Life in a Nutshell

Sucks:

1. My laptop broke. Its not a simple hardware issue — the computer won’t even boot to BIOS. I suspect its the motherboard. I dropped it off at Micro Center which is just about a mile away from where I live. The people there were friendly enough, but I don’t suspect they’ll be able to fix the problem cheaply (if at all). I’m slightly miffed that I had to pay $60 upfront just to wait 2-3 days for them to get back to me, but, if they can find a simple way to fix it, I’m all for that. Sadly, this means that my blogging and even my email checking have been crushed as I have had to scrounge up computer time in lab (where I’m typing this as a gel runs), in between classes (in the Science Center computer lab), and on Eric’s computer. It also means I am unable to use my beautiful beautiful LaTeX on my problem sets . Oh woe is me! On the other hand, my attempts to fix the computer resulted in me discovering hard-drive enclosures (so that I can use my laptop’s hard drive as a 100 Gb external if things go to hell) and in me finding some pretty good deals on Lenovo Thinkpads offered through Harvard.
2. Related to #1, but to get to Micro Center, I had three options: beg Cori to take me (b/c she has a car), walk, or bike. The first was unavailable because Cori was busy. The second was not something I wanted to do because a one mile walk in the New England cold is not my idea of a fun way to spend ~30ish minutes. Thankfully, Jen lent me her bike, and while it was freezing and quite dangerous given that it was dark and windy, it was actually quite a bit of fun! So this is the only non-sucky item on the list.
3. My thesis is not going well. My mentor Benjamin tenOever has been very patient and very supportive — but given how busy he’s been and given recruiting last semester and just little lab troubles — I’m not quite sure if I can write ANY coherent thesis at all. I’ve been working harder, but things just aren’t coming out right and I’m starting to lose hope…
4. The weather — you know, I had to say, it was going well for most of winter. Very little snow, relatively warm weather — until yesterday. A massive amount of snow plopped down, and to make things worse, the day was warm enough such that most of it was in puddle form all day. This combined with the rain made it incredibly slippery (leading to my falling twice), made my feet incredibly wet and cold, and made treks outside very crappy. And its made today very cold.
5. Classes – classes are going okay. I keep feeling like I’ve bit off more than I can chew, especially in statistical mechanics where every bit about quantum mechanics (which I did not take) goes completely over my head.

Last Semester…

The classes I’m taking are:

1. Biochemical Sciences 99 – Thesis. Don’t ask (me how it’s going because I’ll get really upset and I) Don’t tell. I just hope to not fail.
2. Historical Studies A-51: The Modern World Economy – The final core class (general requirement) is a class taught by Professor Jeffrey Frieden, who writes the course’s textbook Global Capitalism. The book itself is a fun read, Frieden is a good lecturer, and it was also the class with the fewest readings that I could find in Historical Studies A that I actually wanted to take.
3. Applied Math 111: Introduction to Scientific Computing – Professor Zhiming Kuang is not the best lecturer, but you can tell that he’s a nice guy and that he actually wants to be (a star for effort!). The class, however, seems relatively painless and teaches concepts which are important for me if I want to do mathematical studies that require computation.
4. Statistics 171: Introduction to Stochastic Processes – Professor Sammy Kou is extremely repetitive — meaning its a good class to have in the morning — even if I’m still somewhat groggy or if my attention slips, I won’t miss very much because he really drives the concepts into your brain.The course subject matter is also not particularly difficult , but its useful for trying to understand not only the mathematical biology stuff that I’m interested in but also daily life. The class is not quite as painless as Applied Math 111, but it doesn’t look like it will overwork me.
5. Chemistry 161: Statistical Thermodynamics – Professor Xiaowei Zhuang (wow, I’m really big on the Asian teachers this semester — didn’t notice that) teaches a subject that I have some exposure in but no real formal training. I feel a little out-of-place in the class given that I have not taken Quantum Mechanics (and currently in the midst of a quick perusal of Eric’s quantum textbook), and given that everyone else in the class seems to not only be younger than me but also a whole lot more stressed about the class.

Not the easiest Senior Spring, I’ll admit, but I think I’ll learn a lot.

The Letter X – What is it Good For? Absolutely Nothing!

From the New York Sun:

The letter “X” soon may be banned in Saudi Arabia because it resembles the mother of all banned religious symbols in the oil kingdom: the cross.

Those hard-asses. Who’s leading the fight against Saudi stupidity? Of course, a businessman who’s company has the letter “X” in its name:

Well, never mind that none of the so-called scholars manning the upper ranks of the religious outfit can speak or read a word of English. But their experts who examined the English word “explorer” were struck by how suspicious that “X” appeared. In a kingdom where Friday preachers routinely refer to Christians as pigs and infidel crusaders, even a twisted cross ranks as an abomination.

So after waiting a year, the Saudi businessman, Amru Mohammad Faisal, got his answer: No. But, like so many other Saudi businessmen who suffer from the travesties of the commission, he seemed more baffled than angry. He wrote letters to Saudi newspapers to criticize the cockamamie logic. An article he wrote appeared with his photograph on some Arabian Web sites. It sarcastically invited the commission to expand its edict to the “plus” sign in mathematics and accounting, in order “to prevent filthy Christian conspiracies from infiltrating our thoughts, our beliefs, and our feelings.”

Ahh.. the signs of religious government’s stupidity:

Among the Saudi commission’s deeds is the famed 1974 fatwa — issued by its blind leader at the time, Sheik Abdul Aziz Ben Baz — which declared that the Earth was flat and immobile. In a book issued by the Islamic University of Medina, the sheik argued: “If the earth is rotating, as they claim, the countries, the mountains, the trees, the rivers, and the oceans will have no bottom.” Another bright light of the commission, Sheik Abdel-Aziz al-Sheikh, recently stopped a government reform proposal aimed at creating work for women by allowing them to replace male sales clerks in women’s clothing stores. Sheik al-Sheikh damned the idea, saying it was a step “towards immorality and hellfire.”

The commission also excels at banning the construction of houses of worship — other than mosques — even though the majority of the 8 million expatriates working in the kingdom come from Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist faiths. Indeed, celebrating a private Sunday Mass inside a home could lead to jail, public lashings, and expulsion.

One of the most criminal travesties committed by the commission’s foot soldiers, the Mutawaeen, or religious police, was dramatically reported by the muzzled Saudi press itself on Friday, March 15, 2002, when the Mutawaeen forcibly prevented girls fleeing a burning school from leaving the building because they were “improperly dressed” . . . Of the 800 teenage pupils in Mecca, 15 burned to death and more than 50 were injured. Yet, the commission and its royal enablers thrive.

Ummm… amen?

Justice School

In the midst of choosing classes, pondering my impending “adulthood”, and fretting the lack of data that I can actually write up for my thesis, a strange thought came to mind.

Why don’t they call it Harvard Justice School, instead of Harvard Law School?

Sure, it sounds corny — or, to the comic nerd in each of us (or maybe just me), unbelievably cool — and it sounds strange, but why does it have to be that way? Granted, there are as many lawyer jokes as there are lawyers, and the legal profession is not widely believed to be bastions of morality — but is it not the ultimate purpose of the legal system to uphold justice? Why need we study law? Why don’t we commit ourselves to studying justice?