Goddesschess Random Roundup

April 26, 2009

Congratulations to the winners of the
Hales Corner's Challenge IX Tournament!
- Details here and here too! -

"Man vs. Bugs"
A failure to communicate - or just an awkward alliance?

Telecommunications & computing timeline

• An anniversary of sorts...

Samuel Finley Breeze Morse was born in Charlestown, Mass. on 27th April 1791. He was not a scientist - he was a professional artist.

• Telegraph Chess Pdf The Telegraph, the Veolocipede and the Bristol Sloth "This unknown player was called “The Telegraph,” although I would not normally associate telegraphs with lack of speed. This nickname may have come from the difficulties that ensued when actually attempting to play chess by telegraph."

• Postal Chess
An Introduction to Correspondence Chess Part 1
By Steve Ryan - "In theory at least you could exchange moves by drum beats, smoke signals, telephone/telegraph, sky writing, semaphore flags, mirror reflections, bouncing lasers off the moon, mental telepathy, messages attached to dirigibles or anything else you can think of."

•Digital Chess
The History of Computer Chess By Mary Bellis - Dr. Dietrich Prinz wrote the original chess playing program for a general purpose computer (the Manchester Ferranti). The program first ran in November 1951.

• Signing Chess

The Semaphore Alphabet

Signage Fonts - (above) 2 examples from one among possibly thousands of such programs ...

Chess Fonts - From Luc Devroye - School of Computer Science, McGill University - a remarkable (possibly unique) inventory

The Semaphore of Love - Pierre Michel Alix 1762-1817

• Heisenbugs and Mendelbugs in the garden of geekish delights... Oh My!!

Bugs of Doom (aka the Heisenbugs) "The absolute worst of the worst are the heisenbugs. That is, the bugs that only happen when you aren’t looking for them. The harder you try to find them, the less reproducible they become. The very act of trying to debug them, makes them disappear."

A heisenbug (named after the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle) is a computer bug that disappears or alters its characteristics when an attempt is made to study it.

Lindsay's Heisenbugs are actually a type of Mandelbug. And Mandelbugs share things in common with Mandelbot patterns - which share things in common - er.. with uncommon sights on commons...

• Bugs and De-bugging with CHESS

Computer Semaphore "Bounded Model Checking is normally used for debugging systems, i.e. prove that systems are incorrect. It can also be used to prove systems correctness."

CHESS is a tool for finding and reproducing Heisenbugs in concurrent programs.

Gran Canaria Desktop Summit 2009 July 3-11, 2009, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain The inaugural Desktop Summit, uniting the flagship conferences of the GNOME and KDE communities, GUADEC and Akademy, will be held in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain the week of July 3-11, 2009.

The Chess Machine - Robert Lohr :: Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly Set in 1770, Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen of Hungary, anxious to win the favor of Empress Maria Theresia, builds an engineering marvel: the Mechanical Turk, a chess-playing automaton. The Turk, though, isn't exactly as it seems; hidden inside is Italian chess prodigy (and dwarf) Tibor Scardenelli, hired by Kempelen to secretly control the contraption during its debut match in front of the empress.

• Batgirl on the G-chess radar!! Dwarves runnng amok? It's barely May and what's become of my Chess Garden!!?

In his compilation of Letters on Natural Magic, former child prodigy David Brewster (1781-1868), who invented and named the kaleidoscope in 1816, discussed various natural phenomena as used in magic such as : optical illusions, spectral illusions, magic lantern, feats of strength, automata, Babbage's calculating machines, ventriloquism, wonders of chemistry, alchemy, breathing fire, and spontaneous combustion. 13 pages (and 11 ilustrations) were devoted to the Turk. Those are included below. (Submitted by batgirl on Mon, 01/26/2009 at 5:25pm.)

• Gnomes and Dwarves in my Chess Garden? Yes! A whole "warren" of Dwarves...

Dwarf takes Orc, Checkmate.

Fuzzy dwarves!

Portrait of Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria with her Dwarf c. 1599 Frans, the Younger Pourbus (1569-1622)

Ancient Egyptians Held Dwarves in High Esteem Short stature didn't prevent dwarves in ancient Egyptian culture from attaining high positions in society. Some served as assistants to the pharaoh, while others were looked up to as gods.

DWARVES? Who Knew?
(To be continued ... next week)

Dwarf Stars

April 24th, 2009 Hubble Discovers a Strange Collection of White Dwarfs - by Ian O'Neill

Related stories on Universe Today

• White Dwarfs Rocket Away When They’re Born
• White Stars
• Podcast: When White Dwarfs Collide
• Colliding White Dwarfs Caused a Powerful Supernova
• Colliding White Dwarfs Could Create a Supergiant Star

White Dwarfs Deliver Better Creation History - by Hugh Ross Star clusters provide astronomers with an extraordinary window into the creation and history of the universe, a window that enables astronomers to rigorously test the biblically predicted big bang creation model.

The Star Formation History of Dwarf Galaxies over Cosmological Timescales - "Dwarf galaxies may play a key role in the formation and evolution of bigger systems."

April 19, 2009

A chaotic double helping of Random Roundup

Cosmos from chaos?

EEEEK!!!

New Study Shows Brains Develop In the State of Chaos April 18th, 2009 The human brain lives “on the edge of chaos,” at a critical transition point between randomness and order. It might be operating in a self-organized critical state - the brain can spontaneously organize itself at a point on the edge of chaos between order and randomness.

Order Please!!

Celestine combines Indian music while weaving an interesting geometric sequence in two a separate portions of the site...

From The Sunday Times May 25, 2008 - (A rather crabby Oxford Egyptologist appears to have gotten the answer he deserved while the search for Cleopatra's tomb is still ongoing...) - Hawass:. “This is our theory. Others may disagree, but we are searching to see if we can prove it,” he said."

Egypt to search 3 sites for Cleopatra's tomb
By REBECCA SANTANA – 4 days ago CAIRO (AP) — Archaeologists next week will begin excavating three sites in Egypt near the Mediterranean Sea that may contain the tombs of doomed lovers, Cleopatra and Mark Anthony

Ancient burial site discovered in Turkey 31 March 2009 The national tourist board of Turkey has announced the discovery of the burial place of Arsinoe, the sister of Egyptian queen Cleopatra, in Ephesus on the country's west coast.

The Black Genesis of Chess - Moors of Spain
by Daaim Shabazz, Ph.D. - Chess is a game that we all love and enjoy for its build-up of tension and it infinite possibilities. Black chess players have recently begun to make headway into the upper echelons of the international chess arena.

Kids & Chess A growing effort on the part of educators to incorporate chess into the scholastic experience has led to a veritable explosion in the ranks of young chess players, particularly at the elementary and middle school level.

Obamamania and the Mystique of Chess

Goddesschess Survey says: Politics ain't pretty - but - sometimes it's hard to overlook ...

Why my students asked Obama to play chess with them It could help keep them and students like them in school.

Video - The students of the Hip-Hop Chess Federation (HHCF) have challenged the Obama Administration to a friendly game of chess.

Barack Obama Presidential Chess Set Hand Crafted by Renowned Artist and Sculptor Igor Valega Collectors Edition Limited to Three Thousand Sets

Obama Flash chess - online (already!!)

Susan Polgar I was told that Barack Obama plays chess and he definitely supports chess. However, it is also known now that his wife plays chess as well.

Barack Obama wins U.S. Presidency! Nov 5th, 2008 by Daaim Shabazz - "What is interesting is that the campaign run by the Obama team resembled a chess game that was efficient, focused and powerful."

Obama's Middle East Chess Game - Obama's early Middle East diplomacy is about generating options. ILAN GOLDENBERG | March 10, 2009 - "The critics will naturally argue it is more of the same or too much too fast. But what the president's team appears to be doing is playing a careful game of diplomatic chess. And as any chess player knows, the opening is about properly positioning your pieces to generate as many opportunities as possible as you head into the middle and end game."

Kenilworth Chess Club TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2009 Obama as Chess Master - I knew that someone would eventually write a column like Bob Herbert's "The Chess Master" (The New York Times, February 9), presenting Barack Obama's rational political strategy as equivalent to brilliant chessplaying. Not surprisingly, Herbert is not the first to make the comparison: "Chessmaster Obama's Plan for a 60-Seat Super-Majority" is only one of many that I turn up with a quick Google search.

More Obama Chess!! NIGERIA CHESS PLAYERS FORUM - The United States of Chess

History of the Athabaskan Stick Dance

"APA'S (Grandpa's) LIFE" (above)
A modern reproduction of the Yup'ik Dance Stick

A huge page of native art reproductions and originals from the Stonington Gallery (not for the faint of wallet!)

Pdf file: Nineteen songs sung at potlach activities to honor the dead have been transcribed and compiled to foster greater understanding and appreciation among Alaskan school children of the place of songs in the life of the Central Koyukon Athabaskans who believe that singing and dancing allow emotional release from the sadness of losing a loved one.

April 12, 2009
Happy Holiday!

April 5, 2009

Our bug's eye view of chess gardens and flowers follows the old farmer's almanac only to discover - a bug's eye view of - (gasp !) other chess-bugs!

Common Chess Bromus secalinus Grass family (Poaceae) "...the seeds of Common Chess are spread into new areas by animals and humans." This grass is often referred to as 'Chess' or 'Cheat,' although these common names may refer to other annual Bromus spp. (Brome grasses) from Eurasia.

It's a bug eat bug world...

Insect Chess Set - 18th century, unknown maker, Italian. Ivory and ebony. On diusplay at - Master Pieces: Chess Sets from the Dr. George and Vivian Dean Collection (Scroll down for graphics) (Pdf) Exquisite examples from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States On display from Dec. 26, 2008 until May 17, 2009.

Fantasy Chess Play the game of chess while transforming into fantasy creatures. Choose from different character sets for your chess pieces including dinosaurs, insects, traditional pieces, and more.

HIVE - Nature's Own Chess Game
Hive is nature’s chess game, boardless and strategic. The object is to surround the opponent’s queen bee. Each player gets 11 tiles of 5 different insects.

Grasshopper "Lost Warrior"

Grasshopper Chess from It's Your Turn
Downloadable - Grasshopper Chess is identical to regular chess, except for the addition of the 'grasshopper' piece, which can jump over other pieces. This piece was invented in 1912 by the well-known chess problems author T. R. Dawson.

Wedding Waistcoat Commission - Bridegroom's waistcoat with insects and chess board theme. May 2008

Insect Art

The Spiders and the Flies

Spider girl

Spider Woman

Missoum 8x8 Spider Web Sprial Chess I have designed the following 8x8 Spider Web Spiral Chess using the architecture of the spider. The chessboard is an 8x8 Spider Web Spiral which comprises both inner and outer spirals (see illustration below).

Spiders and Scorpions Among World's Oldest Creatures Oct. 31, 2008 -- If it seems like spiders, scorpions, ticks and mites have been around forever, it's because they nearly have, according to new genetic research that found these arachnids first emerged at least 400 to 450 million years ago.

The Spider and the Fly, illustration from Aesops Fables, published by Heinemann, 1912

The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt 1821.
An Apologue. - A New Version Of An Old Story.

Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly,

'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;

The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,

And I've a many curious things to shew when you are there."

Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "to ask me is in vain,

For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again."

Spider Fly Math Problem From Wolfram: "In a rectangular room (a cuboid) with dimensions , a spider is located in the middle of one wall one foot away from the ceiling. A fly is in the middle of the opposite wall one foot away from the floor..."

Bughouse Chess

(From: Insect Art) "There is actually a version of chess called 'Bughouse Chess', in which four players play in teams of two on two chessboards."

Bughouse Chess - Board Game Geek a comprehensive list of all Bughouse resources on the internet. Some of these links may not be active - (see also) Wikipedia's Bughouse Chess

"Bughouse Chess is a variation of chess played with two teams of two people on two chess boards. Chess clocks are used, generally with 5 minute time controls. Team members sit beside each other playing opposite colors. Each player plays his opponent as in standard chess, except that whenever a piece is captured, it is given to the teammate."

Video Bughouse Chess Whew!

Living Aerosol Chess - A distinguished collection disburses the final word in Insect Chess! - "Shoo Mite!!"

Amorphous Organic

- Alastair Mackie: "Kind of a logical evolution from his previous set of dices. Each chess piece encapsulates a single suspended insect; the "white" pieces are represented by flying insects and the "black" side by ground based insects. The chessboard design a light box set into the surface of the table to illuminate the insects trapped in the clear amber pieces."