chaoticutopia
Posts by this author
October 13, 2006
Is a place timeless? Is a hill the same hill after a hundred years, or a thousand? For instance, this black and white photograph on the right shows a canal along the Front Range. But how old is it? Does it matter? In many of the photographs I've compared lately, there have been striking or subtle…
October 9, 2006
In the early 1900s, Louis Charles McClure, who studied under the famous pioneer photographer, William Henry Jackson, followed the construction of the Denver Interurban Railroad. In or about 1908, he took a number of landscape photographs highlighting the railroad's journey between Denver and…
October 6, 2006
To compare this evening's fractal with nature, take a walk. Look beyond the scaling patterns in the autumn leaves, the branching trees, the billowing clouds, and up into the darkness of space. If the time is right, you'll see a familiar shape, similar to the following image. This, of course, isn't…
October 5, 2006
Continued from: "Taming the Great American Desert"
John Frank Church was born in the Wild West--a young cowboy on the Front Range. He used to help his Pa, George, with the harvest and driving cattle across the continental divide each spring to graze. The famous (or infamous, depending on your…
October 2, 2006
Do I have an aversion to technology? It seems absurd; I adore my computer and my microwave, my vacuum cleaner and my Ipod. So, why, then, do I hesitate to write about the impacts of technology on local history?
I've been working on a series looking at the development of the Front Range, fervently…
September 28, 2006
As the length of the day in the northern hemisphere wanes, so, it seems, does the prolificacy of blogging. I haven't posted anything in about a week, after an already reduced rate. Some of my SciBlings, other bloggers here at ScienceBlogs, have reported taking a similar rest. What's going on? Is…
September 22, 2006
Deep within the pockets of a Mandelbrot set, delicate branches display endless variations. When highlighted with the colors of autumn, (since today is, after all, the Autumnal Equinox,) patterns of exquisite beauty emerge:
These patterns can remind us of many forms in nature, including a grove of…
September 21, 2006
Continued from: "Wedding Bells and Wagon Wheels"
The arid, sweeping prairie at the foot of the Rocky Mountains was a challenge to early settlers in Colorado. While most people were drawn to the rugged mountains, captivated by the promise of gold, they brought limited resources. The mountains,…
September 18, 2006
In May of 1861, George Henry and Sarah Church set out on their honeymoon, into an unfamiliar frontier. They loaded their cart with a variety of comforts, from a stack of homemade potato pancakes to Milton's Paradise Lost and a tome of "Grecian mythology." Then, hitching up their team of oxen ("…
September 15, 2006
The other day, I put up a small question about history. What better place could there be to put my answer, but in the form of a fractal? Patterns seem to almost repeat themselves. Sweeping changes result from a single, initial circumstance. Each point is connected to another, within the same set.…
September 14, 2006
I picked up my pen a few evenings ago, planning to take a few notes for upcoming posts. The following poem spilled onto the page, instead:
Embryonic Cognition
And so the twists tighten
Embracing us in the grip
Of convergence
Spinning helplessly
Towards emergence
A burgeoning mind
Of the societal…
September 13, 2006
Does history repeat, or do cycles of change simply overlap?
This week, I'll be finishing up my series on Colorado history and urban development. Before I get to it, however, I'll probably be a bit on the quiet side. I might put a poem up to fill the space, in the meantime. For now, I'll leave you…
September 11, 2006
In memory of our loved ones; lost five years ago, on this day.
September 11, 2001
Their silent wounds have speech
More eloquent than men;
Their tones can deeper reach
Than human voice or pen.
-William Woodman
September 10, 2006
On Thursday, my SciBling Coturnix tagged me with this meme. So, here goes:
Why do you blog?
Since 2nd or 3rd grade, I've wanted to write. When I reached my teens, it became a compulsion. Then I became an adult, and finally learned how to write. So, writing became my craft, a delicate art requiring…
September 9, 2006
Ok, people, it's on. If you haven't heard, we are in the midst of a nerd-off, triggered in response to the Hottest Science Blogger list.At first, I was reluctant to join in. (Actually, I was too busy playing adventure games on my beloved computer, while singing along to "the Sun is a Mass of…
September 8, 2006
Fractals are like landscapes. From a simple process, be it a formula or continental drift, one area can be strikingly different from another. This is true for my favorite type of fractal, a Julia set, "colored" with a bit of fractal Brownian motion:
Or the ripples on the Great Sand Dunes:
Stone,…
September 6, 2006
Hot and Steamy
Ok, I'll admit, the title is a bit gratuitous. But whether you're here seeking hotness, history or geology, you've come to the right place.
The volcanism which formed the San Juan Mountains has settled over the centuries, but, as with the glaciers, signs of a fiery past remain. The…
September 5, 2006
Since my fellow SciBlings Shelley and Nick are both bragging, I figured I should chime in.
According to Flags and Lollipops, I am officially the planet's second hottest science blogger. While I would have expected Tara to rank higher than myself, I feel quite honored. Thanks, to those of you who "…
September 5, 2006
The San Juan Mountains
As we traversed Southern Colorado a few weeks ago, my son declared we were in a rainforest. Seeing as how the region is known for arid canyons, pinon trees and cliff houses, I felt the need to correct him. Still, as we crossed the continental divide at Wolf Creek Pass, it was…
September 4, 2006
A touch of dark comedy for all the working stiffs out there:
Bad Bosses Go To Hell
Happy Labor Day!
Video hosted by Atom Films.
September 1, 2006
Picture a Julia set, in shades of deep blue and green, with stretching, white spiral arms, decorated with fractal Brownian motion, which leaves hazy boundaries between shades of cloud, land, and open ocean:
It might resemble a hurricane. Of course, a relatively simple geometric structure like a…
August 29, 2006
Illusions in Lavender was the most difficult story I ever tried to write. I must have set it down a dozen times, driven by the same reluctance I feel writing this post, now. No matter how much research or editing is involved, writing about experiencing a mental illness can never be easy--especially…
August 28, 2006
Life, at times, seems rather abstract. So, with little comment, I present an abstract fractal. Unlike most of my fractals, which resemble some form in nature, this one represents a figment of a dream. Since I can't exactly take a photograph from a dream, I'll let the fractal stand alone:
A…
August 24, 2006
My husband's name is Alan Franklin, but we affectionately call him Al. So, ever since he began to dabble in progressive politics, I've been expecting this day: Al Franken meets Al Franklin.
My Al's thoughts on the encounter can be found on his blog, at ProgressNowAction.org, along with a larger…
August 24, 2006
I must apologize to anyone who stopped by in the past week. I had planned for a week long vacation, but neglected to plan for the usual chaos on my return, so it turned out to be more like two. Today was my son's first day of kindergarten, so we've been preparing supplies and talking about the "big…
August 22, 2006
I'm not sure why I write so many poems about the waves. They must be somewhat cathartic. I've been having trouble writing what I ought to be, and this one sort of spilled out. Please, pardon if the meter is a little rough... I have yet to polish it up.
(Untitled)
Who are they to think
That you can…
August 21, 2006
If there were ever a post to elude a specific category here on ScienceBlogs, this would be it. If it were simply a "hey, I'm back from the mountains" post, I could stick it under "Chatter". But sometimes, visiting remote regions, like mist shrouded mountains or vast, dry swaths of blowing sand can…
August 18, 2006
This was actually the first Friday Fractal, originally posted on ChaoticUtopia.com on April 28th of this year. I've found many images in fractals which are reminiscent of forms in nature. Both the precise mathematical displays and the delicate shapes of life have an essence of intricate beauty,…
August 17, 2006
Sometimes, inspiration and insight can come from the strangest places. This post, gathered from a series on my old site, describes my experiences with the classic symbol for morality: The apple (as in, the fruit of knowledge of good and evil.) It started with a dream that some would consider…
August 16, 2006
The following is a short story-a work of fiction-or is it an epistemological metaphor? You decide.
Paper Dolls
By Karmen Lee Franklin
Leila has this collection of paper dolls. Some of them are tattered and yellow; those she keeps tucked away safely, so that she may later pull them out and fondly…