iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Today we celebrate the 66th anniversary of Ted's last game and his home run in his final plate appearance. Time for my annual read of John Updike's essay, Hub Fans Bid Ted Adieu: www.newyorker.com/magazine/196..., some of the best sports writing ever.

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Peter Abraham @peteabeglobe.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Much like 1967, the 2026 Red Sox rode into the playoffs thanks to Yastrzemski.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Happy Birthday to the U S Constitution, 239 years old. And to me, 80 years old and still going strong!

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Today is the last day of my 8th decade.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Just watched the Broadway production of Come From Away on Apple TV. I had never seen it before. It was fabulous! There's a local production currently playing that I hope to see. Sold out but I'm on a waiting list.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Invaders From Mars really terrified me as a 9-yr old. As a teenager, I saw the movie again, found it laughable, and could not understand how I had found it so scary. As an adult, I saw the movie yet again. While I still found it laughable, I understood how it could be so frightening to a child.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Invaders From Mars was very scary to a 9-yr old boy (me!).

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Let me back off my last claim. Comparing April to July, the increase in distance is due roughly in equal parts to the decrease in Cd and the increase in temperature.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Followup on my drag analysis. Plots below show monthly-average fly ball distance for narrow range of EV,LA. Top graph is plotted vs average Cd. But Cd alone does not determine drag. Bottom graph is plotted vs. average air density-corrected Cd. Much more clear-cut correlation, as I would expect.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

L'Shanah Tovar to all who observe.

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PBS News @pbsnews.org · 11/09/2026

On 9/11, the passengers of Flight 93 stormed the cockpit, forcing the hijacked jet to crash in Shanksville, Pa. Before the world knew of their bravery, members of the D.C. Air National Guard were prepared to make their own sacrifice. Heather Penney shares her story. to.pbs.org/3UKF9Wv

to.pbs.org

Fighter pilot reflects on order to sacrifice herself to stop Flight 93 on 9/11

On 9/11, the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 stormed the cockpit, forcing the hijacked jet to crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. But before the world knew of their bravery, members of Washing...

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Today I am thinking of my friend and classmate Bill Caswell. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...

en.wikipedia.org

William E. Caswell - Wikipedia

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Here is my latest update on drag coefficients for the 2026 season.

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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Elle Cordova on fonts is one of the great joys of social media.

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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 08/09/2026

Handedness xkcd.com/3293/

Comic. [Two people considering diagrams on whiteboard] PERSON 1 with ponytail: The W bosons produced by the collider beam will mostly be left-handed. PERSON 2: So we should send in a *right*-handed batter.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Paying homage to one of my heroes: Statue of Muhammad Ali in Lewiston ME, site of the 2nd Clay-Liston fight in 1965. I listened to the radio broadcast of that fight as no home TV was available.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

It's been well over a year since I last looked at X/Twitter.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

BRT, for a typical topspin grounder, the friction between ball and dirt reduces the forward speed of the ball, as one expects. But it also *increases* the topspin, sometimes making it difficult to field cleanly.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

For foultip to speed up, the topspin rate would have to be of order 18,000 rpm...clearly not realistic. For a topspin grounder at 100 mph to speed up, the topspin rate would have to exceed about 11,000 rpm, which is also unrealistic.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

For a foultip, the ball skims the top surface of the bat. The resulting force on the ball is due to sliding friction and is opposite to the relative ball-bat velocity at the surface. If the ball had a *huge* amount of topspin, the surface speed would be forward and the force would be backward.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Yes, Izzie was one smart dude.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

A baseball *does not* pick up speed on a foul tip straight back, unlike what the announcer said on SF v. Boston game.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

My wife did similar gaze training last year to help combat bouts of vertigo. It really works.

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Rod Serling Memorial Foundation @rodserlingmemfndtn.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Waiting for visitors for SerlingFest!

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Kyle Bland @blandalytics.pitcherlist.com · 19/08/2026

The Ted Williams zone chart, using wOBA

MLB Strike zone, in the style of the Ted Williams strike zone, with different sections color-coded by wOBA.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

If you are a Ted Williams fan, this is a must watch. Truly remarkable footage of Ted telling us how it is done. Excellent interviews by Jeff Passan.

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Jonathan Judge @bachlaw.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

If you love baseball, are in the upper Midwest, and want to see the latest research, you should be stopping by SaberSeminar.

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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Moniz says a narrow deal solely with Iran is unlikely to stick now. Instead, he proposes an alternative plan to create a regional nuclear energy fuel cycle, which would include Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Those states would only have a fuel supply chain together limiting proliferation concerns.

ft.com

US nuclear negotiator Ernest Moniz: ‘Iran has the home-court advantage’

The architect of the 2015 deal with Tehran on how to prevent a new Middle East arms race

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Peter Abraham @peteabeglobe.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Red Sox and Royals will play the Field of Dreams game next season on Aug. 12.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Here I am on the mound ar Field of Dreams, August 1991

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Sarah Langs @slangsonsports.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

wHeEeEeEeEe!

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

The fans at Fenway got their money's worth tonight!

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Barton L Smith @themagnuspi.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

There's been talk about ball parameters like diameter, how oval they are, how high and wide the seams are, how much they weigh, etc. @johnwgarrett20.bsky.social spent a ton of time measuring a bunch of 2019 baseballs, and I think this is eye-opening. Excel sheet. www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/d3xt5... 1/

dropbox.com

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

I don't think day-to-day fluctuation in Cd is larger this year than in ealier years. What is different is the overall trend seen in the weekly average.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

As far as I know, *nothing* is measured on the balls each game prior to use. Storing balls in the humidor prior to use keeps the environmental factors constant.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

What are you referring to by "these"?

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

One more related graph shows normalized home run rate vs Cd (both monthly averages). The home run rate is controlled for exit velocity, launch angle, and air density (especially temperature), so that these factors do not enter into the rate. Rates are ~20% greater in June,July than in April,May.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Cute! I'm about to start work on a paper for a physics journal, probably AJP, on the physics of torpedo bats. I've learned a lot over the past year and it's about time to write it up.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

July update on Cd values, which seem to be trending upward. Fly ball distances for given LA are same in July as in June, with both greater than April and May. I will continue to post monthly update for remainder of season.

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Alan Nathan @pobguy.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Go to nearby Galena IL where some scenes from FoD were shot. While there visit the home where Grant lived just prior to Civil War.

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