photon's profile
Charge-coupled devices, sleepless nights, and horses (big ponies).
Choices
Still up in the air
Get a Mac Pro (quad core, probably refurbished) and an external monitor. Pro: expandable. Con: Expensive, would need an external monitor. leads over
Get a badass iMac and use external harddrives for extra storage. Pro: cheap. Con: not expandable. (11 days ago)
Just get a Celestrium one. Steel rats are pretty slick. leads over
Get two: Celestrium and Elysium---everyone seems to have a gold rat. (19 days ago)
Be cheap and stick to Facebook and ~/Public. leads over
Sure, spend the money and have an easy place from which to share photos. (1 year ago)
Set in stone
I picked
Drop it like it's hot and continue on as a listener. The final project looks rather difficult.
over
Dude, it's graded P/D/F and you're passing so far, though not by a very large amount. Would look fantastic on fellowship applications and the material is fascinating. (74 days ago)
Dropped. Now I have more time to focus on research.
I picked
Wait until later, maybe get on a ring design committee down the road.
over
Buy now, the design's nice. I can get the class year changed later if I don't graduate in 2012. (60 days ago)
Still wavering. Apparently the next edition will have a redesigned logo for my department, so I'll probably wait until that comes out (boo, waiting another year).
I picked
Dude, Roast.
over
Go! Should be fun. (This means finding someone to go with.) (60 days ago)
Dude. Sleep.
I picked
Northern California, stay with my parents, see some friends, maybe go down to SoCal and go surfing... over
Go somewhere a little more exotic and expensive, say, London (I think I have sufficient miles) or Nicaragua (I have a friend doing Peace Corps there, or I could wait until the next observing run and hardly pay anything for the plane ticket then).
(132 days ago)
Road trip with ~seven friends from NorCal to SoCal and back. Logsitics will be fun!
I picked
Obama
over
Clinton (137 days ago)
Today, we've learned an important lesson...
I picked
Obama
over
Edwards (137 days ago)
Today, we've learned an important lesson...
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Edwards
or
Clinton
(137 days ago)
I would have picked Richardson if I could have. Went with Obama.
I picked
Buy him a nice bottle of scotch or rye and be done with it.
over
Listen to my dry-as-a-bone father and find him something non-alcoholic. This means, though, figuring out what to get my uncle. (197 days ago)
I think kevinr gets the award for "longest doxory comment ever". I'm probably going with burbon...
I picked
Go! $83 for a train ticket to DC isn't too much and if he pays for my flight back to Boston, it'll be awesome!
over
No! I'll miss three classes (though if we left Friday it'd be one class) and there's no way I'd want to explain to my advisor why I'd be gone. (218 days ago)
$74 with an AAA discount. HOLY COW I'M GOING TO DO THIS.
I picked
Go with American and get a ton more miles (it'll put me over 25,000 since July); pay about $204
over
Go with JetBlue, join their millage program; get the inflight entertainment console; pay about $265 (220 days ago)
Went with American. The price dropped four dollars in the last 24 hours, too! I also have four upgrades... hmmm...
I picked
Peabody Essex (haven't been there ether and she'll have a car)
over
Isabel Gardner Museum (neither of us have been) (235 days ago)
Went for a drive up to Salem. What a lovely museum!
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Go to a lecture then to the dinner following it, then go to a going-away party
or
Go to the lecture, punt the dinner, hit the student one acts, then go to the going-away party
(241 days ago)
Punting the lecture and the accompanying dinner to go to dinner with a friend, then heading to the one acts, then going to the going-away party.
I picked
2.5" with an enclosure that doesn't require an AC adapter
over
3.5" with an enclosure that does require an AC adapter (19 days ago)
Advisor bought a 2.5" one that's USB powered. Problem solved!
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Be traditional: bring b00ze.
or
Screw tradition: bring flowers (or something else in comments). (286 days ago)
Wound up punting in favor of Reawakening.
I picked
Mail.app
over
Thunderbird (266 days ago)
It's nice to have off-line copies of my messages when I'm on the road and might as well use the native software.
I decided to do
Something else rather than
awk & sed or
perl
(277 days ago)
Yayay python.
I picked
5.111 - harder, arguably more useful down the road over
3.091 - easier, has a cult following, and I'd have a study buddy
(296 days ago)
I settled on auditing 5.111, for better or for worse.
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Hack it all off and straighten it every day, but risk the impending Jewfro. Suggestions for shorter haircuts would be awesome. or
Spend a lot of money and get it chemically straightened so I can keep it long (yay!) and wear it down without resembling a walking puff ball.
(266 days ago)
Got it cut a lot shorter, which got rid of the damage and made it more inclined to stay straight. The hairdresser blow dried it straight, which was sort of amazing. Wish I could do that every day...
I picked
Keep trying to convince her to hack the mullet aspect of her 'do off. It's really not becoming on her. over
She's almost 62 and her appearance doesn't reflect poorly on you. Let it go.
(310 days ago)
I'm going to keep trying. She's getting it cut by a professional this time and finally understands it looks not so good...
I picked
Stick with not having a middle initial. Pretentious, but easy.
over
Pick a middle initial for publishing. Suggestions? (337 days ago)
I think I'll be middle initial-less for the rest of my life. Yay!
I picked
Carrotcake.
over
Funfetti. (346 days ago)
The Powers That Be went with carrotcake and a tasty chocolate cheesecake with strawberries on top along with some sort of chocolate ganache.
I picked
Go home in California for a week or so, visit a friend who I won't see for at least two years and who lives in Alaska for a week, then fly to Cambridge, missing the wedding. Manage to spend a lot of quality time on the West Coast before selling my soul to New England for ~6 years.
over
Go home for a week or so, then fly to New England for the party and spend the next two weeks catching up with Boston-area friends. (344 days ago)
Flying back to New England on August 22 and hopefully getting a nice vacation in beforehand!
I picked
bash
over
tcsh (353 days ago)
Shame every astronomy professor/postdoc I know uses tcsh. And IDL likes tcsh. At least no one likes IDL.
I picked
Stay up until midnight and get back to "normalcy", but be very tired in the process?
over
Go to bed now and catch up on sleep, but risk getting on a weird schedule? (358 days ago)
A lot of electrolytes later, I'm a much happier camper.
I picked
Hope it'll show up later today or tomorrow and keep bugging them over the phone?
over
Fly to Houston and go to the regional passport office in person. (364 days ago)
Passport, FTW. I decided not to fly to Houston or Denver and try to get one in person, banking on the passport showing up on Saturday. I called my congresswoman who was able to poke around in the bureaucratic nightmare of the State Department and find out where my passport was. Fortunately, the person I'm flying with to Chile lives near DC and was able to go to the DC passport agency in person and recuse my passport from its state of "being processed." I have have my passport, I'm checked in at the airport, and am ready to flee the country in the name of science.
I picked
Just use my Visa card for spending money? over
Exchange dollars for pesos upon arrival?
(362 days ago)
Seems that I'll just be spending money at the airport. There's even a Starbucks there.
I picked
Spend an extra hour or so at a museum, then drive back down? Might as well get cultured while I'm here and hopefully my program won't mind my being gone for a little extra while.
over
Just drive up and back. Two hours of your life listening to XM isn't a waste. (1 year ago)
Wound up getting some groceries and wandering about Albuquerque. Such a cute town.
I picked
Speck SeeThru for 15-inch MacBook Pro over
Tucano Second Skin Microfiber Sleeve
(1 year ago)
Can return it if it doesn't fit.
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Tucano Second Skin Microfiber Sleeve or
Speck SeeThru for 15-inch MacBook Pro (1 year ago)
Reposted.
I picked
Engrave, "I love you mom" on the back.
over
Engraving is silly. Just give it to her blank. (1 year ago)
I picked
Northern route with a stop at Lowell Observatory, then going to Meteor Crater and the Petrified Forest. Tourist traps, for the win.
over
Southern route, visiting Kitt Peak and the Multiple Mirror Telescope. Southern AZ has a very distinct beauty. (1 year ago)
Lowell (with my 'Honk if Pluto is still a planet' sticker), Meteor Crater, Petrified Forest, then northern New Mexico tomorrow. Rock!
I picked
Not glossy.
over
Glossy. (1 year ago)
Whenever I can place the order, I think I'm going with matte.
I picked
Dude, just drive straight from LA to New Mexico. The extra few hundred miles aren't worth it. over
Detour through Nevada and Area 51. Drive on the Extraterrestrial Highway and stay at the Little Al'e'Inn. When else will I be able to do this?
(1 year ago)
Next time, maybe...
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Threadless or
ThinkGeek
(1 year ago)
Maybe I'll make "Vote for Pluto". Unless I'm swamped...
I picked
Sew the size 14 since you've not used this brand of pattern before, but risk it being way too big.
over
Sew the size 10, but risk it being too tiny. (1 year ago)
I decided that because my numbers correspond to a size 14 that I should sew the size 14. It's way too damn big. I'll pin it in for Gala tomorrow night, but it's going to take a significant amount of altering to bring it down to what must be a 10. I had forgotten that these sizes aren't meant for close-fitting garments, but allow for a few inches of room. Oops. Argh.
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Buy a MacBook Pro 15" now and not wait for the fall.
or
Get a bigger external HD and deal with not having my own computer for a while, then see what happens in the fall. (1 year ago)
Apparently I'm getting a MacBook Pro as a graduation present (well, after new ones are released at WWDC). I ordered a big drive off of Newegg today to backup my stuff until it arrives. Here's to large harddrives!
I picked
Trim it over
Dye it
(1 year ago)
Had it trimmed by the woman at the salon I frequent, but couldn't afford highlights. Maybe this summer.
I picked
VPython? over
Wince, cringe, and run screaming?
(1 year ago)
*Easy* 3D graphics. Amazing.
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Ask him for feedback on how it went? The research paper is due Thursday and you don't need him angry at you...
or
Just wait for him to say something? I'll surely run into him plenty of times in the next few days. (1 year ago)
I picked
Go the easy route and leave it in California. When my mom's car dies, let her have the Camry, and maybe in five years when I return to the West Coast it'll still be running. Accept that I'll be carless and a lot more restricted in terms of transportation options. On the plus side, I won't have to deal with people bumming rides all the time and this option costs a lot less.
over
Bring it back (or ship it) to Massachusetts in the fall, pay for insurance, change my license from CA to MA, register it in MA, and just accept the fact that it's going to be expensive and rust in the next five years? I wouldn't have to worry about bumming rides any more, making escaping to Providence or Maine or New York a lot easier. And hey, I'll get to drive, which is something I've missed a lot on this coast. (1 year ago)
I think I'll leave it in CA unless there's a pressing enough reason to have it on the East Coast.
I picked
Find friends and do a team costume, i.e. lemmings. Mimic being blown up. Build stairs. Put arms out and shake head back and forth.
over
Solo costume, i.e. Mario with a 'kart', or Mrs. Peacock from Clue, or Hermione from one of the Harry Potter games, or Mr. Game and Watch... (1 year ago)
There were four of us! We walked into walls and built stairs and blew up and it was fantastic.
I picked
Drive over with a friend and hope *someone* is driving back later tonight or early in the morning and not get soaked in the process? over
Bike in the rain and not worry about relying on others for a ride?
(1 year ago)
Got a ride back with a friend after the Po showed up and busted the party when someone got ill. I'll be up in 5.5 hours! Yay!
I picked
Someplace else that I haven't gone? (Suggestions of where are welcome.) over
Craigie Street Bistro and not worry about the price?
(1 year ago)
Top of the Hub!
I picked
MIT Federal Credit Union. Seems like a good idea.
over
Something else? (1 year ago)
Bank of America is sounding pretty bad. I'll stick with my old bank until the fall then I'll switch to MITFCU.
I picked
Go to Vermont with my roommate from sophomore year, spend Easter with her family, eat her mother's pastries (she runs a bakery), and not worry about work.
over
Stick around for dry runs, even though I'm roving and I've done this before a few times, and generally be "responsible". (1 year ago)
They're apparently out of wood, the thermometer inside is reading 50 F, and there's going to be a ton of snow. "At least it isn't Massachusetts!" (And hey, her family's pretty awesome.)
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Go to Vermont with my roommate from sophomore year for Easter, enjoy her mom's baking (she runs a pastry shop), and not worry about work?
or
Stick around for dry runs and be _responsible_? (1 year ago)
Asked again, with clarifications.
I picked
Try to live at pika, a co-op of mostly MIT undergraduates and tasty vegetarian food for a year then look for more conventional housing?
over
Look for an apartment with recently-graduated friends? (1 year ago)
Pledged as of yesterday!
I picked
Go home, sleep, sail, relax, and spend time with my friends there. over
Stick around an extra week, work a few hours at my on-campus job, crash some of MIT's senior week activities, and watch my MIT friends graduate?
(1 year ago)
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Email them and let them know I'll be in the area during $INTERVAL, that I'd really like to hear back from them, and that I'm still very enthusiastic about attending?
or
Wait it out, knowing they'll likely reject me? (1 year ago)
Called them yesterday--they called me back today and told me no. One less school to worry about.
I picked
MIT
over
UCLA (1 year ago)
I picked
Go to New Mexico for six weeks, teach 17-year-olds, get paid about $4,500 (and have bed and board paid for), then spend the rest of the summer sailing, surfing, and visiting friends before starting graduate school in the fall?
over
Go to Virginia for 12 weeks, deal with intense humidity, make about the same amount of money (but have to pay for an apartment and food), get published in a planetary science journal, and have hardly any time to sail/spend time with friends? (1 year ago)
I picked
Move in with the Davis Scholars (ages 21-60) even further from the center of campus and hopefully avoid general undergraduate ängst?
over
Go back to conventional dormitories and deal with stupid people in bulk? (1 year ago)
I picked
Call them every day until they let me out?
over
Wait patiently to hear back from Housing/ResLife, they are busy, you know. (1 year ago)
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Indian food
or
Red Bones (BBQ)
(2 years ago)
Jesse is *always* right.
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Stick around and hope communication improves (and risk getting ignored)? or
Start looking for new housing options, preferably in Cambridge (and risk missing social aspects of undergraduate life)?
(2 years ago)
Moved into a completely different dorm.
I picked
Send it now: bombs away!
over
Wait for more feedback? (1 year ago)
I picked
Break out that thesaurus, Sondy!
over
"nolition" (2 years ago)
I decided to do
Something else rather than
Hardcore team programming, lots of time at MIT, "employable" experience
or
Less pain to my wrists, less likely to kill partners, no commute (2 years ago)
I picked
Free wireless and the hipster crowd
over
Fewer distractions and no Internet (2 years ago)
I picked
Tasty home-cooked good over
Tasty Indian food
(2 years ago)
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