( ...the terminally uninteresting update! )I had plans to buy a new microscope but that has become a pipe dream as what I really need is a new laptop. My poor old man that is my iBook G4 has started blacking out again. Obviously the Power Manager needs to be reset, but it isn't falling for the usual tricks anymore. Ah well. It's certainly lasted.


*This is one of those never to be solved mysteries of science. Despite being constantly reminded that science is all about practice, we of studentkind always find there are remarkably few problems given for us to solve and even fewer with any sort of answer to check whether we are right. I suppose it's training like that which separates the weedy and wannabe from the Nobel Prize Winners. Sometimes, I've often wondered if it isn't some kind of cruel torture passed down by generations of scientists - "so you want to be a real scientist, huh?" they seem to be saying, "want to feel the pain of never knowing if what you've spent your life (ok, half an hour) working on will even turn out to be right? Well suck it up, ducks - if we had to suffer, you must too! This is what real science feeeeels like!"

The funny thing is, those of us who want to be lecturers/researchers have already admitted that we will likely be just as bad, if not worse, to our poor descendants in the path of science.

So, at the moment we're doing some experiments to find the dissociation energy of Iodine based on readings of the spectrum. As ever, it took us a while to get going (picked out the computer with a software problem; broke the equipment; listened to the demonstrator, the usual...) but I think now we're pretty much on track and should have a nice set of data by the end of the day.

The only annoying thing is trying to convince the demonstrator that we do know what we're doing. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't help that we made a couple of bad mistakes and had some bad luck with equipment, so I do get why he might think we're a pair of dunderheads who need all th ehelp we can get. Still, it's annoying when he come sin every half hour or so to comment on a rather bizarre set up that took us bloody ages to get that makes just as little sense to us too but seems to work anyway. Even worse when he changes said set up meaning that nothing works when he happens to be observing and results in yet more time wastage as we have to recalibrate the euipment the way we had it to begin with.

*sighs*

And need I add that calibrating involves some very fiddly processes. Slits have to be so wide, lenses have to be rotated just so. The slightest change in any parameter seems to result in chaos. Our experiment sits on a knife's edge and we can only watch in horror when it tips oh-so-terrifyingly-slightly over the edge.

Though that probably means we've done something else wrong, to have an experiment that's apparently so sensitive. Oh bother.

Give me programming/computer modelling any day. You don't have to deal with this crap with virtual experiments.

The past week and a half have been full of exciting things. ( Of Exciting Times and Silly Scams )

But yes, exciting times of the impoverished student. And to think I've got two more years of this to go through. Good thing I've got a blog.

So... the first week of my research placement is over!

So far I've had to do thankfully very little programming by myself and have just had get used to MATLAB syntax (so much nicer for the inexperienced than C++) though the most difficult part of it was trying to find the right piece of code amongst all the junk of various Mphys/Masters and PhD projects of the past (and there was so much of it. Running the amount of data we got from the experiment through them all was a nightmare!). In spite of various complaints concerning memory and the lack thereof (which resulted in one of the worst timed crashes I've ever had to put up with), I think I've ended this week at a good place: I have plenty of graphs and just need to do some tutorials with Origin (yet another program to get to grips with. I reckon I should look over Mathematica too just in case) over the weekend so I can get a good fit to the results come Monday.

Last night went was great as well. I was more concerned that the writers we had speaking wouldn't have found it worth their while but they definitely seemed to having a lot of fun talking with each other, meeting their fans and I hope they enjoyed the panel/audience discussion. I know I certainly did. I learned a whole range of things (most fascinatingly about the Ancient Romans. Apparently there's a new idea out there that the villas were agricultural workers housing rather than the senatorial palaces we've usually thought of them as which made the cogs in my inner Steampunker's mind turn rapidly), got to talk about fanfiction (mostly how nice it is to hear a pofessional writer being pro rather than seeing it as some work of the Devil working maliciously to sap the writers' powers) and a bunch of other stuff that will probably get filtered down into a megalong pretentious waffle of an essay.

Did I say I had fun?

EDIT: I've also found my dream laptop which is hella expensive, but, with the project award money I might just be able to get this september instead of next. It's one of those things - life in general is being pretty decent, but it's rather unpleasant how there's always something that's going woeful and it's always the something you care about most. Meh. Could be worse.

Two of my favourite physics blogs are 'Backreaction' and 'The Reference Frame'. Both have very very different philosophies and approaches (from blogging to politics and just about everything in between) but are great reads nonetheless and hugely inspiring.

Then, whilst procrastinating from revision, I came across this entry and the sad (and vaguely bemused) times ensued.

For some reason my practically perfect program keeps giving me blank output files, my printer is just sitting there with it's light on and 5 jobs pending not making a sound and definitely not printing, the determinant of a simple vbrational-thingy-matrix refuses to be worked out and the Optics tutorial is no closer to becoming any more legible.

Woe. Such woe.

...

EDIT: Whilst looking around for some equation or other, I came across this about the Abraham-Minkowski controversy. Unlike some, it's almost as exciting as it sounds.

More fascinating stuff here, regarding a new theory as to why miscarriages might occur. It seems there'll be a lot of good stuff in the upcoming issue of New Scientist. 

Things I feel Strongly About
Gay Uganda

I'm currently on the 8th week of a C++ programming course an I have to say, it's the best thing ever. ( On the joys of C++ )
There has been some source of win, however. I've been accepted for the Student Associates teaching scheme come June, which should be an awesome experience. I've been advised to wait until the new year about possibilities of research placements in the University, but, with the SA acceptance, I won't be able to do any corporate research experience (so goodbye National Nuclear Lab, even if I were good enough to get in) because it would cut into the term of employment. I will definitely apply for other Universities, however - York and Lancaster are the nearest but *sighs* Imperial and UCL would be worth checking into as well, in case I start craving the London scene again.

Last night - apart from an amazing Choir Practise - I attended a discussion about the dissolution [or evolution] of the family unit. ( Dude, some of these paragraphs are pretty long and you've heard it all before... )

*blows fingers*

Oh yes. Choir pactise was amazing. We have a mostly Russian repertoire which includes the Coronation scene from Boris Godunov (which, which - listen to me! - happens to be the musical theme for the 'Fountain of Youth' episode of the Mighty Boosh series 1. Amazing eh? Unfortunately it means I crack up laughing every time the tenors sing 'Da zdravstvuyet Tsar Boris Feodorovich' because those are the exact bars with which the 'King' of planet Xooberon is announced. Ah, lol), two Cherubic hymns (which make me want to convert to Russian Orthodox) and the Polovetsian Dances from Prince Igor. It is all luvverly and now that my throat cold has gone, so wonderful to sing. Magic.

Saturday saw me at Leeds which was even better than the Birmingham convention ( Leeds! )

So... I'm feeling more or less content and have been for a week which is such an improvement. It feels amazing. I suspect I was just doing too much at the beginning of the year, but now I've cut out some societies - unless they're doing something genuinely interesting - I have spare time to focus on my degree, you know, the thing I'm actually getting money for *sighs*.

On a more devious note - because I want you all to be too distracted by the gorgeousness to do any work, comme moi - here are shiny new webcomics:

Moon Town

The Meek

Mathema

The last two are more recently started, so now you'll look extra cool by reading a webcomic not many people have heard of. That is, of course, until I publish this post and my MILLIONS of readers spread the word about their marvellousness.

...

Goodness but I am in a good mood.

Off to break my neck in Jiu jitsu!

Durham have responded.... by telling me they'll respond with an offer in a month's time.

But that's not important. What is important is that I had an interview at Exeter and aced it. No, really. It's one of the good things about the sciences - if you're wrong, you're wrong. No professor is going to try and hem and haw or guide you down a particular line of thought. If you're right, then mein liebe gott, you are so right.

( Read more... )

You know you're in the country when you see pheasants crossing the road, rather than feral pigeons. That and the public loos in the stations get shabbier and more disgusting, the further the radius from a town/city centre you go.