tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58204972436217386252026-04-05T07:05:09.382-05:00ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.comBlogger232125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-29204623345685505692012-03-23T21:09:00.001-05:002012-03-23T21:09:00.242-05:00

I signed up for a local 10k, to be held in a pretty park. The run was supposed to be on a trail, but with all the rain we've had lately, it actually turned into a mud run!It was unusually challenging and messy, I skid and sled and nearly lost my shoes many times, but I had so much fun! I may have not made great time, but I sure feel like I conquered those muddy hills and want to get some trail

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-24377922845112181462012-03-21T23:05:00.000-05:002012-03-21T23:05:00.836-05:00

I am most definitely the one in the top left corner, except, um, (still) not male.

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-84097213111200223832012-03-19T22:03:00.000-05:002012-03-19T22:03:00.521-05:00

For the past 2 years, I've only traveled a couple of times a year, mostly with Dovie in tow (except for 2 short trips where she either stayed at home with Daddy or got dropped off and acclimated at grandparents).Next month, however, I have 3(!) trips, 4-5 days each, all in one month! And, Dovie is not coming along for any of them since she now needs her own ticket and none of the venues provide

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-56219167804200359282012-03-17T22:59:00.001-05:002012-03-18T14:40:19.448-05:00

When asked how old she is on her 2nd birthday, Dovie replied:Too old. Binky gone. Mouse.(Grandma told her that a mouse took her binky. Hubby and I have been telling her for a few weeks that she is going to be a big girl, two years old, and doesn't need her binky. Apparently, Dovie drew her own conclusions from our inconsistent messages.)

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-64906159119477827752012-03-16T14:41:00.002-05:002012-03-16T14:47:26.206-05:00

"I find this paper very difficult to read. Also, how the algorithm is used is not clear to me." (I have better things to do.)"Hard to quantify this comment, but section Y just feels boring and does not add much insight." (I need some sugar.)"There is not much that is particularly novel or original in this paper, but it does appear to be a solid piece of engineering." (You worked hard,

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-14634192397130079222011-11-14T11:59:00.002-06:002011-11-14T12:20:27.224-06:00

Once again, I find myself at a large conference I try to attend every year because it is an excellent way to keep up with technical acquaintances and personal friends in the field, all the while learning about the current and future research in the field.The meeting also usually points out that I don't exactly blend in. People remember me easily, and I find myself in the "I have no idea who you

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-5193810956039614332011-10-05T23:06:00.005-05:002011-10-05T23:15:43.788-05:00

Farewell, Steve Jobs. You've been and will always remain a role model and an inspiration.Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-28892686588459766382011-09-27T00:09:00.003-05:002011-09-27T00:18:55.491-05:00

... were the first words to come out of the baby monitor this morning. Oh no, my toddler is all grown up! And, she only likes prime numbers!!!Dovie now counts everything. Grapes - one, two, three (while grabbing grape halves from my hand). Pacifiers - one, two (while raising one hand at a time, with a pacifier in each hand). Do you want to jump? - Ooone, twoooo, twoooo haffff... (yep,

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-68063854692422227362011-09-25T22:52:00.007-05:002011-10-03T22:40:03.523-05:00

If you really wanted to find me, I'd suggest first trying the office. And if my door is closed, I may be hiding trying to focus on, you know, work, or I suppose I could be in one of the million meetings I seem to attend these days. Or, you'll find me in the kitchen, attempting to make healthy and yummy food that will soon be thrown on the floor (or scrubbing said floor). Or, I'll be at the

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-29241747762312151812011-09-24T11:22:00.003-05:002011-10-03T00:36:50.676-05:00

I became interested in my general research area as an undergrad, after reading an article on parallel computers. Soon, I was writing a statement of purpose (which is quite laughable when I re-read it now, but I guess the someone liked it), and started grad school.And the rest is history. Well, not really. I am still in grad school, but it is interesting to look at the years past and see how my

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-88182701835289979432011-09-22T23:16:00.004-05:002011-09-22T23:21:43.128-05:00

I had a really good research meeting at work today. The kind where ideas are flowing and dots get connected. The kind that left me feeling like I am doing something really useful and that there are all these exciting avenues for me to explore (now the trouble is keeping butt in chair and exploring them one by one, without throwing oneself in too many directions - not the worst problem to have

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-87085704406511399342011-09-20T23:19:00.002-05:002011-09-20T23:27:04.783-05:00

This keep happening more frequently: someone directs someone else to me to get their questions answered on a number of topics I am dealing with. And, as I give people informative answers or hash out possible solutions with them, they direct others to me when they have questions on these or similar topics. In a sense, I am carving out a niche of topics I am known for knowing, which is actually

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-1434576866074847972011-09-08T23:58:00.002-05:002011-09-09T00:07:38.198-05:00

Most days, I get to play with supercomputers. Of course, there is always a chance of them going down, either for maintenance, to do some really big science runs, or because someone (don't look at me!) found a new way to push the limit.So this afternoon, when a machine I needed went down, I was mildly annoyed. By the time I got home and the machine was still down and there was no notice of why

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-193415794664804532011-08-24T21:43:00.002-05:002011-08-25T09:52:45.685-05:00

The air was thick with fear of bloody war, thirst for independence, and hope for a better life. On the brink of financial and political collapse, the U.S.S.R. was nothing short of a fierce military machine ready to gun down its own people. But the people now had a new trick, "non-violence," and a way to draw the World's eyes to what was happening. Fear of the machine and the unknown was

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-65645545588831879172011-08-19T00:33:00.004-05:002011-08-19T00:43:16.975-05:00

We got some bad news about my Grandmother's health today. She's been checked into a hospital with a serious condition. No prognosis yet, but we are told all outcomes are possible. Which just puts a knot in my throat when thinking of a frail 80-year-old woman half-way across the world, whom I haven't seen in 2 years and Dovie has never met. I've heard successful people say that their biggest

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-25054882077674056532011-08-12T00:03:00.004-05:002011-08-12T00:15:19.079-05:00

I have a paper deadline coming up, and I am having a really hard time fitting into my page limit. I am realizing that this paper might be carrying too much information, but at least (in my humble opinion) all of the information is useful and necessary to understand what I am doing, and it just is not one of those dinky LPU's which go on and on about something and leave the reader with little

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-26080407884728591182011-07-18T20:40:00.000-05:002011-07-18T20:41:51.202-05:00

You go girls! W00t!First-Place Sweep by American Girls at First Google Science Fair

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-29464461232640029802011-06-16T23:30:00.001-05:002011-06-16T23:30:01.689-05:00

I've been in quite a bit of pain over the past month+. Enough pain to have scheduled doctor visits and insist on tests. But I am getting the run-around: "We have to do Test 1 before insurance will let us do anything else." "We have to do Test 2 to rule out other problems before we can test the organ that is actually hurting." "Ok, well, now that Test 1 and 2 told us nothing, you can go to the

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-28111830918099633792011-06-15T23:27:00.003-05:002011-06-15T23:27:01.222-05:00

I have noticed a pattern: the more stressed I am, the more likely I am to end up in the beauty department while grocery shopping, aching to get a face cream that will make my skin feel 'dewy' or a body butter for making my skin feel soft. I think its my way of trying to make myself feel better; probably better than looking for sweets yet not really getting to the root of the problem or doing

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-23126177708828950932011-06-13T23:05:00.000-05:002011-06-13T23:05:00.265-05:00

"If we worked in nanoscale paradigm shift we could achieve maximum buzzword density."-- Coworker

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-20076494648907659542011-06-10T00:07:00.000-05:002011-06-10T00:07:00.138-05:00

So, what's the deal with the usage of data/datum? I most frequently see "data" used as both singular and plural, so it sounds reasonable to me. But then an occasional "datum" pops up, and I start to wonder about the correctness of such things.Thoughts, my vast audience?

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-39911411821134098912011-06-08T00:03:00.001-05:002011-06-08T00:04:23.344-05:00

My paper didn't get accepted.I am told to take comfort in the fact that the acceptance rate has dropped well below 20% this year and my paper just barely missed the cut. I suppose if we were playing horseshoes or grenades here, I would. But as is, this is yet again delaying my graduation. Damn it.

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-5614123119334747552011-03-20T20:42:00.003-05:002011-03-20T20:42:00.239-05:00

I have been sick for 3 weeks now and not improving - all the usual cold symptoms plus an explosive cough my husband can recognize from a mile away and my one year old imitates ("How does mommy cough?" - "Cough, cough."). I finally have a doctor's appointment tomorrow; hopefully there are some good drugs they can give me. Although I don't need a doctor to tell me that the reason I am not

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-86199519666118426562011-03-19T14:37:00.002-05:002011-03-19T14:42:19.401-05:00

About a month ago, I was complaining that I didn't have a way to generate a range of data to prove my hypothesis. Then, I figured out how to generate said data, and started trying to figure out how to analyze it correctly. By now, I have disproved my original hypothesis, and am beating my head against the wall until I come up with a better hypothesis. And so the cycle continues.

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5820497243621738625.post-78548380393217182362011-02-04T22:33:00.003-06:002011-02-05T21:09:50.444-06:00

1:30 am - Dovie is up cranky; give her water and rock back to sleep.4:30 am - Dovie is up cranky; send in Hubby.6:30 am - ignore alarm clock.7:00 am - Dovie is up; first blowout/bath. Breakfast/cleanup/caffeine.8:00 am - Hubby leaves for work.8:30 am - discover that Dovie now knows how to work zippers! Pump parts everywhere. Despite protests, confiscate pump bag.9:00 am - finally looking at

ScienceGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.com3