Ant Fight Club

In my latest post for the Improbable Research blog, I discuss modeling of combat in ants.

One of the reasons I chose to write about this paper is that it also allowed me to introduce modeling issues (e.g., the choice of a differential-equation model versus an agent-based model).

Next time, maybe I'll even use a Mortal Kombat reference. Finish him!

"Ten billion ants in this world, and I'm having trouble with just one."

Ooh! All of the Ant & Aardvark cartoons are now on the web!

I actually own all of them on a DVD, but this is still extremely awesome. In case you have never seen these cartoons, they are hilarious!

The same person voiced the ant and the aardvark. He used a James Dean voice for the ant and, more importantly, a Jackie Mason voice for the aardvark (so you're supposed to imagine these quotes coming from a stereotypically Jewish aardvark).

"I hate you, instant hole!"

(A big tip of the cap to Chris Klausmeier, who I am very impressed remembered that I am a huge fan of this series of cartoons.)

Fungal Necromancy

OK, this is just weird. Apparently, there's a type of fungus that infects ants so that they act like 'zombies' and die in convenient spots. Didn't I read about such strategies in the D & D Monster Manual? Bizarre.

(Tip of the cap to Kevin Macon, who will reasonably shortly be my coauthor on a network science paper. I am going to have so much fun when I give certain seminars...)

"I am not an anteater! I am an aardvark!"

Picture a cartoon containing a blue aardvark who is always going after a certain ant and failing miserably. Then, imagine the cartoon's narrator referring to him as an anteater and then in the middle of the chase, the aardvark turns to the audience and says the line in the title in the very distinctive voice of Jackie Mason (though it was actually a sound-alike; the same guy voiced the ant while sounding like Dean Martin). This was in The Ant and the Aardvark, which along with the Roadrunner cartoons, constituted my favorite cartoon series from childhood. Also, I have always had a keen interest in comically sisyphean endeavors. (I assume that you guys are aware that I can do a mean Road Runner impersonation. I can't do the tongue thing, but I've got the "Beep! Beep!" down pretty well. Just listen to the voice message on my home phone.)

When I bought the pink panther film collection a few years ago, the package included a 'bonus CD' of pink panther cartoons with the first episode of The Ant and the Aardvark (this cartoon would occasionally be shown as one of the cartoons in the same 30-minute package on TV). The animation quality itself was horrible (though I didn't remember that until I saw the episode again), but the humor is wonderful. In fact, the Roadruner and Ant/Aardvark bits have several similarities, such as the violence. Also, I loved the whole meta- aspect of the Aardvark turning to the audience and uttering quips. Jackie Mason has spent his career as the stereotypical neurotic Jewish comedian, so picture an aardvark doing this and add Roadrunner-style violence and that's what this cartoon series was all about.

After I returned to Caltech, the entire pink panther cartoon collection was released and according to early advertisements (I bought it at the beginning), it was supposed to contain all the Ant/Aardvark stuff. Sadly, that turned out to be false advertisement. (I vaguely remember complaining about this in a blog entry. At the very least, I know I mentioned it to some people in person.)

However, I received an e-mail today from Amazon that a DVD with all the Ant/Aardvark cartoons would be released on April 4th. So I pre-ordered it (and also pre-ordered Super Paper Mario while I was at it).

Sometimes, it's the simple things in life that give me pleasure.

"Ten billion ants in this world, and I'm having trouble with just one.