Jewel Geometry Basis Of Reality?

Scientists have discovered that quantum jewels are quite possibly at the heart of reality as we know it.

Illustration by Andy Gilmore

"The amplituhedron looks like an intricate, multifaceted jewel in higher dimensions. Encoded in its volume are the most basic features of reality that can be calculated, “scattering amplitudes,” which represent the likelihood that a certain set of particles will turn into certain other particles upon colliding. These numbers are what particle physicists calculate and test to high precision at particle accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland." - Quanta Magazine

WBN is picking up the story since AoftheAP is on sabloggital.

This is huge in the field of quantum physics. Before the discovery of the amplituhedron, scientists had to calculate millions of terms and fill 500 pages of algebra to figure out simple particle physics. Now they can just calculate the volume of an amplituhedron in a single function.

How's that for new math?

The article goes on to say that space-time and therefore dimensions may be an illusion created by properties of the jewel itself. Even gravity.

Sister Ilia, keynote speaker at the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and  director of Catholic studies and visiting professor at Georgetown University in Washington, is quoted as saying:

“If we are to rethink in terms of religion, we have to think in terms of cosmology,” Sister Ilia said. “We have to understand the order of the whole,” adding, “There is no amplituhedrons without God, and no God without amplituhedrons.”

Sister Ilia has a doctorate in pharmacology as well as historical theology. [WBN is of the opinion that partaking of too much pharma has influenced the dogma in this case.]

WBN also asked Internet Princess and  relativism researcher Ms. Mimi Maker about the impact of the jewel on teh intarwebs. "Gravity an illusion?", she said, "Without gravity there is no weight. No weight means: I can haz cupcake?"

Her colleague, Dr. Adam Smasher has this to say: "On a personal note, I would like to say that men everywhere can relax a bit since the discovery of the amplituhedron since everything is just a consequence of quantum geometry. Now we can say 'No, that dress does not make you look fat, it's an illusion of your quantum jewels.'"

Dr. Smasher continued, "One thing is certain now, Schrodinger can get his cat back; the cat is neither alive nor dead, but existing in a higher bejeweled state."

WBN has learned that news of the quantum jewel is even affecting the Catholic blogosphere. Rumor has it that celebrated author Rebecca Frech is working on a Second Edition of her book Teaching In Your Tiara: Quantum Bejeweled.

Fixed that for ya.

 

 

 

Popular blogger Terry Nelson of Abbey Roads fame is purported to have said, "Is this the line for the funnel cakes?"

What?

The Best Blogging Buddies Evah!

Recently we at the Nod household received baby shower gifts for our latest Nodling, Dab. The fact that it was unexpected, unmerited, and a complete act of kindness only serves to accentuate its worth.

Check out these onesies -- they're awesome! Dab is gonna wear them with pride as he says his rosary and learns about the saints.

Mrs. Nod and I are extremely grateful to Rebecca (aka the Mom), LarryD, and anyone else who may have had a hand in it (you know who you are!). Somehow you made an obscure guy with a little blog and a big family feel very special.

Thanks!

Name The Nodling

Ok, so we're getting close to the birth of our 6th child (a boy!) and now we are faced with a very important decision -- one I'm hoping you can help with. Not only does our son need his IRL (in real life) name, but he also needs a cybernym, his online name.

His siblings are Wynken, Blynken, and Nod-girl (after the title of this blog and the famous poem); the younger toddlers are Nub and Nib. If you haven't met them before, let me introduce them here.

We need a cybernym for #6: after all, if you're reading this blog you're going to have to put up with whatever we come up with. We can only call him the baby Nodling for so long. :D

The Nodlings as a rule are not over-tall, but what they lack in height they make up for in numbers. Therefore, I like small names that refer to small things -- like Nub and Nib. However, I'm open to suggestions that might fit the WBN theme as well. For those of you not keeping track, this will give us 3 boys and 3 girls.

So how about it -- wanna help a guy out? Throw out some names and I'll pick something I like. It could be yours!

Just to get the ball rolling, a couple of good ones I've heard are: Dab and Pip.

What do you think?

Shoved To Them Scandal Revealed!

Flash!

WBN has just learned that rumors are circulating ¹ around the Internets that blogging sensation aka the Mom and author of possibly the Best Blog Of All Time², is selling the house and moving to Dallas this summer in order to hide a shocking secret.

The crack investigative staff at AoftheA³ has confirmed⁴ in an exclusive scoop that aka the Mom intends to convey the blog, Shoved To Them and its entire readership, with the house. That's right, readers, your RSS feed will be packed in a box right next to the Raggedy Andy doll and the extra garden hose and auctioned off to the highest bidder in order to secure an extra percentage point on the new mortgage.

Initial reports indicate that the part of aka the Mom will be assumed by a Ukranian seamstress in Toledo and the role of the Computer Guy will be performed by Professor Wonderful⁵, pending a successful credit background check and first month's security deposit. The parts of the children are rumored to be scaled back to a pair of Siamese cats due to budget cuts.

We here at WBN find this news to be deeply troubling. If found to be true,⁶ a write-in campaign is being organized to petition the courts for an emergency injunction against it, thereby protecting the rights of RSS readers everywhere. We will not be traded like a pack of cigarettes in a prison.

Suspicions are deepening due to the lack of denial⁷ by aka the Mom and the crew of Shoved to Them. Requests for comment have gone unanswered as of this publication.

In other news, llama hair may be a major contributing factor to climate change...

---

¹We should know, we started it.

²Voting still open.

³Most Humorous Blog. Again, voting is still open.

⁴Actually, LarryD has no idea this is happening.

⁵Who, as my neighbor in 1984 in California, showed me his perfect feet as declared by the Department of the Army.

⁶Or at least wildly inaccurate.

⁷Mostly because we didn't ask.

New Series: As For Me And My House

I've been asked to write a weekly series over at Catholic Dads Online and to be one of their featured writers!

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of the larger mission of speaking to the experience of being a Catholic Dad. The site is growing and evolving, so I encourage you to check back frequently to check out the changes.

Everybody is welcome, not just Dads.

My series is called "As For Me And My House" and will be published on Thursdays. (Oh no, deadlines!) This is a chance for me to try to kick it up a notch and put out what I hope will be good and engaging content. My theme is taken from Joshua 24:15, and I designed a logo just for this series.

They say you should write what you know. As a Catholic Dad of a fistful of children (the Nodlings), I’ve come to know the daily joys and sorrows of trying to live out the Faith in our modern world. There are many options out there — voices that are clamoring to be heard, prevailing winds of philosophy, sirens of fame, fortune, and success.

My wife and I made a promise the day we got married that we would accept children lovingly as gifts from God and bring them up in the practice of the Faith. We promised to be true to each other and by our covenant to serve God faithfully. As a father, my job is to love my wife as Christ loves His Church and to lead my family spiritually.

If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15

These are our stories.

Join me every Thursday as I chronicle “As For Me And My House“, the place where the rubber meets the road.

Subscribe to the RSS feed here.

Get Your Snark On

LarryD at the Acts of the Apostasy is having a contest! Yes, the winner of the 2010 Snarkiest Catholic Blog has dreamed up some hot summer fun.

Progressive Catholycs have opened an ice cream parlor to beat the summer heat. What are some of the flavors they serve?

For instance, how about "Sr Joan's Chocolate Chippister Kooky Dough"?

Even the saints had a sense of humor. Click on over and see all the snarky submissions in the combox. You could win a chance to write your own post at the A of the A!

Mind The Rules

The USCCB is starting to get with the times. It's really trying to come to terms with this Inter-tubes thingy. Why, they even quote Wikipedia and mention Facebook! (Nobody here has ever done that ...)

This week the USCCB Office of Communications released Social Media Guidelines that “ 'church personnel' defined as anyone—priest, deacon, religious, bishop, lay employee, or volunteer — who provides ministry or service or is employed by an entity associated with the Catholic Church", should abide by.

Here is a sample Code of Conduct from the Guidelines:

“All posts and comments should be marked by Christian charity and respect for the truth. They should be on topic and presume the good will of other posters."

It's a good thing to, and none too soon, so as to relieve the confusion of the faithful. We thought the previous rules of behavior were to say: 1) You're stupid! 2) That's not Catholic! 3) You're going to Hell! Ok, maybe not, but it's wild out here on the 'Net.

Still, the Guidelines are a good thing and the Church should have 'em. I should have some too, but as I'm having trouble formulating them, we'll go with the sample Code of Conduct above.

I always have trouble with "goals" and "performance metrics" at work too. I've gotten as far as "Will wear pants every day" and then I bog down ...

Everybody Loves Free Stuff

They say there's no such thing as a free lunch. Maybe not, but you could win free money.

Aka the Mom over at Shoved To Them is raffling off an $80 gift certificate to CSNstores.com. Then you could buy your own free lunch, or lunch maker. Something for the house or the yard? Clothes to wear, or maybe a really cool beer sign. Whatever is your fancy, you could just get it.


Your chance to win is one short comment away on her blog. That's it. Cool, huh? For two chances, you could blog about it yourself. For three chances you could sign up as a follower of the blog (after you followed mine of course.)

Props For DUIB

Joe at Defend Us In Battle has recently linked WBN on the sidebar as part of the Army of the Faith - thanks, Joe!

If you haven't seen it recently, check out the newly re-designed blog. (Awesome masthead!) It looks great and Joe is doing a mighty good work there. Stop on by and give him a little bump in numbers.

New Feature

I just recently went over 1000 posts on this blog.

I got to thinking, "Whew! That's a lot of posts. It's a shame that a lot of people will never read some of the better bits from the past."

Now I could re-post stuff from time to time, but that's a lot of work, it's repetitious, and frankly annoying. Of course the archives are all there on the left side, but unless you're really bored, brand-new here, or stalking me, you're probably not trolling the archives. You faithful followers (did I mention how great you are?) have all read it before anyway.

No, what we need here is a better way of bringing up the relevant bits from the archives and relating them to what's current. So, I've implemented a new feature that I hope will be of interest.

Now at the bottom of every post there are 3 "Related WBN articles" that are automatically selected by this service called LinkWithin. I saw it first over at Natural Relaxed Home Learning, so hat tip to Shelley!

So we're going to try it out, let me know how you like it. It only shows up on the blog itself, so RSS readers will have to drop by the site to check it out.

Milestone

Wow. This is my 1000th post; it's hard to believe that I've had a thousand things to say in the 2 1/2 years I've been blogging. (Some people might say I still don't have anything to say, but who's listening to them?)

I wanted to do something really great or awesome for this thousandth post, but then I realized it's not really about me, it's about you, dear reader. Because without you, this blog is the sound of one hand clapping.

So here's to you - a small but loyal cadre of readers who have made the blog worth writing. When I read your comments, see your follower icon, or even note your anonymous and aggregated numbers on the RSS feed, it warms my little digital heart.

So all I can say is if you will keep it up (reading, commenting, following), then I will keep it up too. From all of us here at WBN -- Nod, Mrs. Nod, Wynken, Blynken, Nod-girl, Nub, and Nib -- mille grazie (a Thousand Thanks)!

Since You're Here ...

Just want to give a shout out to all the visitors from The Crescat: thanks for coming!

Also "mad props" to all of you who are keeping Wynken, Blynken, and Nod in the running for the Best Potpourri of Popery. It don't mean nothin' -- except to me!

As long as you're here, why not click on the RSS feed in the upper left corner to "Follow the Blynken Blog" posts and get them delivered directly to your Reader? It's private and nobody has to know your guilty pleasure ...

Or fearlessly slap your icon down on the Followers bar like the cowboys of old and become a public Nod'er. We're glad to have ya, and we'll fight any man who says different!

Meanwhile the crack staff here at WBN will humbly try to deliver the best Potpourri of stuff on these here Inter-tubes. It's a lot like life: funny, then serious, and with a case of the munchies.

Vote for our Cannonball Bloc!

• Nod at Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, Best Potpourri of Popery
• Aka The Mom's, Shoved to Them for Best Under Appreciated
• LarryD at Acts of the Apostasy for Best Hifreakinglarious Church Militant, Snarkiest, Bat Guano Crazy
• Joe from Defend Us In Battle for New Kid on the Block.

Give Me Your Poor, Your Tired, Your Vote!!

The cage match battle to the death voting has begun at The Crescat for the 2010 Cannonball Catholic Blog Awards!

Your humble blogger needs you to vote, vote, vote each day for me in the Best Potpourri of Popery category.

We got Popery, we got funny, we got serious, we even have snacks. Our 5 little Nodlings will be completely bereft and destitute* if you don't vote and help us win. We're offering free home brewed beer** and a homemade Super Catholic cape if you vote for us like you're from the Chicago vote-early-vote-often section or Huey Long's Louisiana.

Don't let a better blog win! Help the poor guy with the full mini-van instead. Only you can prevent forest fires, and only you can put WBN in the win column!

Vote, and be counted as one of the Minions in the Old Dominion!

* For some value of "bereft and destitute"
** Must be present to collect

Update: Join our Cannonball Voting Bloc!

• Nod at Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, Best Potpourri of Popery
• Aka The Mom's, Shoved to Them for Best Under Appreciated
• LarryD at Acts of the Apostasy for Best Hifreakinglarious Church Militant, Snarkiest, Bat Guano Crazy
• Joe from Defend Us In Battle for New Kid on the Block.
  

North Dakota: Home Of The Whirl-A-Whip

For some unknown reason, North Dakota is the only state in the Union that hasn't visited us here at WBN. We don't know why; since they've never been here, we can hardly have offended them.

So if ND won't come to WBN, then WBN must go to ND -- at least virtually. The North Dakota Tourism web site lists a number of things to do in North Dakota, many of them featuring the fantastic landscape.

My personal favorite is the Hidden Gems page on which they feature the Whirl-A-Whip famous ice cream: one tub of ice cream, 40 flavors.




Other hidden gems:

Natural Gems

• Sheyenne National Grasslands, southwest of Fargo
• Denbigh Experimental Forest
• Killdeer Game Management Area, east of Killdeer
• Nature Conservancy Property at Davis Ranch
• Mushroom Rock Formations, Petrified Forest, North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park
• Huff Hills, south of Mandan
• Pembina Gorge, west of Walhalla
• Icelandic State Park
• Little Missouri State Park
• White Butte - Highest point in North Dakota-Amidon, ND
  

Cultural & Heritage Gems

• St. Mary's Catholic Church, Hague
• Fairview Lift Bridge and railroad tunnel, Cartwright
• Stone Butte Ranch, south of Elgin
• Fort Ransom
• Scandinavian Heritage Park, Minot
• Pipestem Creek
• Crow Flies High overlook
• Chief Looking's Village overlook
• Mystical Horizons, near Carbury
  

Attraction Gems

• Lewis & Clark Riverboat, Bismarck
• Pioneer Trails Museum, Bowman
• Paul Broste Rock Museum
• Whirl-a-Whip, Stanley
• McHenry Train
• Dory's Antique Car Museum, Marmarth
• Five Nations Art Depot
• Prairie Fire Pottery
• Hotel Donaldson, Fargo
• Sundog Glass Design, Park River

So how about it -- anybody out there in North Dakota? Tell us about it!

How To Write An Incendiary Post

This tickled my funny bone. This shows the structure of the typical incendiary post from Coyote Crossing. h/t Joel

This sentence contains the thesis of the blog post, a trite and obvious statement cast as a dazzling and controversial insight.

This sentence claims that there are many people who do not agree with the thesis of the blog post as expressed in the previous sentence. This sentence speculates as to the mental and ethical character of the people mentioned in the previous sentence. This sentence contains a link to the most egregiously ill-argued, intemperate, hateful and ridiculous example of such people the author could find. This sentence is a three-word refutation of the post linked in the previous sentence, the first of which three words is “Um.” This sentence implies that the linked post is in fact typical of those who disagree with the thesis of the blog post. This sentence contains expressions of outrage and disbelief largely expressed in Internet acronyms. This sentence contains a link to an Internet video featuring a cat playing a piano.

Even the comments are written in the same way.

This comment takes issue with the first sentence of the blog post and goes on for quite a while making it clear that the commenter didn’t read any further.

Read the whole thing.

Pot Calls The Kettle Black

I was looking for the memo that gives Federal workers and contractors half a day off on Christmas Eve and saw this on the White House OMBlog:

Peter R. Orszag, Director

We are closer than ever before to passing fiscally responsible health reform legislation. So it’s not a surprise that the most reflexively and ideologically partisan commentators are lashing out. Today, it’s the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal.

So what is it with this administration constantly wanting to take on individuals and media outlets who disagree with them like what's-his-name (Limbaugh) , Fox, and now the WSJ? (I don't care a fig about them personally.) When you are the President of the United States (and his staff), you are supposed to represent all Americans. You don't have to agree with them, but you do represent them.

It demeans the office when they attack individuals and particular organizations; it doesn't matter if it's Democrats or Republicans. The President and his staff should always take the high road. Partisans at either end will pick up the thread for them and duke it out in the media and other places. Are there any adults over there?

So it's ironic that Peter Orszag begins his article with these words.

"[R]eflexively and ideologically partisan commentators are lashing out"?

Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you.

Ductapeguy's Multimedia Advent Calendar

Ductape guy offers you an advent calendar:

Catholic Carnival #214

Mary over at Broken Alabaster is hosting this week's Catholic Carnival #214, taking a round up of posts from the Catholic blogosphere and organizing them around 7 Lenten Hymns.

Yours truly has his first Catholic Carnival entry, so check it out and spread the word. Enjoy!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

What is the Catholic Carnival?
Blog Carnivals have been around for several years now - almost as long as blogs. In simple terms, they are a collection of blog posts from various bloggers and often from different points of view on a specific topic.

Each week the Catholic Carnival includes a varying number of Catholic posts from throughout the blogosphere. Any Catholic blogger can submit a post and the only real rule is that it cannot contradict Catholic doctrine. So far that rule has been enough to keep it as a high-quality location to find interesting Catholic thought on a weekly basis. Each Tuesday the Carnival is posted at a specific blog. You can find out where it's at either at Living Catholocism's Catholic Carnival section or at the Catholic Carnival page of Blog Carnival (which lists many, many blog Carnivals).

Blogger Hiccup Dumps Followers

Some bloggers are reporting that there has been some kind of hiccup recently that resulted in an unceremonious dumping of some Followers and/or Subscribers from various Blogspot blogs.

Not all blogs and not all accounts have been affected, and there has been no official announcement from Blogger. The incidence is low enough that it rates as "bit error" in the grand scheme of things.

To those of us with an average blog, however, even a small loss is felt and we do not consider such losses as "bit errors". You are living, breathing, and thinking people who have taken the time to stop by and read what I have thought relevant -- therefore you are appreciated.

If you are one of those who were accidentally removed from subscription, please come back! If you haven't subscribed to the RSS feed in the past, please consider this an invitation to join in using the "Subscribe to the Blynken blog" button. If you'd really like to make my day, use the link on the left under "Nod'ers" to "Follow" the blog publicly.

And, hey, thanks.

UPDATE: Blogger has announced over on Blogger Buzz that they've switched the Follow feature to something called "Friend Connect". Undoubtedly this caused some of the problems we've been seeing.

That's why we're excited to announce that we've integrated Blogger Following with Google Friend Connect.

Friend Connect encourages readers to use one account (whether it's a Google account, a Yahoo, AIM or OpenID account) to follow any site - a Blogger blog, a WordPress blog, or any other site that has incorporated Friend Connect.

The problem I see now is that the widget is big and ugly.

Happy Blogday

My blog turned 1 year old back in October and I totally missed that fact.

Not that that sort of anniversary has any intrinsic meaning, but I decided to look back on it in an ego-centric, self-absorbed way.

They say that it takes about a year to settle into blogging. (And by "they" I mean stuff I just made up on the spot.) Figuring out what you want to say, how to say it, getting in the habit of blogging regularly: it all takes a little while (especially if you have a job and family).

In sheer statistics, my average entries dramatically increased when I "discovered" (got off my lazy cyber-rear) RSS feeds and Google Reader. 2007-Q4 had a whopping 15 entries; 2008-Q1 had 7; 2008-Q2 had 12; 2008-Q3 had 35, and so far 2008-Q4 is sporting 87.

Whether or not there was anything worthwhile in all that, I can't say. What I can say is that I felt like saying it, and so I did. I won't win any awards, but that's not why I do it. (Actually, I don't know why I do it.)

A friend of mine said: Content is King. Bah. I'm going for "most creative titles".
Happy Blogday.