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Last weekend was exactly one year before Christine and I are getting married next summer.  In celebration, we planned on going to check out Centennial Lakes to check out the building and check out the mini-golf course across the lake.  We didn’t make it last weekend due to the 4th of July holiday, but this weekend we took a trip out there to play a round of golf.  For some reason, Christine was convinced she was going to beat me.  After the front 9, she decided we should re-start the count.  She still didn’t win.  But I took pictures.

http://picasaweb.google.com/saroberts/20090711CentennialLakesMiniGolf#

It was a glorious day and the park was great.  We’re excited that everybody will join us in 11 months and 22 days to celebrate at Centennial Lakes!

On another note, I just ordered a new daypack.  I’ve been wanting one for a while, but after not having anything good for our trip to Alaska, now was the time.  I decided on the Osprey Kestrel 28 without trying it on.  I tried on the 38L model, but REI didn’t carry the smaller 28L model.  Luckily, I got a great deal on Amazon.  They only had 3 left, and were selling them for $80, rather than the $120 that I could buy it for everywhere else. 

Oh, and have you heard about Google Voice yet?  Well, it’s great.  You probably can’t join quite yet; I had to sign up a while ago and just got an invitation.  What is it?  Well, you sign up for a Google Voice phone number.   This is now your phone number for ever and ever.  You then associate all of your other phone numbers (cell, home, work, etc.) with your new number, and people have just one number that they call and it will ring all of your other numbers.  You can define groups that ring differently (like your boss calling doesn’t ring your cell).  Even better is that your voicemail is online.  It is available in your email inbox as an audio file, but also transcribed into text.  Very cool!  There are a ton of other features, too, so you should check it out!

On that note, if you would like to start using my Google Voice number to call me, feel free! 
(612) 208-7024

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A couple of months ago, Chris and I went to the Minneapolis farmer’s market and saw these wonderful hammock swings.  We sat in them and they were wonderfully comfortable.  While enjoying the comfort, we decided that surely they must not be that hard to make.

The next week, a trip to the public library landed us with two books on hammock making.  These books were amazingly awesome.  They were obviously written by hippies in the 70s and were spiral bound.  The books weren’t the most well written, but after reading through them, we got a grasp of how to make our own hammock swing.

Menards and Home Depot had all of the materials that we needed to begin this project, so we bought up all of their cotton rope and I started weaving!  Amazingly, the project went very quickly; I finished weaving the entire bed in only 3 evenings.  It took one additional day to tie the bed onto the rings and another morning to put together the spreader and the hanging hardware, but finally, it’s done!

I tested out the swing for the first time yesterday, and I’d say it was a successful project.  It ended up being fairly cheap (<$50) and fun to make.  Now that I’ve learned a few tips and tricks, I think I’ll try to make one for Christine, too, so we can both relax on my deck.

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Last weekend, Christine and I took a 5-day vacation with my parents to Alaska!  Mom and dad had first gone on a 7-day cruise through Alaska, and we met up with them on a Friday morning in Anchorage.  We explored the Anchorage area Friday and Saturday, then took the Alaska Railroad up to Denali National Park for a few days.  We trained back down to Anchorage Tuesday afternoon, caught the red-eye flight back to Minneapolis that night, and was at work by 9:30 AM on Wednesday.

Of course, I took a lot of pictures.  I’ve posted them on my picasaweb site, and also here below.  Christine will be posting her pictures separately on her picasaweb site.  Also, I had my GPS with me for the entire trip, and have geotagged the pictures and posted the log here.  I personally think it’s cool to see the pictures on a map, so be sure to check that out, too.

Instead of posting a blow-by-blow account of the entire five days, I’ll make a list of my favorite (or least favorite) things about Alaska.  When I get bored, I’ll stop:

• The train.  Trains are cool.  They hall my stuff while I sleep, and they haul me.  And they make cool sounds.  And they are way more comfortable than a plane.  The 8 hour train right each direction to Denali National Park was quick and fun.
• Wildlife.  We saw a ton of it.  Salmon, moose, bears, caribou, sheep, squirrels, tourists.  We saw them all.
• The bus.  The only way you can get into the park is by riding one of their busses; the park road is closed to private vehicles.  We got a pass for the 11-hour round trip ride.  Sounds like a long time to spend in a school bus driving through beauty.  However, I couldn’t have thought of a better way to experience the entire park in only one day.  If I had been there longer and my ankle had been healthier, then hiking would have been more fun, of course.  However, given the circumstances, the bus was great.
• Nancy, our bus driver.  She was awesome.  And patient.  And happy.
• The daylight.  Sucked.  I went 5 days without seeing anything close to what you would call “darkness”.  Sun was up at 4AM and down at midnight.  And and hour before/after that was twilight.
• My ankle.  Damn you softball.  Luckily, I had done a lot of icing and it got better every day.  I was able to do the activities that we choose very easily, but I would have enjoyed more hiking.
• Glaciers.  They’re really awesome.  I want one.

Okay, I think that’s it for now.  Look at the pictures.

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I’ve been biking back and forth to school the past few weeks, and it’s been great to get back on my bike.  However, I hadn’t yet gone for a real bike ride, until Saturday.  Dan and I chose the hottest day of the year (so far) to put in a 4 hour, 50 mile ride around Lake Minnetonka.  There’s a new regional trail out there, which is much nicer than riding the road the entire way around.  However, it also means that I lost my way just a bit.

I survived, after a few pit stops.  Tired when I got home, and grilled some burgers with the peeps.  Good times.

Ride Route

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-sheet/item/put-the-cookie-dough-down/raw-deal/

I just had some of these last night.  Raw.  Specifically the recalled ones.  Costco called me today.

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Last week I went to a Carbon Leaf concert with a bunch of CEMS peeps.  This was my third time seeing them, and was by far the best of the three.  The first concert (3 years ago?) was good; they played a lot of their older music.  Two years ago, I brought Paul with me, and was completely underwhelmed.  They only played songs from the new album and was kind of dead. 

In the past two years, however, they have really learned how to put on a great show.  They played a 2 1/4 hour (straight) set, so really covered a ton of their collection.  They played 3 songs from the new album, but dispersed them within the set, which kept the energy alive.  The show was very high energy, and had a few cool tricks up their sleeves.  They did a few songs “Grand Ole Opry style”, where they were all unplugged and gathered around one mike. They also had a truly acoustic song, performing without any mics.  They ended the concert by playing “Sweet Emotion” by Aerosmith.  Strange to end the concert on a cover, but awesome choice. 

I love Carbon Leaf.  If they’re in your area, go see them.

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Yesterday’s bike ride … in street clothes with a computer on my back.  22.2 miles.  Just a little chafing.

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Cool guys don’t look at explosions

NPR story on the beatbox word championship with awesome videos.

This is why you’re fat

The daily Surviving the World web comic

A literal interperation of Total Eclipse of the Heart

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The sunroom in the Douglas is a great place to talk on your cell phone.  It has good reception, big windows, and is generally quiet.  Except for last night, of course.  While on the phone in the sunroom, I noticed some flapping noises coming from one of the windows.  As I went to inspect, I saw that there was a small goldfinch, soon to be named Lucia, stuck between the main window pane and the storm window.  Oh no, she couldn’t get out!

Since we couldn’t open the storm window without opening the main window, we were forced to let her into the sunroom.  Unfortunately, that meant that we had to get her back outside.  We opened all of the windows, put bird seed and water on the window sills, and tried to coax this scared little girl out of the window.  She wasn’t much up for leaving however.  The house was full of fun toys, people to chirp to, and was warm.  She was brave, however, eventually venturing close enough to us to sit on the couch next to Christine and to actually jump around on my lap.  Man.   Finally, I was able to get her eating food on the sill and trap her from going back in so she left.  Lucia is home free!

http://picasaweb.google.com/saroberts/20090608Lucia#5345329009017311874

On another note, one of Christine’s good friends from college, Colleen, and her hubby Mike visited for the weekend.  We had all of these great plans on schedule to give them a good taste of summer in the Twin Cities.  Instead, the weather was horrible the entire weekend, with Saturday being rainy the entire day with a high of 55F.  Ick.  However, we still managed to have a good time, visiting Will, Alison, and Maddie, the Mall of American, and attending the Brave New Workshop.  Good times were had by all.  And Chrisitne took a few good pictures.

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This weekend, the 5th year crew (Dan, Chongai, Masano, Eric, Janice, Greg, Christine, and I) packed our bags and made a whirlwind trip to Detroit, Michigan for John and Yongling (Jenny) Gorke’s wedding! We few out Saturday morning, grabbed a rental car, and got to Auburn Hills, MI just in time to get changed and head to the wedding.  The wedding was outside at the Cranbook House and Gardens and was absolutely gorgeous.  The reception was at a hotel and was a cool mix between American and Chinese traditions.  By time it was over, the only people left were the DJ, John’s dad, and us.  Yes.  Back to the hotel for more fun and games.

After a leisurely Sunday morning at the hotel, we headed to downtown Detroit for some exploration.  Found some parts of Detroit that looked like it was falling apart.  Other parts looked in better shape.  Walked around a bunch, found some geocaches, got tired, then finally ate some tasty Greek food.  Good times were had by all.

Christine has pictures, too:  http://picasaweb.google.com/cardincm/GorkeWeddingInDetroit#
So do I:  http://picasaweb.google.com/saroberts/20090530JohnGorkeSWedding#

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A few weeks ago, I had an interview at Lawrence Livermore National Lab for a postdoc.  I was very pleased with out the interview went, particularly my talk.  I got an email back from my host saying the wrap-up session was positive, but I haven’t heard anything else back yet.  I’m hoping that they will be able to find a good place for me and will make an offer.  We’ll see.

In other news, my birthday was last week.  Christine got me an awesome cake from PJ Murphy’s bakery, where we’re getting our wedding cake.  And how was the cake decorated?  With GPS coordinates.  Was my present at the GPS location?  No.  What was there?  Clues to find 7 other coordinates.  After two days of hunting, I finished the puzzle.  The result?  Some extremely tasty sake and a promise of a nice Japanese dinner.  Mmmmm.

Chris and I took a trip to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum recently.  I can’t believe that I didn’t make it there before now!  It is tulip season, and they had some very cool varieties.  Of course, I took pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/saroberts/20090516MinnesotaAboretum

More great news … Como Zoo has a new giraffe!  Chris and I went to visit this weekend, of course.  He’s cute : )
http://picasaweb.google.com/saroberts/20090524ComoSNewGiraffe

Sadly, one of our professors, H. Ted Davis, passed away this week.  He was one of my teachers the first semester I was here, I TAed for him, and had regular conversations about Matlab.  I wish I were better at putting things into words, because I deeply cared for and respected this man.  Instead, why don’t you just read the memorials that others have posted.

There are other things going on, but that’s good for now.  I’m getting ready for a Memorial Day BBQ.  Yay for BBQ!

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Finished my presentation this morning, and just sent it off to my host at LLNL.  Now I just have to do a little more background research on the department I’m interviewing with, and I leave for the airport in 1 hour.  Coming back Thursday afternoon.

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Recently, I’ve been focusing my job search on the national labs, particularly for a postdoc at a national lab.  Last week, I got an invitation out for an interview to Lawrence Livermore National Lab.  Specifically, I’ll be visiting the Atmospheric, Earth, & Energy division.  I’ve applied for three separate postdoc positions in this group, so I’m not sure exactly what I would be doing if I went there, but all of their research looks very interesting, and I’m exciting to visit and learn more about the projects.

Tuesday afternoon I get to leave for Livermore, CA for my Wednesday interview.  They’ve booked a very full day for me Wedensday, so it’s nice that I get to spend Wednesday night there to unwind.  I have eight 30 minute interviews scheduled, along with a one hour research talk.  Whew.  I’ll be leaving SFO Thursday morning and get back here late afternoon. 

Wish me luck!

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This weekend, my family came up to Minneapolis to help me celebrate my “graduation” from graduate school.  I put this in quotes, because I don’t actually have a Ph.D. now.  Actually, I haven’t even scheduled my thesis defense.  I’m still planning on graduating sometime in the early fall of this year (September or October).  However, this is the closest graduation ceremony to then, so I was allowed to walk, even though I’m not done yet.

Regardless, I’ve had a really great weekend with the family.  I’ve been trying to get my aunt and uncles up here to visit for quite a while, and now they’ve finally made it.  We gave them the whirlwind tour of the twin cities, and I think everybody had enough fun.

Today was the actual ceremony, and it was relatively nice.  For some reason, the graduates were required to line up at 11:30 for a 1:00 ceremony.  I assumed they would spend that time lining us up and giving us directions.  Nope.  Nothing organized happened then.  We just stood in line for 1.5 hours.  Awesome.

The ceremony itself was extremely long, but not much you can do about that when you graduate 700 advanced degree students.  I’m just sorry that my family had to sit through 2 hours of people’s names being called.  Things went rather quickly until we got to the PhDs.  Each PhD graduate got their name, major, and advisor called, then got their hood placed around their necks.  This took about 3x as long as master students. 

Regardless, we finally made it through the entire thing, and now I have a cool hood that I can wear around to make myself feel special. 

After graduation and some touring of Minneapolis, we headed to dinner at It’s Greek to Me.  Chongai, Masano, and Janice joined Christine, the family, and I, and I think we all had a great time.  Then back to my place for some cake.  And now I’m still awake, for some reason.

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12►

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Last week, a group of people from my department went to see a talk by Jorge Cham, the creator of PhD Comics.  For those of you grad students (or medical students, law students, etc.) who have never heard of PhD Comics, shame on you.  No, seriously. 

For the unenlightened, PhD Comics is a web comic strip created by Jorge Cham while he was a graduate student back in the 1990s.  The subject matter:  the life of a graduate student.  Nearly every grad student that I know who has read this strip finds it frightenly accurate to our daily lives.  I’ve even recently sent it to my mother to read when she starts questioning why I do the things that I do.  If you’d like to check it out, there is a page for new visitors.

Anyway, the talk was quite enjoyable and funny.  His talk consisted of 20 minutes of making fun of Minnesota, followed by 40 minutes of justifying the art of procrastination.  I even got to buy his book and get it autographed.  And there were pictures taken with him!  Check them out below.

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For the past year or so, I’ve had a bird feeder hanging out on my deck.  Slowly, I’ve amassed quite the following of birds who fully rely on my feeder for sustenance during the winter.  Most of these birds are house finches (which are a nice pretty red), although I also get some house sparrows and a few other varieties.

This spring, however, I’ve seen a new, prettier selection.  Two nights ago, we saw a pair of mommy and daddy gold finches eating at the feeder.  They didn’t stay very long, but they were pretty.  Last night, I also saw my first pair of male and female cardinals, which I’ve been hoping to get for a long, long time.  I also have this amazing fat house finch that, for some reason, has no tail.

Birdies.

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As I looked back through my blog archives this morning, I realized that I haven’t really posted anything of content on this site for 2 months.  That’s pretty sad, isn’t it.  It is not that nothing has been going on; maybe even the opposite.  I’ve just been too busy to find some time to post.  I’ve actually been working at work (sometimes, maybe not this morning), which is a big change. And then when you wait too long, there is too much to post on, so you procrastinate.  Hrm. 

Work has been progressing okay.  My JFM paper was accepted, and we’ve already corrected and resubmitted the proof, so it should be available online sometime soon.  I’m kind of at the beginning stages of two projects right now.  Not too sure how they are going to work out, and if they even are, but time will tell.  I definitely now have plenty of work ahead of me, though. 

The biggest work-related item occupying my thoughts is finding something to do with my life when I graduate from here.  Satish and I haven’t talked lately, but the current standing is that I’ll finish in “early fall”.  This means that I need to start finding something to do.  I’ve been tossing around quite a few ideas (and applying at quite a few places) for a while, and I’m not really sure what I want to do, or what I can even get. 

Recently, I’ve started looking seriously at postdoc positions at some of the national labs or other government research organizations.  These sound very interesting, as I’d get to work on something that is of use to the government, would definitely get some new experiences, and would also be preparing myself for future faculty or industrial employment.  And they pay pretty well : )  The bad news would be having to move, but we’ll cross that road when we get there.

On other news, wedding planning stuff is going well.  We have our locations reserved, along with a caterer, alcohol provider, and cake.  Now we’re in the process of deciding on photographers and DJs, then maybe we’ll take a break from all of it.  Not that we’ve been spending much time planning, but we are still very early.

The weather in Minnesota has been “eh” recently.  Not cold, not warm.  I’ve not been spending too much time outside because of that.  I’m starting to feel cooped up, however, so I hope we get a much needed warmup very soon.  Like tomorrow?

In other activities, Christine and I have been doing a lot of fun things recently.  We saw a show at Chanhassen Dinner Theater in late February that was quite a fun experience.  I’ve survived two prospective visit weekends and a half-week visit from my parents.  We also found a great Tuesday Date Night deal at the Red Stag Supperclub that we’re planning on utilizing again.  And more.

It’s going to be a busy time coming up, too.  Along with working and trying to find a job, IPrime is in May, so I’ll be preparing a poster, and maybe a talk, for that.  I’m participating in the “graduation” ceremony in two weeks, too, so the ‘rents are making plans for that.  And we’ve been planning a June vacation to Alaska that should be a ton of fun!  Hopefully I can keep this updated more often than every other month during this time, as it is good therapy.

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/vp/30145811#30145811

Teabagging for everybody!

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…   come back to me!  What’s wrong with you?!?  WORK!!!!

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