Adventures in the Colonial 'burg: June 2010

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Eight Years Old

Today is Dante's eighth birthday. He's an old man now. Here he is around one, playful and adorable:

And now:

Still adorable, just a little grumpier.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

I've become distracted and somewhat obsessed as of late. It was something that started last fall but was in the back of my mind (and thankfully so, as I probably would not have done so well in the job search) until recently. The primary motivation of this is the iPad I just bought.

What is it? Well, I have started going through these lectures on iTunesU about how to develop apps for the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad. (This is a class that is taught very regularly at Stanford.) Right now all I want to do is go through all of the assignments and lectures and really, do nothing else.

What's nice about the class is that it is for more beginners in the way of programming, so they are super basic and I can just fly right through them. I'm getting more out of just doing the homeworks. Yes, I'm doing the homeworks. After I'm finished with this I will have developed four basic, mundane, apps, and hopefully be ready to do something on my own.

And yes, I have lost pretty much all motivation to actually work, even though I am still getting things done. The problem is that it's summer, so it's hot outside. No one is in the department, making it feel odd to work. I don't want to publish anything this summer, as it will not have my new university listed as my affiliation (and it's all about tenure now), and well, this is really a lot of fun! I'm learning a new programming language (which is extremely similar to what I already know), and I'm creating graphical interfaces which I have never done before.

I know, you're all jealous. And you should be.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

I dont't care about your vespa

This guy in our building just wants friends. I don't need anymore friends, but nevertheless, every time I see him, I will talk to him because contrary to popular belief, I am not an ass.

But it is always annoying when I am in a hurry, or at the very least really want to do something. This is often the case when I am walking Dante, since I walk him right before leaving the house. Today was no exception, and when I stepped out of the house, I saw him and didn't have fast enough reflexes. So I got stuck in a conversation about how he had to replace the headlight on his Vespa, how expensive it was and how it prompted him to get his motorcycle license, get a motorcycle, and take a motorcycle class at the local community college (not necessarily in that order).

Let me just say that he does read body language very well, and luckily Dante isn't as polite as I am, so he gave me an out by pulling really hard, basically saying, "Get away from this freak and bring me on my walk!"

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Ten pounds

I've always been a very thin person (much to many friends' dismay), and never had a reason to complain. I've been lucky enough to have a ridiculous metabolism, so I've never worried about what I eat.

Now though, for the first time since high school, I have gained weight.* This started a few months ago where I noticed randomly that I gained five pounds and just recently that has jumped to ten pounds more.

I wonder if this is the signal that I finally, after 33 years, have grown up. Maybe my ridiculous puberty-filled metabolism has finally ended, and no longer will I be dealing with all those teenage issues. Perhaps now my voice will also stop cracking.
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* Excluding the semester I spent in Rome in college, where I gained fifteen pounds.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Vacation?

So I was told by a professor here about how when he accepted his position here, he went on a two-week trip to Africa during the summer before moving. He then asked if I had any such plans. His thoughts weren't along the lines of "whenever someone gets a faculty job they should vacation in Africa," so much as "this may be the last chance to be able to do such a fun vacation."

On the surface this seems ridiculous, because everyone takes vacations, right? Yes and no. Up until now, I have not really taken vacations. I have visited family of course, but every trip has a specific purpose otherwise (whether its work related or for someone's wedding). Even when we spent three weeks in Germany and Austria it was because I had a conference there, and on every train ride I actually worked.* Even when I'm with family, I check in on work every so often, to see if anything is urgently required to be dealt with.

The reason is of course that the whole point of my work is to get to a faculty position. In a sense, up until I got this offer, I was working for this one thing. Once I get into my new position, the next step will be getting tenure. And as for that, everything I do between now and September, when I'm officially there, is in a sense worthless.

So this summer is special compared to all those before and all those to come (until tenure). In a sense, nothing will really hurt my career if I do nothing for the next two months.** Thus, this professor's question makes some sense. And, truth be told, I have definitely decreased my work throughput since I got the offer.

However, travel seems so miserable, so I (we) will not be going anywhere (far) for fun this summer, except to look for apartments all over the state of New York. However, there are several things we wanted to do here in Virginia before leaving, so hopefully we'll actually get out of the house and do them.
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* Okay, this was mostly before the conference because I was frantically trying finish analysis before giving a talk that hadn't been written yet.
** Ignoring the fact that if I do absolutely nothing this will hurt me since I'll get behind and have to catch up after I have all sorts of new responsibilities starting in the fall.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

iPad

Yeah, I did it. I broke down and treated myself to an iPad. It arrived today and it is going to change my life. I do not think I am going to get very much done this afternoon.

And mom, stop shaking your head.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Green cities

I don't often talk about the books I read on here. Primarily it's because I haven't the patience to talk about them in detail. But for this one I'll make an exception (and a link!).
Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less are the Keys to Sustainability, by David Owen is a book about how to live in a more "sustainable" way.* It is fascinating and I urge everyone to read it, if for no other reason it makes you rethink what really is and is not environmental. A few highlights:

High-density is a key to living in an eco-friendly way, such as pretty much all European cities, or New York and San Fransisco, where there are not divided residential and business zones in the way they are in the rest of the US and Canada. Given that much of our country is designed to not walk around it, we waste just by doing our daily chores. Even yesterday, I worked at home (an environmental plus) but when I wanted to run to the bank I drove, even though I've biked it plenty of times. Today I biked into work, but it still feels odd since I have a car.

People who are hard-core about only eating food which is locally grown are misguided. The basic idea is that if something is grown fifty miles from here and not in say, New Zealand, it has to be better for the environment. This is ignoring the fact that quite likely it is more efficient to grow things in certain areas, and if one carefully takes into account all of the factors involved (for example including how much energy is used by the grower), many times locally grown food is less beneficial than more. For a simple example, a giant truck which carts thousands of strawberries from California means that per berry, the carbon footprint is lower, especially if I just drive the 0.9 miles to the grocery store to buy them. If I choose, I can drive 10 miles to a local farmer who sells strawberries, thus making a much larger dent. Of course, those latter berries are fresher and taste better, but it doesn't mean it is more environmentally friendly.

The key to trying to become more sustainable is not legislation or regulation. It's difficulty and hardship. When cost goes up (like the gas prices a couple of years ago), usage goes down. People will adapt to the situation, and really only will do things when we have to, not when we're suggested to. In that sense, we'll only see true innovation and changes when it's absolutely essential. This is something that is proven over and over again (like as soon as the gas prices fell again, drivers stopped carpooling and returned to their old driving habits).

What's interesting is that while this is a book that drives home the ecological benefits of dense urban cities (with which I wholeheartedly agree), the author does not live in Manhattan (anymore), but in a suburb in Connecticut. He ends the book justifying this, and bringing home the following point. We made this country into an inefficient sprawl, and we must deal with it now. And people in general respond to rewards and "punishments," and ultimately (I think) they react more strongly to the latter. This book overall reminds me that a) there are no quick fixes, and b) one really has to be wary about the benefits of spectacular "environmental" movements, as often they do more harm than good to the environement, even (and sometimes especially) when they are promoted by environmentalists.
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* Which is not realistic: There's really no such thing as "sustainability." Nothing we do is sustainable, as practically everything we do requires oil which is going to disappear. Everyone (myself included) usually thinks that this means that we'll have to find another source of energy and that's it. But almost everything we use is made of plastic, which comes (mostly) from oil.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

"Fun" Holiday Weekend

So I finally got my contract from my new soon-to-be employer. This does not bode well for red tape, I must say. I have not received my reimbursement from them either, so this means that my new university will be as bad (if not worse) as the one I am currently at. (As a side note, the place I visited a week later than the NYC school got me my reimbursement two or three weeks ago.) So far we're looking at a month and a half lag time. I imagine the bureaucracy is going to be miserable in my future.

But I received it, nonetheless. Now I have currently agreed to give a talk at this conference which is happening here on campus now (I was asked on Friday, after there were several cancelations). The problem is that I don't really have much to say, and well, I have until tomorrow at 5 to prepare something.

Here's hoping I don't look like a fool!