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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.
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Some hacker got into the Phoenix Mars Lander website:
http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/P/PHOENIX_MARS_HACKER?SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HO...
...Spokeswoman Sara Hammond says a mission update posted Friday was replaced with a hacker's signature and a link redirecting visitors to an overseas Web site...
Now, for those of you who have been living under a rock, the Phoenix Mars Lander is studying the Martian north polar region:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080526.html
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080527.html
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080530.html
(That last one is especially cool, imaging the lander as it descended.)
Now, here's the thing. If I were a hacker, and I was inclined to change the Phoenix Mars Lander website, I'd make it look as realistic as possible while describing the entire alien society found at Mars' north polar region.
That way, a lot of people would see it before the owner took it down. The owner would then post something like, "A hacker has changed the website, and it's down for maintenance." It would later return showing a calm, dead Martian north pole. And then the people who saw it would be like, "They lie! It clearly showed evidence of Martians! What is NASA hiding and why?" And they would go through the rest of their life convinced that it wasn't a hacker, but real, live Martians, and the "evidence" of the "conspiracy" would drive them stark, raving, loony.
Which, of course, pretty much describes anyone who still thinks there's a civilization on Mars.
I mean, Barsoom. |
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The 6 Most Badass Stunts Ever Pulled in the Name of Science
Scientists have a PR problem. If TV is to be believed, doctorates are awarded in the form of fishbowl glasses and a tendency to stutter... Here we look at seven self-endangering scientists who only wear lab coats because you can't get explosive-bear-proof tuxedos outside of MI6. Each one of these researchers has been voted "Most likely to inject themselves with the Omega Serum while shouting, 'Dammit, there's no time for testing!'"
http://www.cracked.com/article_16301_6-most-badass-stunts-ever-pulled-in-name-sc...
Role models for all of us. |
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I got a Sears Mastercard in the mail today. I didn't ask for one, you understand. Hell, I'd even forgotten that I had an account with Sears, but I opened one back in '94 so I could finance the purchase of a washer and dryer. It was, looking back, the thing that put me on the road to finally figuring out how to handle money and credit, because I worked out early on that if I just paid the minimum $1.50 monthly payment, I'd be paying for that washer/dryer until the world ends in 2012, and beyond if the Mayans turn out to be wrong.
Okay, yes, I'm exaggerating, but the point remains.
So since then, Sears has gone from being a finance company with a showroom to a department store that happens to have its own imprint on a MasterCard. Once I paid off the appliances (in 1995), I don't think I ever used that account again - and didn't bother closing it because, hell, there's no annual fee so it costs me nothing to have it. They raised my credit line somewhere in there, too. Next they'll probably send me "convenience checks" to try to trick me into paying finance charges, which I refuse to do on principle. (Get it? Principal? Principle? Oh, nevermind. Finance puns are the worst kind.)
Anyway, it made me think about a decision I'm going to have to make soon, which is to get a new truck or not. There's nothing wrong with my old one, you understand; it's paid off, it runs, and just broke 90,000 miles which is, like, toddler status for a Nissan. But with my back the way it is (sending fiery, shooting pain down my right leg every time I get up in the morning and reminding me all day that Something Isn't Right), it occurred to me that maybe driving a stick shift isn't the best thing for my back - the clutch works nasties on my back.
Thing is, like I said, I don't pay finance charges. It's against my religion (okay, I make an exception for my mortgage, and for certain business expenses; both are tax-advantaged). I've been making "car payments" to myself for the past few years, saving up enough for a brand new used truck. That way, the bank pays me finance charges, in the form of interest. The problem is, my goal has been to keep saving until next July, so I can buy a nicer used truck. If I stop now, I'll have to compromise - either make some payments with finance charges, or get a not-so-great used truck, and remember, the thing will need to last me for 10 years.
And oh, yeah, I do want a truck. I've always driven a light truck. It's just part of what I am. With gas prices the way they are, I should be able to get one cheap because they have the reputation of being guzzlers and people are selling theirs.
So that's the decision I have to make, and it all hinges on one question, really: Will it help relieve my back problems? Because if I can be assured that it'll make the pain go away, I'll even pay finance charges.
For a little while. |
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Remember this entry from a few days ago?
"End Times" 
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan will on Monday appoint the mouthless feline cartoon character Hello Kitty as a goodwill tourism ambassador in China and Hong Kong, with the aim of promoting visits here, Kyodo News has reported...
I'll be double-dog-damned... it worked.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4020002.ece
Reeling from the soaring death toll of the May 12 earthquake and in growing fear of a catastrophic eruption from the "quake lakes", China has invited its old enemy, the Japanese military, on to its soil for the first time since the Second World War.
Huh. |
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You wouldn't understand.
http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-1/Video-games-activate-reward-regions-...
STANFORD, Calif. - Allan Reiss, MD, and his colleagues have a pretty good idea why your husband or boyfriend can't put down the Halo 3. In a first-of-its-kind imaging study, the Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have shown that the part of the brain that generates rewarding feelings is more activated in men than women during video-game play.
So, ladies, next time your S.O. just can't put down the joystick...
Wait, what? |
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Might want to wait for it to come out on DVD.
Oh, it didn't suck, exactly. Not nearly as much as "Temple of Doom." And it definitely has its moments. But for $10? I don't know. I saw the matinee on Saturday with some friends for $7, which almost made it worth it if it weren't for the stinking commercials before the previews.
I like previews, even though they're commercials for other movies. What I hate is paying money to view ads.
Anyway...
There's a surprise that's no surprise to anyone; there's a whole lot of disbelief to suspend; the Shia LeBouef character is a prick; and there's a whole lot of action, which is, after all, the point.
And then there's this article, which is an interesting look into a guy who might have served as the inspiration for the whole Indiana Jones thing.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/05/22/sv_rahn125.xml&p...
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Why is it so dang hard to get computers to talk to each other?
I have a computer, and a laptop. And a printer. The printer was attached to the computer, and nothing I did could get the laptop to recognize it.
So today, since I wasn't doing anything else, I went to the store - which was a ghost town; apparently, most people leave Charlottesville on Memorial Day weekend, or at least don't shop for office supplies - looking for a hardware solution. I found one. I brought it home and started following its directions, which, as it turned out, were obviously written by Chinese outsourcers. Hell, the directions are probably coated with lead, too. Anyway, I interpreted the Chinglish as best I could and lo! I now have a network printer server, which my computer recognizes and can print to.
Then I tried to get the laptop to recognize the network printer.
And tried again.
And again.
Still can't print from the laptop.
And people ask me why I drink. |
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It's Friday, the last day of work before a long Memorial Day weekend, so I thought today I'd talk about what this weekend is all about:
Drinking.
Yes, I'm in a slightly better mood, so I'm starting to feel the urge to, as I put it a couple of days ago, consume vast quantities of alcohol.
I'll start tonight at Chili's. Now, Chili's is a lousy chain, but they do have one thing that's worth ordering: the Presidente Margarita. Oh, sure, it's watered-down, and I won't ask what tequila's inside it, but it comes in this shaker that they pour into an iced, oversized martini glass with a salted rim. The shaker's usually good for three or four pours, after which one must order another one.
Kirstin is going away for the weekend on a camping trip. Good for her. I'd kill myself after about an hour of "roughing it," and then she'd have to clean me up from her brand-new pavilion tent. No, I'm going to stay home and drink.
I have, in the fridge, a bottle of Vouvray (an excellent white wine from the Loire valley of France). I'm thinking since Saturday's supposed to be nice, I can spend part of the afternoon drinking it out on the deck. Then, when my ex-wife calls for me to help her out of some Jerry Springer situation, which she continues to do even to this day, I can honestly say, "Nope. Can't drive. Call someone else. Oh, wait, you've exhausted your supply of friends and that's why you're calling me? Bummer." And then I can proceed to drink some more.
If I run out of Vouvray, I have a few bottles of Magic Hat #9 left in the fridge. If I get really desperate, I'll drink the two bottles of Bud Light I keep in there on the off chance Pat visits me. If I get completely desperate, the nearest grocery store is within staggering distance. Come to think of it, the nearest bar is just a bit further away, in the other direction. It'll be interesting to see which one I choose if I've got a good drunk on. The only thing I can guarantee is I won't be driving; I'll be drunk, not stupid.
But even if I decide that staggering a mile each way in the evening isn't really for me, I've still got most of a bottle of Magellan gin, and olives and dry vermouth - or even tonic water. Hell, by that time, my mostly-full gallon bottle of Cuervo Gold might start looking good.
Sigh.
Yeah, all that sounds good now, but the fact is I don't like to be out of control or having the room spin around me, so the reality of it is I probably won't drink all that much. I can't enjoy what I usually do - reading, playing video games, working complicated math puzzles, or even watching a good movie or playing on the Internet - while drunk.
Hell, maybe I can even go see Indiana Jones or Speed Racer while sober.
No, scratch that. I'll need to be completely schnockered to go see Speed Racer.
Oh, and the thing about Memorial Day being all about drinking? I was being facetious. Do take some time to remember those who put themselves in harm's way to keep us (relatively) safe and free. I know I'll be raising one for my dad. |
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I can count the number of Starbuck's I've been in without taking off my shoes. In that number, I'm not counting the one that's in the local Buns & Noodle bookstore; I've only visited that one in the course of looking for books to read.
It's not fair to say I hate Starbuck's, though. The reason I don't go in there is simple and astonishing:
I have never, in my entire life, drank a cup of coffee.
(I'll wait here while your heart recovers.)
(Better now? Good.)
I have, of course, tasted it, and found it completely disgusting. In fact, I find everything with a coffee flavor completely disgusting. It is, in fact, the only thing besides cherries that can ruin the blissful experience that is chocolate for me.
That said, I found the following article highly amusing:
http://www.holytaco.com/2008/05/21/8-types-of-annoying-people-youll-find-inside-...
8 Types Of Annoying People You'll Find Inside Starbucks
Here are 8 types of people you'll find inside a Starbucks that are guaranteed to annoy the shit out of you.
8. Manager Who Refuses to Recognize the Words Small, Medium, and Large...
(#6 should be of special interest to my readers on this site. Folks... don't be That Guy.) |
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You know that positive-spin, rose-colored glasses post I did about three weeks ago?
Didn't work.
Three weeks later, my business has in no way improved. Nor has my back pain. My weight loss has plateaued, nothing's resolved with my father's legacy, and all I want to do is crawl in a hole and not talk to anyone for a few years, hide from friends and enemies alike.
Amazingly, I haven't had the urge to consume vast quantities of alcohol, the standard response to hopelessness. That's probably because I only drink when I'm in a decent mood to start with.
So, to hell with positivity. I'm going back to being negative. At least that way, I can only be pleasantly surprised. |
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...just in case you haven't noticed, this is an election year in the US.
Ideally, this would mean thoughtful debate about the positions and goals of each of the candidates, and sober reflection on which can best serve the nation as it currently stands.
But, as I believe Rita Mae Brown put it, "If life made sense, men would ride sidesaddle."
(Okay, that comment is even funnier if you know her, but you get the idea.)
Instead, we're treated to endless streams of criticism about who said what, and how that reflects on the candidates' ability to be elected.
Like we can't figure out for ourselves who can be elected.
Oh, well, maybe that's a good point.
Really, I don't recall the country being this polarized in my youth. Maybe I just wasn't paying as much attention then, but it seems to me the chasm between "liberal" and "conservative" (both of which are now misnomers) has widened, leaving those of us who harbor views from each extreme hanging. It's become a battle of absolutes. "Conservatives" are convinced that only they are right, and that they are for (e.g.) small government and less government interference in daily life (so why are they so against government interference in who can get married?) "Liberals" are equally convinced of their superiority, though examples elude me now.
Point is - well, even CNN was calling it "Ballot Bowl 2008." Like it's a football game or something, with the outcome decided with one clear winner and one clear loser, and winner take all, and what's the long-term meaning? Nothing, just like it matters not one iota which team wins a sporting event.
Well, sports are about the worst analogy I can think of for politics. You don't just wear one candidate's colors and start shaking your pom-poms (though it's interesting to note that G.W. Bush was a cheerleader in college). Sports is about winning, and playing fair (in that order). Politics should be about choosing the best course for the country - NOT what's best for any one individual, say the voter for example.
Democracy isn't there to cater to the whimsies and fads of a majority; it's there to protect the rights of everyone, majority or minority. When I hear that so-and-so wouldn't vote for Clinton because she's a woman, or Obama because he's "black" (he's half-white; how come he's not "white?"), I start to have serious doubts about the direction we're going. Because black, white, man, woman - none of that matters, really, if a society is fair and just.
Whoever gets the White House in November has some serious messes to clean up, and I don't wish that on anybody. But let's not forget the truly important thing: whoever it will be, it won't be Bush.
And that'll be cause for celebration. |
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My last Comedy newsletter was about putting together lists to make people laugh. It's probably in my bottom five newsletter efforts; but what can I say? I've been uninspired lately.
But here's a list without humor, but with food for thought for all writers - and readers, of which, based on my blog stats, all of you are:
http://listverse.com/literature/10-books-that-screwed-up-the-world/
10 Books that Screwed Up The World
Books are one of our greatest resources, but many times in history books have been written which are misleading or untrue. In some cases this has lead to widescale death and destruction and evil governmental regimes.
This is a list of ten of the worst books of this type - books that have done more harm than good. The common thread in all of these books is deception - invariably not intentional, but the consequences are the same regardless.
I'm not sure I agree with the "invariably not intentional" part, and I'd say they're missing a few. Still - dine well. |
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Yes, folks, proof that the world as we know it is coming to a screeching halt:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080518/lf_afp/lifestyleentertainmentjapantourism_0...
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan will on Monday appoint the mouthless feline cartoon character Hello Kitty as a goodwill tourism ambassador in China and Hong Kong, with the aim of promoting visits here, Kyodo News has reported.
...
A Hello Kitty blog will start around late June on the Chinese language page of the campaign website to introduce tourist attractions in Japan, including historic and popular sites, Kyodo said.
NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
(all joking aside, what are the real chances that anyone - even Hello Kitty - will get the Chinese to forgive, or at least forget, the Rape of Nanking? Yeah, I thought so too.) |
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Iron Man is just plain awesome.
And staying through the credits to watch the teaser at the end - well, it was more than worth it. It seems the awesome is just beginning. |
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There is, I think, no relationship in the world quite like the relationship between a bartender and a drinker.
This evening, I met my friend Pat at a local pseudo-Mexican restaurant that boasts a bar with a spectacular tequila selection. I was early, so I sat at the bar.
This particular bar has a Tequila Club card - a green card (heh) with 20 different tequilas on it, ranging from well dreck up through the golden reposados and anejos that make life worth living. Every new tequila earns you a punch on the card; when you've gotten all 20 punches every tequila from then until eternity is $1 off.
Tonight, I had the bartender punch my #11 tequila, which turned out to be a smooth, ticklish reposado whose name escapes me but which I can easily determine on my next visit. I'm perfectly content to drink fine tequila straight, but I also like margaritas - on the rocks, salted rim. While I waited, I watched the bartender struggle with the creation of two frozen margaritas. They were, in my professional opinion, too sludgy to drink, and he knew it.
"The solution," I said (as the guy on the barstool, I claim the right to wax philosophical about all matters relating to alcohol), "is to outlaw frozen margaritas. They're an abomination."
The bartender, a tall guy who looked like he was trying to work his way through grad school - philosophy or English, I figured - looked at me and nodded, grinning a grim grin. "Now that," he said, "is an excellent idea."
It wasn't three minutes (by the clock on the TV, which was playing some basketball game or other) before the waitress came back with the abominations. "They said these were undrinkable."
Another server came to the rescue. "I'll make 'em," she offered. The philosophy major (or so I assume) breathed a sigh of relief.
"I mean," I went on, seeing as he was just watching at this point, "they're so cold you can't even appreciate the tequila."
"Well, they ordered Cuervo gold," he noted.
I nodded sagely. "In that case, frozen may be appropriate. But the ice just numbs the taste buds in general, and all you taste is ice."
The girl making the replacement margaritas - a much more liquid attempt than the philosopher's - asserted that this happens all the time, that they lose a lot of money by having to chuck bad frozen margaritas. "Outlaw 'em," I said. "If they want abominations, give 'em wine spritzers."
Everyone in earshot chuckled, and the bartender asked me if I wanted another real margarita.
I sighed, exaggerating my disappointment at my circumstances. "No, I'm meeting someone for dinner, thanks." But somehow, we got a table as soon as he showed up, and the service was prompt, and the food was excellent.
And damn, that was a good margarita. |
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Sometimes, I post stuff here that's Just Plain Wrong.
This story right here is Wrong on so many levels I needed to take my shoes off to count them:
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/05/15/0515bastropisd.ht...
Imagery in Bastrop school mural stirs controversy
The painting in question, a student project completed in 2003, adorns a wall in the corridor leading to the Bastrop High School gym. It depicts the sometimes unpleasant history of the town, showing scenes of a Mexican and Comanche raid and slaves working in a cotton field, as well as unifying visions of children of different ethnicities reaching out to one another.
But the last sentence is the cherry on this little Parfait of Doom.
As Mandi Colvin, a sophomore at Bastrop High, sees it: "It's breaking the First Amendment. It needs to come down."
FSM wept.
Here's an antidote: Every product known to have been produced by Acme, Inc. - at least, those purchased by Wile E. Coyote...
http://www.dumptrumpet.com/?v=4743 |
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As I may have mentioned here before, my wife's a bellydancer. Not professional or anything, but really good. The only problem is that her troupe performs to weird music straight out of the depths of Arabic hell, usually performed by instruments that should not be, like the mismar. When hearing a mismar, it makes me long for something more pleasing to the ear, like a jet engine, the inside of a steel mill, or maybe bagpipes.
But then she found this video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t0E6WNXL0M
Belly dancing to "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II."
Can it get better than that?
(Okay, bellydancing to Bruce, maybe. But that's damn cool.) |
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Now that I'm doing two newsletters a month, it's becoming harder for me to find suitable material to feature. Usually I pick the genres I'm featuring, set the listing to random, and look for stories, poems or whatever that seem suitable for the newsletter's topic.
Folks, if you want to get featured in a newsletter - or, at least, in mine (Comedy and Fantasy) as I can't speak for the other editors:
DO NOT:
 Leave the item unfinished - there's nothing I hate more than getting into a story only to find the author broke it off in mid-paragraph. In these situations, I appreciate a warning in the brief description such as "Unfinished."
Put your opinion of the piece in the description or, worse, the title. If you're going to title your work "Rising Suns," for example, give it a brief description like, "Two children evoke the wrath of the Sun God and change their society forever." DO NOT make your description say, "Comments needed," "Unedited," "Not my best work," or anything of that sort. I will not click on items with these comments. If people are going to comment, they will, and if not, they won't; if it needs edits, then pay attention to your comments; and if it's not your best work why in the HELL is it out in public?
Pick the wrong genres - if I find one more teen angst melodrama with a "Fantasy" label, I'm going to puke. Hint: Teen angst goes under "Teen" or "Melodrama" or sometimes "Satire." Fantasy is for magical realism, fairies, gods, magic, elves, and that sort of thing; not about how much your parents must hate you for making you do chores.
DO:
Check your spelling and grammar. Even if do a formal review of my Editor's Picks, you won't have time to fix typos before the issue comes out, and you'll get a lot of reviews after it publishes that tell you that "friend" is spelled with the i before the e and that sort of thing. Chances are, if there's a significant problem with spelling, grammar, punctuation or other technical issues, your item won't make it into my newsletter.
Take advantage of the "keyword" section when creating and/or editing an item. Put in relevant keywords, like if you're writing a novel about gay sex with aliens on Saturn's moons, make your keywords like, "homosexual, alien, Saturn, Titan, Rhea, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Mimas, Iapetus, sex, space" (The sad thing is I didn't have to look up the moons' names.)
Pick the right genres. I know I said the same thing under "do not" above, but it bears repeating.
And that's enough ranting for today. Where's the goddamn Advil? |
© Copyright 2025 Robert Waltz (UN: cathartes02 at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
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I'm more than happy with Carrion Luggage, however.
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