I simply cannot believe it. Starting Monday I enter into my third term at graduate school! Did I not just begin!? While the goings on of my second term were not really reported I hope to keep the public informed about the status of this next one. Ahead of me are two classes: Galatic Dynamics and General Relativity, along with my teaching assistantship. As with last term, I will again be aiding with the laboratory work of P14, which is the second term of the University Physics at Dartmouth. Topics include: electricity and magnetism, DC/AC circuits, and special relativity. I wrapped e&m waves in with e&m, which means they also get into light and so forth (obviously)!
Before classes begin on Monday I do need to wrap up reducing my data from MDM back in February. I need to double check some aspects of what I have done thus far. That will likely be completed tomorrow before and after I set up tea and attend colloquium. This weeks tea is apparently extremely important since 17 prospective grad. students will be visiting. It will be interesting to see how many new grad. students the department takes on next year, considering the budget cuts due to our thriving economy.
Anyhow, I will lay out what I hope to accomplish in the next few days. I will hopefully tell you about: My research, my classes, and other stuff. Do keep checking in!
Also, if you have not perused the IYA '09 website, please do! This year is the international year of astronomy, 400 years since the advent of the telescope! There is a great gift/toy on the website called a Galileoscope. It is a nifty little telescope that is highly affordable. I have purchased one of my own and donated one as well! I urge you to do the same!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sorrow
I write tonight with a heavy heart. Today, around 4pm, my pup Sammy took his last breath and entered into the realm of infinite biscuits. I will never forget St. Patricks Day 2009; it will live forever inside me, as will the memory of a pup that touched the lives of everyone he met. With a simple wag of the tail he commanded a room and won the hearts of each and every person he decided should pet him. It was with great sorrow that we had to make the decision to ease him into the next world, but it was the correct one. It would have been cruel for us to keep him in this world longer than he could handle. But, I believe that is the ironic part. His body was going to hell, to be blunt. Standing up after a good nap was a difficult chore and going to the bathroom was no longer a concious decision and yet his heart was pumping as strong as ever. His doctor was amazed at how healthy and strong it was for his frail condition. Sammy loved life. He loved running circles around the yard waiting to find something to bark, and snoofing around the woodpile, searching hopelessly to find a critter to chase, and who could forget all the chores he could do to get food! Sammy loved his food... he loved everything... he was the happiest being on the planet
Sammy... you are missed dearly... I love you.
[June 15, 1994 - March 17, 2009]
Sammy... you are missed dearly... I love you.
[June 15, 1994 - March 17, 2009]
Monday, March 16, 2009
Told You
See, here's the thing... I wasn't going to say it, but I feel as if I should; so I will. I told you so. I knew in the depths of my heart that keeping up with the blog would be difficult for me. I don't know what it is. I enjoy posting my thoughts and informative pieces about whatever I choose, but the whole idea of regularly doing it just doesn't bode well with me. I have plenty to say at times, but just do not feel like sitting down at the computer and typing away. Call me lazy (I sure do), but outside of that, I do not know what it is. I am going to attempt, once again to keep up with this regularly.
Things to look forward to: Recap of this past terms classes, introduction to my area of research, some details of the research, and other general astronomy stuff. Oh, and who can forget hockey. I think I'll begin with that.
If you follow sports news at all, then you should know that Martin Brodeur has tied Patrick Roy's record of 551 career wins. This is huge! As a Roy fan I am saddened to watch as the record WILL fall this year, probably this very week, but at the same time it's fantastic to see such a greater goaltender enter into the record books. I may not be the biggest Marty Brodeur fan, but his talent is undeniable. He is unquestionably one of the top 5 goaltenders (where and how you rank goalies has always been a matter of debate). I most certainly think he is the best goaltender to ever play the sport, but I'll also put up a good argument for Patrick. To all who care about hockey: hockey history is being made this week, you'd be wise to pay attention.
Things to look forward to: Recap of this past terms classes, introduction to my area of research, some details of the research, and other general astronomy stuff. Oh, and who can forget hockey. I think I'll begin with that.
If you follow sports news at all, then you should know that Martin Brodeur has tied Patrick Roy's record of 551 career wins. This is huge! As a Roy fan I am saddened to watch as the record WILL fall this year, probably this very week, but at the same time it's fantastic to see such a greater goaltender enter into the record books. I may not be the biggest Marty Brodeur fan, but his talent is undeniable. He is unquestionably one of the top 5 goaltenders (where and how you rank goalies has always been a matter of debate). I most certainly think he is the best goaltender to ever play the sport, but I'll also put up a good argument for Patrick. To all who care about hockey: hockey history is being made this week, you'd be wise to pay attention.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
MDM
It is official: I have confirmed the booking of a plane ticket to Tucson, AZ for my first observing run. This is very exciting. I have focused most of my career on the theoretical, modelling side of astrophysics, while only working with observational data during the summer of 2007 while at the University of Rochester. Even there, though, the data was taken using the Spitzer Space Telescope and sent through a series of pipelines and initial data reduction before being logged and archived on a server at Cornell.
Now, I get to take the data myself. Point the telescope, focus the lens and get my hands "dirty" taking data on the top of a lonely mountain in the Arizona desert. Whereby "dirty" I mean I will probably get orange finger tips from a bag of Cheetos as I sit at the desk and tell the computer what to do. Either way, my hands will be dirty!
This run is kind of short notice and was not actually planned until Wednesday when I got an offer to go and train for a few days before my big run in May. Since the data in May will need to be very accurate, I will need to cut down on human induced errors, aka: stupid me. So arose the prospect for a training weekend. I will still be taking data, obviously, but the need to super high accuracy may not be necessary since I still have 5 nights in May.
The telescope I will be using is the 1.3m McGraw-Hill telescope at the MDM Observatory located on Kitt Peak in Tucson, AZ. Right next door to this scope is the 2.4m telescope which another professor from Dartmouth will be working on. He will be the one training me, but he will spend most of his time on the 2.4m, taking data for another professor at another university who is apparently in Chile on an observing run.
So with only a weeks notice and little time to prepare for the upcoming run, it should be a good trip and an interesting time atop the mountain.
Now, I get to take the data myself. Point the telescope, focus the lens and get my hands "dirty" taking data on the top of a lonely mountain in the Arizona desert. Whereby "dirty" I mean I will probably get orange finger tips from a bag of Cheetos as I sit at the desk and tell the computer what to do. Either way, my hands will be dirty!
This run is kind of short notice and was not actually planned until Wednesday when I got an offer to go and train for a few days before my big run in May. Since the data in May will need to be very accurate, I will need to cut down on human induced errors, aka: stupid me. So arose the prospect for a training weekend. I will still be taking data, obviously, but the need to super high accuracy may not be necessary since I still have 5 nights in May.
The telescope I will be using is the 1.3m McGraw-Hill telescope at the MDM Observatory located on Kitt Peak in Tucson, AZ. Right next door to this scope is the 2.4m telescope which another professor from Dartmouth will be working on. He will be the one training me, but he will spend most of his time on the 2.4m, taking data for another professor at another university who is apparently in Chile on an observing run.
So with only a weeks notice and little time to prepare for the upcoming run, it should be a good trip and an interesting time atop the mountain.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Satan's Lamp
Who in the world gave me access to a blog and thought that I was actually going to keep up with it? I don't know, thanks Google for having free blogs. I think if I had to pay for it I would definitely post more often. Although... if it were not free, I wouldn't be blogging! So who knows what the right solution is to get me to post SOMETHING, ANYTHING during the busy times in my life. Well, I shouldn't say that I was all too busy before Christmas, but afterwards I had the important issue of spending time with my girlfriend, who I hadn't seen in 10 weeks. Who has time for blogging when you could be spending time doing something much more entertaining and enjoying the short time you have with you girlfriend!?
Since I had to write about something and not just my pathetic blogging habits, I have decided to save this story just for the blog. And by story, well, it's not really a story. It's more of a weird coincidence that is going way too far. So each day after I spend countless hours in my office, I take the 5 minute walk from Wilder Laboratory to the parking lot which I recently learned was named "the pit". It's just a parking lot... there really isn't anything ominous about it, except the path from the side walk down to the cars is a tad bit steep.
So on this trip, one day, I noticed that the street lamp went out near the Medical School. I've seen this before dozens of times (not this particular street lamp, but in general). I'm not entirely sure why the street lamps go out and do not stay lit - possibly to conserve energy? - but either way it's never different lamps, always the same ones. So I've been tracking the habits of this street lamp each night I walk by. No matter what time of night I walk by it, it ALWAYS goes out when I approach it. There have been times where I've been alone or when other have been walking by... but invariably, whenever I walk up to the lamp, it goes out! What does this lamp have against me!? I mean seriously, once or twice, okay, kinda funny, but every single time!? It's verging on hilarity!
Even today, the lamp went out... except this time, it started flickering like mad when I got up next to it. As the light flickered on and off I was looking around, seeing where my attacker was coming from, I mean... one had to be coming, right!? Aside from the lack of suspenseful music slowly building up as I pass the lamp post, I was convinced that I was in some horror flick with the villain waiting to pounce. I'm pretty sure this lamp has it out for me. It's waiting for me to slip on a patch of ice made invisible by it's lack of photons surging forth to light my way.
Damn that lamp post... I will figure out it's malicious plot one of these days and I shall have my vengeance! Now let us just hope that it's lack of illumination doesn't due me in first!
Since I had to write about something and not just my pathetic blogging habits, I have decided to save this story just for the blog. And by story, well, it's not really a story. It's more of a weird coincidence that is going way too far. So each day after I spend countless hours in my office, I take the 5 minute walk from Wilder Laboratory to the parking lot which I recently learned was named "the pit". It's just a parking lot... there really isn't anything ominous about it, except the path from the side walk down to the cars is a tad bit steep.
So on this trip, one day, I noticed that the street lamp went out near the Medical School. I've seen this before dozens of times (not this particular street lamp, but in general). I'm not entirely sure why the street lamps go out and do not stay lit - possibly to conserve energy? - but either way it's never different lamps, always the same ones. So I've been tracking the habits of this street lamp each night I walk by. No matter what time of night I walk by it, it ALWAYS goes out when I approach it. There have been times where I've been alone or when other have been walking by... but invariably, whenever I walk up to the lamp, it goes out! What does this lamp have against me!? I mean seriously, once or twice, okay, kinda funny, but every single time!? It's verging on hilarity!
Even today, the lamp went out... except this time, it started flickering like mad when I got up next to it. As the light flickered on and off I was looking around, seeing where my attacker was coming from, I mean... one had to be coming, right!? Aside from the lack of suspenseful music slowly building up as I pass the lamp post, I was convinced that I was in some horror flick with the villain waiting to pounce. I'm pretty sure this lamp has it out for me. It's waiting for me to slip on a patch of ice made invisible by it's lack of photons surging forth to light my way.
Damn that lamp post... I will figure out it's malicious plot one of these days and I shall have my vengeance! Now let us just hope that it's lack of illumination doesn't due me in first!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Christmas Shopping
I finally got off my ass and decided to wrap the gifts I got for everyone for Christmas. Although I'm not entirely done shopping (I have at least one more item to get), I figured I shouldn't put off wrapping until the last minute, that can only lead to a mad rush which results in terrible wrapping.
Did I say terrible wrapping? I meant horrible-did-a-troll-wrap-that wrapping. I am admittedly a bad wrapper... I can never cut straight. So either I'm mildly retarded or I have a crooked head. But things got wrapped that's for sure! The only thing I was missing was tissue paper for gift bags, which I've decided are made for people like me; those too inept to wrap anything with wrapping paper. The best wrapping jobs that I have were not done by me... but gift wrapped by lady at the store... but my wrapping paper is better (Snoopy!).
I also ran a quick check on how much I ended up spending on gifts. I miraculously hit my target... I didn't think it was possible. And yes, that's including the gift I still have to get. I still may splurge if I find something perfect for someone, so who knows. I could be predicting a victory way to early.
Did I say terrible wrapping? I meant horrible-did-a-troll-wrap-that wrapping. I am admittedly a bad wrapper... I can never cut straight. So either I'm mildly retarded or I have a crooked head. But things got wrapped that's for sure! The only thing I was missing was tissue paper for gift bags, which I've decided are made for people like me; those too inept to wrap anything with wrapping paper. The best wrapping jobs that I have were not done by me... but gift wrapped by lady at the store... but my wrapping paper is better (Snoopy!).
I also ran a quick check on how much I ended up spending on gifts. I miraculously hit my target... I didn't think it was possible. And yes, that's including the gift I still have to get. I still may splurge if I find something perfect for someone, so who knows. I could be predicting a victory way to early.
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