Grad School - UND Space Studies

Since it seems that I might be able to graduate from IIT at the end of next summer, I am now scrambling to get some things lined up for Grad School next Fall (Fall 2014).

The 1 years Masters program in Science writing at MIT is on the short list.  Essentially I am going to go ahead and apply, but I am not counting on getting in.  From what I have been told, not many folks end up applying to that particular program so it's not exactly a pipe-dream.  It would be very intense, and would run me about $45,000 not including housing...so that price tag is a huuuuge issue right now.  If I get accepted...I will deal with that decision then.

Apart from that, I have started the application process at University of North Dakota.  They have a M.S. program in Space Studies that is pretty much right up my alley.  They have both an online and on-campus option, so I might be able to move back to Michigan to help out my folks for a year, take a few classes, and then move to Grand Forks, ND to finish everything up.  I can get everything done if I live on campus (with ND residency) in 2 years for about $25,000 (including housing).  If I end up doing it online, my out of state tuition would run about $28,000 for the whole program...plus/but I am living at home with my parents.  I'm leaning toward a mix of the two.

I would be able to concentrate in Observational Astronomy/Planetary Science so the majority of my coursework before my Thesis would be Astronomy, Radio Astronomy, Asteroid Science, and  Mars Science.  Since it is an interdisciplinary program I have to take courses outside of my concentration so I will have some classes in Space Policy, Economics of Space, and Resource exploitation.  Overall it seems like a great, challenging, and exciting mix of coursework.

So with my B.S. in Tech Comm & Journalism of Science, and a M.S. in Space Studies, I would have a golden ticket to work at any NASA Center, Planetarium, or Space Center (ie JPL) in the country.  My dream job would be working for Planetary Resources, the start-up Asteroid Mining company (Stock Options!) but we can cross that job-bridge when we come to it.

After this semester I only need 21 more credits to graduate, so this is looking more and more like what and where I will be next Fall.

But....North Dakota.  :/

Telescope Tuesday - Eyepieces

It's been a couple of weeks since our last Telescope Tuesday.  Let's just all be glad this one is actually on a Tuesday.  Last time I wrote about the mechanics of reflector telescopes and the optical path within the tube.  Today I'll cover the last bit that path which is the eyepiece.

There is the old astronomers saying "The light travels for millions of miles only to get blocked in the last one".  This is of course a reference to the bane of all astronomers, both professional and amateur, which is weather and clouds.  Seriously, clouds suck.

So lets take an easy example...Polaris (The North Star).  Assuming you can see it (difficult in Chicago at best), the photons from the surface of that star have traveled a distance of 434 light years.  434 light years = 4,105,957,025,100,067.5  (4.1 Quadrillion) Kilometers...which is a very long distance by any standard.  The photons you have managed to capture with your telescope now travel down the optical path of the tube assembly (a focal length of 650mm in my case) and get reflected by the secondary mirror into the eyepiece assembly.  This last little bit is one of the most critical portions of the photons journey.  That last little 2-25mm makes all the difference.

There are scads of different types of eyepieces, each type having a specific use; normal viewing, wide-angle viewing, comma-correction, etc...

The fancier they are, the more expensive they are because of the increase in the optic quality as well as the number of lenses contained within, ranging from $50-$500.  Personally, I only have the two eyepieces that came with my scope *sadtrombone*   The image focusing and other special effects depends on the types and arrangement of lenses inside the eyepiece.

Apart from all the special functions that a high end eyepiece can do, the most basic function of the lenses is to magnify the image so that the observer can make out fine details.  The calculation of magnification is simple and depends only on the focal length of the optical assembly and the eyepiece itself.

So in my case I have a focal length of 650mm in the reflector telescope.  With my two eyepieces; 25mm and 10mm this gives me a magnification of 26x and 65x respectively.  It is a common misconception that the higher the magnification the better.  While this is true to some extent every telescope has an upper theoretical magnification which is 50-60 (depending on your source) times the aperture of the telescope in Inches.  Since my scope is 130mm=5.125 inches, that means there is an upper limit of 256x-307x that I could expect to achieve.  This limit is due to the fact that the higher the magnification is, you are not only magnifying the object you are looking at you are also magnifying the imperfections in the optics, as well as atmospheric disturbances.  At very high magnifications, even air currents inside the scope will cause distortions in the image (which is why you are always advised to cool your scope to the ambient outside temperature).

In addition, the higher the magnification, the smaller the apparent field of view and the dimmer an object will be.  Since I am severely limited to planets and the moon due to Chicago's light pollution, I don't have to worry about this too much as of yet, but when I finally make it to a dark-sky site...a lower power eyepiece will allow me to see more of the overall structure of nebula.  Lastly, if like me you don't have a mount that can track, any object is going to whip across the field of view due to the earths rotation.  When I am able to get Saturn centered in my 10mm it is gone from view in about 7-8 seconds.

I will close this with a segue into next weeks (hopefully) topic...CCD Cameras.   The CCD Camera I have has a focal length of about 5mm as best as I have been able to calculate.  This then means that I have an effective magnification of about 130x.  Needless to say this provides some excellent close-up views of the Moon.

Telescope Tuesday: Friday Edition

Welcome to Telescope Tuesday, where I will be rambling about a) My Telescope, and b) Things I Do With My Telescope.

Since this is the first in a series, I'll take some time to give an explanation of what the equipment is:

This is the scope I picked up earlier this year.  It's an Orion Space Probe 130 ST Newtonian Reflector.  Unlike a Refractor Telescope, the Newtonian Reflectors 'fold' the light beam so as to increase the focal length while still having a decent aperture.

As you can see, the light comes in through the front of the scope, is focused by the primary mirror at the back of the optical assembly, reflects off the secondary mirror and is sent to the eyepiece.  As with most things, bigger is (often) better.  The larger your aperture, the more light the scope will gather.

With my scope, the aperture is 130mm, or just under 5"...which is pretty decent for a high-end starter scope.  The focal length is the total distance the light travels from the front end of the tube to the exit at the eyepiece, which in this case is 650mm.  You then divide the focal length by the aperture to get the focal ratio which is an f/5 in this case.

The focal ratio determines the image magnification, field size (how much of the sky you can see at one time), and the brightness of an image; all depending on the eyepiece used.  'Fast' telescopes with ratios around f/4-f/5 give a wide field of view, but are not specifically designed for high-magnification planetary viewing.  For that you want a 'slow' telescope with a f/11-f/15 ratio.

Since my scope was a 130 ST (the ST stand for 'Short Tube') I sacrificed a bit of power for portability.  The standard Orion 130 has a 900mm focal length and a f/6.9 ratio.  But since I will be lugging this thing around, I needed something manageable.

Lastly, the eyepieces determine the viewing field and magnification.  Each eyepiece has its own focal length which you divide into the scope focal length to determine the magnification.  My scope came with a set of 25mm and 10mm eyepieces.  This gives a magnification of 26x and 65x respectively.  While you might think that more magnification is always better, this is not always the case.

Since I don't have a mount that has automatic tracking, I have to manually move the telescope to keep whatever it is I am looking at (so far only the Moon and Saturn) centered in the eyepiece.  With the 25mm eyepiece, the views of the moon are great, and you can make out the rings of Saturn.  However, with the 10mm eyepiece, the views of the moon are fantastic, but Saturn whips across the field of view in under a minute (so it's hard to track)...but you can make out the gap between the rings and the planet itself, and I have managed to spot Saturn's moon Titan every time.  It's really pretty fantastic.

Living in the city, I'm fairly limited in what I can see due to the light pollution.  I can only imagine what I would be able to spot once I can get this thing out under some nice, dark skies.  Saturn will soon be setting for the season, but I think Jupiter will be in a good spot in a few months.  Right now, Jupiter and Mars are in the East right before sunrise, and there is no way I am dragging myself out of bed at 3am...I'll wait a few more months.

Bitter Dregs...

I had to spend a lot of the last week or so processing this shift in direction for my life, giving up (for now) the plan of the PhD in Astrophysics and transitioning into something slightly more reasonable based on my current situation...changing my Major to Communications.

There was a lot of this going on the past week (and over the summer as well)

It was a very tough decision to make, but I just had to realize my limitations.  The intense course load of Calculus, Chemistry, and Physics classes was taking its toll and I was barely holding my head above water...as it were.  As much as I love all of those topics, I just felt like I wasn't actually learning anything, just scrambling to go from assignment to assignment, exam to exam, and just getting by.

The switch to Communications was a major relief.  Currently I am now in the Professional & Technical Communications (PTC) program with a Chemistry minor.  The Chem minor is already complete, and I'm sure that down the road I will eventually finish it up in my spare time...being a lifelong learner is just a part of who I am.  The communications department here at IIT is planing on offering a Degree in the Journalism of Science, which is what I will switch to once it become official later in the Academic year.

So this semester is going to be very writing intensive obviously.  My classes are vastly different from what I've had before, but I've gradually grown excited about them.

This semester is:  Editing, Document Design, Verbal Visual Communications, Intro to Journalism, and Web Design.  3 of the 5 are internet classes, of which I am no fan...but it does mean I only have 1 class Monday-Thursday which is nice.  Next semester will be a couple of Philosophy of Science Classes, more Tech Communication classes, and Web Application Development.

When it's all said & done, I will still get out on time in the Spring of 2015, but there is a chance I might be able to graduate next Dec.   I don't even want to think about graduation right now, since the only option I have (unless I manage to get a job immediately after I graduate) is to move back to Michigan and live with my 70 year old parents until I can find a job.   Not something I am looking forward to.

So expect more regular postings now that I need to write, write, write.  Later this week I'll talk about the Curiosity Rover's 1 year 'Marsiversery', and introduce "Telescope Tuesdays" where I ramble about my struggle with my Telescope.  Note:  This weeks 'Telescope Tuesday' will be on Thursday...at least the both begin with a 'T'

Science!

Plans within Plans...

As I have been thinking about the best way to move forward with this project, the one thing that keeps coming back to me is:  Just do it, and do it on a schedule.  Hence 'The Plan'

I figure that 3 days a week is a good initial starting point.  Not so much that it would burn me out quickly, and just enough to force me to keep writing.  Now I admit that a lot of what I put here may and/or may not be of any interest to anyone but me...such is the solopsistic nature of TeH Interwebz.

Mondays and Fridays are going to be school-story based, looking ahead and behind at the week.  Wednesdays will be the Sciencey portion (and might be of more general interest).  I'll take a topic or a current item and do some research and give my thoughts on it and explain it as best I can for a more general audience.

And in keeping with the Title;  if there is something that you want featured for the Wednesday post...go ahead and Ask Me (a Scientician)

So there you have it: 
My plan.

MY PLAN!

THE Plan.

Not a Re-launch

Since life, school and other things got in the way (which however, are exactly the things this blog is supposed to be about)...I have not spent any time here in the past 16+ months.

I hope however to change that with a bit more dedication to regaling you with tales of the math-based insanity that is my life.  School starts in just over 3 weeks, and it's a jam-packed semester of Physics.

So, it's not so much of a re-launch of 'Ask a Scientician' as it is a Cold-reboot.

A Crisis of Quantum States

There are few things I love doing more than putting together a class schedule.  And I have been doing that a lot this past week, but its made me realize that I need to figure out what the hell I am going to do with my life as far as school is concerned.

I can take both Calculus II and Physics I this summer which would put me back on track for both those subjects.  It would be a bitch of a summer, with two classes (9 Cr), being in class from 10:00-12:30 & 6:30-9:00 Mondays through Thursdays.  I can pull it off, but I wont be having much fun.

Which brings me to my choices....

Primus:  The Ivory Tower of Academia

I figured out a schedule that will allow me to get a double major in Chemistry and Physics.  I graduate in Spring of 2015, and class-wise I'm not taking more than 16 credits a semester at most.  This makes me a superstar for going to Grad school for a PhD in Astrophysics/Cosmochemistry.  Now, there is no guarantee that I will even get in to Grad school, but I would still walk out with two Bachelors degrees.  Also, if there is no Grad school, then no one gets to call me Dr. Kuzava.  I stay in school for the next 10 years or so and avoid the real world for as long as I can, but I get to study something I love.  Debt is certainly racked up, but as is my plan, I will be dead of old age before I even get to the principle on my loans.  I beat the system that way.

Secundus: The Off-White Tower of Academia

I stick with my current plan of getting a B.S in Chemistry with a double minor in Physics & Applied Mathematics.  Still graduate in the Spring of 2015.  Still an excellent candidate for Grad school, just with fewer Physics classes, and more Math classes.  Everything else is about the same.

Tertius: The Real World

I could, if I wanted, just get the B.S. in Chemistry but with a concentration in Chemical Education.  I can graduate in two years (Spring of 2014) with a lot less debt, and a reduced class load.  There are 3-4 Chemistry classes I don't have to take (Research oriented) if I take this concentration.  I graduate a lot earlier, I have a lot less debt, I can get other funding since I'm on a teacher track, and I would re-join the rest of the world and get a job.  Teaching High School Chemistry.  On the down side, I give up the dream of the PhD.


I have about two months to figure this out.  Because if I take the teacher track I have to start my MSED (Math/Science Education) classes in the fall.

I am really in a funk about this whole thing.

Suffering from a deviated standard.

The semester is in full swing and I feel like I am off to a fairly strong start.  As long as I can keep it up, I have no doubt I'll be able to pull of the GPA I need to get back on track.

Calculus and Organic Chem. are the same.  Organic Chem lab is insane and my professor is Crazy-Scary intense.  Chem Lit is easy, but it's just going to be a lot of work to do the research for my paper on Stellar Chemical evolution.   The class that is probably the most interesting, and the one in which I'm learning the most is Analytical Chem....which is a class about techniques, and more importantly Chemical Statistical Analysis.  Yeesh.

Thankfully, this book is saving my life.

 I've never taken a statistics class before, so the math is all new to me.  I get it, but it just takes some extra effort to put things together.  And, thank god, Excel does most of the work for me.  I've fiddled with that program for 10-15 years or so, but now I am learning the ins and outs like nobody's business.

Warning!  Science Ahead!

This weeks experiment was "Statistical Evaluation of Acid-Base Indicators".  The actual lab portion was your standard titration of a base Tris hydroxymethyl aminomethane "Tris" for short. (HOCH₂)₃CNH₂ 

_{This happy little fellow}

Measure out ~0.4260 grams, slap it in a flask, and then add about 20mL of Hydrochloric acid, then add a couple of drops of the indicator you are working with. The indicator being a liquid that changes color based on the pH level of the solution it is added to, so that you know if that solution has changed from basic to acidic conditions or vice-versa.  You then slowly, very, very slowly continue adding the acid to the flask until the indicator "Changes Color".  I put that in quotes because whatever genius designed these things, pretty much ensured that you can't tell the starting color from the final color.  An entire lab full of students whispering to each other "Does that look greenish-yellow, or yellowish-green to you?"  You then take a reading of how much acid you added to make the indicator change and write it down in your lab book.

You then repeat this entire process 20 MORE TIMES.

Yes, this is the allure and excitement of Science.  But the fun is only beginning!  Lab is over, and you go on your merry way (with your cap at a rakish angle).  Time to sit down and analyze your and everyone's data.

First you sit down and make a nice little table in Excel to put all your calculations in.

1. Go through everyone's data and arrange it by what particular indicator they were using.
2. Then convert the volume of the acid used in one titration to the number of moles of HCl.  Used 33.25 mL of HCl? 33.25 mL/1000 (Converts to Liters) * 36.458 grams/mol (Molecular mass of HCl) = 1.2130 moles of HCl     Voila!
3. Compute the mean (average) of all the moles of HCl, per student group, per indicator.
4. Compute the standard deviation of the data, again, per student group, per indicator.
5. Start a pot of coffee.
6. Go back and subject every data point, again Moles of HCl, to the Grubbs test to see if you have any erroneous outlier data points.  |data point - mean| / standard deviation.  If the value you get is larger than the value on the chart, based on the number of observations, compared to a 95% confidence...then you chuck that bit of data to the curb.
7. Go back and recalculate the mean, and standard deviation as before for each set, but leaving out your bad data.
8. Start another pot of coffee.
9. Calculate the combined mean Molarity and standard deviations for ALL data points of a given indicator.
10. Calculate the Relative standard deviation for each indicator.
11. Find the indicators that are farthest apart in terms of Mean HCl molarity, and subject them to the 'F' test to see if the average molarities are significantly different from each other at the 95% confidence level.  Are they?  No?  Good.
12. Calculate the pooled standard deviation for each indicator.  This bastard...

   13.  Seriously consider switching your major...decide to blog about it instead.

Call me bat-shit crazy...but I do love this stuff.

‎"Ah, there's nothing more exciting than science. You get all the fun of sitting still, being quiet, writing down numbers, paying attention... Science has it all." - Principal Skinner

I guess I will write up the actual report tomorrow.

I'd like to thank Lord Kelvin...

You know how when you are sitting around reading the latest article about Pauley Perrette and you say to yourself:

"Self...I love that woman with the heat of a thousand suns.  Someday, she will cease being #4 on my list of 'Top 5 Pretend Hollywood Girlfriends' and become my wife. Get going on those patents!"

Do you know how hot a thousand suns are?

1 Solar mass @ 8,000 degrees C x 10^3 = 8.0x10^6 degrees Centigrade.

Or 7,999,726.95 Kelvin.  That is hot.

Trust me.

So think about that before you glibly decide to mentally incinerate someone you love.

2+2=5 (For very large values of 2)

Widget

I added a Derivative Calculator over on the right hand side of the blog, for all your derivative calculating needs.  Need to know the 4th, 5th, and 6th derivatives of an equation of motion? (called snap, crackle, and pop...a factoid that amuses me to no end)...now is your chance.

Mathematica

Because IIT is such a Math-heavy school, what calculus class would be complete without some software that you have to learn and use for your homework and labs?  Welcome to Mathematica 8!

If you ever wanted to learn how to program a computer to solve complex problems both in the real world and, you know, for fun...then this is the software for you.

I just had my first Calculus lab class yesterday and I am still working my way through the introduction to the specific coding of the programing language.

This program is insanely expensive (on the order of several thousand $$ for an Industry-level version), but we get the student version for free...which is all kinds of awesome.  I am looking forward to sinking my teeth into this program over the years, and I imagine that it is going to come in very handy.  It sure can do a lot of purty things...

Each an explorer

Ad Astra
Had a meeting with my unofficial Astrophysics advisor to work out the class schedule I need to prepare for Grad school.  Looks like I will be able to graduate more or less on time in the Spring of 2015 with the B.S. in Chemistry and a "double minor" (there is no such thing) in Physics, and Applied Mathematics.  Though, if for some reason I need to graduate ASAP, I think I can just get a regular B.S. in Chem. by the Spring of 2014.

So, I am actually winding down my Chem class load after this year, no more than 2/semester...and starting to ramp up the Physics and Math.  Probability, Statistics, Complex Analysis, Computational Physics, & Computational Chemistry.  Taking those computational & statistics classes will make me extremely well prepared for Astrophysics Grad work according to my advisor.

Sunday with a Scientician
Lately I have become obsessed with Cold Seeps/Brine Lakes.  This is just fucking insane.  Areas of Hypersaline water (~121 practical salinity units vs. the average 30-35 psu for sea water) at the bottom of the ocean.  So you have a "lake" with its own ecosystem and tides, 3000-7000 feet below the surface of the sea.

Did I mention yet how fucking insane this is?  No?  It is...trust me.

This is what I love about science.  No matter how much you think you know, there is always something weirder out there to screw with your head.

Let me explain...

Halfway into the first week of classes, and I have to say I am pretty fired up this semester at what is ahead of me.  All the classes are interesting and both Calculus, and Organic Chem seem to be finally clicking in my brain.  Maybe that's just a side effect of actually studying this time around and doing the work right away rather than at the last minute.

However.  While I am used to the blank looks I get from students when I tell them that I am planning on going into Astrophysics for grad school, and concentrating in Astrochemistry...I am a little bit shocked that all of my new professors this semester have no idea what I am talking about.  Mind you, these are people with PhD's in Chemistry.  "I have no idea what that is." being the words that come out of their mouths.  Granted, it is a bit of an obscure sub-discipline...

So, to make it clear...let me explain.  These are the three main fields where Chemistry and Astrophysics/Astronomy converge (in brief):

Astrochemistry:  The chemistry of stars, stellar populations, and galaxies.  The study of the chemical makeup of the interstellar medium (molecular gas clouds and the like).

Cosmochemistry:  The chemistry of non-planetary objects within our solar system.  Chemistry of asteroids, comets, Kuiper-belt objects, and the Oort cloud.

Planetary (Geo) Chemistry:  While the Geochemistry deals with the solid surface/sub-surface of planets, the other portion deals with atmospheric chemistry.  This could be considered the non-terrestrial version of the field of Environmental chemistry.

While my specific research will depend on where I end up for grad school (University of Hawaii?!?), my current  interest is the chemical evolution of galaxies.  Older galaxies that formed soon after the big bang have 1st generation stars composed only of Hydrogen & Helium, while 2nd and 3rd generation stars have a much more complex chemical makeup.  Honestly I could study any of this stuff and still be happy.

I does turn out, however, that I get to pick my own topic for my research paper for my Chem. Literature Methods class.  I have to clear it with my Prof., but I think I am going to spend the semester working on a paper regarding the 'Chemical Dynamics of the Methological Cycle in the Atmosphere of Titan' ie. the Methane rain on Saturns moon Titan.  You know....this stuff.

If music be the food...

The Music

Decided to try and sell my left-handed Fender acoustic guitar.  I bought this thing right when I lost my job 2 years ago, convinced that I would have all the free time in the world to finally learn how to play it.  However.  I also bought my X-box when I lost my job (as you do), and the X-box won out over the guitar in the battle for how I wasted my time.  So since I barely even have enough time for school this semester, I am just going to try and get some money for it and free up some space.

The Food

While I did gain 10 pounds within the first 1.5 weeks last semester, gorging myself on dining commons epicuria (not to be confused with actual food), I have completely lost my taste for what they serve.  Since I now have an income, and an underused kitchen in my apartment-dorm...I'm just going to cook more for myself from now on.  Lowered my meal plan from 14/week to 5/week.  The breakfast in the commons seems to be the only meal they can't fuck up...so I'll still have that at least.  The major plus to this is that I am now getting an extra $1,600 back as a refund at the end of the month.  Paying off and closing out one of my two credit cards is finally going to happen.

The Love

*This Space for Rent*

Long Live the New Flesh

Having managed to finally shake off my yearly holiday blues, due in no small part to being back on campus, there is lots to do and take care of before classes start on Monday.


The Job

I managed to squeeze in a weeks worth of training into 2 days.  And as I was told I didn't even have to take the final test for this new job (awesomeness has its perks), the good folk at IIT TV let me pick up some shifts this week.  I sit in front of a console and videotape lectures for internet classes at IIT.  Its like getting paid to audit a class.  I managed to pick up two shifts today (Chem. Eng 333: Process Modeling and System Theory, and Chem. Eng 577: Bioprocess Engineering)...putting the rudiments of Bioreactor design (among other things) on the list of obscure things I now know about.  Two more Chem E. classes to tape tomorrow, and then I get my regular schedule for the semester...the same classes week after week. I don't know what subject they will be in, but that hardly matters.  It's a science nerds dream. #videodrome

 The Classes


Pre-Calc/Calc II:  Finishing up what is essentially Calc I.  Definite integrals and applications, Implicit and inverse functions.  Antiderivatives & first order differential equations.  Mathtastic!

Organic Chemistry II: Ugh.  Even as a Chem major I hate Orgo.  This semester will be tougher than last semester, but I have allocated even more time to really study for it.  I absolutely need to know this stuff inside and out.  A lot more synthesis reactions this time around...on the order of 20+ per week. :/

Organic Chem. Lab: "Techniques for advanced organic preparations".  For all my dislike of Orgo, I do love my lab classes and that's where I really shine.  Looking forward to this class, even though it's going to be a lot of lab report writing.

Analytical Chemistry: Math & Chemistry combined.  Statistical and quantitative examinations of lab data.  Again, another lab class that I intend to ace. And from what I hear, it's a pretty interesting class too boot.

Modern Techniques in Chemical Literature: Yeah, even I don't know what that means.  Its a research techniques class that is required for all chem majors...although they are trying to phase it out of the curriculum as its kind of dated.  There are only 4 of us in the class, and from what I hear, the Prof. tends to sleep during the class anyway.  One final term paper and that's it as far as classwork goes.  This one is my blow-off class this semester.

After my less than stellar showing grade-wise last semester (2.3 GPA), I sat down and figured out that if I can get at least a B in Calc & Org. II, and A's in all my other lab classes...I'll end up with a 3.5 for the semester (Deans List!), and more importantly get my overall GPA up to a 3.0.  I cant settle for anything less than that if I plan on grad school.  So keep your fingers crossed for me and nag me as needed to stay on track.

The New Year


Well 2011 certainly had its ups and downs...though in retrospect it was mostly up (apart from the whole Mugging thing).  I'm where I need to be...just need to stick to my plan and work harder this semester than I ever have before.  I realized after last semester that I can't just keep skating by on my intrinsic smarts...I need to study this stuff every day even if I am not in the mood.  That's one of the resolutions I made.  Another is to keep up on this blog on a regular basis, weekly if not more often.  I need a non-facebook outlet and just a place to write and empty my brain from time to time.  A couple of other resolutions in the works, but I'm keeping those under my hat for the time being.

Excelsior!

A Niche in Time, saves Stein.

Relax

You would think they added a new constellation to the Zodiac or something.

First off, the CERN claim of a possible discovery of a superluminal neutrino has been way overblown by the media.

Relax.

They published a paper with a very odd result and want Femilab, and other teams to look at their results and see if they can be duplicated.

Is it possible that they discovered something that travels faster than the speed of light?  Sure.  I hope it is confirmed because that is just damn neat.  But until there is confirmation, a year or five from now (science moves slow y'all), Einstein has not been overturned, and the world will go on, much as it has. 

And the odds are that it is a problem in the computations or experimental setup that caused this weird result, and someone will redo the math (it's always about the math), and clear things up.

Just file this under "Those wacky scientists and their science."

Relax

Tenser said the Tensor

It's been quite a while, what with the planning and the moving and the mugging and the planning to move etc...  But here we are again.

I'm about 8 days out from my early move in, and very pleased that I got moved to a 1 Bedroom Apt./Dorm.  2.5 weeks till the start of classes.  Speaking of...whats on the academic agenda for the semester?

Organic Chemistry I: This class frightens me already. An order of magnitude in difficulty over General Chemistry I/II.  I still can't remember half of the stuff from Gen Chem as it is. This one is going to be a non-stop orgy of memorization of reactions, and functional groups on top of working on the homework over and over every day. And then of course all the lab work as well.
Credits:5      Study Rating: 8/10     Worryometer Rating:7/10

Pre-calculus/Calculus I:  This is the remedial math class for IIT.  But I am happy that I get to spend 2 semesters really getting the Calc. down since I have a lot more math to take over the next 8 years.  Having attempted Calc twice before I should be slightly ahead of the curve on this one. Though this does mean that I have to cram in Calculus II over the summer semester next year to be able to keep up with my Physics classes and Physical Chemistry I/II next year.  Still, I will be awash in a sea of Functions and Trigonometry from morning till night.
Credits:5      Study Rating: 9/10     Worryometer Rating:6/10

Materials Science: A class more for engineers than chemists but it seems pretty interesting and I needed an elective, plus I might end up doing some research down the road on Nanotechnology.  Lots of info that I already know from General Chemistry I/II about atomic theory, molecular bonding and lattice structures.  The latter 2/3 of the class is all structural deformation, stress fractures and the like.  I don't even feel like I need to mention it at this point....but there is of course...A LOT OF MATH (sigh)
Credits:3      Study Rating: 5/10     Worryometer Rating:5/10

Introduction to Programing: A required class for all students at IIT.  It seems like a fairly straightforward C++ programing class, and the Design & Analysis thereof.  Will most assuredly take up some time but I'm pretty confident I can get through it.  And although I love me some computing...I'm not going into Computer Science for a reason here kids.
Credits:2      Study Rating: 6/10     Worryometer Rating:3/10

Introduction to Naval Science:  A Naval ROTC class I just registered for, since I needed 2 credits to get to my required 15 per semester.  I'm still on the waitlist for Analytical Chemistry, and I will drop this and take that if I can get in for sure.  This class is going to be a major blowoff class for me.  All my years of studying Military History (remember if you will the first 8 years I spent in college back in the 80's & 90's), and working for the Navy for 10 years will serve me well.  "Role of the Navy?" Got it.  "Major Classifications of Naval Vessels?" Got it.  I only wonder if I will have to do jumping jacks, and sit ups, and run around....it's a 7:30 AM class.  I might actually even get booted from the class since I am too old for active duty and have no desire to actually join NROTC...I should probably talk to the Battalion Commander after I get settled.  Oh!  NO MATH!  Excelsior!
Credits:2      Study Rating: 2/10     Worryometer Rating:0/10 


And that right there is all 15 credits of my first semester at IIT.  Flimshaw.

5,000 Quatloos on the Hu-man!

Well, most of the money situation has been resolved.   Managed to get a total of $27,000 in grants & scholarships and $13,000 in student loans so far for the year at IIT.  However...I absolutely cannot live in the dorms with an 18 year old roommate.  So I'm still trying to figure a way to come up with the rest of the $12,000 or so I need to have a studio apartment on campus and full meal plan, so I don't have to worry about a roof over my head and a full belly.

Applying for this $38,000 Presidential Scholarship might just do the trick. *fingers crossed*


I did find out that I can't get an unfurnished apartment, so it looks like my bed, bookcases & TV are all that are coming with me.  So what does this mean?

I need to chuck, donate or sell just about everything else I have by the beginning of  August.  Couch, table, dresser etc.  As well as getting rid of most of my books and other sundry.

Time to start living that Zen, monastic lifestyle all the kids are talking about nowadays.

PS....Buy my stuff!

The Avalanche....

So, received my info packet today.  Sent in my confirmation of acceptance, and got a bit giddy over the fact that I now have a $14,000 transfer/honor society scholarship.  Still need to find more $$ (without selling 110% of my plasma) to pay for the rest of tuition, not counting housing and food.  Urgh.

So this summer, I will prune down my 550+ books to 100.  Sell off my comics, and my stamps and my DVD's.

Worst part of today has been that the 'Graduate/Adult' housing comes furnished.  I have too much crap to put into storage...so do I try and work a deal to find a gutted apartment? Or try and finagle a way to get enough student loan $$ to pay my monthly apartment living expenses and stay where I have lived for the past 11 years.

And so it begins.

The big day finally arrived and after 6 months of gut-wrenching nervousness I received a mistaken email informing me that I have been accepted to the Illinois Institute of Technology for the Fall 2011 semester.  Mistaken in that my admissions advisor was not supposed to send the email for another week.  After double checking with him he did tell me that my acceptance packet went out today and that the email could be considered an official notification.

I am super excited but also a bit freaked out as I have a lot of things to wrap up and take care of before I move on campus in August.  Furniture, books and general junk to either sell, store, toss out or take with me.

So stay tuned here for updates and hijinks's.   Still need to finish this semester at Truman, find a job for the summer and spend some time on IIT's campus figuring things out as my life is about to undergo a major change.