Living in the Future

Category: Blog

  • What Apple’s education announcement means to you.

    Hey again, I’d like to take a little time to weigh in on an important issue which has been really controversially received today, about Apple’s update to iBooks as well as a standalone iTunes U app.

    For me personally, this is an incredible innovation, one which will certainly encourage me to even probably buy a textbook or two outside of academia, just for learning. The $15 cap on prices for these incredible, interactive experiences which major publishers have signed on to build is incredible, and means that you won’t have to worry about waiting in line at the bookstore, lugging books around all semester, and then worrying about having to sell them back to bookstores or to friends.

    Also, when information changes in these textbooks, publishers can make updates to content which will be reflected instantly via update to anyone who bought the textbook. People who are just entering university will be able to purchase an entire semester of textbooks for 75$ at most (prices on textbooks for major publishers are capped by Apple at 14.99 apiece on an exclusivity contract).

    This means that for about $600 initial investment (more if you want more storage for music on the iPad) you can replace a stack of textbooks which can cost easily more than 100 each. This investment, in the vast majority of cases, will pay off within a year.

    The big thing is, though, that content in these interactive touch textbooks can include full-color, zooming photographs, text whose size can be changed, an internet-powered encyclopedic dictionary, highlighting, underlining, video clips, interactive hands-on applets built-in to enhance the experience even more.

    I’m really jealous of the generation just entering university, this is something that is going to change all schooling for the better. Down with paper!

  • Washing your Hands is a Waste of Time.

    Now, this article is going to get me into a lot of trouble, especially with females and people who are OCD about cleanliness and personal hygiene. But I have a point to make and while I’m certain that not everybody agrees with me in principle, logically my arguments are fairly solid.

    The title of this post is a very general statement, and I don’t actually espouse ideas that nobody should wash their hands ever. The point I am trying to make is that the idea that if you wash your hands after using the washroom, you really aren’t any more well protected from “germs and bacteria” than you would be if you didn’t. Assuming you are otherwise fairly clean in the genital region, if you are touching yourself there in the course of normal washroom behavior, you won’t be suddenly exposing your hands to a plethora of microfaunae and florae which will wreak havoc on your immune system if you decide to eat an hour later.

    I am not trying to make the argument that people should never wash their hands. If your hands are dirty or feel gross or smell horrible, by all means wash them until they are no longer that way. Go NUTS on your hands. But the idea that washing your hands more than a few times a day is going to make you a much healthier person is a little bit silly. Obviously, if you eat ribs or wings and your hands are all goopy, or you make a habit of pooping on yourself, it’s probably a good idea to wash your hands after having done so. Otherwise, though, with the things our hands encounter on a given day, if you were really trying to protect yourself from this bacteria (which by the way, lives on our skin already and doesn’t actually come off in the shower, no matter how much you soap up), you’re just chewing up and drying out your hands.

    When it comes to handwash stations with gel which kills viruses, this is pretty effective at killing whatever is actually growing on your hands at a given time (assuming it does work, which is a good, but not great, assumption).If you are trying to protect yourself from cold at all costs, feel free to carry a bottle of this disinfectant with you at all times, vigilantly applying and reapplying after contacting all manner of doorknobs, money, the cornucopia of different handles, pads, buttons and especially other people’s hands and other similar such things. For the average person though, all of this just isn’t realistic, and even at our best there will be times where “germs” will be transferred. If this happens on a regular basis through childhood up to adulthood, humans’ immune systems will be hampered a little bit at first, eventually building up an immunity to these pathogens, or at least better equipping itself to handle them in the future.This is the kind of world that I want to live it.

    Next time you’re bored or want to do something that will ruin your day (until you decide to abandon logiclessness), try to count the number of times in a day you touch something that at least 10 people have also touched in the last half hour, or that more than 50 people have touched in a lifetime (such as money). Imagine what is now on you after touching these surfaces or objects, and you will hopefully start to realize that keeping yourself germ free, as much as it sounds awesome, is really not realistic, and your hands will be contaminated at least most of the time even if you are vigilant. There are far worse ways to attract disease than not washing your hands when it is socially acceptable to do so.

    For the time being, I will continue to wash my hands when it is socially acceptable, but know that I don’t agree with this practice, just based purely on logic, and that I am not worried in the slightest about getting sick from it, and neither should you be.

    To your health!

  • Inferior Service Pirates (ISP’s)

    Inferior Service Pirates (ISP’s)

    Hey
    everyone, I have been a little lax of late in coming up with poignant things to
    talk about, but I really think I’ve outdone myself today in being much more
    broadly appealing than usual! Today I would like to share my thoughts revolving
    around a topic I’m sure we all consider very important, and hopefully the
    result of the conversation is that everyone can save a little money, as well as
    (on a much broader scale) shift big telecommunication corporations to do
    business in a way that isn’t such a huge ripoff.

    In a
    discussion I was having with my parents last month, the topic of internet
    service came up, as well as the always-pertinent issue of cell phones and the
    nightmare that is telecommunication giants such as (in Ontario at least) Bell,
    Telus and Rogers. In Ontario, as far as I’m aware the big players in the
    Internet game are Bell and Rogers, although there are other companies in other
    places in the country and world. Feel free, if you’re reading this in one of
    those other places, to substitute in the names of large companies in your area.
    Most people, (probably at least 95% of you) take your Internet and phone
    service for granted. While most people know more about their cell phone
    contracts than they do about their internet service, there is still a
    surprising amount many people are missing out on, and the cost of this lack of
    information (or misinformation really) can cost you hundreds of dollars a year.
    A quick check on the Bell or Rogers sites tells you that the basic plans which
    cover some downloading at reasonable internet speeds for 1 or 2 people, and not
    a whole lot else. Our generation (20-somethings) tend to consume most of our
    media online (television, movies, music, books, news, magazines or at least
    content which would otherwise be found in a magazine were it not being read
    online) and so while this works for some people, it is not really a viable
    solution for anyone on a fairly tight budget.
    Currently,
    Rogers is actually having a sale in which all of their internet bundles are
    priced at 50% off, which puts this “everyday” plan at $23.50, but
    with the caveat that you must sign a 1-year contract with them, and the sale
    price ends after 6 months, at which point you will be back at 47$ a month.
    Overall I will call this an average cost of 36$/month, which is actually not
    horribly unreasonable at 25% off over the year. This gets you an internet speed
    which (under good network conditions, AKA don’t think you’ll get this on a
    weeknight between 8 and 12 PM) will allow you to download a standard definition
    movie in under 10 minutes (and is more than fast enough to stream television or
    movies via Netflix or other methods of more questionable moral ground).

    For those
    of you well-versed in these matters, our baseline download speed for comparison
    here is 12Mbps, which works out to approximately 1.5 MB/s, again under optimal
    conditions. One final thing to consider about internet speeds is that these
    download speeds depend much more strongly on the ability of a company to supply
    the bits to you (in other words, their upload speeds) than on your connection.
    To give you a real world example of this, if you try to download a video file
    your friend put up on a blog which they are hosting from a home server, it will
    take some time because it is your friends computer which is the one storing
    this video, and you can only download it as quickly as they can get it to you.
    On the other hand, if you would like an example of a very fast download, head
    over to the apple website on a day when there is no major software releases
    (today being a slightly bad example with iTunes 10.5.1 coming out, but it will
    still be quite fast) and download the latest version of iTunes. You’ll notice
    that even though it’s a huge file (this one is about 65 MB depending on your
    computer) it will almost certainly take less than one minute (or over 1 MB/s)
    and can take 15 seconds (more like 4 MB/s). This is because companies like
    Google, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft (anyone who requires that you download
    large files) have humongous “farms” of servers who are just sitting
    waiting for you to download these large files, so they can do so with little to
    no delay. These farms are essentially multi-million dollar warehouses packed
    with racks of what are basically internet-connected computer storage. Amazon is
    another company which actually sells this space and connectivity to people who
    either don’t have room to build their own, or just find it simpler to
    essentially rent the use of this internet. This blog is actually “hosted”
    by Google, which is why even though it’s just me writing it, you can access it
    extremely quickly. The result of all of this is that you can get your files as
    quickly as is possible given the Internet speeds you’ve paid for, and there
    will be as little delay as possible in getting your Internet to you.

    Now, to
    get back to our little comparison. The other major player in the Internet game
    is Bell, and they have basically the exact same plans as Rogers, though bundled
    differently and their logo is blue as opposed to Rogers’ red. Bell’s plan which
    is on par with Rogers costs $53.95 (though it is currently being offered for
    $10/month off), and offers the same basic services as Rogers does, with a few
    perks. These are the addition of fast uploading of files (7x faster than on the
    basic plan) for 5$ a month, as well as additional 40 GB chunks of downloading
    for $5/40 GB. All of these additional features seem to make it a very good
    deal, but for the time being there is an even better promotion going on at Bell.
    For $34.48/month (for 1 year only) you can get double this internet speed (25
    Mbps) with the fast upload built into the plan. For those of you who are on any
    other internet plan (and not on a contract) I would highly recommend this plan.
    It comes with 125 GB of download, again with the option to add additional 40 GB
    chunks for $5 each.  After this first
    year, the plan jumps back up to what it otherwise would be ($73.95). This plan
    is actually a perfect segue for the entire point of this post, that being that
    ISPs have way too much power over the average consumer, in that they can look
    at the big picture and sell these plans for half of their worth for a year.
    This nefarious plot is actually a way to confuse and extract money from the
    average person, who will see this plan and decide that is is perfect for them.
    Bell has spent a lot of money on this new nationwide fiber optic network, but
    everybody finds it extremely expensive and so new signups must not be what they
    expected. Seeing this, they have clearly decided that if they offer this plan
    at half price (and make no mistake, this is a GREAT price for a big ISP), they
    will lose money for the first year, after which the people who pay attention to
    what they are doing will get out of the plan and move to something which has
    come up in the intervening year. But many, many people who are signing up for
    this service between now and when the offer ends at the end of December will
    forget that it is only a year, and come 2013 will be very surprised that
    suddenly their prices for service have doubled. Either that, or (as the ISPs
    hope) they will just pay the difference without even noticing, or they will be
    very much enjoying the luxury of incredibly fast internet and won’t want to go
    back, so they will justify this huge price increase in that way. But,
    fortunately for our generation, it doesn’t have to be this way.
    What
    almost everyone doesn’t know is that there are actually many, MANY small
    internet providers which buy space in wholesale from Rogers and Bell and sell
    it to basically anybody who will listen. As this tide is starting to turn a
    little, some of these smaller services are actually forced to turn people away
    because they can’t sign up people fast enough. There are countless providers
    like this which can be found at canadianisp.com, but for the purposes of this
    discussion I will use the company I have found, Teksavvy, as an example of one
    of these ISPs. This company leases space from Rogers and offers plans which are
    very similar to their services, but at more wholesale prices. For example, the
    standard plan which we discussed earlier was available for $36/mo (over a years
    contract) on Rogers, and on Bell was offered at $43.95 (after a ten dollar
    discount which applies to the first year). On Teksavvy, a plan with the same
    speeds is available for $37 per month. On the face of it, this seems slightly
    worse than Rogers sale price, but remember that with them you are forced into a
    contract to get this deal, and you only save $1/mo with this setup. This also
    brings me to the final point to consider. So far, all the plans I have
    discussed come with caps on usage which limit you to 50-60 GB/mo (which 1-2
    users with moderate usage will probably never come up against). If, however,
    you would like to move more of your life digital, or find yourself being
    charged overages by your ISP (usually $0.50/GB), this is kind of a huge
    problem.

    In the case of Teksavvy however, and many other smaller ISPs, since
    they are buying bandwidth wholesale, they will give you much higher caps, like
    300 GB/mo for Teksavvy. Also, keep in mind that these guys are extremely happy
    to have your business, since they depend mostly on word-of-mouth, and so even
    if you do go over this cap (which would take several people on multiple devices
    really trying hard to do) the odds that they will actually charge you any
    overages is essentially nothing. I have been using Teksavvy for about 6.5
    months, and the service has been great (since it uses Rogers lines to provide internet)
    and dealing with customer service has been wonderful (since you deal with
    Teksavvy CSAs and not Rogers ones, who are notoriously nasty on occasion). With
    such a large cap, it also becomes possible to fit several people onto one plan
    (we currently have 5 people, and visitors can bring that number up to 6-7) and
    have only very occasional problems with speed issues. The math of this setup
    means that we are each paying about $8/mo for as much internet as we can
    possibly consume. I have also recently upgraded to a plan called Extreme from
    Teksavvy (which will take effect this week) which doubles our speeds for an
    extra 6$/mo (or $1.20/mo/person more). I will report the results of this switch
    once it happens, but I am positive it will be a great experience for everyone
    involved, and I VERY highly recommend you at least evaluate your options with
    respect to internet service provider. It could save you a LOT of money. I hope
    you found that very interesting, I know in my research I certainly did.

  • Recent and Random (bonus: Introspective)

    Recent and Random (bonus: Introspective)

    Hello and welcome back everyone, it has been a slightly off week so far, as I came down with a little cold/cough/sicky thing, and so doing anything besides lying around like a log has been rather difficult. I have decided, however, that it is time to write a little more. Since I don’t really have a specific topic in mind, I was hoping for more of a general update on what I’ve been up to since the last time I sat down to write. It’s been a pretty exciting week in the world of tech, specifically for me but also for the population as a whole. After I reviewed life with an iPad/bluetooth keyboard case combination (henceforth known as my laptop as I really hate saying “my iPad” but saying “my tablet” just doesn’t sound right either) I have used it a few times. Mostly the case comes in handy when I’ll be doing more than a little bit of typing, but I also very much enjoy the variable reading angle the case affords as compared to the smart cover which allows for reading at about 10 and 80 degrees, or flat on a surface. The battery life has also been great, I charged the keyboard once although there was no indication its battery was low, it had just been about a week. All in all, the keyboard is very responsive and it feels extremely natural to touch the screen when the use requires is as opposed to reaching for the trackpad or mouse, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I don’t feel at all awkward doing this, which is a small relief.

    Secondly, I made another technology related purchase this week, and finally received it today after almost 50 hours of waiting (God Internet, why can’t you do things faster? Just kidding I love you!) I finally got my hands on it. I ordered a Mophie juice pack air, which some of you iOS users may recognize from the apple store as one of those cases you see on the shelf which seems pretty well designed and looks fairly appealing but it’s crazy expensive. Well, obviously with spending almost 700 dollars on my phone I’m going to want to give it a small amount of protection. On that note though, I had always told myself that if I was going to spend money on a case, it was going to be absolutely perfect or have some other thing which sets it apart. In the case, both of those demands were met, though one of them was only realized after the case arrived. The first, and more important point is that this case has a battery built in, one which provides an equal amount of power as the phone’s does, and so in theory will double the effective life of the phone. While the battery life of the iPhone has never really been an issue for me, it is nice to not have to worry about recharging the phone when you’re about to leave the house, knowing that with the flick of a switch you can extend your battery by at least one more day, or that if your battery is at between 40-50% after a full day of use, you don’t have to worry about charging the phone the following day because you can just apply your battery pack and go. The second reason, this being the one which I only discovered after trying the pack for a few hours, is that the geometry of the case (wherein the battery and requisite electronics are packed into the base of the case) means that my thumbs don’t have as far to reach to get to the keyboard, and so typing is much more comfortable than without the case. While this case was about 90$ with tax included, I really do think I will get enough use out of it to justify this cost, and I will continue to make purchases like this in order to experience life the way I want it to be.

    Finally, on a more serious note, I would like to share a little about the thoughts which have been running through my head. I have been going through various life options in the last few months, as part of a more pressing issue which revolved around my realization that I have no idea what I really want to do for the rest of my life. I have put out applications and filled out forms at a few of the establishments which are most important to me, but somehow I still feel rather unsatisfied. Maybe this is because I haven’t found my calling in life yet, even though I do have some ideas. Assuming a 100 year lifespan, which is quite generous even given modern medicine, I’m 1/4 of the way through my life. I think to myself that by I now I should have a general idea what my life should be about. I realize that in the current iteration of the world that many people are just like me who are wandering aimlessly through across the earth, but I know there’s something huge I’m meant to do with myself. I have been made aware in various ways that I’m not just an average human being, but I can’t quite bring myself to be extraordinary enough to turn any heads. In a world of 7 billion people, it is clearly very easy to get stuck in a situation where you are clear you don’t belong but aren’t given any obvious escape. While I know there are many things I could do above the average proficiency of individuals who make a living doing a given job, I am not going to just be noticed and given the right job for me. If I want something of this nature to take place, I will actually have to apply myself and make it happen. Maybe I should put in the extra effort to actually make this happen and things will change for me, but finding the motivation for such a monumental shift in the way my life has been for so long is going to take quite a bit of working-up-to. History tells me I will probably be okay, but nevertheless I’d really like something more substantial soon, another year like this would really have me questioning my potential. I can’t say for sure that writing more this week won’t turn very philosophical and introspective again, but I can’t really know that for sure. However, here’s hoping! If you do actually get through all of this to the end, thanks very much for reading! I’ll give you a cookie when I see you, as I probably won’t read this myself ever again, with the possible exception being sometime in the distant future when I’m an executive in a very successful business doing great things for myself and for the world!

  • Typing into the future

    Typing into the future

    Hey everybody, this is a test blog post which is also sort of a product review. It has been a while since I last wrote, and so as to not give the indication that I’ve given up on blogging, I thought I’d write a little something here. I recently sold my laptop, which was instrumental in writing my thesis as it allowed me the freedom to move around and get comfortable to write, and allowed me the structure and formatting capabilities of Microsoft Word. However, in the time since I finished the major writing portion of that, I’ve found myself using that particular piece of equipment much less than I otherwise would. Since I already had an iPad, I found myself reaching for that almost every single time I wanted to do a particular task in computing. Also, since my iPad has a longer battery life and is extremely small and light, it just made sense that if I was keeping one thing, it should be that. There was one small caveat to this decision though, and it was evident while I was making it. If I decided to go without a laptop, if I wanted to type while being majorly mobile, I would have to make due with typing on the screen keyboard of the iPad. While I have never had as much of a problem with this as other people, typing out longer things presents a two-fold problem. Firstly, the screen is virtual and so you must be paying rapt attention to the position of your hands at all times. Secondly, since the keyboard is on the screen, you must necessarily lose some screen space in order to type with it. When typing shorter messages, or replying to emails, or performing searches this was perfectly fine and actually quite convenient. No extra space for a keyboard was required, and the addition of a split keyboard when typing with thumbs in iOS 5 was a further excellent step and is something I use quite often. However, I do still enjoy writing longer documents and in these cases having some kind of keyboard is quite useful. I do not see any reason, though, to broadly state that a permanent physical keyboard is an effective use of space or mechanical function. There is no reason in the age of low power bluetooth devices, for any two pieces of equipment to be connected, unless there is a shortage of electrical power. For the time being at least, I don’t consider myself to be lacking electricity in any way, and so this is not important to me. What I do realize is the next huge shift in computing, however, is the incorporation of touch into all of our devices. The idea of using a laptop trackpad to navigate our screens is just as laughable as the idea of using our hands on a mouse, if not more so. There is so much more our hands are capable of than using such an implement to manipulate objects on a computer screen. Personally, with about an hours use of a keyboard with no trackpad on my iPad, I will very likely never buy a computer with a trackpad on it again. If I do, the screen with still be touch (Dell is selling these true laptops with high-resolution 15″ touch screens right now for about $100 more than non-touch screens). This is most likely a move by Dell to test the waters of such devices to precede the launch of Windows 8, which is in development right now and can be tested out at Microsoft Developers’ Website. I have also put this operating system to the test, and it is very touch based. With that in mind, the launch in 2012 of this new touch-centric operating system will probably be joined with several different makers releasing touch laptops and tablets of their own running Windows 8. Presumably Dell is simply testing the waters with this launch and nothing will come of it, but I honestly believe that touch is the future, and that using a mouse on the computer will be phased out in the next few years.

    Now, on to the actual topic at hand, now that I have written about its virtues. The keyboard and case which I bought is made by Belkin, a well-known iDevice case and accessory maker, and is called the Folio Case with Keyboard for iPad 2. It retails for $99 on the Belkin website, and I found it for $95 on Amazon. I am so far very impressed with it, and if you are interested in purchasing an iPad instead of a laptop but still want a keyboard, this works quite nicely. The only slight downsides I have found with it, which may not be a problem for non-power users, is that making custom commands which are not available would be nice. For one, I would very much like to be able to use multitasking via shortcut rather than either using the home button it has built in, or using gestures on the screen. Other than that, most every typical iPad function is considered here, and the case itself is very compact and protects both the keyboard and pad from anything external, as well as keeping them separate so as not to scratch the screen. I can’t comment of yet as to the battery life of the keyboard, which charges via USB, but keyboards tend to be very low power so I expect a full day or two of battery even during a day of typing. It should be noted that this whole assemblage takes up no more space than would a MacBook Air, and is quite a bit cheaper than that, with a longer battery. I hope this has helped those of you in this market, and that you will be enlightened to what I think is really the future of not just mobile computing, but computing in general! Thanks, and I hope to get back to you all very soon!

  • In a Blink

    Hey again everybody,

    There has been plenty of discussion about Steve Jobs in the last day or so and in the interest of not duplicating the thousands of articles and memorials I would like to talk about a somewhat related but personal take on my feelings in the last day.

    These sentiments have presented themselves fairly often recently for me, with finishing up my masters degree very soon and figuring out how to start my adult life, I’ve been able to reflect on the many changes coming to my lifestyle in the months to come.  In recent weeks I have come to the realization that I am 23 years old now. This seems obvious, but it’s actually something that hasn’t really occurred to me in a while.  Considering that the odds of my living past 90 are extremely slim, this means I’ve made it a quarter of the way through my life.  Looking back at what I’ve accomplished so far does make me quite proud of how far I’ve come, but I have also come to realize that I have many ideas as for what to do with my life, but have executed very little of the overall plan.  From the time I was quite young, it was always expected that I go to university, and since I loved learning so much it seemed like an obvious choice.  I will always enjoy learning, and if I was given the choice of perfect career for me now it would be incredible to go to medical school or become an astronaut, though neither of those are really realistic choices.

    I have always thought this, through all of my schooling and any time in life. I was always pretty sure I could go out and get whatever I wanted if I worked hard enough, but you cannot just go out into the world with no reputation and be hired or start your dream job.  People need to know what you are capable of before they decide to trust you to make decisions on your own.  It would be incredible to work at a company like Microsoft or Apple and I’m sure I could do an excellent job there, but just wanting it isn’t good enough, no matter how hard you work.  Actual achievement takes more than that.  I have been told that I’m a fairly good writer, and in every endeavour I do my best to be the real me, which means that I always have to consider my impression on people.

    Many, many people are extremely self-conscious, and I am not going to try to pretend that I’m not exactly the same as them, but I do approach situations differently than most people would.  I make mistakes like the next person, but I live with the mindset that if I am the real me all the time, I can still earn people’s respect for it.  Nobody is perfect, and anybody who tries too hard to be will often be disappointed in themselves.  I know that I can’t always give everything my best shot, there will be situations where I will be lazy, or make a bad decision which will wind up costing me opportunity.  I refuse to dwell on these decisions and their consequences, instead dealing with the problems which come from them and ending up a stronger person for it.

    In the last year or so, I have set myself down a path which has been the result of some of these decisions.  For example, I am trying to learn computer programming, and have been for almost a year now.  When I first took the plunge I still had a fairly good understanding computers, both in how they work and how to use them to their full potential.  The main problem I have is that I keep trying to learn, because this is what I was trained by almost 20 years of education to do.  What I have so far failed to do is actually apply this knowledge to solve my own problems.  Since computers have been around for a few decades now, a lot of the hard work in programming is already done.  What remains makes it quite easy for newcomers to essentially pick up lego bricks and start building.  However, I have so far been unable to actually use these pieces to create something new, instead ending up using what other people have done for my benefit.  It is very difficult for me to comprehend why I have been unsuccessful so far, but I do intend to keep trying.

    Another important point about adult life is the idea that as I am aging, everybody around me is also aging.  While this is extremely obvious when you have been away from your family and friends (as I have) for almost a year, gradual changes in people you seem on a regular basis are very hard to detect.  Many people I am friends with who I met in university are now full-fledged professional adults.  This happened quite gradually, for example I knew when people were graduating but it never really occurred to me that this meant that they were no longer in school and were finding jobs and careers.  I realize in talking to these people now that many things I take for granted no longer apply to them (such as student bus passes, student cell phone plans, etc.).  The thought of joining this world baffles and terrifies me, but it is also kind of exciting.  I know that nobody in the world is sitting watching my progress ready to offer me a job the second I finish school and I could continue on the same path I’m on unemployed and eventually either find a job or descend into hobodom.  I wouldn’t really like to be homeless, but at the same time I don’t intend to make a career out of something I don’t really love.  What I really need to do is get out of the mindset that I am a student with no direction in life, and go find a compass.  I will never be found if nobody out there is looking for me.  Now that I am on the verge of finishing school, I very much need to find myself something new to try and really dedicate myself to it.  Only then will I find what I’m really meant to do.

    If you haven’t seen the video of Steve Jobs giving the 2005 commencement address at Stanford, I highly recommend it.  Beautiful, moving stuff.  I guess I have a lot to think about.

  • Multi (hold-on) tasking

    After over a decade of using Windows-based PC systems (ranging from Windows 95 through the developer version of Windows 8) and two years of iPod Touch and iPhone operating systems, I have learned quite a few things about how computers work. However, that is not what I intend to talk about today. What I want to discuss today is what I’ve come to realize about modern computers systems and what we can learn about ourselves when it comes to these systems.  In the early days of computing, DOS and UNIX systems were based on text entry, and these only allowed one program to run at a time, due to limited resources.  These were days before computer games had amazing graphics and before internet video became possible because you had to dial into the internet.  At this time, you could only realistically do one thing at a time, and it was fairly easy to focus on one thing at a time.

    Sometime in the late 90s, a drastic change was made to systems like Mac OS X and Windows 95/98 which featured graphical interfaces and windows which contained much more interactive programs featuring menus and a variety of options within the program.  Under this paradigm, you can use several programs all at the same time, which leads to the ability to play music, surf the internet and play a game all at the same time.  This new idea brought about a major change in the way people get work done, because it enables easy copying and pasting of information between programs.  However, not everything about the way this works is good news.  With the ability to perform multiple tasks across multiple programs simultaneously comes the ability to be very easily distracted.  In more and more modern computers, and with modern operating systems, this ability to do more has become even easier.  In using Windows Vista and 7,  and the various incarnations of Mac OS X, is it very easy to get lost in a multitude of programs and lose sight of any work or task at hand.

    I have found that this is also true with cell phones and with internet enabled televisions.  Basically if you can do multiple things on any one device at once, you get lost in a limbo wherein you can only half-heartedly focus on either one but you lose sight of both.  For example, when participating in conversations with people, it is possible to fully invest yourself in the conversation, but if any or all of the individuals have cell phones or laptops with them, it is easy for the whole group to fall into a pattern of texting, checking email or reading and lose the conversation.  Now, while this is certainly an effect of these devices, this isn’t necessarily a horrible thing. In fact, it can be beneficial to have one or more internet enabled devices when in conversation as it quickly clears up informational gaps and settles disputes (this was actually where the original idea for the Guinness book of records came from).  The problem I have discovered with this happening too often is that you actually tend to lose sight of the task at hand when several tasks are presented to you. With a conversation in person and via text going on at the same time, it is very difficult to separate the two and focus on each. When watching TV while on a laptop, it is very difficult to pay full attention to the show, and it is a very different experience.  One of the major points made by iPad detractors is that it is not capable of true multi-tasking, although that is actually not really true.  The reality is, the iPad is simply not going to show you the content of more than one app at any given time.  It will notify you of something happening elsewhere on the device, but that is all that will happen.  Some say this lessens the overall experience, but allow me to make a different point.

    I find time and time again, when watching a television show on the iPad, I tend to pay more attention to it, even if I’m chatting on it, because of this single-task functionality.  When something happens, I can choose to ignore it, or I can leave what I was watching behind, reply to the message, and then return to the video and restart it.  While this seems like a hassle, it allows for real enjoyment of the video, and actually lets me multitask less (spending more time focusing on the task at hand). The same is true of Mac OS X Lion and Windows 8; I can focus on tasks in full screen mode, blocking everything else out and replying or doing other tasks on my own schedule, I don’t give myself extra excuses to stop working.  I sincerely do hope the computing world continues in this direction, we will all be much more productive if that is the case, especially because switching between tasks endlessly is what allows us to spend so much time procrastinating.  Maybe only doing one thing at a time isn’t the worst thing ever.

  • What’s happening?

    Hey again everybody!

    First, I thought it would be nice to get a few details out of the way before I actually get to anything. I have finished my masters thesis and finally submitted it yesterday! This document took a lot of work and I’m really proud of the way it turned out. I don’t actually hear anything for about a month but I’ve got my fingers crossed. I’m hoping that with finishing that work I’ll be able to blog move avidly, at least until I find something to do with my life. That being said, if anybody is hiring I’d be glad to hear from you or have your information passed on to me. Secondly, my backspace key broke off my laptop last week, which is really annoying, and since I only have return to depot service from dell, I’ll be testing out blogging exclusively on the iPad with no external keyboard, so we’ll see how that goes. Doesn’t seem to be slowing me down so far, but I’ve had a few months to practice. Another important thing I’d like to mention is that there are a few people/groups of people I know who have become seriously neglected in the last couple of months, since I really started working at a frantic pace trying to finish my thesis. I’m really hoping that I can take the time in the coming weeks to right this terrible injustice to these people, starting today. Alright, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to business.

    The last 3 weeks or so were quite a haze of writing, editing, and formatting (and I have developed strong feelings for the Oxford comma) but this does not mean I stopped living in the future. Try as I might to focus on my thesis (and seminar presentation) for that time, lots of awesome developments have happened in my world since I last wrote a regular blog post. For example, since the windows 8 developer preview came out (yes, it’s good and it’s available for free) I installed it on my desktop computer to test it out and see if it’s worth the hype (it is). Even though this operating system is probably at least a year away from public release and sale, it’s incredibly fast and responsive, and the ‘Metro’ apps which showcase it’s potential (these come preinstalled on the preview) are really beautiful and leave me very hopeful about the success of the app platform. Also, I have been quietly in disbelief of how much Google Chrome gets weighed down by the 50 or so extensions I’ve installed on it, this problem somehow doesn’t seem to translate into the windows 8 process. Chrome with extensions runs unbelievably fast on 8, and has led me to use it almost exclusively (though the thought of reinstalling apps like word keeps me from using it alone). Perhaps with this new time in my hands I’ll be able to get everything running.

    Secondly, iOS 5, the next generation of apples mobile operating system, is nearing completion. Since it is in beta, I decided I would test it out (living in the future after all). I have been running iOS5 (scheduled for public release on October 4) on my phone and tablet for the last several weeks, and it is just awesome, and a huge step forward. Im planning on detailing what you can expect in a post soon, so keep your eyes open for that! Be excited for October 4 as well, since a new iPhone is looking very likely for that date.

    In addition to this, something minor in the world of people with more than one computer in the house. Microsofts home grown developer community (called Microsoft garage) is a group which builds applications which focus on smaller improvements to the Microsoft environment. Last week they released a project in the world called mouse without borders. This project aims to connect all computers on a network by allowing any peripherals (mice and keyboards) on any other computer simply by moving the mouse off the computers screen itself and onto the desired computer (as is done on computers with multiple monitors). This allows for control of any computer in your immediate area (once the program is installed and password set up) using any mouse or keyboard. Finally, the best feature of this is that the clipboard is shared between computers, and file transfer from computer to computer is as simple as dragging and dropping. It is worth trying out, I guarantee you’ll use it more than you think!

    I may write more today (I have a lot of topics saved up) so I’ll stop here for now, but I hope I can convince you that I’m going to breathe some life into this blog starting today!

    Thanks for reading!

  • 5 Years in the Life (AKA my thesis’s acknowledgements section)

    I have posted below, my complete, unedited acknowledgements section which I plan to submit with my thesis.  I really would like to send a heartfelt thank you to these people as well as any others I’ve forgotten or didn’t include for one reason or another (though that seems hard to believe).  If you have any corrections, additions, comments, discussions, or anything else of this nature (I would be extremely against taking anything out, unless someone has a very good reason) I would love to hear about them in the comments section below, or on any number of other public fora.  If you would rather make a private comment for whatever reason, I believe there are several appropriate avenues for doing so.  I really do want everyone to hear the things on the pages below, so do feel free to tell people I have mentioned about this (as I have something like 35 friends on Facebook) and many more people who are mentioned here are not among those 35.  The facebook/twitter/google+ post and this blog are public domain, and so I hope those of you reading this feel inclined to share it.  Thanks! Enjoy! 
                The first sentence of an acknowledgments section is
    almost always the hardest to write. That being said, hopefully this won’t take
    up too much of your time. I am, of course, referring only to this section; in
    the chapters following it you may find yourself lost and confused, but do not
    fret.  After 5 years of
    magical, er, I mean scientific training, you too could find yourself on the
    precipice of completing a master’s degree in Chemistry, looking over the edge
    into the gaping maw of ‘real life’. Since I never got a chance to free-write
    about my undergraduate studies, and since the cast of that freak-show has many
    of the same characters as its post-baccalaureate reincarnation, I plan to
    combine some thanks.

    I can only hope that the next five years of my
    life will be anywhere near as fun as the past five. First and foremost, I would
    like to thank the University of Ottawa. Just over half a decade ago, you were
    just a fancy pamphlet which had found itself atop a pile of brochures compiled
    in a hasty trip to a high school out-of-province university fair. Less than a
    year after that fair, I was on the marble staircase outside Tabaret Hall,
    wondering to myself why it was called that.  Also, I was looking for my dad,
    because I was alone for the first time in a new province a four hour flight
    from anyone I knew, and I was pretty scared.  The university, as well as the city of
    Ottawa, much to my delight, turned out to be a beautiful, engaging, wonderful
    place to spend the span of two University degrees (and perhaps more, but I’ll
    get to that later).  While
    many friends I had in Calgary were cast asunder by my new life, this city held
    many surprises. 
    The first of these was my first non-familial
    roommate and definitely most exotic friend, Carl. You have motivated me to do
    so much better for myself than I ever thought I could. Between your late-night
    TV lullabies, your beautiful and powerful subwoofer and your ridiculous
    Weetabix addiction, I could fill a long-running TV series worth of plotlines
    with our enterprises and adventures.  Also,
    I’m fairly certain that I would’ve failed BCH 2333 if you hadn’t made me
    memorize that entire textbook (and I certainly wasn’t going to buy that
    massive, $200 tome; I hope it’s keeping a large section of a bookshelf of yours
    somewhere free from dust), but that being said I’m certain there are some labs
    you wouldn’t have done nearly as well on if it weren’t for my mad scientist
    skillz.  And of course I
    have you to thank for being at least 100x better at basketball than when I
    first picked up a ball as a pasty tall kid who could shoot as well from half
    court as from the foul line (not well) growing up.
    In first and second year I lived in residence,
    and met so many awesome people who graced my life with theirs that I’m almost
    positive I’m going to forget someone crucial.  Kathleen, without you I would just be
    a tub of goo now, thanks for making me enjoy running again.  Also, you still haven’t gotten back to
    me about that beer, rembember? Amaan knows what I’m talking about.  Speaking of the world’s least well
    known Aziz Ansari impersonator/suave brown guy (for those of you not getting
    that reference); you helped make those early chem. classes and labs
    bearable.  I looked to you
    for inspiration when I was made Residence Advisor (haha RA, get it?), just
    kidding you are clearly the superior supervisory being.  Also, I guess I should
    congratulate/thank you for taking care of Erin with me, though the government
    did pay us handsomely for that task.  Oh
    Erin, House and NCIS wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun without you, and
    though both those shows live on (I’m sure in no small part thanks to us) they
    are not quite the same when I watch them alone.  If I see you even half as many times
    as you promise to come to Ottawa in the coming years, I will consider that a
    success.  Also, I never did
    thank you for all that help in dealing with your crazy roommate, but it did
    mean that you got to see me more, so it’s not a total loss.  Josie, we have had some rough times,
    but they weren’t all bad.  Remember
    when you tried to murder my dad with a golf ball?  That was satisfying, wasn’t it?  And you bought me a basketball and
    some bus tickets for Valentine’s Day, that’s incredibly romantic.  You clearly know what you’re doing in
    that department.  I hope
    teaching brings you what you’re looking for, and that your essay writing skills
    will eventually improve beyond my sleepy, middle of the night levels.
    Madison Wayland (nee Darnell), I never knew you.
    I really miss your lesbian haircut and early morning/late night visits, and I
    was very sad to see you leave Ottawa.  Though
    you may never read this, I think I miss time with you more than anybody else I
    don’t see any more.  I still
    get the Majestic and the Illusionist confused because we watched those
    back-to-back, what a dumb idea that was.  We had some good times making those
    rez boards, and I completely ignored what you taught me in completing the
    “Seems Newbee Runz” board as an RA.  Thanks
    for mixing me my first drink ever (though as an aspiring mixologist you should
    know better than to give a rookie drinker 6 shots of spiced rum in less than an
    hour, my bathroom floor was never so comfortable as that night).  I hope to one day see you again.
    .  Jane,
    I think of all the people who have left my life for the time-being, but who I
    certainly expect to see again at some point, you would be my favorite.  We have had so many good times,
    between classes and singing and cooking and middle of the day Skype chats, you
    are one of the coolest people I know.  I
    never did say this, though I probably should have much earlier for the
    record.  I did not make it
    with everybody else to see Thoroughly Modern Millie, though I think you already
    know that.  I think you know
    that it wasn’t at all because I didn’t want to see it, although I don’t
    actually remember what was going on that day instead.  I hope that this platform is adequate
    for giving you my sincerest apologies, and for asking your forgiveness in this
    matter.  Though I did see a
    play with you, I still haven’t seen you perform on stage, which is highly
    troubling.  I consider you
    my oldest friend in Ottawa, simply because you were one of the first people I
    met here, but also because you are awesome and more than worthy of the
    title.  Come back soon!
    Krista, I know you will make something of
    yourself, look me up when you get back from Down Under.  Marc, we had some good times (thanks
    again for a great Flames game), but honestly where are you now?  We all want to know.  Kalie, I knew you as Erin’s roommate
    and not a whole lot more, but you rock.  And
    women’s rugby is clearly the best sport ever.  Kate,
    you were a super awesome RA and I’m still very sad I don’t get to walk down to
    the front desk and see your smiling face, though congratulations on your new
    family and I wish nothing but the best for you in the years to come.  Damien, though we don’t know each
    other as well as I might like, I still consider you my token black friend and
    could listen to you sing all day. Becca, similarly, we really haven’t spent
    much time in each other’s company, but the time we have spent has been
    wonderful, you are one of the nicest, sweetest people I know, and I’m certain
    you will spend many years saving lives and taking care of people with a huge
    smile and a helping hand.  Eric,
    you continue to dazzle me with your amazing abilities with a tennis racket, or
    bass guitar.  Even though
    that piece of paper says you’re an engineer, I will never think of you that
    way.  Matt, calm down, I’ll
    get to you later.
    While everyone I’ve mentioned so far has been an
    influence on me and I feel has contributed at least in small part to my
    completing this degree, no group of people has meant as much to me in the
    achievement of this qualification as who I consider to be the founding members
    of the undergraduate chemistry club.  The
    idea that we couldn’t start a sanctioned club based on drinking every once in a
    while was a bureaucratic lynchpin to the only chance I ever had to participate
    in a university club. 
    Carolyn, though we met in 1st year psychology and you thought I was
    a jerk (which I probably was a little bit), I’m eternally grateful to you for
    all the help you’ve given me the last few years. Whether it was helping study
    for our myriad classes together, or hanging out drinking, or being the only
    sane people in a big room full of Frisbee players, you have always been fun to
    be around. Your awkwardness will continue to fascinate me and make me
    laugh.  You have been around
    to talk to when I’ve been down on life, work and school, and have been ready
    and eager to celebrate and mourn the good times and the bad.  For all of this, and so much more, I
    thank you.
    Nick, you have an awesome beard.  The number of pictures taken of us
    where it looks like we’re making out, or about to make out, would astound even
    people who know us well.  I
    very much appreciate having you around to bounce ideas off of, and our
    discussions about chemistry, women, algorithms, and scientific/technological
    advancements will always be some of my fondest memories of University.  While your devotion to the Maple Leafs
    confuses me to no end, I still love you for it.  When we get our condo with a beer
    fridge in every room and a Subway franchise in the kitchen, I will be a happy
    man.  A manny, manny
    man. 
    Lizzie, you will always be the one that got
    away.  I can tell you
    absolutely anything, and with that freedom comes no apparent
    responsibility.  I’m very
    sorry that I sometimes choose to abuse your nature by creating fictitious
    scenarios to get you to pay attention to me, I can’t help it.  Though we didn’t meet as early as we
    could have in University, I’m very glad some classes here are only reasonable
    offered in English, so that we got to spend the better part of MSSM, and most
    of the time from then until now getting to know each other.  You are awesome to spend time with,
    and though we find ourselves on opposite sides of an opinion more often than
    not, your level-headedness has helped me out in more ways than I’m sure I’m
    aware of. 
    Chantal, I’m really sorry I gave you the
    impression that I was a douche when we were almost neighbours all those years
    ago, I hope you can forgive me for that.  I really enjoyed the time last year
    when we were both incredibly crippled and yet you still took care of me when I
    was what I’m going to call ‘super-crippled’ and hopped up on oxy, I hope I
    wasn’t too much trouble.  Someday
    I really do hope we can go for a run, medicine will catch up!
    Julie, I really enjoyed softball this summer,
    thanks for convincing me to do that.  I’m
    glad you were there through my return to sports, and I hope that in the months
    and years to come that we can continue to become better friends, and that we
    can stop having arguments where we’re both trying to make the same point.
    Switching tacks a little bit, I would like to
    talk for a little while about the importance of family in my life and as
    influences in completing this degree.  Mom
    and dad, it goes without saying that you have had the biggest impact on my life
    up to this point.  Socially,
    emotionally, mentally, genetically, you have always shown me what is right and
    guided me towards who I am today.  You
    deserve the most thanks of all in what I have accomplished so far.  When I was contemplating abandoning my
    schooling for a green pasture in the distance, you convinced me to keep with
    it.  While I haven’t seen
    what effect this will have on my future yet, I am keen to be proven wrong in my
    potentially misguided desire to jump ship.  You
    have been supportive of my every endeavour, and have never allowed me to cede
    to any limitations I might have encountered in my life.  You have always cultivated a home
    environment where I was able to achieve whatever my goals were, and so I have
    been able to grow in ways I perhaps never imagined were possible.  From learning to speak and read
    practically simultaneously, to learning simple calculus in junior high, to
    playing soccer with people 4-5 years older than me and learning to hold my own,
    you have always allowed me to succeed.  Between
    doing my own laundry, cooking meals, cleaning up after myself, you allowed me
    to learn the skills necessary to make it on my own.  Even though I can’t explain my
    research to you with any confidence that you’ve understood, I hope I have made
    you proud.
    Michael, what can I say to you today?  I know that we don’t always agree on
    everything (airplane on a conveyor belt comes to mind), but I have always
    thoroughly enjoyed spending time with you, no matter where we end up. Our
    scientific discussions are always interesting (though not, I’m sure, to people
    around us) and learning to play hockey, tennis, and football (I’m sure I’m
    forgetting others) was a delight.  I
    wish you all the best in life with Maria, and you remain the only people to
    have visited me in Ontario.  I
    am honoured that you chose me as your best man.  For that and many other things I am
    forever grateful, and I look forward to see you again soon!
                Steph, you have grown up SO
    fast.  It always stuns me
    that you’ve managed to always be 2 years younger than me, even though it’s a
    temporal fact.  Though we
    don’t always get along, we will always be friends, and the fighting has really
    gone down quite a bit since we hit puberty.  We also stopped looking as alike as we
    did, which is probably a good thing.  Some
    days I really do wish you lived here, or that I was a little bit closer to home
    so that I could see you more, but I know that you’ll do great on your own!
    Isn’t higher education awesome!? I love you.
                Next, I would like to move on to the
    members of the indomitable Bryce Nation, beginning with the original graduate
    alumnus, Joey Weiss.  Thanks
    for your thesis as a formatting guide for mine, and especially thanks for
    making me feel less awkward at conferences by sitting with me and not feeling
    obliged to go and mingle all the time.  Fred,
    your constant fascination with NMR continues to be an inspiration to those who
    feel like they have lost their way, and I’m sure someday you will find a metal
    song I can endure for longer than you’re around to make me listen.  Kevin, I love listening to your
    stories, and it has been great getting to know you the last year.  We need to plan many more Bryce Lab
    trips/outings, even when I’m gone.  Jaz,
    it has also been really great becoming your friend since your return from
    Paris, and I appreciate your filling Liz’s vacancy as my awesome female friend
    in the lab.  I always know
    if I’m bored that you’re there to distract me (in case Dave is reading this, in
    which case get back to work!) and I appreciate that.  I know it’s intimidating considering
    being in the office with Kev and Fred once Becky and Cory leave, but they’re
    good guys, I’m sure it won’t be so bad!  Whose
    poster got 2nd place
    at CSC 2011? I rest my case.  Jess,
    while your time in the lab was short-lived, I wouldn’t be where I am today if
    it wasn’t for our many days spent loudly singing in the lab, and I know I’m a
    better performer now because of that.  I
    wish you all the best in your academic as well as musical endeavours.  Becky and Cory, of all of the grad
    students, in all of the labs, in all of Marion and D’Iorio, you two stand
    alone.  While I didn’t spend
    very much time with either of you, probably mostly due to my insistence on
    keeping my awesome desk in the lab, I am extremely appreciative of all the help
    you’ve given me over the years.  There
    was never a problem of mine that one of you couldn’t solve (except NQR) and my
    experiments would not have been nearly as successful without such great NMR
    role models in the lab. 
                Finally, I would like to thank Dr.
    Dave Bryce, the supervisor to rule all supervisors.  If not for the opportunity you gave me
    at the end of 3rd year
    to work for the summer in your lab, I would certainly be a very different
    person today.  All of your
    guidance and assistance with my projects and schooling were essential to my
    success as both an undergraduate and graduate student.  When I was considering leaving grad
    school, you convinced me that should stick with it and finish what I started,
    and it’s for that reason that I’m writing these words today.  Your insistence on celebrating
    achievements and milestones is a huge part of what makes you great, and if I am
    ever given the opportunity to advise or counsel those a few rungs behind me on
    any ladder, I will be sure to pay your debt forward in kind.  Since joining your group, I have
    really come to appreciate a good, strong beer and I have also learned that
    being thorough in every aspect of life will pay off in the end.  I cannot thank you enough for all of
    your kindness and advice, try as I might to put that gratitude into
    words.  I challenge anyone
    to find a better, more caring supervisor than Dave. 
                There were also a few other people
    worth mentioning who have helped with some of the actual hard work which has
    gone into this thesis.  Ilia
    Korobkov deserves my thanks for performing x-ray crystallography on the two
    compounds mentioned in this thesis, as well as putting up with my rather hectic
    schedule whenever my turn in the queue was up. Tara Kell should be recognized
    at least briefly for providing me with powder x-ray training, even though I
    never used it after the training.  Glenn
    Facey was always very helpful with any problems in the NMR department, and for
    his tireless hours keeping up all the NMR instruments at the University. Cheryl
    McDowall, as Glenn’s assistant, kept the nitrogen tanks full at all times, and
    we always seemed to run into one another during these weekly fills.  I’d like to thank Eric Ye and Victor
    Terskikh at the Ultrahigh-Field NMR Facility for Solids (which by the way is
    not a catchy name) for all of their assistance while I was at the facility
    using the 900.  I’d like to
    especially thank Eric for helping me by running a few chlorine-35 MAS spectra
    when I had a very busy day and couldn’t make it to the NRC campus, and then for
    making sure to get them back to me safely with excellent data. 
                I would also very quickly like to
    thank all the students I TAed last year.  Your shining faces provided me with
    some much needed motivation and your excitement about science and learning (and
    having fun in that environment) has renewed my faith in first years, I don’t
    know how I got so lucky to have so many great students.  If any of you ever want to grab a beer
    (you’re all legal by now, right?) let me know!  I never thought that TAing first years
    could be so fun and rewarding.
    Finally, I would like to thank a few people who
    have come into my life more recently than many of those mentioned so far, but
    who still deserve mention for their help with my state of mind as well as for
    listening to my gripes and stories about my research.  Cait (OMal’z), you have provided me
    with so many great things since we met, and have always been quick to boost my
    spirits with your sassiness, and then keep me grounded by turning the sass
    against me.  I appreciate
    it, and I’m glad I can attribute ‘Science Rob’ to you.  I really hope that we can continue to
    become better friends, and we simply must go on a bike ride together
    soon.  I mean how have we
    not?  Sydney, I may not
    fully understand you, but I appreciate your kindness and friendship more than
    you know.  Knowing that you
    are downstairs and always willing to talk is very reassuring, and I look
    forward to much more Workaholics in the future with you.  We need to hang out more than we have
    been of late.  Jacquie, you
    have finally moved back into the neighbourhood and out of Sketchville.  Of course at the exact same time as
    that happens I would crawl into a thesis-y hermit hole for a month, but I look
    forward to spending lots more time with you once this magical adventure is
    over. Harry Potter Marathon anytime you want, I downloaded them all (I mean
    bought, I bought them all).  Now
    that you live nearby again there is no good excuse for not hanging out.  Valery, I cannot in good conscience
    write this without at least mentioning your influence on my master’s
    experience.  Thanks for spending
    time with me while I was getting accustomed to graduate life, and for keeping
    me grounded while I was trying to figure out how to mark 40 labs a week while
    taking a class and TAing 6 hours a week.  Though we haven’t talked in a while
    now, I haven’t forgotten about you.  I
    sincerely do hope that you’re doing well and hope that someday we’ll see each
    other again, you’re pretty awesome. 
    Julia, I think you have been the most supportive
    of anyone during this degree.  It
    wasn’t always easy, especially coming up to the end of it, when I’m basically
    spending every waking minute thinking about the next part of my thesis which
    needs doing.  It can’t be
    easy, especially being so busy yourself.  You always seem to know what I’m going
    to need or want to feel better, even though it’s kind of cheating that the
    answer is Mike & Ike’s almost every time.  Thanks for putting up with all my
    crazy the last couple of months; I’m sure it wasn’t easy.  Bippity boppity!
    Finally, I think it’s probably important that I
    acknowledge Matthew Staroste, my very good friend and faithful roommate.  Through all my time spent working on
    this project and thesis, working and writing, you have always been around to
    talk to, for a beer, for breakfast, as an open ear to any issue.  You’re my wingman, my confidante, my
    fellow furniture aficionado.  I
    joke around a lot about you, but know that in all seriousness I have so much
    respect for the things you do and who you are.  You may be scrawny and clothes from
    the regular Gap and Gap Kids may not fit you quite right, but you do a lot of
    other things right.  You’ve
    seen me at my best, and you’ve definitely seen me at my worst (man they need to
    make Pabst more expensive…oh wait), but through it all you’ve shown me that
    roommates can be friends.  We
    may not always be happy with one another (and I promise to leave the house more
    in October than I did in September), but living with you is an awesome
    experience. I have to call you my oldest friend overall, nursery buddies for
    life!  And finally, Summer
    of George!! We really lived it up this time.  That is what summer is supposed to
    be. 
    Finally, I’d like to thank Marianas
    Trench.  Yes, they are a
    band, but in the last 2 years or so they have given me so much to think about,
    to sing along with, and to enjoy.  I
    hope to meet you some day, so I can teach you all a little something about
    solid-state NMR.

    Okay,
    so that wasn’t short.  It was actually much longer than I
    expected.  I hope there is
    something in this little novel for everyone, and if I have forgotten to include
    you here, it doesn’t mean that you did not impact my life, I just had a 5000
    word limit.  

  • Social Not-working

    I’m working on my thesis full-time these days, and so I don’t really have time for a long post, but this has been bothering me more and more in recent weeks. Everybody needs to just shut up about everything. Sometimes, things change. Other times, things don’t change. This will continue to happen forever. Facebook and Twitter and Google+ don’t care if you like what they are doing. They are trying to appeal to everyone. And surprise (to people who don’t use Twitter or Google+), they are useful tools for communicating with people. Facebook, so far, has been incredible at connecting us with people we’ve already met, or people who are friends with ours and would, in all likelihood, eventually meet anyhow. But it has been just horrible at connecting us with people who are 6 degrees away from us but with whom we would love to share things. These are the spaces that Twitter and Google+ are slowly taking over, much to Facebook’s chagrin. These recent changes though, while being awesome and a big step, still don’t address that issue. And it’s possible it’s not meant to. Perhaps Facebook is happy just being about you and the people you are close to, and if so then it is exactly where it needs to be. But I think it should be more. It should connect you with people who share your interests. You don’t have to be “friends”, but you should be able to connect with people who live 20 minutes away from you, sit on the bus with you on the way to work or school, and share some of your taste in music or a couple of your hobbies. Right now there is no way for you to connect with these people, because in the digital world we have too much interaction with the people we already know that we don’t have time to connect with people we see on a regular basis but have never interacted with. Maybe this is wishful thinking, and I’m sure people would be in an uproar over privacy concerns if algorithms started matching them with people they think would be cool. Anyhow, this started as a rant and I really feel like finishing with one. People need to stop complaining about new social networks (or new technology, or new ANYTHING) or comparing them to what used to exist or what else is already available. The only important thing is, do you have a need for it? If yes, do you use it in the way you expected you would? If yes, shut up. Just stop talking about it. Facebook is only going to continue to improve, and other social networks will continue to try to allow people to network better in an effort to fix all of our broken, disconnected, digital social lives. I, for one, applaud them for even trying. We’re pretty screwed up.