A tangenital mix of blogliness, studying the effects of time, change, and chaos
A student in Colorado, looking for some sort of synthesis--the big picture, encompassing all the strangeness in the universe--but willing to settle for the philosophic or poetic lens.
Most of my favorite blogs can be found here somewhere on ScienceBlogs. Here are a few of the other gems out there:
June 30, 2006
Category: Poetry
I promised poetry, and here it is. I've written many poems about chaos, but this one is probably my favorite. It fits about any definition of chaos you can use and explains "battle or ride the waves" far better than...
Posted by Karmen at 12:55 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
June 28, 2006
Category: The Edge of Chaos
Why does chaos always strike in threes? I've spent the past three days* dealing with what I can only describe as personal chaos. Of course, I don't mean it in the classic sense; I haven't been floating in a void...
Posted by Karmen at 12:04 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
June 23, 2006
Category: Strange Life
While visiting Two Ponds, a wildlife refuge here in Arvada, I captured these wonderful butterfly images, earlier today: A two-tailed tiger swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata) feeding on a showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) blossom, along the banks of Little Dry Creek. And...
Posted by Karmen at 10:07 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Fractals
While crawling across the web this week, these stories of spiders just seemed to stick. So, when it came to making today's fractal, I knew exactly where to turn. The shape seen at right is an example of a "loom"...
Posted by Karmen at 5:38 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
June 22, 2006
Category: Riding the Waves
In a delightfully sweet announcement, Enstrom's Candies revealed their plans to save Stephany's name in chocolate. Anyone who ever frequented a Colorado mall remembers Stephany's Chocolates, an Arvada-based company specializing in truffles, mints, and other chocolaty delights. They usually offered...
Posted by Karmen at 3:00 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
June 21, 2006
Category: Home Sweet Earth
Behold! The Earth, as viewed from the sun. You can also view the Earth from the moon, a satellite, or above any point by entering coordinates for latitude and longitude. You can even look at the moon from the sun....
Posted by Karmen at 4:23 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Their Odd Creations
Today, the sun is rising to its highest point over the northern hemisphere. It is the longest day of the year--the summer solstice. But do we notice? Outside of a glance at the calendar, marking the official start of summer,...
Posted by Karmen at 3:09 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
June 20, 2006
Category: Their Odd Creations
The trail to the Rochester Creek panel winds through a timeless oasis. After traveling through miles of dry canyons and salt washes, it is easy to see why ancient artists were drawn to the spot. As the trail follows the...
Posted by Karmen at 1:33 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
June 19, 2006
Category: Riding the Waves
Since I'm still an undergrad, I suppose I fall under the "etc" category, here. I can't say that blogging interferes with my studies; rather, I think it enhances them. In some cases, I've taken a paper or a project, and transformed it into a blog post or series. I've yet to find a professor who minds; most seem to appreciate a well-written paper accompanied by charts and images.
Posted by Karmen at 5:25 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Strange Life
The newspapers this last week were full of science stories, exhibiting the broad diversity and strangeness of life on our planet. Here are some of the highlights:...
Posted by Karmen at 1:59 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
June 17, 2006
Category: Their Odd Creations
Endless miles of canyon stretch across the landscape, cutting deeply through cake-like layers of red and gray stone--the San Rafael Swell. I've always felt this hint of anticipation while traveling west along I-70. As the road drops into Green River,...
Posted by Karmen at 12:23 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
June 16, 2006
Category: Fractals
The phoenix is one of those enduring symbols from ancient mythology that occurs frequently in modern culture. Phoenix is a name for places and stars (Hollywood and constellations alike.) It shows up in movies and literature (including the Harry Potter...
Posted by Karmen at 5:27 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Riding the Waves
I'm having some computer difficulties (the gnomes in my CPU are battling the dwarfs inhabiting the cable modem) that have made it difficult to upload anything, let alone image-heavy posts. So, the Friday Fractal and other posts may be a...
Posted by Karmen at 2:58 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
June 15, 2006
Category: Their Odd Creations
I'd planned to spend the day discussing ancient rock art, but this isn't how I wanted to start. Earlier this month in Fruita, Colorado (located on the I-70 corridor on the western slope) a group of graduating high school seniors...
Posted by Karmen at 1:57 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
June 14, 2006
Category: Riding the Waves
I see that PZ already mentioned this yesterday, but I think it's worthy of a bump. I hardly ever watch TV (despite owning a big screen) but tonight I will, for the outspoken comedian George Carlin will sit along side...
Posted by Karmen at 4:23 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Riding the Waves
A number of bloggers have been posting about YearlyKos, including many who were there, and even some who were not. I wrote on Friday evening about some of the science discussions, but didn't really get into my impressions of the...
Posted by Karmen at 3:54 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
June 13, 2006
Category: Home Sweet Earth
In the Fishlake Mountains of Utah, several fires are steadily burning. As the American West enters yet another dry season, there will almost certainly be more. Folks around these parts have been whispering about the increasing fire danger, dreading another...
Posted by Karmen at 3:58 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Riding the Waves
Along with everyone else here, I've been tagged with the new Pi meme. Since I'm still a bit shy, you'll have to click here to find my answers:...
Posted by Karmen at 12:14 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
June 12, 2006
Category: Geology
I've been eager to answer my first "Ask a Science Blogger" question: Assuming that time and money were not obstacles, what area of scientific research, outside of your own discipline, would you most like to explore? Why? If I could...
Posted by Karmen at 7:28 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Riding the Waves
What a trip! We arrived home from Las Vegas late last night, exhausted and overwhelmed. We were only gone four days, but those four days had an incredible impact on me. Between the convention and some intriguing sights along the...
Posted by Karmen at 11:34 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
June 10, 2006
Category: Strange Life
The fungal fate awaiting our amphibian friends has frog-lovers everywhere concerned. Now, a group of biologists from the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago are preparing to help the endangered species the best way they know--providing an artificial habitat:...
Posted by Karmen at 10:39 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Strange Life
.Imagine, you're standing in line at an airport security checkpoint, waiting for your shoes to be searched, when you notice something strange about the gentlemen in front of you. Their carry-on luggage is croaking It could happen. In fact, it...
Posted by Karmen at 10:03 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
June 9, 2006
Category: Riding the Waves
When I first decided to go to Las Vegas for YearlyKos, I thought I would just tag along with my husband, who was representing Progress Now. I figured I'd do some shopping, maybe some sightseeing, and definitely some rockhounding along...
Posted by Karmen at 7:59 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Fractals
When I joined the crew here at ScienceBlogs, I was given a pledge name: Fractal. Now, you can see why: I'm in love with fractals. As a close friend of mine put it, a fractal is essentially "a tangent off...
Posted by Karmen at 12:15 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Riding the Waves
With a click of your mouse, you find yourself in a chaotic utopia. That click sent an electrical signal inside your computer, passing through circuits, joined by a contact made of gold. The gold, you may find, was mined from...
Posted by Karmen at 9:57 AM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Strange Life
With the creation of national parks and wildlife preserves, we hope to cling to the nature of yesteryear. Perhaps if we section off this area, we say, we can save it from ecological change. Pffft. I think it is going...
Posted by Karmen at 9:21 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Home Sweet Earth
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about what it means to adapt. I made this "adapt fish", which you can see sitting beneath my blogroll. However, aside from the obvious-finding a way to live that isn't so dependant on fossil...
Posted by Karmen at 7:57 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
