Here is a list created by someone who knows food, of the 100 foods that every person should experience (within reason). The game is to bold the ones that you've had, and cross out those that you would never try. Here we go... I think I have a lot of catching up to do...
http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/uncategorised/the-omnivores-hundred/
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
Well so I have a long way to go, but not a bad start for someone who was a picky eater as a child...
Friday, September 5, 2008
Post Quals, I Passed!
So the Quals are over and the grades are in. I didn't do very well, but I didn't expect to given that I had spent so little time studying (only about a week). But, with help, a little imagination, and a pinch of magic, I managed to pass, on the condition that I get my grades up (never heard that before!). Apparently my grades from last year (which were mostly C's) didn't put me in good standing with the department, so I'll have to get a decent grade in Solid State this semester (shouldn't be too hard, it is my only class). Anyway, glad to never have to take the test again... Ever.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
How do you solve a problem like Maria? You start with some good R&D.
After watching the Sound of Music again (I was there!) I have decided to redirect my studies to research on how to solve a problem like Maria. I am currently applying for funding from the NSF on how to catch a cloud and pin it down. Of course the initial research will be on climate control as it pertains to clouds, and also development of an adequate pin. Keeping a wave upon the sand is also proving to be difficult, but I think with the right sand we can make it happen. Of course holding a moonbeam in your hand is quite easy once we've mastered climate control, and also possibly the use of moon rocks and/or laser technology.
Of course solving a problem like Maria doesn't actually solve the Maria problem, but I think it's an important step and the nuns would really appreciate it. It's high time the fields of engineering, science and technology catch up to solve the problems of nuns in Austria.
Of course solving a problem like Maria doesn't actually solve the Maria problem, but I think it's an important step and the nuns would really appreciate it. It's high time the fields of engineering, science and technology catch up to solve the problems of nuns in Austria.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Qualifying Examination (aka, "Quals")
Studying for the Qual. A grueling exam designed to test my knowledge in graduate level theoretical physics (classical mechanics and electromagnetics), quantum mechanics, and thermodynamics. A 5 hour exam that is only 5 questions long. It is also designed to break me. But I won't let it. I'm studying. Studying fun topics like electrostatics, relativity, lorentz transformations, quantum scattering, canonical ensembles, lagrangian dynamics, and perturbation theory. What a treat.
Of course there is the real possibility that I will fail this exam on Friday. I have spent most of the time that I should have been studying, working on research. On the bright side, at least I enjoy my job enough that I'd rather do it than other stuff.
Anyway, that's what I've been doing, and not blogging. Well, mostly the research. I'll blog a bit more about that perhaps when I finish this test... Wish me luck!
Of course there is the real possibility that I will fail this exam on Friday. I have spent most of the time that I should have been studying, working on research. On the bright side, at least I enjoy my job enough that I'd rather do it than other stuff.
Anyway, that's what I've been doing, and not blogging. Well, mostly the research. I'll blog a bit more about that perhaps when I finish this test... Wish me luck!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Detectors. What?
Okay, so I've talked briefly about what I'm working on (LUX dark matter direct detection experiment, if you weren't listening), and I've talked at relative length about dark matter. However, I haven't really described the actual detection process. This is, as you can imagine, rather important. Detectors don't just tell you 'yes, I found what you're looking for!', or 'no, nothing, check back later.' Instead, detectors are extremely complicated devices with extremely complicated signals to interpret. Later I'll talk about the latter (signals), here I'll discuss the former (detector itself).
The art of detection (okay, science), is really a complex collection of different steps. Let's take an example that you're probably familiar with (unless you're reading this in braille): vision. You're eyes are your light detectors. They convert photons of light that enter the eye into electrical signals that your brain (DAQ) interprets. Now, with dark matter, you can't just look at it. Mostly because dark matter is dark and so is invisible to light. But it does interact with the nuclear force (bumps into an atom's nucleus). So when you want to detect something, you have to find a way to interact with it. For LUX, we use a big bucket of liquid xenon, which is a massive nucleus that provides a large target for the dark matter to interact with. When dark matter bumps into a xenon atom it creates a flash of light (the light escapes as the interaction energy). Now, light is something that we can detect. However, the flash of light is so small that we can't see it with our eyes. So now what? We need a quantitative way to detect small amounts of light. With experiments our goal is to turn some interaction evidence (in this case, the light) into an electrical signal that we can record with the DAQ computer. This can then be analyzed. But first, to the problem at hand: turning the light, into an electrical signal. There are several ways that we do this in the physics world. The predominant method is to use something called a photomultiplier tube (PMT). This device has a special piece of metal that, when hit with a photon of light, ejects an electron (this is like billiards, the photon has a lot of energy in it, and when it bumps into the electron, it knocks it right out of the metal, known as a photocathode). This electron is accelerated with a strong electric field into another piece of metal (called a dynode), knocking out more electrons, and so on with several stages of dynodes, each ejecting more electrons. By the time this is all over, one photon that converts into a single electron on one end, becomes over a million electrons on the other end! This signal is easily recorded by a computer. In LUX, we have 120 of these PMTs (60 on the top of the bucket, and 60 on the bottom) so that we catch all of the light that comes out when a dark matter particle (WIMP) interacts with a xenon atom. So in the next issue I'll talk about how we interpret and analyze these 120 signals. Eventually I'll also discuss an alternative to PMTs that I have been working on, known as an Avalanche Photodiode (APD). So now at least, you know a bit about what 'detectors' are and how they work (sort of).
The art of detection (okay, science), is really a complex collection of different steps. Let's take an example that you're probably familiar with (unless you're reading this in braille): vision. You're eyes are your light detectors. They convert photons of light that enter the eye into electrical signals that your brain (DAQ) interprets. Now, with dark matter, you can't just look at it. Mostly because dark matter is dark and so is invisible to light. But it does interact with the nuclear force (bumps into an atom's nucleus). So when you want to detect something, you have to find a way to interact with it. For LUX, we use a big bucket of liquid xenon, which is a massive nucleus that provides a large target for the dark matter to interact with. When dark matter bumps into a xenon atom it creates a flash of light (the light escapes as the interaction energy). Now, light is something that we can detect. However, the flash of light is so small that we can't see it with our eyes. So now what? We need a quantitative way to detect small amounts of light. With experiments our goal is to turn some interaction evidence (in this case, the light) into an electrical signal that we can record with the DAQ computer. This can then be analyzed. But first, to the problem at hand: turning the light, into an electrical signal. There are several ways that we do this in the physics world. The predominant method is to use something called a photomultiplier tube (PMT). This device has a special piece of metal that, when hit with a photon of light, ejects an electron (this is like billiards, the photon has a lot of energy in it, and when it bumps into the electron, it knocks it right out of the metal, known as a photocathode). This electron is accelerated with a strong electric field into another piece of metal (called a dynode), knocking out more electrons, and so on with several stages of dynodes, each ejecting more electrons. By the time this is all over, one photon that converts into a single electron on one end, becomes over a million electrons on the other end! This signal is easily recorded by a computer. In LUX, we have 120 of these PMTs (60 on the top of the bucket, and 60 on the bottom) so that we catch all of the light that comes out when a dark matter particle (WIMP) interacts with a xenon atom. So in the next issue I'll talk about how we interpret and analyze these 120 signals. Eventually I'll also discuss an alternative to PMTs that I have been working on, known as an Avalanche Photodiode (APD). So now at least, you know a bit about what 'detectors' are and how they work (sort of).
Sunday, June 1, 2008
the physics of graduate school
Still in graduate school, I haven't failed out yet! In fact, a few weeks ago I managed to pass my finals and in so doing, finish the six core courses. Now all I need is to pass the Qualifying exam at the end of August and I will officially be a candidate for the Ph.D. No small matter, I also have a lot of actual physics to do this summer. I will be spending a total of three weeks working on the LUX 0.1 detector at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, OH. I'll also be working on the DAQ for the full LUX detector, as well as experiments at Brown with Avalanche Photodiodes. So, it's a busy summer, and as always, it doesn't look as thought it will be letting up anytime soon. Wish me luck, and forgive me for updating infrequently.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Physics? Really?
So I just finished a terrible midterm on Electricity & Magnetism taught by a nice guy but... bad teacher. Awful teacher. I'm so sick of being taught physics by theorists. I get the feeling that if I wanted to be an experimental physicist I should have just gone into engineering.
Along those lines, looking on courses to take for next semester, the options are bleak in physics. Solid State, and Advanced Quantum Mechanics. Solid State would be nice because it can help me get a job, but that's about it. Engineering courses on the other hand, are awesome. Vehicle Design, Photonics, Feedback Controllers, etc. What the hell? Rather than learning really cool things that are real, I'll be learning about Group Theory and the Theory of Representations, which is an entire course dedicated to what happens when you, get this, turn something slightly. Ack.
Along those lines, looking on courses to take for next semester, the options are bleak in physics. Solid State, and Advanced Quantum Mechanics. Solid State would be nice because it can help me get a job, but that's about it. Engineering courses on the other hand, are awesome. Vehicle Design, Photonics, Feedback Controllers, etc. What the hell? Rather than learning really cool things that are real, I'll be learning about Group Theory and the Theory of Representations, which is an entire course dedicated to what happens when you, get this, turn something slightly. Ack.
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