Tuesday, June 07, 2005
I've been sleeping only a few hours every night. Maybe it's the summer heat that's keeping me anxious and restless, but I sort of doubt it. I've spent the past couple of weeks wrapping up my work at the plasma physics lab here, so that I can move on to my summer job at a plasma physics lab somewhere else. Last Wednesday I submitted a detailed accounting and analysis of the explosions I set off over the past couple of months. It turned out that I set off 43 exploding wire experiments for my project.
The Laboratory of Plasma Studies here at Cornell carries out experiments in support of larger projects going on at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico. I find it a little odd that in effect I am working for a lab whose logo prominently features what appears to be a Third-Reich eagle, but I find consolation in my unmitigated fecklessness in experimental physics. I'll probably end up slowing down the Nazis more than the Maginot line.
This past weekend I kept myself amused by walking down to the Ithaca town fair, where I found myself surrounded by food from around the world, even places as far away and obscure such as Cambodia and Laos. I hadn't been as happy as I was, surrounded by so much food, in a long time, nevermind the fact that I couldn't afford much of it. The Ithacan locals auspiciously scheduled the fair for the weekend immediately following the departure of most of the Cornell students for the summer, and I suppose they have every right to celebrate our retreat with dancing and food. I felt just a little out of place walking among the square-dancing denizens of the town.
The Laboratory of Plasma Studies here at Cornell carries out experiments in support of larger projects going on at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico. I find it a little odd that in effect I am working for a lab whose logo prominently features what appears to be a Third-Reich eagle, but I find consolation in my unmitigated fecklessness in experimental physics. I'll probably end up slowing down the Nazis more than the Maginot line.
This past weekend I kept myself amused by walking down to the Ithaca town fair, where I found myself surrounded by food from around the world, even places as far away and obscure such as Cambodia and Laos. I hadn't been as happy as I was, surrounded by so much food, in a long time, nevermind the fact that I couldn't afford much of it. The Ithacan locals auspiciously scheduled the fair for the weekend immediately following the departure of most of the Cornell students for the summer, and I suppose they have every right to celebrate our retreat with dancing and food. I felt just a little out of place walking among the square-dancing denizens of the town.
