rwa faustin ii. wirkus (13. 634)

Ruling until 1929 when transferred by the corps back to the United States mainland, abruptly ending his reign, Polish-American Marine stationed in Haiti during the occupation of Hispaniola (1915-1934), Lt Faustin Edmond Wirkus, was crowned co-regent of the island off the west coast of La Gonâve by Queen Ti Memenne on this day in 1926. Posted to the country since the beginning of the military regime—the National City Bank of New York (Citibank) had convinced president Woodrow Wilson (previously) take control of Haiti’s political and financial interests during a period of socioeconomic instability after the execution of tyrannical president Vilbrun Guillaume Sam imperilled US business interests, eventually reinstituting enslavement, the republic having gained independence through its hard-won petition for emancipation—Wirkus as commander of a regimen of native troops on La Gonâve, the satellite just off the coast of Port-au-Prince honouring a locally recognised matriarchy given a large degree of autonomy even during the US military government, arranged the release of a young woman in distress detained on charges related to practising Vodou. Unbeknownst to Wirkus, the individual he assisted was the queen and in gratitude proclaimed her rescuer King Faustin II in Vodou ceremony. Though born Palestine Weirkus in Rypin the Congress Kingdom of Poland within the Russian Empire, his regnal name was an auspicious coincidence and sign for the queen, bearing the same given name as former Haitian emperor Faustin-Élie Soulouque and believing Wirkus was him reincarnated. The population of La Gonâve accepted his appointment as a just ruler. Tolerance for the monarchy ended after Wirkus’ reassignment and the republic assumed control in the same year.

9x9 (13. 633)

scrubbed launch: SpaceX has lost over a trillion dollars since its initial public offering on 12 June  

off-sides: the extensive rules and regulations governing tournaments in the Middle Ages—via Strange Company  

outside the far side: a short biography of comic creator Gary Larson—see previously 

two birds, one stone: alkaline thermal treatment of plastic waste produces high purity hydrogen as a fuel source 

memento: how memories and stored in the brain and how retrieval alters them  

street view: gorgeous photologs of San Diego in the 1970s plus more about this municipal mapping method  

the king’s great fortune: a fairy tale written in classic style with contemporary resonance 

from the chinagate hoax department: documents Trump ordered declassified to demonstrate meddling from Beijing cost him the 2020 presidential race show instead that Moscow was championing his re-election  

vikram-1: India’s first private rocket reaches low Earth orbit and deploys a satellite

uneven bars (13. 632)

On this day in 1976 at the Montreal Games, fourteen-year old gymnastics prodigy Nadia Comăneci received a historic perfect score (10.00) from the panel of Olympic judges. Also rated perfect for her routines in several other lower-level competitions prior to this performance, including the inaugural American Cup held in March of the same year at Madison Square Garden, Comăneci scored her first of six gold medals during the course of the games. Comăneci has lived in North America since 1989, defecting from then-Communist Romanian, just weeks before the revolution.

deadpool (13. 631)

As Superpunch informs, popular and controversial predictions market platform Kalshi (previously) is expanding its betting profile from economic indicators, political and legislative outcomes and armed conflict to now include sports-like wagering in biotechnology, gambling on clinical trials and regulatory approval of new drug therapies. Already a highly speculative market subject to wild swings, opening up new contracts with Big Pharma, companies like Gilead, is expected to motivate traders to put their thumb on the scale, out of self-interest to improve their odds, with assuredly unscientific and deadly consequences. Kalshi, for its part defends its ethical stance, arguing, without scholarly consensus since the pool numbers are never disclosed, that the wisdom of the crowds and their investment on being right (or at least less wrong than the competition) more efficiently and accurately—a counterbalance to the greed, fraud and corruption endemic to the industry—steers optimal outcomes.

synchronoptica

one year ago: historic images of NASA’s research campus (with synchronoptica), assorted links to revisit, the flags of Iran plus new additions to UNESCO’s world heritage register

two years ago: American’s AI-military complex plus an evil cocktail

three years ago: Trump investigated for falsifying business records 

five years ago: your daily demon plus the island of Kållandsö

six years ago: Operation Jade Helm, unpopular essays plus more corporate sing-alongs

seven years ago: Les Horrible Cernettes, Wiesbaden’s Deutsches Filmhaus plus Trump’s disdain for the press

day one-hundred thirty-five (13. 630)

US Central Command conducts its seventh consecutive night of raids, attacking maritime and energy infrastructure, civilian targets tantamount to a war-crime though the American military considers them dual-use facilities. The latest flareups in fighting has essentially stopped all shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran promising a full-scale offensive response and allied gulf states continue to repel drones and missiles.  Israeli ministers announce new illegal settlements in Gaza and the West Bank. Trump threatens Canada with new tariffs over raging forest fires sending “filthy” air into the US.

vocation (13. 629)

One of the first individuals to receive a doctorate in computer science, having previously earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics in 1965, fellow student Irving Tang was awarded his by the University of Wisconsin-Madison on the same day, educator and pioneer Sister Mary Kenneth Keller, a nun of the Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, an order originally from Ireland established to minister to Catholic immigrants in Iowa territory (see previously) wrote her dissertation on “Inductive Inference on Computer-Generated Patters,” focusing on developing algorithms on algebraic expressions. Her graduate studies include contributions to the programming language BASIC and more elective courses at Dartmouth. Committed to realising the potential for computers for the free exchange of knowledge and to promote learning, Keller established the first small college computer science department at the women’s school of Clarke University, endowed by the Sisters of Charity in Dubuque, teaching there for over twenty years, making strides in applications from graphics to home economics.

unsung (13. 628)

Courtesy of Web Curios, we are directed season one of hopefully many in an essay series by Richard Sedley profiling those neglected innovators who have contributed to our understanding of the world in significant ways whose stories deserve to be better known. Briefs include glosses (with some AI tarnish admittedly) of Marie Tharp whom brought what was considered a fringe theory of plate tectonics into mainstream acceptance by pouring over data of sonar soundings collected by survey ships trawling the oceans, Pierre Bézier whom revolutionised computer-aided drafting though control points to create a smooth curve for fonts, animation and automotive prototyping and Major Jack Mullin whom brought experimental 1940s technology from Germany back to the US and developed audio tape recording commercially—recognising its potential along with Bing Crosby, not only augmenting the fidelity of the performance captured but also in a format that was editable.

synchronoptica

one year ago: telework for religious observance (with synchronoptica) plus Paris Flash (1958)

two years ago: the Bell Systems’ Science series plus the medium is the metaphor

three years ago: photos of the Anthropocene plus Russian blockade of the Black Sea  

four years ago: Handel’s Water Music (1717) plus a visit to Amersfoort

five years ago: Emoji Day plus a visit to Kristinehamn

six years ago: the Feast of the Romanovs, the working couple’s cookbook plus Banksy on lockdown

day one-hundred thirty-four (13. 627)

Trump’s Board of Peace scales down recovery programme to a tiny pilot plot in south Gaza. The US unleashes fresh waves of assaults, with American gulf allies taking the flak, as tensions over the Strait of Hormuz grows. The Revolutionary Guard has made arrangements with Houthi rebels in Yemen to close access to the Red Sea should the US begin threatened attacks on bridges, highways and power plants. During a primetime televised address, Trump speaks at length regarding election integrity, citing without evidence widespread voter fraud, McCarthy-era Communist infiltration and repeated false claims about the 2020 presidential race being stolen from him—an unremarkable rehash of old grievances ahead of the midterms when some expected more of a bombshell, like announcing that elections were postponed indefinitely due to the war or that he was running for a third term.