So I have had my first half week as a Dartmouth Graduate student. This involved three days of classes, Wednesday-Friday. This term (yes term, we're not on the semester system) I am taking 5 courses, two of which are "seminar" classes. I'll explain in a bit. The other 3 courses that I'm enrolled in are Physics courses, the ones that deal with material that will end up on my PhD qualifying exam in a years time. These courses are as follows: Statistical Mechanics, Mathematical Methods, and Classical Mechanics.
The physics courses constitute most of the time I will spend in my office this semester... oh yeah! I have an office, not to myself, but with the other first year graduates. In total, I am one of 7 in the office, a large office with about 10 large desks and numerous filing cabinets. Needless to say, we have a lot of room around us and are quite comfortable in our own niches. This comfort, though, is great to facilitate learning; being around the other students whom you can talk things over with, it's quiet, located on the third floor of the Physics and Astronomy Building (Wilder Hall) away from the lecture halls and most of the traffic in the building, and finally, it's comfy and there is nothing else to do but do homework and read... this is good for someone like me who enjoys procrastinating.
The two seminars are courses on "Scientific Integrity" and "Teaching". Here we learn about ethics in the lab and in our work in general, including homework and then we learn how to TA, respectively. The seminars are important to our education and although they add a work load to our already immense work load, I welcome these courses.
In the future I intend to write about each class individually, describe the content and a little about the material specifically as well as the text book(s) that we are using. I think it will be a good insight into what really goes on in class and what I'm really learning.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Welcome to Dartmouth
I have tons to write about but am currently sitting in my office with the intent of studying for my "no fault" qualifying exam on Thursday, but am I? No, not really. I am going to be brief though and just inform the public that I have moved into my apartment, taken care of all my paperwork and have had my first year orientation. Now, the fun begins and I embark on a journey of hell. Off to study and try and get a little review in before my qual... and oh yes, I register for classes tomorrow. More later, I promise.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Last March of the Ents
First, there's a crack of the wood as the grain pulls apart, followed by the thud of the maul slamming into the chopping platform below the log. It's actually nothing fancy, just a larger piece of the trunk from a tree that we had cut down recently. The tree was dying and would have caused massive damage no matter what direction it fell; either on our house, our cars, the shed and everything inside, or into the moderately busy street we live on here in the woods of New Hampshire.
I rather hate the idea of cutting down trees; they have a striking beauty about them as they stand towering over all the creatures and beings living below. Trees are wise, having seen many hundreds of years, these trees have witnessed more history than any other individual being. I believe that all animals, including humans, have a connection with nature, all living in harmony with one another. And though humans have seemingly lost touch with nature, the connection still exists, even if it might be the minute remnant of what it once was. We have squandered our relationship with nature, hacking, slashing and burning our way in order to be ever more "civilized"... for apparently the more you destroy and overpower nature the more civilized you become by today's standards. Why is it that we have taken such great advantage of the beings that have fostered our creation and evolution? Is it the lust for power over all that is, was and ever will be? Or maybe something more simple, a lack of understanding for just how much nature is apart of our lives, both past and present?
Plants and animals have bore disease among us, yet they also provide the solutions. Would we vanquish the man or woman who has found the cure for HIV/AIDS? What about the one who discovers a serum which causes Cancer to flee the body? We would not bring death among these people, nay, to the contrary, we would propel them to a level of glory which would be envied by the kings of old. So why then, are we reigning death among the natural world? Our fellow man may never discover the cures of our worst ailments without Her. If just one species of plant is burned into extinction before it's properties can be analyzed, we may miss out on the opportunity to triumph over these illnesses.
The unnatural death of a tree fills my heart with sorrow, as if a part of my soul has died as well. I did not agree with the decision to put an end to this tree's life. Although it was old and withering, it's leaves, hardly budding, it still had some life to live and it had the intention to do so. Just as we would not end the life of an elderly person, just because their skin is wrinkled, we should not end the life of a tree which has not gasped for it's last breath, a breath which provides us with our next, transforming CO2 into Oxygen which we inhale and expel CO2, the next breath for the tree. Harmony. Life as we know it would not exist if it were not for plant life.
So how then, can I enjoy chopping wood, knowing that a tree must have died for it to be possible. While occasionally I find myself chopping wood that has had the misfortune of being at the mercy of the human will, I have no argument against chopping wood that has past due to natural causes. Silly... maybe to you, but not to me. The time honored tradition of chopping firewood puts me at ease, relieves my stress and allows me to, even just for a moment, escape the fast paced world that we exist in.
Chopping wood is as much a honed skill as it is a measure of brute force, in fact, I would take a more accurate and intelligent chopper than the strongest brute. Finding the right fissure in the grain and exploiting the natural characteristics of the wood takes a bit of thought and planning followed by an accurate swing. If the appropriate technique is applied with some forethought, little to no effort is needed aside from the raising of the axe (or maul). It is a satisfying way to pass the time and still accomplish a needed task, a task that I would gladly perform any day - especially in the winter... there is a much greater aura surrounding chopping in the winter. It brings me great pleasure, indeed.
Once again, I have found myself rambling on about topics that I did not intend to ramble on about. My aim was to speak of the proper tools and technique involved in the chopping, yet here I am speaking of my philosophy on nature and relationship with trees. Ah well, for the next time.
I rather hate the idea of cutting down trees; they have a striking beauty about them as they stand towering over all the creatures and beings living below. Trees are wise, having seen many hundreds of years, these trees have witnessed more history than any other individual being. I believe that all animals, including humans, have a connection with nature, all living in harmony with one another. And though humans have seemingly lost touch with nature, the connection still exists, even if it might be the minute remnant of what it once was. We have squandered our relationship with nature, hacking, slashing and burning our way in order to be ever more "civilized"... for apparently the more you destroy and overpower nature the more civilized you become by today's standards. Why is it that we have taken such great advantage of the beings that have fostered our creation and evolution? Is it the lust for power over all that is, was and ever will be? Or maybe something more simple, a lack of understanding for just how much nature is apart of our lives, both past and present?
Plants and animals have bore disease among us, yet they also provide the solutions. Would we vanquish the man or woman who has found the cure for HIV/AIDS? What about the one who discovers a serum which causes Cancer to flee the body? We would not bring death among these people, nay, to the contrary, we would propel them to a level of glory which would be envied by the kings of old. So why then, are we reigning death among the natural world? Our fellow man may never discover the cures of our worst ailments without Her. If just one species of plant is burned into extinction before it's properties can be analyzed, we may miss out on the opportunity to triumph over these illnesses.
The unnatural death of a tree fills my heart with sorrow, as if a part of my soul has died as well. I did not agree with the decision to put an end to this tree's life. Although it was old and withering, it's leaves, hardly budding, it still had some life to live and it had the intention to do so. Just as we would not end the life of an elderly person, just because their skin is wrinkled, we should not end the life of a tree which has not gasped for it's last breath, a breath which provides us with our next, transforming CO2 into Oxygen which we inhale and expel CO2, the next breath for the tree. Harmony. Life as we know it would not exist if it were not for plant life.
So how then, can I enjoy chopping wood, knowing that a tree must have died for it to be possible. While occasionally I find myself chopping wood that has had the misfortune of being at the mercy of the human will, I have no argument against chopping wood that has past due to natural causes. Silly... maybe to you, but not to me. The time honored tradition of chopping firewood puts me at ease, relieves my stress and allows me to, even just for a moment, escape the fast paced world that we exist in.
Chopping wood is as much a honed skill as it is a measure of brute force, in fact, I would take a more accurate and intelligent chopper than the strongest brute. Finding the right fissure in the grain and exploiting the natural characteristics of the wood takes a bit of thought and planning followed by an accurate swing. If the appropriate technique is applied with some forethought, little to no effort is needed aside from the raising of the axe (or maul). It is a satisfying way to pass the time and still accomplish a needed task, a task that I would gladly perform any day - especially in the winter... there is a much greater aura surrounding chopping in the winter. It brings me great pleasure, indeed.
Once again, I have found myself rambling on about topics that I did not intend to ramble on about. My aim was to speak of the proper tools and technique involved in the chopping, yet here I am speaking of my philosophy on nature and relationship with trees. Ah well, for the next time.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
I'm a Lumberjack...
Sometimes in life, you just need to get away and become a tourist, and after a day like today in the middle of a week like this one, I decided that it was best for me to get out and see the sights of Bangor, ME. It was recommended that I visit the 31ft tall Paul Bunyan - the largest Paul Bunyan in the world. It is said that Bangor, ME is the hometown of big Paul due to the large lumber industry that flooded into Bangor many years ago. So why wouldn't you build an enormously large, wooden tribute to him? No need for a large wooden badger, Paul Bunyan does the trick! This was just too great to stay away from and he looks kind of familiar...
Also, check out this song which was entirely necessary.
Monday, August 18, 2008
One Down in Maine
What would a trip to an ice rink in an unfamiliar state without getting lost? Unusual for me... of course, I got lost, but this time I can admit it wasn't due to my lack of navigational skills. I was given bad directions which led me to the opposite side of Brewer than that which I needed to be on. Luckily, I ended up finding the ice rink on accident, only recognizing the road it was on by the fact that its name is Acme (who could forget Willie E. Coyote?) and the knowledge that there is apparently a pool nearby. I saw and pool and guessed that it would be Acme Rd.; it was. Phew, crisis averted.
The camp is going to be a long one, though. Most of the kids are great and want to learn and want to work, exactly what any coach would ask for, but there is always a kid or two who don't care and do NOT want to get better - if they even want to play at all. I have two (brothers); one seemingly wants to learn and get better, but is too worried about what his younger brother is doing; whether or not he is behaving. His younger brother is exactly that, young, and has the attention span of a chipmunk on crack. It took some time for him and I to see eye-to-eye, or at least for him and I to get to know each other. For me, I have to learn how best to treat him, how to coach and how to get the material across to him without frustrating him and "insulting" his knowledge. He is very stubborn that he knows basically all there is to know, even at his age, but I think he is starting to understand that I know just a bit more than he does. It'll take time and a lot of patience.
I do believe that the highlight for these kids today was the off ice session. It may be only about an hour or so, but they worked there asses off and went through drills that are designed to challenge people of all abilities, including NHL players. That's one of the greatest things about plyometrics; they are designed so that each person is challenged based on their own body and not on external weights. I really do have a passion for dry land training; I love it. I love doing it myself and I love teaching other people and putting them through the gruelling hell that it can be.
There is so much potential for strength stored up in every person; people of all body types and sizes can get something out of it. Muscles are worked extremely well and there is an aerobic aspect to the exercises, allowing people to burn more calories than weightlifting alone. Weightlifting regiments can be designed to be similar, but I feel the natural weight of your own body is the best way to begin strength training and will produce some of the best results. There are so many exercises and variations of exercises that allow for flexibility at all skill levels. Each drill may be adjusted to be easy or extremely difficult. I have written a manual for the Oswego State Club Hockey team - just a compilation of all the drills I've done of the years. It needs to be expanded, though, with new drills included and new variations of old drills explained.
I don't know what it is... but the technique and power that is obtained and exemplified in plyometrics is amazing in my mind; I really do love it. If you want to run faster, jump higher and get a stronger stride in hockey (or whatever else) plyos can do it for you. Plyos are such a powerful tool.
The camp is going to be a long one, though. Most of the kids are great and want to learn and want to work, exactly what any coach would ask for, but there is always a kid or two who don't care and do NOT want to get better - if they even want to play at all. I have two (brothers); one seemingly wants to learn and get better, but is too worried about what his younger brother is doing; whether or not he is behaving. His younger brother is exactly that, young, and has the attention span of a chipmunk on crack. It took some time for him and I to see eye-to-eye, or at least for him and I to get to know each other. For me, I have to learn how best to treat him, how to coach and how to get the material across to him without frustrating him and "insulting" his knowledge. He is very stubborn that he knows basically all there is to know, even at his age, but I think he is starting to understand that I know just a bit more than he does. It'll take time and a lot of patience.
I do believe that the highlight for these kids today was the off ice session. It may be only about an hour or so, but they worked there asses off and went through drills that are designed to challenge people of all abilities, including NHL players. That's one of the greatest things about plyometrics; they are designed so that each person is challenged based on their own body and not on external weights. I really do have a passion for dry land training; I love it. I love doing it myself and I love teaching other people and putting them through the gruelling hell that it can be.
There is so much potential for strength stored up in every person; people of all body types and sizes can get something out of it. Muscles are worked extremely well and there is an aerobic aspect to the exercises, allowing people to burn more calories than weightlifting alone. Weightlifting regiments can be designed to be similar, but I feel the natural weight of your own body is the best way to begin strength training and will produce some of the best results. There are so many exercises and variations of exercises that allow for flexibility at all skill levels. Each drill may be adjusted to be easy or extremely difficult. I have written a manual for the Oswego State Club Hockey team - just a compilation of all the drills I've done of the years. It needs to be expanded, though, with new drills included and new variations of old drills explained.
I don't know what it is... but the technique and power that is obtained and exemplified in plyometrics is amazing in my mind; I really do love it. If you want to run faster, jump higher and get a stronger stride in hockey (or whatever else) plyos can do it for you. Plyos are such a powerful tool.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Rutgers Prep Camp
Back to New Jersey... oy! Well, my second to trip to NJ went a bit better than the first... at least in Somerset I could turn left at nearly every light, but in fact, I didn't have to worry about driving hardly at all - there was a shuttle from the hotel to the rink! Excellent. Last week was the Rutgers University Collegiate Prep Camp for kids thinking of pursuing college hockey, at Rutgers or otherwise. Most of the kids were high school seniors or college freshmen, with a few kids that were younger and a few that were older.
As usual, my job is to handle the goalies and make sure they get the work and feedback they deserve, especially out of a camp that is in no way designed for goaltenders. I had two - one who is going to be a junior in high school and one who was planning on trying out for an ECHL team. The ECHL hopeful goalie had actually not played very much ice hockey but is a very good roller hockey goaltender... and his first remark did it for me... he declared that ice hockey goalie was easy and took very little effort... :-O
Right then and there I knew he was going to be crap and would turn out to be more trouble than he was good. Both goaltenders needed a lot of work on their fundamentals... but only one actually thought I was right (guess which one!). After all was said and done the ECHL hopeful left the camp after a day and a half after getting lit up by high schoolers and college kids - citing they weren't good enough.
Now, I admit, it's extremely hard as a goaltender to play down a level, let alone two or three. But there was a Junior A player and a few college players out on the ice. They lit him up... not because they were slow, I watched them and his reactions... they were just better than he was. You can tell when goalies are being forced to play down a level, their reactions are either too quick or too slow and you can see them waiting... and waiting... and growing impatient with the player. But he was seeing shots that were challenging him and his reactions were being pushed to their limits. I tried to explain things to him, but after a while he would have none of it, and walked off the ice. Good luck buddy, let me know how the EC is. Ha ha... sorry... that was mean (but true).
The rest of the week I had to dress in net and provide competition. It was fun (especially against those Rutgers punks!) and I got quite a work out from the older kids. I'll admit, I didn't play well. My reactions were slow to start out and I wasn't following the puck very well at all, but oh well, I'm retired now anyway. It was fun and the off ice workouts were tough yet a ton of fun (yes I think I'm masochistic... sp?).
So I spent a week with the enemy... big deal. I'm retired, and am a coach now. But I did get some inside information; nothing huge, but still good to know. I also picked up a lot of off ice drills and on ice drills which are used by the pros (Cam Jansen and Scott Stevens in particular). I'll put the Oswego boys through one of the off ice workouts when I'm there next week, I think. They'll find it tough enough.
As usual, my job is to handle the goalies and make sure they get the work and feedback they deserve, especially out of a camp that is in no way designed for goaltenders. I had two - one who is going to be a junior in high school and one who was planning on trying out for an ECHL team. The ECHL hopeful goalie had actually not played very much ice hockey but is a very good roller hockey goaltender... and his first remark did it for me... he declared that ice hockey goalie was easy and took very little effort... :-O
Right then and there I knew he was going to be crap and would turn out to be more trouble than he was good. Both goaltenders needed a lot of work on their fundamentals... but only one actually thought I was right (guess which one!). After all was said and done the ECHL hopeful left the camp after a day and a half after getting lit up by high schoolers and college kids - citing they weren't good enough.
Now, I admit, it's extremely hard as a goaltender to play down a level, let alone two or three. But there was a Junior A player and a few college players out on the ice. They lit him up... not because they were slow, I watched them and his reactions... they were just better than he was. You can tell when goalies are being forced to play down a level, their reactions are either too quick or too slow and you can see them waiting... and waiting... and growing impatient with the player. But he was seeing shots that were challenging him and his reactions were being pushed to their limits. I tried to explain things to him, but after a while he would have none of it, and walked off the ice. Good luck buddy, let me know how the EC is. Ha ha... sorry... that was mean (but true).
The rest of the week I had to dress in net and provide competition. It was fun (especially against those Rutgers punks!) and I got quite a work out from the older kids. I'll admit, I didn't play well. My reactions were slow to start out and I wasn't following the puck very well at all, but oh well, I'm retired now anyway. It was fun and the off ice workouts were tough yet a ton of fun (yes I think I'm masochistic... sp?).
So I spent a week with the enemy... big deal. I'm retired, and am a coach now. But I did get some inside information; nothing huge, but still good to know. I also picked up a lot of off ice drills and on ice drills which are used by the pros (Cam Jansen and Scott Stevens in particular). I'll put the Oswego boys through one of the off ice workouts when I'm there next week, I think. They'll find it tough enough.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Biking
It has been just under 3 months since I graduated from Oswego, which means it's only been about 2 1/2 months since I have owned a bike. The bike was a gift from my girlfriend and her whole family since I had expressed interest in one so that I might bike to Dartmouth and back from my apartment thereby saving lots of gas and therefore tons of money.
Although the bike was meant for graduate school, I am very impatient when it comes to having new things... I like to put them to use right away. The bike was no different. I wanted to hop right on and start riding. It wasn't very long before I made my first trek out onto the roads behind my house. The trip is only about 4 miles round trip, but the hills killed me. Having just gotten done watching Le Tour I found myself in awe at how great of athletes those guys truly are; I always knew they were good, but I discovered they are pretty much not human.
Anyway, to get myself back into shape I started riding more (weather permitting) while on my breaks from hockey school. This meant I wasn't riding a whole lot. The other day, though, I went for a ride down a road I hadn't ever been down before and quickly found myself in the next town over (West Henniker) so I turned around and pedalled back to the house and googled the distance (thanks to google maps). A total of just under 7 miles, I thought that was a good distance, especially considering the hills that plague the roads of NH. I noticed, though, that there was a loop that would lead back to Hillsborough off of that same route. Today I tried that loop.
Turns out, the road that leads back to Hillsborough is closed (well the bridge at least) so I couldn't get across the river. Thus I was forced to ride up to Henniker (well maybe not forced, but I decided to go that way) and came back 202/9, a main highway between Hillsborough and Henniker. I found out this totalled about 12 miles, give or take, and adding to that my adventure to find air for my tires, I travelled a total of 14.7 miles (thanks again to google maps). I'm proud of this ride. The hills are long and steep and the distance (at least for me) is quite long. And only taking about an hour to ride, that's a good pace in my mind. I've taken a liking to bike riding, it's refreshing and a fantastic leg and cardio workout. All this makes the trip from an apartment to Dartmouth seem simple. So thanks again to those who helped contribute to the bike, it's well worth it and I've found a new hobby!
Although the bike was meant for graduate school, I am very impatient when it comes to having new things... I like to put them to use right away. The bike was no different. I wanted to hop right on and start riding. It wasn't very long before I made my first trek out onto the roads behind my house. The trip is only about 4 miles round trip, but the hills killed me. Having just gotten done watching Le Tour I found myself in awe at how great of athletes those guys truly are; I always knew they were good, but I discovered they are pretty much not human.
Anyway, to get myself back into shape I started riding more (weather permitting) while on my breaks from hockey school. This meant I wasn't riding a whole lot. The other day, though, I went for a ride down a road I hadn't ever been down before and quickly found myself in the next town over (West Henniker) so I turned around and pedalled back to the house and googled the distance (thanks to google maps). A total of just under 7 miles, I thought that was a good distance, especially considering the hills that plague the roads of NH. I noticed, though, that there was a loop that would lead back to Hillsborough off of that same route. Today I tried that loop.
Turns out, the road that leads back to Hillsborough is closed (well the bridge at least) so I couldn't get across the river. Thus I was forced to ride up to Henniker (well maybe not forced, but I decided to go that way) and came back 202/9, a main highway between Hillsborough and Henniker. I found out this totalled about 12 miles, give or take, and adding to that my adventure to find air for my tires, I travelled a total of 14.7 miles (thanks again to google maps). I'm proud of this ride. The hills are long and steep and the distance (at least for me) is quite long. And only taking about an hour to ride, that's a good pace in my mind. I've taken a liking to bike riding, it's refreshing and a fantastic leg and cardio workout. All this makes the trip from an apartment to Dartmouth seem simple. So thanks again to those who helped contribute to the bike, it's well worth it and I've found a new hobby!
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