FREEDOM, Sweet Freedom!

FREEDOM! says Aretha Franklin.
Oh, sweet day! Oh, Glorious day! Oh joyous, wondrous, blessed day!
That was Saturday afternoon.
It is now Monday evening, and we have only recently been left free from the grasp of "training." Or, as we like to call it, "innodation."
Let me begin at the beginning (a very good place to start):
Last week was finals, and let that serve as excuse enough for why I haven't posted in eons. An in-class essay in Humanities, then Calc (auuch), Chem (ONLY one I really concentrated on), and Physics (Hail to the Gods of Partial Credit!). So, naturally, since finals marked the end of all things and the last one was over at noon on Saturday, the exhaultation was tremendous. Big plans were made, excursions into Boston were taken, Shaymus and Bethany and I went on an ice cream quest, and Fun was Had overall. I even got a chance to visit my Aunt and Uncle who live in nearby Weston, since the time was nonexistant before (thanks again for the couscous and goodies!), and the miraculous day was topped off by a jovial game of Patrol. Sunday, being sort of rainy and Bostonian, saw everyone mooching around the dorm, watching the Olympics, delving into the new books and hobbies they promised themselves for the Freedom Time (I've got a compilation of Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy and a Rubik's Cube--two experiences NO student should be without). The Olympics, by the way, have been quite popular here, since we all have nothing else to do and everyone is from some country or another, so we all cheer for everyone. Except the French. The foundations of Next House shook when Michael Phelps and The Americans won the 4x100 Relay and showed just who was "smashing" whom. We spent the night reencating the "Phelps Roar." The Chinese Students' Club at MIT has been getting into it, even providing food at a screening of the opening ceremonies and singing along with their national anthem. I went; it was fun, and I got some tortelini from the Chinese club. Go figure.
Anyway, I digress, point being that the weekend was the first real bit of summer vacation we'd had thus far. We did the obvious thing and enjoyed ourselves and were lulled into a false sense of carefree-ity, thinking there was nothing malevolent hovering on the horizon. Oh, how wrong we were.
On the overall schedule, an event was cryptically listed from the beginning only as "training" to follow finals. Earlier in the week we had been given surveys that were, to be blunt, bizarre. There were no questions, simply an order to "rank" certain phrases. The phrases ranged from "I like to be challenged" to "It's okay to torture a person to death." Macabre, right? But the kicker is this: we arrive bright and early today for this "training," and it turns out they had hired some motivational speaker who had interpretted our ranked feelings on torture, studying, bombing buildings, time management and the like (is there even a "like"?) to show whether we had enough self-esteem and practical thinking. The guy was an ex-NFL player, someone undoubtedly near and dear to the hearts of the football enthusiasts of MIT Interphase (*cough*). Not only did he offer NO scientific explanation for how ranking crop failure as worse than natural disasters realted to my work abilities, but he jumped into his whole speal about how YOU can be proactive and change YOUR lifestyle for SUCCESS, based on what the paper told you about the way you think. I called it as B.S. early on, but some people adopted the same mentality as circusgoers at the fortune-teller's booth: "Ooh, look! It says I don't empathize well with people. That's so true! I threw a rock at my brother once!" He then proceeded, this Dr. Phil of a football player, to pick students out of the audience and dissect their "profile," identifying them as perfectionists, hard workers, or self-driven people in turn. WELL, DUH. This might be news at a community college somewhere, but...YEAH! This chicanery lasted from NINE to THREE, with a break for lunch which we were begrudingly allowed. Innodation, I tell you.
So the end of my tirade is this: no matter how high you score, how well you perform, or how far you run, motivational speakers will follow you. Might as well give up now. I know we have to troop back out to play "physical team games" tomorrow, same time, same duration, and I'm sure same crock of nonsense. The only strength the motivationees have lies in the "feedback form." If I had written mine any hotter, it would need asbestos paper to convey the sentiment. Most people, however, are lazy, and in order to fend off the self-righteous motivation speaker, will glibly write, "Sure, yeah, changed my life, thank you much." Come on, people! Complaining is just as much fun on paper, you know!
Humph. Thanks for the vent through which I expunge the Bad Thoughts. Your patient virtual ears are not unappreciated...
In other news, well, yes, the Olypmics are exciting. I'm in love with a guy named Douglas Adams. Unfortunately, he's dead, but not before they compiled a big volume of Hitchiker's. So long, and thanks for all the fish! Oh, I also have accompished a major goal in life: I'm going to see a band of rock gods before they all die! Although the glory that is Jethro Tull slipped by when they were in Boston during finals week, I have secured another: THE WHO! Well, the Who and Ringo Starr's son on drums! GASP! SHUTTER! DIE! I figured since I had some extra funds (the ones I've been living on had I not been in this program all summer), I could even go for the quasi-cheap seats, so I'm at the front of the balcony senction. Not close enough to catch a guitar shard, but still, THERE! And getting the ticket was half the fun; because they went on sale at 1000 sharp and I was quite anxious about them selling out (the tickets, not the Who. They've long since sold out...), I faked a coughing fit, ducked out of the "training," snuck up to the Athena Cluster, and logged on just as the clock hit 1000. Snuck back, and no one was the wiser. It was a rush. THE WHO!
Well, now that this post is insanely lone, I still have dinner to get, errand to run, series to read, and Cubes to solve, and I'm sure you have supper to fetch, beavers to skin, tattos to select, iron to send through the Bessemer process, the meaning of life to discover, Python skits to memorize, Parapeligics to date, and tobacco to weed, I'll let you go. (50 points if you find the link of relevance between any two of those items. A fabulous vacation to the luxurious Loony Bin Resort if you followed it all.) Pip pip!
Last but not least, a funny:
Tee hee...

BREAKTHROUGH BY MIT! Read for your own good...

Whether you knew it or not, your life was affected by this day.
Today was the day that Professor Daniel Nocera and Postdoc student Matthew Kanan unveiled to the world the device that will revolutionize the way we think about obtaining energy. Here's the situation: for years we have had the technology to harness the power of nature in clean, Carbon emission-free ways such as wind power, solar, tidal, etc. The problem with these sources is their reliability--no one will use a system where a cloudy Sunday afternoon means they can't watch the big game--and their cost. The sources are abundant, indeed, since Prof. Nocera himself says that in one day the earth receives enough energy through sunlight to meet the needs of its inhabitants for a whole year. If only we could run off these sources when they're available, but also store energy for times when they're not. If only...

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html
www.mit.edu Pretty picture...

The crazy thing is, hardly three weeks ago, a faculty member at the OME was kind enough to arrange a lunch for those interested where we could meet with Prof. Nocera, discuss energy policy, and even hear in a sort of "sneak preview" the project he had up his sleeve: this ingenious device. He's really confident in its potential, having already made an arrangement with a company in the Middle East that's developing an entirely green city. Think of the possibilities: no need to be hooked up to the power grid, houses could generate enough electricity from their own rooftops to heat and power the house and charge up the electric car before the next morning. The innovation of clean energy devices like photo-voltaic cells and wind turbines are finally made practical! All with a low-cost, low-tech system whose only waste product would be reusable, purified water.
Now I know this all sounds quite idealistic, and it would be naive to think there won't be snags along the path to mass implementation (the pocketbooks of the oil moguls, for one). But the admirable thing about what Prof. Nocera and his MIT crew have done is that they have released it, on this day, to engineers the world over, inviting them to jump on the challenge of making the device efficient, fully adaptable to today's P-V cells, and commercially available. The actual device might be a long way off, but the world is racing to work on it...
So, MIT births yet another good one... This is such a crazy environment, where the guys you eat lunch with one day are the ones who change the world the next... That settles it: I wanna be an environmental engineer!

Sport Death, Rock On, Break a Leg, and Integrate

The many roles of the student... The last few days have been pretty outrageous, as the policy here is to be extreme in all things, including the Having of Fun. It takes precision, balance, and too much energy for the molecules of the normal human body system to realistically hold. Give supporting evidence, the Writing teacher says; And I shall! says I. This Tuesday was the eve of the due date for a Calc problem set. Since I had spent the previous night and weekend writing essays and finishing Physics (see last post), I was faced with a one-night time parameter for the entire Calc assignment. So I got in at five o'clock, fully intending to start my p-set right away, feeling perky and awake and up to the job, just let me sit on the bed for one moment to check my email-ZONK. I was awoken at ten o'clock--yes, TEN--by my friend rapping on my chamber door to make sure I hadn't died. What ensued was a frantic rush to Office Hours that I shall hope will never be repeated. Sleep debt is a very real, very stealthy thing.
But come the weekends, one feels one can let down the defenses and commence in the Having of Fun. Consequentially, a Rock Band video game system graciously provided by a guy named Tim--thanks, Tim!--was dragged out of its hiding place and put into full gear. The game is like guitar hero but equipped with drums and a mike in addition to a guitar, resulting in high-capacity crowd pleasing. I haven't spent as much time on it as other folks, but it is quite the addictive machine...
I also went last night to see a play by the MIT Shakespeare Ensemble. It was loosely--VERY loosely--based on Macbeth, but it was still pretty good. One guy in it, a Theater and Electrical Engineering major (yeah, find THAT someplace else), was the villain, and he had long brown hair streaked with pink. That means he's from East Campus.
Segue to...I'm going to be living in East Campus. Well, not technically, since Senior Haus is directly across the street from the physical East Campus, but the two intermeld in location and mindset. I found this out the other day and have been excited ever since: while Senior Haus has not the foam weapons that are Random, nor the plywood amusement park rides that are East Campus, it has the tire swing, yearly steer roast, basement mosh pit area, and annual bouncy ball drop that IS Senior Haus. It's the oldest dorm on campus, and it's right next to the Institute President's House, so it's got some history. Its motto is "SPORT DEATH, FOR ONLY LIFE WILL KILL YOU." Good stuff...
And about the pink hair... I've been told that dying hair is specifically an East Campus/Random/Senior Haus thing, with Randomers tending to be green and blue and the others gravitating more towards pink and red and orange. I've already been warned not to buy hair dye because they have a dorm-wide stock. I was thinking, though, of sort of trying to unite the dorms and dye my hair every color I can find... Just kidding, Mom. I'll stick to green...
Well, I've got to go exercise, for tonight is Patrol (see last week), and I have no other time to do so.
Hope everyone is enjoying the last throes of summer back home. Send me some sweet corn and green beans! Just throw it in a box, it'll be fine... Cheers and whatnot...

Of Boring Essays and Assassins- That's What I Call a Dipole Moment.

So here I sit, broken hearted, trying to sleep but only f......finished my Humanities essay, that's what! (What were YOU thinking?) Down with humanities. I'm seriously tired of humans. If one comes near me on my long, lonely trek back to the dorm, I think I'll whip out the moves I saw in Batman the other night... Stupid humans. Them with their NINE PAGE essays. Humph.
Anyway, Batman was the best superhero movie I've EVER seen. I didn't like it for the fact that it was a superhero movie (those are usually quite daft), but for thematic stuff. There was way cool cinemetography, and the symbolism, and THIS GUY. See above. He may be dead, but he can sure wear his mascara. One of our Physics TA's is a little nutty^infinity about Batman (today's quiz: "If Batman jumps down from an h height onto a moving van with mass M in order to thwart the Scarecrow, with wind resistance Fr=bx..." you get the idea.) Tonight marks the third time he's seen the thing, and he's got IMAX tickets coming up. He's on a crusade (without a cape, incidentally) to get as many people to see it in its first week (ending Thurs.) as possible so it can beat out "Titanic" for highest-grossing first week. I sort of agree with him. Do you realize "Titanic" has had its ungodly reign of cheesy lines and historical inaccuracies for 10 years now!?!?! Something needs to be done to stop this injustice. This looks like a job for... (You say "Underdog," I keel you.) Dadadadadada, BATMAN! So yeah, go see "The Dark Knight," becasue it's worth it and "Titanic's" not.
So upcoming happy things include a Chem exam, Calc Homework, which if I don't start tonight I will have to do in its entirity tomorrow, despite the fact that it was given to us TODAY. Yeah, riddle me that...
Oh, yes, and I've discovered what is officially the best club ever. With the coolest name, too: The Assassin's Guild. What it is is a bunch of students, mostly from Random, who join up every Saturday night in the building where we have our classes. There they play "Patrol," a game that involves headbands and rubber dart guns and running and hiding and avenging and killing Shaymus five times. Shaymus and Bethany and I all skipped out of the Interphase social event we were supposed to be "enjoying" and went and joined the game of "Patrol." Devilry ensued. They have other games, too, some with plots like video games and some that have actual objectives. Those sounds sweets, preciousesese....
http://web.mit.edu/assassin/www/
Well, as might be quite evident, I am tired, and doth wish to retireth promptly. After my hike back to Next House. I am very tired becasue I am initaiting the time inwhich large superfluous lugubrious and cantankerous workds are bandied about like so many angry ocelots thrust together in a rudabegger sachel. Buenas Noches, esteemed ones...

The Exams are Coming! Get the Chainsaw and Holy Water!

A really nice thing about being in a technology school is that they seldom have problems with computers. Mind you, when they DO have problems, they are consequentially and exponentially bigger, but the overall system is still pretty darn brilliant. Take for example the main system, Project Athena, a terminal of which I type this to you right now and have been doing for the past three weeks. Athena is comprised of "clusters" around the campus, and you can log on to the system anytime, anywhere, and access settings, documents, ect., that you have already saved on another computer. Athena also has its own network of shareware, like drafting programs, word processing, spreadsheets, math programs...anything you'd normally have to pay big bucks for to get it on your own computer. Printing is also free from Athena (they come after you after about 5 reams a month, through an office named, no joke, "Tree-eater"), and since such copious quantities of white copy paper lies about, packs have been known to fall into backpacks and end up as P-set scratch paper. Our Calculus teacher, Sammy, has unabashedly proclaimed paper theft a wise use of resources and uses the prevalence of "free" paper to say we have no excuse to not show our work. You can print to any printer in Athena from any cluster, so theoretically one could send a job to a printer en route to class, then breeze by and find it completed. Theoretically. I've known some printers to be quite bitchy about their toner...
Printers are almost the goddesses of the MIT community: supplicate to them, cajole them, and don't ask too much, and thou shalt be provided for. Rush them, curse at them, and tempt them with the tantalizingly too last-minute-need-this-five-minutes-ago requests, and they are the ultimate bitches. As if the wise Course 6 (computer science and EE) lords of Project Athena knew this, they entitled them accordingly: our Laser-jet Olympus includes a Ceres, Echo, Electra, Pandora, and Celine. We enjoy clever things here.
The exams have arrived: Chem last Thursday, Physics this AM, and a big honkin' Calculus Midterm this Wednesday. Glory Hallelujah. I was up until three last night studying Physics, having only gotten back from the review session at 11:30. I walked with my instructor some of the way back, during which I remarked to him, "I can already see that sleep is the x-factor in the great equation of MIT." I expected him to allay some fears, bolster some confidence, give some reassurance. Instead he laughed and said, "Yeah..."
So every Saturday from now on we have some element of "Mandatory Fun," a phrase so coined because it is the Swedish term for proposed "Fun" that is "Mandatory." Not complaining, because I know I'll rarely have the chance nor the impetus to go to Martha's Vineyard, Six Flags, or see the Boston Pops fireworks show every summer, but when they come on a Saturday at a strategic point in studying (AKA- I goofed off for the past two nights), it can make Sunday, the "day of rest," quite the opposite. Martha's Vineyard was the destination for this weekend, and it was a very nice little island--as touristy as any given holiday on the Lake, but not bad. No, we didn't see the big ole shark, for which I was most disappointed. I told the groups I was with all we had to do was go to the butcher, get some scraps, and send someone out with a bucket and a pair of Floaties, but no, let's never listen to MY ideas. It would have been quite cool, though cooler if we had had a video camera... and Jaws XXI-whatever hadn't already been made...
This weekend is a "friendly" competition (defined as one pint of blood loss each) between Interphase, us, and the MITES Program, them. The MITES are juniors who are doing the same sort of program as us, although I've heard it's harder, just to scare them off and keep class size down. I think Basketball, Soccer, and Volleyball are the areas of war. Underwater Lawn Darts wasn't included, so I think I might have to sit this one out...
The "WHAT!!?!?!" Moment of the Day: Walking over to this cluster in the Student Center, before I even round the tennis courts I head the "clang-clang-OUCH!" that can mean only one thing: Broadsword training. The. Coolest. Thing. Ever. D&D geeks beware: those things were big, and fast, and unwieldy. Only at MIT. Now about inventing the Light Saber...

MIT: Mental Health Capital of the World

After a particularly dismal Physics quiz the other day, a guy resolutely got up during recitation, grabbed a piece of chalk and scrawled "Physics is Depressing" on the board, then stomped out. the TA got up and added a "...ly Awesome!" to the end. So is the general sentiment--powerful and permeating, and irrefutably installed. Just try to think otherwise, the 'Tvte seems to say, speaking through the thirteen ionic columns like so many jagged teeth. It yawns at you, the stench of so much sweat and so many devoured social lives roiling forth from its bowls. Leave me alone! you shout, trying to cover your head with your calculus book before you realize it's too heavy to lift. Why are you talking to buildings? the Dome asks back. You started it, Weirdo! you wail in reply. Your shoe's untied, the Dome says. Huh? says you. Made you look! the Dome chortles. Why must you always win? you sob. The Dome just smiles.
In other words, it's a little difficult. After a few late nights and early (enough) mornings, I'm beginning sense that I'm being beaten into submission. But alas, now that the mental abuse has become regular, I'm beginning to like it. And if that isn't Stockholm Syndrome, I don't know what is.
Enjoy your summers--Calculus, Physics, Chemistry, and worthless-writing-skills free.

Cambridge, Week 2

It's Deja Vu straight out of Garrett County in the summertime: Everywhere one goes on campus, there are tourists of all shapes and sizes, snapping pictures, getting in the way, ignoring the flashing red lights and "DO NOT ENTER OR THE LASERS WILL EAT YOU" signs on the lab doors, driving badly (though that's mainly the local Bostonians), wearing outfits complete with fanny packs that look they belong to Grandmas in Bermuda, and whining about the weather.Partly, it's a nuisance. Every time I've passed 77Mass Ave, the main entrance, I've seen at least one family doing the token "Smile in front of your future school, Douglas!" The poor disgruntled high school kid leers for the camera while trying to get a look at the building that, at the request of his parents, he is forced to face his back to. You can be understanding enough when you obligingly pause so as to not walk in front of a family getting the obligatory "Dome Shot" on Killian Court (see banner above, and imagine in day time). However, I was on my way to class one day, stopping for breakfast at LaVerde's, the mini-mart/grocery/drugstore/lifeblood of the campus, and the girl in front of me was obviously a tourist. She was handing over her cash when we heard a shout: "WAIT! Let me get this!" A short Asian man, sporting the most lugubrious of fanny packs, jumped in front of me with his camera. The well-trained daughter paused, mid-taking change, and grinned as she was photographed buying lunch. I believe the phrase is "Oy Vey!"
The non-nuisance part, though, is that you get to see where you were a year ago. Less than a year ago, for us summer pre-frosh, anyway. Spooky and relieving at the same time.
Classes are getting more and more difficult, to the point where every waking moment is spent nose-in-a-book, pen-in-hand. I'm enjoying things, especially Calculus and Chem (taught by Sammy and Nia, respectively--very fun people), though some are a bit of a challenge. Like Physics: I'd never have thought that I'd be solving Mechanics problems with calculus and NO ACTUAL NUMBERS. Just letters. And half of them Greek.

There's an interesting balance between the insanely hardcore classes and the..."fluffy" stuff here. For example, Humanities, the class where we learn about humans. Today I went straight from Chem, where we learned about atomic structure and Other Difficult Things, to Humanities recitation, where we discussed identity, writing fuzzy little personal essays and having a meaningful little chat. It's not really the subjects, juts the juxtaposition.
It takes an extreme environment, I found, to really make you examine the basics: eating right, sleeping (what's sleep?), and most importantly exercising. Everyone has a mandatory swimming or sailing class (it's a graduation requirement to pass the swim test), and an optional tennis class. You get P.E. credits for them, too. I've been taking tennis lessons and really enjoying it--honestly, where else can you get those for free? Our instructor is the Assistant Coach for the Men's team, a soft-spoken Australian guy named Spritely Roche. How much more awesome of a name can you get? He's a funny dude: today while he was taking a girl dropped her racket, and he stopped, saying, "Now THAT'S the kind of loose grip we like to see!"
This weekend offers a bit of a respite, being that we have no classes on the Fourth. Viva la Fin de Semana de Tres Dias! I've promised myself that if I don't waste time and work hard this week, I can do absolutely nothing on Friday. And what does "absolutely nothing" entail? Going into Boston! Already, they've got the barge out in the Charles from which they shoot off the fireworks behind the Boston Pops! stage. We can see it from main campus. Supposedly they put speakers all along the river on the Boston side, so all of Cambridge can listen in and see the fireworks. Some folks and I are going to stake out places on the Harvard Bridge so we can be about 500ft. from the barge. What can we say: we be nerdy pyros here...
Well, Chemistry awaits, Physics demands a look-over, an Humanities needs my opinion on an essay. When did I get so popular? Keep it real, peace out, and have yourself a happy little Fourth! Get lots of candy! Eat lots of chicken! Watch the annual "Indy-pendence Day" Indiana Jones marathon on AMC! Ciao!

The Things You See in the City

Question: What has four sets of wheels, poles, a helmet, knee pain and a way-too-tight spandex unitard?
Why, that's correct!
Urban Cross Country Skiing. In June.
I do not lie:











I met one of these (urban) outdoor enthusiasts while coming out of class today. He was rollin' along, down Vassar Street, right next to campus, and havin' a grand ole time. I couldn't help but stare.
But then again, oddities abound here at MIT. For example, I heard a warbled version of Queen's "Somebody to Love" blasting along the hallway of the dorm this evening while I was trying to do my Calc P-set, and upon investigating the source, I discovered no less than a dozen college students (T.A.'s, mind you, not us baby prefrosh) watching Happy Feet. Yes, that's the Disney movie about the penguins. Today I also learned why one shouldn't respond when some person asks for for the time on a random Boston street, thanks to a demonstration from a nice visiting police officer. I also met a guy with an awesome Chicago accent--on a mission from Gad, no less. I ate tofu without realizing it, I bought Chex Mix from the student center solely because it was free on the OME's bill, I learned the way to look at the buildings in the Infinite so their numbering actually makes sense, and I got annoyed with a gaggle of tourists blocking the walkway. I think I'm adjusting. Now about that essay that's due on Monday...
I've talked to other members of the class of '08 from Northern Garrett via our collective friends "the Internets," and it seems like they're all in or nearly in the throes of Orientation, summer work, etc. Best of luck to y'alls, and keep me posted! Kollege is phun. We lern good their.
Well, I really must dash--or trudge, more like--in order to read some required essays, get some sleep, and get up at the bright, shining hour of 10 to go into Boston for a tour of the Science Center. One of the OME's "Mandatory Fun" activities. Glad to know they have our best interests at heart.
Cheers!
"Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth, are never alone or weary of life." ~Rachel Carson
Well worth the bandwidth.

Classes begin...

Greetings again, Carbon-based life forms. Looking back on my entry two days ago, I realize how utterly frivolous it must have seemed. I'll try to step up the intellectual quality, but take it easy: a man riding a weiner dog seems pretty nifty after a whole day of physics.
The diagnostics are over, praise be, and now the REAL fun decides to grace us in the form of CLASSES. Today was the first day of Calc and Physics lecture, along with a lab safety training session. I did better than expected on the diagnostics, ending up in the highest section of Physics, the middle section of Chem, and the lowest section of Calc. Eh. So it goes. As we've all been trying to reassure ourselves over the past few days, it's better to be placed where one is comfortable than to grumble about not being placed higher. We all get homework, however, which is problem-sets, or P-sets, at MIT. P-sets come once a week, but they are exhaustive enough that they require at least the average amount of time you'd give to nightly homework. The best strategy is to crack down on them the first night they are given, diligently tooling away at them each night and asking a classmate or older student if one encounters a problem. Needless to say, that's quite ideal, and it rarely happens that way. I'll be the first to testify that procrastination does NOT go away in college; in fact, it seems to increase exponentially as the number of surrounding distractions subsequently rise. I'm doing my best to battle the Procrastination Monster, and hopefully he'll be kept away for at least this summer...
The most pressing exciting development on hand is the pre-UROP oppertunties available for Interphasers. MIT is really unique in that all students, even freshmen, can work on research projects side-by-side with some of the world's top scientists. It's a great way to make connections, explore new fields, and get raw lab experience. Anyway, even prefrosh are allowed to participate over the summer, so we were asked to submit our interests and field preferences so we could be placed in one. I listed environmental science and Mech E. as my top two, but we'll see where they had space. We'll find out our assignments by Monday, and we'll get to eat lunch with our PI's ("Primary Investigators," or "Research Big-Wig Bosses") on Wednesday. Some people didn't get a match for their fields, they said (it IS summer, and even researchers must have lives, too, I suppose...), so that's a little worrisome... We shall see.
A note on Boston weather: it's wicked crazy. Yesterday dawned balmy and bright; by the time classes were over, a few harmless clouds had drifted over campus, and the wind had begun to shift a little. Half and hour later, ironically coinciding with our time to go to dinner, we were at the epicenter of a full-fledged tempest. I had reached the front door of the dorm before it began in earnest, when the trees were only whipping back and forth at a somewhat alarming rate. What's a little rain and wind? I reasoned, and embarked out on my way to the McCormick dining hall. Withing 30 feet, I was drenched, the wind had escalated to supersonic mode, and the rain was pounding in an impossibly perfect parallel path. So, overall, it was a nice sprint to McCormick, hurdling some downed branches and the glass from some shattered globe lights on the way. In conclusion, don't trust the weather in Boston any more than you should trust the drivers. That is, not at all.
But look out, Accident: according to our pals at the Weather Channel, you're in for it next. Enjoy!
In a week and a day is the Fourth of July. It'll be the first time in...12 years I haven't gone to the parade in Accident. That is a beast of a parade. I'm planning on the Boston Pops! and lots-o-fireworks up here, but nothing--I repeat NOTHING--beats that Accident parade. And the fireworks at the Wisp. Enough gunpowder to make Al Gore cry, but a thrilling show nonetheless. Enjoy the Fourth, and get some candy for me!
Take care and peace out, one and all!
And now for something completely different... an exclusive look at the not-so-elusive Procrastination Monster:

Greetings from Interphase!

Hello, World! Reporting here from Cambridge, MA, writing from an Athena Cluster in the lobby of Next House, on Dorm Row, in the West Campus of MIT. It is exactly the second day of Project Interphase, and we've already had a Calculus test. More like a diagnostic, but still, you've got to love it. OR ELSE. Yesterday was chaos, as any college moving day is wont to be, with everyone receiving their room keys and ID's, finding their rooms, cleaning up whatever presents those hasty former residents left behind, toting stuff up five flights of stairs, and fending off parents. I'm the happy resident of a single (SCORE!) on the fifth floor, right next to a handy little lounge with an even handier microwave. Great for morning tea, that...
Anyway, after giving the parents a brief tour of the campus and sending them toddling off back home, time has flown by. It's hard to comprehend that it's night number two already. Already I have (not necessarily in this order): received enough textbooks to make Mr. Schwarzenegger strain a bicep; gotten lost in the Infinite Corridor; sheepishly returned to La Verde's (the convenience store in the Student Center) twice within three hours; gone through the cafeteria line the wrong way; accompanied AJ the flutist on the ukulele to a Bon Jovi tune; discovered multiple uses in a dorm room for duct tape; lost at pool while "playing" with a bedraggled set of pool balls (including but not limited to two fives, two elevens, three nines, one cue, and no cue ball); and met people from all corners of the US, including Hawaii, plus a guy from Ghana. We also took a Calculus diagnostic test today, soon to be followed by Physics and Chem tomorrow. Joy Unbounded, indeed. I just got back from taking the T train to Hahvahd Sqaire, as they say in Bostonian. I learned that Harvard is a big, scary, brick-laden place with much bigger bookstores and much fancier T-shirts and *cough* polos than MIT. AND SO IT SHOULD BE.
So, I'm looking to look over some Physics equations, exercise a bit on those cool little bikes that go nowhere, and go sleep. Hope everything's much saner than things are up here! According to our infallible friend The Internet, weather's nice at home! Look out for thunderstorms this weekend, though... Just letting you know...
Take care, and check back soon!
And now, for your viewing pleasure, the Daily Smile:
"Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils ..."- Louis Hector Berlioz

Ahh, Photoshop...