Howie the dog

As promised, a follow up yesterday's post (read below), here are actual pictures of Howie with mom and siblings:
Howie is the black and white one that looks like a slug (that is, we don't know which is Howie), the litter has three males and one female. Howie is sure to be one of the males.

Howie! Coming to a my house near you

Erin and I are getting a new puppy (not an old one, that wouldn't make sense). Next week we (and maybe you) will be installing a fence in our yard for the puppy (probably going to be named Howie, after the duck). The breed is a Havanese, which looks something like this:

Just kidding. I don't even know who that girl is, but I bet she's tiny. Seriously, a Havanese looks like this:
Kidding again, that's actually MacGuyver. Okay, Havanese:

Which in motion, looks like this:
Of course we won't let Howie grow his hair out like that, we'll keep it short like this:

But Howie will come to us as a puppy, which looks like this:

and in motion, looks like this:

Howie will be black and white. When we get pictures, I'll put them up here. We get full custody in 8 weeks, which is the week of Thanksgiving!

Despite what Erin says, Howie's namesake:
Howard is the one on the right.

Omnivore's 100

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...

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.

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.

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!