Posted by barb on Jul 22, 2005 in
Thesis/Grad Life For the past two years I have focussed the entire of my thesis work on writing scripts and running data through a data pipeline, while losing sight of the underlying physics. All along I’ve kept telling myself that I really need to read more journal articles and that I really need to explore the physics of the sources that I’m studying, but the allure of getting my data through the pipeline quickly has taken over. I’ve used the excuse that I only work half-time on my thesis to justify my tunnel vision.
Over the past month, Andrew and I have been attempting to carve out one night per week where we go to Starbucks and I read journal articles. If I sit at home, it’s too easy to get distracted by other things — the cats, tweaking my data pipeline, watching tv or a movie, reading a book, cleaning, anything. So, at Starbucks, I have only my articles and a frappuccino (or iced tea, if I’m trying to be healthy). While I read, Andrew works on writing that he’s been neglecting. It seems to be a good system.
However, I need to do more than just read the articles.
Read more…
Tags: grad life, science
Posted by barb on Jul 21, 2005 in
Movies 3.5/5 stars
This movie was a lot of fun, but that’s about all it was. Pretty standard “superhero movie” fare, with the backstory of a group of superheros, a bit of tension over their new fates, and a fairly brief appearance of a super-villian. Fun while it lasted, but I won’t bring much from it away with me.
[ IMDB link to Fantastic Four]
Tags: reviews
Posted by barb on Jul 21, 2005 in
Memes, Etc. DailyKitten
[via Feministe]
Tags: comfort
Posted by barb on Jul 21, 2005 in
Random Thoughts Saw this license plate on an SUV in the lane next to me on my way to work:
YREWOM
The SUV also had a “Washington Nationals” sticker on the back. No other bumper stickers. Take a minute to think of what it might be. I had several minutes as I sat in stop and go traffic on my way to the beltway.
Any ideas? Hm?
Here’s what I came up with: “You’re Womb”, and I was very excited! How cool!
Then my lane advanced a bit on this car’s lane, and I was able to look at the driver. I was expecting a young woman…or even a middle-aged woman…or a woman of any description.
Instead, it was a middle-aged man. He looked kind of paunchy, but dressed in a nice dress-shirt and tie. His hair was receding slightly, and he wore substantial looking glasses.
Then his lane pulled him ahead of my lane again. I stared at the license plate, trying to make something different out of it, but I couldn’t come up with anything reasonable. My first guess could certainly be right — he could believe in the freedom of women or he could be driving his wife’s car. He just wasn’t the person I was expecting to go along with my first guess….
Anyone else have any ideas?
Tags: oddness
Posted by barb on Jul 20, 2005 in
Science Musings Be sure to check out Google today, and click on today’s logo. (Or, click here, if you’re here after July 20.)
[Thanks, JD, for pointing this out!]
Tags: science
Posted by barb on Jul 17, 2005 in
Random Thoughts From a 30-something woman:
You know, the ice cream man always ruins the mood.
Tags: overheard
Posted by barb on Jul 17, 2005 in
Biking,
Pictures Andrew and I might be insane, but we decided to say “screw it” to the 90% humidity today and hopped on our bikes. We ended up riding on the W & OD trail south from Vienna to the Custis Trail and then off to Ballston in Arlington. It turned out to only be about 10 miles, so this might be a trip we could do round-trip next time, with a movie at the mall as a rest-stop. This time, though, we took the Metro back to Vienna from Ballston. It was a fun ride — of course it’s generally fun to go someplace we haven’t been before, and this time the ride wasn’t too strenuous (thankfully, since it was hot and humid…mostly humid).
Pretty red flowers on the trail in Falls Church:
And there were raspberries everywhere — almost ripe:
Total distance: 11 miles (my odometer said 10.89 miles, but I forgot to put my computer on for about the first 0.1 miles, so I’m rounding a bit)
Tags: bike
Posted by barb on Jul 15, 2005 in
Random Thoughts I’m supposed to be working, so I thought I’d blog the easy way this morning — links. Happy Friday!
- From Pharyngula, “The cost of being a woman in science”. Women have to be over twice as productive in science to be taken as seriously as the least productive men. And, women do this to ourselves as much as the men do it to us. Sigh.
- Quantum Diaries is a collection of blogs by physicists living through the World Year of Physics. Most of them are personal blogs, rather than “physics blogs”, but still fun to read through.
- Bitch. Ph.D. urges us to let O’Connor and Rehnquist make their own retirement decisions. Rehnquist doesn’t want to retire yet, and just because he’s been hospitalized doesn’t mean he’s finished yet. Having the country on a death-watch has got to suck. And, sure it sucks for us that O’Connor is retiring, but come on. She’s had a full career, and she wants to spend some time with her husband, who has Alzheimer’s, while she can.
- Another reason to enjoy the Harry Potter books
- Just for fun: Calvin and Hobbes are traveling back to the Jurassic
Tags: linkalicious
Posted by barb on Jul 14, 2005 in
Random Thoughts At the movie theater ticket counter:
Two old people for March of the Penguins
Tags: overheard
Posted by barb on Jul 14, 2005 in
Movies 4/5 stars
I’ve always loved penguins. I’ve only seen them at a zoo once, but no matter — they’re cute nonetheless. This film is about the grueling mating ritual and subsequent egg/baby care that the emperor penguins go through every year. It was made somewhat more real because the scenes we watched are happening right now, as it is currently the Antarctic winter.
Overall this was an excellent film. My only complaint is that some of the scenes appear to be done with either time-lapse or sped-up film, and it’s not always clear when this is in use. For example, there was a scene where one of the penguin eggs fell on the ice and cracked, and we see the frost forming very quickly. It could certainly be real-time with the Antarctic temperatures, but we don’t know for sure.
[IMDB link for March of the Penguins]
Tags: reviews