A Note, from Arkansas

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A Note, from Arkansas

Here, with so many shameful things in our state’s history, it’s nice to have the opportunity to be proud to be an Arkansan. The cause of this pride? Judge Chris Piazza’s ruling, yesterday, allowing the first legal gay marriages in all of the American South to occur in this state — my state — today.

Dare I hope that this is the beginning of a progressive trend here?

Judge Strikes Down Same-Sex Marriage Ban in Arkansas

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Judge Strikes Down Same-Sex Marriage Ban in Arkansas

Same-sex couples are getting legally married for the first time in Arkansas — today. I live in Arkansas. I didn’t expect to see this happen in my state for at least a decade.

Thank you, Judge Piazza.

(For more information, simply google “Arkansas gay marriage.” It’s all over the news.)

A Rhombicosidodecahedron, Augmented with Thirty Icosakaipentagonal Prisms

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A Rhombicosidodecahedron, Augmented with Thirty Icosagonal Prisms

When adding icosakaipentagonal prisms (those where the bases have 25 sides) to the thirty square faces of a rhombicosidodecahedron, the prisms can have one of two orientations. One is above, and here is the other one (click to enlarge):

Augmented Rhombicosidodeca

Software credit: I made these images using Stella 4d, available at http://www.software3d.com/Stella.php (free trial download available).

The Compound of Five Rhombic Dodecahedra

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The Compound of Five Rhombic Dodecahedra

This compound is unusual in that it is most attractive as a ball-and-stick model, with the faces rendered invisible, rather than the traditional coloring for compounds. In the traditional coloring, no faces are hidden, and each component of the compound is given faces of a different color. Here’s the same compound, rendered in the traditional manner:

RD 5

Of course, matters of aesthetics are not subject to mathematical proof. Some might prefer the second version to the first.

Software credit:  please see www.software3d.com/Stella.php to try or buy Stella 4d, the software I use to make these polyhedral images.