Monthly Archives: May 2007

May 4 2007

Open Thread

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By FmH
May 3 2007

Light Bulb Lunacy?

Admittedly, this is from Fox News; so is it truly worrisome or their typical reactionary smear tactics?

“How much money does it take to screw in a compact fluorescent lightbulb? About $4.28 for the bulb and labor — unless you break the bulb. Then you, like Brandy Bridges of Ellsworth, Maine, could be looking at a cost of about $2,004.28, which doesn’t include the costs of frayed nerves and risks to health.

…Aware that CFLs contain potentially hazardous substances, Bridges called her local Home Depot for advice. The store told her that the CFL contained mercury and that she should call the Poison Control hotline, which in turn directed her to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

The DEP sent a specialist to Bridges’ house to test for mercury contamination. The specialist found mercury levels in the bedroom in excess of six times the state’s “safe” level for mercury contamination of 300 billionths of a gram per cubic meter.” [thanks, Carol]

By FmH
May 3 2007

A Subway Named Mobius

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1950 short story by astronomer A.J. Deutsch: “The principles of connectivity state that as a system makes more connections to other parts of itself, the connectivity of that system increases in an exponential fashion to staggering levels. The subway under New York City had been growing in complexity for years. It was so complex, in fact, that the best mathematicians could not calculate its connectivity.

Then the first train disappeared. The system was closed, so it couldn’t have gone anywhere, but when all the trains were pulled, they still couldn’t find it. The searchers would see a red light, wait curiously, and hear a train passing in the distance, sometimes so close that it appeared to be just around the next bend. Where was the train? What happened to the passengers? Professor Tudor has a theory…”

Does anyone else remember this story, which I read in the ’50′s and which has stuck with me ever since… ?

Also: 

Mathematical Fiction Homepage

“Do you like fiction and mathematics? Are you looking for a book or story that might be useful for the students in your math class? Are you interested in what our society thinks about mathematicians? Then you’ve come to the right place…
The Mathematical Fiction Homepage is my attempt to collect information about all significant references to mathematics in fiction. “

And: 

Moebius 17

If you can make heads or tails of it:

“Two writers are bombing a train. Eventually, drawing the highlights, they are suprised by the security staff. They are being chased but finally manage to escape. One of the two writers, starred by Johannes Benecke, decides not to give up until he gets “a fuckin’ picture of his fuckin’ train”. Trying to get a picture of his rolling canvas, he has to face a labyrinth of subway lines crossing each other, connections, quotations, fantastic observations, and paradoxical indications. However, Train No. 17 is missing inside the underground system. The Public Transport are looking for the disappeared train as well. The special Graffiti commission, special forces, and computer experts begin to chase. Parallelly, the chairman of the Public Transport, Himmel, is being accused of corruption while building a new cross connection. This is not by chance. In real life, Himmel’s name is Arno Funke who became Germany’s most sympathetic blackmailer of department stores using the alias “Dagobert”. Is he once again trying to escape in the underground with millions? Jörg Gudzuhn does not play a role in here. However, the actor starred already in 1994 as a commissioner searching the “Phantom” Dagobert. In 1991, he starred as a professor looking for a ghost train in Berlin in the movie “Moebius”. The current Moebius conspirancy started in 1997, when Frank Lämmer watched the Argentinian adaption of the story. Since that time, he has been on the “Moebius-stripe”. This differentially theoretical phenomenon, named after its discoverer A.F.Moebius, was not only engraved by the Dutch artist M.C. Escher in wood but has also animated the writer Esher to follow the nine ants of his namesake. Together with Jo Preußler he started the securing of evidence in 2002. After a wooden subway got cinematically lost inside the subway system of Buenos Aires, it is now up to No. 17. Both of the two Berlin film-makers have realized that one cannot get anywhere with this paradox using the five senses and a classical conservative world view. Therefore, they grab together with a crew of writers the motif of the short story “A Subway Named Moebius” by A. J. Deutsch(1950) and actualize the following idea: Two writers are bombing a train …”
By FmH
May 2 2007

Not cellular transmissions after all?

Experts may have found what’s bugging the bees: “A fungus that caused widespread loss of bee colonies in Europe and Asia may be playing a crucial role in the mysterious phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder that is wiping out bees across the United States, UC San Francisco researchers said Wednesday.

Researchers have been struggling for months to explain the disorder, and the new findings provide the first solid evidence pointing to a potential cause.

But the results are ‘highly preliminary’ and are from only a few hives from Le Grand in Merced County, UCSF biochemist Joe DeRisi said. ‘We don’t want to give anybody the impression that this thing has been solved.’” (LA Times)

By FmH
May 2 2007

A Case Against Cheney

Richard Cohen: “Kucinich is an odd guy for whom the killer appellation ‘perennial presidential candidate’ is lethally applied. But he is on to something here. It is easy enough to ad hominize him to the margins — ya know, the skinny guy among the ‘real’ presidential candidates — but at a given moment, and this is one, he’s the only one on that stage who articulates a genuine sense of betrayal. He is not out merely to win the nomination but to hold the Bush administration — particularly Cheney — accountable. In this he will fail. What Cheney has done is not impeachable. It is merely unforgivable.” (Washington Post op-ed)
By FmH
May 2 2007

Guess what movie may make you sick…

Babel is immensely popular in Japan, in part thanks to a memorable and powerful role by Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi. But, reminiscent of a memorable incident caused by an episode of the Pokemon cartoon series a decade ago, a number of Japanese have been sickened by a one-minute scene in Babel involving a visit to a club in which strobe lights flash for about a minute. The phenomenon has prompted the posting of a health advisory on the distributor’s website and on posters at theatres showing the film. (Yahoo! News) While strobe-induced seizure activity is a well-known phenomenon in patients with preexisting epilepsy, it is quite rare. In contrast, this has some of the hallmarks of communicable hysteria. It is a little different from the Pokemon incident, which affected viewers simultaneously without forewarning, and which probably attracted a much larger viewing population.

By FmH
May 2 2007

World’s cities step up pace of life

“Pedestrians in Singapore were crowned the world’s fastest movers, walking 30 percent faster than they did in the early 1990s, and in China, the pace of life in Guangzhou has increased by more than 20 percent.

Copenhagen and Madrid were the fastest European cities, beating Paris and London. And despite its reputation as ‘the city that never sleeps,’ New York ranked only eighth in the pace race, behind Dublin and Berlin.” (Yahoo! News)

By FmH
May 2 2007

R.I.P. Bobby Pickett

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“Bobby (Boris) Pickett, whose Boris Karloff impression propelled the Halloween novelty song “Monster Mash” to the top of the charts in 1962, making him one of pop music’s most enduring one-hit wonders, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 69. His longtime manager, Stuart Hersh, said the cause was leukemia.

Mr. Pickett’s multimillion-selling single — with the indelible chorus “He did the monster mash, it was a graveyard smash” — hit the charts three times: on its original release in 1962, when it reached No. 1, and in 1970 and 1973. Mr. Pickett’s Karloff impression was forged in Somerville, Mass., where as a 9-year-old he watched horror films in a theater managed by his father. He later made it part of his act when he began performing in Hollywood nightclubs in 1959.

Mr. Pickett also did the voice when performing with his band the Cordials. A bandmate, Lenny Capizzi, persuaded Mr. Pickett to do a song featuring the Karloff impression, and “Monster Mash” was born.” (New York Times )

By FmH
May 1 2007

New car smell is bad for you

Is nothing sacred??!! “That ‘new car smell’ can be hazardous to your health, The Ecology Center, a Berkeley, Calif., environmental group said. The Ecology Center said toxic chemicals such as bromine, chlorine and lead found in cars’ interiors give off harmful fumes for three years, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The group listed the 10 least toxic vehicles in a report: the Acura RDX; BMW X3; Chevrolet Cobalt; Chrysler PT Cruiser; Honda Odyssey; Nissan Frontier; Suzuki Aerio wagon; Toyota Matrix; and Volvo S40 and V50.

The 10 worst vehicles were: the Chevy Aveo, Express and Silverado; Hyundai Accent; Kio Rio and Spectra; Nissan Versa; Scion xB; Subaru Forester; and Suzuki Forenza.” (Earthtimes)

By FmH