Nonhomeomorphic compact Hausdorff spaces X and Y and an isomorphism : C(X) -> C(Y) (onto) are constructed such that ||c/>|| \4>~ || = 2. Amir had asked if such a d> exists with || \\ ||cf> || < 3.

The conformal method for constructing initial data for Einstein’s equations is presented in both the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian picture (extrinsic curvature decomposition and conformal thin sandwich formalism, respectively), and advantages due to the recent introduction of a weight-function in the extrinsic curvature decomposition are discussed. I then describe recent progress in numerical tech...