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Complex Numbers
Complex Numbers
A complex number is expressed in the standard form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers and i is defined by i^2 = -1 (that is, i is the square root of -1). For example, 3 + 2i is a complex number.
The bi term is often referred to as an imaginary number (though this may be misleading, as it is no more "imaginary" than the symbolic abstractions we know as the "real" numbers). Thus, every complex number has a real part, a, and an imaginary part, bi.
Complex numbers are often represented on a graph known as the "complex plane," where the horizontal axis represents the infinity of real numbers, and the vertical axis represents the infinity of imaginary numbers. Thus, each complex number has a unique representation on the complex plane: some closer to real; others, more imaginary. If a = b, the number is equal parts real and imaginary.
Very simple transformations applied to numbers in the complex plane can lead to fractal structures of enormous intricacy and astonishing beauty.
November 30, 2009 at 7:56pm November 30, 2009 at 7:56pm
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Now, vodka that comes in a pill
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Now-vodka-that-comes-in-a-pill/a...
MOSCOW: Good news for vodka lovers as you can consume your favourite drink just like any other solid food, without the hassle of carrying heavy glass bottles.
Russian professor Evgeny Moskalev of Saint Petersburg Technological University has evolved a technique that allows turning alcohol into powder and packing it in pills. The new technique can solidify any kind of alcohol, including whisky, cognac, wine and beer...
Okay, even the slightest application of critical thought (that is, provided one has not been taking these pills) will lead to the conclusion that this, like so much of the internet, is bogus.
Still, if it were real, and if such a pill could be developed, well... at least the location of the research is plausible.
Seriously, where else but Russia
| Ireland wouldn't have the technology |
In Soviet Russia, pill take YOU. |
November 29, 2009 at 9:40pm November 29, 2009 at 9:40pm
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I know it's a whole month away, but I just had to share the good news!
No, I didn't save money on my car insurance by switching to anyone; no, I didn't find Jesus (how come they keep losing their deity, anyway, huh?)
Remember back in "Tickets!"  how I was all psyched about seeing Gogol Bordello in Richmond (about an hour from me)?
I never did talk about it here, but that concert was absolutely amazing. Those bastards have enough energy to power the Large Hadron Collider. It must be due to all the radiation from Chernobyl, I'm guessing. The place was general admission, and it wasn't sold out, so it wasn't extraordinarily crowded. And the audience was diverse: young, older, somewhere in the middle like me; punks, norms, goths, hippies... a little bit of everyone, and they were all getting into it. My friend who went with us said he was talking to some people who came down from New York City. I was like, "New York City?" He was like "Get a rope." But then he said that they said that the band wasn't doing any shows in NYC this tour, which was weird, because they're, well, they're FROM New York City.
So anyway, it was one of the most awesome things I've ever seen. Not quite the level of awesome as the Leonard Cohen show in NYC back in February, which of course had an entirely different feel to it (and I've been a Cohen fan since I found his poems 'way back in the '70s); and not quite as amazing as a Springsteen show (any Springsteen show), but still... awesome.
So imagine my surprise when I found out that Gogol Bordello was doing a New Year's Eve show.
In MY TOWN.
I just acquired tickets.
This is going to be the Best New Year's Eve Ever.
To celebrate, here's another of their videos:
DEBAUCHERY!!!!
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November 28, 2009 at 10:19pm November 28, 2009 at 10:19pm November 27, 2009 at 8:05pm November 27, 2009 at 8:05pm
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I'm here at the tea house, just hanging out, pretending to write, pretending to be meaningful. I find there's a freedom in uselessness, a welcome detachment from all worries, cares, and responsibilities. A group of young men at the next table just toasted each other with their tea: "To a brighter tomorrow." Well, I've got news for you, kids:
This is it, baby.
This is the best of all possible worlds.
These are the good old days.
You want to see what a perfect world looks like? Look around you. It's never been better. It's not going to get better. The politicians with their lies, and the reactionaries with their brainless chatter, and the swimmers in the ocean of doubt - they'll tell you they're working for a better world, but I tell you that's impossible.
There's a pervasive fear, enhanced by the media, blown into form by the glassblowers with the hot air in Washington, but it'll never materialize. It's the fear that keeps us in line. Fear... and hope that somehow, these things can be solved.
They can't.
You think the world will end in 2012? Nonsense.
It's already ended.
Give me back my broken night
my mirrored room, my secret life
it's lonely here,
there's no one left to torture
Give me absolute control
over every living soul
And lie beside me, baby,
that's an order!
Give me crack and anal sex
Take the only tree that's left
and stuff it up the hole
in your culture
Give me back the Berlin wall
give me Stalin and St Paul
I've seen the future, brother:
it is murder.
-Leonard Cohen, "The Future" |
November 26, 2009 at 12:11pm November 26, 2009 at 12:11pm
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Thanksgiving again, which means it's usually time for me to list all the things for which I'm NOT thankful, just because I have to be different.
This year, though, that would take me so goddamn long that my turkey would end up overdone.
And we wouldn't want to add THAT to the list, now, would we?
Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone - because the next month is going to be hell. |
November 22, 2009 at 8:39pm November 22, 2009 at 8:39pm
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I had the good fortune to watch two good movies over the weekend, one on DVD and the other in a theater. (A theater is a place where you go to watch movies before they show up on Netflix. You get to watch it on an enormous screen with wraparound sound, and observe the reactions of the two other people in the theater.)
The DVD one came out a while back, and the main actors are Frodo and the guy from Gogol Bordello.
ASIN: B000DWMN2S |
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Amazon's Price: $ 28.39
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(That is, Elijah Wood and Eugene Hutz.) It's an art flick, so no explosions or boobies, but still a great flick.
The theater one is worth seeing in the theater, or you can wait for DVD, but it's definitely worth watching. And the soundtrack is amazing.
Pirate Radio
Go see it if you get the chance, especially if you love music. |
November 18, 2009 at 9:14pm November 18, 2009 at 9:14pm
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As y'all know, I'm a cat person. Cats rule; dogs drool. (Really. Dogs drool. I've seen it.) So reading this was pretty cool:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/cat_know
(17 things worth knowing about your Cat)
Now, here's the thing: I know for certain that many of those items are true.
But if the part about Nikola Tesla is true (I'd never heard that before, so I don't know), then that is the most awesome thing in the history of the multiverse.
Seriously.
Anyone know? |
November 14, 2009 at 11:50pm November 14, 2009 at 11:50pm November 4, 2009 at 10:39pm November 4, 2009 at 10:39pm
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So, let's get back to Music that I Like for an entry.
There's a band from England called Sniff 'n' The Tears. You may not have heard of them. In fact, I'd be really surprised if you know who the hell I'm talking about.
But you've probably heard their one US hit, "Driver's Seat," from back in 1978. Yes, about the same time as Bob Geldof was rocking with The Boomtown Rats. So I'm old. So sue me.
Point is, as it turns out, the band did other music. Quite a few albums, actually. Here's one you don't hear:
Bonus: The lead singer, Paul Roberts, is also an accomplished painter. Most of their album covers, he painted. Here's a link to his art
(WARNING! Artistic nudity):
http://www.paulrobertspaintings.co.uk/
This one, especially, I don't know why it's not hanging in my house RIGHT THE HELL NOW (no nudity in this one; just awesomeness):
http://www.paulrobertspaintings.co.uk/%2700%20-%20%2705/Red%20Riding%20Hood.html...
So anyway, there's my Obscure British Band for the day. |
November 3, 2009 at 6:48pm November 3, 2009 at 6:48pm November 2, 2009 at 11:01pm November 2, 2009 at 11:01pm
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Well, there are many advantages of marriage, not the least of which is preferential tax status (sometimes), but one big one is:
It is not necessary to search for a mate; therefore, it is not necessary to cruise the internet looking for a mate.
http://www.viraleruption.com/imgs/online-girlfriend-flowchart.jpg
Note: the above only applies to guys. If there are any left reading this blog. The flowchart for figuring out the true identity of your online BOYfriend is much, much simpler:
Is he talking dirty to you?
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A guy. |
November 1, 2009 at 10:53pm November 1, 2009 at 10:53pm
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Maybe not this year, after all.
I got a work deadline that's kicking my ass, and it doesn't look like I'm going to make it - which means I'm not going to be able to start tomorrow, either.
Oh well, what the hell, right? It's only my dream. I can put it off again for the sake of doing something I don't really want to do anymore, right?
Fuck. |
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I'm more than happy with Carrion Luggage, however.
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