|
About This Author
Come closer.
|
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.
September 27, 2009 at 1:08pm September 27, 2009 at 1:08pm
| |
My goal: To become the healthiest man in America.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/279005
A study by German scientists showed that 10 minutes a day of ogling women’s breasts by men was as good at warding off heart disease, high blood pressure and stress as 30 minutes of aerobic exercise.
But what if I ogle breasts while I'm at the gym? Win-win! I could potentially live forever!
(My computer is back, by the way - though I'm in the long, arduous process of reinstalling and restoring everything.) |
September 26, 2009 at 7:22pm September 26, 2009 at 7:22pm
| |
I'm typing this from my laptop. This evening - it being Saturday night and me having no life worth speaking of - I'm going to reinstall Windows XP on my main, desktop computer.
Yesterday, after some updates around noon, the thing started acting slower than Sarah Palin trying to explain science. That evening, I got the BSOD not once, nor twice, but six fucking times.
I tried the silly "restore point" thing, but that only muddled things up worse.
So now, after having backed up gigabytes of music and photos as well as pretty much everything else that wouldn't survive Armageddon, I'm about to reformat the desktop's hard drive.
If you don't hear from me, it's because my computer rebelled and destroyed me before I could do the same to it.
(And yes, next time (should I survive), I'll get a Mac. That doesn't help me NOW.) |
September 21, 2009 at 10:11pm September 21, 2009 at 10:11pm September 16, 2009 at 7:22pm September 16, 2009 at 7:22pm
| |
I think I found the source for yesterday's "Random Thoughts."
http://ruminations.com/site/
There are certainly things I hate worse than when people forward shit without attribution, but how about I make that the top of my list just for today?
(The link is currently slow. That is because someone posted it on Fark, which tends to overwhelm lower-bandwidth websites.) |
September 15, 2009 at 6:59pm September 15, 2009 at 6:59pm
| |
A friend of mine just discovered the wonders of email. This means that she's currently forwarding every bit of glurge and misinformation on to all of her hapless friends.
I was just about to relegate her latest recirculated bit of "wisdom" to the compost pile
| Microsoft introduced the "Recycle Bin" as the result of Mac apparently having a copyright on "Trash Can." So I use "Compost Pile" to avoid lawsuits. |
And laughed.
So I looked at it some more.
This one's actually pretty good, so I'm sharing it. Just don't consider this permission to forward the latest sob story, questionable joke, or right-wing screed
| Left-wing screeds are welcome. They tend to be actually funny |
Random thoughts from a friend of mine.
* I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
* More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
* Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
* I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
* The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again..
* Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
* There is a great need for sarcasm font.
* How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
* I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
* I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
* Was learning cursive really necessary?
* I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
* Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
* How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
* I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
* While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it....thanks Mario Kart.
* Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
* Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
* I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
* Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
* I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
* Bad decisions make good stories
* Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
* If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
* You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
* Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
* There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
* I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
* "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
* While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA . No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don't win, they are executed.
* I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Darnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
* I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
* I like all of the music in my I Tunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs.
* Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
* As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
* Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
* It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
* I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
* Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
* I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
* I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
* I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with liquor than with "Kay".
* The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner. |
September 14, 2009 at 9:13pm September 14, 2009 at 9:13pm
| |
Beach house, Corolla, North Carolina.
Corolla's at a place on the Outer Banks where the peninsula is whisper-thin. You can walk from ocean to sound in a few minutes. I haven't done it, myself, but from our house we can see both waters.
Tonight, the air is clear, and from the rooftop deck, I could see the celestial hemisphere, only somewhat dimmed by the lights of human contagion. The Milky Way was directly overhead, and for the first time this season, I saw Orion, and I knew then that winter is coming.
But for now, beach. |
September 11, 2009 at 12:56am September 11, 2009 at 12:56am
| |
So while we're on a numbers kick, I'll point out that today, September 11, is my fifth WDC account birthday.
I accept PayPal, WDC shop items, and merit badges  Hello Kitty items will be ceremonially burned.
Thanks, Staff, for making it possible; thank you, My minions, for making it especially fun; and thanks to all y'all for reading my shit and letting me read yours and taking the time to commen- hey, I'm not done, what do you mean it's time to turn over the mic? Damn! When I said "Gimme five," I didn't mean "seconds."  |
September 9, 2009 at 8:01pm September 9, 2009 at 8:01pm
| |
I wasn't going to say anything about 9-9-9. Really, I wasn't. It's just another day (though they DID re-release the Beatles collection, remastered or remixed or some shit like that, which is pretty cool)
But then, as I pulled in front of my house after running some errands, I looked at my truck's odometer.
It read:
99999
I've been known to exaggerate for effect, yes, but this is flat-out truth. I even have a witness.
The real question is, does it mean anything?
Yes.
It means it may be time to start thinking about getting a different vehicle. Perhaps not a truck, so my friends wouldn't keep borrowing it. |
September 2, 2009 at 8:57am September 2, 2009 at 8:57am © 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.
|
I'm more than happy with Carrion Luggage, however.
Comment • View 4 comments 
![Merit Badge in Quill Award
[Click For More Info]
Congratulations on winning Best Blog in the 2021 edition of [Link To Item #quills] !](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Quill_Award-1375927_6.gif)
![Merit Badge in Quill Award 2
[Click For More Info]
2022 Quill Award - Best Blog - [Link To Item #1196512] . Congratulations!!!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Quill_Award_2-1375927_6.gif)
![Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]
Congratulations on winning the Jan. 2019 [Link To Item #30dbc] !!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-30DBC_Winner-2064535_14.gif)
![Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]
Congratulations on winning an honorable mention for Best Blog at the 2018 Quill Awards for [Link To Item #1196512] . *^*Smile*^* This award was sponsored by the blogging consortium including [Link To Item #30dbc] , [Link To Item #blogcity] , [Link To Item #bcof] and [Link To Item #1953629] . For more details, see [Link To Item #quills] .](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/type-Blogging-2180.gif)
![Merit Badge in Highly Recommended
[Click For More Info]
I highly recommend your blog.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/Kudos-Highly_Recommended.gif)
![Merit Badge in Opinion
[Click For More Info]
For diving into the prompts for Journalistic Intentions- thanks for joining the fun!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Opinion-1150.gif)
![Merit Badge in High Five
[Click For More Info]
For your inventive entries in [Link To Item #2213121] ! Thanks for the great read!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/Kudos-High_Five.gif)
![Merit Badge in Enlightening
[Click For More Info]
For winning 3rd Place in [Link To Item #2213121] . Congratulations!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Enlightening.gif)
![Merit Badge in Quarks Bar
[Click For More Info]
For your awesome Klingon Bloodwine recipe from [Link to Book Entry #1016079] that deserves to be on the topmost shelf at Quark's.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Quarks_Bar-2046190_12.gif)
