Riding the Waves

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 patience and kind thoughts!
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’t be a pirate? Er, wait, I mean, who says that a woman can’t be an A-list science blogger? No, wait... why can’t a woman be a pirate AND an A-list science blogger? Anyone who assumes she can’t ought to be walkin’ the plank. So, who ought to be walkin’ the plank, then? Try The Scientist, who recently…
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 it in terms of waves; complexity rises and falls, almost rhythmically. It is always the edge between that seems most interesting. In a fractal, like today’s Mandelbrot set, simple circles bend into seemingly infinite forms, revealing complex edges. Is life any different? We never seem to notice our…
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 the rows of flags dancing in the breeze, and felt the startled air from fired rounds, tears filled my eyes. Grandpa Louie was always proud of his military record, having fought in the Korean war. According to my father, "he joined the first wave of US and UN forces that fought north all the way to…
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 Firehouse, are excellent (mmm... gazpacho!) but what I end up truly savoring are Jared’s ideas. He has some interesting experience... he spent a lot of time as a member of the Colorado board of education, and so understands the plight that our schools are in. He seems to have a good business sense, as…
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 convention is in full swing, Before the science rumpus begins, it’s time for coffee with Justin Cole of Media Matters. About a dozen or so bloggers from Colorado and a few other places gather to discuss the way breaking news is handled by the media. Concerns about newspaper stories with a conservative bias…
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, launder...etc,. In other words, you’d rather I skip to the travelling parts, as the title suggests. There is a point during the week where I watch others describe their experiences at YearlyKos, and I’m actually relieved to see a guy from Pajamas Media feeding the controversy about a solider in…
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 is still too early to talk to anyone associated with the airline. Despite the mistake that will leave me without a laptop for several days, all is well, and we catch a train into the city. We arrive a little bleary-eyed, but are soon refreshed by the smell and sustenance of classic NY diner…
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 Kara, Greta and Dave Munger, Mike, Mark, Mo, Evil Monkey, Carl, Orac, Steve, and our fearless leaders, Ginny and Katherine. We are served copious amounts of wine and beer, so what follows seems a little stranger than usual. I am quickly spotted by Dr. Steve Steve, who must have heard about my…
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 opportunity to talk a little with Bora and his wife, Katharine, who are wonderful people. (Bora’s enthusiasm for getting bloggers to network is an invaluable asset, online or off.) After we’re all stuffed with fine food and conversation, we find our way into a tiny dive in the East Village,…
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 talk with Sheril Kirschenbaum, who recently began blogging with Chris Mooney at The Intersection. It turns out we have many common interests, including complex adaptive systems. There are less than a baker’s dozen who joined up for breakfast, making a nice light crowd. Both the coffee and…
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’ve found my own unique path in this city of five million people.. For instance, I stop near NYU to look at some paperback books displayed on a rickety card table along the sidewalk. There seems to be an unusually high number of philosophical pieces, I note, as I purchase a book on metamorphosis.…
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 awkward moment while I explain why I’m carrying a vial with a fox penis bone in it. I find my way through, and eventually, onto the plane for a turbulent flight home. I can’t see the Rockies as we fly into DIA, because it is well after midnight, but I don’t mind. As much as I loved my travels, it’s…
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 that and the convention in Chicago prior, it’s been a wild time. It’s been rather inspirational, as well, in more ways than I can explain in an introductory teaser. Don’t worry, I’m about to share all of the highlights, along with pictures... I’m just going to do it backwards, in multiple segments.…
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 throw in a little 4D action? (We’ll get to the raging sea part in a bit.) If you look at the fractal below, you’ll see one of my layered fractals. If you casually ignore the morphed Julia set in the background, you’ll notice an odd shape in the middle. This unique form is called a quaternion, a…
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, however, access was more than I could afford. So, there I was, with lots to blog about, and no way to do it. There were enough things waiting for me at home that I haven’t had time to catch up until now. I’d like to share the inspiring experiences I had in Chicago (eventually) but first, I have a few…
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 to experience the land up close and personal, I chose to drive. Some people have given me funny looks when I mentioned that I was driving. "Through Nebraska? The plains? Why?! They’re so... plain!" But I find this area to be anything but plain. Driving east out of Denver, it isn’t long before the…
Omnibrain started it, and now everyone is making their own Simpsons avatar. Mine found its way into the bar: You can make your own (and catch a beer with Homer) at the official Simpsons Movie site. My son has been asking if I’ll take him to see the movie. Earlier this week, I was letting him watch Tom & Jerry cartoons on Youtube, when he found this clip from the Simpsons, and asked me if it was ok to watch: I’ve watched plenty of episodes, but I hadn’t seen that one. So, I said, "sure, you can. Can I sit in your chair and watch too?" So, thanks to both Omnibrain and my son! Oh, yes,…
Finally, our fourth and final Independence day treat--Make your own fireworks! This fun little flash tool from Fireworks.com lets you create your own fireworks display, with your choice of backdrop. There are a number of city skylines available, including Denver, New York, and San Francisco, as well as some fun sights like the Egyptian pyramids. So, if you live in an area where fireworks aren’t allowed, or just want to blow things up online, then click away!
I couldn’t go through a series of 4th of July fun without including a little science education. I must admit, I don’t remember a whole lot of my high school chemistry class. (I remember the chemistry, bonding and whatnot, so it couldn’t have been a total loss.) But... the day we got to play with fire is a clear memory. No, I wasn’t a budding pyromaniac. I was just fascinated that different chemicals could produce different colors of flame. Nova is refreshing my happy memories with a periodic table of pyrotechnic elements. While this interactive table doesn’t actually let you set anything on…