NU crapola

As you may all have heard, there is some crap waste of time CITI ethics something. We have absolutely no idea what it is, but we're expected to complete it and attend some seminar?? I think not.

What happens if we all just do nothing? They're all gonna drop us?

However...

If we must do this, can we make it a group effort?

How about each group complete a module and post the answers somewhere. How many are there anyway?

How's that for ethics.

Our Best Dressed Man

Goddag from Denmark! The Mat Sci dept just must be so dear to my heart because I am seeing look alikes... Like this one...Who does this resemble?

Maybe the hobo look is more common than we think. This guy is practically Jon Emery. Programmer? Is that what you do when you're not doing X-ray stuffS, Jon?

http://www.readwriteweb.com/hack/2010/09/interview-with-richard-clark.php

By the way, how goes it there? What's going on?! How are the new kiddos? Any cuties/hotties?! Someone update! =D

Modern Day Robin Hood

To the Ladies...

I feel so exploited. I was sitting here cleaning my make up brushes so that they'll be fresh and clean for tomorrow's exciting day in Cook. I have this special Sephora Brush Cleaner. The online description reads:

Sephora Brand Daily Brush Cleaner is an anti-bacterial daily brush cleaner designed to quickly remove light traces of makeup between applications. Just spray this purifying formula onto a tissue or directly onto brush bristles, then lightly swipe your powder, blush, eye, and lip brushes across tissue for a fabulous dose of freshness. No rinsing needed!

http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P208011&categoryId=B70#moreInfo

Wow so wonderful! Anti-bacterial formula! Just spray! No rinsing! Well, then I happened to look at my Sephora brush cleaner bottle and after getting past all the French, it says:

Ingredients: less than 5% non-ionic surface agents ALSO alcohol and perfume

First of all, what does non-ionic surface agent really mean? Secondly, that's it?! And how much did this cost? $6 for 2 oz. SIX dollars for TWO ounces!!? How much are those huge glass containers of isopropanol in the lab? Someone please tell me, or not. They make a killing on this stuff. Oh, and did you read the reviews??? 4.5/5 stars! Just take a moment to read them. All these girls are raving about how great this stuff is and oh, it has special chemicals with special anti-bacterial stuff. For example:

This brush cleaner makes cleaning my brushes daily fast and easy. It is a must have in my beauty kit that I dare not be without. The best part is that it contains antibacterial cleansing agents.

I love this, its not just a cleaner but has antibacterial solution in it to so it cleanses from germs in brushes. Its better than MACs brush cleaner & dries quicker!

I love this stuff!! Everytime I use it, it's like I have a brand new brush. I have super sensitive skin and it doesn't bother it. That's totally worth it. The fact that it's not to hard on the wallet is nice as well.

What a great value!

Lol, ok now here's one that comes from someone who knows what's going on:

I like this brush cleaner, I just have issues with paying this much for something I know I can make at home...so if youre more of a buy it girl and not a diy-er this works fine...if youre a college girl and want to spend your money on something else like makeup...find a recipe online. it will work the same, simple.

Despite the college girl comment, she is saying the absolute truth. Here's a quick DIY recipe:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4779487_make-makeup-brush-cleaner.html

Now how much do you think that all costs? Sure, the Sephora cleaner was only $6, but.. it was $6 for 2 ounces!

I realize there's the whole convenience factor and they give you this nice little spray bottle, but it just makes me wonder how much companies really make on all these make up products. There are A LOT of buyers, ready and willing to lay down the plastic for "must-have" beauty products. Obviously, our world is not going to change overnight, so why not capitalize on this? We are smart female scientists. I'm pretty sure we can get a piece of the pie and exploit the less-scientifically-inclined women out there. Just come up with some very basic products, such as this brush cleaner, and then tell the marketing people that there's top secret formulas involved. Yeah?

Conclusion: We should all go work for L'Oréal or Estee Lauder or any others on this list: http://beautifulwithbrains.com/2008/09/02/who-owns-what-in-the-beauty-industry/

Hunter, care to chime in?

Serious Question

What are you supposed to do when an office mate farts?

Laugh? Chuckle? Say "Excuse you"? Cough? Leave the room? Comment? Hold your breath? Fire back with a louder/smellier one? Say "ew gross"? Say "niiice"? Do nothing?

This was just a hypothetical, btw... ;)

My Sincere Apologies

I deeply apologize guys (esp. Lesley). This blog has been on a hiatus, but it is back!

First off, poll results... just normal - people are going/have gone to Europe, home, camping, or they don't take vacations...typical. We grad students are so predictable. *sigh*.

I don't know about the rest of you, but summer's been a kind of odd time for me. I have a lot to do but no pressing deadlines and no advisor around (he thinks he's such a hot shot now that he's been elected to the Academy... psh. whatevs GBO). lol. (don't worry, he won't ever read this...I don't think. and I actually communicate with him a lot. so please don't tell on me.) Anyway...anyone else feel this way? Maybe, maybe not. Nonetheless, summer is such an odd time to be a grad student because you feel like you should be taking a vacation...but you aren't. You feel like you should be at the beach...but (most) of you aren't. You feel like you should be able to sit in your office without shivering! Dude, what is up with the over a/c-ing? This happens inevitably every year. It's blazing hot outside but inside is freezing and really confuses me when I decide what to wear in the morning. Thus begins.... my RANT.

Everyone's got stuff they wanna complain about, so I'm going to add to the stupidity and annoying-ness of the world by starting off on my own rant here. I encourage you all to join in. C'mon, I know you all have things you really wanna say and people you wanna throw rocks at and just have no one to vent to (other than your office mate). So please feel free to use this as an outlet (just keep names out of it).

I'll start off. Things that just REALLY bug me:

• really slow people at coffee hour. I mean, dude, just pick up a brownie and move on! Don't analyze and optimize your perfect coffee hour selection. Just get whatever your gut tells you to get (but don't over indulge. Ugh, bugs me too when people pile on all the goods like there's no tomorrow).
• ghetto people on the bus and el (last week I seriously witnessed a lady who is just like Precious's mom [as in the movie "Precious" - very sad, very emotional, and crazy movie].) Her daughter somehow spilled the Windex in a bag, or the bottle was open already and spilled out, and the mom started yelling at her and complaining how she had to go get new Windex. She kept yelling at her and repeating how she couldn't believe she did that. She then picked up the bag and dumped all the Windex out right there on the floor of the bus. Then of course proceeded to yell at her daughter again. The whole bus was silent, including the bus driver. This mom was crazy.
• this doesn't really bug me, but is interesting. Here's the page for graduate school on the McCormick website: http://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/graduates/index.html Look how old these people look?! Do we look that old? I highly doubt that. Maybe they should choose more representative people to post on the website.
• when people impinge upon your personal space
• so many gosh darn people asking questions in the Business and Management class. Most of the questions are good, but some people just ask questions because they wanna talk.
• along the same lines, people who talk to themselves during class. (haha Minna probably has greater reason to be bugged by this)
• people who can't take No for an answer. When I say No, I mean No!

That's all for now. Just fyi, though, these things don't actually ruin my life or anything, so don't be scared to talk to me or avoid me. =D

Other things on my mind related to grad school:

• That finance Prof was kinda cute! And I got to sit in the front row ;)
• Hm, maybe I shouldn't have made a Skype video call with a collaborator while I was at home, in my PJ's. Maybe I should've brushed my hair. Maybe I should've made my bed better? Maybe I should've covered up my stuffed animals. Uhhhh.....
• Coffee Hours totally get torn down earlier than they used to back in the day. Where does everyone go so quickly? Remember the days when we'd all be out there 'til past 5?
• I wonder if anyone else keeps all their samples in a lunch bag.
• I have no first author papers and this doesn't bother me. Is something wrong with that?
• I can't wait until I live in a place with central a/c
• Why are grad students so extreme? Yeah, they're smart, but some are so odd...=/

Forstar du dansk? Jeg amerikano. Farvel!

where are the posts, kids?

how am i supposed to keep up with your gossip all the way from london if you aren't posting?? jeez.

Life's a Beach!

Come out this Thursday at 12 p.m. to the NU beach. The entrance is just to the left of SPAC. Bring your wildcard!

Just come eat your lunch, throw the disc, or hang out. Cya there!

Summatime!

Dear The Whole Mat Sci Dept,

Please bring your swimsuits to work this week and be prepared for spontaneous Mat Sci Beach breaks either at lunch time or after work.

We should all work on our tans. We are all quite pale! ;) lol.

Thank you.

Signed,

Yours Truly - Steel Girl? Material Girl?

Congrats Class of 2010!

Live coverage of the hooding ceremony: http://mccormick.northwestern.edu/videostream/

We're so proud of you all! Go out there (real world), make us proud, and change the world! =P

Harder

This is unbelievably awesome: "The Tangover" - Harder's best man's "speech"

I have always been a Harder fan. The intensity he maintained during IM sports games was always at a max, but if you are female he'd always always always say "Good job!" no matter what you did. If you are a guy, though, way different story. No getting by him. All in all, he was always suchhh a nice guy, always so encouraging, always so friendly, always so cool and one of those guys that we secretly had crushes on when we were wee little 1st years (in addition to others...). Alas, he is on to bigger and better things like NASA and married life. Congrats! We miss Ernie!

Poll

And the results for "Who's the hottest Prof?"

Prof. RAMILLE SHAH

Not a big surprise.

A far 2nd: Barnett. Not surprising either, esp. with all that sports playing!

Close behind 3rd: Olson and Fine? Really??? You guys are so silly =P

George Cavalry

We are the champions

As requested, the 2010 men's soccer team.

Mustachio

Dear Mr. Mat Sci Undergrad,

Did you know you have an 80's Tom Selleck mustache? Everytime I see you I do a double-take because it is so intriguing. How long have you had it? Do you have to groom it carefully? It looks like you are in the wrong decade. It is awesome!

Yup.

Like I said before, "...It's only natural that you start becoming attracted to the people you see everyday..."

[Refer to http://numatsci.blogspot.com/2010/04/mat-sci-romance.html]

Yep, that's right I'm talking about YOU TWO. ;) It was inevitable that you'd end up on here eventually. Sorry, that's the way the world works. =D

MAT SCI VICTORY!

Congrats to the Men's Soccer Team! Awesome game! We finally got one! You won one for us all, although we all secretly wish we could get a t-shirt for ourselves.

Highlights of the game (I apologize for not giving a live update):
-The Mat Sci Fan Club section
-Mat Sci Domination for almost all of the game
-A lengthy discussion of "good idea"
-Prof. Shull's appearance along with the 2 cuties!
-SLP girl, of course there for Olivier
-many awesome shots, precise passing, and sexy playing by our men
-And last but not least, 2 totally awesome goals, 1st one by ___, a slow roller, and 2nd one by Wei, headed in by the other team and well out of reach.

GREAT JOB GUYS! Pictures and possibly video may be posted soon (DCarvy?).

GARDEN PARTY

After a winter of dormancy, we are ready to kick off the 2010 Plant it Purple Graduate Gardens!

We hope everyone can join us to start this year off, this Friday, June 4th at 4pm in the Tech courtyard.

Get ready to get a bit dirty! Take the chance to leave the lab or the office and get some sun, meet other students, faculty and staff, and eat some pizza. Make sure to spread the word and bring your friends, coworkers, and families. Please feel free to pass this message on to other listservs. Hope to see everyone there!

What Dreams May Come

Finals Week is coming up. What a stressful time, right? Oh wait, we don't have classes anymore! I can't even remember those days. To all you First/Second Years, good luck. You won't need it because your grades don't matter. lol.

Since we older people don't have classes anymore, I thought this would be an appropriate time to segue into the topic of dreams. Here's something I wrote awhile ago but didn't yet post, but now is the perfect time - esp. with all these tests coming up...

Last week I had a dream with a mat sci professor. Professor Hersam, to be exact. Now don't start getting the wrong idea...my office is right next door to his and I can hear his conversations at times through the connecting door, so it's natural that I see him a lot and of course there's a good probability he'll pop up in my dreams, right? Anyway, this isn't the first time I've had dreams with mat sci profs (don't ask about the others), but this one was particularly scary. In my dream, for some reason, qualified persons had to take another upper level quantum mechanics class...and I'm not talking 404 or 451 here. I'm talking crazy stuff, stuff that I can't even make up in my dreams because it is beyond human comprehension. So I'm sitting there, the test is about to begin, and we're all expected to take this test. No preparation, no cheat sheet, no nothing. I freak out and keep telling people that I am done with classes, I am qualified, I shouldn't have to deal with this nonsense anymore. But no one is listening to me! Ahhhh!!! And then I wake up...

...Sorry, not the best of dreams, but for everyone who is freaking out, don't. They'll most likely let you continue with this grad school thing. And for those of you who are already qualified, hope you don't have a dream like this ever. It's gotta be one of the worst feelings. Can you imagine having to take a class over, esp. Hersam's class?! Gasp! And finally, this brings up the question, Have you had any dreams with profs/mat sci people? Please do tell!!! =D

DON'T FAIL US

Men's Soccer Finals.

TODAY, 8 P.M.

Dillo Day

Dillo Day is this Saturday. For anyone who doesn't know what Dillo Day is, it is basically the one day of the year where NU parties like a state school. Drunken undergrads will be all over the campus area and the cops don't really do much (as long as you leave the alcohol inside). There is of course also a concert, but that's only part of what makes Dillo Day great. There used to be other such ridiculous events such as Porn in Tech, where they showed ridiculous pornos in the Ryan Auditorium. Large crowds of both guys and girls would go to laugh and shout at the screen. Unfortunately, that has been canceled because somebody apparently got offended. It was clearly called Porn in Tech, so if they were offended by Porn then they shouldn't have attended! But all that's besides the point. Do try to enjoy yourself: it's always better to be one of the revelers than to be in lab annoyed by all the revelers around. My advice to any noobs would be to pace yourself and try to be in control when you're at the Lakefill. Especially don't act extra drunken in front of paramedics, that can have negative consequences... There will be a party at Ian's for anyone who doesn't already know.

McCormick Art Fair

It's today! Please come out to the Tech courtyard between 4-7 p.m. I think there are many Mat Sci students involved (possibly one from yours truly =D ).

Food and non-kiddie drinks, too!

Congrats!

Congrats, Mr. Jon Emery for being voted best dressed as a bum. It obviously shows. Please take a few moments to comment on your thought process concerning your wardrobe, Jon. And if anyone else would like to comment on why they chose Jon as the winner, please do tell.

Sorry, Bryce, all your hard work has been in vein. =P Your 9 votes pale in comparison to Jon's 21.

*EDIT: Make sure to read Jon's acceptance speech in the comments section...*

Kudos and a Philosophy

I like the Hilliard Symposium because, although it's difficult to give a good picture of your research in a 15 minute presentation, it is a good means for getting a glimpse of our department's research. Very impressive, guys! Even for me, the "Woman of Steel" who is only interested in metals, I was very intrigued and actually excited to learn about all the really cool stuff that our own classmates are doing.

Congrats to Mr. Almost Dr. Eric! The department better get that check to you..or else...!

During lunch I had the opportunity to sit with Prof. Lauhon. I asked him at what point did he know that he wanted to be a professor and how that came about. He said that he didn't always know, and that at one point he was at a crossroad and had to pick between either engineering or music. He chose materials science because he just loved physics so much. As years passed, he realized that this whole passion for science took over and his other hobbies faded away. Science is now a hobby for him.

WOW. After hearing all this, I think it is 100% confirmed that I CANNOT and WILL NOT be a professor ever in my life. I really do like science and engineering, but I am fully aware that there is a vast difference between my interest level and that of a professor. I assure you that Prof. Lauhon's story is nothing out of the ordinary. Every time I hear the G.B.O. talk about science and engineering, I am amazed at the depth to which he is interested in so many subjects. Every time I walk outside my office and hear Hersam discussing words I have no comprehension of, I understand that that cannot be me ever as well. I have always thought of mat sci as an interest, not a passion, and I am wondering whether this means I am not the ideal grad student (probably not). I'm okay with that, though, and I hope the rest of you are okay with this too. I think there's still a place for us people who have the just-kinda-sorta-yeah,this-is-okay attitude about research. You academia people, please don't look down on us =P. hehe. We all can't become professors anyway. We gotta make those planes fly! (Ref. to the keynote speech yesterday). For those of you who do find research so interesting that it is a hobby for you, well that's good, too! The world needs you guys too. For the rest of us, keep pressing on. The end is in sight...

Poll

Someone is totally rigging this.

Cheap Soda at Tech Express

The 1 liter vending machine that is normally $1.50 is programmed to only be $0.50 as of this morning. The catch is...the buttons don't necessarily correspond to the soda you will get. Last time we checked (starting from the top)

Button #1: Diet Pepsi
Button #2: Mountain Dew
Button #3: Diet Mountain Dew
Button #4: Probably H2O (1 report of a Mountain Dew/4 waters)
Button #5: Pepsi

Guess who?

A well-known Mat Sci couple:


http://walkinginsquares.com/comic.php?id=78

IM Sports Poll

The winners are: Flag Football, Floor Hockey, and Soccer. No surprise here. However, 2 people marked Dodgeball as one of their favorites? Seriously?

Ideas for the next poll?

Want a free bagel and shmear from Einsteins?

http://bagels.static.contextoptional.com/einstein_coupon_5_6.html

Now the lines at Einstein's will be even more packed! Enjoy your bagels and shmear.

-Brought to you by Z-Slice

Mat Sci Athleticism

NOT speaking of IM sports, the arrival of the GSA 5K sparks up an interesting subject - Mat Sci Athleticism.

A great thinker once said, "In undergrad, you reach your physical peak, but in grad school, you reach your athletic peak." -M. J. Palmeri., PhD Candidate (I think he was the one who said this, correct?)

Who has also heard undergrads complain that grad students should not be allowed to play in the same IM leagues as them because we are older and therefore more experienced and better? To which we have replied, No, we are so old and slow. If anything, we have a disadvantage.

Well, I am here to tell you that I do not disagree with any of the aforementioned statements. However, I do think we have our range of grad student athleticism. At one end, I am utterly amazed at the number of people who are rather athletic, despite the nerdy science/engineer stereotype. I am even more impressed by the runners. Why is it so common for people in our department to run 10K's, half marathons, and marathons? Why are/were there so many people in Tri-Club? Who enjoys torturing themselves this much?! OUR DEPARTMENT. A large chunk of people are very fit and actually look forward to working out. Why are you guys so crazy?! Why are you guys so good at running?

Sorry, but I do NOT like running and do not have "Run a marathon" on my Bucket List. I certainly do NOT want to do this 5K and I'm waiting for someone to invite me to do something else Saturday morning, like go eat brunch at Le Peep. That's how much I dislike it. Is anyone else with me on this? Anyone want to be on the other end of the spectrum with me?

Going back to the athleticism thing, I feel this desire to be athletic is not just a part of wanting to be physically fit and healthy. I think this whole obsession is related to the mind of grad students. We like tackling very difficult things that the bulk of society doesn't want to. We strive to be competent in many things and a variety of things, and we want to be that Renaissance person that society respects and looks up to. Or maybe I'm way over thinking this and we're just trying to live "normal" lives. We're just going crazy in the lab and need something to distract us. Whatever the case may be, for all of this working out, training, practicing, sports talk, Can we please win an IM championship? Or at least, can someone please win the 5K? (Still waiting for Glamm-orous's leg to heal so he can win it again like he did his first year.)

P.S. - Don't forget to register for the 5K www.surveymonkey.com/s/9JNBLQT and also donate to the Cradle Foundation! www.cradlefoundation.org/gsa

Congrats to Dr. Noah!

While he may not have been the social lynchpin of the MatSci department that Dr. $$$ was, I think he deserves a shout-out post of his own. So to my ever-sharply-dressed class/lab/officemate, congrats on your defense and best wishes for the future.

Defense cake: Tapecaster, brought to you by the Faber Group (Matt, Amanda, Fabian, Harold.)

The M(ason)afia

"The Mason Group is like a gang..." -overheard while walking to lunch

Ever wonder what its like to live with Kevin?

I thought I'd share this gem depicting a typical Tuesday night at our place:


Don't forget that his B-day is coming up this weekend (and Shull coffee hour is today)!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Today is the 5th of May, aka, the 3rd anniversary of the beating of Pedro. Y'all remember Pedro, right? Here he is, back when he was still whole and alive and well...and blindfolded, unaware of what his fate was:

Poor, Pedro. We really beat the crap out of him, especially MarC who sheared a tootsie roll in the process. At least we saved his hooves, which stayed enthroned up high in our kitchen for the rest of the year. That Cinco de Mayo party has got to be one of my favorite Mat Sci get-togethers still to this day. Anyone else concur? I mean, look at all this food?

It was so cute how we all worked together to put this delicious meal on the table. And who could forget Pin the Tail on the Donkey? I think Praneet won that one, but we all think he cheated. ;)

Too bad that tradition didn't continue. No one has thrown a Cinco de Mayo party since then (I don't think...). Now we are old and do boring things, like bar hop in Evanston. Tonight! Hope to see you there.

Summer Enrollment

Don't forget to enroll by TODAY. www.northwestern.edu/caesar

Great, I sound like Peggy now... =P

...And then I found $5.

You can take a survey for some Asian-American study conducted by Loyola if you go to the front of the Science Engineering Library. It only takes 5 minutes. The only catch is that you have to identify yourself as Asian-American. Maybe those of you who aren't should go complain about being discriminated against and demand to be allowed to take the survey and get your $5.

TGS Night Out

Tonight is TGS Night Out at Firehouse in Evanston at 7 pm. I don't know about you, but I am always a fan of free food, so I'm going. It's just first come, first serve up to 300 people, so I have a feeling it will fill up quickly.

Privacy Issues

Sorry about the confusion. This blog is fun and all, but I certainly don't want to be causing any trouble (or do I? puahahaha). The blog will stay public, so just remember that when you post...(if you ever do).

I've also added the full list of IM Sports to the poll (forgot Volleyball. Thanks MarkO). Please take it again!

Doctor Moneybags

Congratulations to Dr. $$$!

I feel that $$$ has had such a prominent role in shaping our department that he definitely deserves his very own blog post. Where should I start, I can go so many directions with this...hahahaH(evil laugh).

I can't really remember the first time I officially met $$$, but I can share many memories that I DO remember. For one thing, I think I didn't start to understand the real $$$ until I heard about his "side job." The first thought that ran through a lot of our minds when we heard this was, "Wow, how is this possible? This computer geek who talks passionately about phase field simulations AND he does that?" As part of the Mat Sci Dept., I felt so proud to know that there was someone actually like that - someone who was completely NOT the stereotypical engineering grad student.

Just to share some other memories:
-$$$ getting up on stage at the Karaoke bar singing (kinda) "Baby Got Back"
-$$$'s beer towers
-The infamous Halloween costume at Jon's that stained the walls and caused a raucous on MySpace
-$$$'s dance moves in Bo's "Dance Your PhD" YouTube video
-2007, Prospective Visit Weekend #2. $$$ leading the parade of prospectives to his apartment down Ridge, followed by the other Ian M. with the keg heaved over his shoulder...

There are many more, so let's take a moment to share our favorites!

All in all, $$$ will be greatly missed! He's the type of person that wants to have a good time and wants YOU to have a good time. Whatever the situation, he'll make it happen =)

Thanks, Dr. $$$, for many fun years!

A Word from the Presidents

In the spirit of election season, our past presidents will soon be posting about their MSSA experiences - the good, the bad, the ugly.

Yes, folks, right here is where you will hear it all!

[This is my first attempt at calling out people to post - ahem, Harold, Alok, Matt Johnson, George...Who was before Harold, btw?]

Evan EXPOSED!

Somebody doesn't have to put on the red light anymore- SINCE HE'S GONNA BE A POP SENSATION!

MSSA Elections

Rumor has it that nominations for the 2010/2011 MSSA board will be requested within the next few days. Start thinking about who you'd like to nominate.

We are AWESOME

If anyone actually reads the McCormick News Bulletins, you'll find today's issue flooded with Mat Sci representation.

http://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/news/

Seidman, Olvera, Mirkin, Barnett, undergrad Kelsey, and old man Jon Servaites ($$$).

$10,000 in some Dow Sustainability Challenge?! Guess who's buying the drinks next time we go out... ;)

Why is our department so awesome?!

On IM Sports...

...not really. Sorry. This is about where you change your clothes for IM Sports, into those spiffy Mat Sci diamond cubic(?) structure uniforms.

How many of you change in your office? I find it much simpler to quickly change in the office than in the restroom, which requires you to lug all your clothes (and shoes) there, meticulously hang clothes on the hooks of the door or plop them over the top, and then somehow balance yourself on one leg as you change out of your tight jeans without falling over and landing in the toilet. Wow, so dangerous! So I admit it, yes, I'm an office changer. There are risks involved, however, including: 1. Officemates coming back unexpectedly, 2. Polish cleaning ladies walking in, and, 3. People peeking through the windows. Fortunately, #1 and #2 are non-issues for the most part since these people are on pretty standard schedules. I've also come up with a failsafe - sliding the office chair up against the door for those days I'm extra-paranoid. For #3 there's a handy-dandy giant pillar that I can stand behind and besides, how many creeps are peeking through grad student office windows anyway?

Anyhow, no big deal, right? Changing in the office/lab is quite common from what I've been hearing around the dept. What, then, are the associated problems you ask? Well...take a look at this:


Hmmm...yeah. Now how would you feel coming back to this from a hard day's work in the lab? Pants just lying there, on the ground, untouched, as if the person just dropped their pants, stepped out of them, and left. I can see the crotch area of the jeans! There's something gross and NSFW about it, no? I don't know about you, but this is not professional!

I've also heard about another person (not to be named Mr. mid-dubs4life) who changes in their lab/office WITH people there. Okay, that's just a-whole-nother level. Do you think people want to see your boxers in their faces when they are on IDL??? Do they want to smell your gym shoes as they segment their lives away on Photoshop? Seriously, I think that's where the line is drawn. (Yeah, I'm talking to you. You know who you are. I'm just sticking up for your poor officemates who haven't said anything to you although I think they should!)

So, in conclusion, office-changing is totally acceptable, but only if there is no evidence of it.

(DISCLAIMER: The pic was a set-up, although it HAS happened before, but it is sort of a running joke now. So don't give my officemate dirty looks next time you see him.)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this subject...

FREE PʘM

Right now, people are giving away bottles of POM - Iced Coffee in the front of Tech (very front along Sheridan). It also comes with a $1 coupon if you like those.

The verdict? Comes in this cute little grenade shaped bottle. Tastes good as with any sugary coffee drink. Slightly chocolatey. It claims to have the antioxidants found in pomegranate, but no pomegranate taste, so no worries. Fat free, 190 calories, but a little high in sugar, imo (30 g). Go get yours now! It's worth the walk out to the front of Tech.

Oh yeah, it has 175 mg of caffeine so this will definitely take you through colloquium today. (Normal cup of coffee has ~100 mg.)

Mat Sci Romance

There are totally 2 grad students standing somewhere in Cook having a really good time talking, laughing and giggling for the past 45+ minutes. Oooooh la la!

That brings me to the subject of Mat Sci romance...!!!

As I look at the face sheets, I can count a good number of inter-department relationships, past and present. 13-14 mat sci couples between the classes that entered from 2004-2009. Good thing? Bad thing? Neutral?

Obviously it is tough to meet people outside the department when we are couped up in the lab all day and even some weekends. It's only natural that you start becoming attracted to the people you see everyday, walking through the halls of Cook/Tech, no matter how cool/uncool the "outside world" thinks they are, whether they are wearing safety goggles on their heads, or haven't showered for a few days, or are wearing the same pair of jeans for the past 3 days. We all start looking good at some point, right? haha. [In all honesty, the Mat Sci dept. is one of the coolest grad student engineering/science departments (don't listen to the Chemists). We tend to be more in tune with the rest of the world and be able to socialize and talk with others much less awkwardly than grad students of other majors (think comp. sci. or theoretical physicists...lol).]

Back to romance...so what's so wrong with dating people within the department or, heaven forbid, within your same lab? I think you can answer that for yourselves and feel free to comment, but I'd like to point out that our department has proven that it actually CAN and DOES work out. For example...KATIE AND SHELDON! CONGRATS ON THE ENGAGEMENT!!! Ok, Sheldon is no longer in our department, but he is so dope that he will forever be a Mat Sci-er in my heart. Another noteable - Lesley and Tommy. Yeahhh! and whoa they are in the same lab too! Last example - Les and Courtney. Remember how fun they were and how cute they were constantly poking fun at each other? Les just dropped by my office so that's also how I got on this subject, but additionally, his visit got me thinking about the good ol' days and made me realize how different the department is now, but that's a subject to save for another day.

The Blog Lives On...

Sources tell me that there is plenty to be said in gossip form. So the blog shall continue...Woohoo! Also, very excited about the forum. Ted's done a great job starting it up. Check it out, beta version.

Forums are in Beta

So for the few that read this blog, as Steph said, we've created a forum that's currently in the beta phase. The link is http://numatsci.forumotion.com/forum.htm

Steph and I are the only moderators so far, but we are definitely not opposed to having a few more to help run the forums, and the crowd here is probably a good start. Anyways, take a look, let us know what you think - we want this to be a community effort, so feel free to criticize and provide feedback. Probably next week we'll go "public" with the forums (i.e. the launch will consist of all of us putting the link in our gchat away messages...)

To Blog or Not To Blog...

While the past few days have been a blast, I realize that perhaps a blog is not the best means of getting everyone involved. A blog requires a voice and though I know everyone has something of value to say, there's an extra step involved in posting something public to the whole interweb (or rather, the 10 people that subscribe to this blog). Yes, it does take a little courage to write something that is completely open to criticism, but at some point you just gotta stop caring and do it. With that said... Ted has strategically suggested a FORUM. So everyone who thought about contributing a post, you still can, but Ted has brought up the point that many people are not the blogging type and would rather quickly drop some one-line comments on things. Thus, the idea of a forum materialized (hehe). This forum will be all encompassing, covering topics from coffee hour kudos to lab equipment borrowing to mat sci parties to roommate finding. This seems perfect, right?! Actually, I really love the idea and am giddy just thinking about it right now, but this still leaves me wondering if there's room for this blog or not. Maybe my original intent was for this to be THE gossip column of the Mat Sci Department, where all secrets would be divulged (actually, not really. Don't think I'm quite that sinister), but the dynamics of a forum are completely different. I mean, when you think of forums, do you think...gossip? No, you think: gaming, LOST, anime, things along those lines. I'm torn and need someone to tell me what to do (doesn't everyone?), but specifically, should we keep this blog going in addition to the forum? Let me know what you think - all 10 of you. =)

[Also, the forum is in the works and it is gonna be awesome. Seriously, I think once we get people going on it, this could be something that continues for generations and generations of mat sci grad students! So watch out for the public unveiling soon...]

What I learned at coffee hour...

...if you say "who's coffee hour was this?" that usually means it sucks.
...lots of people have stuff to say but aren't brave enough to post yet.
...there is a counter/contra? coffee hour. Can't say who, though...hmmmm?
...Matt Johnson still likes Third Eye Blind. (Yes, they were totally cool and we all loved them, but that was 1997. This is 2010.)

To everyone out there...tell people about the blog and post something even if it's only one line!

Don't you hate when your office mate...

Make sure your sound is on! ;)

IM Sports Girls, or lack thereof

Who in this department did NOT hear about IM sports on their visit weekend? I'd say that's a NO ONE. EVERYONE heard about it because that's what we recruit people to our department for. The sequence of questions for the prospective students goes something like this: 1. What's your name? 2. Where are you from? 3. Do you play sports? 4. Which research group are you interested in?

Intramural sports are very important to us, and that's why it's really disappointing to see the lack of participation from certain classes. What I really mean is, why is there no co-rec softball team? Why is there only 1 co-rec frisbee team? Why did we scramble to get enough girls for soccer? Don't even get me started on Winter quarter (hockey). Back in the day (meaning 3+ years ago), everyone played IM sports, including almost all the girls. Maybe not everyone played every sport, but everyone played something. Now-a-days, we have to go outside the department to fill the roster. What has happened to us??? This is unacceptable. (Not trying to hate on anyone, but ain't it weird how different things are?)

I truly hope next year's class has girls who will give IM's a shot. Seriously, no skills are required (remember Fire Ants of Doom, aka Harold and the First Years - Hockey Winter 2007? Yeah, we went on to the semi's the 2 subsequent years).

Is this a matter of recruiting the wrong girls? Not enough promo in the fall? Changing priorities of the department? It boggles our minds to this day, so for now, all we can do is reminisce about the past and the once surplus of girls...

Gossip Girl

Yes, this blog will start off with a shout out to "Gossip Girl." My roommate (unnamed) LOVES the TV show "Gossip Girl" and I've recently opened up to it. From my understanding, "Gossip Girl" is a mysterious unseen person who is blogging about high society (rich spoiled teenagers) in Manhattan's Upper East Side. All the gossip is disclosed on this blog and no one is safe. Well, I thought to myself, wouldn't this be a great idea for the Mat Sci department??? *crickets chirping* Ok, you may not see it now, but let's just see where we go with this.

For now, I will keep this open to everyone to post, but we gotta set some ground rules first:

1. No negative rumors, secrets, or gossip. This blog is not a "Burn Book" like in "Mean Girls" (LOVE that movie, btw).
2. If you must speak of professors, just remember, this is public domain!
3. NO NERDY/TECHNICAL POSTS. If you need to get your fix of that, please go elsewhere.

Anyway...PLEASE POST! Post about anything... funny roommate happenings, totally cool awesome mat sci events, your favorite items at coffee hour, cuties/hotties in the lab, IM SPORTS, how many people were sleeping at colloquium, if there's free food in the Mat Sci Office, ask where someone bought their hip lab clothes, rant about the number of emails you get from Bruce, or even practical things (sublease, selling items, lost and found, etc.).

Hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful day in Cook/Tech! =)

You know you love me. X.O.X.O. Steel(?) Girl.

p.s.~ If you want to be added to the contributors list, just let me know. You know where to find me. ;)