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Saturday, July 5, 2025

The notorious Lobster Girl


Her rise to internet fame began as featured image on Reason.com, where she became a crowd favorite among male libertarians of all ages for obvious reasons. Alas, her real name and whereabouts are unknown.

If you know or know someone who knows her, we'd love to hear more of her story. 


 

marvelous machinery montage

 Mechanical Principles (1930) by Ralph Steiner [4min selection]









Friday, July 4, 2025

Trump To Bomb Agrabah

WASHINGTON DC - "After meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and consulting with our allies in the region, I sent a secure message to the Sultan of Agrabah. I warned him that we cannot allow his vizier Jafar to gain the magic lamp and wreak havoc on the world", said Trump in a recent speech. According to recently declassified intelligence reports, Jafar, the sultan's closest and most trusted advisor, covets the lamp now in the possession of Prince Ali. The reports do not shed much light on the basic facts of the presumably Middle Eastern country, leading some conspiracy theorists to suggest that it is not even a real place. Intelligence experts from across the political spectrum have denied these allegations. 

Elsewhere, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu gave a speech at the UN warning of the grave danger posed by Jafar's nefarious intentions. "We cannot afford to wait for a smoking gun, for it may come in the form of magic smoke spewing forth from a lamp like smoke from a smoking gun. A magic lamp the size of this replica I hold now in my hand contains as much destructive wishing power as all the bombs dropped during WW2. The Agrabahnians must make a choice: either you are with us or you are with Jafar. To the civilized nations of the world, I say that it is better seize the lamp and make wishes over there than for Jafar to get the lamp and make wishes over here." Joanna Gambolputty, a CIA officer, praised Netanyahu for his speech, adding that "it is high time we stand up to Agrabahnese recklessness and disregard of international norms."

Various attempts to negotiate with the Agrabahi government have been without result, though a mysterious Nigerian prince known as Ahtayka Yomonay has offered to broker a peace deal in exchange for a "reasonable fee". According to intelligence reports, Agrabahns live in a closed society behind what has been termed "the bead curtain". It is also believed that mentions of a so-called flying magic carpet are coded references to a secret hypersonic missile program. Current assessments suggest the program takes place at a secluded base in the Shangri La valley. According to Gambolputty, "these reports act as clarion call for proper levels of investment in programs like the F-35 and Fs of even larger numbers."

What remains to be seen is what response, if any, ever comes from Agrabanish leadership. While not much is known about the mysterious sultan, he is rumored to be fond of musicals and parades. Anonymous insiders close to Trump have said that he reacted angrily to a dramatization of one of Prince Ali's parades, and this jealously spurred him to organize a spectacle of even greater proportions. Supposedly, Trump wanted and even greater menagerie on display, but was convinced otherwise and eventually accepted a parade tanks and other military vehicles. Representatives from Disney have been making frantic pleas to meet with Trump to discuss the Agrabah issue further, but no meetings have been scheduled.   

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

A solid sphere is topologically equivalent to a Mobius strip(?)

And a hollow sphere is topologically equivalent to a loop (a Mobius strip without a half turn). This is interesting because a loop has a hole, but a hollow sphere does not. Does the space inside a hollow sphere count as a hole?

Imagine a Mobius strip made out of clay. It could squished and rolled into a ball. And a clay loop could be formed into a hollow sphere. 


The Möbius strip, topological equivalence, and one-way functions

A donut and a coffee mug are topologically equivalent because one can be transformed into the other without cutting, tearing, or adding more holes. It's easier to understand this if you imagine both shapes being made of soft clay or Play Dough. 

However, a Möbius strip and a loop strip are not topologically equivalent even though they have the same number of holes. The first has one side and the other has two sides. A Möbius strip made of clay could be molded into a loop strip, but not the reverse is not possible. 

It seems there are topological transformations that are not reversible. Thus, they are analogous to one-way functions. 

The 4 ways a story can end

At the end of a story, the main character(s) will either get what they want and need or they won't. So the 4 possible outcomes are: 

1. get what they want and what they need
2. get what they want but not what they need
3. don't get what they want but get what they need
4. don't get what they want or what they need

#1 is the most common ending. Disney's Aladdin is a good example. Most Disney movies have such an ending. 

Kafka's The Metamorphosis has a #4 ending. 

Finding examples of #2 and #3 are exercises I leave to the reader.   

Tomb of Hatshepsut, Egypt