Professor Pi's New Writeups

Two-word poem (poetry)

2007-11-21T10:10:39Z

Nu!

With this short piece, the dutch poet Joost van den Vondel (1587-1679) became the winner of a poetry contest in 1620. The poem is supposedly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the shortest dutch poem (or perhaps in any language.)

Translated in English:

You

Now!

There is another famous two-word poem by the same author. Van den Vondel and contemporary poet Jacob Cats were challenging each other with poems. At one point, Cats grabs a candle from the table, and spills the molten wax on Vondel's clothes exclaiming "Vet smet" (wax stains). Vondel responses by dealing out a firm punch and the words "Ik tik" (I strike). A true poetry slam avant la lettre.

Corrosion (thing)

2004-02-27T23:07:49Z

Corrosion is an oxidation process of metals in the presence of water. For iron this process is known as rusting, but it is important to note that many other metals also corrode.

The effects of corrosion are often (ok, essentially always) undesirable. Rust is generally formed at the surface of the metal, and doesn't adhere to the surface. When rust flakes off, the underlying metal is exposed to further corrosion (a process called pitting), and eventually the structural integrity of the metal disintegrates.

The costs associated with corrosion damage are enormous. For example, in the US they add up to approximately 4.2 percent of the GNP (well over 400 billion dollars per year). These costs can be attributed to failure or deterioration of equipment, and the associated downtime, replacement and maintenance.

The overall reaction for the corrosion of iron is as follows:

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Demetrios Tsafendas (person)

2003-10-15T10:55:26Z

Demetrios Tsafendas
b. Mozambique, January 14, 1918
d. Sterkfontein, October 1999

The 1960's were an important decade in the history of South Africa. The decade opened with the Sharpeville Massacre, the country was ostracized from the international community, expelled from the Commonwealth and became a Republic in 1961. 1964 saw Nelson Mandela and several other prominent anti-apartheid activists jailed for life, and in 1966, the state Prime Minister and architect of apartheid, Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd, was assassinated in parliament by a messenger named Demetrios Tsafendas.

Demitrios Tsafendas was born in Mozambique, the illegitimate son of a Greek engineer father and a Swazi mother. He spent the first seven years of his life with his Greek grandmother in Egypt, before moving back to his father and South African-Greek stepmother, who moved…

Hendrik Verwoerd (person)

2003-10-15T10:46:36Z

Dr. Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd
b. Amsterdam, Netherlands, September 8, 1901
d. Cape Town, South Africa, 2.10pm September 6, 1966

"Is not our role to stand for the one thing which means our own salvation here but with which it will also be possible to save the world, and with which Europe will be able to save itself, namely the preservation of the white man and his state?"

Verwoerd may have been born in the Netherlands, but he was an Afrikaner to the core, having moved to South Africa as an infant with his missionary parents. He obtained a doctorate from Stellenbosch University (a whites-only Afrikaans medium university for many decades). Verwoerd traveled to America and Europe and undertook post-graduate studies at several universities, including Hamburg and Berlin, where he came into contact with the National Socialist (Nazi) Party.

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Ascending and Descending (place)

2003-10-12T22:18:00Z

It fails the three laws of thermodynamics. For some, it is a constant battle uphill. Others will take the eternal steps down. But you can quit the game. Break the loop; just around the corner is the exit. Three or four stories down, it is hard to say.

It lies in a tortuous mind. Only an imaginary journey will get you there. But where does it end? The map keeps you wondering, wandering up or down. The turns never change, and round in circles you go. Once you're following the trail of the monks, the goal is to continue wandering.

For ideath's 100-words-in-I-spend-10-minutes-counting-them mini-quest.

Snow Cruiser (thing)

2003-04-18T23:11:35Z

The Antarctic Snow Cruiser was a gigantic transportation vehicle designed for Admiral Byrd's third Antarctica expedition (1940). The vehicle was designed to withstand the harshest environmental conditions, and traverse thousands of miles across the ice. Unfortunately, when it arrived in Antarctica, the design failed miserably, and the vehicle was eventually abandoned and lost for good.

After Byrd's first two expeditions to Antarctica (in 1929 and 1933), the United States were very excited over polar exploration. The government was setting up a new expedition named the United States Antarctic Service Expedition. The popular Admiral Byrd would lead the expedition that was soon to be nicknamed BAE III, Byrd Antarctic Expedition III.

The second Byrd expedition had not been without any troubles: Richard Byrd had suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning in one of the advance bases and nearly died. His second-in-command, Dr. Thomas Poulter…