The War Room

Commander's Log: 12/22/12

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 00:52:41 -0500

1) I’ve basically submitted all of my grad school apps. I have to fill out some paper stuff to mail in and send in transcripts but I’m essentially done.

2) Waiting to hear back from these schools is literally going to kill me. The next six years of my life are going to be determined by a bunch of strangers I’ve never met that are judging me based on a few pieces of paper. I hate it. I’m like the fucking Black Prince of Physics. I’ve never met a concept I don’t understand or a problem I couldn’t solve. And that’s not even counting the fact I’ve got a math disability. And inevitably, somebody not nearly as awesome as I am will take my dream spot and I’ll be left scavenging.

3) Can we talk about how irritating UVA’s application was? They literally had a section for in-state tuition that I AND my parents needed to fill out. Seriously? No other application asked for that because…oh wait…grad school is free for physicists. I’m really hoping they aren’t the only place I get into because I would hate to go there. It’s a good program with cool research but the atmosphere is just…not for me.

Accurate...

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 00:36:03 -0500

canadiansigh:

If I’m a sarcastic asshole when I talk to you its either because I really like you and feel comfortable teasing you

Or I really hate you and don’t care if you know it

Good luck figuring out which one

Commander's Log: 12/20/12

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 23:59:00 -0500

1) Don’t ever apply to grad school. It’s too damn stressful. There a literally only 300 words that are essentially going to determine if I get to go to my 1st choice or I have to settle somewhere else. It’s such bullshit. If you want me to tell you how awesome I am, then let me tell you how awesome I am. Putting a 300 word limit on me is super-unfair. You won’t let me give you a resume longer than a page and you put a 300 word limit on my personal statement. There are things I’ve done that will never make it on either of those documents. I think everybody else is just upset that they have to struggle to fill up that space. Seriously. I’m kind of a big deal.

2) “This country desperately needs God.” - Facebook post

No. YOU need God. I don’t. I get along just fine without Him. I would assume that any supreme being that would take the time to create an entire race of assholes like us would leave us to our own decisions. He gave us free will and the capability to think. If you’re not comfortable using that brain God gave you to make your own way and need Him to tell you what to do, that’s your problem. Leave me out of it. Some of us actually have our shit together.

And while I’m on that note, if I hear another “Our society’s obsession with violence is what’s causing all these problems” I will literally punch a small child. People are violent. They always have been and always will be. It’s your obsession that God has the answer to everything that is causing the problem. Did you ever think that maybe He just doesn’t like dealing with your bullshit problems and expects you to handle them yourself? The Man does have an entire Universe to run and probably is a little more concerned about making sure that’s in good working order than whatever issue it is you’re having. Please grow up and deal with your own issues. You are a fully capable human being, act like it.

3) I’m really looking forward to all the crazy shit people are going to do tomorrow. It’ll be lovely. All this “Apocalypse” shenanigans are gonna cause a whole extra set of issues. That’s the joke. The End of the World is caused by people thinking it’s the End of the World and going bat-shit crazy. The irony.

I'm not a mathematician but...

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 01:08:12 -0500

“…But how can you teach math and not believe in a God?

A God of perfect points and planes,
surrounded by right angles and arch angels of varying degrees.”

Because math is completely abstract and theoretical. Infinite planes, points, right angles, and all those other nice things don’t actually occur in nature. They’re man-made. Nature doesn’t work in straight lines, right angles, points, and perfect spheres. Nature hates those things which we’ve deemed “perfect.” Trust me. If physics has taught me anything, it’s that stuff never works out like it does in the textbook where we can make all of these nice assumptions and approximations. Nature is fundamentally flawed. But that’s what makes it so perfect. If it worked out perfectly like it does in the textbook, so many things would never be able to happen. Life wouldn’t exist. Our Universe would be completely different and really rather boring. But it’s not.

It’s beautiful and exciting. It’s perfectly imperfect.

Commander's Log: 10/24/12

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 00:12:53 -0400

I just hit me today how big of a deal it is that I’m now a member of Pi Mu Epsilon, the collegiate math honors society.

I HAVE A FUCKING DISABILITY IN MATH AND I’M IN THE MATH HONORS SOCIETY.

I’ve struggled with math my entire life, worked hard to compensate for my weakness, and turned it into a strength.

Put da team on my back doe.

FUCK YOU MATH!

Commander's Log: 10/11/2012

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 21:52:52 -0400

“Friend in reference to my date for CHC dance*: “She’s a ho.”

So let me get this straight. You know everything about this person and are best friends with her, right? Oh wait…

I’m not gonna pretend like it’s not possible for her to be a “ho.” I’m not an idiot. I can creep Facebook just as well as anybody else (and, trust me, I did). However, my spidey-sense tells me otherwise (spidey-sense is never wrong). I’m not gonna pretend like I know her super-well (unlike some of my friends) but she seems like she has a good head on her shoulders. I mean she’s a on the soccer team, nursing major, AND in the Honors College. Can’t be that bad. Right? Hoes are not typically well-known for having their shit together. Just sayin’.

Besides, I’m just taking her to a dance. If she does turn out to be a ho, there’s no reason we can’t be friends. Everybody chill out.

Commander's Log: 10/9/12

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 20:00:00 -0400

Today is just one of those days for me:

1) Got the highest score on the Optics test (97%, nbd)

2) Dominated my chemistry lab even though it was a titration lab (I despise titration)

3) Got a smokin’ hot date for the CHC dance next week

Too good.

Commander's Log: 10/2/2012

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:00:16 -0400

That awesome moment when a cute girl actually wants to see your Tesla coil and thinks it’s the coolest fucking thing ever (which it is).

Commander's Log: 10/1/12

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 09:21:23 -0400

I really dislike this ENGL 400 class. Not because of the professor or the people or the work. It’s the concept.

Civic discourse. Public rhetoric.

I’m a physicist. I’m going to be locked in a lab for the rest of my life. The only people I need to communicate with are the scientific community. Even if I made a discovery important enough to be shared with the public, I would simply be reporting what I found. There is no way I can convince you that what I’ve found is relevant and important. If I have to explain to you why cold fusion, faster-than-light travel, or anything on that scale is important you’re already too ignorant to understand. Read a fucking book. Be an informed member of society. This civic discourse stuff would be great if everybodywas on the same page. But considering that I literally hear “Why the hell do I need to take physics? I’m an elementary ed major” about 6 times a day, clearly that’s not going to happen. Please stop trying to force me to do something that I don’t buy into. I’m not convinced, you’re not going to change my mind. I don’t have shit-tons of money to bribe people with, there is nothing I can do to change anything going on anywhere.

When Chi is walking, you shut the fuck up

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 00:35:22 -0400

Commander's Log: 9/12/12

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 22:21:45 -0400

When to the Farmville Town Council meeting for one of my classes. My favorite quote of the evening:

“Of course, all water is the same age because it was all made by the Creator at the same time.”

I can’t even. This guy was supposed to be the “technical expert” and he actually said this. This is why we can’t have nice things.

Operation: Double Agent

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:37:56 -0400

So a lot has happened these past few weeks. And by a lot I really mean just one really significant thing: I broke up with my girlfriend. I just needed to happen. I had a startling amount of influence over her life and I don’t think she could see it. This next year is super-important for both of us and we need clear minds to make sure we don’t screw stuff up. I didn’t want her to be making plans about her life based on what I’m doing because I’m not going to do the same. I need to take care of myself first and I want her to do the same. Plus, lets’ be real, we’re stupidly young. There is no need to have any part of your life revolve around another person yet. I’m not saying we can’t be together somewhere down the line, just we need to make sure that’s what we want first. I don’t have enough data points to accurately determine that and neither does she. I feel like everybody needs that one period in their life where they’re just experimenting and there’s no commitment attached. It helps you to make better decisions down the line. More data points. I want to see some different people and I want her to too. If we still want to be together after all that data has been gathered and analyzed, then fine. But it might turn out that we don’t actually want what we thought we did. I have 6 more years of grad school and I might want different things after that. I don’t know. Nobody can know that.

So here’s the plan. I’m just gonna live like a double agent. Reckless but responsible. Work hard but play harder. Make mistakes but find solutions. Get close but keep my distance. Be trusted but never trusting.

Operation: Double Agent is in effect.

Commander's Log: 8/7/2012

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 02:11:50 -0400

Facebook is not the place to post shit you’re only going to half-ass. If you want to make a comment on how messed up the education system is just say that. Say what you want to say. Clarity saves lives people. And if you don’t want to put in the effort to make it clear, then just don’t post it. The world will move on without knowing your thoughts on education. When you half-ass it, you just look like a whiny bitch and it irritates people because it’s not clear what you’re getting at.

But seriously, you’re a fucking idiot. My observations don’t match-up with your post. You say one thing but you’re doing another. I already don’t like you but maybe I can at least make you see how fucking annoying you are.

Commander's Log: 8/2/2012

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 01:08:42 -0400

1) Phelps might be the most decorated Olympian ever but that doesn’t make him the greatest. Being a great Olympian is more than just the medals. It’s about your attitude. Phelps was just here for the medals. You can see it in his eyes. It’s not about representing your country as you go toe-to-toe with the world’s best for him anymore. It was just about the medals. A great Olympian would keep putting it all on the line every time they competed, regardless of the medal implications. A great Olympian would say “I might have 400 bajillion gold medals but I’m going to give it all I’ve got for the folks back home” not “I’ve already got my sundae, I’m just adding toppings.” A great Olympian would treat every Olympics as a chance at a new sundae. I mean, let’s be real. Who the fuck only wants ONE sundae?

2) Chick-fil-a Shenanigans. Let’s set a few things straight: A) I’m not saying the man is not entitled to his beliefs, and I’m not upset that he holds those beliefs (per say). What does piss me off is that he is actively and willing trying to restrict the rights of other human beings. That’s not cool. B) I don’t give a damn how much of the money goes to helping communities. That does not justify sending money to certified hate groups to try and keep other people down. Hate groups ALWAYS do community service shit because it gives them a support base. Almost all of those projects occur in areas that pretty generally support that groups position anyway. They’re simply taking care of themselves, not communities that actually need the help. You don’t see the KKK building any community centers in the middle of Harlem. Just sayin’.

3)The United States is the only democratic, industrialized nation where it’s ok to actively sabotage the freedom of another person and it be protected as “First Amendment rights.” Freedom of Religion means you’re allow to have and practice, no matter how stupid. And practicing a religion does not mean trying to make everybody join your club and live like your sky-wizard says. Practicing means you’re allowed to do what ever it is that pleases your deity of choice, without infringing upon folks’ rights, in private. If you believe eating pork is a sin, you don’t have to eat it, but let the rest of us unwashed heathens have your helping of bacon. It’s not against the law for you to do that. Quite frankly, I’m happy to let you do whatever weirdo practices you have, as long as I don’t have to play along. Just keep that shit behind closed doors. They built churches for a reason. Use them.

Commander's Log: 7/25/2012

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:29:21 -0400

Every time that I see one of my friends is supporting this hateful “Support Chick-fil-a” bullshit, I lose a MASSIVE amount of respect for them. Which is bad because some of these people didn’t have a whole lot in the respect bank to start with. Others I have a massive amount of respect for and it makes me a little sick inside to know that’s how they truly feel about the subject. Do they realize that they are turning their backs on some of their best friends and good human beings? Being gay doesn’t mean the almighty sky-wizard is going to damn you to Hell for all eternity. Betraying your friends and being downright hateful to other human beings, however, might just earn you a VIP seat. Think about that while you enjoy that ignorance-inducing, bigot-producing chicken sandwich.

Commander's Log: 7/18/2012

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:43:55 -0400

1) I have been absolutely horrible about updating the REU blog. It’s just been so crazy that I don’t have the time to sit down and put down all of the exciting thoughts and experiences. All of the posts will eventually be put up (I’ve been keeping a simple paper log the whole time). Trust me, the wait will be worth it.

2) I had a lengthy conversation with one of the faculty that founded the Department of Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences here at Hampton. He worked for NASA for 30 years before that. Oh and the man basically invented LIDAR. The man is a living legend. Awesome experience.

Commander's Log: 6/4/2012

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 00:07:00 -0400

Dating me is like dating Tony Stark. Seriously. Watch Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and Avengers and it will become pretty clear. My ego is so huge it can be seen from space. It’s completely out of control. And I’m kind of an asshole…about everything. And I can teach myself super-advanced physics practically overnight. I might not have like 14 bajillion dollars but let’s be real…if I did I would totally build an armored powersuit. It would just happen.

And yet my girlfriend is still willing to be seen in public with me :)

Weird Science: The REU Experience

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 19:51:00 -0400

Weird Science: The REU Experience:

This is where my REU blog is. I’m trying to keep track of all the cool things we do so everybody will know what I’m doing. Feel free to have a look :)

Operation: Rock the Kasbah

Wed, 30 May 2012 20:15:19 -0400

So I just got back from a 17-day stint in Morocco and Spain.

Words cannot describe how awesome it was. There were literally so many things that happened that it would be an exercise in futility to try and document them in a fashion that accurately conveys the sheer magnitude of the total adventure. So I won’t even try.

Great friends, great memories, great adventures.

Commander's Log: 4/26/2012

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:22:00 -0400

So I just got a departmental award for Outstanding Performance in Physics Research. That’s 2 departmental awards to my credit now. If I can just get the Senior award next year, I’ll be set. I’m pretty sure nobody has ever done that since they started the awards but I’m gonna go for the three-peat. WIN ALL THE AWARDS!!