Physics

Race Resume 2011

2011-10-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

Uphill sprint at the end of the Cat C Baylor Road Race (Photo courtesy of Michael Sheehan) Cougar Roundup, Collegiate MTB race - October 8-9, 2011 Cat B, Cross Country - 1st! Cat B, Short Track - 4th Cat B, Omnium - 2nd (based on XC and short track) Team Relay - 2nd team: Sam Tannenbaum, Jenna Emerick, Matthew Charles, Mark Knight Dave Boyd Huntsvile Classic XIV - October 1-2, 2011Cat 3

"Photodetection with active optical antennas"

2011-05-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

Paper art: gold nanoantennas deposited in SiO2 windows, coated with ITO, and illuminated with an IR laser As frequent visitors to this blog may have noticed, the title - "Physics... and other trivial pursuits" - has been a bit deceptive. I've written a fair amount about my trivial pursuits, but very little indeed about physics. That bias toward non-scientific endeavors has primarily

Start of the 2011 Race Season

2011-02-24T21:35:00.000-08:00

It's 2011 Racing Season! This weekend should be challenging... and awesome. Here's the plan. Friday (2/25) 2:00 PM - drive to Austin, TX. Possibly pre-ride the road race (RR) course. Sleep at the Day's Inn Austin Crossroads. Saturday (2/26): UT Race Weekend (Road) 6:30 AM - Wake up 9:15 AM - start the 39 mile road race (Cat C) Lunch 3:30 PM - start of the 11.5 mile Cat C Team Time Trial (TTT

Spring is here!

2011-02-17T18:34:00.000-08:00

I know that the vernal equinox has yet to occur, but I'm going to go ahead and claim that Spring starts today. Evidence supporting this claim:I was bitten by a mosquito this afternoon. Mosquito bites do not occur during the winter. My arms have developed distinct jersey tan lines. Again, this does not happen during the winter. Putting on biking gloves outside was difficult due to the humidity.

Race Resume 2010

2010-12-16T20:03:00.000-08:00

This was my first year with a road bike, and the first season I've raced a bike in any discipline (road, cyclocross, or MTB). I'm pleased with the results - I've participated in six events and, out of the nine races they involved, managed seven top-10 finishes. I'm looking forward to racing in 2011 and, of course, applying Rule 5 (and 67 and 70) to my efforts. RACE RESUME 2010 Fat Chuck's

Gaza and Qatar

2010-10-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

The world today includes too much commentary and too few facts. I'm going to turn that around for this post. Here, for your consideration, is a list of facts without any commentary. Gaza / West Bank 5.09 children per woman (on average) 17.6 years old - median age of resident 44.5% of population is 14 years old or younger 340,000 refugees 2.593 BN dollars in bilateral and multilateral aid 675.2

KTRU Question

2010-09-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

So, if Leebron can make decisions on behalf of the students without informing us, then does that mean we can make decisions on behalf of Leebron without informing him? If so, I move to have the student body issue a resignation letter on behalf of Leebron. It'd be in the best interest of the University, it would protect the value that Rice student organizations have accrued in assets, and -

Upgrading to Cat C!

2010-09-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

My upgrade from Cat D to Cat C has been submitted to USA Cycling. With luck, I'll be racing with the C's this coming season. To request the upgrade, I had to compile my race resume for the last season (included below). For those interested in learning more about bicycle racing, check out: * Rice University Cycling and Triathlon and associated Google Group* USA Cycling* The Texas Bicycle Racing

Spicy lentil soup

2010-08-23T18:43:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:28 oz diced organic tomatoes tablespoon consume five cloves chopped garlic minced habanero pepper two diced yellow onions tablespoon butter generous sprinkle of ground cumin dash of sea salt freshly ground black pepper two chopped sausages two cups Palouse lentils 6 cups water Combine ingredients in a large pot. Simmer gently for 45 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Enjoy!

WWAMI'ed! - following Julia's adventures in med school

2010-08-17T18:39:00.000-07:00

For those of my readers interested in what it's like to date a driven, bunny loving med student - there's a blog for that. As Julia shares stories with me throughout the year, I'll be sharing the appropriate bits online with her friends family, and fans through a separate blog, WWAMI'ed!. If you have an RSS feed, feel free to add it and enjoy the insanity.

Optimizing iOS 4 for Google Sync

2010-07-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

This is a brief guide to optimizing your new installation of iOS 4 for syncing with both Gmail, and Google Calendars. It assumes you already have iOS 4 running on your iPhone 3G, 3GS, or iPhone 4, and that you're ready to actually get some work done after playing with iBooks, Facetime, multitasking, wireless keyboard support, folders, and all the other shiny new toys. When you go to Settings ->

Good for the heart

2010-05-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

A Downtown Houston Bridge Exercise is about more than just a beautiful view - although the evening view in Houston can be spectacular. The Buffalo Bayou bridges, in particular, range from splashy modern art to gentle arches reminiscent of ageless canals in Amsterdam. Nor is exercise just about breathing hard while occupying the thin line between the rushing steel of bumpers and the front lawns

Waxing the car

2010-05-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

After several years of neglecting my car's paint job, I decided it was time to spend the same time polishing my four wheeled ride as I spend caring for my bikes. A discussion with my mechanic at the local Toyota dealership led me to a bottle of Zymol Cleaner Wax. One trip through the car wash later, and few hours spent practicing "wax on, wax off" with clean microfiber wipes, and my car (a 2007

And all this time I thought the answer was 42...

2010-05-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

It turns out more research is need on this question. For more mundane questions, however, WolframAlpha is rather addictive. Wondering about the statistics of Rice University? Ever been taking a quantum course and wondered when Claude Cohen-Tannoudji won the Nobel Prize in physics? Curious about where the ISS is located right now? WolframAlpha knows. For the full story, check out the 2010 TED

Plasmonics GRS Career Panel: What should we discuss?

2010-05-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

Dear reader - As you may know, I'm working with Britt Lassiter to organize the first Plasmonics Gordon Research Seminar. As part of our program, we're going to have a career panel comprised of leading plasmonics researchers answering questions on how to develop a scientific career in an emerging field. In addition to the questions developed by Britt and myself, I'd like to incorporate feedback

Workout Notes: April 3, April 6 - heat and crashes

2010-04-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

A very sad Calfee Tetra-Pro with custom (broken) wheels and a (damaged) rider Saturday, April 3 - heat Met up with RUCT at 8:00 AM for a 50 mile ride. Rode out the usual route (Woodhead -> Memorial -> Terry Hershey Park -> George Bush), but found that people were ready to head back just as we hit the 25 mile mark. While, technically, turning around at 25 miles is the right move for

Workout Notes: March 31, April 1

2010-04-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 31 Speedline around the Memorial loop with RUCT. Cruising speed during the workout was about 22 MPH. Distance: 35 miles Avg. Speed: 18.8 MPH Thursday, April 1 Headed out to the Death Ride with a few of the RUCT guys. Learned what it's like to ride in a fast group. At the end of the first 17 mile lap I accidentally ended up in a break with four other guys. One of them,

Workout Notes: March 23, 25, 27... and Beer Bike 2010

2010-04-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

Beer Bike 2010, Men's Race Finishing the First Bike Leg Mark (L), Jasper (C), Jones Guy (R) Tuesday, March 23 Biked down to Bray's Bayou in the morning traffic, then did a quick lap to the end of the bike trail and back. The starting temperature was 45 degrees, so I used arm & leg warmers for the first half of the ride. By the turnaround point, it had warmed to 55 degrees and the arm

Workout Notes: March 17, 18

2010-03-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 17 Met up with RUCT crew around 3:30 PM, and biked over to the Memorial loop (one mile, no cars). Rode 9 reps of a 30 second all-out sprint at a cadence of ~90, with 3.5 minutes of rest between each sprint. Rests were at 18-20 MPH, sprints were 26-30 MPH. Distance: 19.3 miles Avg. Speed: 20.3 MPH Thursday, March 18 Again, met with RUCT at 3:30 PM and headed to

RUCT at the DFW Horse Country Race

2010-03-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

(additional pictures available on my Picasa Web Album) This past weekend was my first encounter with the full complement of Collegiate races. It was a very sleepless, adrenaline-fueled adventure with a lot of learning opportunities. The team headed out at 4:00 PM on Friday (3/12), for a 5 hour drive up to Frisco, TX. After a few interruptions, we made it to a Mexican restaurant and had

My first bike race: A&M Criterium (Tunis Roubaix XII)

2010-03-07T23:35:00.000-08:00

I learned two things at my first bike race: Racing bikes is more fun than aught to be legal on two wheels If you don't know the rules, it's hard to win things Given that this was my first bike race, I decided to try out Cat D - the easiest category of collegiate cycling. In retrospect, there were a few things I should have known about how criteriums (criteria?) work. Before getting

Fun with POV-Ray: Laser with mirrors

2010-01-21T23:27:00.000-08:00

Periscope at Dusk, 532 nm Earlier this week (yesterday) I received an email from my advisor recommending that everyone in my group learn a little bit of graphic design using POV-Ray. Following my usual manic response to entertaining new software, I spent the last two evenings learning how to design structures and simulate lasers. It's embarrassingly simple. Throw in a few unions,

A brief guide to visiting Portland, Oregon

2010-01-18T19:15:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine from Rice University is going to attend the APS March Meeting in Portland, OR. To help him prepare I talked with a few of my friends from the area - Julia, Jennie, and Megan - and assembled a list of underground hangouts, dive bars, classic vistas, and neighborhood restaurants. If you want to experience Portland, these spots are a good place to start. In no particular order, we

Snow Day in Houston

2009-12-04T10:57:00.000-08:00

from crisismanagementteam@rice.edu to Mark date Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 12:46 PM subject Early Release due to Snowy/Icy Conditions message Good afternoon all, “Snowy, cold weather in Houston is creating challenging conditions on some roads and highways, so Rice University will allow the early release of nonessential employees this afternoon, at the discretion of their supervisors.

50 Mile Bike Loop, Texas Tales

2009-11-29T16:32:00.000-08:00

Map of 50 mile loop, with height profile. Click image to enlarge. Julia has issued a holiday challenge: 500 miles on my bike by December 23. Today was the first day, so I decided to try out a nice little 50 mile loop I'd had my eye on for some time now. The loop starts at Rice, following Greenbriar south to the Bray's Bayou trail. At the end of the Bray's Bayou bike trail, follow S Gessner Rd

Parallels Desktop 5: Follow, and a Review

2009-11-18T18:26:00.000-08:00

Just in case you were wondering - Parallels, Inc. is paying attention to what you say online. Within 24 hours of my previous post regarding Parallels new release of their virtualization software I received two separate emails from the company. The first email was from Ashley Lau, a name I hadn't heard before. As with any new email, I checked the domain name to see if it agreed with the stated

Good things: Parallels Desktop 5, and Planets

2009-11-17T11:36:00.000-08:00

If you're a user of Apple products, and want to experience happiness, try downloading Parallels Desktop 5, and the Planets application for the iPhone. Both applications made me happy yesterday.

An 85 Mile Bike Loop

2009-11-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

View 85 Mile Bike Loop in a larger map I stumbled on this loop today while out riding around. It's 85 miles the way I did it, but I accidentally got on the highway for a bit down by Sugar Land - I wouldn't recommend that. If you want to give it a shot, here's the route: Starting from Rice University, head south on Shepherd Take a right on Bray's Bayou, and follow that until you reach S Gessner

Guide to Voting in Harris County

2009-11-01T20:12:00.000-08:00

If this is your first time voting in Harris County, or you just need a little help choosing candidates, you may want to spend a few minutes researching where you need to go, & what to bring, on November 3rd. First, head over to the county clerk's website: http://harrisvotes.org/. There, you'll find a plethora of useful information. Among them, a link to "Find your Election Day Poll and View

Recommendations for 2010 Democratic Countywide Judicial Candidates

2009-10-08T21:36:00.000-07:00

Harris County has an election coming up. In preparation, the HCDP had a Precinct Chairs meeting tonight for party business, along with signing petitions for the election. After several hours of research, personal recommendations from experienced members of the community, and the opportunity to meet most of the candidates in person, I've compiled a list of candidates I believe deserve your vote

How to connect an iPhone to the Rice VPN

2009-10-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

On your iPhone, go to Preferences -> General -> Network -> VPN -> Add VPN Configuration Choose "IPSec" Configure the account as follows: Description: Rice VPN Server: 128.42.247.200 Account: (netid) Password: (Ask Every Time) Use Certificate: (Off) Group Name: RiceNet Secret: (contact me via email for the shared secret) This service

A relaxing 50+ mile ride in Houston

2009-10-04T16:07:00.000-07:00

(click the image to enlarge) Starting from Rice University, take S Shepherd Dr north to Memorial Parkway. Hang a left, and stay on Memorial Parkway until you reach W Beltway 8. Take another left onto the sidewalk. The park entrance will be well marked; go under Beltway 8, then follow the Terry Hershey bike trail. When you reach the parking lot, follow the trail around to the left. When it

Pandemic Preparation

2009-09-20T16:04:00.000-07:00

My Flu Kit With over 120 students at Rice already infected with flu, it's probably a good idea for all members of the Rice community to prepare themselves for a possible run-in with this season's most fashionable illness: H1N1. If you don't know the symptoms yet, head over to the Center for Disease Control site and read up. While not a replacement for advice from your physician and the

Rice Actually Gets a Policy Right!

2009-09-18T10:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, my friends, yes. I know. You think I've lost my mind, after all these years of ranting about unenforceable policies and inane administration tricks. But this time, finally, Rice has issued a policy with which I can agree. If you ride a bike, OR if you're a pedestrian - read the new bike policy. The gist of it is simple: bikers should behave themselves, and pedestrians should be aware of

Recreation Center - policies and changes

2009-08-31T22:30:00.000-07:00

This is a repost from the GSA Announcements, in case you missed it. The new recreation center will be opening Friday, September 25th! Below are some things you need to know: Membership: Graduate Student membership fee for the 2009/2010 academic year is $105 for 12 months. This amount is prorated for October 1, 2009 - August 15, 2010. The future annual fee will be $120/year. Membership fees can

A Snapshot of Rice University, Fall Term

2009-08-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

The Soccer Fields It's Fall. I can smell it in the unwashed air, thick with Houston humidity and second-wearing socks. Freshman wander the streets in clumps of huddled humanity, talking to distant friends on iPhones with shiny screens and typing emails on the visitor network. Seniors are back, looking like the own the place. Thinking that three years at Rice is enough to understand the

Parking at Rice : An Open Letter to Kevin Kirby and the Rice Administration

2009-08-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Kevin -First, thank you for the well-written note.* We've had issues with written English in the past from Rice employees. The problem with your request - that all students who want to park near Rice use University owned lots - is simple: there aren't always enough spaces for those who want to purchase one, and the spaces that are available are extremely costly. Especially for those of us

Scotch Tasting: Talisker 10, Cragganmore 12, Oban 14

2009-08-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

Kris Enjoying a DramLast night I participated in a small gathering of scotch enthusiasts. After grilling teriyaki/bacon/jalapeno/habanero/onion burgers, and bacon-wrapped shrimp stuffed with habanero, and Ramsey's famous chicken, we settled in to enjoy three very different drams of fine Scotch whiskey. Talisker 10 (whisky.com)A dram of Talisker 10 will fill your eyes, nose, ears, and mouth with

Croxetti pasta with wood ear mushrooms

2009-07-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

Croxetti pasta with wood ear mushroomsThe textures in this recipe are what set it apart. The crispness of the mushrooms contrasts beautifully with the al dente pasta, and both the flavors are enhanced by the noticeable bite of the habanero. This is another Knight original; if you have any suggestions for how to modify the recipe, or different ideas for how to prepare wood ear mushrooms - please

Myers Briggs Type Personality Test

2009-07-16T12:24:00.000-07:00

Your Type isENTJExtraverted Intuitive Thinking JudgingENTJ - DescriptionsThe ENTJ takes his energy from the outer world of actions and spoken words. He prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, and making decisions after considering the consequences of the various courses of action. His life is organised on a logical basis. He tends to control life, organising systems and people to

Scallops with Sauteed Maitake Mushrooms

2009-07-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

Prepared VegetablesIngredients4 oz organic Maitake mushrooms6 oz bay scallops2 cloves garlicmedium white onion 1/4 cup chopped green onion1 tbsp fish saucefresh ground peppersea saltPreparationCoarsely chop the onion and mushroom. Mince the garlic, and chop the green onion. Heat olive oil in a wok (or similar pan), and toss in garlic. When the garlic is starting to brown, add the onions and cook

Monday Dinner

2009-07-13T18:44:00.000-07:00

Spring SaladSpring SaladSpring greens with herbs, topped with fresh Bing cherries, crumbled feta cheese, walnuts, Kalamata olives, and halved radishes. Finish with a light sprinkle of french vinaigrette. Pork Chops in Porter1.4 lbs pork chops1 tbsp whole black peppercorns3/4 Scotch Bonnet pepper15 cloves18 oz vanilla porter (homebrew, preferably)1 teaspoon sea saltHabanero Pepper JellyMarinate

Spicy Summer Scallops

2009-07-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

Kale with Bay ScallopsAfter hearing about my girlfriend's garden, talking to my mother about Italian cooking, and staring at a bag of habanero peppers my advisor grew, I decided it was time to hit the kitchen and get creative. The dish I produced came out surprisingly well so, for your enjoyment, here is my best stab at cooking scallops and kale:Ingredients:Bunch of fresh kale, washed and with

I Love the News Today

2009-07-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

A Beautiful Screenshot Two items: The NYTimes video page is fantastic today (see image above). I finally understand - after being puzzled all afternoon - why none of the major news organizations were quoting much from Sarah Palin's "I give up" speech: it wasn't a speech. It was the confused outpouring of a deranged mind... and contained very few sentences constructed according the the rules of

Photos from the SPP4 Conference in Amsterdam

2009-06-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

SPP4 - Amsterdam (2009)

Video clips from Amsterdam

2009-06-28T14:34:00.001-07:00

French in Houston

2009-04-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

Freshly Brewed Sumatra MandhelingToday I stepped into Heaven and rediscovered our local bit of bean-based joy, the House of Coffee Beans. When I first came to Houston, the store was a landmark in the Rice village, and an enjoyable addiction for many of the students who were showing me around. Then they moved. The shop disappeared from my sight and, slowly, from my mind. Life became a mindless

"We apologues in advance for any incontinence"

2009-04-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

This morning, which is not April 1st, I was surprised to find the following unaltered email in my inbox. An email that was sent to all Rice departments and, I believe, requires no further introduction. Enjoy.--From: [all depts mailing list] On Behalf Of Teresa L. TuckerSent: Friday, April 03, 2009 10:44 AMTo: [all depts mailing list]Subject: [all depts] No Water at the Rec. CenterHello Everyone,

Plasmorning in America

2009-03-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

Declaration of particle-substrate interdependenceM.W. Knight*, and J.B. Lassiter''* Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Laboratory for Nanophotonics, Rice University'' Department of Physics and Astronomy, Laboratory for Nanophotonics, Rice UniversityWhen in the course of spectroscopic research it becomes necessary to take measurements, and observe the chemical bonds that connect

Obama's Weekly Address: Toward a Better Day

2009-03-09T12:23:00.001-07:00

The Drude Model: A Word on Plasmons

2009-02-25T13:46:00.000-08:00

As I sit here in my office, attempting to write a paper, I find myself inexorably drawn to the books on my shelf. The old ones, especially, where authors were not only scientists, but artists. Authors who could craft their words into elegant webs, drawing the unsuspecting reader ever closer to the sticky, inevitable core of understanding. Perhaps I should stop before discussing four dimensional

Postdocs

2009-02-17T15:26:00.001-08:00

Rice University has five major categories into which all people are grouped. These categories roughly correlate to the worth the University places on your existence: Faculty, Staff, Graduate Students, Undergrads, and Postdocs. Another category exists, the Administration, but including such people - nay, demigods - in a list of mere community members would be a grievous insult.Clearly, as the

"Full simulations of the apertureless scanning near field optical microscopy signal: achievable resolution and contrast"

2009-02-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

Figure 1 : sketch of Esteban et al.'s simulation geometry for an NSOM tipNormally, after reading a good science paper, I think to myself "Huh. That's neat."With this paper (abstract and link included below), my first impression was, "Are you kidding me? They actually DID that? Wow."The amazing part is that their simulation is more complicated than the figure shown above would suggest. Yes, they

A Brief Consideration of Advisor Relations

2009-02-09T16:51:00.000-08:00

A graduate student's relationship with his or her thesis advisor is one of the most critical elements of graduate school. If a good relationship is established, the advisor and student can communicate freely and work together to do good science, rapidly publish important results, and ultimately develop the graduate student's career.A bad relationship, on the other hand, can result in the utter

Rice WAS a Dry Campus - Unbeknownst to Actual Students

2008-09-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

(click image for a high-res copy of the letter)During the week of Hurricane Ike, Rice University was a dry campus (see email above). This policy was announced to the undergraduate college masters, but was never communicated to the University at large. No email was ever sent to graduate students.After the hurricane, several graduate students unknowingly violated this secret dry campus policy. As a

A WaMu customer shifts to Chase ownership

2008-09-26T20:22:00.001-07:00

I'm a WaMu customer. I love their service, their free checks, their free wire transfers, and their reasonably high interest on online CDs when the rest of the market is tanking (5.0% right now!) .As Nate - one of my coworkers here at Rice University - pointed out, however, a company that pays me money to bank while providing everything for free isn't likely to be making money. Turns out he was

Houston's Curfew Ends

2008-09-26T19:59:00.001-07:00

POLICE CHIEF LIFTS CITYWIDE CURFEW September 26, 2008 -- Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt has announced the citywide curfew put in place following Hurricane Ike will be lifted beginning at 6 a.m. TODAY (Friday, Sept. 26). The curfew hours of 12 midnight to 6 a.m. remained in effect last tonight (Thursday). The purpose

McCain: Liar, or Incompetent?

2008-09-24T14:36:00.001-07:00

Rick Davis, left, with Senator John McCain in 2007"One of the giant mortgage companies at the heart of the credit crisis paid $15,000 a month from the end of 2005 through last month to a firm owned by Senator John McCain’s campaign manager, according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.The disclosure undercuts a remark by Mr. McCain on Sunday night that the campaign manager,

Slacker Uprising - a new, FREE movie from Michael Moore

2008-09-24T06:50:00.000-07:00

"I'm giving you my blanket permission to not only download it, but also to email it, burn it, and share it with anyone and everyone (in the U.S. and Canada only). I want you to use 'Slacker Uprising' in any way you see fit to help with the election or to do the work that you do in your community. You can show my film in your local theater, your high school classroom, your college auditorium, your

Citywide Curfew Still in Effect Until Further Notice

2008-09-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

Citywide Curfew Still in Effect Until Further Notice September 21, 2008 - The City of Houston’s citywide curfew put in place following Hurricane Ike will continue to be in effect until further notice. The curfew hours are 12 midnight to 6 a.m. An updated review of the power outages in the city indicates that there are still many parts of the city without electrical

Hurricane Ike - Day 7

2008-09-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

The effects of Hurricane Ike are still being felt around the city. Large brush piles abound, and about half my friends here still have no electricity. The city remains under a midnight-6 AM curfew until this coming Monday.However, restaurants are (mostly) open again. Trash service has resumed, mail is once again being delivered, and the water has been declared safe. Our apartment complex has

Hurricane Ike - Brief Notes from Day 4

2008-09-16T10:27:00.003-07:00

Documenting the DamageRiding my bike to Rice reveals that the City of Houston has been working hard to get the streets passable. Trees have been largely cut up into chunks and moved to the side of the road, and the main streets - like Shepherd - have been swept clean. The brush has been placed in ubiquitous piles by the side of nearly every road. Citizens are out in their lawns enjoying the

Hurricane Ike - Further Observations from Day 3

2008-09-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

Aramis climbing a fallen tree I went grocery shopping today, and found two items notable: The grocery store (Kroger, by 59 and Kirby) is out of most staples including rice, ice, and bottled water. The store is limiting the number of people who are allowed to buy groceries at a given time. They've shut down all but two doors. One is the entrance, with guards, and the other is an exit only -

Hurricane Ike - Three days later

2008-09-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

Temple sign and menorah destroyed by a fallen treeWhile much of Houston is still without power, my little piece of the city has already returned to an almost pre-Ike state. We've got running water with enough pressure to shower, even if we aren't allowed to drink the water yet. The electricity came back on around noon yesterday, so the A/C unit is once again making our lives comfortable. Even the

Hurricane Ike - "The day after the day after tomorrow"

2008-09-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

Branches down on the Rice LoopCar on Rice BoulevardA brief bike ride from home to the Rice University campus shows that little of the storm damage has been addressed thus far. Trees still block many of the roads, and electricity is still unavailable most places outside of Rice. Few people have resumed driving yet, so the roads are unusually pleasant for biking.My apartment is still without

Hurricane Ike - The Morning After

2008-09-13T18:37:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Ike has passed and, while there is noticeably damage throughout the city, it seems that the disaster that could have occurred was mostly averted.My apartment is currently without internet or electricity, and we briefly lost water. The city has issued an advisory not to use water from the tap until they can assure no contaminated from the depressurization of the system.My apartment is in

Hurricane Ike brings the rain (1:20 AM)

2008-09-12T23:19:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Ike's here in force, now, even though the eyewall is still an hour away from my street. I went outside to enjoy the weather, and had a great time (see the following video).I'm amazed we haven't lost power yet since I got to see sparks fly & the block power down for a good 30 seconds, and then noticed that the gusts were inducing the nearest power pole to oscillate by three or four feet

Hurricane Ike has arrived (midnight)

2008-09-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

Houston is now solidly under Hurricane Ike, as evidenced by quickly intensifying winds and rain. A band of thunderstorms is approaching now from the East, and power has been flickering. One of my friends lost his internet connection a few minutes back.So far, however, nothing too surprising has happened. All the trees are still standing, the water is draining nicely, and I'm enjoying the howl of

Hurricane Ike - before the storm

2008-09-12T16:16:00.000-07:00

It's quiet in Houston right now. Very quiet. Everyone's pulled their cars off the street and have headed inside to enjoy the storm.The wind's starting to pick up now, with a few very noticeable gusts passing through. Nothing out of the ordinary, yet, although the cloud cover passing overhead is continuous and moving steadily. We're supposed to start getting serious weather soon, with lots of

Multiple iTunes libraries?

2008-09-09T17:57:00.001-07:00

Alright, so iTunes works for you. The Genius feature makes you happy, and you've been on a buying spree. Now you realize that you've filled up your entire hard drive.Blast.But don't panic! There's a simple fix.Copy your iTunes Music folder to an external harddrive. Then copy your iTunes folder to a folder titled iTunes External (without copying your music, of course!). Then, when launching iTunes

iTunes crashing? Here's a fix.

2008-09-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

Let me guess:You've got iTunes installed, and for months it's crashed every single time you tried to access the iTunes store. But that was OK, because you have plenty of music already. Why would you need the store?But today, iTunes Genius came out, and you want to use the store's smart playlist generation feature. But you can't. Because iTunes crashes everytime you try to access the store. And

Barack Obama: Inspiration AND Experience

2008-01-21T20:24:00.001-08:00

Signs With No Name or Date

2007-10-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

Dear _______,Please be advised that your signs annoy me. I don't know who you are, but you sure leave a lot of signs around campus. Big signs, little signs. Signs requesting that I go out of my way to please you - whoever you are. Your signs seem to last forever, too, since they never expire. I'm sure that not slamming the door will be, for the next 10 years, the most important thing I can do at

"Tom"

2007-09-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

Over the past several years I've been compared to Tom Cruise multiple times. This comparison has, fortunately, not been extended to our differing ideologies. During college this comparison became so widespread that an entire clique of girls started referring to me as "Tom," rather than my usual "Hey you!" When I moved to Texas the comparisons continued, except now the comments were from people

Day 3: Tuesday at SPIE

2007-08-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was, as seems to be typical at SPIE, quite busy. Our group left the hotel by 8:30 AM, and didn't return (in my case) 'til midnight. I've decided that the stories people told me of getting no more than five hours of sleep per night... they're all true. Sleep at a conference seems even more illusive than sleep in grad school proper.There were a few fantastic talks on Tuesday. Next time we

Day 2: Monday morning at SPIE

2007-08-27T11:04:00.001-07:00

Monday morning at SPIEToday started at 8:30 with a trip to a San Diego coffee shop, where I procured a danish & a latte. While this trip caused us to arrive 10 minutes late for the first plenary talk we were planning to attend, delays in previous talks resulted in our on-time arrival for Akhlesh Lakhtakia's presentation of a "Brave New Nanoworld, Without Apologies to Aldous Huxley."The main

Day 1: SPIE Optics & Photonics

2007-08-26T23:43:00.001-07:00

Mark, Nate, Britt, NcheToday was a 19 hour day. After waking up a bit before 5 AM (due to Nate's insane desire to be early to everything - including breakfast), we wandered from our hotel over to the Convention Center. Along the way we picked up apple fritters & lattes at Starbucks. Not my first choice coffeeshop, but quite functional.Check-in to SPIE was relatively easy - once we were told that

Coming this week: experiences at SPIE Optics + Photonics (San Diego, CA)

2007-08-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

From August 25-31, I'll be immersed in the SPIE Optics + Photonics conference in San Diego, California. Thanks to ubiquitous wireless internet, a Macbook Pro, and a Powershot S3 IS, my experiences will be partially documented online. The photos from our first day in San Diego are already available on my PicasaWeb album.I'll be delivering my talk tomorrow (Aug. 26) as part of Session 3:

Giving an RQI Talk: A Short Guide to Not Screwing it Up

2007-08-22T17:06:00.000-07:00

The Rice Quantum Institute (RQI) aims to "foster the next generation of discoveries in basic and applied research at the quantum level." In order to bring Rice researchers together & share published and unpublished research inside the University, RQI hosts a full day seminar once each summer, called the RQI Colloquium. I had the pleasure of both attending, and presenting at, this seminar on

Shame on you, Hillary Clinton

2007-08-08T22:57:00.001-07:00

I used to think that Hillary Clinton might make an acceptable president. Then I got to know how she thinks. I listened to her speak. I read her website.I didn't like what I saw.What I heard today was even worse. I've extracted the relevant section below; go to CrooksAndLiars.com for the full video.When attacking Barack Obama for speaking his mind, she said "You can think big, but remember: you

Climbing the Red River Gorge

2007-08-03T23:31:00.000-07:00

Texas DPS Humor

2007-07-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

Someone at the Texas Department of Public Safety has a sense of humor. According to the Driver License Division's page on the Social Security Number:Documentation for proof of the Social Security Number may include: 1. Federal issued Social Security Card. (Metal Social Security cards or types sold at flea markets will NOT be accepted). That's right. For all you flea

Short Take #6: Grad Students Enjoy PHD Comics

2007-07-07T12:25:00.000-07:00

I suspect this facebook screenshot tells us something...

Short Take #5: The Honesty Box

2007-07-06T11:29:00.000-07:00

Using the Facebook Development Platform, Dan Peguine, Yael Eligoulachvili and Erik Giberti have released an application called "Honesty Box" where users can leave anonymous feedback for others.Here's why it's a bad idea: you won't want to read anything in that box.If it's true, and it's good, they'll say it to your face - not to your box. If it's true, and bad, you won't want to hear it. If it's

Video interviews: Dr. Naomi Halas

2007-06-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

Video interviews of my advisor at Rice - Dr. Naomi Halas.NOVA scienceNOW profile (Feb. 3, 2005)SPIE video interview (Aug. 2006)Q&A with CNN (June 15, 2007) (transcript)

Subject: Reverse Phone Number Lookup

2007-06-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

The following email perturbs me. First, read the email. Then I'll tell you what's wrong with it.From: <>Date: June 22, 2007 8:07:06 PM PDTTo: <>Subject: Reverse Phone Number Lookup: yoursI picked up on something a former acquaintance and FBI officer has published.Try this: go to google.com and simply type in your phone number. Hit search and see what happens. If you get a hit, note the map button

Microsoft: Ripping off Apple technology, two fingers at a time

2007-06-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

Step one in Microsoft development cycle: watch Steve Jobs' keynote.Step two in Microsoft development cycle: shameless 'develop' a less-cool version of whatever Apple just started selling. (See 1:15 in the video)

Short Take #4: Progressive Land

2007-06-21T22:56:00.000-07:00

"This is Progressive Land, where they do things for political reasons and not necessarily rational ones." - Rob Anderson, cranky activist (csmonitor.com)Rob, where have you been the last six years? Do you really think conservatives are rational? Do you think that anyone is going to be completely a-political... in politics??I hope they find that white jacket you escaped from, Rob.

Climbing ratings

2007-06-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

After spending my evening at the rock gym, and flashing a few 5.10a routes, I began wondering what the actual ratings meant. After all, everyone knows that gyms don't really rate their routes honestly.To clarify matters, I found a quote from Mountaineering, Freedom of the Hills:______________The experienced climber, having accomplished or attempted free climbs of varying degrees of difficulty in

Texas Ants: meaner than Oregon ants!

2007-06-17T20:46:00.000-07:00

While out picking blueberries on Saturday I had a run-in with a gang of red ants. Since I was wearing boots & pants, they'd covered most of my leg before I realized what, exactly, was causing those nasty stinging sensations.Now, in Oregon we have friendly black ants. They're cute, even, like insect puppies.In Texas, they have fire ants. I was a bit preoccupied after noticing the ants, so I

Halas Group Publications

2007-06-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

Dr. Naomi HalasEverything the Halas group publishes builds, as science is wont to do, on earlier work. The papers referenced in this post provide the foundation for our group's current theoretical and experimental work on plasmonics. If you're thinking about joining the Halas group, or have already joined, these papers are a good starting point for your foray into the literature jungle.First

CNN: "DO YOU LIKE ME?"

2007-06-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

According to the subtitle on CNN's America Votes 2008 report, this question - DO YOU LIKE ME? - is what matters in today's politics. Not "Do you respect my opinion?" or "Do you think I would strengthen America?" No. No, what really matters is that the voters like you. Not even love you. Just... like. By that standard, I could vote for a really good cucumber sandwich.According to these insightful

A Modest Proposal, by Jonathan Swift (1729)

2007-06-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

Far too many of my friends have professed a genuine ignorance of Swift's work. As it is now in the public domain, I have posted it below. It's a bit longer than my usual posts, but - and this is a rather large 'but' - it's a good deal funnier, more historic, and well written than my own clumsy attempts at satire.A MODEST PROPOSAL FOR PREVENTING THE CHILDREN OF POOR PEOPLE IN IRELAND FROM BEING A

I'm proud to support Barack Obama...

2007-06-01T21:08:00.001-07:00

... and, on Facebook alone, so are 84,535 other hopeful Americans. I was looking over his profile today - he's a member of 14 assorted "Barack Obama for President" groups - and watching the videos in his Posted Items. While I was reading up on his health care plan I scrolled down a bit and was struck by the third post on his wall. Jeanette Lynn Rikli (Kansas State) wrote at 10:37pmBarack,You

The War on Stupidity

2007-05-31T00:24:00.000-07:00

I believe that Americans can use more than three words to express a concept. I believe that simplifying complex issues to Fox News soundbites is an intellectual crime. I believe that dialog, not an ideologue, offers the best hope for fixing the political, social, and economic issues troubling all Americans.The political hacks running 'television news' clearly don't share these views. They seem

Nanotechnology Fetish

2007-04-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

I bumped into this today on Wired.com:Nanotechnology fetish: Obviously, in the future nanotechnology will affect all aspects of human sexuality, giving us everything from self-peeling condoms to spermicidal linebackers. Having your sex life enhanced by billions of imperceptible molecular devices will be seen as completely normal. However, a few people will become attached to nanodevices on an

Short Take #3: Vatican says, "Gays, Abortion, Euthinasia still hated by the Almighty"

2007-04-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

Just a week after announcing that God doesn't hate babies, the Vatican has come out with confirmation that Old Testament Wrath is still alive and well:The Vatican's second-highest ranking doctrinal official on Monday forcefully branded homosexual marriage an evil and denounced abortion and euthanasia as forms of "terrorism with a human face." - ABC NewsI really appreciate the Church letting me

Sex Differences in Performance

2007-04-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

After having many arguments over the Summers comments (they're actually quite interesting if you read them, and not the sensationalist press), I think people would do well to understand the implications of de Moivre's equation:which says that the standard error of the mean will be equal to the standard deviation of the sample divided by the square root of the sample size.This means that smaller

This is so true!

2007-04-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

Everyone should read this comic, if only because of the disclaimer:"Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)." - XKCD.com

Catholic Headline News: God doesn't hate babies!

2007-04-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, something falls into my lap that's just too unbelievable to ignore. This is one of those things:According to a new, 41-page document issued by the Catholic Church, theologians have advised the Pope that since God is merciful he "wants all human beings to be saved." (Reuters)Apparently it took the best minds in the Church more than 15 years to realize that God doesn't hate babies.