cat vacuuming

fabulous

2007-07-04T13:42:00.000-04:00

I recently took a fabulous graduation trip to NYC with my fabulous sister. Here are some of the fabulous pictures I took with my fabulous new digital camera.

Here are some random scenic shots in Central Park.

Here is our new best friend from the Central Park Zoo.

This is the Strawberry Fields memorial, also in Central Park.

I took these on a boat tour of the harbor:

On the left, the Staten Island Ferry, on the right, La Estatua de Libertad.

More of the Statue:

Ellis Island:

The Brooklyn Bridge:

After the trip we took the train home. On the way we saw a lovely rainbow.

yes

2007-05-23T18:14:00.000-04:00

Yes, I had my defense today.

Yes, I passed.

It was not as bad as I had expected. They only made me wait in the hall for a few minutes before they came out and shook my hand. Then there were cookies and brownies and fruit platters, and people started calling me "Master Sarah," which just sounds wrong in so many ways, or "Sarah _M.S." which sounds slightly better, but still odd.

And yes, I am now totally exhausted, and slightly in shock, and totally unable to believe that I don't have to go back to school tomorrow.

Yes.

mmmm, chocolate

2007-05-21T19:58:00.000-04:00

The good news: they just opened a Coldstone Creamery a few blocks from my apartment.

The bad news: they just opened a Coldstone Creamery a few blocks from my apartment.

It may be tricky to not spend all my summer earnings on chocolate devotions. :)

background music

2007-05-18T20:29:00.000-04:00

Well, earlier this week I shipped off the final draft of my thesis for approval by my thesis committee. Meep!!! In final form, all double-spaced and full of graphs and appendices, it hit a shocking total of 81 pages. I was blown away by this. I was expecting 50, maybe 60 at the most. All my drafts were 1.5-spaced (instead of double), and the appendices and figures added a good 15 pages to the count. When I pasted it all together my jaw just dropped: 81, sweet mercy!

My music-listening habits have always been a little strange, but have reached new levels of weirdness in the last few weeks as I have found it impossible to work on my thesis unless listening to just the right music. During the entire revision process and the writing of the last little bits, I only listened to the Red Hot Chili Peppers album "Stadium Arcadium." Non stop. Ad nauseum. (And I'm still not tired of it.) Whenever I tried to put something else on, it just didn't work. I couldn't write without it.

Throughout all the editing, formatting, assembling of figures, and preparation of powerpoint slides (for my defense), I have listened to all my movie soundtracks on shuffle-repeat. It's remarkable how smoothly they flow into each other, Star Wars and LOTR, Jurassic Park and Spiderman, Back to the Future, and even The Italian Job. Just a smooth blur in the background, and amazingly effective at focusing my attention on the finer points of grammar and graphing.

I wonder if, when I hear this music years from now, it will still remind me of this crazy, crazy time, the intensity of this whole writing process, and the sheer insanity of those 81 terrible, horrible, wonderful pages?

Entry 32: In Which We Cease To Vacuum

2007-05-05T15:37:00.000-04:00

Just a note to say I am unlikely to be posting much, if at all, over the next few weeks. I'm feverishly wrapping up the final revisions on my thesis (now weighing in at 45 pages and still growing), developing my presentation for my thesis defense (taking place on May 23), and grading the end-of semester onslaught of lab reports, short assignments, and exams. After that there are vacations, celebrations, and hopefully large quantities of sleep.

In early July I will be settling into my new routine for the summer, and at that point I will either start blogging more regularly or decide it's all silly and give up on the whole idea. Feel free to leave comments if you think I should go one way or the other.

This is not to say that I will definitely not post at all between now and July. I might. I might not. It's like a mystery. Ooooh.

Entry 31: In Which We Get Our Knees Stuck Under The Dashboard

2007-04-29T19:27:00.000-04:00

Today I learned that, tragically, I do not fit in a mini-cooper.

Well, technically I did fit, but it was a tight squeeze and quite uncomfortable.

Shame too; it was the cutest car I've ever been in. The world is just not made for tall people. Sighhh....

Entry 30: In Which We Are Reluctant To Sniff

2007-04-28T18:16:00.000-04:00

Isn't it interesting how some things get more and more expensive every year (T-fare and movie tickets come immediately to mind), while other things get cheaper and cheaper? I don't really get it..... never was much good at economics.

This comes up because I had to replace my calculator this week. (Warning: geeky content ahead!) I got my first scientific calculator back in the 90's for around $40, as I recall. It was a really good calculator, though not super fancy. Scientific, but not a graphing calculator. (I have never actually used a graphing calculator; did all that stuff the old-fashioned way.) The things we've been through, that calculator and I...... chemistry, calculus, physics, o-chem (*shudder*)...... Oddly enough, I really enjoyed calc and physics, absolutely despised chemistry and of course o-chem (*shudder again*). Anyway, my calculator was totally reliable throughout it all, never crapping out in the middle of an exam, not even on the day I spilled tea on it. (The buttons did get stuck pretty frequently after that incident, though.) I got to the point where I didn't even have to look at the buttons; I could do everything by touch.

Sweet mercy, am I a huge geek or what.......
.....don't answer that.

These days I don't use my calculator much at all, except to balance my checkbook, and occasionally for population genetics problems in lab. I should have known it was on it's last legs, but I was still disappointed when it died earlier this week after 12 years of reliable service.

Long way around to the main point: I bought a replacement today, the exact same make and model, and it only cost $13. That's like a third of the original cost back in the '90s. Weird.....

In other news, my absolute favorite TV show, My Name Is Earl, is having a "scratch and sniff" episode this week, one of the single weirdest gimmicks I've ever heard of. You are supposed to get a scratch and sniff card in the TV guide, and I guess there is some sort of signal during the show as to when you're supposed to sniff certain things. I'm not sure whether to play along with this.... I think it sounds like a fairly stupid idea, though I suppose it could be funny if it's done really well.

I wonder how important it is to, you know, "smell along." Will I be missing much if I don't? Will the episode still be funny if you don't know what everybody else is smelling? These are the questions that haunt me.... (hey give me a break; it's refreshing to worry about something less critical than my thesis for a few minutes!) I'll be disappointed if this turns out to be as dumb as it sounds. It's such a funny show, and I'd be bummed if it turned stupid.

Entry 29: In Which Boston Smiles

2007-04-24T07:48:00.000-04:00

"...Their plan is to change the basic formula of chocolate... these changes will have adverse effects on the eating, physical and nutritional quality of chocolate..."

Excuse me??? Oh no no no, I think not.

Go here for more info:

http://dontmesswithourchocolate.guittard.com/whatsthisabout.asp

In other news: we hit 86 degrees yesterday in the city of Boston, a record high for the date. I generally prefer my weather in the 70s, but for some reason the heat yesterday felt really good.

Plus the combination of warm sunny weather and the fact that the Red Sox totally swept those Yankees at Fenway over the weekend made for a very cheerful city.

Entry 28: In Which The Sun Comes Out And The Birds Sing

2007-04-22T10:13:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday as I was heading to work, it was pouring down sleety rain, temperature in the upper 30s, nasty nasty weather. The two minute walk from the T across the river to the building was quite unpleasant. I zipped my jacket up to my chin and walked as fast as I could, jumping over puddles and wishing I'd thought to wear my boots. It was a big relief to get indoors to the warm, dry classrooms.

This Saturday as I was heading to work, it was gloriously sunny with a perfect blue sky, low humidity, light breeze, temperature in the low 70s, exactly my favorite weather conditions. The two minute walk from the T across the river to the building was just beautiful. I took off my jacket and dawdled along the way as much I could, soaking in the sun and wishing I'd thought to wear my sandals. It was very difficult to go indoors and spend three hours teaching in rooms without windows.

Isn't spring fabulous? In a way it's annoying because you never know what to wear. I just dug my Tevas out of storage, but I still have my winter boots out too. But it's also exciting, and I can't even begin to describe how good the sun feels after that long cold Nor'easter.

In other news, I'm finally caught up on "Lost". I was about three weeks behind and have had to be very careful navigating the interwebs to avoid spoilers. (Of course some people bring the spoilers right here to my own blog. *cough*-Adriane-*cough*) (Okay, that wasn't really much of a spoiler. You are forgiven.)

For the first time in a long while, I'm actually looking forward to the next episode. I'm still not as into Lost as I used to be, but I'm not sick of it anymore either. I think I just had to readjust my expectations. It will never be as good as it was season one, but it's still quite enjoyable.

Entry 27: In Which We Type A Lot

2007-04-16T20:09:00.000-04:00

Today I spent eight solid hours working on my thesis. Two hours went into making a flowchart showing the entire experimental design. It came out pretty spiffy, if I do say so myself. Which I do.

The rest of the day I spent writing. It's bizarre how unevenly time passes when I'm writing. Sometimes I get stuck, maybe trying to phrase a delicate point just right, or trying to work out which piece of my argument should come next, or trying to get a thought organized. Or trying to have a thought, even. And I stare at the wall for what feels like forty-five minutes or so, only when I finally turn back to the monitor, I find it's only been a minute or two.

And then sometimes I get sucked down into the writing, the words filling my head, no other thoughts, not even hearing the radio (*), fingers running over the keyboard like crazy, and time passes in long smooth gulps, an hour going by in what I'd swear was only five minutes.

*:(I always feel like writing blocks up my ears; I know that sounds totally weird, but I swear that's what it feels like)

It's crazy, I'm always startled to realize how much (or how little) time has gone by. And it sort of alternates; a slow stretch that seems to go on forever, and then I blink and an hour passes.

It only works this way when I can really concentrate on the writing. I have a hard time writing at school; there are too many interruptions and too many other things to do. I can only write for a small block of time before I get interrupted or have to go to a meeting or to lab. And it feels like I can't get a complete thought properly unfolded unless I get into that whole weird time-flies-by ears-blocked-up zone. It shows in the writing too; everything I do in those short blocks of time comes out choppy and disjointed.

When I can work at home and spend the whole day on the thesis, I don't just get more work done, I get better work done. Which is why I've been working so much on weekends lately.

All this has been a long and windy way to get to this point: I got a lot done today. It was nice.

My thesis now weighs in at about 35 pages. I don't think it will get too much longer. But we'll see.

Okay. Time to watch the Daily Show and eat chocolate pudding. Mmm, pudding.

Entry 26: In Which We Haiku

2007-04-13T16:03:00.000-04:00

It has been some time
since I tried to write haiku.
I've forgotten how.....

Next week we dissect
the trout and the squid. They smell.
Students get squeamish.

Dissections in lab,
mountains of papers to grade.
I need a nap now.

Entry 25: In Which We Consider the Fall of the Sparrow

2007-04-10T20:11:00.000-04:00

I know it's supposed to be a bad omen when a black cat crosses your path, but how about this:

The first thing I saw when I left the apartment on my birthday was a black cat with a ruby red collar leap into the bush in front of my window and catch a sparrow. Then it hopped back through the fence and walked across my path with the dead sparrow in it's mouth.

As omens go, it doesn't exactly bode well, does it?

Entry 24: In Which We Work At Home

2007-04-03T08:58:00.000-04:00

I tried for years to deny the fact that I am a morning person. An extreme morning person, actually. It is just not socially acceptable. But there it is, all the same.

It's not just that I automatically wake up early (and fall asleep early), it's that my brain functions best in the morning. I do all my best thinking and get all my best work done before noon. I still get some good stuff done in the early afternoon, but it happens a bit more slowly. And the work I do in the late afternoon and evening has to be checked over the next morning to fix all the low-brain-power errors.

When I work at home, which I do most Tuesdays, I can pretty much just roll out of bed and get started. Usually I'll take a quick shower first, and then draw up my to-do list for the day while I eat breakfast. I'm usually halfway through the first item on the list by 7:00. This way I can take full advantage of those uber-productive, brain-firing-on-all-cylinders morning hours.

On days when I have to go to school, at least two of my best hours are wasted by an hour of getting ready to go, 45-plus minutes on the train, and 15 minutes or so of tidying up the lab and my office. (There's no point in tidying up when I leave at the end of the day since the lab is still being used by the night-owl type students.) Even so, I usually get started by about 8:30 or 8:45, and still get a decent amount done by noon. But I get soooo much more done when I can use those extra morning hours at home.

Plus, I really enjoy the satisfied feeling I have right now of having accomplished several important tasks before most people even arrive at work. It's like the day is already a great success, no matter what else I do or don't get done.

:)

Entry 23: In Which Agassiz Investigates

2007-04-01T10:56:00.000-04:00

Today's Wikipedia picture of the day totally cracks me up. Go check it out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:POTD/2007-04-01

Entry 22: In Which We Geek Out A Little Bit.

2007-03-31T11:22:00.000-04:00

Here is a totally awesome link:

http://kokogiak.com/solarsystembodieslargerthan200miles.html

This lines up all the bodies in the solar system according to size. It's a superb visual aid, especially for people like me who have a hard time with scale. I can never get a good handle on relative size from looking at the numbers; this picture makes it easy. And it's pretty, too!

The effect as you scroll sideways across the page is quite impressive, and in some cases surprising. For instance, I had no idea Titan and Ganymede were that big.

It also nicely illustrates the whole Pluto/planet/dwarf planet/TNO controversy. Again, from reading articles and looking at the numbers, I didn't quite understand the argument, but the picture shows with perfect clarity why it's sketchy to class Pluto along with the other planets. It also explains why, if want you call Pluto a planet, you absolutely have to call Eris a planet as well. (Though personally I think Ceres is stretching it a bit.)

So we no longer have nine planets in the solar system. We either have eight if you drop Pluto or ten if you add Eris (or eleven, I guess, if you take Ceres as well). Which means the old mnemonics for remembering the order no longer apply. "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles" is sadly out.

Any ideas for new mnemonics?

If you choose to drop Pluto, the order would be: M V E M J S U N.

If you prefer to keep Pluto, which means you have to add Eris and probably Ceres, the order would be: M V E M C J S U N P E.

Come on, I'll bet you can think of some good ones......

Entry 21: In Which We Are In A Hurry, But Can't Resist Typing For Two Minutes Anyway

2007-03-30T08:41:00.000-04:00

Good morning blog! Just wanted to spin by and say that I promise I haven't forgotten you! Really, I haven't!

(Just between you and me, readers, I had in fact forgotten about it entirely. Shh. Don't tell the blog!)

To keep you all semi-amused while I run off to another fabulous day at school, here is a picture of the pond-slash-lake thing in the Public Gardens (too big to be a pond, too small to be a lake. Is there a word for that?) that I took back in late January during our uber-cold spell. It was totally frozen over. There were some people playing ice-hockey, some people sliding around on the ice and falling down, a poor dog that didn't know quite what to think of it all, and several people who, in typical Bostonian style, just walked casually across the ice as if they were crossing the street. "Beautiful frozen pond in lovely scenic park, meh. Been there, seen that." Some people are just not impressed by anything.

The pond-slash lake looks much, much different now; I'll post pix of it some time in the near future for comparison.

Entry 20: In Which We Have Our Minds Boggled Just A Little

2007-03-23T17:19:00.000-04:00

Follow this link to see the most beautiful picture ever (that I've seen, anyway) taken with an SEM. Boggles the mind....

Entry 19: In Which We Speak Math-ese and Get A Little Flaky

2007-03-22T13:54:00.000-04:00

I spent all of Tuesday and half of Wednesday working on the results section of my thesis and am now up to my ears in the discussion section. I need to take a little break from all this writing.... wait, maybe blogging isn't the best way to spend my break.... ah well, here goes anyway.

Typically the results section is extremely technical, just spitting out the data in a rather raw format. Then in the discussion section you repeat all the same information, but in pretty language and with lots of explanation about what it means and why it matters.

Results are reported in their own sort of bizarre dialect that blends English with, I don't know, Math-ese. So I spent all day Tuesday writing crazy sentences like:

"A significant main effect for time was found (Wilks’ Lambda=.902, F(1, 188)=20.399, p<.0005, multivariate eta squared=.098), but the interaction effect for time and labtype was not significant (Wilks’ Lambda=.997, F(1, 188)=.492, p=.484)."

Then I would read them over and blink a few times, amazed that I could understand, let alone write, something that disgustingly technical.

Writing the discussion section now really does feel like translating from a foreign language, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit more than I enjoyed writing the results.

In other news, while I am still on target to finish the actual thesis by April 13, I may not be able to defend and get everything officially signed off by then. My advisor and I decided this morning that it would be better to have the thesis bound a few weeks late than to cut corners and try to push everything through quickly.

A few extra weeks means that a) I do not have to drive myself completely insane trying to finish in the next three weeks, b) I do not have to rush my committee members in their review of the paper, which would probably make them cranky, c) I can still leave school at the end of the semester, and d) I will not officially receive my degree until August. I won't really be needing it over the summer anyway, so I think it's an acceptable delay. And it's only a delay on paper; I'll still be finished with school at exactly the same time.

I was starting to get a little panicky, and was relieved to hear my advisor make this suggestion. I feel a little flaky pushing my degree date back for the second time, but this time it wasn't my idea, and it does seem to be the most rational solution.

Already I can feel the weight lifting off of me.... I'm still going to finish as quickly as possible, but I can now afford to do a few other things like sleep, cook nice meals, and maybe even go to a movie once in while. Ahhhhh..... happy Sarah. Flaky Sarah, maybe, but at least I'm a happy flaky Sarah.

Entry 18: In Which It's A Good Thing We Are Not Superstitious

2007-03-20T19:20:00.000-04:00

So yesterday I "e-filed" my tax thingies. And today I was notified that my thingies had been officially accepted at 06:06:06 p.m.

Hmm. Not sure what to do with that information.

Seriously, those numbers follow me everywhere. Even at school: my office extension is 7-6663.

Creepy.

In other not entirely unrelated news, I learned a new word today: hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia. That one might come in handy....

Entry 17: In Which Everything Turns Green

2007-03-17T10:39:00.000-04:00

Well! Been offline for awhile, haven't I? I spent the week being sick, and will now spend the next week (which happens to be spring break) catching up on all the work I've fallen miles behind on (er, on which I've fallen miles behind?). Which means minimal time for blogging, of course.

We had a lovely Nor'Easter last night (just in time for spring break; mother nature has a clever sense of humor!). Actually, I guess it's still going on, only it's switched over to mostly rain now. As it falls on top of the snow, the rain has nowhere to go, so it's all puddly and slushy out there. Which will be an issue when temperatures drop back below freezing this evening. Ice everywhere! (Why yes, I have been watching weather reports on T.V. all morning, how could you tell?) I'm waiting to find out whether I'll have to work tonight. If the roads are too dangerous they won't have us come in.

In the meantime, I have a long to-do list to get to. It actually feels really good to get back to doing things after a long week of doing nothing. Really, all I did this week was teach two classes and sleep. Maybe the break was good; I'm actually eager to settle down and get some good writing done.

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, I'm temporarily turning the blog green. Just so, you know, nobody decides to pinch it.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

heh, knew that would come in handy eventually...

Entry 16: In Which We Continue To Goof Around

2007-03-04T08:52:00.000-05:00

Get Your Monster Name

Hee hee. So that's what my name means. Honsetly, I've suspected it all along.

Follow the link to decode your own name. If you get something good, post it in the comments.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going outside to enjoy the sunshine. We are in the 40's today, and it's unbelievable how summery that feels after all these weeks of freezing cold. Ciao!

Entry 15: In Which We Goof Around A Little

2007-03-01T19:14:00.000-05:00

So today I've decided to learn how to do this html stuff. Not anything advanced, obviously, just a little silly formatting.

Why? Well..... why not??

(And no, this is not procrastination or work-avoidance. I'm trying this new thing where I stop working after eight hours. Unless, you know, I can't. But tonight I can; tomorrow's Friday, and I have all morning free to work on stuff, and only a TA meeting in the afternoon.)

Without further ado, I will try out some of these tag thingies on the text from yesterday's entry. This is likely to bore you all, but it's entertaining me, and that's what matters, riiiight?

So one of my students called me "dude" today.

(hee, this is fun)

I was up at the whiteboard(getting carried away as usual with the multicolored markers),

and he wanted to know if he could get points for something,

so he calls across the room "Hey dude, can I do..." whatever it was.Then he goes, "Whoa, I just called you dude!"

Yeah, maybe my classroom management is getting a little too casual.

and once more:

So one of my students called me "dude" today. I was up at the whiteboard(getting carried away as usual with the multicolored markers), and he wanted to know _{if he could get points for something,} so he calls across the room "Hey dude, can I do..." whatever it was.^{Then he goes, "Whoa, I just called you dude!} ~~"Yeah, maybe my classroom management is getting a little too casual.~~

fun!

fun!

Entry 14: In Which They Call Me Dude

2007-02-28T20:25:00.000-05:00

So one of my students called me "dude" today.

I was up at the whiteboard (getting carried away as usual with the multicolored markers), and he wanted to know if he could get points for something, so he calls across the room "Hey dude, can I do..." whatever it was.

Then he goes, "Whoa, I just called you dude!"

Yeah, maybe my classroom management is getting a little too casual.

Entry 13: In Which We Return to the Blogosphere

2007-02-27T08:41:00.000-05:00

....aaaand we're back.

I hadn't realized how long I'd been away from the internets. Things have been crazy-hectic-impossibly-mind-bogglingly busy the last two weeks, but will hopefully settle down now to only moderately chaotic.

...is that how you spell "mind-bogglingly"??

In any event, I had a thesis committee meeting yesterday, in which I basically said "here's everything I've done, now may I please graduate?" I wanted to wrap up as much work as I could before the meeting so I could be really specific about what I did, how it turned out, and what I have left to do. In the end, it was somewhat unsettling to see two and a half years of my life reduced to three pages of bullet points and four graphs.

The good news is the committee liked it. Provided I finish processing the last little piece of data and write it all up properly, I have their blessing to graduate. Good thing too; I don't think the university gives refunds on the massive "commencement fee" I paid last week..... Ah, they get you coming and going, they really do.....

So I finally finished all my statistics (and this time I'm 98% sure I'm using the right tests), resulting in 59 pages of output from SPSS. (No, I am not kidding.) There's one little segment of data to finish processing, and I have my fingers crossed that it will go smoothly. Aside from that, the only thing left to do is write. That's all I plan to do for the next four weeks: write, write, write.

Well, that plus teach lab, grade papers, hold office hours, proctor exams, go to work, attend lab meetings, and mentor-slash-boss-around my undergraduate, who is currently writing a senior thesis on her part in my project.

Huh. Maybe things aren't going to settle down just yet....

Entry 12: In Which We Celebrate President's Day

2007-02-19T20:09:00.000-05:00

I love this picture of a very young Bill Clinton meeting JFK. I think it's a beautiful moment. Kinda makes me nostalgic for the old days, you know, when the president was not the punchline of every other joke.

Who knows, maybe by this time two years from now we will have inaugurated someone worthy of a little respect. We can hope.....

Entry 11: In Which We Visit New York

2007-02-18T10:58:00.000-05:00

I recently took my first trip to New York City. I had fun, and found the place both entertaining and exhausting. It's a wonderful place to visit, but I doubt I'd enjoy living there. I like my cities a bit smaller, like San Francisco and Boston. I'm not much of a photographer, but as you can see, an afternoon in Central Park brought out my inner shutterbug.

Entry 10: In Which We Laugh At Bunnies

2007-02-12T17:48:00.001-05:00

Just to keep you all entertained until I have time to write something amusing.

Entry 9: In Which I Am Bored To Tears By My Own Blog

2007-02-07T08:18:00.000-05:00

Heavens, this is a dull blog. I think it's time to rethink the whole concept.

I will have virtually no time for blogging the rest of the week, but this weekend I'll decide what, if anything, I want to do with it. Griping about my research is not the way to go. It bores me, it bores you, it probably bores the gnomes that live inside the computers and operate the internet.

There are gnomes, right?

Entry 8: In Which I Congratulate Myself

2007-02-05T19:49:00.000-05:00

That's right, that's right: today I actually finished processing all the data in the giant database. Wow.

Turns out I was quite a bit closer to the end than I had realized. When I figured that out this morning, I decided I would not leave my desk until they were done. Except for, you know, necessary breaks. And lunch. And that one meeting. Otherwise I sat there coding files until my eyes glazed over, and then some.

Result: I finished.

Of course, now I have to proofread them all. And then there's that one more smaller database left to do. But then: no more coding. Ever. Wheeee.

As ever, the very Monday-ness of today was painful, and all the coding was mind-numbing. But unlike last Monday, or any other day in the last three weeks, I'm ending it with a real sense of accomplishment. Wheeee.

In other news, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that "Lost" is returning this week with all new eps. And again I say: Wheeee.

Entry 7: In Which My Brain Turns to Goo

2007-02-03T16:04:00.000-05:00

Lovely title, no? bllarrrgh. I've been working all day (yes, on a Saturday. Shut up.). I feel good about the amount of useful stuff I've gotten done. But really, I think my brain is about to start running out my ears.

There are three big things that have to get done before I can defend my thesis. Of course, there are also a million and one smaller things that need to get done, but these are the main things:

Finish processing data.
Do statistical analysis of said data.
Write the freaking thesis.

I have an undergrad who was supposed to finish most of thing #1 during winter break. I started in on thing #3 last semester, made a bunch of progress, and started to do more in January. Then I discovered my undergrad was majorly slacking and would not be able to finish the large database she was supposed to be doing. So we switched: she is now (hopefully) doing the small database and I'm doing the big one. Which means almost all I have done for the past two weeks is work on that. I've also spent a lot of time working with a fellow grad student to figure out exactly how we need to do the statistics. But I haven't gotten any writing done at all.

Processing data goes like this: I have database full of records that need to be coded. I open up a record and read the information in it. Then I use a spiffy little flowchart to place the information in the right category. The flowchart is a series of yes/no questions, and based on the answers I go on to the next question, and the next, until I reach a score. I write it all down on data sheets (just in case of Computer Disaster). My notes look pretty cryptic: N-N-N-Y-Y-Y-Y-N--->3 N-N-N-N--->1 You get the idea. Then I enter the score in the database, click off some checkboxes to label certain characteristics of the information, and then flip to the next record.

It. Is. So. Boring.

I set a record on Wednesday: 264 records in one day. Today I got through 234. If I stay close to this level every day, I can be done with this batch by the end of the week. Then there's one more smaller batch to do. Then I can move on to statistics, then writing, and never look back.

Good grief, what a boring blog entry. As dull as it is to process all this data, I'll bet it's even worse to read about it. This blog sucks.

On the other hand, I'm really enjoying writing it. It's oddly cathartic to sit here and type for twenty minutes at the end of each day.

Should I keep this up or no? I have no idea..... Why don't I try it for another week and then decide.

Entry 6: In Which Things Become A Bit Clearer (or should that be "More Clear"?)

2007-02-01T15:16:00.000-05:00

I've been monstrously busy all day, and so have not had a chance to get all of the facts straight on the whole viral marketing thingy yesterday. I haven't yet seen the press conference people are talking about or read much about the "culprits". But here are my thoughts on what I know so far.

First, now that I actually get it, I think the idea behind this campaign is pretty cool. Put up little L.E.D. outlines of this cartoon character in random places, see if people notice them. And for people who did notice them in innocuous places, it must have been neat, especially if they were familiar with the character. (Which I'm not, excuse me for being lame and old.)

But the placement of the things on girders up under a bridge near a subway station represents some majorly questionable judgement, in my opinion. I don't think it's an overreaction to be a little freaked by something like that, especially since it was apparently hard to tell that the lights were shaped like anything in the daylight.

So what should happen to these guys? Really cool idea, poor excecution. Should they/Turner be responsible for the costs involved in tying up the police, fire department, etc. for all those hours? I'm thinking yes on that one. Should there be additional penalties, such as jail time or lawsuits? I'm thinking no. Not necessary. They evidently weren't trying to freak people out, and it wasn't really a "hoax" as the media keeps calling it. Just a really dumb mistake.

I'd love to ramble on some more about this, but I'm still monstrously busy, and my thesis is due in, let's see here...... 71 days. Yipe!

Entry 5: In Which We Are Not Blown Up By Ignignokt and Err

2007-01-31T17:58:00.000-05:00

Massive delays on the T this morning; bridges, freeways, and even the river shut down; and for what? A viral advertising campaign by Turner Broadcasting.

Here is a link to the news story. As Deval Patrick comments, it's really not funny.

Here is the statement from Turner Broadcasting admitting that they were behind it all.

They say they regret that the devices were "mistakenly thought to pose any danger", and I imagine they are sincere about regretting it. But my question is this: what did they expect people would think when they looked up and saw a circuitboard with blinky lights on the girder of a major freeway? What would your first thought be if you saw that? Would you think that it "posed any danger"? Or would you think, hey, I want to get a closer look at that thing way up there, 'cause it might be a clever marketing ploy to make me aware of some T.V. show?

News reporters keep saying that in this day and age especially, our first thought goes to terrorism. I would argue in this case that even before 9-11, most of us would be alarmed by seeing a device with blinking lights stuck up under a bridge. And I cannot understand how anyone thought that this was a good idea.

Is it true that even bad publicity is good publicity? Will Turner Broadcasting benefit from this media exposure? Was that what they were thinking when they started this?

Entry 4: In Which I Am Nearly Trampled In The Halls

2007-01-30T19:16:00.000-05:00

Our winter break is a lovely five weeks long, during which most of our 9,000 undergrads vanish. A few linger to take a winter class, but most of them are gone. Faculty and grad students generally take a little time off, then return to take full advantage of the peaceful campus and lack of teaching responsibilities. Many of us get the bulk of our work done over winter and summer breaks.

It is always such a shock when the undergrads come flooding back on the first day of the semester. I'm simply never prepared for how many of them there are, and how rowdy they can be. It's not that we don't want them around; after all, without the undergrads there would be no reason for the rest of us to be here, and personally I do enjoy teaching them. But over break we really get used to being able to leave the lab door open without the constant distraction of noise in the halls, to get on the shuttle bus without being squashed half to death by the crowd, to walk out between buildings without catching a face-full of cigarette smoke or a stray hackey-sack to the head.

But there was no way to avoid it: yesterday morning they came swarming back, all 9,000 of them, with their sound and fury, their ipods and cell phones, their class schedules and campus maps. They've taken over the hallways, the campus center, the catwalks, the classrooms...... at least the labs and offices are still ours. If the madness of the new semester gets to be too much, I can always shut my door and pretend it's still winter break......

Entry 3: In Which Monday Happens

2007-01-29T19:27:00.000-05:00

All I have to say today is: bleeaaagghh. Mondays bite.

Though I got a ton of work done today. So that's good.

But still: bleeaaagghh.

Entry 2: In Which I Suddenly Realize It's Almost February

2007-01-28T11:00:00.000-05:00

So the new semester starts tomorrow. Since I am no longer taking classes, this is not as traumatic an event as it used to be, but it does mean my T.A. duties kick back in. T.A.ing takes up about twenty hours every week. On the plus side, it tends to be a nice distraction from all the thesis-related stuff. On the minus side, well, it takes up about twenty hours. As busy as I have been the last two weeks, things are about to get much, much busier.

My duties as a T.A. include six hours a week teaching labs (which I absolutely love), a few hours a week in meetings and office hours (which tend to be mildly annoying), and an open-ended amount of time grading papers (which is the most screamingly, mind-numbingly, neuron-destroyingly, hideously, excruciatingly dull thing I've ever had to do) (well, with the exception of proctoring a three-hour exam last semester, which I will thankfully not have to do again this time around) (I hope). I've never really decided whether the fun of teaching labs quite makes up for the agony of grading papers. But I intend to fully enjoy the first two weeks of the semester, before the first batch of papers is due.

So yesterday I sat down to my usual pre-semester ritual of filling in my day-planner with all my classes, meetings, etc. Actually, I had very little to fill in, since I don't yet know what days I'm teaching or when the T.A. meetings will be (I know, it's ridiculous, but these assignments are never sorted out until midway through the first week. At least this year I know what I'm teaching, just not when.). So all I could put down was a few upcoming meetings, school holidays, and the graduation deadlines. Ahh, the deadlines....

But before I could do this, I had to buy a new day-planner. Because, apparently, sometime during the last few weeks it became 2007, meaning that my pretty little '06 day-planner is, well, no longer useful. And you would not believe how hard it was to find a new day-planner! I wound up going to five different stores. Most places were sold out of calendars long ago. Evidently, most people plan far enough ahead to buy their calendars in December, or at the very latest, the first week of January. A few places had some left, but they were remarkably ugly. We're talking fluorescent colours, gaudy stripes, etc. And since I carry my day-planner with me all over campus, I want it to be at least marginally pleasant to look at.

In the end, I found one at FranklinCovey in an inoffensive sort of beige colour. Not exactly pretty, but decent. I went through it and filled in everything I could. Even though that wasn't much, I felt better for having done it. It's a familiar little ritual that has kicked off every semester since I first started college mmffmm years ago. When I closed the calendar I felt as though I were ready for anything. Anything at all.

Entry 1: In Which I Try To Talk Myself Out Of This

2007-01-27T10:01:00.000-05:00

Reasons Not To Start a Blog:

My thesis is due on April 13. Do you have any idea how soon that is? Really, really soon! Rather than sit here typing nonsense on this blog thingy, I should be sitting here typing nonsense in my thesis thingy. (Not that my thesis is all nonsense.... really, it's a nice little thesis, but if you spend eight to ten hours a day thinking about the same thing, it eventually starts to feel like nonsense.....)
Do I really need a reason #2? #1 should really say it all. I just don't have time to blog. (That's a verb these days, right?)
I have nothing interesting to blog about. (excuse me: about which to blog.) Which is not to say my life isn't interesting. I mean, it's really interesting to me. Just not the sort of interesting that anyone in their right mind would sit around reading about. So why bother writing about it? Or at least, why write about it publically? Why not start a nice private little journal instead?

Reasons To Start a Blog

????? No really, there must be some reason..... but I can't think of one..... hmmm.....
okay here's one: Because I feel like starting a blog. Gosh!
My own sanity. Now, I realize some of you might be driven insane if forced to read my senseless babbling, but I think it might actually help keep me sane in the midst of all this thesis-ing. (Now, I know that's not a verb. But whatever.)

So far, the reasons not to seem a little more compelling. And yet, here I am. Let's examine the sanity argument for a moment.

Here's what I did yesterday: spent 3 hours reading a non-parametric statistics textbook, one hour on another stats book, two hours skimming through research papers, and another hour or so trying to figure out how everything I had just read related to my own stuff. Five or six days of this a week would drive anybody crazy, right? I usually make time for plenty of fun/relaxing stuff to unwind from all the thesis-ing (hey, that's actually a handy word), though it was difficult to find the time this week. But I think it would help to do something that's not just fun, but also mildy intellectual. Like writing about something that's not related to my thesis.

Not that I intend to do any really deep intellectual writing here, but still, the act of putting together coherent sentences and thinking of things to write about will give my brain something interesting to do, and remind me that things like writing and thinking can actually be fun. Because really, when you think and write about only one topic all day, every day, all week, you sort of start to hate thinking and writing.

Is this making any sense? I don't know. It makes sense to me, but I may not be explaining it that well. Whatever.

So I'm definitely going ahead with this blog thingy, although given my track record for new projects, it may not last very long. However, in order to counteract Reason Not To Blog #1, I think I'd better limit myself to blogging only in the evenings (or on weekends), and then only if I've finished a significant amount of work during the day. That way this will hopefully not turn into handy procrastination tool. Hopefully.

Okay then, I guess I've talked myself into this instead of out. And I'm not sure how to end this post. Should I come up with some sort of nifty post-ending catch phrase? Those tend to be rather annoying..... Maybe I should just stop typing. Yeah, let's try that.