Ideas

Things to look up/get ideas about:

Materials specs for a supersonic combustion project:
-Stainless Steel 304
-Copper
-Aluminum
-Inconel
-various sundry coolants

Bridal shower favors that are inexpensive/easy to make/procure (ideas about this are most welcome)

Does anyone know what happens chemically when milk thickens in heat? Does it have to do with protein chains folding/unfolding, or is it just magic?

I have pictures from Dallas’ white Christmas and the Lancaster Cold War Air Museum up on Facebook. I also may or may not put them up on Flickr.

“…if you trust in yourself…”
“Yes?”
“…and believe in your dreams…”
“Yes?”
“…and follow your star…” Miss Tick went on.
“Yes?”
“…you’ll still get beaten by people who spent their their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy. Good-bye.”
-Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

 

If Only…

Christmastime is here, so here’s what I would get my family, friends, and partners in crime … if only I had the money. Hey, it’s the thought that counts, right?

Mum – 2010 Ford Mustang (when your kid buys you a car, you know you’ve done your job) and The Complete Agatha Christie
Dad – Ride on Spaceship Two, anybody?
E – World Cup tix, Gravity Probe B
The Lollipop – Two Front Teeth (apparently this is also the title of a really bad Christmas horror movie) and Stethescope Earrings
Havoc – Xbox 360 – my mother would kill me

 

Anticlimactic

Issued by The National Weather Service
Indianapolis, IN
9:38 pm EST, Wed., Dec. 9, 2009

… BELOW ZERO WIND CHILLS POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING…

IN THE WAKE OF THE STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT MOVED THROUGH CENTRAL INDIANA TUESDAY NIGHT AND TODAY… A BITTERLY COLD AIRMASS HAS BEEN PULLED INTO THE REGION. LOW TEMPERATURES TONIGHT WILL FALL TO BETWEEN 10 AND 15 DEGREES ACROSS MUCH OF CENTRAL INDIANA. WITH SUSTAINED WEST WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH AND GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH EXPECTED OVERNIGHT… WIND CHILLS ARE EXPECTED TO FALL TO BETWEEN ZERO AND TEN BELOW ZERO FOR MUCH OF THE REGION BY THURSDAY MORNING.

IF YOU MUST VENTURE OUTDOORS OVERNIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING… MAKE SURE YOU WEAR A HAT AND GLOVES.

Thanks, NWS. I was expecting something more exciting after all that buildup. And I’m pretty sure one should wear more than a hat and gloves.

 

Organization

I’d just like to take a moment to draw attention to … *drum roll please* … the new page posted at the top of the screen, “Collected Posts”. I have finally collected some related posts (such as Study Abroad in Israel and Galveston Spring Break) so that you don’t have to search for them. I know you could just search under tags, but some of my posts aren’t tagged correctly – and this page is in chronological order. Enjoy.

 

Entering the Lists…

It’s Thanksgiving break! And we all know that “break” is actually code for “time to catch up on things/do things that you’ve been putting off until ‘break’”.

First on the list is, of course, to make a list. (While being distracted by a Champions League game. Even though I don’t really like Barca, but they are being fouled like crazy.)

The List:

• Find a thesis topic (yeah, that will be easy)
• Do Orbitals homework (this will probably take, oh, most of break. I am not kidding.)
• Do Rocket Prop homework
• Study for Orbitals test
• Write up Jet Prop homework
• Do Math homework
• Clean … everything. Normalized against my roommate, I think my Entropy powers are on the order of +2. Or +3. When I walk into a room, things just seem to accelerate toward chaos. So room, bathroom, kitchen – and now common room. Bah.
• Give my car its long-overdue monthly check. And find an old towel to keep in it, because it’s so humid here that fogging glass is a real problem.
• Groceries may have to happen at some point
• Email/message people. The whole “grad school” thing where you eat, sleep, and do homework tends to cut you off from the outside world.

 

October Sky (Pictures)

I’m alive! Barely, but alive, I promise. And I posted before LesleyT, so I win at life, despite still being traumatized by yesterday’s Orbit Mechanics test.

My life in a sentence: Work work sleep eat work work class class eat work work work work frisbee shower eat work work want to go to bed but just remembered that I had some other work work. Yeah.

Some cool things that managed to happen:

 

Quotes from the Dark Side (aka Grad School)

My math prof on algorithms: “… switch off the thinking part of your brain … [because] … you see an algorithm – you start thinking about it – [and] you become emotionally involved.” (He emphasized the part in italics.)

Professor: “How is your semester going?”
Me: “It’s going all right – I’m looking for a research advisor.”
Professor: “What are you interested in?”
Me: *goes into semi-exhaustive detail*
Professor: “Aggghhhh funding!”
Me: “But I don’t have to be paid this year because I have a TAship.”
Professor: *fails to take the hint* “Ah … well … good luck!”

Me: “So … I’m looking for a thesis topic and advisor.”
Professors: “It’s okay, you have a TAship this year – you don’t have to worry.”
Grad Students: “Get one ASAP or you’ll be here forever!!!!!! Like me!”

Girl walking past me talking on phone: “I’m a science major in an engineering class for engineers, and I don’t know how to do the first problem set even though it’s been explained to me three times, and I WANT TO SHOOT MYSELF.” (Sheesh, chill out. It’s only the second week of class.)

Me: “In my rocket propulsion class, the grad students get to earn their keep by coordinating the rocket launch project.”
Peter: “How is that punishment?”
Me: *smirks slightly* “Exactly.”

 

I give you …

Purdue University, presented by TxDOT, OkDOT, Hank the cowdog, MoDOT, Bass Pro Shops, LBJ’s Andrew Jackson Expansion Memorial (aka the Gateway Arch), IlDOT, construction, Neil Armstrong, Home Depot, tornados, and the letter R (reserved).

Some pictures:

Springfield, MO: Bass Pro Shops - the largest one in the world and the only game in town

St. Louis Science Center: I want one of these in my room. Talk about an aid to procrastination!

 

Far from the Madding Crowd?

This is one of those “here’s what I’m doing” posts. Here goes:

I finished my summer internship at Vestas and said goodbye to basically everybody in Houston I know. At least, I tried. Which, come to think of it, was a heck of a lot of people and inspired all sorts of emotions that I really don’t want to analyse right now because I want to be braindead and withdrawn for a few days, I think. I don’t want to think about that either. It wasn’t really goodbye forever, but if and when I do go back it won’t be the same. But I am extremely grateful for the amazing friendships that I have in Houston and at Rice, and really hope I won’t lose touch.

 

The Tour de France Post

I’m really not a fan of France, even though I took three – maybe four? – years of French, but there are exceptions to everything. In this case, the exceptions are: the Revolutionary War (although that was mainly because they hated the British), cheese, chocolate, guttural rs, and the Tour. As in, le Tour de France.

Instead of raving obsessively about it, I’ll just mention that I’d really like to see Garmin’s Tyler Farrar (the 25-year-0ld Washington sprinter) take a stage and stick it to Mark Cavendish. Of course, now that they’ve started on the mountains, all the sprinters will be hanging on for dear life, so we won’t see much out of them, but later on there might be a few chances. I really think Farrar can do it (oh, and become the first American in twenty years to take a sprint finish). It’s comforting to know I’m not the only one out there who considers this a possibility; see this article. However, Dean is also his teammate – he wouldn’t be much use if he didn’t believe it.

Also – Astana what? We all know it’s Team Livestrong using Kazakh money. I would really like to see Levi Leipheimer in the yellow, though, just because he kind of gets lost in all the attention surrounding Armstrong and Contador and whatever drama they’ve got themselves into. And can Armstrong please stop advertising anything and everything to with cycling? Please?

Some good/entertaining links for following this year’s Tour: