I'm (still) here
Well, I’m alive. And so is my research plan. In fact, my first draft (with figures) is complete. I’m linking to it below so that anyone who’s wondered what I’m doing can take a look at it.
Thesis lite
There are still a few things left to do before it’s finished (in particular, I need to figure out what signal-to-noise I’d need to get an equivalent width limit of 0.3 angstroms for each of the Mg II systems, and how long it would take to reach that SNR with various telescopes). Once I have the times together, I need to put them in a table, and put it in the research plan).
Now, as I said, it’s mostly up there for interest, but if any of you feel like commenting or asking questions, that would also be good. The plan is aimed at the level of the non-specialist astronomer, but I’m hoping that it’s not too specialized for the chemist on my committee. In particular, if you see any astronomical jargon that I use without explanation, then I should probably deal with it. And, of course, if my “motivations” section doesn’t motivate, that’s a problem.
It feels really good to be finished this thing finally. Well, mostly finished anyway. And I don’t even have to send it in until the 20th, so I have a bit of time to revise it (if necessary). And, hopefully, I get a good thesis out of it.