This sparse fractal composition (based on a set of sine wave forms) was inspired by fractal artist Kerry Mitchell's work.
I've had a few requests for permission to use the image. This invitation was made by a graphic design agency in Sao Paolo, Brazil using Fractal Sine Waves as a basis.
Setting up for the opening of DEVCON.
On center screen is a view of the "virtual conference". Based on a real 3D model of the Palais des Congres convention center, it was possible for DEVCON participants to experience the conference in avatar form.
The most amazing thing is that the virtual Palais des Congress was created from panoramic photos stiched together and converted into 3D by software from RealViz. Check it out at www.realviz.com/3D_software_applications.htm
About 3 inches in length.
Initially I thought this was some form of pollen body. After some research, I discovered the juniper tree is infected with the Cedar Apple Rust fungus.
The life cycle of cedar apple rust is quite complex, and as the name suggests involves both cedar (juniper) and apple trees as alternating hosts. www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/focus/cedarapplerust.html
See nebulagirl's photo of the fungal gall (minus the gelatinous yellow tendrils) here.
This is a set of photographs from the Lotus Development party celebrating 25 years since the company was founded in 1982.
I worked at Lotus from 1988 to 1993, at the height of popularity of the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet application. During this same time, the product Lotus Notes, the first widely successful network based application, was launched.
Since then, 1-2-3 was eclipsed by Microsoft Excel (and more generally by the Microsoft Office Suite). Lotus Notes, however, found long term success as a groupware/collaboration application, now part of IBM.
There is an excellent history Lotus Notes here.
This image was created using IFS (Iterated Function System) "chaos game" method. I will try to explain this below, using a simpler structure called the Sierpinski Gasket. However, I can warn you that you will not believe how this image is created.
Recipe for the "Chaos Game"
1. Get a pencil and paper
2. Draw three points (making a triangle) on the paper
3. Label the points A, B, and C.
4. Pick and mark a starting point X, somewhere inside this triangle
Now the game begins:
4. Roll a three-sided die whose sides are imprinted with the letters A, B, and C.
5a. If A comes up, you draw a new point halfway between X and A
5b. If B comes up, you draw a new point halfway between X and B
5c. If C comes up, you draw a new point halfway between X and C
6. Treating the new point as X, repeat steps 4 thru 6 many times.
Question: What figure emerges when you have (accurately) repeated this procedure many times?
Hint #1: It helps to have a computer to do this. However, it is actually possible to do this on graph paper (if you are careful and consistent about the way you calculate the midpoint square).
Hint #2: It is NOT the fern (above). That is more complicated. However, this fern image was calculated using the same procedure. Only the rules of where to place the next point are different.
And, I warned you that the explanation is unbelievable (but true) !
This image reminded me of the Hubble space telescope "deep field" photographs, where you point the telescope at the most empty part of space, discovering that it is literally filled with galaxies.
