How many passes?

This one has made the rounds, but if you haven't seen it already, take the test.

Robert Lang @ Stanford

Last night the math department at Stanford hosted a lecture by Robert J. Lang, origami mathematician, theorist and artist. He talked about a lot of things I didn't expect, such as the industrial and product applications of origami. He explained some of the math and algorithms he and his colleagues use to design origami. It was a very fun lecture. In the Q & A I asked about paper technology and he tipped me off to a paper source that is better for his complex designs than the cheap-o common paper I usually try to use. Hooray. Also, he signed my books.



A female praying mantis about to eat off the head of her mate. I've never been able to fold a single Lang mantis... so this one blows my mind.



Robert Lang's stag beetle: an example of how he uses the "tree method" to design any base with an arbitrary number of flaps. Pretty cool, but after making a bunch of Lang's insects myself, I'm also really impressed how the nice paper allowed him to shape each limb into a skinny little beetle leg.

Bill and Hillary

Here they are, looking non-political, and happy.

Dress forms behind curtain