Emergent

BioBeer!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 07:11:00 +0000

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/21628/

I wish MIT had come up with this. :)

Violation Notice

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:56:00 +0000

http://tech.mit.edu/V128/N43/ranade.html

http://www.photoshelter.com/gallery-show/G00001EXCtEjML7g

Sometimes, I'm really proud to be a student at this school.

And that's all I think I need to say about this, especially on a public forum. This hack speaks for itself.

Any questions, leave 'em in the comments or email me.

One year's perspective

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:30:00 +0000

It's always strange for me to read through the old entries on my blog, because at least to me, they seem very different than the sort of things I post now. I think that's mainly because I've shifted most of my serious thoughts and entries to my admissions blog, so it's really just the random observations (and YouTube videos :D) that get posted here nowadays.

But, still. I almost wish I could go back to last year, when I was simultaneously so excited to head to MIT and Boston yet also incredibly sad to leave South Bend. And I still feel that way, usually, whenever I come back home for a break (like I am now). But I feel much more torn - caught? - between Boston and South Bend than I used to. I think it's partly because many of my friends have also moved on to their respective colleges and new cities, and there's less tying me here than there used to be. After all, while the physical place you live is always important...I can't help but feel that it's the people in that place who really make it home. And now, the vast majority of my friends are also in Boston. (But maybe that too will change, once I graduate - who knows?)

I'm also becoming less dependent, I think (and hope). I relied on my parents for a lot...but, well, part of college is learning to live by yourself, and I love having more freedom. Sometimes I use it less responsibly than I should, to be sure...but I'm working on that. :)

Finally...I think a large part of me simply loves Boston. South Bend is a fantastic city - but it's a small city, and it's incredibly different from Boston. In the physical sense, South Bend is much more stratified than Boston: here are the subdivisions and the residential zones, there are the strip malls and the shopping centers, out there are the factories and the farms...whereas in Boston, everything is mushed together, apartments and bars and stores, Fenway and the Common and Skullhouse all within walking distance, and it's seemingly so random but so beautiful at the same time.

I don't know, yet, if I'm destined to be a Bostonian for the rest of my life. It's far too early to talk about that...but it is an incredibly city, and I'm proud to live there.

And I love being able to call MIT my home.

YouTube Addict

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:26:00 +0000

So at family brunch today, my dad brought up the famous "Barack Roll" that's been all over the intertubes lately...and I was aghast to discover that the rest of my family had absolutely no idea what it was like to be rickrolled.

A problem which I have now corrected. :)

"Sad little king of a sad little hill"

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 23:55:00 +0000

Some of you may know that I am mildly obsessed with the TV show Firefly, which is a fantastic mashup of the sci-fi and Western genres. I've watched the entire series now (some episodes multiple times), but this scene remains one of my favorites. Just thought I'd share. :)

Reflections on a MITblogs Entry

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:50:00 +0000

Ben's Final Farewell

In retrospect, it's fragmented as heck and I nearly cried writing it. But I still think it's one of the most important entries I've written this entire summer. Certainly the most meaningful.

Enjoy your weekend, everybody!

Delicious

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:05:00 +0000

I am currently devouring reheated steak and lobster left over from when my parents and I went out this weekend. Mm, surf and turf. Reminds me of Rush. And of family.

Surprise Visit

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 17:37:00 +0000

I just found out that my parents are coming in to Boston tonight - with tickets for the Red Sox game on Sunday!

I am pumped. :) (Perhaps I will even see Snively there?)

And now, off to my lab to do a little weekend research. Because science, like justice, never sleeps.

Heaven in your mouth

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:14:00 +0000

When you guys get to Boston, you have to experience Dim Sum in Chinatown on a Sunday afternoon. It is heaven in your mouth. Trust me. :)

Social plans

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:17:00 +0000

Wednesday: Firefly at Skullhouse
Thursday: Dennis' birthday party at Ginza in Boston (7 pm)
Friday: Fourth of July! Sleeping in and fireworks

In the meantime, my pet projects currently include continuing to learn LaTeX (with the eventual goal of making a few important documents - my resume, Skullhouse's bylaws - into .tex files), playing around with PostScript and Python, and catching up with summer reading. Not to mention blogging, of course (the third installment of "In Their Words," something about Guildcamp, etc.)

Should be a good week.

Guildcamp

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 03:02:00 +0000

I hereby declare Athens, the game, a success!

What am I talking about, exactly? Full story to follow on the MITblogs shortly. But now...sleep...

(Also, OMG DIABLO III!)

And there were eleven...

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:34:00 +0000

...in all the time I've been on the blogs, this page has never looked so empty.

So strange to think that the blogs Ben created now list him as an "alum." :(

Baseball and I...

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:29:00 +0000

...do not always get along.

For instance, I just confused the White Sox (a Chicago team, quite inferior to the Cubs of course) with the Silver Hawks (South Bend's local team). Oops.

I'm not this nonsensical all the time, really!

SO CUTE

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:59:00 +0000

Watching these videos is what my group is doing instead of writing our game for the Assassin's Guild. More on that later.

Tempus fugit (et frangit)

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:01:00 +0000

I started this blog just over a year ago, now.

Things have changed a lot, since then...in more ways than even I probably realize. I think, though, that most of them are good. :)

Hogwarts, Harvard, and Azkaban...

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:06:00 +0000

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/gallery/hogwarts/

You owe it to yourself to at least read #10.

I'm going to go die of laughter now.

And so the weekend begins...

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Off to Steer Roast.

Should be fun!

RNAi

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:31:00 +0000

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/rnai-0427.html

I love the photo.

WANT

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 09:15:00 +0000

http://xkcd.com/413

Pillow Fight!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 03:00:00 +0000

Going home for spring break means I miss all the fun stuff.

http://picasaweb.google.com/amalwan/PillowFight

Pictures courtesy of Allison '12.

Gary Gygax Memorial Hack

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:58:00 +0000

Possibly my favorite hack yet from this semester.

d20 on Killian Court

Of course, xkcd is always relevant.

This'll be appearing on the blogs shortly, so keep an eye out for that. (Snively's called it, but I just took a few photos of my own for the hack - perhaps he'll be willing to include them in his entry? We'll see.)

On dreams

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:49:00 +0000

In my application to be an MIT blogger, which feels like an age ago now, part of one of my essays read:

"The blogs truly mean something to me. They’re wrapped up part and parcel with why I fell in love with MIT in the first place. After I visited MIT in person for the first time, just over a year ago, the blogs became my lifeline back to Boston. Reading the blogs enabled me to feel like I was still connected to campus—like I was already a part of MIT.

I know that there are a lot of other students like me out there, kids who have only recently heard of MIT but are hungry to know more. I remember what it’s like to be in that position; I remember what it’s like to read the blogs and simply feel something click within yourself, when you realize that MIT is calling you. For me, in the end it always comes back to the students. Whether they’re from the Midwest or the Middle East, I want to make them feel welcome on the admissions site. As a blogger, I want to help them fall in love with MIT, just like I did."

A while ago, someone commented on one of my entries, "I am scared, I have fallen in love with a college to which I haven't even been admitted yet." And you know, that is exactly what happened to me last year. In the end...it worked out. I was admitted, to MIT and to several other schools. I still chose MIT without hesitation.

But I can't wonder...what if I had not been admitted? What if I had been in the position that so many people, some of whom I know and some of whom may even be reading this, now find themselves in? How would I be coping? Would I believe what Stu said in the not-admitted letter, what Matt and Ben have said so eloquently so many times, what I tried to repeat and rephrase yesterday - "Please understand that this is in no way a judgment of you as a student or as a person, since our decision has more to do with the applicant pool than anything else."

It's hard, I think...to listen to advice from someone who has something you dreamed of for so long, but ultimately could not attain. But...it's even harder, I think, for people like Matt and Ben to deny 7 out of every 8 applicant their dream of going to MIT.

Sorry if this isn't necessarily very clear or coherent. But I just had to say that.

Gamers' delight

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 05:23:00 +0000

Starcraft II Zerg Revealed

This basically makes my night. Yes, everyone knew the zerg were going to be the third race; yes, everyone knew they were going to have hydraslisks and mutalisks (not to mention banelings and zerglings and...). It's nothing really new; but it's still exciting to see the official page be updated.

In other news, I have both played Brawl and seen the Brawl hack. Both are even more awesome in real life.

Happy Leap Day

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:19:00 +0000

February 29 - the day that comes once every four years.

Almost as widely anticipated as Pi Day.

Seriously - my advising group and I went out to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory (for free! oh, I do love MIT's free food) a few nights ago, and we actually ended up talking about how all of us were really excited to see what Pi Day at MIT would be like.

Yeah, we're nerds.

Anyway, I have my first 5.12 test in oh, 40 minutes. Who's excited!? (Not me.)

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy orgo. But I am not looking forward to this test.

In other news, it's Friday. :)

Micro-rant*

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 22:19:00 +0000

I was under the impression that MIT professors and course administrators prided themselves on quickly updating their online gradebooks.

So would someone please tell me why my 18.03 grade still isn't online, more than a week after I turned it in?

*Micro-rant = A volatile vilification of a single subject, reported rapidly.

The alliterative definition is mine. Although I was hoping I was the first one to coin the term, a Google search revealed over 1300 hits - alas. Maybe I'll get credit for popularizing it, though. ;)