Thursday, April 27, 2006
Pronunciation
I was looking at cnn.com this morning to see what was in the news and discovered this link. I was immediately drawn to it because I'm from Wisconsin. I tried to access missprouncer.com, but I kept getting an error page. But still, I thought it was kind of fun to read the article, even though I would hardly consider that front page material on a national news website. Back home, I'm sure it's one of the top news stories. Anyway, I just wanted to share this with anyone that reads my blog.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Epiphany
I've been studying thermodynamics the past couple weeks, since I have very little knowledge of that particular subject. I'm going through Maria's notes (she's a TA for thermo) and it's actually helping, even though I didn't start sitting in on the class until last week. And this is only because Jerry is teaching it. He's such a good teacher because he effectively brings the subject matter down to a level that people can understand.
But, I digress. My point is this. As I was copying the notes (I could have photocopied them, but I retain information better if I write it down), there was a lecture about the attractive forces between molecules. There was a short table listing different molecules (N2, O2, CO2, and H2O) and a value measuring the attractive forces between them. It turns out that H2O has a much larger attractive force than any of the other gases, and this is why H2O can change phase from vapor to liquid. I know this may not sound like much, and I'm sure other people knew this, but I didn't. (Or if I did, I didn't retain it.) It's just something I never really thought about, and to see it there made total sense to me. I had always just taken for granted that H2O could be in any phase, because that's what I've seen.
See, this is one of the things about grad school that sucks. (Yes, I know there are many, but I'm sticking around because I'm a masochist.) In the core classes, at least in the meteorology department, they don't focus on giving physical examples a lot of the time. The main focus is deriving equations, which is all well and good (I like equations, but I was a math major, so that's a given). But deriving equations just for the sake of deriving equations is not all that helpful. That's the problem I had with being a math major. In the upper-level classes we were proving things for the sake of proving them, and I didn't really see the point in that. Basically what I'm saying is that I need some sort of motivation as to why the equations are important. Physical examples help out so much.
Of course, it would also help if the profs realized that we all didn't come from a meteorological background, so they would keep going and going and expect us to follow what they're talking about. True, in our acceptance packets they recommend us reading a textbook on meteorology. And I didn't even buy that book because I was trying to save all the money I was earning to actually be able to move out here. (Isn't that a silly reason not to buy a textbook?) They also offer a intro to meteo course for new grads, which is somewhat helpful, but it's still cramming a BS in meteorology into one semester. So, we hit on topics very lightly and quickly.
My point in all this is that the department should highly encourage people to sit in on undergrad classes. That would have been so useful for me, because it's in undergrad classes that things are explained in physical terms as well as equations. But, anyway, I wanted to share my epiphany with the world, or at least the people who read my blog regularly.
But, I digress. My point is this. As I was copying the notes (I could have photocopied them, but I retain information better if I write it down), there was a lecture about the attractive forces between molecules. There was a short table listing different molecules (N2, O2, CO2, and H2O) and a value measuring the attractive forces between them. It turns out that H2O has a much larger attractive force than any of the other gases, and this is why H2O can change phase from vapor to liquid. I know this may not sound like much, and I'm sure other people knew this, but I didn't. (Or if I did, I didn't retain it.) It's just something I never really thought about, and to see it there made total sense to me. I had always just taken for granted that H2O could be in any phase, because that's what I've seen.
See, this is one of the things about grad school that sucks. (Yes, I know there are many, but I'm sticking around because I'm a masochist.) In the core classes, at least in the meteorology department, they don't focus on giving physical examples a lot of the time. The main focus is deriving equations, which is all well and good (I like equations, but I was a math major, so that's a given). But deriving equations just for the sake of deriving equations is not all that helpful. That's the problem I had with being a math major. In the upper-level classes we were proving things for the sake of proving them, and I didn't really see the point in that. Basically what I'm saying is that I need some sort of motivation as to why the equations are important. Physical examples help out so much.
Of course, it would also help if the profs realized that we all didn't come from a meteorological background, so they would keep going and going and expect us to follow what they're talking about. True, in our acceptance packets they recommend us reading a textbook on meteorology. And I didn't even buy that book because I was trying to save all the money I was earning to actually be able to move out here. (Isn't that a silly reason not to buy a textbook?) They also offer a intro to meteo course for new grads, which is somewhat helpful, but it's still cramming a BS in meteorology into one semester. So, we hit on topics very lightly and quickly.
My point in all this is that the department should highly encourage people to sit in on undergrad classes. That would have been so useful for me, because it's in undergrad classes that things are explained in physical terms as well as equations. But, anyway, I wanted to share my epiphany with the world, or at least the people who read my blog regularly.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Tree Sweater
I was looking on cuteoverload.com (see link in sidebar) and at the top of the page was the following picture:
There's more to this story on a blog (click here) from someone in Seattle. I don't know why I was struck by this, but I do think it's cute, in a strange sort of way. Anyway, that's all for now.
There's more to this story on a blog (click here) from someone in Seattle. I don't know why I was struck by this, but I do think it's cute, in a strange sort of way. Anyway, that's all for now.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Even More Randomness
I know that I should write an actual blog entry at some point, but lately a lot of random things have happened, and none of them would make for a long (or cohesive) entry, hence the random thoughts.
- Last night was poker night. Instead of Texas Hold 'Em, we played seven card stud. I think I like stud better than Hold 'Em. It requires a bit more strategy and some luck, but not as much as in Hold 'Em. Of course, I may be a little biased because I won the small tournament last night, which was fun. I just kept getting lucky, and semi-bluffing at some pots. The only bad thing is that it was a limit game and at the beginning the limits weren't going up all that fast, so it took a long time to actually finish the game. I think we started a little after 8:00 and I ended up leaving at 12:45.
- After the game, as I was driving home, there was an amazing thunderstorm. Lots of lightning, some nice cracks of thunder, basically very impressive. I love thunderstorms anyway, I always have. In fact, when there's a severe thunderstorm watch/warning, instead of going someplace safe, I sit by the window and watch. Anyway, last night was cool, and we had another one this afternoon. It wasn't quite as impressive, but still nice enough to comment on.
- I'm getting really tired of the bus drivers in this town. I got on a blue loop when I left Walker Building, and there was this woman bus driver. I've seen her before, so that wasn't the shocking part. First of all, she never really seems all that happy. I mean, I know that people who drive bus probably had higher expectations out of life and probably didn't think they'd end up doing that. Still, though, people should at least be friendly, or be able to moderately fake it. That didn't really surprise me either because she always looks pissed off about something. But today, she was just a horrid driver. Every stop we came to she seemed to slam on the brakes. Luckily, I got a seat, but there were some times where I had to brace myself on the back of the seat in front of me. Seriously, if you're going to drive a bus, you need to realize that it is a big vehicle and needs more time to stop than that. It's not that hard to realize. Plus, bus drivers should at least take enough care to not have people being thrown all over the place. It was just awful.
- One more random thought. This one about a commercial. It's for those EPT pregnancy tests. Specifically I'm talking about the one where this woman is running and a voiceover of her says, "I can't concentrate lately. Could I be pregnant?" OK, it may just be me, but I don't see how those two thoughts connect at all. Maybe it's because I'm a guy that I find that odd. If any women readers out there want to enlighten me, I'd love to hear about it. But, for me, I can't concentrate a lot of the time, and I'm fairly certain I'm not pregnant. Of course, if I were, I'd be exploiting it, getting as much money as I can. I'm going off on a tangent here, which is getting a little weird, so I'm going to stop and ask again for women's opinions on this commercial.
Well, I think that's it for now. At least that's all I can think of, but I'm sure more will come to me sooner or later.
- Last night was poker night. Instead of Texas Hold 'Em, we played seven card stud. I think I like stud better than Hold 'Em. It requires a bit more strategy and some luck, but not as much as in Hold 'Em. Of course, I may be a little biased because I won the small tournament last night, which was fun. I just kept getting lucky, and semi-bluffing at some pots. The only bad thing is that it was a limit game and at the beginning the limits weren't going up all that fast, so it took a long time to actually finish the game. I think we started a little after 8:00 and I ended up leaving at 12:45.
- After the game, as I was driving home, there was an amazing thunderstorm. Lots of lightning, some nice cracks of thunder, basically very impressive. I love thunderstorms anyway, I always have. In fact, when there's a severe thunderstorm watch/warning, instead of going someplace safe, I sit by the window and watch. Anyway, last night was cool, and we had another one this afternoon. It wasn't quite as impressive, but still nice enough to comment on.
- I'm getting really tired of the bus drivers in this town. I got on a blue loop when I left Walker Building, and there was this woman bus driver. I've seen her before, so that wasn't the shocking part. First of all, she never really seems all that happy. I mean, I know that people who drive bus probably had higher expectations out of life and probably didn't think they'd end up doing that. Still, though, people should at least be friendly, or be able to moderately fake it. That didn't really surprise me either because she always looks pissed off about something. But today, she was just a horrid driver. Every stop we came to she seemed to slam on the brakes. Luckily, I got a seat, but there were some times where I had to brace myself on the back of the seat in front of me. Seriously, if you're going to drive a bus, you need to realize that it is a big vehicle and needs more time to stop than that. It's not that hard to realize. Plus, bus drivers should at least take enough care to not have people being thrown all over the place. It was just awful.
- One more random thought. This one about a commercial. It's for those EPT pregnancy tests. Specifically I'm talking about the one where this woman is running and a voiceover of her says, "I can't concentrate lately. Could I be pregnant?" OK, it may just be me, but I don't see how those two thoughts connect at all. Maybe it's because I'm a guy that I find that odd. If any women readers out there want to enlighten me, I'd love to hear about it. But, for me, I can't concentrate a lot of the time, and I'm fairly certain I'm not pregnant. Of course, if I were, I'd be exploiting it, getting as much money as I can. I'm going off on a tangent here, which is getting a little weird, so I'm going to stop and ask again for women's opinions on this commercial.
Well, I think that's it for now. At least that's all I can think of, but I'm sure more will come to me sooner or later.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
More randomness
It seems like lately all I've been having is random thoughts. I don't know why I want to share them in my blog, but I do. So here are some more.
- I keep forgetting Easter is this Sunday. One of my students today came up at the end of lab and told me to enjoy my holiday weekend and I think I must have looked funny or dazed or something. Then he said something about Easter, so that helped me to remember. I hardly consider it a holiday anymore, mainly because I can't go home for it. And the fact that we don't even get Good Friday off here. So, it just comes and goes, and I don't really make a big deal of it.
- I've been having this craving for milkshakes lately. I don't really understand it. But, I've had one from many different places in town, but nothing can compare to Culvers, which hasn't quite made it this far east. Those are SO good.
- I'm so glad it's finally starting to feel like spring. It's nice to go outside with no jacket on. The only problem is it's still chilly when I leave for campus, so I wear pants instead of shorts. And then when I leave, I'm really warm. I think I need to have a separate wardrobe for Walker Building.
- I don't know if this is just me, but sometimes when I'm looking at words, they seem not to be spelled right or just kind of look funny, even though they are correctly spelled. I'm thinking it's just me. Of course, if anyone else feels the same way, I'd really like to know I'm not alone.
- I skipped my second group meeting in two weeks. Damn. I'm so upset. (I apologize for the sarcasm dripping down your screen.) Seriously, I don't really care about them anymore. Ever since He-who-must-not-be-named (no, not Voldemort) basically said that my presentation wasn't up to snuff, I couldn't care less. In fact, I was intending on having him on my committee, but now, that's not going to happen. I'm sure Ray won't be thrilled, but I don't care. I've just about lost all respect for You-know-who (again, not Voldemort), and I don't think I could deal with having a committee member that I don't respect. So, that's just my theory on the whole thing. I suppose I'll have to talk to Ray about it soon, and I'm just going to be honest.
- It seems like all the undergraduates have so much energy when it's nice out. I tried to teach a little bit today (very little since it was another video day) and I couldn't get them to shut up. I even asked them if they could shut up, and some people laughed, while others just kept yammering away. But, I think they were relatively pleased having a video day, and it was short as well. Only about a half-hour. I can totally deal with that.
- Yesterday I had to mail some stuff, so as I left work, I walked to the mailbox on campus and then walked up to catch a bus to the BJC (after getting a shake at the Creamery). I was waiting there for some time when someone walked up to those of us that were waiting and told us that there had been an accident by the library and no traffic was getting through. To be honest, I was shocked! People in Pennsylvania are such good drivers! (Yeah, I'm sorry about the sarcasm dripping down your screen again.) I know that there are bad drivers in every state, but PA seems to have a lot of them.
- I just read an article about the Dixie Chicks and how the first single they released from the newest CD is called "Not Ready to Make Nice." This is in reference to the comment Natalie made about being ashamed to share a state with the President. I loved their music before that, and I loved them even more after that. And I'm thinking I'll be loving them even more with this new CD. But, what I find really sad is that a lot of stations refuse to play the single because they don't want to open old wounds. I, personally, didn't know there were old wounds. I thought they were still fresh. Anyway, I do like that they aren't backing away from what they said. And the fact that stations and people are refusing to listen to their music just shows how closed-minded some can be.
Well, I think that's about it for now. It's almost time for Gilmore Girls, and I should try to get some studying done, but we know that's not going to happen anymore tonight, don't we? Oh, well. The exam is still about a month away. The fact that I'm already studying surprised the hell out of me. And on that note, I'm off.
- I keep forgetting Easter is this Sunday. One of my students today came up at the end of lab and told me to enjoy my holiday weekend and I think I must have looked funny or dazed or something. Then he said something about Easter, so that helped me to remember. I hardly consider it a holiday anymore, mainly because I can't go home for it. And the fact that we don't even get Good Friday off here. So, it just comes and goes, and I don't really make a big deal of it.
- I've been having this craving for milkshakes lately. I don't really understand it. But, I've had one from many different places in town, but nothing can compare to Culvers, which hasn't quite made it this far east. Those are SO good.
- I'm so glad it's finally starting to feel like spring. It's nice to go outside with no jacket on. The only problem is it's still chilly when I leave for campus, so I wear pants instead of shorts. And then when I leave, I'm really warm. I think I need to have a separate wardrobe for Walker Building.
- I don't know if this is just me, but sometimes when I'm looking at words, they seem not to be spelled right or just kind of look funny, even though they are correctly spelled. I'm thinking it's just me. Of course, if anyone else feels the same way, I'd really like to know I'm not alone.
- I skipped my second group meeting in two weeks. Damn. I'm so upset. (I apologize for the sarcasm dripping down your screen.) Seriously, I don't really care about them anymore. Ever since He-who-must-not-be-named (no, not Voldemort) basically said that my presentation wasn't up to snuff, I couldn't care less. In fact, I was intending on having him on my committee, but now, that's not going to happen. I'm sure Ray won't be thrilled, but I don't care. I've just about lost all respect for You-know-who (again, not Voldemort), and I don't think I could deal with having a committee member that I don't respect. So, that's just my theory on the whole thing. I suppose I'll have to talk to Ray about it soon, and I'm just going to be honest.
- It seems like all the undergraduates have so much energy when it's nice out. I tried to teach a little bit today (very little since it was another video day) and I couldn't get them to shut up. I even asked them if they could shut up, and some people laughed, while others just kept yammering away. But, I think they were relatively pleased having a video day, and it was short as well. Only about a half-hour. I can totally deal with that.
- Yesterday I had to mail some stuff, so as I left work, I walked to the mailbox on campus and then walked up to catch a bus to the BJC (after getting a shake at the Creamery). I was waiting there for some time when someone walked up to those of us that were waiting and told us that there had been an accident by the library and no traffic was getting through. To be honest, I was shocked! People in Pennsylvania are such good drivers! (Yeah, I'm sorry about the sarcasm dripping down your screen again.) I know that there are bad drivers in every state, but PA seems to have a lot of them.
- I just read an article about the Dixie Chicks and how the first single they released from the newest CD is called "Not Ready to Make Nice." This is in reference to the comment Natalie made about being ashamed to share a state with the President. I loved their music before that, and I loved them even more after that. And I'm thinking I'll be loving them even more with this new CD. But, what I find really sad is that a lot of stations refuse to play the single because they don't want to open old wounds. I, personally, didn't know there were old wounds. I thought they were still fresh. Anyway, I do like that they aren't backing away from what they said. And the fact that stations and people are refusing to listen to their music just shows how closed-minded some can be.
Well, I think that's about it for now. It's almost time for Gilmore Girls, and I should try to get some studying done, but we know that's not going to happen anymore tonight, don't we? Oh, well. The exam is still about a month away. The fact that I'm already studying surprised the hell out of me. And on that note, I'm off.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Some Randomness
It's been so long since I've written an entry on here. I feel like the past month was just a blur. But in this entry, I'm just going to throw some random thoughts out there, and next time (which hopefully won't be so far away) I'll have a proper entry.
- OK, I know the Oscars were a long time ago, and I had intended on writing an entire entry commenting on what I thought. So, I'll just summarize it here. The best movie won. That's my opinion. Yes, Brokeback Mountain was groundbreaking, and it was a good movie. But when I left the theater, it didn't make that much of an impression on me. Crash, however, left me thinking long after I saw it. Plus, with Brokeback, it wasn't like there were a lot of instances where you could tell that Jack and Ennis were a couple: one sex scene, one lengthy makeout scene, but that's about all. That doesn't really equal love for me. But, it's just my opinion, and I'll leave it at that.
- The other day, I was clipping a stray hair from my eyebrows and I was left wondering what is the point of having eyebrows. They really don't seem to have a real purpose. If anyone wants to clue me in, feel free.
- Last week was incredibly tiring. The other TA for METEO 3 had to have emergency surgery, which I found out about Monday night, so I volunteered to cover her classes last week. Unfortunately, there are three labs on Tuesday and they are back to back from 11:15 until 5:30. So, I was very, very tired at the end of the day. Then I had to teach two more on Wednesday. I think I'm just too nice for my own good. And that I seriously overestimate my endurance for teaching. It's finally been worked out that I won't have to do that for the rest of the semester, so I'm happy about that, but I do think I should get some sort of bonus. Or something more than a "thank you" for doing twice the amount of work that I should have done. Of course, I may be being just a little selfish....
- Speaking of teaching, there was this one kid in my morning lab on Wednesday who was being quite the bitch. I took two points off of her lab because she forgot to label her isopleths, but she had everything else perfect. And she has the gall to try to get those points back. Well, I wasn't about to back down, and then she just sat in a huff and complained that she doesn't care anymore. Well, boo-freakin-hoo. I don't know how many times I've told people to label their isopleths, but still people forget. Of course, as I was grading her lab this weekend, I took a little more pleasure in taking off points. And if she doesn't watch it, I may just make a little mistake in calculating the grades. The lesson here: don't piss me off. I'm a scorpio, and once people get on my bad side, they stay there for a good long time.
- I finally got to play poker again on Thursday. It's been such a long time. We were supposed to play seven card stud, but we didn't really have enough people. So we went back to Texas Hold 'Em. Unfortunately, I wasn't catching any cards, so I didn't make it as far as I would have liked. What can I do, though? Luck wasn't with me that night.
- I had a team meeting a week ago, with everyone that is working on the carbon budget on the east coast continental shelf. I gave a presentation, and I seemed to get good reviews and feedback from people. That made me feel validated, and not like an utter waste of space that a certain other professor made me feel. I'm still a little bitter about that. Seriously, he bases his email on one presentation. I'd like to see him make another conclusion in his research using one data point. He would never do that! But whatever. I don't have to please him. This whole debacle made me decide not to have him on my committee. That's all there is to it. I'd rather have people who will give constructive criticism, and he doesn't really do that well. To paraphrase Rory from Gilmore Girls, he had all the tact of a Nazi storm trooper. (That's a double insult because he is German.)
- I can't believe it's April already. Where has the time gone? It seems like time goes faster and faster as I get older. I'd love for it to slow down a bit. I know it won't, but it would be nice.
- I've become addicted to playing speed online. It's at superarcade.com. It's just like what I used to play as an undergrad with a friend between our lecture class and the lab. So much fun! It doesn't take a whole lot of strategy, just speed (hence the name) and luck. One time I was playing it online and I got nearly to level 30. I haven't been able to get nearly that far lately, though.
Well, I guess that's it. I'm toying with the idea of creating another blog for some commentary I write about the soaps I watch. (Yes, I like daytime dramas.... ) We'll see, though. I may not have enough time to keep it going, but I think it would be fun, as long as it doesn't get to drama filled between commentors. I'll put it in the sidebar if I do create one. And with that, I'm going to stop typing.
- OK, I know the Oscars were a long time ago, and I had intended on writing an entire entry commenting on what I thought. So, I'll just summarize it here. The best movie won. That's my opinion. Yes, Brokeback Mountain was groundbreaking, and it was a good movie. But when I left the theater, it didn't make that much of an impression on me. Crash, however, left me thinking long after I saw it. Plus, with Brokeback, it wasn't like there were a lot of instances where you could tell that Jack and Ennis were a couple: one sex scene, one lengthy makeout scene, but that's about all. That doesn't really equal love for me. But, it's just my opinion, and I'll leave it at that.
- The other day, I was clipping a stray hair from my eyebrows and I was left wondering what is the point of having eyebrows. They really don't seem to have a real purpose. If anyone wants to clue me in, feel free.
- Last week was incredibly tiring. The other TA for METEO 3 had to have emergency surgery, which I found out about Monday night, so I volunteered to cover her classes last week. Unfortunately, there are three labs on Tuesday and they are back to back from 11:15 until 5:30. So, I was very, very tired at the end of the day. Then I had to teach two more on Wednesday. I think I'm just too nice for my own good. And that I seriously overestimate my endurance for teaching. It's finally been worked out that I won't have to do that for the rest of the semester, so I'm happy about that, but I do think I should get some sort of bonus. Or something more than a "thank you" for doing twice the amount of work that I should have done. Of course, I may be being just a little selfish....
- Speaking of teaching, there was this one kid in my morning lab on Wednesday who was being quite the bitch. I took two points off of her lab because she forgot to label her isopleths, but she had everything else perfect. And she has the gall to try to get those points back. Well, I wasn't about to back down, and then she just sat in a huff and complained that she doesn't care anymore. Well, boo-freakin-hoo. I don't know how many times I've told people to label their isopleths, but still people forget. Of course, as I was grading her lab this weekend, I took a little more pleasure in taking off points. And if she doesn't watch it, I may just make a little mistake in calculating the grades. The lesson here: don't piss me off. I'm a scorpio, and once people get on my bad side, they stay there for a good long time.
- I finally got to play poker again on Thursday. It's been such a long time. We were supposed to play seven card stud, but we didn't really have enough people. So we went back to Texas Hold 'Em. Unfortunately, I wasn't catching any cards, so I didn't make it as far as I would have liked. What can I do, though? Luck wasn't with me that night.
- I had a team meeting a week ago, with everyone that is working on the carbon budget on the east coast continental shelf. I gave a presentation, and I seemed to get good reviews and feedback from people. That made me feel validated, and not like an utter waste of space that a certain other professor made me feel. I'm still a little bitter about that. Seriously, he bases his email on one presentation. I'd like to see him make another conclusion in his research using one data point. He would never do that! But whatever. I don't have to please him. This whole debacle made me decide not to have him on my committee. That's all there is to it. I'd rather have people who will give constructive criticism, and he doesn't really do that well. To paraphrase Rory from Gilmore Girls, he had all the tact of a Nazi storm trooper. (That's a double insult because he is German.)
- I can't believe it's April already. Where has the time gone? It seems like time goes faster and faster as I get older. I'd love for it to slow down a bit. I know it won't, but it would be nice.
- I've become addicted to playing speed online. It's at superarcade.com. It's just like what I used to play as an undergrad with a friend between our lecture class and the lab. So much fun! It doesn't take a whole lot of strategy, just speed (hence the name) and luck. One time I was playing it online and I got nearly to level 30. I haven't been able to get nearly that far lately, though.
Well, I guess that's it. I'm toying with the idea of creating another blog for some commentary I write about the soaps I watch. (Yes, I like daytime dramas.... ) We'll see, though. I may not have enough time to keep it going, but I think it would be fun, as long as it doesn't get to drama filled between commentors. I'll put it in the sidebar if I do create one. And with that, I'm going to stop typing.
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