chaoticutopia
Posts by this author
October 18, 2007
How do we study our environment? Is it too complex a thing to quantitatively describe, and thus too complex to exhibit predictable behavior? I’ve been performing a thought experiment over the past few days, tossing around such questions. I’m not sure I can really adequately describe these thoughts…
October 14, 2007
I suppose, if I wanted to make things easier, I would just start calling these the "Weekend Fractal" but it just doesn’t have the same ring. Besides, this week, Carl Zimmer beat me to the Friday Fractal, on naked skin even. (The owner of the fleshy fractal shares some interesting insights on his…
October 10, 2007
I may study it, but sometimes chaos and uncertainty become too much to bear. I didn’t explain my absence in the last announcement, and this may not explain much more. Last week, my father had an operation to remove a tumor in his kidney. The surgery was intensive, but successful. We’re grateful…
September 28, 2007
Due to extending circumstances, Chaotic Utopia will be on hiatus for the next week. Regular blogging, including more animated fractals and further discussion of climate change, will resume in early October. I apologize for the inconvenience, and hope to provide more details later. Thanks for your…
September 23, 2007
This week’s fractal has been delayed slightly, to coincide with the Autumnal Equinox. It isn’t your usual Friday Fractal, either.
I was fiddling around this week, thinking about ancient symbols which may have represented some sort of dynamic changes. Were our ancestors fascinated by the relentless…
September 19, 2007
Ahoy there, mehearties! Since it be Talk Like a Pirate day, I know yer probably wantin’ to be off ridin’ the waves, plundering the countryside, drinkin’ rum by the gallon and other piratey tasks, but first, there be a battle brewin here that I’d like to tell ye about. Arrrrgh! Who says a woman can’…
September 18, 2007
What sort effects will temperature change have on our planet? Sure, the melting of the ice caps and the raising coastlines seem like important issues to address, as do hurricanes, droughts, and the management of fossil fuels. But what about the little things?
Wouldn’t temperature change have an…
September 18, 2007
Remember the ol’ Bush compound on Walker’s Point, in Kennebunkport, Maine? Check out this map, indicating the effects of sea level rise:
A one meter rise of sea level is shown in red, while the yellow indicates a six meter rise.
That might make the storm they had in 1991 look like a mild shower:…
September 15, 2007
Note from your fractalist: Sorry, folks, this one is a day late. I discovered early yesterday that my old website had been hacked. It has been fixed, now, although I plan to eventually remove everything from there, and repost it here somewhere. Just getting the bad scripts out has kept me plenty…
September 11, 2007
I’m not sure whether this comic is funny or frightening:
Either way, Rob Balder did it again.
September 11, 2007
A few posts back, I indicated that I was finished with travelling, and ready to settle into my classes at CU Boulder. Naturally, chaos has a way of affecting plans made with certainty. Sure enough, as soon as I returned from New York, I found myself packing my suitcase once again, this time to head…
September 7, 2007
Life is complex. The last week has been particularly so for me, but I’d rather not go into details about it. So, I’m keeping this week’s fractal somewhat on the simple side. I suppose in fractals, just like life, simplicity and complexity are often found side by side. I’ve always liked to describe…
September 4, 2007
We laid my grandfather’s ashes to rest this weekend, at the Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, SD. I’ve never attended a military service before, and figured it would be a fairly regimentary experience; certainly not an emotional one. Yet, when I heard "Taps" mournfully bleating, watched…
August 31, 2007
You might recall a young girl named Alice. Alice liked to contemplate things, such as what would happen if sage advice were ignored. "If you drink much from a bottle marked "poison", it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later," she wisely noted. You don’t have to look into children’…
August 31, 2007
My adventures in NY Chicago Iowa, continued: First Day of the Month
I arrive in Chicago late, missing the science blogger caucus, but returning just in time to have dinner with some of the Colorado bloggers, care of Jared Polis, a local congressional candidate. The dishes at the restaurant, the…
August 30, 2007
My adventures in NY Chicago, continued: Second day of the month
A Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) at the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago(Note: This butterfly has nothing to do with the convention or the following post, but it was too lovely a shot to leave out.)
The YearlyKos…
August 28, 2007
Note: I’m just skipping an entire week in my reverse chronological travel series here; glossing over the dull days spent between my trip to Chicago and my trip to NYC. It more or less went like this: clean, pack, launder, fill in paperwork, speak with old friends, acquire school items, clean, pack…
August 26, 2007
My adventures in NY, continued: Friday Morning (Or was it Thursday night?)
I meet Janet at Denver International Airport, late at night, and together we take a redeye to New York. I manage to leave my laptop cable on the plane, and realize it just in time to watch the doors to the jetway close. It…
August 25, 2007
My adventures in NY, continued: Friday Afternoon
Bloggers converge on Seed HQ. I finally get the chance to meet many of my sciblings, some who I met previously, and many new, friendly faces. Among those who I haven’t mentioned elsewhere are Grrlscientist, Tara, Orli, Jennifer, James, Josh, Jake and…
August 24, 2007
This fractal is rather basic; it is simply a coloring formula called "Chips are Us". I’m not sure exactly what that means--perhaps that we, like computer chips, can generate complex patterns--but I really liked what it did. After playing with the variables, I tried a number of color themes. For…
August 24, 2007
My adventures in NY, continued: Friday Night
We attend a private party at Seed Editor, Adam Bly’s house. The catering is rich and delightful, with an exotic assortment of cheeses and antipasto. We all nosh, drink a bit of wine, and listen to well-spoken words from Adam and Katherine. I get the…
August 23, 2007
My adventures in NY, continued: Saturday "Morning" (more accurately, afternoon, but it feels like a morning)
I wake up after too few hours of sleep, and find that a group is on their way to breakfast. Following the promise of coffee, I decide to tag along. Getting ready to go, I get the chance to…
August 23, 2007
My adventures in NY, continued: Saturday Night
Dinner: Steak and potatoes prepared in a traditional French style. After: Still awake to see the sunrise. Summary: A highly memorable experience.
...but that’s all I’m going to say about that. Every story, however backwards, needs an unsolved mystery…
August 23, 2007
My adventures in NY, continued: Sunday Morning
I say the last of my farewells, and lament that I can’t see all my sciblings again before I leave. With plenty of time before my flight, I decide to go wander around New York a little bit. It turns out to be a natural choice... it almost feels as if I…
August 22, 2007
My adventures in NY, continued: Sunday Night
My flight is delayed, despite the fact that I arrived at LaGuardia incredibly early. Good thing I wasn’t late, though. My carry-on luggage is searched at security (even though I wasn’t carrying any frogs--which were spotted all over NYC) and there is an…
August 22, 2007
The last few weeks have been something of an adventure, as I’ve traveled across the US to visit some of our larger cities. For anyone who reads other blogs here at Science Blogs, it isn’t much of a secret that I was in New York this last weekend for a meet-up with other science bloggers. Between…
August 10, 2007
How do you mimic a classic rendition of mollusk, sea, naked flesh, and love with a computer? Stop... I know what you’re thinking. I suppose there are some sites out there that specialize in such a thing, but today, we’re just going to stick with fractals. Oh, don’t look so disappointed. What if I…
August 10, 2007
Oh, what a week. I’m still trying to recover from the YearlyKos convention. I had a blast, like the year before, even though I had some trouble with internet access this time. The access at the convention was wonderful... as long as there was sufficient power on one’s laptop. In the Hyatt above,…
August 1, 2007
I’m writing tonight from the currently rain-drenched city of Lincoln, Nebraska, en route to the Yearly Kos Convention in Chicago. Tomorrow, I’ll be meeting up there with other science bloggers, including Tara, Chris Mooney, and Ed Brayton.
Most people are flying to the convention, but with my urge…
July 27, 2007
Hi! My mom has been busy this week, getting ready for vacations and back-to-school, so she let me do the Friday Fractal this week. I like making my own fractals, because they are always different, sort of like taking a picture. I made this one, and then showed it to Mom. She said I made "a…