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 |    Not for the faint of art. |
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Complex Numbers A complex number is expressed in the standard form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers and i is defined by i^2 = -1 (that is, i is the square root of -1). For example, 3 + 2i is a complex number. The bi term is often referred to as an imaginary number (though this may be misleading, as it is no more "imaginary" than the symbolic abstractions we know as the "real" numbers). Thus, every complex number has a real part, a, and an imaginary part, bi. Complex numbers are often represented on a graph known as the "complex plane," where the horizontal axis represents the infinity of real numbers, and the vertical axis represents the infinity of imaginary numbers. Thus, each complex number has a unique representation on the complex plane: some closer to real; others, more imaginary. If a = b, the number is equal parts real and imaginary. Very simple transformations applied to numbers in the complex plane can lead to fractal structures of enormous intricacy and astonishing beauty. ![Merit Badge in Quill Award
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| https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous Its faith-based 12-step program dominates treatment in the United States. But researchers have debunked central tenets of AA doctrine and found dozens of other treatments more effective. Now... as much as I talk about drinking, I don't have a drinking problem. But see, that statement right there is enough to convince AA that I actually do and am in denial. They also list in their "signs you're an alcoholic" thing the following: -You can't control your drinking -You have to control your drinking I mean, what? Also, "You drink alone." I'm a goddamn introvert - I do everything alone. Piss off. But I digress. I do understand that some people have a drinking problem, in the same way that I understand that some people have a peanut allergy. Okay, that's not a very good analogy, because while I'm not allergic to the little fuckers, I don't consider them to be food unless they're processed into butter, whereas I like pretty much anything that's been distilled or fermented. By the time he was a practicing defense attorney, J.G. (who asked to be identified only by his initials) sometimes drank almost a liter of Jameson in a day. And that is what I call a drinking problem. I mean, Jameson? Really? Okay, that's insensitive. In the spring of 2012, J.G. decided to seek help. He lived in Minnesota—the Land of 10,000 Rehabs, people there like to say—and he knew what to do: check himself into a facility. I'm using that nickname from now on. He felt utterly defeated. And according to AA doctrine, the failure was his alone. When the 12 steps don’t work for someone like J.G., Alcoholics Anonymous says that person must be deeply flawed. I've seen this sort of thinking in other contexts. "If you give yourself over to the Faith, good things will happen to you. Therefore, if bad things happen to you, it means you have not truly given yourself over to the Faith." It's not only terrible logic, but it's also dehumanizing. Nowhere in the field of medicine is treatment less grounded in modern science. And now we get to the part that pisses me off. Whereas AA teaches that alcoholism is a progressive disease that follows an inevitable trajectory, data from a federally funded survey called the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions show that nearly one-fifth of those who have had alcohol dependence go on to drink at low-risk levels with no symptoms of abuse. And a recent survey of nearly 140,000 adults by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that nine out of 10 heavy drinkers are not dependent on alcohol and, with the help of a medical professional’s brief intervention, can change unhealthy habits. While science is always in the process of improving itself, at some point, you have to pay attention to statistics. As I researched this article, I wondered what it would be like to try naltrexone, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved for alcohol-abuse treatment in 1994. I asked my doctor whether he would write me a prescription. Not surprisingly, he shook his head no. I don’t have a drinking problem, and he said he couldn’t offer medication for an “experiment.” So that left the Internet, which was easy enough. I ordered some naltrexone online and received a foil-wrapped package of 10 pills about a week later. And then you stopped doing science. You know, the mad-scientist trope is a fun one in fiction, but this is the reason people don't trust science reporters. At least she admits later that it's not science. Claudia Christian, an actress who lives in Los Angeles (she’s best known for appearing in the 1990s science-fiction TV show Babylon 5), discovered naltrexone when she came across a flier for Vivitrol, an injectable form of the drug, at a detox center in California in 2009. She had tried Alcoholics Anonymous and traditional rehab without success. She researched the medication online, got a doctor to prescribe it, and began taking a dose about an hour before she planned to drink, as Sinclair recommends. As a big fan of Babylon 5 and especially of the character she portrayed, I found this ironic, as one of the other characters was named Sinclair. Religious fervor, aided by the introduction of public water-filtration systems, helped galvanize the temperance movement, which culminated in 1920 with Prohibition. That experiment ended after 14 years, but the drinking culture it fostered—secrecy and frenzied bingeing—persists. Here we have every problem with America encapsulated. We tend to think in binary terms. When enormous McMansions became popular, we didn't go back to modest 2000sf houses; we started yearning for trailers (though the polite term now is "tiny house" or something). Netflix couldn't abide the nuances of a 5-star rating system, so it switched to thumbs up or down. Everything either is awesome or it sucks; there's no middle ground. And with booze, you're either a teetotaler, or you have a problem - in peoples' minds. It's an all-or-nothing mentality, and it doesn't leave room for the much-vaunted "moderation" I keep hearing about. That was the original meaning of "temperance," you know: moderation. People would "temper" wine with water to get a weaker drink. It didn't mean the same thing as abstinence. In 1934, just after Prohibition’s repeal, a failed stockbroker named Bill Wilson staggered into a Manhattan hospital. Wilson was known to drink two quarts of whiskey a day, a habit he’d attempted to kick many times. Hm... I wonder what else was going on in that time period that might drive a stockbroker to become a drunk... In any case, not everyone who drinks is an alcoholic. I'm certainly no professional in this regard, but it seems to me that if your drinking gets in the way of something else like work or relationships (or video games), or if it negatively affects other people - I mean, really affects them, not just earns their disdain because they've chosen not to drink themselves - then, maybe, you should consider that you have a problem. Just remember, the solution probably isn't AA. |
| Gotta take a break from the blog challenge. It's a great activity, but I have a backlog of blog fodder to share. For instance: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/avoid-these-3-traps-when-talking-to-someone-wi... Avoid these 3 traps when talking to someone with dementia I've noted this before, but for any newcomers, I lost both of my parents to long bouts of dementia. All told, I spent 20 years of my life dealing with one or the other. There are few things that frighten me more than the prospect of losing my mind (though I'm sure some would say that's already happened). Compared to that, death seems easy. Everyone dies. What's hard is that some people die while their bodies live on. Before you ask, no, I'm not all that concerned about genetic predisposition. I have no idea what my genetics are, and I prefer to keep it that way. Anyway, I wish I'd seen something like this article before my parents started slipping away. You’ve got great social skills. You speak clearly and listen well. Everyone loves your engaging personality. Obviously, it wasn't aimed at me, anyway. Prepare to encounter speakers who repeat themselves (asking the same question every few minutes) and make illogical statements or faulty observations. Their emotions can swing wildly from moment to moment, leaving you wondering what could’ve triggered an angry outburst or crying spell. This is true. Say the individual ponders the whereabouts of their spouse. If you point out that their spouse has died, that may be true but unhelpful. That seems obvious, but I can be oblivious. Now, I may have spent my life in the Regretium mines of Regretistan, but the one regret that stands out to me above all others is the time when my father did exactly that. And I answered without thinking. Or feeling. My parents had been together for nearly 60 years when my mom died. They weren't in what I'd now call a functional relationship, and yeah, I'm dealing with the psychological repercussions of that (just like everyone else is), but they stuck together anyway. When my dad had no choice but to seek a suitable care facility for her, he went to visit her every goddamn day. I can only hope that he quickly forgot the incident, along with my name (which is something that he was always kind of fuzzy on anyway) and, later, everything else. But I never did. Yeah, I'm putting this out here in hopes that I can move on. Still, I could have been better. It wasn't out of anger or frustration, or anything like that - at least I don't think it was - but rather just thoughtlessness on my part. I wrote here some time ago that I feel I should work on being more compassionate; this is why. I'll say this, though. Some people think that Alzheimer's and similar conditions strips a person to their bare essence. I've seen a lot of people with dementia getting angry, lashing out, becoming violent and hateful, like their public face is but a thin veneer hiding some horrid monster. Honestly, I don't know - I think we're all part caring and good, and part spiteful and angry, all at the same time. We are large; we contain multitudes. But in all the times I visited my father in his final years - which, admittedly, weren't as many as I should have - I never saw his dark side (and when he was in his prime, he definitely had a dark side). I'd sit down while they were eating, and he'd offer me some of his meager food. One time he saw I wasn't wearing a coat and insisted I take his. This was true even when he didn't know who I was. Why am I terrified of dementia? Well, partly because when I'm weighed in the same balance, I'll be found sorely wanting. |
Lyn's a sly fox  : Yup, we're going to meet the famous Norb. It's only going to cost 750 gps for your phenomenal experience.We're taking a limo ride so you'll get to see some of New York's gorgeous landscapes. You might even sneak in some shut eye after the Big Apple. There's five cool things to see in Cortland before we hook up with Norb. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g47543-Activities-Cortland_Finger_Lakes_... I spoke with the owner of Pontillio's and he's agreed to close the joint so we can have a private party with Fivesixer  Here's your chance to ask questions or maybe grab his autograph, You do know he's published now. Hope you're in the mood for pizza.https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g47543-d458524-Reviews-Pontillo_s_... I'm always in the mood for pizza, especially the ones they sell in New York, which are the One True Pizza. Yes, even Italy can't do pizza as well as New York. Cortland looks like a small town, but it boasts at least one brewery: https://www.cortlandbeer.com/ As a bonus, it's also a distillery, so once again I have to break from the agenda. My main reason for traveling around the US so much is to sample the wide range of fermented and distilled beverages available in every state. Naturally, some states are graced with more than others, because laws vary. In Kentucky, for example, there are bourbon distillers that are located in dry counties - figure that one out, if you can. There are over 6,000 breweries in the US, and I don't think I've visited even 1/10 of them. Also, the nature of the business makes it so that, on average, every week we lose one and gain two. My favorite are the brewpubs - places where you can sit down, sample the beer, and also enjoy the food. Fortunately, this is also the largest category of brewery, these days. It's a Sisyphean task to try to hit all of them, but someone has to try. This is made even more difficult by the excellent purveyors of fine beverages located near me in central Virginia - why travel when I have what I need right here? Well... I travel anyway. But my love for beer is surpassed only by my love for pizza, so I'm happy to check out a new (to me) pizza place, as well, along with folks like 🌸 pwheeler - love joy peace  and Prosperous Snow celebrating  . |
| I'm liking this part, we hopped on Amtrak, and headed into NYC after skating last night. Hope you snoozed once you got to the Hilton in Midtown cos, this day is going to be hopping. Did you pay the 750 gps so you can play til dawn cos the Big Apple never sleeps. https://www.google.com/travel/hotels/Manhattan/place/3041116244787805312?ap=SAE&... Breakfast at the hotel and we're off. 9am https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g60763-d11854338-9_11_Memori... 11:30 am you're getting on the bus: https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g60763-d11450630-Big_Bus_New... 6:00pm we're doing a helicopter tour of the city: https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g60763-d11447884-Big_Apple_H... 8:00pm we're going to see the Eagles in concert.Got your dancing shoes on cos the night is young and we're going to check out the club scene before we head to the airport. The funkiest story about the nightlife is going to get an added bonus, so surprise me. No train trip from Philadelphia to NYC can possibly be complete without a mention of the lovely scenery along the way. Look, I have nothing against New Jersey in general. It did, after all, spawn the greatest musician of all time. And despite what you may have heard, there are some truly nice places in the Garden State. It's just that none of these places live along the Northeast Corridor. The Northeast Corridor is the busiest railway route in the US. I can't be arsed to look up the numbers, but it's busy. And when that train gets up around the Newark area, you get treated to a preview of what it'll be like after the Final Plague. Dilapidated factories, sprawling oil refineries, rusty junkyards, oily swamps, dead union bosses, run-down buildings, grafitti-smeared walls. It's like looking down the ass-crack of America. Worst of all, even whooshing by at 90 miles an hour does little to mitigate the oppressive stench. New Jersey is sandwiched between two of the five largest cities in the country. The place is a giant suburb with factories. No wonder they have Issues. I've been to New York City more times than I can count, and I can count pretty high. I've had family there all my life, as well as the occasional friend. There's no way you can get a feel for NYC in a day, a weekend, even a month. It would take a lifetime to do everything there is to do there. It's almost a world unto itself. I've known people - elderly people - who never set foot outside of the five boroughs. Why? Everything you need is right there. That said, I'm going to strike out on my own here for a bit. I'd want to stay, for instance, at The New Yorker hotel, just a short block or two from Penn Station. https://www.newyorkerhotel.com/ It's changed hands a few times, but this is the building where, secluded in Room 3327, Nikola Tesla lived out his final years, communing with pigeons. I made a pilgrimage there, once. My then-wife and I headed up to NYC to see a Leonard Cohen concert, and we stayed at this hotel (staying with my family would have resulted in too many expectations). I hopped onto the elevator and stood in front of that door. I know I rant a lot here. I expect some people find it tiresome; others, hopefully, find it entertaining. I just have no rants about NYC. Oh, sure, the traffic can suck, but not as bad as other cities. The subways are grimy, but they function. The people have a reputation of being brusque and short-tempered; of course, you can find such people anywhere, but I've always found most New Yorkers to be helpful and friendly as long as you don't block their path. There's crime and corruption, but show me a big city without those things; in NYC, I've seen people walking the sidewalks at night, alone, fearless. I've seen this because at the time, I was walking the streets at night, alone. And when the sun sets and the city lights up like a constellation... well, if at that moment you don't understand why I'm fond of the place, you probably never will. Anyway, back to the fantasy tour. I'm going to let y'all young folks like 🌸 pwheeler - love joy peace , queenkissy, Cobwebby Space Reader Reindeer  , and, well, everyone else in this month's 30DBC take over the club. I'm going to head down to the Village and my favorite werewolf-themed pub:https://www.slaughteredlambpub.com/ Okay, true story about the Slaughtered Lamb. I, and some friends who shall remain nameless because some of them have accounts here, visited that place one kind evening. Let's call them, hm, John, Jack, and Jen (obviously not their real names). We started perusing the menu and I noticed one item that stood out: "Irish Car Bomb - ask me how to get one free." This, of course, intrigued me. The waitress, who I'll call Jody (again, not her real name) explained that it's a race. You order the ICB, and they send out two of them. Then, you race Jody to drink the thing. If you win, it's free. If she wins, not only do you pay for it, but she gets to whip you three times on the tuchis. Jack orders an Irish Car Bomb. "Oh," says Jody. "You gonna race me?" I'm thinking, dude, this chick is a professional. Don't do it unless you enjoy getting whipped. Not that there's anything wrong with that. "Yep," says Jack. So Jody brings out the ICBs, sets them up, tells Jen to call go - and they're off. Jody slugs that thing down in 4.6 microseconds. Jack barely had his tongue wet by the time she slammed the empty glass on the table. She turns to John. "Can I borrow your belt?" Grinning, John stands and unbuckles his trouser-strap, hands it to Jody. "Bend over," she says to Jack. He leans over, hands gripping the back of a chair. Dude... Jody hit HARD. Three solid whaps, and Jack straightens up, red-faced but stoic. "Anyone else?" asks Jody. We're all shaking our heads. "Enjoy your dinner!" and she walks off. "Well," I says to Jack, "aren't you going to sit down?" "Nope." So I'm not ordering any Irish Car Bombs at The Slaughtered Lamb. Still, someone's going to have to come carry me out of there. |
| Philadelphia, PA During the day we're going to enjoy some museums before having dinner at City Tavern on 2nd Street to enjoy a step back in history before we go ice skating at Rothman's. https://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/top-things-to-do-in-philadelph... https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g60795-Activities-c49-Philadelphia_Penns... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Tavern https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60795-d478486-Reviews-City_Tavern... My country owes its very existence to beer. No, really. Taverns such as the one listed above were revolting. Wait, that's not right - they were hangouts of revolting people. Hm. No, that's not right, either. What I mean is, the people who would go on to lead the American Revolution gathered in taverns, pubs, and inns to be all subversive and whatnot. Hell, the tune for The Star-Spangled Banner was adapted from a British drinking song. This, by the way, is why Prohibition was the most treasonous thing we've ever done. Yes, even more treasonous than giving old King George the Finger. You know what my country does not owe its existence to? Ice. Oh, sure, Washington supposedly encountered some when he famously crossed the Delaware River. But you know when the Declaration of Independence was signed? July. You know what there is none of in Philadelphia in July? Ice. So all y'all freakish cold-adoring people like Cobwebby Space Reader Reindeer or penntonic can go on the the skating place. I'm just going to stay here in the tavern where there's beer and it's warm. |
| Talk about your plans for the superb owl or if you're not a fan talk about something you are a fan of like maybe Adam Levine or Gladys Knight she's doing the national anthem. You know what I'm not a fan of? Atlanta. Oh, the city's nice enough - if you can move around in it. Which, if you're driving, you can't. You think NoVA is bad? You think Boston is bad? You think Orlando is bad? Phoenix? L.A.? Well, you're right, but for unadulterated frustration, try driving in Atlanta. You know how Yoda was all like, "Do or do not. There is no try?" Well, Atlanta is firmly in the "do not" camp when it comes to driving anywhere. I can only imagine a sportsball game would make things worse, even if it does take place on a Sunday. And yeah, I'm not a fan of football. Oh, don't get me wrong; I understand that many people are, and I'm not trying to dis your hobbies. You like to make fun of me playing D&D and reading comic books, so I'm taking the moral high road here, because I'm the better person. I can even understand why people who aren't normally fanatics about football get together on a certain Sunday early in the year to watch the game whose name we can't speak without incurring the wrath of the NFL's lawyers. I even attended such a party once in this millennium, because Springsteen was doing the halftime show, and there was no way I was going to miss that. Also, there is traditionally drinking involved, and I encourage such behavior whatever the excuse (or lack thereof). So yeah, party on, Garth. I get that people are into the spectacle and get emotionally invested in the whole thing. I feel that way about some rock concerts. But what I can't grok, not even a little, is why people watch the game for the fucking commercials. I hate ads with an all-consuming, fiery passion, to the point where I didn't even watch TV at all for many years so as not to encounter a commercial. I only started up again when streaming became a thing, because there are no gods-be-damned ads. I freaking pay for TV shows that I like on Amazon because I don't have to put up with commercials. While I do understand that there are a lot of innovative ads in that spot, they are still ads and thus need to be incinerated in the burning pits of Mordor. And then I hear things like "Oh, I don't care about the game; I just want to see the commercials." WHAT EVEN GAAH I LITERALLY CANNOT. As an aside, if any other activity - chess or math, e.g. - caused the kind of injuries to grade school students that football does, it would be banned. I'm just saying. That's not my issue with football, though. It has more to do with it being a four-hour delivery system for commercials with about 11 minutes of actual sports action. But you know the absolute worst thing about the big game? I'll tell you what the worst thing is, and it's a very personal one. You see, the very first one was held the same year I turned 1 year old. If you count that as number 1 (or "I"), then you can quickly see that whatever the game number is in any given year, I will be turning that old a few short days later. That is a reminder that I simply do not need. Also, who in the ad-saturated hell is Adam Levine? I can't be arsed to look him up. |
| https://www.tampabay.com/visual-arts/top-things-to-do-in-tampa-bay-for-saturday-... Now this... this is more my speed. Full disclosure: I had ties to Tampa. My uncle lived there (died in the early noughties). He was kind of a big deal there, has buildings named after him and shit. Nice place. Never snows. Oh, sure, you get the occasional hurricane, but what place is completely safe? Sadly, I haven't had a chance to go back since his death. I need to - there are a lot more breweries there, now, and plus there's this: https://yborcityonline.com/ And this, across the bay: https://thedali.org/ And of course, these: https://foursquare.com/top-places/tampa/best-places-cigars People are always asking me about Cuban cigars, since I make no secret of my hedonism and decadence. We still can't legally get them in the US - stupid embargo that long ago outlived its usefulness. But of course, Florida has a thriving Cuban population, so you get things like Ybor City, above, and one of Tampa's major beer factories is called Cigar City Brewing. Don't tell my government, but I've had Cuban cigars anyway. I've visited Canada and the UK and purchased (and smoked - couldn't risk schlepping them back to the US) them there. And I'm here to tell you: Cuban cigars aren't all that. Supposedly, when Kennedy initiated the embargo, he filled a giant humidor with Cuban cigars before anyone else knew the embargo was to take effect. The perks of leadership, I suppose. You know where that got him. I have no idea what happened to the cigars. Possibly, Johnson smoked them all. I like to think it was Nixon. But since then, the major manufacturers and growers have gone to places like the Dominican Repulic, Guatemala, Nicaragua... and Florida. What we get from them is every bit as good, possibly even better, than what comes out of Cuba. Hell, there are excellent sticks coming out of India. The only things left of the Cuban cigar legacy are those smokes, and for people in the US, a cachet of lawlessness that surrounds the very idea. I'm not a fan of Florida in general. I mean, look at the place on the map - what is it, but the Wang of America? (Yes, I got Elisa the Bunny Stik  , who wisely moved out of the state, to start calling it that.) And the Keys are... well, let's just say the place could use a few antibiotics. Disney World is like a giant chancre sore in this metaphor, as are The Villages, a sprawling retirement community about an hour north of Orlando where golf carts have the right-of-way and the houses all look like they only need one good Cat I hurricane to end up in the Gulf. So, there's no danger of me joining the herds of other retirees living there.Doesn't mean I don't want to visit again. I'll end this with a joke. It's an old one, and I'll try to render it faithfully. I promise it's relevant on a couple of levels: Guy dies and goes to Hell. One of the demons notices that, despite the high temperatures, he's smiling all the time, so he reports to his Dark Lord. Satan goes up to the guy and goes, "You know you're in Hell, right? It's as hot as... well, it's hot here. Why are you smiling?" "Well," says the guy, "This is just like back on the farm in August. I'm used to it." So Satan puts him, alone, in an even hotter place. But a week later, he's still smiling and laughing. "This is Hell," Satan reminds the guy. "You're supposed to be tortured here. What's with the smiling?" "This is just like being in the silos back home," says the guy. So Satan leaves and turns to the demon in charge of solitary confinement: "Okay, turn the heat all the way down." So a week later, it's sleeting and icing up in there, and Satan looks in to see the guy laughing and dancing a jig, occasionally throwing his arms up in victory. "Dammit," he says. "What does it take? And don't tell me this reminds you of your farm." "Look around you," the guy explains, smiling and gesturing expansively at all the ice and snow. "The Bucs have won the Super Bowl!" |
| https://www.tripsavvy.com/quebec-winter-carnival-1481819 What You Need to Know About Winter Carnival in Quebec It's in the winter and it's in Quebec. That's all I need to know. But let's find out more anyway. The Quebec Winter Carnival brings Quebec City alive with sub-zero merry-making... NOPE ...giving Quebeckers and thousands of visitors a reason to celebrate during the cold, snowy winters... NOPE No sense in fighting the cold—embrace and celebrate it. NOPE most every Carnival event is outdoors, so pack and dress appropriately NOPE Sub-zero temperatures, bitter winds, and nighttime activities mean visitors should bring... NOPE Though some carnival events, like the canoe race across the St. Lawrence River or the night parade 500, may require you to stand outside for long periods of time. NOPE NOPE NOPE The zip line NOPE night parades NOPE slide runs NOPE concerts NOPE snow sculptures NOPE sleigh or dogsled rides NOPE Ice Palace and skating are among the many activities offered NOPITY NOPE NOPE NOPE Ice cleats, which can usually be strapped to your shoes or boots, may also come in handy. NOPE Canada, I love you, but we need to talk about this thing you have for the cold. Hey, Elle - on hiatus  , any summer activities in New Zealand I can fly to? |
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