Pendulum Wave – Complete Cycle

Simple Pendulum wave animation. You can see the wave go from travelling waves, to standing waves, to a (briefly) beating pulse, and then chaotic motion, and back to travelling. Perhaps its just me, but this is clearer on the real thing.

“This animation may be subject to floating-point errors.”

But it’s beautiful. | credit to Jeff Irwin

[Found here.]

Heavy Church

“Located in Borgloon, Belgium, ‘Reading Between The Lines’ is a nearly transparent steel church designed by Belgian architect studio Gijs Van Vaerenbergh. The 10-meter high structure consists of 100 evenly spaced steel layers stacked in the form of a steeple and seems to dissolve into the landscape when viewed at certain angles.”

[Image found here.]

Christmas of Wonder

Click on any image to enjoy the splendor.
All images (and more) found in here.

Tortiloquacious Hot Links

(I Want A) Rock and Roll Guitar, Johnny Preston (1960)Preston’s biggest hit was Running Bear and made No. 1 on the pop charts in 1959. The “Indian” sounds on the record were performed by J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson and George Jones.

Efficiency bed.

How’dy Hiram.

Dog be trollin’.

To the mountain.

The Christmas Pickle.

DO THIS RIGHT NOW.

Los rábanos seductores.

Misheard Christmas song lyrics.

Who was Shorpy Higginbotham?

Party Hard is the best Christmas song you’ll hear all week.

Theater In The Round nativity play is fun (interactive vid).

5 Minutes of a Pink Oyster Mushroom Playing a Synthesizer.

Use of Gamification Techniques to Encourage Garbage Recycling.

[Top image: Antique folk art animal carvings with original paint from here.]


From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.


The Iceman Goeth

Paradox of Praxis 1 (Sometimes Making Something Leads to Nothing). Francis Alys. 1997.

[Found in here. Video here.]

Bless the Beasts and the Children’s Beasts

Apparently someone’s daddy doesn’t like the President:

[All images found in here, more at the link. Related posts here and here and here and here.]

A fart, a giggle, and it’s over.

[Found here.]

Ancient Engineering – Yellow Dragon Cave Water Mill

Wooden waterwheel in front of Huanglong Cave (Yellow Dragon Cave) is a karst cave located near the Wulingyuan District of Zhangjiajie City, Hunan, China.

“Turns out the area that these wheels were traditionally in was flooded as part of the 3 gorges dam, so this is a reconstruction for people to see what they would have looked like.” -comment on Reddit

Everything ancient in China is almost always a reproduction, including this. It’s an elaborate kinetic sculpture – the water mill doesn’t appear to mill anything. China lets you look around the cave a bit on Google Maps street view: 29°22’1.62″N 110°36’47.79″E

[Video found here; a longer version without music here.]

The .Gif Friday Post No. 657 – Morphing

[All found here, via here.]

USS Nimitz Halloween Cake [Updated – More Cake!]

Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Teresa Conde, from San Diego, sculpts a Halloween cake aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) on Oct. 26, 2020. US Navy Photo.

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group are currently stationed in the Central Persian Gulf.

[Image and caption found here. I posted this because it’s still not Thanksgiving yet.]


UPDATE: Also on the Nimitz – A Veteran’s Day Cake

Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Sarah Freitas, left, and Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Erica Rodriguez cut a Veterans Day cake on the aft mess deck of the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) on Nov. 11, 2020. US Navy Photo