oh you know, thoughts and things
mike says funny things and should start a blog of his own.
my recent favorite, referring to a crazy lady at Pomona who never shuts up:
"she's been vaccinated with a phonograph needle!"
ok, so slight bit of context... at graduation in May, there was this crazy lady who apparently went to Pomona back in the day and just loves the 5Cs, and somehow she started talking to me at Mudd's graduation reception and she SERIOUSLY would not shut up. wouldn't let you get a word in edgewise, either, even if you wanted to make a comment relevant to whatever she was rambling on about.
fast forward to last Saturday night. Mike and I drove up to Mudd to go to the PCO concert, which was well worth the drive (minus the weirdness of visiting a world I am no longer a part of, yay for being a sketchy alum?). and as we're heading into Garrison Theater to the concert, we stop to look at a cute car parked out front that turns out be a Honda Fit. well. crazy Pomona lady was right behind us, and she starts going on about how all cars are going to be powered by cow farts one day. I kid you not. and she KEEPS TALKING. I slowly realize that this is the same crazy lady, what are the odds?? and I loudly proclaim that I have to use the restroom and pray she doesn't follow. Mike manages to fend for himself somehow, and we soon head in to enjoy the concert.
in other news, I really want to know what they put in the tikka masala sauce at Bombay Bistro in Montclair. yummmmmm. I also really want to know why more music concerts can't be free. I'm not being paid to play in SDSU's symphony; why does the audience have to pay to hear us then? PCO is better anyhow, and I dearly miss it.
it has somehow become the last week of classes. this week, then next week which is finals week, then Mike and I begin our crazy fly everywhere for Christmas scheme. we've decided to send out a bunch of Christmas cards this year, because it's something I've always wanted to do. if you want one, just comment with your mailing address. but, point being, I need to make them and send them and get together some Christmas gifts - but they can't weigh anything or take up space because of Every Lovely Airline charging $25+ for a second bag. and don't even get me started on how Southwest doesn't charge for such things - they also don't fly anywhere useful and you can't search their available flights externally, which pisses me off.
Prof. Etzel of my binary stars class has decided that it would be brilliant if we all had a large term project that involves figuring out his Fortran program from 1980 and using it to discern the inner workings of a binary star system in the imaginary "blinkus" cluster. let's just say the user manual for the program refers extensively to punch cards and leave it at that.
I also need to finish more research for Prof. Orosz and make a poster for the AAS meeting, plus figure out how to get it printed, because SDSU is not extremely helpful in that regard. bonus: Prof. Orosz is on sabbatical this semester so he hasn't been around. I have a good grasp for the project, but it would just be nicer if I could talk to him in person to make sure we are indeed on the same page. ironically, the combination of my Mudd thesis, the binary stars term project, and my current research involving X-ray binaries all overlap minorly enough that I actually feel like I know what's going on most of the time. good stuff.
in other news, good, smart people continue to get bad Physics GRE scores, including a friend of mine here at SDSU. I'm not sure if this makes me feel better or worse about my own abysmal score from a year ago, but it does renew my general pissed-offed-ness at the Physics GRE. why must we be judged by an arbitrary number that has no correlation whatsoever to our future success as scientists with inquiring minds??? grrrrrr.
I finished listening to the HP7 audiobook yesterday, which brings my HP audiobook listening percentage up to 100! it is fantastic to go back and listen to the books because you are forced to digest the details rather than reading over them in a state of "OMG what happens next AAAAHHHHH!" all seven books are absolutely superb, and I highly recommend the audiobooks (British version of course).
and finally, in actual other news, I am not near the recent plane crash you may have heard about in San Diego, and so far as I know none of my friends were directly affected. that doesn't change the reality of the tragedy, though, and my heart goes out to those affected.
now I say, go outside and enjoy some crisp air if you are lucky enough to live somewhere that has seasons. and happy advent! I'm off to a dress rehearsal...
my recent favorite, referring to a crazy lady at Pomona who never shuts up:
"she's been vaccinated with a phonograph needle!"
ok, so slight bit of context... at graduation in May, there was this crazy lady who apparently went to Pomona back in the day and just loves the 5Cs, and somehow she started talking to me at Mudd's graduation reception and she SERIOUSLY would not shut up. wouldn't let you get a word in edgewise, either, even if you wanted to make a comment relevant to whatever she was rambling on about.
fast forward to last Saturday night. Mike and I drove up to Mudd to go to the PCO concert, which was well worth the drive (minus the weirdness of visiting a world I am no longer a part of, yay for being a sketchy alum?). and as we're heading into Garrison Theater to the concert, we stop to look at a cute car parked out front that turns out be a Honda Fit. well. crazy Pomona lady was right behind us, and she starts going on about how all cars are going to be powered by cow farts one day. I kid you not. and she KEEPS TALKING. I slowly realize that this is the same crazy lady, what are the odds?? and I loudly proclaim that I have to use the restroom and pray she doesn't follow. Mike manages to fend for himself somehow, and we soon head in to enjoy the concert.
in other news, I really want to know what they put in the tikka masala sauce at Bombay Bistro in Montclair. yummmmmm. I also really want to know why more music concerts can't be free. I'm not being paid to play in SDSU's symphony; why does the audience have to pay to hear us then? PCO is better anyhow, and I dearly miss it.
it has somehow become the last week of classes. this week, then next week which is finals week, then Mike and I begin our crazy fly everywhere for Christmas scheme. we've decided to send out a bunch of Christmas cards this year, because it's something I've always wanted to do. if you want one, just comment with your mailing address. but, point being, I need to make them and send them and get together some Christmas gifts - but they can't weigh anything or take up space because of Every Lovely Airline charging $25+ for a second bag. and don't even get me started on how Southwest doesn't charge for such things - they also don't fly anywhere useful and you can't search their available flights externally, which pisses me off.
Prof. Etzel of my binary stars class has decided that it would be brilliant if we all had a large term project that involves figuring out his Fortran program from 1980 and using it to discern the inner workings of a binary star system in the imaginary "blinkus" cluster. let's just say the user manual for the program refers extensively to punch cards and leave it at that.
I also need to finish more research for Prof. Orosz and make a poster for the AAS meeting, plus figure out how to get it printed, because SDSU is not extremely helpful in that regard. bonus: Prof. Orosz is on sabbatical this semester so he hasn't been around. I have a good grasp for the project, but it would just be nicer if I could talk to him in person to make sure we are indeed on the same page. ironically, the combination of my Mudd thesis, the binary stars term project, and my current research involving X-ray binaries all overlap minorly enough that I actually feel like I know what's going on most of the time. good stuff.
in other news, good, smart people continue to get bad Physics GRE scores, including a friend of mine here at SDSU. I'm not sure if this makes me feel better or worse about my own abysmal score from a year ago, but it does renew my general pissed-offed-ness at the Physics GRE. why must we be judged by an arbitrary number that has no correlation whatsoever to our future success as scientists with inquiring minds??? grrrrrr.
I finished listening to the HP7 audiobook yesterday, which brings my HP audiobook listening percentage up to 100! it is fantastic to go back and listen to the books because you are forced to digest the details rather than reading over them in a state of "OMG what happens next AAAAHHHHH!" all seven books are absolutely superb, and I highly recommend the audiobooks (British version of course).
and finally, in actual other news, I am not near the recent plane crash you may have heard about in San Diego, and so far as I know none of my friends were directly affected. that doesn't change the reality of the tragedy, though, and my heart goes out to those affected.
now I say, go outside and enjoy some crisp air if you are lucky enough to live somewhere that has seasons. and happy advent! I'm off to a dress rehearsal...