Black Holes and Revelations

This past week I was at the NSCL again, helping with an experiment.  During a lunch break, my professor said something that really struck me.  The topic of conversation was something akin to “Science: is it worth it?”  Among the examples that we had touched upon were orphanages and underdeveloped cultures (we talked about more and there are of course many more examples but for ease I am going to stick with those two and leave them as broad concepts instead of going in-depth into them).  From time to time, my thoughts lead me to question whether what I’m attempting to do with my life is ultimately useful at all.  Astrophysics isn’t particularly oriented toward giving poor cultures access to the water they need, nor is it the sort of task that leads orphans to feel loved and cared for.  Nobody will ever get one single immediate benefit if I discover the secret to dark energy except scientists – and even then, they could live without it.  How worthwhile to the Kingdom is a profession that doesn’t do anything for anybody? (more…)

Caveat: This is probably the most emotionally-fueled essay I have ever written (besides being far too long), but I needed to write it (ick, how many times have you heard that on an internet blog website? Cliché, Mike, cliché…).  Feel free to skip it if you’re here looking for more rational discussion.  May I suggest a few alternatives?

Continuing: Today was a bad day.  I won’t go into it but suffice it to say by the time work was over I was in extremely poor spirits; an odd mixture of future-oriented despair and past-oriented vindictiveness.  Before heading to dinner, my research partner and my professor decided to go to the hotel’s weight room and exercise themselves up an appetite.  Not up for any more people time, I instead went for a walk.

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The other night I went out for a drink with a friend of mine.  When the bartender asked me whether I wanted to close the tab or leave it open, I responded with the latter, thinking it would be more efficient to just have to run my credit card through the system once as opposed to twice or more if I ordered another beverage.  As the night progressed, it became clear that I would not be needing a second drink (I have what this particular friend would term a “weak constitution”), so I ended up leaving the tab open until it became time to leave; I consequently went to close it and regain my credit card.

“Just the Kamikaze?” the bartender asked, in a tone that implied she was at the very least slightly perturbed.  I nodded in the affirmative, not quite sure what the problem was.  She handed me the tab without speaking or looking at me; it was here that I began to surmise that I had perhaps somehow offended her.  To make it up I tipped her 25% instead of the normal %15, but I was met only with unintelligible mumbling as she swiped the receipt back.  I was thoroughly confused. (more…)

Just a quick blurb where I thought I’d share a bit of music I wrote during this past year for composition lessons. Neither of them is particularly advanced, so this is definitely not a brag-fest, but I did make them. (more…)

Last Saturday, being the all-consuming celebration of freedom that it was, saw our group of friends parked on the beach all day.  We grilled, played games, threw the frisbee, and generally had a day of it until the darkness overcame our game of Cosmic Encounter and the fireworks began.  We also utterly failed at putting up a self-designed tent.  On the third, my visiting brother and I, decrying the evils of an E-Z up (the primary evil being its $120 price tag), declared our independence from such frivolities and journeyed to Home Depot to purchase materials used in construction of our own version of the snap-up shelter.  Made from PVC, fishing line, drip line stakes, and a tarp, this beacon of freedom would rally our partygoers in shared pursuit of the glory of thrift.  We’d get shade, we’d support the ideals of individualism, and we’d feel pretty dang awesome about our ability to back-yard engineer.  Nothing could go wrong. (more…)