I'm Getting Old...

"I think friends should always encourage friends to get their heads examined." - Alan (Boston Legal)

I recently celebrated my birthday. It was quiet fun - I went shopping. I think I have purchased 4 pairs of shoes in the last couple of weeks. As you may remember I love shoes. However, I did have to face the fact that I have gotten another year older. Of course, I am not really feeling all that much older. (I guess I will have to give it a few years).

Current song obsession: "Walking in Memphis" by Marc Cohn: Honestly I can't really explain why I like this song so much. I just do. It has very interesting lyrics actually. But I think the thing that really gets me is the fact that song is the heavy piano parts. It is simple while being complex and elegant.

Not much else to report (hence the lack of blogs). Well, until next time...

Interesting news articles:
"Researchers Find 2,100 Year-Old Melon"

"Algorithm could help chipmakers work with tangles of nanotubes"

"Hitachi Ships Quarter-terabyte Laptop Hard Drive"

That's a Wrap...

"Oh, but there is. I'm not just a whimsical figure who wears a charming suit and affects a jolly demeanor. You know, I... I... I'm a symbol. I'm a symbol of the human ability to be able to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives. If... you can't believe, if you can't accept anything on faith, then you're doomed for a life dominated by doubt." - Kris Kringle (Miracle on 34th Street)

I have lived through another term. Actually, the term isn't completely over yet. I have to finish a paper, give an exam, and do some grading. However, I am done with my exams (and the paper is really close). So I am going to count it as the end of the term. Close enough. Anyway, I am so looking forward to having a few weeks off :-)

News that I wanted to link to:
"Berkeley to Regulate Nanotechnology"

It's a bird. No, it's a plane. No! It's a squid?!? : "Squid-inspired design could mean better handling of underwater vehicles"

"The 10 Gadgets That Changed the World"

"Edison's light bulbs up for auction in Britain"

Space the final frontier : "Astronauts venture outside for space station work"

Well, I better get back to all important school work (i.e., trying to figure out how to stretch my paper that last few inches of page). Seriously, I never have had this kind of problem. I ramble and I am good at it. However, this one has been a chanllenge. Usually I am playing with the margins trying to jimmy a couple dozen extra lines in. It has been a new experience that's for sure.

Have a happy week! Now if you will excuse me I have a new hobby I want to take up - napping. Thanks for stopping by and reading!

Real Life? Never heard of it...

"Charlie Brown, you're the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem. Maybe Lucy's right. Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're the Charlie Browniest." - Linus Van Pelt (A Charlie Brown Christmas)

So funny (and so true).

Give a gift they will always treasure: Nanowires ("For Better Nanowires, Just Add Diamond")

Science meets anthropology: "Old bone helps crack Neanderthal DNA"

I have been busy with two projects. The end of the term is creeping closer. Of course, I am looking forward to a little vacation and lots of sleeping. Did I mention sleeping?

Thanksgiving (since I started grad school) is that holiday right before finals and it allows you to do three things:
1) Eat a "normal" meal (i.e., not take-out or from a vending machine)
2) Actually sleep (without missing important things)
3) Go shopping

No matter how tired I am, I always go shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Even if it is only for a few hours. Partly because of tradition and partly because I like going shopping. (OK, so I find shopping to very relaxing). Also, it is when you start actually enjoying all the Christmas/holiday decorations. It is most important when all of the sales start. Thanksgiving marks the beginning of "Shopping Season". Shopping Season last until about mid-January (i.e., all the after-Christmas sales). I really love shopping during this part of the year. Almost every store has a special items they get in. Clothing stores have all of their sweaters out (and many of you know how much of love sweaters).

Well, I better get back to coding if I want to go shopping next Friday! Happy weekend!

And We Fade Into Blackness...

"It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what." - Harper Lee ("To kill a Mockingbird")

Go Blue! "Researchers make nanosheets that mimic protein formation"

I never thought I would see the word wobbly and extinction in the same sentance: "Wobbly Earth causes climate change, extinctions: researchers"

I got my winter/fall catalog from Bath and Body Works in the mail yesturday. I noticed a new/different flavor of their Aromatheraphy line called Black Currant Vanilla. Their Fall Temptations almost looked good enough to eat!

I haven't been watching tv except for two shows Battlestar Galactica (Friday night) and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (Monday night). In Battlestar the humans continue to fight the toasters. On Studio 60 they are going to have the guest star/singer Sting perform "Fields Of Gold". The show is full of touching, only-seen-on-an-Aaron Sorkin-show kind of moment. If you are not watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, you aren't watching good television. Of course, don't let my opinion influence you or anything ;-)

Well, I better get back to work. Semester is definatly in full swing. Lots of exams and homework came falling down, just like the first snow fall. Always to soon and it never sticks around long enough...