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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.
August 31, 2008 at 9:44pm August 31, 2008 at 9:44pm August 30, 2008 at 8:04pm August 30, 2008 at 8:04pm
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Yeah.
I've been trying to put words to the malaise that seems to have overtaken my life. It's not that I'm not happy, or I'm severely lacking in anything (except maybe motivation).
It's just... I can't get no satisfaction.
How can I be unsatisfied and not unhappy? I don't know. I think it's because there's lots of funny stuff out there, and funny stuff makes me laugh, which usually makes me happy - but then I find myself wishing that I, myself, could be that funny, and I get miserable again.
There's no one thing I can point to and say, "If this gets resolved, I will be satisfied." No. It's a whole lot of things, taken in aggregate.
Well, I have a vacation coming up in mid-September. Maybe then I can get my head on straight.
Meanwhile, I'll continue to crank out the snark and the self-pity. |
August 29, 2008 at 3:29pm August 29, 2008 at 3:29pm
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Yes, Charlottesville is once again observing Drive Like a Dick Day.
Now, this could happen for any one of several reasons:
a) UVA just got back in session
b) Holiday weekend approaching
c) Home football game this weekend
d) People are generally dicks anyway
or, in this case,
e) All of the above.
It took me two hours to run a one-hour errand.
I'm tired of this shit.
On the bright side, I created two LOL-captions today:
http://mine.icanhascheezburger.com/view.aspx?ciid=1892559
and
http://mine.icanhascheezburger.com/view.aspx?ciid=1892486
Now I need some good pics of McCain and Palin to LOLify...
"Hey, John, you think Sarah Palin would make a good VP?" "I don't know - Alaska." |
August 28, 2008 at 9:22pm August 28, 2008 at 9:22pm August 23, 2008 at 11:31pm August 23, 2008 at 11:31pm
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Today, for the first time in a while, I actually wrote fiction.
Feels good to be doing that again. Let's see if I can keep it up. Did it break my long stretch of what can only be called writer's block? I don't know.
No, I'm not linking it; it's rated XGC but if you really want to see it, it's not hard to find in my port. Probably needs editing too. |
August 20, 2008 at 6:09pm August 20, 2008 at 6:09pm
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Having been on Writing.com for almost four years now - and a moderator for two of those years - I think it's safe to say I've seen a broad cross-section of what kind of stuff gets posted here.
But there's one thing I tend to avoid. Not because it's never done well, but because when it is NOT done well, the results are therapy-inducing.
And I will admit, I wrote one piece of fanfiction myself. I'm giving you the link not because I feel like it's great literary work, or because I think I know how it's done better than anyone else, but so anyone offended by this blog entry can go leave me a nasty review.
It is:
But notice: there is no sex in it. It seems that a lot of authors of fanfiction just have to put sex into it. In fact, that would be the REASON for much of the fanfiction universe. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but there are some sex scenes I just never wanted to see. Kirk getting it on with Spock, for example. Harry Potter getting it on with anyone before he turns 18. Mary Poppins doing it with anyone, at any time.
So why did I actually READ this article here?:
http://www.cracked.com/article_16554_5-most-baffling-sex-scenes-in-history-fanfi...
The 5 Most Baffling Sex Scenes in the History of Fanfiction
When traveling in the vast, anonymous, lawless expanse known as the Internet, it's a given that you're going to run into some weird shit. Maybe none of it is weirder than the world of erotic fanfiction.
Because I just... couldn't... help myself.
I mean...
Ew.
And there's TWO Harry Potter-related slashies in there.
Two.
And not ONE of the five stories are hosted on writing.com.
Come on, guys - you're slipping.
Now that I think about it, the truly fucked-up thing here is that someone bothered to READ all this fanfic, SUMMARIZE them, and put them in a blog while pretending to be horrified.
Um... yeah. |
August 19, 2008 at 9:25pm August 19, 2008 at 9:25pm
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So, I've now officially seen the Best Concert Ever - Springsteen, Richmond, yesterday - and I'm left asking myself: now what?
What else could I possibly have to look forward to?
Yeah, I know some of y'all are saying, "Well, of course you thought it was great, but you're biased." No. My wife, and my friend who went with us - they reached their own independent conclusions that it was the most awesome thing ever.
The band played for three and a half hours. No one does that anymore. And Bruce hasn't done that since the 1980s, when four-hour sets weren't unheard of. There's a guy - a whole band, actually - who obviously enjoy what they do, and are good at it. I don't envy Springsteen his fame (and only a little bit his fortune), because those come with other problems. No, but I do envy him the ability to spend his life doing something that he clearly loves to do, and having the talent to do it. There's some indication there's a correlation there, but we'll leave that for now.
So okay, it's all downhill from here. I can maybe, eventually, accept that. At least I can say I've seen the pinnacle of awesomeness.
Actually, maybe now I can relax, and stop striving for the next great thing, knowing that it's going to be impossible. I can get back to writing, even - about the only thing I might have a shred of talent at, and enjoy doing.
And today something happened with my back - at one point, I noticed that it wasn't hurting so much, and I could move my leg in a way I haven't been able to do for a while from all the pain. Is there actually light at the end of the tunnel that is not the headlamp of an oncoming train?
I don't want to be optimistic about it. That'd be a good way to get myself let down. But it might actually be getting better.
We'll see.
Well now when in doubt and you can't figure it out
Just stand on it
Well, if your mind's confused, you don't know what you're gonna do
Well buddy, stand on it
Well if you've lost control of the situation at hand
Go grab a girl; go see a rock and roll band
And stand on it
Come on man, stand on it
-Bruce |
August 12, 2008 at 9:53pm August 12, 2008 at 9:53pm
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I used to tackle controversial topics all the time, mostly in my previous blog.
Elisa, Snowman Stik  did a survey on "controversial" topics in her journal. I linked it a couple entries back. Since then, I've seen responses by Mavis Moog  ("Invalid Entry"  ) and orangefiire ("Invalid Entry" ). Since orangefiire is 16 (not giving away any secrets here; she says so herself), and refusing to be outdone by a 16 year old girl, I feel I have to take my own stab at the survey.
Besides, we need a man's perspective.
Okay, Silver is Back! also answered the survey in ""Controversial" Survey" , and he's a man. But we need MY perspective.
Before we begin, though, I want to point out that some of these questions are loaded. I'll point out logical fallacies where appropriate.
So here are the questions, and my (slightly inebriated, since my father-in-law just blew through town) answers:
1. Do you have the guts to answer these questions and repost as The Controversial Survey?
It doesn't take guts. Only chutzpah. Chutzpah is distinct from "guts." Chutzpah is defined as that quality enshrined in a guy who, accused of murdering his parents, throws himself on the mercy of the court on the grounds that he's an orphan. Guts is just the ability to bypass fear. Big freaking deal.
2. Would you do meth if it was legalized?
Meth? Meth is fucked up. Meth is one of those drugs you do if you can't cope. I've seen what it does to people. No thanks.
3. Abortion: for or against?
Someone once said that while it seems like the pro-choice and anti-choice movements have no common ground, there actually is one. The whole "for or against abortion" argument falters when one realizes that both groups have one goal in common: no unwanted children. I was adopted. Many of my friends were adopted. I'm sure I'd have more friends if more women chose adoption over abortion. But the bottom line is, my biological mother didn't want me. More precisely, she didn't want a baby at that point in her life (I think she was a college student). My adoptive parents? They wanted a child. Adoption isn't a choice for everyone, obviously. Until we live in a perfect world (maybe never), abortion has to remain legal and safe so that all of a woman's choices can be respected. After all, if abortion had been legal and my biological mother had chosen that route... well, I wouldn't be here to bitch about it, and none of you would miss me. So yes, I'm for it. I'd even go so far as to say that abortion should be mandatory in certain circumstances, which is sure to get me lynched by both liberals AND conservatives.
4. Would our country fall with a woman president?
Logical fallacy: assumes our country hasn't already fallen. In any event, woman? Man? What's the difference? Plumbing? Demographics? By creating an artificial dichotomy between any groups of humans, you are setting up a false premise. The country would "fall" with the wrong person in the Presidency, and "rise" with the right person. The qualities necessary to be the right person are independent of gender, and diametrically opposed to the qualities needed to gain that office. Whoever wins in November has his work cut out for him, and that would be true if I changed that pronoun.
5. Do you believe in the death penalty?
In theory? Yes. There are some people we Just Don't Need. But that assumes a perfect world wherein we knew beyond the shadow of a doubt (not just "beyond a reasonable doubt") that person A committed a capital crime. But - here's the rub - in a perfect world, no one would commit murder. So in practice? No, I don't think the death penalty is a good idea. Every person's death diminishes the rest of us, whether someone believes it's deserved or not.
6. Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already?
Okay, I'll be totally honest here: I have smoked marijuana. I don't see what the big deal is. Since I don't see what the big deal is, hell yeah, legalize it already. It's pretty much a given that it's safer than either tobacco or alcohol, both of which are legal within limits. So impose the same limits on it, but legalize it. I still won't see what the big deal is, but at least then the cops could concentrate on real crimes, like rape, murder and theft.
7. Are you for or against premarital sex?
Loaded question, assumes certain societal norms. I'm "for" sex between any consenting adults. Since I'm married, it's a moot point for me, since I have chosen to live in a monogamous relationship. I'm "against" extramarital sex in my own relationship, but I couldn't give a shit what other people think or do about it.
8. Do you believe in God?
I believe that a whole shitload of people believe that there's this thing called "God" and that belief affects their lives and relationships. Like I've said before, the difference between reality and imagination is that imagination only affects the person imagining, while reality affects all of us. Since others' belief in God affects their workings in this world, I have to come to the conclusion that there's something there, something that can be considered "real." As a creator, or the entity mentioned in the Bible? Not so much. This is something probably worth expanding on in the future. Basically, this is a seriously loaded question, assuming that everyone either believes in an invisible dude in the sky who directs everything, or believes that there is not such a dude. Lots of people have other beliefs. So why not ask, "Do you believe in the Great Spirit?" Or "Do you believe in Odin?" Because they're real, too. Or not.
9. Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized?
Oh, please. Marriage (civil definition) should not be limited in any way, except to between consenting adults. Marriage (religious definition) should be left up to the individual religions. No amount of the government saying "We allow gays to be married now" can force YOUR priest to marry gays. On the other hand, no amount of the government saying, "A marriage is only between one man and one woman" can force your priest to limit marriage to one man / one woman. I know plenty of Pagans, for example, who are religiously married in a same-sex union whose union is not recognized by the state. Grow the fuck up. Gay marriage will one day be as accepted as interracial marriage is now - that is, by reasonable people, if not by closed-minded idiots.
10. Do you think it's wrong that so many Hispanics are moving to the USA?
Christ. Do I really have to answer this? Stop with the racist crap already. We're all human, and like Silver pointed out, the only people who have a "right" to be here were marginalized long ago.
11. A twelve-year-old girl has a baby...should she keep it?
See above answer on abortion. Hell, in My Ideal World, there are no such things as unwanted babies. In My Ideal World, no woman - or girl - can get pregnant unless she wants to, and then only if she's of consenting age AND the man involved also consents. That is what we "should" be working toward.
12. Should the alcohol age be lowered to eighteen?
It should be lowered to 14, and the driving age raised to 18. Let people get the "let's get drunk" crap out of their system before they start being able to endanger the rest of us.
13. Should the war in Iraq be called off?
What war? A war implies an enemy that one can identify. All we appear to be at "war" with is "terrorism," and that's certainly not limited to Iraq. Plenty of terrorists here in the US. One of them just shot up a UU church in Tennessee. Should we pull out of Iraq? We shouldn't have been there in the first place, but hell... yes.
14. Assisted suicide is illegal...do you agree?
One of the things I still can't get my mind around is how it's "humane" to end a cat's or a dog's suffering by "putting them to sleep," and yet we keep humans alive on machines for, potentially, years. Get a grip, folks. We're not much different from dogs and cats.
15. Do you believe in spanking your children?
I don't believe in having children. If I had children, I'd probably spank them under certain circumstances. My mother didn't believe in spanking. Instead, she would take away things that gave me joy. I learned to not take joy in anything, because she could take it away at any moment for violating some arbitrary principle. Is that better than spanking, which is over and then you can go play with your toys? I don't think so.
16. Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars?
The things I would not do for a million dollars would fit nicely on a small sheet of paper. But there is one American flag I would not burn for any amount of money, and that is the one that draped my father's casket at his full-military-honors funeral.
17. A mother is declared innocent after murdering her five children in a temporary insanity case.
Murder requires insanity. Whatever penalty there is for murder needs to be consistent, regardless of a person's mental state.
18. It's between you and a person who is being kept alive by life support, which one dies?
False dichotomy; completely hypothetical. But given that choice, I live. Period.
19. Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
Fear implies that I care, so... no. Judge away. |
August 11, 2008 at 3:54pm August 11, 2008 at 3:54pm
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On Saturday, we're going to see Counting Crows (and Maroon 5, whom I've never heard) up in Northern Virginia.
I'm going, no matter what condition I'm in. And it is going to be awesome.
On Monday evening, we're going to see Bruce in Richmond.
I'm going, no matter what condition I'm in. And it is going to be awesome.
See? I can be optimistic.
Can I say,
"I wish that this weather would never leave?"
It just gets hard to believe
That God sent this angel to watch over me
Cause my angel
She don't receive my calls
Says I'm too dumb to fuck
Too dumb to fight
Too dumb to save
Well, maybe, I don't need no angel at all...
-Counting Crows,
"Miami" |
August 10, 2008 at 7:50pm August 10, 2008 at 7:50pm
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It's Sunday, I feel like shit, and all anyone can talk about is politics or the Olympics, or both, and right now I just don't give a damn about either. Not that I've cared about the Olympics. Well, not since I had a crush on Nadia Comaneci, the Romanian gymnast in the 1976 games.
And goddammit, now I've actually mentioned it in my blog.
Elisa, Snowman Stik has a controversial survey in her journal: "That hurts" . I'm considering doing it - when I'm in a better mood.
Thursday, I'm supposed to get a shot for my gods-be-damned back. Maybe it'll make me less grumpy, too.
I don't like what I'm becoming. |
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Just because it's too cool a date to pass up, here's a special 08/08/08 entry.
The number eight is binary 1000, octal 10, and in decimal, 2 raised to the power of 3, or 2*2*2. 8*8*8, taking this further, is 512 in decimal, or 1 000 000 000 binary.
August, of course, is named for Augustus Caesar, who might just be the greatest politician that ever lived. Yes, even greater than Barack Obama, and so much greater than Bush that they're not only not in the same ballpark, they're not even in the same sport.
I mention politics because, of course, 2008 is an election year; it's the 232nd year of American independence from silly British accents, except when we watch Bond movies or quote Monty Python. 232, of course, is 240 minus 8; and 240 hours makes 10 days, taking us back full circle.
Except that the whole 2008 thing is purely arbitrary; it measures passage of time from when someone 'way back when thought Jesus was born, and he turned out to be off by around four and a half years or so. Besides, more than half the world doesn't even consider Jesus' birth to be important enough to begin counting a calendar from, but they do it anyway, because when in Rome, y'know... don't piss off the Romans.
If it were up to me, I'd reset the calendar so that Day 0 of Year 0 took place on what would be 7/20/69 under that calendar. It was on that day that a human first set foot on a world other than our own, an accomplishment that should be self-evidently paradigm-shifting. Should be, but the number of people who think the space program is somehow a waste of resources - not to mention the number of people who think the whole thing was faked - continues to astound me. Well, I suppose that makes sense; I think religion is generally a waste of resources, and the whole Jesus' birth thing was faked, so I guess we're even.
So there you go - musings on a purely arbitrary date. Turn it on its side, though, and you have zero-infinity-zero-infinity-zero-infinity. Which is by itself pretty cool. |
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So I started physical therapy for my back, and my pain promptly increased exponentially. I spent half the day Saturday, and all day Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and half the day today (hey, we're only halfway into Thursday) in pain that would make me spill state secrets if I knew any. And if anyone was around for me to spill them to. But no, in addition to being in intense, agonizing agony, I was also completely alone for most of that time, because, well, who would want to be around a middle-aged guy whose favorite expression is "AAAAGGGGHHHHH!"?
So, sitting here with molten lead being poured down my leg (that is what they're doing, right?) I happened to come across a link to something that promised to make my head explode. Head explode? Why, that'll make the pain go away!
http://www.cracked.com/blog/2008/08/07/5-scientific-theories-head-explode/
Sadly, it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, which implies that my head exploded long ago, and the pain is mostly an illusion. However, parts of it did make me laugh, and as everyone knows, when you laugh you can't feel pain.
We’re all familiar with the basics of evolution: that a munificent monkey-goddess birthed us all from Her banana-scented womb. But there are some lesser-discussed implications of natural selection that are just plain weird.
...
Actually imagining just how infinitesimal you are in the scope of the universe is like autoerotic asphyxiation: it’s not as pleasant as you’d think, and if you do it wrong you can end up a vegetable.
Oh, and don't ask me "what'd you do?" I get that every damn day, from people who for whatever reason can't find an excuse to be anywhere but near me. Look, as the above article should make perfectly clear, the universe is awash in random, chaotic, rare events, like meteors hitting fast-food places or Britney Spears saying something funny. Not every illness or injury is the sick or injured person's fault. I've even heard of cases of lung cancer where the person never smoked, so you can't blame them for their own illness - and you can't blame me for this pain. In a random universe, some things just... happen.
Now a bunch of you smartasses are going to respond to this with "What'd you do?" I'll cheerfully ignore such smartassery, keeping in mind that it is still better to be a smartass than a dumbass |
August 1, 2008 at 11:18am August 1, 2008 at 11:18am © Copyright 2025 Robert Waltz (UN: cathartes02 at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Robert Waltz has granted InkSpot.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
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I'm more than happy with Carrion Luggage, however.
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