Sunday, July 31, 2005

Para usted

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I made some guacamole tonight.
I got the recipe in mid May from a fellow grocery shopper at Ralphs, she said she wasn't a pro, she likes to add onions and tomatoes and the like to the finely chopped avocado, and oh, she said, it's very important to add lime, which prevents browning.
I make the limiest guacamole around. Fantastic avocadoes, slice very thinly and chop a bit, add a tomato (without the juice, mostly flesh) and squeeze in about half a lime per avocado.
Yum.

Thursday, July 07, 2005

The California Institute of Science

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I am despondent.
In the past years, I have observed - science, research, and the labours thereof. I have discovered no new science. I have built no new machine. I'm more than two-thirds of the way to my PhD.
However, I can now give an expert report on how scientists do what they do.
One difference between Caltech and that other institute of technology: MIT has OpenCourseWare, Caltech does not. Still, I believe that there's only one.caltech more than I believe in God.
I started re-reading Feynman's "The Meaning of it all" yesterday. A central theme of the little book is uncertainty, a core value in science. Science, then, precludes fundamentalism. (Science fundamentalists, for instance, should check their science.)
Some damaged people bombed London today. Their belief matters that much to them.

Friday, June 24, 2005

That special something

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I just caught the last 10 minutes of Oprah, featuring Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
Cute people.
They have that special something that tells you that they haven't "met" each other, and that they're too busy hugging and kissing to address this...
when the perfume fades, the shit will start to stink, and their loveydovey thing will be quite over.
Similarly, most to-be-married people make me nervous.
I don't think I'm jealous.
I do think I should mind my own business.

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Soon

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I'll sell my car
and rearrange my apartment...
then everything will be fine.

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Of course I can't sleep

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I've been obsessed with Money Talk, my new baby.
Coming soon: effort to get people writing (on wikipedia, for instance) about African Literature.
Still thinking about: wikis, blogs, forums, etc as tools for collaborative research.

...the apple on the top of the tree is never too high to achieve
so take an example from Eve - Experiment!
From the Cole Porter song

Saturday, June 04, 2005

Baby

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I've been somber and weepy since yesterday.
I don't know how long this will go on for.

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

The Establishment and the Environment

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I just saw an ad for GE's newly launched Ecomagination intiative.
Last year, Steve Koonin, Caltech physicist, became Chief Scientist at BP.
...I'm rooting for responsible business.

Monday, May 02, 2005

Stairway to Paradise

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I had the most fantastic day yesterday. Full of friends (including some really old friends) and family. It nearly brought tears to my eyes. This whole technology-connectedness is good.

Eight hours later...
Next project: China 101
Also: prepare a fabulous talk for July, one that I would like to listen to, and that connects our work to the big picture of controls research
And (this should be higher on my priority list!): work on our paper and my research

Monday, April 25, 2005

Stairway to the stars

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I just read The Moon Is Down, an enlightening, engaging, short, and unsatisfying novel by John Steinbeck on the futility of war and the pain conquest brings to the conquerors.
Joseph Heller (1923-1999) is my birthday-mate. Maybe I'll re-read Catch-22 in his honour.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Elfriede Jelinek

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I'm looking forward to reading some of her novels, and perhaps watching the movie based on "The Piano teacher."
Four hours later...
I just bought Thomas Friedman's The Lexus and the Olive Tree. I'm not quite ready for his newer (hardcover) work, The World is Flat, to which Charles Vest referred today at his lectures.

Friday, April 08, 2005

My baby just cares for me

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I'm reading a paper about Hilbert's 17th problem, while daydreaming about glorious research breakthroughs, about future travels, the sounds of music, and all-that-jazz.
Yesterday, I watched a mellow Israeli movie titled Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi.
In about six hours, I'll be watching a dance show on campus.
So much is happening, and so much is to happen: friends' parties and dinners and such, SIAM talk, roommate moving, visiting San Diego, family coming over for my sister's graduation, taking brother to see stuff and to buy pastries, Nick's play, friends' graduation, another SIAM talk, movies, reading my stash of seven math books at home, research meetings with Xin and Maryam, candidacy, Christmas, language abroad trip, more reading and writing and research - exciting, eh?

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Tango

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Just got back from lovely San Juan and now I'm studying, preparing for next week's talk.
I just paid over five bucks for the premiere issue of Tango, the magazine about relationships.
Man-on-the-plane on relationships: "you're going to look and look and not find anything, then all of a sudden..."
It's official: I'm looking.

Monday, March 14, 2005

Waiting to Exhale

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My friend, Princess, is in the chorus for a play in Hollywood on the life of Sojourner Truth. I just saw the show. Powerful performances; make me wanna go to church.
And I MET ANGELA BASSETT. Happy me! She was watching the show too. She is beautiful and was very very warm. I want to remember those special moments. aah.
I hung out afterwards with Winston, Princess, Holly, and Anna. Really cool time, I tell ya.

Friday, March 11, 2005

Crooning

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I finally visited my neighbors of six months today (4am - 5am). I was attracted to their fine music wafting through to my apartment. Greek and Ukrainian, they're cool chics who smoke a lot. They played some Italian stuff while I was up there; one was titled Happy Feet and the vocalist was probably Paolo Conte.
I've got a lot of second-hand smoke this week. I don't know how much is harmful...
I'm going back to sleep now.

Thursday, January 13, 2005

I'm so tired

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I wamt to cry. But I'm a freakin' trooper.

(10 hours later)
I wrote "wamt"!
I wonder how many errors I made in all the emails I wrote last night.
Anyway, things are looking up: My baby's trip is over 50% done...Last night, I ate a good pizza and got some good sleep...This morning, I massaged my feet and painted my toes. Now, I'm ready to do it all, baby.