Albert Pujols Becomes Fifth Major Leaguer with 2000 Runs Batted In!

Albert Pujols has become the fifth Major League Baseball player to reach 2000 runs batted in (RBIs). This is quite a rare milestone. Hank Aaron is first on the career RBI list, followed by Babe Ruth (with an estimated total), Alex Rodriguez, Cap Anson (with an estimated total), and then Pujols. Here is the list of career leaders.

The article shouldn't say that Pujols is the "third" player with 2000 or more RBIs. That statement is highly misleading.

RBIs do involve a lot of help from one's friends, but this is still very nice. Pujols is hanging on that this point, but given how RBIs work, hitting a few homers and having people like Mike Trout on base in front of him for three more years could be enough for Pujols to get the record. The chances are pretty good.

Tales from the ArXiv: Today's Scientific Acronym Award Winner is "STROOPWAFEL"

And today's scientific acronym award goes to... this paper, which introduces the acronym STROOPWAFEL (which stands for "Simulating The Rare Outcomes Of Populations With AIS For Efficient Learning").

I could use a stroopwafel... Yum...

Awesome Watercolor Doors

These watercolor paintings of doors are really awesome!

(Tip of the cap to Archpng.)

"Unhappy Meals"

I am highly amused by Burger King's new Unhappy Meals (which are actually called "Real Meals").

I am surprised, given it's appearance as part of George Carlin's seven dirty words, that a "Pissed Meal" is included. (This would have a far different meaning in the United Kingdom, by the way.) I think that a "DGAF Meal", however, would appeal to me. ;P

(Tip of the cap to John Baker.)

The Geometric Art of Saskia Freeke

Saskia Freeke makes some really nice geometric art and posts it regularly on Twitter. I really like today's example.

Geometric Shapes / 190503#processing #creativecoding #everyday pic.twitter.com/oZXnCLZWSo

— Saskia Freeke (@sasj_nl) May 3, 2019

An Icosahedral Pecan Pie

In 2009 or thereabouts, Charless Fowlkes and his collaborators made a large icosahedral pecan pie.

Just don't roll a 1 on this 20-sided die.

(Tip of the cap to Karen Kustedjo.)

Topological Trivial Pursuit, Genus VII Edition

The game Trivial Pursuit has a Genus edition (also called "Genus I" edition), Genus II edition, Genus III edition, and so on.

It would have been really nice if they had made topologically correct versions of those various games.

Coming soon: "Topological Trivial Pursuit, Genus VII edition"

Jigsaw Puzzle Mash-Ups

Apparently, entirely different jigsaw puzzles use pieces of the same shape, so some person created some mash-ups.

I think my favorites are #4 and #11.

"Consider yourself hugged." (You'll know it when you see it.)

(Tip of the cap to Sean Blacklidge.)

Trust Me: Google "Thanos" and Click on the Gauntlet

If you haven't tried this yet, google "Thanos" and click on the gauntlet.

You're welcome.

He's a Lookout Parrot, and He's OK

This had to be done.

(Here is the tweet.)

New XKCD: Probability that You'll be Killed by the Thing You Study

I think that the new xkcd underestimates the danger of death from mathematics.

Update: Naturally, there is a line from Firefly to back me up. :)

Upcoming Film: The VelociPastor

And in today's WTF news, The VelociPastor is apparently a real film. See the trailer in this article, which has a slightly incorrect title (and which I saw before looking up the IMDB entry).

Naturally, the first thing that came to mind is that they are trying to give Black Sheep (the very baaaaaaaad "comedy" horror film) a run for it's money.

Here is how the movie is described on IMDB: After losing his parents, a priest travels to China, where he inherits a mysterious ability that allows him to turn into a dinosaur. At first horrified by this new power, a hooker convinces him to use it to fight crime. And ninjas.

So. Very. Wrong.

(Tip of the cap to Chris John.)

Finding Identical Packs of Skittles

One blogger has examined the probability of finding identical packs of skittles and posted their data online.

In my new lower-division mathematical modeling course (Math 42; "Introduction to Data-Driven Mathematical Modeling: Life, The Universe, and Everything"), we started our unit on discrete stochastic modeling today, so this post makes me very happy! I have, of course, e-mailed my students about this.

(Tip of the cap to Jeremy Jay.)

J-Pop Cover of Tom Lehrer's "The Elements"

I'm pretty sure that what you need in your life right now is a J-Pop cover of Tom Lehrer's "The Elements".

You're welcome!

(Tip of the cap to Elliott Schiff.)

Does Scientific Reports Correspond to an Outhouse?

So, based on that analogy, does Scientific Reports correspond to a nearby outhouse? :P

Thinking of submitting to Nature, by which of course, I mean going deep into the woods to live in a cabin and never opening a laptop again.

— Amy Schwartz 🦇 (@lizardschwartz) April 10, 2019

A Data Scientist is as Lucky as Lucky Can Be?

They have created an amazing opportunity for song lyrics. :)

Here is their link.

Unzipping a House

I really like the idea of having a house that you can simply unzip!

(Also, straight out of Mario Odyssey! :) )

I wonder if it also comes in .gz format?

Meanwhile, in Milan https://t.co/rONtYrLuKG pic.twitter.com/A5fE5RvA2d

— Scott Kerr (@scott_kerr) April 9, 2019

My D & D Selfie

Apparently, there is a Saturday Night Live skit (which I haven't seen) from this weekend that has spawned the hashtag #DnDSelf, of which I approve. I decided to participate in it.

For my #DnDSelfie, here is (1) a shelf with lots of gaming materials (going back to first edition) and characters and stuff and of course (2) lots of dice, including d20s for all occasions (don't forget the small but deadly), and a plush mimic dice bag. pic.twitter.com/UYhHmnhcpR

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) April 8, 2019

Alternative 'Big O' Notation

Here is my contribution. :)

Here is the tweet.

Beards or No Beards: A Victorian Thread from the 1890s

Strangely, the basic discussion about beards is once again timely in 2019. :P

(The whole thread is amusing, by the way.)

The first sentence is cringeworthy, but then it gets to their focal discussion.

'Beards Or No Beards'? That was the question posed by this delightfully eccentric Victorian article. Brace yourselves for some interesting illustrations...

- Answers magazine (1890)

Thread 👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/0aGMfKTWhT

— Dr Bob Nicholson (@DigiVictorian) April 7, 2019