04 May 2008

Countdown to the Bachelor's Degree

I thought it might by fun to keep a tally of the major things I have left to do before I become a college graduate.

MATH SENIOR SEMINAR:

  • Research paper on introduction to tensors

  • Presentation based on paper



NUMERICAL ANALYSIS:

  • group project 1 to be assigned

  • group project 2 to be assigned



GALAXIES AND COSMOLOGY:

  • Research paper on spiral galaxy rotation curves and dark matter distribution

  • Project on Milky Way rotation in the Solar neighborhood

28 April 2008

Grad School Update

UMass Amherst - Rejected
Brandeis - Rejected
MIT - Rejected
Yale - Rejected
UC Santa Barbara - Rejected
UC Irvine - Rejected
NYU - Rejected

13 April 2008

Another Great One Gone

I have two textbooks on the shelf behind me with the name John Archibald Wheeler on them. He's the man who gave name to black holes, wormholes, and quantum foam. He worked with Einstein on relativity and a unified field theory, and did pioneering work in Quantum physics.

John Archibald Wheeler died this morning. Daniel Holz at Cosmic Variance has shared a wonderful tale of his memories as a student of Wheeler, and a poignant goodbye.

The world of science is poorer today.

30 March 2008

Creating a Diversion

We owe these guys a big thank you. After the robot takeover, they will be the first to die.



(If you're confused, this is a parody of the Big Dog robot video that went viral recently.)

This is How the Robots Take Over

The robots have been biding their time long enough, knowing that adults would not accept their rule. Now, from Engadget via grinding.be, comes news that they're making their move. The robot ambassadors will lull the children into trusting them, and as those children grow up, they will welcome their new robot overlords. As will I, of course.

People old enough to be Jetsons fans might almost be able to detect a hint of Rosie in this:



Inhuman babysitters aren’t all that uncommon around the world, but a new creature recently placed in a Japanese department store is a godsend for shopaholics with rugrats in tow. Developed by Tmsuk, the 1.4-meter tall bot is employed at a Fukuoka retailer in order to keep watch over rambunctious youngsters that are dropped off by their overworked parents. Reportedly, said critter boasts an integrated projector and camera, a colorful yellow / white outfit and the ability to identify children by name based on a special tag that each kiddo wears while playing. Of course, the manufacturer isn’t looking to just shove one or two of these into every store in Japan — oh no, it’s hoping to create similar robots that could one day “guide customers through the aisles of a store,” fill their carts or whisper the joke of the day in a French accent into their ears.

26 March 2008

Grad School Tally

UC Irvine - Pending
Brandeis - Pending
UMass Amherst - Pending

MIT - Rejected
Yale - Rejected
UC Santa Barbara - Rejected
NYU - Rejected

NASA TV

I'm listening to NASA TV as Endeavour has just completed its de-orbit burn. I say "listening to" because the video stream is mostly shots of a control room where nothing much is happening.

It feels like more people would be interested in space exploration if NASA had more skill with the entertainment side of things. There is plenty of interesting stuff they could be showing us right now, but instead we see people at desks. Heart-pounding.