• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

The willow is too close to the house.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

I was promised a recession.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

After roe, women are no longer free.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

In my day, never was longer.

People are complicated. Love is not.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

The words do not have to be perfect.

All your base are belong to Tunch.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

I did not have telepathic declassification on my 2022 bingo card.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Mobile Menu

  • Winnable House Races
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Balloon Juice 2023 Pet Calendar (coming soon)
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • War in Ukraine
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • 2021-22 Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / Bleg / Morning thread

Morning thread

by Tim F|  February 9, 20169:10 am| 110 Comments

This post is in: Bleg, Excellent Links, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity

FacebookTweetEmail

All hail The Onion. It is important to point out they published this one week before the New Hampshire debate.

Dazed Marco Rubio Wakes Up In Koch Compound To Find Cold Metal Device Installed Behind Ear

UNKNOWN LOCATION—The brightly lit, stark-white room gradually coming into focus as he regained consciousness, GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio reportedly awoke in the Koch brothers’ secret compound Thursday and reached suddenly to his throbbing head to discover a cold metal device implanted behind his left ear.

As Rubio sat up slowly on a steel cot—the room otherwise empty except for a large Koch Industries logo emblazoned on one wall—sources said he was startled to hear a soothing voice reverberating inside his aching skull, evidently emanating from the smooth metal disk that he gingerly touched while panic began to well in his chest.

“Hello, Marco,” said the oddly familiar voice. “We are very pleased to have you as our guest. We have so much planned for you.”

[…] “There’s no need to panic—you’ll be back to campaigning just as soon as our session is complete,” said the voice as Rubio searched in vain for a door or an exit of some kind along the room’s perfectly smooth walls. “Remember, what’s best for us is best for you, Marco. Now, let’s begin with an exercise on threats to American free enterprise and prosperity.”

Reports indicate that Rubio then saw the words “Now Importing Lesson” overlaid across his field of vision before hundreds of lines of conservative policy papers and essays relating to the detrimental effects of government regulation on business began scrolling in front of his eyes.

If you still doubt The Onion‘s psychic powers, see here, here and here.

Here is an added bonus bleg for fans of geometry. I need to estimate the volume of a structure from two cross-sections. It is irregular but roughly an ellipsoid, and I can get one cross-section through its long axis. I can get another cross section at a 90 degree angle but I cannot change the axis of rotation (I do know what it is), so the second section will not necessarily bisect the ellipsoid through its shortest axis. Can anyone point me to a general equation for calculating this volume? Many thanks.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Repeat Rubio
Next Post: ESI, stability and cost »

Reader Interactions

110Comments

  1. 1.

    buckydoc

    February 9, 2016 at 9:13 am

    Missed Samantha Bee’s debut, but if this Werner Hertzog-inspired send-up of Jeb! is any indication, her show is made out of awesome

  2. 2.

    Mike J

    February 9, 2016 at 9:18 am

    If you still doubt The Onion‘s psychic powers, see here

    You didn’t need to be psychic to know Bill Clinton was a horn dog. Everybody knew it, nobody thought it had anything to do with being president, and they were right.

  3. 3.

    MattF

    February 9, 2016 at 9:22 am

    Well, there’s no magic formula for volumes but the volume of an ellipsoid is 4/3*pi*a*b*c where a,b,c are the semiaxes and the volume of a pyramid is, um, something like 1/3 the area of the base times the height. I’d try to ‘dissect’ the solid into smaller pieces and add up the volumes of the pieces. And here’s a volume of a solid of rotation link.

  4. 4.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 9, 2016 at 9:23 am

    Ugh, I used to know that for four-dimensional cubes. Sorry.

  5. 5.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 9, 2016 at 9:29 am

    Can anyone point me to a general equation for calculating this volume?

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> somewhere.

  6. 6.

    yellowdog

    February 9, 2016 at 9:33 am

    Didn’t Archimedes solve that one? Just drop it in a full tub of water and measure the volume of the water that sloshes out.

  7. 7.

    C.V. Danes

    February 9, 2016 at 9:36 am

    @yellowdog: What I was thinking :-)

  8. 8.

    C.V. Danes

    February 9, 2016 at 9:38 am

    Domo arigato, Mr. Rubioto.

  9. 9.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    February 9, 2016 at 9:39 am

    “What are you doing, Chris? Stop, Chris. I’m afraid, Chris. I’m afraid, Chris.”

    I picture an astronaut in a bloated XXXXL spacesuit floating in front of a wall of translucent slide out drives, ending with the voice launching into a rendition of “Daisy, Daisy…” at increasingly lower pitch.

  10. 10.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 9, 2016 at 9:41 am

    I need to estimate the volume of a structure from two cross-sections. It is irregular but roughly an ellipsoid, and I can get one cross-section through its long axis. I can get another cross section at a 90 degree angle but I cannot change the axis of rotation (I do know what it is), so the second section will not necessarily bisect the ellipsoid through its shortest axis. Can anyone point me to a general equation for calculating this volume?

    So, uh, how high are you right now?

  11. 11.

    hkedi

    February 9, 2016 at 9:41 am

    As for calculating the volume of your “thing” it sounds like you have to use a triple integral (Integral for dx,dy,dz). Unless you can use polar or cylindrical coordinates to make the math easier. Here’s a link to Wolfram/Alpha’s triple integral calculator. Yes it’s Calculus III, but it allows you to get the volume of ANY shape that you can make an equation for.

    http://www.wolframalpha.com/widgets/view.jsp?id=bf8679a50a63113b582ed22679363a4

  12. 12.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    February 9, 2016 at 9:42 am

    “Okay this is really the end for Trump” is becoming the new Friedman Unit.

  13. 13.

    Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class

    February 9, 2016 at 9:43 am

    For conservatives, it appears that the real contest is between Benito Mussolini and Oliver Cromwell, and they’re struggling to decide which vision is dominant.

    Of course, we know what happened to each and their signature movements – but only after great pain.

    I hate to say it, but as between the two models, I gotta go with Mussolini. He’s a destructive bully, but he doesn’t impact the personal lives of “the smalls” like Cromwell does, and rules on a whim which changes from moment to moment. Rooting for Trump in the GOP contest as the lesser of two great evils, because they could win.

  14. 14.

    Amir Khalid

    February 9, 2016 at 9:43 am

    Rubio should sue the news media for reporting that he keeps repeating canned applause lines — he keeps repeating canned applause lines — he keeps repeating canned applause lines — he keeps repeating canned applause lines — he keeps repeating canned applause lines — because nothing shuts the media up like fear of a lawsuit

  15. 15.

    SP

    February 9, 2016 at 9:44 am

    So you don’t have a perpendicular cross section to the long axis but you do know what angle the cross section you have makes with the long axis? So you have a triangle where the intersection of long axis and your unlocated cross section is <90 degrees. It's simple to calculate what the radius of the perpendicular cross section radius is using trigonometry, then you can use standard ellipsoid volume formula.

  16. 16.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 9, 2016 at 9:45 am

    @Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class: Need more info. Since when do Republicans make the trains run on time?

  17. 17.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    February 9, 2016 at 9:45 am

    I need to estimate the volume of a structure from two cross-sections. It is irregular but roughly an ellipsoid, and I can get one cross-section through its long axis. I can get another cross section at a 90 degree angle but I cannot change the axis of rotation (I do know what it is), so the second section will not necessarily bisect the ellipsoid through its shortest axis. Can anyone point me to a general equation for calculating this volume?

    Worst new Marco Rubio endlessly repeated talking point ever.

  18. 18.

    Paul in KY

    February 9, 2016 at 9:46 am

    You know, those fuckers probably do have some ‘Blofeld Style’ secret hideaway. I can tell you that if I had 40 billion, I would have one too. Mine would be more a Kublai Khan Pleasure Dome, but I would have one!

  19. 19.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    February 9, 2016 at 9:48 am

    @Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class: I’m going with Long Island Iced Tea Party. A new category just for him.

  20. 20.

    Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class

    February 9, 2016 at 9:48 am

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Normally they don’t – but by falling in love with the bully, they’re embracing a guy who, for all his faults, would probably attempt to deliver on things we associate with competent governance.

    And yes, I have to go wash my mouth. That tasted lousy.

  21. 21.

    Bobby Thomson

    February 9, 2016 at 9:49 am

    @Bill E Pilgrim: becoming?

  22. 22.

    Paul in KY

    February 9, 2016 at 9:55 am

    @C.V. Danes: Hopefully someone has already stuck some new words to the Styx song. If I had more time, I could come up with some.

  23. 23.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    February 9, 2016 at 9:55 am

    @Bobby Thomson: Well Thomas Friedman had been at it for a couple of years before it got named a Friedman Unit. This one has been less than a year so we’re actually calling it early by comparison, but I’d stay it’s starting to qualify now.

    It’s almost sort of the opposite of a Friedman unit actually, or a distorted Friedman Unit anyway. An irregular but ellipsoid cross section of a Friedman unit, let’s say.

  24. 24.

    Paul in KY

    February 9, 2016 at 9:56 am

    @Steve in the ATL: As high as Major Tom, it appears.

  25. 25.

    cat

    February 9, 2016 at 9:57 am

    How good of an estimate do you need? Do you want the estimate to bound the minimum or the maximum?

    I agree with what MattF said, volumes of intersecting volumes do not have general formulas AFAIK.
    I think MattF is also on the right path of you want to solve it mathematically. You need to find the volume of each separate object in regards to some common origin where one volume completely overlaps the other so you can subtract out the overlapping volume from the volumes.

    Total Volume = (Volume of Section1 + Vollume of Section2) – sum of overlapping volumes

    There are other methods to solve this for irregular volumes, assuming they are ‘air tight’, say if your cross sections are really a set of vertices of a polygon mesh or a point cloud.

  26. 26.

    rp

    February 9, 2016 at 9:59 am

    I’m pretty sure the clinton one is from Our Dumb Century, which came out in 2001 or 2002 IIRC.

    But the Bush one is just incredible. And black man given nation’s worst job is an all-time classic.

  27. 27.

    rikyrah

    February 9, 2016 at 10:02 am

    Axelrod subtweets Bill and Hillary Clinton after shake-up report
    By Jennifer Shutt
    02/08/16 04:28 PM EST

    David Axelrod took to Twitter on Monday to criticize Hillary Clinton’s political strategy in New Hampshire, following news that her campaign is considering shaking up its staffing after an expected loss there.
    “When the exact same problems crop up in separate campaigns, with different staff, at what point do the principals say, ‘Hey, maybe it’s US?’,” the former top aide to President Barack Obama tweeted.

  28. 28.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 9, 2016 at 10:03 am

    @Paul in KY:

    You know, those fuckers probably do have some ‘Blofeld Style’ secret hideaway. I can tell you that if I had 40 billion, I would have one too. Mine would be more a Kublai Khan Pleasure Dome, but I would have one!

    The Bush Crime Family has a lair in the mountains of Peru. Their territory includes the source of water, so when the water wars start they will control the flow.

  29. 29.

    Eric U.

    February 9, 2016 at 10:04 am

    are they really going to do a staff shakeup? And if Axlerod is on team dem, which I think he is, why doesn’t he just stfu?

  30. 30.

    Tim F.

    February 9, 2016 at 10:06 am

    @rp: I believe that it first ran in their print edition in 1993. They repurposed some of their printed stuff for that book.

  31. 31.

    catclub

    February 9, 2016 at 10:09 am

    @rikyrah:

    I would take more of this view of the any changes to the Clinton campaign.

  32. 32.

    magurakurin

    February 9, 2016 at 10:10 am

    @Eric U.: There must be some bad blood between Axlerod and Clinton. They were working in the Administration together. He sure seems like he has it in for her. But who knows. I sort of agree, though, either jump on Sanders team and help him for real, or jump in and actually offer Clinton advice, or shut the fuck up about it. It seems like he doesn’t realize that he’ll be negatively affected like the rest of us if Clinton or Sanders fucks this up in the end. I mean, fish, cut bait or get the fuck out the way. Sniping from the sidelines “above the fray,” ain’t getting it done.

  33. 33.

    schrodinger's cat

    February 9, 2016 at 10:12 am

    Do you have a picture of this object for which you want to calculate the volume. Does it have uniform density? Do you know what it is? Do you need a numerical answer or an analytical expression?

    Wolfram alpha would be a good start. I can be of more help if you answer my questions above.

  34. 34.

    yellowdog

    February 9, 2016 at 10:13 am

    @Steve in the ATL: Well Mussolini was only taking credit for improvements made before he took office. So, just like a Republican.

  35. 35.

    Paul in KY

    February 9, 2016 at 10:15 am

    @Steve in the ATL: Did not know that. Wonder what the Peruvians think?

  36. 36.

    john b

    February 9, 2016 at 10:22 am

    @Paul in KY: Some quick Googling makes it look like it’s actually Paraguay

  37. 37.

    Lamh36

    February 9, 2016 at 10:22 am

    wow Axeleod successfully help to elect Obama 2x. and yet his mild critic of HRC men’s he has it in for her? Oh and he’s not a good Dem?

    Ok then…Axeleod should sit back shut up and watch the HRC calm make the SAME mistakes they did when he beat them. Then he can do the postmortem if HRC is beaten again. then I’m sure the same folks will say, well why the hell didn’t Ax say sow thing earlier

    oh and then they’ll say why the hell didn’t Ax say something earlier…this is the time before the heat of he campaign to give voice to it so that change can happen before regular folks really start paying attention.

    anyway I promised myself I wouldn’t comment on Dem primary until a nominee was chosen and I’m going back to that

  38. 38.

    Eric U.

    February 9, 2016 at 10:24 am

    how do you possibly have a general solution when you only roughly know the shape? Concrete-thinking engineer asking. The only available general equation is a triple integral, but that’s obviously not what you are asking.

    Back to engineering, bound the shape by two right cylinders and be done with it :)

  39. 39.

    Paul in KY

    February 9, 2016 at 10:24 am

    @john b: Thank you. Wonder what the Paraguanites think?

  40. 40.

    Lamh36

    February 9, 2016 at 10:25 am

    Anyway… everywhere else it just Tuesday…here in NOLA is Mardi Gras!!
    Happy Mardi Gras 2016

  41. 41.

    Eric U.

    February 9, 2016 at 10:25 am

    Gilmore not even on the list? Thought he was supposed to come in 3rd.

  42. 42.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 9, 2016 at 10:28 am

    @Eric U.:

    why doesn’t he just stfu?

    Because he doesn’t want Hillary’s campaign to implode? Or is he just supposed to sit back and watch it happen?

  43. 43.

    WaterGirl

    February 9, 2016 at 10:29 am

    @Eric U.: What if he’s right? (and I think he is) Maybe hearing it from David Axelrod will help the Clintons take in the message.

    edit: Or, what Lamh36 said. She said it better.

    and OzarkHillbilly

  44. 44.

    schrodinger's cat

    February 9, 2016 at 10:30 am

    @Eric U.: Or he can use ellipsoidal co-ordinates and integrate. That should be fun.

  45. 45.

    Paul in KY

    February 9, 2016 at 10:32 am

    @Lamh36: Hope you are having a Bon Ton Goulay time!!! Wish I was down there. Will be at end of October for Voodoo Fest.

  46. 46.

    schrodinger's cat

    February 9, 2016 at 10:34 am

    @Lamh36: Do you have any recommendation for a good cookbook featuring NOLA cuisine? I love seafood and I like it spicy.

  47. 47.

    magurakurin

    February 9, 2016 at 10:35 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: So why is apparent effort limited to twitter comments? Maybe Clinton doesnt like him and wont take advice from him? There has to be more to this than we can see.

  48. 48.

    p.a.

    February 9, 2016 at 10:37 am

    @Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class: Cromwell= Protestant, for the win. SATSQ. (They know CathCons will be along for the ride nomatterwhat).

  49. 49.

    schrodinger's cat

    February 9, 2016 at 10:39 am

    @Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class: As a woman, immigrant, non Christian and an east coast liberal to boot, I lose no matter who wins.

  50. 50.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 9, 2016 at 10:40 am

    @magurakurin:

    There must be some bad blood between Axlerod and Clinton. They were working in the Administration together. He sure seems like he has it in for her. But who knows. I sort of agree, though, either jump on Sanders team and help him for real, or jump in and actually offer Clinton advice, or shut the fuck up about it. It seems like he doesn’t realize that he’ll be negatively affected like the rest of us if Clinton or Sanders fucks this up in the end. I mean, fish, cut bait or get the fuck out the way. Sniping from the sidelines “above the fray,” ain’t getting it done.

    Why? Why on this dog’s earth does he need to STFU? One could say the same thing to any Clinton supporter who says something slightly off about Sanders or any Sanders supporter who says something slightly off about Clinton. And let’s get one thing straight, what Axelrod said is exactly what HRC and company need to hear. Their campaign is off tune. Not their Iowa campaign, not their NH campaign, their whole campaign. And since when was telling the truth, or the truth as one best sees it, off limits?

    And when it comes to sniping from the sidelines, that is exactly what 90% of the people here are doing.

  51. 51.

    Joe Falco

    February 9, 2016 at 10:41 am

    If Ted Cruz wins the nomination, I’m fully prepared for the Republican convention to be a live rendition of “Be Prepared” from the Lion King.

  52. 52.

    Lamh36

    February 9, 2016 at 10:41 am

    @schrodinger’s cat: I wish I did, but the majority of the local fare I know how to cook, I learned at my grandmother’s side…no cookbook just word of mouth and memory

  53. 53.

    Tim F.

    February 9, 2016 at 10:44 am

    @schrodinger’s cat: Think of it as a hollow volume with clear boundaries. Density is not an issue here; imagine an empty cavity. I have images of a cross-section through its longest axis and through an axis rotated 90 degrees, though I cannot control the angle of rotation. I can fit an ellipse to its outline in each view and now I need to turn those two ellipses into a volume in terms of cubic pixels.

    I like the idea of integrating discs, in fact that is commonly done by people who do something similar to what I’m after. That would better take into account its irregular shape. I just do not know how to implement it in practice.

  54. 54.

    Paul in KY

    February 9, 2016 at 10:44 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: I’m just wondering why he had to tweet it? I would think there’s a way he could have contacted them in a more private manner with his concerns.

    Agree this can/should be labeled constructive criticism, just don’t know if I agree with the medium.

  55. 55.

    schrodinger's cat

    February 9, 2016 at 10:51 am

    @Lamh36: I bet its better than any cookbook! What rub do you use for blackened fish?

  56. 56.

    Matt McIrvin

    February 9, 2016 at 10:52 am

    Is it more like an ellipsoid with a circular cross section, or a triaxial ellipsoid?

    If you can assume it’s got a circular cross section perpendicular to some axis, then the cross section along that axis is all you need. You’ll get a and b in MattF’s formula from the dimensions of the ellipse, and take c=b.

    If it’s triaxial, you can use the dimensions of the other cross section to estimate the ratio of c/b, calculate c by taking c/b * b, and again use MattF’s formula.

    If it’s not even a triaxial ellipsoid and the ratio of the axes varies along its length (to a degree that you care about), then the situation is trickier.

  57. 57.

    Lamh36

    February 9, 2016 at 10:53 am

    @Paul in KY: the ole HRC crew has seemingly held some bad feelings towearss the original OFA crew…so I doubt Ax is in the inner circle, so who really knows

    either way taking the mildest of critic and lambasting Axelrod for it is just purposely missing the validity of his point.

    besides the HRC camp has always been insular even back in ’08…so yeah maybe he had to say it a tweet publicly to get the crew to wake up to perceptions out of their bubble

  58. 58.

    Bobby Thomson

    February 9, 2016 at 10:57 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: you must have missed options a and b, which don’t involve either shutting the fuck up or self-indulgent brand building through public kibitzing.

    ETA: 90% of the people here don’t have his audience. Other than baud, I’m not sure who does.

  59. 59.

    Steeplejack

    February 9, 2016 at 10:57 am

    @catclub:

    Fixed your bad link: “Can Hillary Clinton survive Bill Clinton’s help?”

  60. 60.

    Paul in KY

    February 9, 2016 at 11:02 am

    @Lamh36: Shame that was seems to have been necessary.

  61. 61.

    Scamp Dog

    February 9, 2016 at 11:03 am

    About the volume estimation: what kind of data will you have? Coordinates of points on the surface? I’d try fitting an ellipse to those coordinates for both cross sections. You’ll probably get different values for the common axis, which you could use to get a handle on the uncertainty of your estimate.

    I’m something of a numerical methods geek, so if you want to have a more detailed discussion, email me. (I assume you have access to that as a front pager. If not, let me know in the comments).

  62. 62.

    Lamh36

    February 9, 2016 at 11:03 am

    All hail King Zulu! @WWLTV #MardiGrasWWL #MardiGras2016

  63. 63.

    Jim, Foolish LIteralist

    February 9, 2016 at 11:06 am

    @Lamh36: @Paul in KY: the ole HRC crew has seemingly held some bad feelings towearss the original OFA crew…so I doubt Ax is in the inner circle, so who really knows

    If I remember my old gossip right, both campaigns were courting Axelrod, and the Clinton camp resented his picking Obama.

    Any Veep fans wonder if Kevin Dunn’s character might be at least partly based on Axelrod, or am I reading too much into a certain physical resemblance?

  64. 64.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 9, 2016 at 11:06 am

    @Paul in KY: As far as I go, I wonder why any one would ever tweet anything. Be that as it may, tweeting is now one of the dominant forms of communication, I mean everybody who’s anybody does it (sarcasm). I am wondering why his mode of communication matters? Do we even know that he did not already say as much to them some other way? And they ignored him? Or maybe not being in her inner circle, he doesn’t knows anybody who is, or at least anybody he can talk to? Or maybe… I can probably come up with a thousand and one scenarios for why and none of them would be right.

    I fail to see that it matters. This politics in America. Sometimes it’s messy and that’s OK. But it’s not like Sal Tessio setting up a meeting between Michael and the Barzini’s.

  65. 65.

    jeffreyw

    February 9, 2016 at 11:08 am

    @schrodinger’s cat: I’d give this site a look-see, he has some good recipes, and more to the point of your request, a bibliography of cookbooks.

  66. 66.

    currants

    February 9, 2016 at 11:09 am

    @john b: Yeah, and according to that, Bush has the fossil fuel strata and Sun Myung Moon has the aquifer.

    Anybody see The Short–and stay for the very end?

  67. 67.

    C.V. Danes

    February 9, 2016 at 11:10 am

    @rikyrah: I suspect the sense of urgency is to have the Bernie wing of the party under control before Super Tuesday. She needs to TKO Bernie or this is going to go on much longer.

    And I say this as a Bernie supporter.

  68. 68.

    Lamh36

    February 9, 2016 at 11:11 am

    only in NOLA do you have the local archbishop at the Mardi Gras!!

  69. 69.

    FlipYrWhig

    February 9, 2016 at 11:12 am

    @Paul in KY: Democratic strategists LOVE to do this. They’re backseat drivers. They have turf wars. They like to show off to be in a good position to win the next client.

  70. 70.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 9, 2016 at 11:15 am

    @Bobby Thomson: So in your mind he has only 3 acceptable options? Be on team Hillary, be on team Bernie, or STFU? Really???? That is beyond….. Be nice tom, be nice.

    You really believe he has to be a political operative for the rest of his life or not share a political opinion ever again?

    As a broke down 57 yr old carpenter I should never express an opinion of how a building is being constructed unless I am on the crew?

  71. 71.

    Paul in KY

    February 9, 2016 at 11:16 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: I’m not a twittererer myself. Guess maybe he did try to do it privately & couldn’t get through or he just doesn’t like them & wanted to let everyone read his snarky line.

  72. 72.

    Paul in KY

    February 9, 2016 at 11:17 am

    @Lamh36: You sound like you’re having too much fun!

  73. 73.

    FlipYrWhig

    February 9, 2016 at 11:18 am

    @C.V. Danes: The sense of urgency IMHO is that they know the media jackals are waiting to pounce. Lawrence O’Donnell was chairing a roundtable last night where they were just _gleefully_ trashing Hillary Clinton. (They were particularly disingenuous about the Kissinger remark, which Bill Clinton _expressly_ phrased as “Henry Kissinger, of all people,” offered praise for how she ran the State Dept. That’s not cozying up to Kissinger, that’s obviously saying that the country’s most famous foreign policy Republican respects the Democrat’s management skills, which is more meaningful than one Democrat praising another, and has nothing to do with ideology.) To the pundits, if she does the same thing she’s been doing, that’s a problem; if she changes course, that’s a problem; if she fights back, that’s a problem. This kept happening in 2008 too. It’s really one of the things that draws me to Hillary Clinton: she suffers so much bullshit dogpiling it’s ridiculous. The only person who comes close as that sort of target is Al Gore.

  74. 74.

    Paul in KY

    February 9, 2016 at 11:19 am

    @FlipYrWhig: Good point.

  75. 75.

    Bobby Thomson

    February 9, 2016 at 11:21 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: I think if you were giving interviews to national publications criticizing the contractors’ work you would probably hear about it.

  76. 76.

    cat

    February 9, 2016 at 11:21 am

    If you are looking for that rough of an estimate, i.e. number of voxels, just do it programmatically.

    for each voxel center point
    if center point in object 1 or in object 2
    increment voxel count

    Dividing the space into more voxels reduces your error.

    This is a similar to signed distance function rendering which may help you in your quest.

  77. 77.

    schrodinger's cat

    February 9, 2016 at 11:22 am

    @jeffreyw: Thanks so much! I will take a look.

  78. 78.

    AnonPhenom

    February 9, 2016 at 11:25 am

    why doesn’t he just stfu?

    Oh my!

  79. 79.

    trollhattan

    February 9, 2016 at 11:26 am

    @Steve in the ATL:
    No fair, trick question! This Republican will kill the trains because Republicans hate trains, and only then will they be on time.

  80. 80.

    Frankensteinbeck

    February 9, 2016 at 11:28 am

    @C.V. Danes:
    She has TKO’d Bernie. Denying him Iowa did that. She was always going to lose NH and it didn’t mean much, because Hillary has so many more states locked in. He’s got no winner narrative and his momentum stalled awhile back. The Clinton campaign knows this perfectly well, so the ‘shakeup’ rumors are probably the same pundit source less bullshit that assured us Obama would announce SS cuts in his SOTU.

    @FlipYrWhig:
    The pundits loathe Clinton, so I would say they’re trying to sabotage her giant lead – except I think they’re too dumb to know it exists. They live in their own fantasy land now, where Mitt Romney was staging a comeback and lost in a squeaker because of minority votes that are just a technicality, really.

  81. 81.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 9, 2016 at 11:31 am

    @Bobby Thomson: And I’m a big boy, I would expect them to. But if anyone tried to tell me to STFU I would get in their face and tell them to “Make me.” I have a right to voice my opinions in any way I choose to. If you think I am wrong, attack the position I have taken don’t tell me to STFU. The same should apply to Axelrod.

    eta to insert “you think” between “If” and “I am wrong”

  82. 82.

    Lamh36

    February 9, 2016 at 11:31 am

    @Paul in KY: I don’t really do the parades like I used to, but the local stations broadcast live for almost the entire day so even if not at parades you can still see them

  83. 83.

    Jim, Foolish LIteralist

    February 9, 2016 at 11:33 am

    @FlipYrWhig: A few days before the CT primary in ’06, Lawrence O’Donnell gave a scathing review of Joe Lieberman’s career from the perspective of a Senate insider (did you know he was the most important staffer in the Senate for several hundred years? More important than most Senators and on a first name basis with those few who outranked him), then concluded by saying “that said, it would be a mistake for Democrats to oust him, because Establishment.

  84. 84.

    Mustang Bobby

    February 9, 2016 at 11:35 am

    I need to estimate the volume of a structure from two cross-sections. It is irregular but roughly an ellipsoid, and I can get one cross-section through its long axis. I can get another cross section at a 90 degree angle but I cannot change the axis of rotation (I do know what it is), so the second section will not necessarily bisect the ellipsoid through its shortest axis. Can anyone point me to a general equation for calculating this volume?

    This is why I majored in theatre and have undying respect for people that can solve problems like that.

  85. 85.

    Tenar Darell

    February 9, 2016 at 11:37 am

    This would have been a perfect addendum for the Sady Doyle thread if it had been posted (was it just yesterday?). Why Didn’t They Talk To You Privately? On “Call Out Culture” and Power Differentials.

    (I think this could be re-posted every time anyone asks why didn’t they say something about ____?)

  86. 86.

    Goblue72

    February 9, 2016 at 11:40 am

    @magurakurin: Glad to see the authoritarian streak is alive and well amongst the recovering Republicans of Balloon Juice Valley.

  87. 87.

    Paul in KY

    February 9, 2016 at 11:41 am

    @Lamh36: They can be very claustrophobic. Especially today on Canal St. Have been in them in 78 & 82. Hope you have the best one!

  88. 88.

    Paul in KY

    February 9, 2016 at 11:43 am

    @Tenar Darell: I just don’t know why you couldn’t have sent this to me privately…

  89. 89.

    catclub

    February 9, 2016 at 11:44 am

    @Mustang Bobby:

    have undying respect for people that can solve problems like that

    The real pros recast it as a different problem, in a different field, that is trivial in 7 dimensions. in other words, assume a spherical cow.

  90. 90.

    schrodinger's cat

    February 9, 2016 at 11:47 am

    @jeffreyw: He has a recipe for pomfret, which I love but can’t find here. My mother stuffs the entire pomfret with green coconut chutney and then pan fries it. It is to die for.

  91. 91.

    catclub

    February 9, 2016 at 11:47 am

    @Lamh36: I bet Rio Carnival has plenty of Archbishops.

  92. 92.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 9, 2016 at 11:50 am

    @john b: D’oh! I regret the error. Of course they would choose the more Nazi country.

  93. 93.

    Paul in KY

    February 9, 2016 at 11:58 am

    @Steve in the ATL: There might be a few heirs there that still owe money to Prescott Bush!

  94. 94.

    Jim, Foolish LIteralist

    February 9, 2016 at 12:00 pm

    @Goblue72: Well, you know we are all like way old. Man.

    We can’t all be forever young like you, Timeless RadiBro

  95. 95.

    Bobby Thomson

    February 9, 2016 at 12:04 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly: well, actually, people can “make you,” through a law suit. But that’s not the point, which is that Axelrod is trying to help himself through this comment and not anyone else.

  96. 96.

    schrodinger's cat

    February 9, 2016 at 12:04 pm

    @Jim, Foolish LIteralist: Its not like he is 18, if he was born in 1972.

  97. 97.

    schrodinger's cat

    February 9, 2016 at 12:06 pm

    @Tim F.: Thanks. Unless you explicitly want an expression for the volume, numerical integration might be the way to go. You should post a picture or a sketch if you have it.

  98. 98.

    Anoniminous

    February 9, 2016 at 12:09 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    This. Infinitesimals are your friend.

  99. 99.

    Goblue72

    February 9, 2016 at 12:15 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat: I am regularly accused of being a naive whippersnapper for the crime of leftism in spite of being middle aged, married, and a mid-career professional (which career involved prior to a recent change into consulting, being in senior management positions)

  100. 100.

    Brachiator

    February 9, 2016 at 12:16 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    She has TKO’d Bernie. Denying him Iowa did that. She was always going to lose NH and it didn’t mean much, because Hillary has so many more states locked in. He’s got no winner narrative and his momentum stalled awhile back.

    There have been only two primaries; it’s premature to talk about Sanders’ momentum stalling. And Iowa didn’t really mean much, although it was interesting to see Clinton huffing and puffing to eek out a win there.

    I agree that Sanders does not appear to have any particular strengths as we head towards the other states, particularly South Carolina. We may be soon wondering what all the fuss was about over Sanders.

    The Clinton campaign knows this perfectly well, so the ‘shakeup’ rumors are probably the same pundit source less bullshit that assured us Obama would announce SS cuts in his SOTU.

    I don’t know. The recent idiotic statements by Steinem, Bill Clinton and other surrogates are a problem. This kind of thing is not good. Even if Clinton clobbers Bernie, there may be an issue of voter enthusiasm that Clinton may have to deal with. Advice that ends with the alienation of voters is seriously bad advice.

  101. 101.

    Matt McIrvin

    February 9, 2016 at 12:22 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    He’s got no winner narrative and his momentum stalled awhile back.

    The media like drama. Come tomorrow Bernie-mentum will be all you hear about.

  102. 102.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 9, 2016 at 12:26 pm

    @Bobby Thomson:

    well, actually, people can “make you,” through a law suit. But that’s not the point, which is that Axelrod is trying to help himself through this comment and not anyone else.

    How can I say this kindly… Oh horseshit.

    First off, any one can sue for damn near anything. Does that mean they will be successful? No. Do you mean SLAP suits? Those can be dealt with too, and I am quite sure DA has the resources. At any rate, the last I heard we still have the 1st amendment in this country.

    But based on what exactly do you say that he is “trying to help himself through this comment”? How is he helping himself, a retired political operative? And by what reasoning is he obligated to help anyone?

    But I do wonder why it is you expend so much energy attacking him and not one iota on what he said. OK, I don’t really wonder why.

  103. 103.

    FlipYrWhig

    February 9, 2016 at 12:36 pm

    @Brachiator: Why aren’t Team Sanders’s charges that Hillary Clinton isn’t a real progressive, is in the pocket of Wall Street, etc., also A Problem? This is that thing about the way the media processes Hillary Clinton: they want her to do something else, and then when she does something else they squawk. They don’t like it when she punches back. They linger over her gaffes and let her rivals’ gaffes evaporate.

  104. 104.

    Bobby Thomson

    February 9, 2016 at 1:17 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly: I said YOU could be stopped, not Axelrod.

    Retired my ass.

    As for the merits of what he said, it’s not the exact same problems. It’s new and different problems. And she’s in much better shape than in 2008.

  105. 105.

    Brachiator

    February 9, 2016 at 1:19 pm

    Dazed Marco Rubio Wakes Up In Koch Compound To Find Cold Metal Device Installed Behind Ear

    I heard it wasn’t behind his ear.

    He was missing a kidney, too.

  106. 106.

    Eric U.

    February 9, 2016 at 1:25 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly: I don’t think anyone here should STFU at all, including the front pagers. OTOH, BJ blog bloviators catastrophizing doesn’t really support the “dems in disarray” bullshit story as well as Axelrod bloviating. He knows this, he was the guy that kept that crap from happening on Obama’s team.

  107. 107.

    dww44

    February 9, 2016 at 1:28 pm

    @C.V. Danes: Thanks for that rational comment. I’m part of a mostly way conservative family. Recently, a relatively young and bright cousin keeps pushing me and another Democratic relative into the Bernie camp. I don’ t think he’s being altruistic. I think perhaps he’s pushing the meme that exists among Republicans that the nomination of Bernie could produce a general election result like 1972, a huge victory for the GOP.

    Therefore I’m wary and I hope the HRC campaign gets its act together and that Bill, whom I generally like, goes and stands in the shadows for a spell. Hillary needs surrogates, but not from her husband and perhaps not from Chelsea. I think perhaps they’re too emotionally vested in her candidacy. I get fund raising emails from both campaigns and of late the ones from HRC ‘s campaign are somewhat whiny, most especially the ones from her family.

    If they asked me for advice, I’d say go into positive mode and out of attack mode.

  108. 108.

    Brachiator

    February 9, 2016 at 1:34 pm

    @FlipYrWhig:

    Why aren’t Team Sanders’s charges that Hillary Clinton isn’t a real progressive, is in the pocket of Wall Street, etc., also A Problem?

    Because nobody cares about this except purity progressives, die hard political junkies and three Balloon Juice posters.

    I listened to the moderators of a couple of the Sunday news shows challenge Clinton on this. They didn’t really seem to care, Clinton didn’t really seem to care and easily shook of the questions. And I didn’t really care.

    This is that thing about the way the media processes Hillary Clinton: they want her to do something else, and then when she does something else they squawk. They don’t like it when she punches back. They linger over her gaffes and let her rivals’ gaffes evaporate.

    I keep saying that “the media” ain’t a monolith and is also becoming less and less important to anything. So I don’t care what the media may or may not like.

    I don’t like it when Clinton hits with low blows, and I like it even less when the Clinton team does stupid stuff and then tries to deflect their BS by whining about being treated unfairly.

  109. 109.

    Tenar Darell

    February 9, 2016 at 1:42 pm

    @Paul in KY: Wait, did I miss a memo from the secret commentariat!? Does Cole allow DM’s here? ;-)

  110. 110.

    J R in WV

    February 9, 2016 at 4:23 pm

    @Tim F.:

    Sp when did you take Calc? My last Calc class (Calc 3 with orbital mechanics, it was great) was in 1983, and I made a B. Then I had the rest of my Junior year and my Senior year with equally hard classes, which pretty much flushed all the Calc detail memory right out of long term storage.

    Fortunately I never had to implement any algorithms based on higher math, so it flushed a little bit more every year. Long gone now, although I remember enough to argue with people who are getting something really wrong.

    If this is a physical object you need to measure, and it’s smaller than a swimming pool, then I agree with the comment above, use the fluid displacement measurement for a fairly exact volume of your irregular ellipsoid.

    I don’t think there’s good exact math for irregular shapes, that’s why they’re called irregulars.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

2023 Pet Calendars

Pet Calendar Preview: A
Pet Calendar Preview: B

*Calendars can not be ordered until Cafe Press gets their calendar paper in.

Recent Comments

  • OzarkHillbilly on Thursday Morning Open Thread: Groundhog Day (Feb 2, 2023 @ 8:48am)
  • Geminid on Wednesday Night Fights Open Thread: The Sacrificial Warm-Up Rounds Begin (Feb 2, 2023 @ 8:46am)
  • Aussie Sheila on Wednesday Night Fights Open Thread: The Sacrificial Warm-Up Rounds Begin (Feb 2, 2023 @ 8:46am)
  • MazeDancer on On The Road – BigJimSlade – Hiking in the Alps, Chamonix and Grindelwald 2022, Planpraz to Le Brévent (Feb 2, 2023 @ 8:46am)
  • SFAW on Wednesday Night Fights Open Thread: The Sacrificial Warm-Up Rounds Begin (Feb 2, 2023 @ 8:45am)

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
We All Need A Little Kindness
Favorite Dogs & Cats
Classified Documents: A Primer

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup

Front-pager Twitter

John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
TaMara
David Anderson
ActualCitizensUnited

Shop Amazon via this link to support Balloon Juice   

Join the Fight!

Join the Fight Signup Form
All Join the Fight Posts

Balloon Juice Events

5/14  The Apocalypse
5/20  Home Away from Home
5/29  We’re Back, Baby
7/21  Merging!

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!