"Hyperchaos" in the White House

I saw "CHAOS" trending on Twitter this morning, so I automatically looked it up, before seeing that it was about politics and then moving on to something else.

And now I see this article, which predominantly consists of an interview with nonlinear dynamicist (and pioneer of chaos) Jim Yorke, including discussions about both mathematical chaos and hyperchaos.

Here is how the part with Yorke begins: "That's not chaos, according to James A. Yorke, Distinguished University Professor of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Maryland at College Park." It goes on from there.

Just think about it: Jim Yorke, an expert in chaotic dynamics, was interviewed by CNN about Donald Trump, precisely because of the former's expertise in mathematical chaos. Yup, we've gone full Illuminati.

(Tip of the cap to Bruno Eckhardt and fuzzy sweatshirt particle.)

Headline of the Day: Well Played

Look closely at the various ways that one can parse this headline. ;)

This headline writer deserves a Pulitzer.#Trump #FakeNewsAwards @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/XYX2ayi4PO

— Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) January 18, 2018

(Tip of the cap to David Kung.)

Bookstore Snark: I Approve!

Here's some really nice snark from the people who run a Cleveland bookstore.

Right here in #Cleveland @MacsBacks #ShitHoleCountries (my personal fave Junot Diaz) pic.twitter.com/zZ6z07PFDa

— Alok Khorana (@aakonc) January 14, 2018

Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius

Watch this short clip until the end. ;)

United States Senators and Social Licking Among Cows

I am amused by this 2002 paper by Faust and Skvoretz, called Comparing Networks Across Space and Time, Size and Species.

Here is a choice quote: "The model of social licking among cows best predicts, as a target, cosponsorship among U.S. senators in the Ninety-Third Congress."

Note: The sentence is highly amusing, and I understand it in the context of the paper, but (1) the term "predicts" is misleading with respect to the analysis performed, and (2) one of course has to ask how the result changes if a different sample of networks is used. There has, of course, been a bunch of work (including by my collaborators and me) in the last decade and a half on examining similarities among networks.

(Tip of the cap to Brian Keegan.)

Jeremy, the Left-Coiled Snail

I'm not sure how I managed to miss this story before, but Jeremy the Left-Coiled Snail (who died in October, at the ripe old age of 2 or so), who was named after Jeremy Corbyn (on account of his being a 'lefty' snail), had a chance to shine in the spotlight earlier this year. And he even had scientists to help him with his sex life, though all of his 56 children ended up being righties.

In the Wikipedia entry, I am amused by the deadpan nature of the information box in the upper-right corner.

(And, in case you're wondering, there are really good reasons to study genetically unusual orientations like this.)

Do the Laws of Australia Supercede the Laws of Mathematics

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull apparently thinks so. To quote him, "Well the laws of Australia prevail in Australia, I can assure you of that. The laws of mathematics are very commendable, but the only law that applies in Australia is the law of Australia."

Good luck with that one.

Clever Displays in Bookstores

Like this one.

(Tip of the cap to James Gleick.)

Clever display at Barnes and Noble. Check out top titles... pic.twitter.com/pCB7alkxnk

— Amy Wilentz (@amywilentz) May 16, 2017

Fake News from Moose & Squirrel

This cartoon from The New Yorker also alludes to the characters Boris and Natasha. They were the adversaries in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.

I recently saw this awesome license plate that does so as well.

I really enjoy alluding to the characters Boris and Natasha. I did that recently in my winning entry in a caption content, and I did it in 2006 in an Aprils Fool's Day prank.

Reminder: You Should be Reading the @RoguePOTUSStaff Twitter Feed

Just as a reminder, you should definitely be reading the @RoguePOTUSStaff Twitter feed, which appears to be legit. It is also hilarious and gives fascinating insights as to what is going on in The White House days. For example, consider the following gem from today:

Spicer: "I wish he'd have an affair. That'd be better than defending the stupid s*** he says in Twitter."

— Rogue POTUS Staff (@RoguePOTUSStaff) March 8, 2017

Wow. Amazing.

Here is an older blog entry about the rogue government Twitter accounts.

Putin's Daughters and Oxford Commas

This tweet gives me a convenient opportunity to remind you of the importance of Oxford commas. I like the alternative interpretation, though!

6/ When @LouiseMensch reported on the FISA tap, she included details that implicated Putin's own daughters, Carter Page and Paul Manafort. pic.twitter.com/TgeO9x1NvC

— Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) March 4, 2017

"America First" Spoofs

These spoofs are brilliant.

More are apparently in the works.

Update: In addition to the ones compiled on the webpage above, I have seen one for Kazakhstan (which I saw via suggested YouTube videos from one of the ones above). I'll post a link to a page that has a comprehensive compilation once I find one.

Update (2/07/17): Here is a compilation of parodies from European Union countries. Right now, there are many grayed-out flags for ones that don't yet exist, but I'm sure many of them will be filled in eventually.

Update (2/09/17): Yesterday I noticed that the above compilation site has expanded to include countries across the globe. However, it doesn't include the one from Mars. :)

Seriously?

Seriously?

We have reached Idiocracy. I am simultaneously crying, laughing hysterically (probably to prevent additional crying), and really angry. What a country America is now, and the rest of the world feels pretty barmy at the moment too.

(Tip of the cap to Ernie Barreto for the Washington Post article, parts of which have previously spread widely.

RIP Ray Tomlinson (1941–2016)

Today we lost Ray Tomlinson, credited as the creator of e-mail.

We also lost Nancy Reagan today.

Headline: "Councillor who Announced Closure of Public Toilets Fined for Urinating in Street"

LOL!

(Tip of the cap to Alan Champneys.)

Iron Lady 3D

In the print version of Daily Info at a local cafe, I noticed the following fantastic caveat below the cinema listing for Iron Man 3: "Not a follow-up to The Iron Lady."

(I need to go there with my camera tomorrow so that I can get a picture of this. Sadly, the online versions of this document don't seem to include this warning --- or at least I was unable to find one that does. The current issue is 8407. I think the one I want is number 8406.)

Politicians Versus Hedgehogs

Clearly, you want to vote for hedgehogs. I know I do!

(Tip of the cap to Dave Fallon.)

War-Room Raid Photograph

The situation room photograph from the raid of Bin Laden paints a rather fascinating picture. For example, look at how intense Obama looks.

You've probably already seen this picture, but I still wanted to write a brief comment about it.

Meeting the Local Member of Parliament

Today, at a buffet lunch in Somerville, I got a chance to talk to Nicola Blackwood, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Oxford West and Abingdon. (She was a doctoral student at Somerville in 2005 but suspended her studies and hasn't come back.) I had promised the day before that I would be civil, and I actually had no problems holding myself to that promise.

She is a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee in the House of Commons, which concerns itself with "the expenditure, administration and policy of the Home Office and its associated public bodies". This entails, among other things, discussion of things like visas and the census. The former is why it was important that I try to get a chance to talk to her, as one student who should have been a frosh at Somerville this year had his visa denied and thus couldn't come this year. (We're hoping he can start here in fall 2011.) Additionally, we have several other students from China who are worried about potential visa changes that might force them to go back to China immediately if they can't find a job here when they graduate.

And, admittedly, I dropped a small hint about what the methods I study could do with things like census data. (I focused on my international students, however, as I want to do my best to try to ensure that they're treated fairly and properly.) Of course, after Nicola deplored the poor quality of immigration data and the need to have accurate census data, my response was basically to promise to list my religion as "Jedi" on the census (which only yesterday had arrived on my proverbial doorstep). She reacted to that with amusement.

I think Nicola's main reaction to me was a combination of amusement and bemusement, though I think I got my point across. And I plan to take advantage of the direct line if there are any future issues with my students' visas. She seems like a very nice person, but I figure that most politicians are charismatic (it's pretty much necessary to have a political career) and it's hard to tell what they actually think, so I'm going to reserve my judgement.

Nicola also gave a talk, after which (unsurprisingly) there were lots of questions from the audience. One of the questions came from one of my international students (because of the whole visa business), and I am very proud of her for speaking her mind.

Separated at Birth: UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Star Trek's Brent Spiner

How could I not notice this before?

The UK's new Prime Minister, David Cameron (as pictured in this article), looks very much like Brent Spiner (as he looked 20 years ago), who played Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Here is a picture of Spiner as Data (with makeup). And here is an even younger Spiner (without makeup).

I don't normally care about UK politics at all, but this resemblance is just way too awesome. How did I not notice this before? Separated at birth!

OK, back to work now...

Update: I came up with this on my own, but evidently I am not the first person to have noticed this. It's still awesome, though...