Apartment Pictures

Sorry for the delay. My previous batch of photos were out of focus due to me forgetting to switch the lens from manual to auto. Here are some pictures of our living room, dining room, kitchen, and a couple different views of the disaster that is our office. In one, you can see Katie's bike on the patio.

The Semester is Over

I have just finished grading calc finals, which means my first year in grad school is complete (outside of quals, which are really in the summer). However, I thought I would share some aggravating answers to what should have been a really easy problem.

Here's the setup: Vectors v and w are given, and they already calculated that they are orthogonal. The question is, does there exist a unit vector parallel to w that is perpendicular to v? If so, find it. If not, explain.

Answer: To find the vector, you need to multiply w by the reciprocal of the length of w. This is typical procedure. Since it has the same direction, it is also perpendicular to v.

Here are some "solutions"

• No, because you can't have it both ways. That is absurd.
• No, because you w is already perpendicular to v, so nothing else can be.
• No, because I'm just guessing and if I said "yes" [the professor] would want me to give some kind of bull**** explanation.

Transpositioned Mail

The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) sent out invitations to the graduate students to pay them for membership. The American Mathematical Society gives free memberships, why can't they! Clearly, it is because they need to increase their budget for data entry:

Either Our Apartment is Big, or I'm Suddenly a Midget

Katie and I have been busy filling our new apartment with all sorts of things. However, the place is very big and we are just starting our life together (also, we are waiting for all of you to buy things on our registry).

It turns out, this place is built for tall people. The cabinets go all the way to the ceiling, and the shower heads are six and a half feet off the ground. I was shocked to realize this morning that I did not have to bend my back to rinse my hair.

I hope to have pictures later today, but it is still a work in progress. The office is a disaster, and the bedroom is missing all the furniture except the bed. We have managed to hang some pictures, though. It certainly is beginning to feel like a home.

Note-Books

This year, I experimented with a new style of note taking. Some pads of graph paper were binded into books, and I have used them for notes in class all year. Now that the year is done, I re-bound these books and covered them with old jeans or khakis. Here are some pictures of the end result:




I like the results, and will plan to do this in the future. Now, my notes will sit upon my bookshelf instead of in a 3-ring binder or manila envelope like my old notes. These are compact and impossible to get out of order.

Proof that I am Psychic

As I prepared my breakfast this morning, I poured some juice and thought to myself, "I should make a GraphJam of `mind on my money and money on my mind' from the Gin & Juice song..."

However, I read that somebody beat me to it. Today.

Attractive Locomotion

This evening, we celebrate the most recent class of JDE seniors, including Katie. Congratulations, everyone! Especially to Katie, who has maintained a GPA I have not seen since freshman year.

The event is a little fancy. Fancy enough for shiny pants. However, I did not want to risk ruining my nice pants while biking to work, so I fastened the pant legs with office supplies. It was classy.

Exercise Restraint

While reading for what seems like the hundredth time tonight "the proof is simple and hints are given as Exercises 1-5," I had the incredible urge to throw my heavy Algebra book violently against the wall. Quicker than my arm could fly, my brain reminded me that those kinds of things get people in trouble and I refrained.

Back to the worst take-home exam ever.

Davis, CA in all its glory

While waiting for my shuttle from the Sacramento Airport to Davis, I met a guy wearing a tweed jacket. Since he was also heading to Davis, I thought it a natural question to ask if he was attending the Graduate Student Combinatorics Conference. So I asked, "Are you going to the conference as well?" He replies, "Why yes! You are too, how fascinating? What is your research area?" I respond "Graph theory and complexity!" Suddenly, his eyes go wide open and he says "My paper talks about graph theory, too!"

During this part of the discussion, he says a bunch of stuff very quickly that sounds sort of like math, but nothing I can understand. I find it odd that he was surprised that I do graph theory, though. My questions were resolved when I told him about my presentation, and he realized that I am going to a math conference, and he is going to a religion and media conference or something. He then begins to ramble about how some philosopher came up with a way to represent all existence in set theory, and worse yet, all understanding of relationships in category theory. Categories, of all things, do not help with the understanding of anything, not even math.

That strangeness aside, it has been a relaxing day off. The weather here is on par with a Minnesota summer day: that is, perfect. I was able to wander the expansive campus for a while, including the very diverse arboretum that inhabits the southern border of the campus. Pictures will follow, once I go home and retrieve my USB cable...

The conference starts tomorrow bright and early. My presentation is in the earliest time slot, and my abstract is the second shortest by only two words. Wish me luck! I'll need to talk extra slow to push 20 minutes!

Out-Wikipediaed

I had recently been looking at the Wikipedia entry for Futurama and read the section on Futurama in Popular Culture. Tonight's brand-new Simpson's episode had a Futurama reference that I knew was not in there. I rushed to put it in the article, but was beaten. The internet is so epic.

On a side note, I find the episode hilarious for several reasons. Not only are they taking credit for every single fad of the '90's, but also they depict the scourge of literature arts professors. The only critique that could apply to me is the use of elbow pads as some kind of stereotype of professors! Can you believe that?