Second, and third, and fourth days, and beer

Wow I haven't updated in a while.

Tuesday I woke up and actually felt kinda crappy. I went to class (Mathematical Methods) and felt a little better, but the classroom was hotter than hell, so that didn't help. The class is going to be cool, it's going to be very mathy. :p

After that I went home, took some elderberry, and ate lunch. I felt better after this and went to TA physics I taught by Dr. Wetzel. This time I did ok, mostly because I was actively watching for student confusion, but I was the only TA in the room, so the load was pretty high.

Yesterday I went to the TA meeting at 10am, where they tell us about the next week lecture and how to work the equipment. We got to shoot a falling target with a gun that fired plastic balls. It was awesome. :D

There was a grad student BBQ at 11 that I went to. Didn't really meet anybody new because our small department circles appear to be forming.

After this I went to colloquium, which was just an intro lecture for this week. We went around and introduced ourselves. The talks that are coming up sound pretty neat, there's one about solar cells with 50% efficiency.

This morning I went to quantum, and we went over the Lagrangian formalism. I know everything he talked about except for the last part on Lagrange Multipliers, which I didn't understand when I took classical from Cecil. So I need to review these.

Then I went to TA, where we used said plastic ball shooting gun during the class and it was awesome to see them wake up from their naps when the target hit the ground. :D Schroeder had be get up and go over one of the problems on the HW. I had gone over it in my office hours earlier today so I understood it, but I was a little shaken up with having to present it on the fly. I guess that's what Schroeder is trying to get me used to. :p

I also finally bought my laptop yesterday, an IBM Thinkpad T60 (2 GHz Centrino Duo, 1 GB RAM, 93 GB HD). It lubs it much :d, even though it does have Windoze. :p

So with that I've been doing some small independent research on the side. The two things I'm looking at are the Born Approximation to scattering cross sections, and Fresnel diffraction. Two completely unrelated concepts that I decided to look at. :p

And as for beer, where's my beer? Somebody bring me a beer!

The first day of Scko0l, and Beer

So today was the first day of the rest of my graduate school career. (Read: the first day of classes).

I got up at 7am, to comply with Henry's rule of not being up before 7, and ate, got ready and left at ~7:40. I spent a good 15 minutes looking for the classroom. When a little arrow says "Room 3909 ->" and there are two ways to go "->" I naturally took the wrong one. But it was ok, because there was another person who was taking the same class that was having the same problem.

My first class was Quantum Mechanics I, taught by Dr. Nayak. It seems like its going to be ok, I pretty much know everything we're going to cover. The class is actually a combination of classical and quantum mechanics, and so since I never took grad classical at Mines, that part may be new.

Then I went to do tax forms. wheeeeee. We got taken up to "RC34" which is the room on the very top floor of the physics building where our TA offices will be. I picked the desk right next to the chalkboard because I know how I teach. :p Given some blue carpet and a couple of throw pillows the place will look FAB.

Then I went home to eat lunch. I discovered that the Astrophysics seminar that I had signed up for was the wrong class. This is good because the one I had signed up for was 4 hours a week, and this new one is only 1. So that cleared up my schedule considerably.

Then I went to TA physics I for the first time. Now, the class has 1 professor (Dr. Schroeder), 1 grad TA (me) and 1 undergrad TA. The undergrad knew more about what was going I than I did, but that's because he took the class before. :p It was crazy seeing college freshmen for the first time in 4 years. They look so young and short! I got through it ok, the students finished their activity, and I didn't make too much of an ass out of myself. Schroeder did say that occassionally TA's may need to go over problems on the board, but presumably we will be told which problems and will have done them beforehand.

After this I walked downtown, because I didn't really want to go home. I bought some Sangria for making spaghetti sauce, and two of the coolest beer bottles I've ever seen (even though its Bud and Bud Light):


Aren't those amazing! Its like the bottles in Back to the Future II. And we're getting closer to 2015. :o

After this I was walking down the street when this old lady named Shirley started talking to me randomly. She talked about everything from her medical conditions to how Troy has suffered urban renewal in the 1970s. It was the oddest thing, but she was the nicest lady in the world. When I indicated that I needed to go a certain direction, she talked for a while, and then just said "thanks for listening" and walked off. It was crazy.


Things to do: get laptop, pay fees, panic, etc. btw, Don't drink Anheuser Busch World Select. Its bad.


That is all.

Stories and no beer (its 11am here, I'm not THAT crazy)

So I just learned the story behind the building I'm living in.

A rather nice gentleman is moving into a room on the 2nd floor. I've talked to him a bit and we seem to get along pretty well. His father came to help him move in. When I was going back into my floor, the father asked me if he could look at it. I let him in and he was just bedazzled.

Originally (well, probably not originally because this building is very old, but at the beginning of the story), this building was occupied by nuns, it was a convent building for the St. Francis Desales church across the street. Then, they left and moved into a building of their own, and this became a group home. My room was one of two dining areas, and the main living room was another dining area. The bathroom was where it is, and my shower room used to be a coat closet. The kitchen was where it is, and Martin's bedroom was a person's room. There's a little hole that was cut in the wall of the kitchen to pass food out to the main room (I was wondering why that was there). His office was on the 2nd floor, and that is where 4 rooms currently exist. There are 4 more rooms on the 3rd floor. He says that he was here from 1989 until 1994, when they moved the group home somewhere else.

All in all a really neat experience, because this is a brand new place for me. To have somebody come in who has been there before, and who also has memories of what happened here before is really cool.

And yup, no beer for now. :o

My Not-So-Good-Knowledge of Beer

OK, I stand corrected. German pilsners can use Hallertauer, but only in combination with Saaz. Czech pilsners almost exclusively use Saaz.

Not that anyone would really care about the distinction, but I do dammit!

Exams, Downtown, Shopping and Beer

Sorry I didn't update last night, I was too tired after I got home.

Yesterday started out pretty dull. I got up late (around 10am) and goofed off until I had to go in for the second part of the qualifying exam. I talked to the secretary, we have some more paperwork that needs to get done (yay taxes), and then went and took the test.

It was ok, pretty much what I was expecting. I think I did the quantum stuff ok (there was one that I remember from Dr. C's class that I totally forgot how to do, so now I feel like an idiot. The stat mech (statistical mechanics) stuff I had no idea on, except that when you stretch a rubber band it heats up. Wheee.

After that I was burned out, so I decided to look up brewpubs in downtown Albany. So I hopped on the bus and went down to Troy. It was then that I noticed that there was the "Communiversity" in downtown, where they welcome all the new students. I totally spaced this. So I walked around for a while, and looked for people I knew, and didn't find any. So after mingling with some people I didn't know for a while (they liked my "Roses are #FF0000..." shirt), I got on the bus to downtown Albany.

After looking around for a bit, I found a brewpub called the Albany Pump Station. I tried their blonde lager, which was alright. (*Sidenote: They called this a blonde lager brewed in the "pilsner style." Then they say that the hops used are Halletauer. NOT! Pilsners only use Saaz hops. I was very dissapointed by this.) Then I tried their Kick-Ass Brown (2000, 2002 GABF Amerian Brown Ale Champion). It was good, one of the better brown ales I've had.

After this it was raining in downtown, so I walked down to the bus stop. Then I see the bus pull out of an intersection farther down the road, and turn towards Troy. CRAP. I missed that bus by a block. So I walked a block, in the rain, to the other bus stop, and caught the next one that came 30 minutes later. I got dropped off at 4th and Congress, and instead of waiting for the bus to come again (which would have taken ~40 minutes), I just walked home.

Today I was lazy again, and got up ~10am. I goofed off for a while, did some dishes, and then hopped on the bus to go down to the Hannaford. This was my first "independent shopping" experience. I picked up some ground beef, soups, cottage cheese, and some miscellaneous medical supplies. I also got a six pack of Saranca beers (brewed in Utica, NY). I shall review those soon.

And so now I'm sitting on my ass. I haven't decided what I want to do tonight. It's been kinda rainy all day. But the one thing this gloomy weather has reminded me: ITS ALMOST HALLOWEEN SEASON! And I'm in the Northeast for Halloween for the first time in my life. haw haw haw

Orientation, Girls, Bars, and Beer

Today was "The most boring day of your life." aka "Graduate Student Orientation Day." Today was the day they told us "We're here to help, we have a health center, we have a counseling center, we have a computing center, omfg don't harass each other, omfg don't date your students, omfg have fun." I discovered that Amanda has a bf (wtg paying attention to key words). So I guess its just friends for us. After that was done, I rode the bus down to Brown's (the local brewpub). The bus system here is AMAZING. Not only are they identical to RTD, but they have LED displays that show where you are, so you know when to get off the bus. Plus, the people on the bus are really interesting, and there were even a few cute girls. :o

The brewpub was pretty cool. I struck up a converation with a moderately aged black guy who was really amusing, and who told me alot of details about the area. His name is Bob, and I'm sure I'll see him again. I was ambushed by a group of 4 really hawt chix who sat down at the bar, and ordered Hefeweizens, and then left. :( I guess my persona wasn't that radiative at that point. All in all I had a Pilsner, an IPA, and a Hefeweizen. The first and the last were what I expected, but the IPA was really off the mark. It was hoppy, but with what they call "NY hops." It was really earthy and profound. It was like you were drinking peat. Not at all what I was expecting from an IPA. I managed to get through it but it'll take some redefining of my terms before I can fully understand it.

Mostly what I wanted to talk about was what it means to be the same old stuff, and the pub really emphasized this. The pub had the same: hot chix, live music, talktative people, untalktative people, buses that got there, buses that went away from there, bartenders, cash registers, equipment, vodkas, gins, beers (to a cetain extent), wines, drunken stupors, and decorations that I had in Denver. It was all the same (with the exception of specialty microbrews and Hellman's mayonaise). But what was exceptionally different were the people. The black guy I talked to, the 4 hot chix, the bartender's personalities. They all lended a slightly different slant than what I had in Denver.

So I guess my point is its all about the people. We live in such a national economy that much of what we deal with is the same old stuff (i.e. national brands). But the thing that makes it all different is the people, and (a bit of shameless advertising), the beers that they brew. I'd never had an IPA like Brown's in Colorado, and I feel priveleged to have it be a part of my career here. So now my goal is to relate to the people (a much harder goal that I set out originally, but I think one for the best.)

Wow this was a ramble.................

Supermarkets, Money, and Bad Beer

So I took a bikeride down to the supermarket thats a few miles away from my apt, mostly to see if it was possible. Luckily, that part is relatively flat so the ride is pretty straightforward. I got some soups, stuff for breakfast, and a can of Bud Light (I know its a total disgrace, but I haven't actually reviewed it on BA yet, so I thought I'd do so).

But perhaps the most interesting thing was I went there to break a fifty. And when I did, I got at least one of every bill below it. So, combined with some others, I ended up with one of each:


This is probably the last time I'm going to have one of each in my possession during my tenure as a graduate student. So I'll just enjoy this moment for a while....................................ok, time to drink bad beer.

Orientations, Girls, Broken Gates, and Beer

Today was the physics department orientation, where they tell us that we're signing our lives away to become minions in the dungeon of physics. Or something like that.

They gave us a lecture on the duties of a TA, and how if we don't do our job they can fire us (which was codified into a contract that we signed :p). So I am now officially continuing the Willett family tradition of being a paid teacher. \o/

I got a chance to talk to some of my fellow students, and some of the professors. We have, I think, 3 women in our class. Two are from China, and one is from Maryland. I struck up a conversation with the one from Maryland (named Amanda) and we seemed to get along pretty well. I have to get over the language barrier before I can talk to the other two.

I talked to two profs, Dr. Eah and Dr. Whittet, from nanotech and astrophysics respectively. They're both interesting guys. I have to do Operation Interrogate Department before I can choose my field of study.

I found out that I'm TAing physics I, and the schedules for that are still up in the air.

When I got home I found Henry recementing the gate that I discovered was broken yesterday. This is good because now I won't have to pick the gate up from its hinge every time I want to open it. He also gave me the OK to use the front gate from now on, so I have two ways to get in and out.

I poured the pale ale from Brown's today, its pretty good. I gave it a 4.05/5.00 on BA. (I guess I should tell people that my account there is MrB2006, if you want to read my reviews).


Other than that, things are going pretty much ok. I still need to do some paperwork before Monday. :o I think I'll go get a Sam Adams at the italian restaurant tonight...I haven't been there in a while ;).

Markerboards and Beer

A picture of my first derivation on my new markerboard (which is about 1/4 the size of my old one :p). This is a proof of Newton's 2nd law.


Looks simple doesn't it?

As far as beer goes, I have beer. \o/

Exams and Beer

Today I got up at about 9, and went to scko0l because I thought we had orientation today at 10. It turns out, that's tomorrow.

So I goofed off at the RPI bookstore and bought another pint glass.

Then I went to take the first part of the qualifying exam. Now before you start to panic, the exam occurs in two parts (I have to take the other part on Friday). We get to take the exam 3 times, with the first one being a freebie. We need to passit by this time next year if we want to continue into the PhD program. So I took the freebie today to just get an idea of what the environment would be like.

The test was mostly ok. I probably didn't pass it, but everything on there I knew I'd learned at some point, and the point is that I have to go back and brush up on alot of the details from undergrad work. I'll do a little reviewing for the one on Friday (quantum mechanics and thermodynamics) and maybe I'll pass that one.

In light of yesterday's beer experience, I hopped on my bike and coasted down to Brown's Brewpub and picked up 2 bombers of their beer: the pilsner and the pale ale. The pilsner was good (I gave it 3.45/5.00 on BeerAdvocate). I have yet to try the pale ale.

So my third beer in Troy:

Lectures and Beer

Today I gave a lecture for my TA training. It was a 5 minute "Microteaching" session, that is designed to show us our teaching style. We were recorded and at the end, our talk was shown back to us to have us critique our style.

What I found out:

+ I'm nervous
+ I use my hands alot
+ I have good volume
+ I use movement to prove my point

I just need to work on the whole nervous thing, and hopefully I'll be all set.

After that, I went to Brown's Brewery to pick up some bombers of their beers, but they were CLOSED. So I had to ride my bike up the hill with no beer. :( sad panda So I stopped at a local convenience store and got some mainstream beers instead.

My first beer in Troy (mom left it behind):


My second beer in Troy (never had this, reviewed it on BA):

It was totally dismal. Tomorrow I'm picking up some actual, REAL beer, before going to take the qualifying exam. I get one free shot at the quals, so my goal tomorrow is to go and see what it's like, so I'm not TOTALLY FREAKED OUT (TM) when I get there in January.

NYC

So I went to NYC on Saturday, with Mom, Dad and Regina.

Background: Regina's a friend from Mines who is going to Stony Brook on Long Island. Since we both ended up in the same region, we have made it a mission to go to NYC regularly and keep in touch.

As I described most of the things we saw yesterday I'll just give pictures this time.

The Empire State Building


The Empire State Building from the base


The New York Public Library


Regina outside NYC Library


Times Square


Regina getting eaten by a Trex in ToysRUs


Me kicking the Trex's ass


Regina trying to play with big kid's toys


I feel so pretty (Barbie Store)



I feel so pretty again (Macy's)


That's it for now, I'll put the complete listing on Bz0ne tomorrow or the next day.

Holy crap I'm not dead

CaN yOU BeLiEve IT?!

Yeah, so I'm not dead, I've just been without internet for a week.

The short, short version: I arrived in NY last Tuesday, and moved into my apartment on Wednesday. On Thursday we went to Boston, Friday I went to TA training, and yesterday we went to NYC.

The long, short version:

We came into NY at about 6pm EST on Tuesday, and didn't have the energy to do anything except eat and drink beer at Holmes and Watson in downtown Troy.

The next day I did paperwork for the school, signed my lease, and then did Massive Shopping Operation 5000 to get my apartment stocked. While I was in school, my mother found me a flowershop and two femalez that I have to go talk to again (why can't I do this on my own?).

The next day (Thursday) we went to Boston. Unfortunately, Mom got sick and I was only in Boston for about an hour. I have to go back sometime to let the city really convince me how it is.

On Friday, I went to TA training, and mom recovered. They essentially told us all about the different styles of teaching, and that we have to watch out for freshman kids who may get suicidal and stuff. Yeah.

Yesterday was horribly looney, and it probably deserves a post in itself. We took the train down to Manhattan in NYC and spent the whole day being tourists. We saw (in no particular order) the Met, the Empire State Building, Central Park, Penn Station, Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center, and Times Square. We ate at two delis, which had some of the best pastrami I've ever had.

Today we did the last of the setting up, the tearful goodbyes, and I'm sitting here now with my newly functional internet (the wireless doesn't work yet, my roommate ran a cable into my room :p).

Let's see, what else? Oh yeah, PICTURES

This is one side of my room:


This is the other:


This is my computarmachine:


And this is the view out onto Congress St.

Hooray that's it for now. I'll have plenty more details to come.

Greetings from Omaha

Day 1: The Beginnings

Hi All, I left Denver at 6am (MST) this morning and arrived in Omaha at 4 pm (CST), pretty much on schedule. Tomorrow is from Omaha to South Bend, IN.

My camera isn't loading pictures onto this computer, I'll try to figure that out tomorrow.

P.S. We drove by both Aurora, NE and York, NE. lawls

Cya tomorrow.

Adventures in Packing

Today was packing the car. As you can see, we got a fairly good sized SUV, and my room is pretty much empty.

This'll probably be my last post before going, see yall on the flip side.

The Last Hurrah

Last night was a blast. It was My and Cecil's last hurrah (besides them going on the cabin trip) before LEAVING! It was officially entitled "ohemmeffgee beer drinking n00bs," so naturally we went to the Yard House, and then to Falling Rock Tap House. People who came: Me, Cecil, Wolvie, Tim, Erin, Nate, Londyn, Drew, Shooger, and Weidas. I drank: 2x Bridgeport IPA, 1x Hoegaarden, 1x Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Cecil drank 1x Deschutes Inversion IPA, 1x Chimay Red, 1x Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Tim did everyone the honors of drinking 1x Arrogant Bastard Ale. He got my "prize" for finishing it. Wolvie drank 1x Pete's Strawberry Blonde. Both Cecil and I succeeded in getting "beered-out," probably because we ate massive amounts of food during the process.

I've posted three pictures as per people's requests: the group, Tim, and Booger, all having a good time.

Thanks to everybody who came and made this a great last hurrah. I'll see everyone in December!

Humble Beginnings

The story begins.

Hi, I'm Ben. I grew up in Lakewood, CO and graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in 2006 with a B.S. in Engineering Physics.

After applying to many graduate schools (of whom shall remain nameless to protect the guilty), I was accepted to only one: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY.

The purpose of this blog is to detail the insane and overwhelming process of getting a PhD in physics. Moreover, it's to examine what happens to a person when they up and move from their hometown of 22 years, and go 1800 miles across the country to do research in stuff they've never heard of.

So I hope you'll all stick with me for the next 5-7 years. I'll try to keep this updated as much as possible. Welcome to the journey (I think we're gonna need a bigger boat).