trevallion

Hey, man, how's life been treating you?

Thanks! I'm struggling through the product/quotient derivative rules right now, not because the concept is difficult to grasp, but because it's really easy to lose track of everything. Any recommendations for keeping track during derivations?

I've been doing reasonably well, but all that writing, jeeeeze. Also, I hadn't realized until today that the derivative of e^(2x) is 2e^(2x). Whoops. Why is that?

no.

You basically have a grid on the bottom side of the keyboard (if you took it apart) like this:


(ignore the red circles, this is just for example, stolen from the web)

The key matrix is a complete circuit. So the circuit itself is always closed, so there is voltage (tiny amounts) constantly running through your keyboard.

When you press a key, you reduce the capacitance of the circuit under that key and the processor in the keyboard detects the change in capacitance and identifies the key and/or keys.

Old school keyboards used to use the close/open a circuit identifier, but they went the way of the Yugo years ago.

Fuck you, asshole

You know, pure math for the rest of my life just started to seem like it would kill me. Medicine was always my other favorite interest, so ...I just went for it I guess.

Unknown to me. Stiles is in charge of the route. But I will do my best to convince him to go near you.

again, i am unaware of the trip. i'm just along for the ride. but we are taking 4 days for a 23 hour drive. that gives us a lot of leeway.

Your beard is fake.

D&D puns get no respect anymore I guess, haha.

Hey, no worries on the response! To answer your subsequent questions:

1. The housing probably has gone up some. I think every year we were there, the rent went up some incremental amount - maybe one year it didn't? But they do take good care of the housing. While we were there they redid the brick outside, put in new windows, added new carpet in public areas, painted public areas, put in a new entryway/mailroom, updated the freight elevator, added a really gorgeous awning out front, and were in the process of fixing up the kitchens as people moved out. Plus, maintenance was pretty topnotch: they were fast and thorough. Also: all utilities were included in our rent (outside phone/internet/cable).

2. The Metra is the commuter rail - so it's like the train you would take in from the suburbs. It's around two bucks a ride. The advantage is that it's reliable (you know right when it's coming, b/c it is pretty well schedule), it's clean, and the seats are comfy. The disadvantage is that it runs about once an hour during non-rush hour times. BUT, if you plan well, it's a GREAT way to get downtown from Hyde Park. There are a few places were it links with the El, but you're right - they are basically separate systems. I would note that the Green Line stop you mention is kinda far from Hyde Park proper, and things that way do get a bit dicey. It's do-able, but you need to be more careful, especially at night. The #6 bus will be your friend if you end up there.

3. "Professional development" is a pretty awful phrase right? I will say, it's one you should inquire about *anyplace* you consider for grad school. If there's one thing I could do over, it would be having a better sense of what professional development is - and pursuing it more vigorously. Professional development, for me anyway, includes things like the availability of funds for grad students to travel regularly to conferences. Professional development also includes faculty taking the time out to really talk to you about your dissertation project in terms of both its academic and its *marketable* qualities (re: Is the thing you're doing something people are being hired to teach/research?). Professional development includes faculty co-authoring with students. It also includes faculty pushing students to take their papers to conferences, and showing them how to turn early dissertation chapters into stand-alone articles. Professional development also includes a chance to teach, and maybe some guidance in how to be a good teacher (Teaching is important even if you want to do the research university thing - there are just so few jobs at that level. But, there are good jobs at selective liberal arts schools and regional state schools - where there is more of a teaching/research balance. Having a class in the can, and a few good teaching evaluations can be key to getting on at these lower tier places.). Professional development might also include faculty presenting papers with you at conferences, or coming to see you present your work, or even introducing you around to their friends at conferences. Basically, professional development is the next step beyond learning how to do research - it's about learning how to *market* the research you've done into a set of accomplishments and skills that are actually rewarded in the field. Workshops will be a part of that - you'll learn how to craft and present work. But there's more to it than that. It's a bit amorphous. But things I would try to nail down about schools you are interested in is co-authoring and placement rate. Those are probably the biggies.

Thanks for the good wishes! I'm not really sure where I'd like to end up. I'm at a teaching school right now (how that happened is *another* story - I'm always glad to tell it, but I don't want to bore you unnecessarily). I'd like to move someplace like a selective liberal arts school, or even a regional state school. Maybe a lower ranked research school? Mostly, I want to be someplace I can write more. I don't mind teaching. I have a good time, I think I even have some potential at it. But I do a lot of it here. Plus, my wife can't find work here. So someplace a bit more urban, or near an urban place. Dream places right now include Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon, Wisconsin-Madison, and Maryland-College Park. But we shall see.

Right? I'm kind of worried about how into it I am right now.

i like discussing things with you. You're smart.

I am also jealous that you are going to Grad School.....what are you pursuing?

What are you looking to study? More math?

THANKS BITCH YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

Lift your chest. Imagine a string just kind of pulling it up. Back straight.

If your postures really terrible pick up a book or have a consultation with a practitioner of the Alexander Technique or Feldenkrais.

Depends what kind of posture you mean too, like just general walking around or picking up girls or whatever.

You need to seek professional help.

Nope!

Yeah, I tried doubling it the other day, but it was Friday afternoon and I was already up for like, 15 hours, so I didn't really notice anything. I have a phone call with the doc tomorrow, so hopefully we'll figure something else out.

You can keep your chinstrap, dude. I want a real beard.