Category: The Universe

Hot Topics, v. 2010.3

This thread is a place for careful, clear, respectful discussions of difficult topics. It is not a place for having two-fisted no-holds-barred discussions.

MBers should be able to express their opinions without attacking others personally, and be able to listen to people who disagree with them without feeling personally attacked.

Easier said than done, of course. But MuseBlog is a good place to practice trying.

Continued from version 2010.2.

MuseBlog Chautauqua*: Introducing (Graphics) Channels

Enceladus asked:

“Do they have channels in whatever graphics program you use? And if so, could you explain them? Because, essentially, there’ the one thing (aside from actual scripting) that I need to know to proclaim myself a GIMP wizard.”

Step inside our virtual tent to learn more about channels. Or just enjoy the pictures, if graphics aren’t your thing.

[*Chautauquas began in the 19th century as a sort of summer camp approach to continuing education. The events were often held in big circus-style tents. The name comes from the New York town where the first one took place. We’re borrowing the term as a convenient umbrella title for such occasional threads as might be more information oriented than the usual. Though really we simply like the name.]

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Attention, Chessplayers!

The latest version of our chess software has an option for bigger boards (with squares 48 pixels wide instead of the usual 32). We’re giving it a try. Let us know how you like it. If the boards are too big now, we can go back to the smaller ones.

(There’s a sample below the fold.)
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Kokonventions Kokontinued

Here’s our policy about meeting other MBers offline:

  • MuseBlog’s administrators do not encourage you to do it.
  • We won’t help you plan to do it.
  • If you insist on holding a real-world meeting, your parents must plan it and supervise it.
  • To assure us that they are involved, your parents should e-mail us at the gapas @ gmail.com. We will help them exchange e-mail addresses, and they can take it from there.
  • Any details about meetings (exact time and place, what you’ll be wearing, etc.) must stay off the blog. Please don’t try to post them. We won’t let you.
  • After a Kokonvention, we will post photographs of Kokonvening MBers with parental permission.
  • That’s all we will do.

Your friends,
The GAPAs

“We’re paranoid so you don’t have to be.”

Chess Problems, Set 3: Checkmate in Two Moves

The theme for this problem set is pins: situations in which a piece cannot move, because it screens a player’s king from check. (Under the rules of chess, you’re never allowed to make a move that puts your own king in check.)

In this simplified position, for example, Black’s rook, bishop, and pawn are all pinned:

[SetUp “1”]
[FEN “3R2rk/6p1/7b/6Q1/3B4/8/r3q4/6KR w – – 0 1”]
[Result “*”]

So White can play either

  • rook takes bishop, checkmate!
  • queen takes bishop, checkmate! or, most dramatically,
  • queen takes pawn, checkmate!

In each case, Black can’t recapture, because the pieces needed to do the job are pinned. So near, and yet so far! (Do you see why, after White plays queen takes pawn, neither Black’s rook nor bishop can capture the queen?)

Now, on to the real problems. Each is a “forced mate in two”: White moves, then Black moves, then White checkmates no matter what Black tries to do:

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KaiYves at the World Science Festival

Okay, as promised, long World Science Festival post, with pictures!

The whole area around NYU was a street fair, with booths set up for different organizations. The NASA area was CRAZY. I met up with my friend Erin, and we did moon jigsaw puzzles, looked at a Mars panorama through 3-D glasses, laid down and had a rover climb over us, and signed a shuttle tire!
Continue reading “KaiYves at the World Science Festival”