Blog Calendar
About This Author
Come closer.
Complex Numbers
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
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning Best Blog in the 2021 edition of  [Link To Item #quills] !
Merit Badge in Quill Award
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the 2019 Quill Award for Best Blog for  [Link To Item #1196512] . This award is proudly sponsored by the blogging consortium including  [Link To Item #30dbc] ,  [Link To Item #blogcity] ,  [Link To Item #bcof]  and  [Link To Item #1953629] . *^*Delight*^* For more information, see  [Link To Item #quills] . Merit Badge in Quill Award
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the 2020 Quill Award for Best Blog for  [Link To Item #1196512] .  *^*Smile*^*  This award is sponsored by the blogging consortium including  [Link To Item #30dbc] ,  [Link To Item #blogcity] ,  [Link To Item #bcof]  and  [Link To Item #1953629] .  For more information, see  [Link To Item #quills] .
Merit Badge in Quill Award 2
[Click For More Info]

    2022 Quill Award - Best Blog -  [Link To Item #1196512] . Congratulations!!!    Merit Badge in Quill Award 2
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations! 2022 Quill Award Winner - Best in Genre: Opinion *^*Trophyg*^*  [Link To Item #1196512] Merit Badge in Quill Award 2
[Click For More Info]

   Congratulations!! 2023 Quill Award Winner - Best in Genre - Opinion  *^*Trophyg*^*  [Link To Item #1196512]
Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the Jan. 2019  [Link To Item #30dbc] !! Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on taking First Place in the May 2019 edition of the  [Link To Item #30DBC] ! Thanks for entertaining us all month long! Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the September 2019 round of the  [Link To Item #30dbc] !!
Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the September 2020 round of the  [Link To Item #30dbc] !! Fine job! Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congrats on winning 1st Place in the January 2021  [Link To Item #30dbc] !! Well done! Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the May 2021  [Link To Item #30DBC] !! Well done! Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congrats on winning the November 2021  [Link To Item #30dbc] !! Great job!
Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning an honorable mention for Best Blog at the 2018 Quill Awards for  [Link To Item #1196512] . *^*Smile*^* This award was sponsored by the blogging consortium including  [Link To Item #30dbc] ,  [Link To Item #blogcity] ,  [Link To Item #bcof]  and  [Link To Item #1953629] . For more details, see  [Link To Item #quills] . Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on your Second Place win in the January 2020 Round of the  [Link To Item #30dbc] ! Blog On! *^*Quill*^* Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on your second place win in the May 2020 Official Round of the  [Link To Item #30dbc] ! Blog on! Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on your second place win in the July 2020  [Link To Item #30dbc] ! Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on your Second Place win in the Official November 2020 round of the  [Link To Item #30dbc] !
Merit Badge in Highly Recommended
[Click For More Info]

I highly recommend your blog. Merit Badge in Opinion
[Click For More Info]

For diving into the prompts for Journalistic Intentions- thanks for joining the fun! Merit Badge in High Five
[Click For More Info]

For your inventive entries in  [Link To Item #2213121] ! Thanks for the great read! Merit Badge in Enlightening
[Click For More Info]

For winning 3rd Place in  [Link To Item #2213121] . Congratulations!
Merit Badge in Quarks Bar
[Click For More Info]

    For your awesome Klingon Bloodwine recipe from [Link to Book Entry #1016079] that deserves to be on the topmost shelf at Quark's.
Signature for Honorable Mentions in 2018 Quill AwardsA signature for exclusive use of winners at the 2019 Quill AwardsSignature for those who have won a Quill Award at the 2020 Quill Awards
For quill 2021 winnersQuill Winner Signature 20222023 Quill Winner



June 29, 2024 at 10:51am
June 29, 2024 at 10:51am
#1073318
I thought I'd provide a travel plan update today, after discussing my general idea here a week ago: "Discomfort ZoneOpen in new Window.

On Monday, I looked at nearby travel agents. Just their websites and Google reviews.

I'm an avid Google reviewer myself, mostly of breweries (writing ability does have some practical use), so I know to take any review with a grain of salt, much like the item reviews here: each is (usually) just one person's opinion and experience, and everyone, reviewer and reviewee alike, has their good days and bad days. Also, one needs to be aware that some 1- and 2-star reviews are competitors trying to steer people away, while some 4- and 5-star reviews are salted by the company itself.

Still, it can be helpful to take a look at reviews all across the spectrum. If there are enough of them, you can be pretty sure there are some genuine experiences in there.

Anyway, one travel agent specifically bills itself as "luxury travel." I'm not elitist enough for that. Another had mediocre reviews at best. I settled on someone who's been active in town for almost as long as I've been here.

Tuesday, I drifted on over there to try to get a feel for what to expect. Sure, I could have called, but it's not far away.

Now, I know some people scoff at the idea of going with a travel agent. Why not just go and experience stuff? Make your own travel plans, your own schedule? Normally, I'd agree. But then I realized: part of the reason I travel is to experience stuff I haven't experienced before. And I've never used a travel agent, so why not experience that for the first time? Besides, I'm entirely too lazy to work out lodging and transportation details myself for a trip to an unfamiliar place.

They gave me a really good idea as to what to expect in terms of process and fees, and promised to get back to me.

On Wednesday, they sent me a few emails, but I had to visit the dentist to get some drilling and crown work done. That shot my whole afternoon (and most of my medical budget), and also the next day while I dealt with the soreness.

Still, I found the energy on Thursday to take a look at the emails, and immediately questioned my decisions when I saw what-all would be required. Passport stuff. Credit card info. Read these T&Cs. Sign here. Sign there. Initials everywhere. (I'm going on a trip, not buying a fucking house.) What kind of trip? What sort of lodging amenities do you want? What's your budget?

"Your vacation is an investment..."

No. No, it is not. An investment is something that's expected to increase in value over time (whether it actually does or not is another issue). Stocks can be investments. A house can be an investment. A car is not, unless we're talking about the classics. A vacation (or, in my case, a voyage, since retirement means permanent vacation to me) is purely spending; the only returns I expect are experiential and emotional.

Words mean things, you know.

On Friday, I called the contact person I'd spoken to and who'd sent me the emails, and she (her name is, amusingly, Karen, and she's a manager, having become the very thing she swore to destroy) assured me that most of these things can be worked out when I meet with the actual travel agent a week from Wednesday.

However, I have no idea what to expect for "budget."

When road-tripping here in the US, I have a pretty good handle on it: I know, to a fair degree of accuracy, what I can expect to spend on gas, food, and lodging each day, and maybe throw in a little extra to try beers at breweries. I'm also not entirely ignorant of what airfare costs, though that varies wildly depending on season and how much discomfort I'm willing to put up with (not a lot, at my age).

I don't want to cheap out, because contrary to popular belief, money does, in fact, buy happiness. Or, well, at least it buys comfort and booze, which is close enough. I also don't want to spend my life savings; I kind of need that for, well, life. Somewhere in the middle would be nice.

What's important to me is that I get value for my money. Like, not spending $100 (or the equivalent in euros) for something that's worth $50.

I figure maybe I can explain that to the agent when I meet with her, and we can work out the details from there. Budget will, of course, help to determine how long the trip lasts and how many different places I can go to. And right now, I'm flexible on those things, as well as on actual dates of travel (I'm hoping for this fall, because I'm definitely not going in the winter, which means if it's not this fall it'll be next spring, and I just don't want to wait that long).

In conclusion, I'm definitely doing this (barring, of course, emergencies). I just don't know any of the details, yet.


© Copyright 2024 Waltz Invictus (UN: cathartes02 at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Waltz Invictus has granted InkSpot.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

... powered by: Writing.Com
Online Writing Portfolio * Creative Writing Online