Armagh

On the 19th of June we went with the O'Malleys to Ard Mhacha (Armagh) and Eamhain Mhacha (Navan Fort). We had elevenses at the Mulberry coffee-shop opposite the Cathedral gate, then visited the Cardinal O'Fiaich Memorial Library and Archive (a remarkable resource) and the R.C. Cathedral (dedicated to St Patrick), and Navan Fort (Eamhain Macha).  Finally we toured the Palace.

All recommended. Exceptionally friendly natives. Only 90 minutes from Dublin.

We learned of the Tandragee man, a stone statue said to represent Nuad (formerly known to us as Nuadhat Lámh Airgid, Nu-at of the silver arm), king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, who gave his name to Maynooth (Nu-at's plain). Maynooth's main stream is the Lyreen, named for his little finger, and meets the Rye (presumably Rí = King) river just below the town. Nuad lost his arm at the battle of Má Tuireadh, and as a result had to surrender the kingship. Dían Cecht made him the perfectly-functioning silver arm so that he could resume the kingship from the Bres Mac Elatha, who turned out to be a miserable get. It's in the old C of I cathedral, also dedicated to St. Patrick, of course.

New book: Analysis One

I've put my text Analysis One out there. This is the first course in 'hard analysis', the modern-day pons asinorum. 
The pdf of the text remains freely available.
You can get a copy at logicpress.ie (see the catalogue) or from lulu.com (search for Anthony G. O'Farrell).

The hardcover: 

The pdf:

Cherry Blossoms, thirty-first of March

The clocks have sprung on.
The light beats the dark.
I've reached the bright half of another year.
The Moon waxes, full next Tuesday.
Then we watch for Easter sunrise.
Praise the Lord!

Tim Murphy, RIP

When a man dies, a universe is destroyed, even for realists.
Tim's last post on his amazing blog was on 11 February,
and he joined the majority on the 17th. See

http://timmurphy.org/

In  paradisum deducant te Angeli.

Conference Pair

Love Mathematics

1. Go to
http://sagecell.sagemath.org/

2. Copy and paste the following Sage code into the box:


t = var('t')
parametric_plot( [sqrt(2)*cos(t), sin(t) + (3/4)*sqrt(abs(cos(t)))],
                [t,0,2*pi],aspect_ratio=1,fill=true,axes=false,
                thickness=4, color='red',plot_points=2000,
                fillcolor='pink'
               )


3. Press Evaluate.

4. How can you hate that?

(I'm happy to acknowledge that the idea comes from
an equation in Harun Siljak's book, Murder on the
Einstein Express and Other Stories.)