My first Processing program: algorithmically-generated plant

I have been meaning to try out Processing (a.k.a. Proce55ing) for ages, now.  Processing is a Java-like language which includes a simple development environment which makes generating graphics, animation, and sound simple. You can see some impressive examples at the Processing site's exhibition page.

I played with Processing for the past week or so, and my first non-trivial "sketch" is a modification of the Penrose Tile example written by Geraldine Sarmiento included with Processing. It is an algorithmically-generated plantlike form. The iterative method used is called an L-System, introduced by the botanist Aristid Lindenmayer (hence the "L"). 

Back in the 80s, when fractals, cellular automata, and other iterative and recursive things were the rage, this beautiful book (which I have a copy of) was produced: The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants, by Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz and Aristid Lindenmayer.  It is out of print, but you can download a full high-resolution copy at that link, which also lists correction.

Click here for my sketch.

Total lunar eclipse coincides with Winter Solstice

The last time a total lunar eclipse coincided with the Winter Solstice was 372 years ago. This is the second time this has happened in the Common Era. Unfortunately, it was much too overcast for me to see the total eclipse. I caught a few brief glimpses as the partial eclipse began, with roughly a quarter of the moon in eclipse, and then with half in shadow.

Lucid argument on global climate change

I think this guy breaks it down quite clearly.

Technorati Tags: global climate change, global warming

Fruits of Warm Climates

The Fruits of Warm Climates website, a companion to the book, is amazing. And drool-inducing.

Experimental physics by Stone

I love old science textbooks. Google has now started offering PDF downloads of public domain books, like Experimental physics by William Abbott Stone.

Science of Love

Old but interesting piece at BBC on the science of attraction and love.

It can take between 90 seconds and 4 minutes to decide if we fancy someone. But this has little to do with your smooth-talking. As far as attraction goes, here's how we get the message:

55% is through body language
38% is the tone and speed of our voice
Only 7% is through what we say

Technorati Tags: love, science

Plots, plots, plots

Busy making plots for the American Association of Physicists in Medicine annual conference at the end of the month. Some are pretty. Not as pretty as this old plot, but the stuff I learnt making that one helped me make this. I have a script that cranks out about 2 dozen plots semi-automatically.

Listening to “100 por Carlos Gardel” (Carlos Gardel), which my roomie brought home from her trip to Buenos Aires

Technorati Tags: color scale, contour, matplotlib, python

LIGO video

The project that I did my PhD in, Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), has, with the National Science Foundation (NSF), produced a 20 minute video entitled “Einstein’s Messengers” targeted towards the general public. It’s a NOVA-style program. You can watch a streaming version online.

Technorati Tags: gravitational physics, LIGO, physics, science, television, video

Pretty picture

I spent the last few days playing with matplotlib, a nice graphics package for Python. The result, which is basically what I needed to accomplish, is below. I just need to scale the data properly, which is easy using the Python classes I wrote to encapsulate the dose and phantom outputs of EGSnrc, the Monte Carlo dose calculation code I use. Oh, and don’t worry: that’s not a real head. It’s a “phantom”, an artificial head made of plastic with a real skull, jaw bone, and teeth embedded into it.

Listening to Michael Jackson from the album “On The Floor At The Boutique” by Fatboy Slim

Technorati Tags: matplotlib, python, visualization

Take your vitamin D

Looks like there is now good evidence that vitamin D helps prevent various cancers, and other illnesses.

[Prof. Cedric Garland of University of California, San Diego] said: “A preponderance of evidence from the best observational studies... has led to the conclusion that public health action is needed. Primary prevention of these cancers has been largely neglected, but we now have proof that the incidence of colon, breast and ovarian cancer can be reduced dramatically by increasing the public's intake of vitamin D.”

Technorati Tags: cancer prevention, vitamin d