at 600 million Euros.


The cost of building and maintaining giant optical telescopes is high and the number of funding Universities, Foundations, and Governments in the world are limited. The TMT has a major challenge ahead to promote the design and capabilities of its project while two other prominent optical telescope projects are simultaneously searching for funding and partners.

DOLLAR DESTRUCTION VERSUS EURO DEVALUATION: Divergent Actions by the US and EU

The US and European Union (EU) have taken radically different approaches to the financial crises that they are facing. We believe the results of their actions will lead to unique futures for their economies and citizens over the next five years.


In the US, the financial banking crisis started when mortgage based securities became illiquid following the revelation that their purported value was greater than their underlying real estate collateral. As the extent of the overvaluations became known, bank stocks plunged and hundreds of banks went bankrupt and are still going bankrupt as the downturn continues. These bankruptcies eradicate the financial value of the banks, their stock, uninsured accounts, jobs, and the taxes once paid by the corporations and employees.


The dropping prices of real estate in the US has erased equity in the homes of tens of millions of Americans. Banks have cut back on consumer credit removing hundreds of billions of dollars in credit from the economy. Tax revenues have shrunk due to the drop in real estate values lowering spending by cities, counties and states across the US. The combined value losses from bankruptcies, layoffs, lowered real estate valuations, stock value losses, reduced tax revenues, and shrunken lines of credit are in the of trillions of US dollars.


These financial value losses are functionally a destruction of US dollars; less dollars exist in the economy now than five years ago. The disappearance of this value and its underlying dollar amount has had a deflationary effect making a lot of things cheaper in the US.  Though we aren’t getting any interest on our savings right now, our dollars, are buying more house, more shares of stock, more electronics, and a lot of products for substantially less than five years ago. The ongoing shrinking amount of dollar currency available in the US economy should continue to raise the value of the dollar and maintain the deflationary trend.


The European Union’s banking crisis has unfolded differently. Their financial banking crisis started when bonds sold by EU member nations to large European banks became illiquid following the revelation that the EU’s member nations had understated their debts and it became clear that they could not pay off their bond debt or maintain a credit rating to borrow more at low interest rates.  Instead of letting the exposed European banks take their losses from the bad bonds, the European Central Bank (ECB) stepped in and bought the worthless bonds at full price.  This action functionally expanded the Euro currency in circulation.  Euros given to the member nations from bank bonds are still circulating in their economies while the European banks have been “repaid” all the Euros they lent by the ECB. Though the ECB has increased its debt on paper, unlike the US process that destroys functional dollar currency and shrinks the economy, the EU process is increasing their functional Euro currency by creating new Euros to cover bad bond loans.


The EU’s approach seems too good to be true: no loss of capital by their banks, no bankruptcies, no layoffs of bank employees, no restraints for overspending member nations, and no collateral damage to businesses and cities forced to cut back spending.  It looks like a brilliant solution.


But, won’t a surge in the amount of Euros in the Euro zone’s economy cause inflation and result in a huge devaluation of the Euro against the US dollar?
Won’t the member nations maintain their excessive spending because they know the ECB will rescue them from their debts?
Won’t the ECB be expected to cover any other debts of the EU member nations?


Though living in the US’s current trying economic times is not easy, we think that the EU’s approach may cause more problems for Europe than it solves in the long run.

NOTE TO OURSELVES: HAPPY RETIREMENT IN HAWAII

Our unexpected early departure from the workforce has given us the luxury of spending a couple of years in “retirement” in Hawaii.  One of the benefits of the time we’ve had in Hawaii is exposure to seniors ten and twenty years older than us.  The people we have met in Hilo and Kona have graciously shared their stories and friendships with us and we have learned more than we could’ve imagined from them about how to have a happy life in our old age.  We put together a list of the attributes of seniors with happy, productive, and peaceful lives that differ from others who struggle with frustration, loneliness, and boredom. Here are notes to ourselves for us remember what we've learned from the happy retired people we have met.

• See Humor in Themselves.  We have met a lot of unhappy seniors who take themselves very seriously. Their house, their property, their situation, their IRA performance, their opinions’ and their experiences are all very important and significant. Those that laugh at their behaviors, situations, attitudes and opinions are the happiest and very fun to be with. Looking back on one’s life and seeing the humor of it all is one of the great gifts we see happy older people give themselves and others.
• Forget their Self Importance.  We’ve heard so many grumpy elderly men wax on about how amazing they are because they ran a business, were a VP of big company, or were the head of this or that.  Happy retired people don't look back on past jobs for self importance. They seem to simply give up self importance and focus on the moment. Though it may seem simple to let the past go and live in the moment, we know it is not easy. Hanging out with happy seniors feels a lot like a second childhood with days filled playing and having fun.
• Respect their Adult Children.  Over 60% of any discussion with seniors is about their adult children and grandchildren (the other 40% is about their aches and pains).  The topic of children overtakes many a conversation regardless of whether the seniors get along with them or not, see them or not, or talk to them or not.  Seniors that still see their children as children are frustrated that their children did not do as they were told.. Happy elders see their children as adults and respect how they have managed in world that is different than the world they know. They do not judge their choices and have pride in what they have accomplished. Those that accept their children are considerably more at peace than those frustrated by their children’s lifestyles, money spending habits, choice of spouse, parenting style, food choices, career choices, etc.   We are taking this to heart with our own son and are glad to be learning this now.
• Make Peace with how much they see their Grandchildren.  We don’t have grandchildren, yet, and so we were surprised at the angst most seniors have about the amount of time they get to spend with their grandchildren. Whether the grandchildren are far away or in the same town, issues arise about access to and time with grandchildren.  Observing the conflict has given us the insight that grandchildren are a big deal, and those that ignored their importance or didn’t have a plan for how they would nurture their relationship with their grandchildren were later regretful or financially strapped by travel and expenditures.
• Be Fit.  Being healthy, fit and slim is not just vanity, it translates to decades of happiness.  The seniors that we have come to know in their late 60’s, 70’s and 80’s have ranged from incredibly healthy and active to having a cluster of serious health problems.  The healthy seniors are having a completely different life than those that struggle to get out of the house and are in constant pain.  We knew getting into shape was important, but observing the difference in happiness and fun that health brings in old age, we have come to think that it is the most important thing for us to accomplish in our life right now.  We also recognize that those that have stayed fit and healthy do things in moderation and with care in order to stay that way.  Being healthy and fit is one of the best ways to prepare for a happy old age.
• Socialize with Peers  We are surprised at the degree to which social interaction moves to the forefront after retirement and how enjoyable socializing can be.  Community pools, senior centers, and clubs create constant opportunities for spending time together and talking. We notice that seniors tend to end up in a community of peers with other seniors that have achieved similar success financially and in their career.  Most socialization during a person’s career is hierarchical or based on one’s position at a company, in a community, or church and so a lot of seniors have not socialized with a group of peers before.  Some older people are used to their employees or underlings being socially accommodating and they struggle with peers that do not scrape and bow in their interactions.  The happiest seniors get along with everyone, treat everyone as an equal, and have a lot of tolerance for others. They let opinions that bother them roll off their back, they deftly avoid the jerks that they can’t stand, and they enjoy and get close to the people that make them happy and upbeat.
• Reduce their Stuff.  We are surprised about how much stuff seniors have retained and continue to accrue and how time consuming and irritating it is to them.  Most of the seniors we know have several homes and lots of stuff.  Some of the stuff they accumulated is due to their retirement income plan, like house rentals, farms, and computers, and some is due to retirement hobbies, like skis, car parts, surf boards, bikes, musical instruments and outrigger canoes. The seniors that have minimized their stuff and focused on the few things that give them pleasure are the happiest and most peaceful.  Though we have reduced our stuff considerably, we still have a lot things that we can’t seem to part with even though we know it takes our energy and money to maintain them. Like losing weight, getting rid of our stuff seems almost impossible.  But as we focus on what will make us happy as we age, we know we will be happier with much less stuff.
• Live Small.  We have noticed the happiest and most peaceful seniors eat little, say little, and take up little space.  We know that as we age we require less of the earth’s resources and that we are suppose to be wise enough to know that no one wants to hear our opinions (which is why we blog).  Unhappy seniors eat big, talk loudly, and walk in the middle of the sidewalk forcing others onto the road to get out of their way.  We want to be content and happy as we grow old and the happy people we have met step lightly and minimize their footprint on the world.
• Slow down and Listen. Hawaii has the benefit of forcing one to slow down.  It is just the way of things here.  A wonderful aspect of slowing down is that we hear what others have to say.  And we have been amazed at what we have learned from others, people that we would never have slowed down long enough to hear.  Seniors have a wealth of knowledge and experiences that they are eager and willing to share. The happiest seniors listen and sometime they gain a piece of the puzzle of life from a peer that allows them to move on emotionally in their life. We are amazed at how enjoyable and enriching it is to listen to a long story someone has to tell about how they ended up where they are. 
• Enjoy their Blessings.  Our generation has lived under a cloud of doom as long as we can remember. In kindergarten it was the doom of a Nuclear War, then the Cold War, an Economic War, an Oil War, and it goes on and on. But every day in Hawaii is a blessing, with warm sunlight, blue ocean, and gentle breezes. We have learned from our seniors to try and ignore the “War of the Week” and appreciate all the blessings of the moment.