chaoticutopia
Posts by this author
April 12, 2007
Shalini at Scientia Natura has bestowed upon me the Thinking Blogger Award. I'm honored. I've always thought I probably think too much, so it's nice to receive some accolades for it. (Normally, I see it more as a curse.) Fortunately or unfortunately, this 'award' looks suspiciously like a meme:
1…
April 10, 2007
Now that the horrid allergies of spring have passed, I am confronted with the season's other beast: Spring Cleaning. I used to think that was sort of awkward and cliche, perhaps better representing a time long past when housekeeping was designated by misogynistic roles. That, and I was really…
April 9, 2007
What is sprouting this spring on the Denver art scene? This past month, the botanical illustrations of Susan Rubin were on display at the Spark Gallery, in the Santa Fe art district. This area, along one of the oldest stretches of road in the west, recently experienced urban renewal and has grown…
April 6, 2007
While here in Colorado, freezing rain and snow is drizzling from the skies, spring is sweeping across the northern hemisphere. In celebration, I designed this petal-like Julia set and laid it on top a wavy Mandelbrot set, creating this arousing union. (What can I say? It's spring!)
In creating the…
April 6, 2007
A colleague of Janet, over at Adventures in Ethics and Science, recently asked ScienceBlogs if certain chemical compounds in new carpeting could increase the risk of allergies for her young child. My father has been working in environmental safety for most of my lifetime. When I first brought my…
April 5, 2007
A while back, I asked for your input for a paper I was writing, concerning practical solutions for adapting to climate change. The paper was for a contest, which, unfortunately, I did not win. I'm sure others were more prepared to offer innovative solutions. I felt my paper made a good point,…
March 30, 2007
"It is what it is." This phrase has been bothering me lately, though I couldn't quite put my finger on the reason. It was enough that I was reluctant to post this fractal last week. Being an optical illusion, it contradicts the whole idea of "it is what it is". Of course, the more I thought about…
March 30, 2007
Which is a stranger place to find an interesting shape: on the north pole of Saturn or in 248 dimensions? In either case, without 21st century technology, we wouldn't be seeing anything at all.
In the first case, astronomers knew about this strange sight since the 1980s, but didn't get a clear view…
March 26, 2007
I suppose I can't lurk on my own blog forever. As you know, I've been trying to hide from the pollen unsuccessfully--and antihistamines can only do so much. Then, while preparing last Friday's fractal, I hit sort of an existential wall. The fractal was fine (I'm still saving it) but my…
March 23, 2007
Are you curious about the future of energy use? Will you also be in Colorado this weekend? If so, this is one meeting you won't want to miss:
The Colorado New Energy Summit of 2007 is being held this weekend at the Wells Fargo Theatre in the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver.
Join…
March 22, 2007
This is supposed to be my favorite time of year. Things are blooming, memories of winter are fading, waterfalls are melting, and the trees are turning green. It's that last one that always gets me... I've always considered it to be a magical moment when the trees change in spring. Not the gradual…
March 20, 2007
Looking at the rhythmic repetition of forms in nature, it is easy to imagine the influence of some creator, a poet who fixes each line with exact meter and measure. Yet, upon closer examination, we can see how these forms are self-creating, born from simplicity. Nature writes its own poetry.
Take,…
March 17, 2007
You've probably noticed that people are running around drinking green beer, pinching and kissing one another. Yes, it is St. Patrick's Day. But, the other day was Pi Day. So, this week's Friday Fractal was due to be sandwiched between two contrasting holidays, one objective and arbitrary, one…
March 12, 2007
Chris over at Mixing Memory has encouraged us to pick a list of ten of our favorite songs, so that we could try to see what these songs say about our personalities. I have no idea what exactly the songs I've picked out will say about me, but it was at least fun to look up old videos. Here's my…
March 11, 2007
So many wonderful books! I was surprised. As much as I love science fiction, I've only read about a quarter of books on this "most significant science fiction" list that's been floating around. No bother, though... that's just more that I get to read at some later date. Here's the list, with ones I…
March 11, 2007
Have you ever wondered if it is appropriate to wink at a west-coast squid? Or, perhaps, which of his tentacles is used for deep tissue massage? If you would like to know the answers to these questions, and more, but don't have time to slip through the looking glass and ask the Walrus (who likely…
March 9, 2007
Today's tentacle fractal (with a bonus haiku) is dedicated to PZ Myers of Pharyngula:
Happy 50th Birthday, PZ!
Nova fractal created by the author using ChaosPro.
March 8, 2007
Sticking to this week's theme of the surreal and subjective, here's a poem that I wrote, late last night:
Too Many Breaths
Burning through too much stuff
Organizing too many projects
Too many ideas floating in my head
Yet
I breathe
Working too much of the time
Commuting too many miles
Too many…
March 6, 2007
Since we're on the subject of weirdness this week, I thought I'd share this somewhat surreal photograph:
In Colorado, March (like most months) means temperature fluctuations. Snow, melt, warm, repeat. Lately, in between the snowstorms, it has been warming up enough for algae to grow in sunny…
March 6, 2007
As if being obsessed with chaos is not enough, I'm being prodded to list weird things about myself. The "10 Weird Things" meme* is floating around ScienceBlogs right now. I thought of taking an odd approach, but that would probably require listing "10 Normal Things" about myself... and I'm just not…
March 3, 2007
If you're a fan of puzzles or mystery games, or just happen to enjoy strange montages of Victorian clip art, check out my review of Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst. I'm afraid it's been far too long since I've done a game review at CasualGameplay.com. Jay and his crew are well known for their…
March 2, 2007
For today's fractal, here's something abstract:
The Lines Between*
*Left open to interpretation.
If that seems too intangible, how about no lines at all, just points? This fun little toy, called MandelSwarm, allows you to explore the Mandelbrot set with "magnetized particles." (That's the best…
February 28, 2007
Just in case you missed the date on the headline, it is midnight, after February 28th, and just before March 1st. If there were a day in between yesterday and tomorrow, it would be my birthday. But there isn't. Next year, there will be one. This isn't next year. This year, I lack a birthday. (It…
February 28, 2007
Watch out... we may be in hot water soon. At least, we can hope. It seems one of our most pressing issues is sustainability. We need a source for energy which is clean, renewable, and has very little impact on the surrounding environment. Without it, we will continue to use up limited amounts of…
February 26, 2007
If you're looking for a late evening distraction,* or just didn't want the last weekend to end, why not unwind with a few casual games? Every year, Jay at CasualGaming.com hosts a flash game competition, drawing out some of the most talented puzzle designers in the business. The deadline for…
February 23, 2007
This might sound familiar: In Domain*, school officials created nonsensical conflicts by placing labels on science textbooks... but to whose benefit?
Note: (*) Domain is a fictional, "furry" world, created by Bill Holbrook for one of my favorite webcomics, Kevin and Kell.
February 23, 2007
A fractal wave:
This wave-like x/y Julia set (enhanced with fBm noise) was inspired by one of my favorite works of art, a Japanese woodcut:
The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai
Incidentally, I borrowed this image from a Belgian workshop specializing in intricate designs on silver, Wolfers.…
February 23, 2007
Since the problems mentioned in my last post seem to have compounded* I've decided to wait until next week to post the conclusion to the "Power of Water." In the meantime, I'll share some casual distractions. (Just in case you need a break as much as I do.) The theme of these distractions might be…
February 21, 2007
Over the past few days, as I've suffered through home repairs, caring for a sick child, and a bit of writer's block, I've been contemplating the power of one of our most basic resources: water. We tend to take this simple fluid for granted, barely noticing it sitting in a glass on a restaurant…
February 16, 2007
What do you get when you cross squid-mania with fractal art? "Mandelbrotopus! Octomandelpus! Cephalbrotopod! Fractalpod! Fractalpus! Iteratopod! Octomandelfractalpusopod!" to quote ScienceBlogs reader and wildlife photographer, Martin Richard. Of course, Martin was refering to Mandelbrot sets and…