Archive for May, 2008
In less than one week I’ll be on a plane heading back home to Los Angeles for the first time since I left in September 2006… think happy thoughts as I’m flying from Heathrow Teminal 5. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and rediscovering old stomping grounds as I soak up the California sun […]
Filed under: Expatriate Life | 3 Comments
It’s common for departments to have a Friday ‘happy hour’ event as a chance to relax and socialise with colleagues. (The CMS in Cambridge recently began such a tradition this year.) Semi-recently, in an attempt to encourage more attendance, the organisers of one American university’s `Physics Beer’ politely proposed changing the events name to de-emphasise […]
Filed under: Just for Fun, Student Life | 1 Comment
Summer schools from your couch
It’s that time of year again: the last undergrads have left your office after asking for final exam regrades, your adviser is off to another continent for big conferences, and even the spring television line-up is wrapping up. Meanwhile, your officemates have gone off to various summer schools to mingle with other postgraduates and learn […]
Filed under: Science 2.0, Student Life | 4 Comments
Rocking on to save funding
Now here’s a good example of using youtube to rally public support for science funding. Here’s the blurb from the Silk FM myspace page, explaining how the local radio station stepped up in support of the Jodrell Bank telescope. When the Science and Technology Facilities Council announced plans to cut back the funding for Jodrell […]
Filed under: Just for Fun | Closed
A snippit from my research life, told through the medium of rewriting the text on a beloved comic strip. Original Calvin and Hobbes comic reproduced here, my apologies to the late Bill Watterson.
Filed under: Student Life | 4 Comments
Today is a guest post from my officemate, Tracey Li, who is the organiser of the IPPP Neutrino Journal Club and is currently working on long baseline neutrino phenomenology. The post below is on the very interesting topic of why it isn’t possible to quantise weak eigenstates. A couple of weeks ago, in between drawing […]
Filed under: Physics | Closed
Bon giorno! After a hectic last couple of weeks finishing up thesis writing and overseas shipping, I’m spending a bit of time at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics at Trieste. The view of the Adriatic Sea outside my window, complete with an engraved UN logo. It’s only slightly different from looking out […]
Filed under: Expatriate Life, Student Life | Closed
[Today we have a guest post from my flatmate, Jo Benjamin. Jo is an MSc. student at Durham’s Centre for Particle Theory. His research project is on black holes in string theory. His post is about useful text for first year students who’d rather avoid slogging through worldsheet string theory.] The first time I met […]
Filed under: Physics, Reviews, Student Life | 1 Comment
I received the following promotional image in my e-mail today, and couldn’t help but share: As part of `Brit Week‘ celebrations (commemorating 50 years of the British Consul General’s residence in Los Angeles) the British American Business Council has arranged a celebration of British culture in LA during the upcoming Los Angeles Galaxy footba… er, […]
Filed under: Expatriate Life, Just for Fun | Closed
A bit like `The Matrix’
Today’s snarky epiphany, while thesis-writing in the office: It was rather warm in the office even though the heater was turned down and the window was a bit open. After a brief conversation with my officemate, Luis, we decided that the heat came from the eight computers in the room. All this time I had […]
Filed under: Just for Fun, Student Life | 1 Comment
An American Physics Student in England 