Yesterday, a lot of snow fell in Ithaca. When I woke up yesterday morning, there was at least six inches of snow waiting for me to step/fall/slip on when I walked outside. Given the steep inclines throughout campus and the surrounding areas, the snow caused people to fall, cars to spin out of control (even my housemate's four-wheel drive truck), and people to do insane things in the name of stability (such as grabbing trees and plant stems with thorns on them).
Last night, even more snow well, and I can see from my window at least one and a half feet of snow waiting for me.
Cornell opted to go for a delayed opening.
Wait, what?
Turns out Cornell decided to keep going on. Many professors have canceled classes, and more students (such as myself) are not going to class. The last time Cornell had a snow day was 2007. Despite Ithaca almost shutting down and various other inclement-weather emergencies, Cornell has not decided to cancel classes. I'm not sure what the algorithm is for canceling class, but I'd like to see a study or some research on this...
Friday 26 February 2010
Thursday 18 February 2010
Goal in Sight
Right now I aspire to do an Honors Thesis about the effects of class distribution over various times on changes in majors for different departments at Cornell. I have already discussed doing it with a few professors and it sounds pretty certain I can do the Honors Thesis. It's a two-semester long stint and requires intensive background research and thinking before submitting an application with a faculty supervisor.
There are alternatives such as an independent study which provides assisted research over one semester with a faculty member. But an Honors Thesis takes much longer, includes a thesis defense, and allows me to pursue a research topic from start to finish! Unfortunately, not anyone can do an Honors Thesis. It requires an academic standing in the 20th percentile.
Admittedly, I am a nerd, but I am not the brightest crayon in the box. But it means I have a goal to work towards. Although having a higher GPA increases my chance of entering grad school, having a higher GPA pretty much guarantees getting to do an Honors Thesis because of a definite cut-off level. It is unlike high school when I was applying to college because I was not guaranteed admission based solely on my class rank or GPA.
Fortunately, now I have a greater incentive to do better. I have not been giving it my all recently and I have prelims coming up. I recently had a nightmare I had completely forgotten a class and did not realize it until the final had already passed. But here is the motivation!
There are alternatives such as an independent study which provides assisted research over one semester with a faculty member. But an Honors Thesis takes much longer, includes a thesis defense, and allows me to pursue a research topic from start to finish! Unfortunately, not anyone can do an Honors Thesis. It requires an academic standing in the 20th percentile.
Admittedly, I am a nerd, but I am not the brightest crayon in the box. But it means I have a goal to work towards. Although having a higher GPA increases my chance of entering grad school, having a higher GPA pretty much guarantees getting to do an Honors Thesis because of a definite cut-off level. It is unlike high school when I was applying to college because I was not guaranteed admission based solely on my class rank or GPA.
Fortunately, now I have a greater incentive to do better. I have not been giving it my all recently and I have prelims coming up. I recently had a nightmare I had completely forgotten a class and did not realize it until the final had already passed. But here is the motivation!
Monday 15 February 2010
Productivity of Diversity
Yesterday I went to Bing to hang out with a friend in the library.
That's right - a day long study date. Bring it on. I haven't done one since freshman year second semester at Rutgers. I had a ridiculously productive time: I finished up my paper, did my problem set, and finished my article for The Visible Hand. I am only so productive when I am studying with someone who is not in the same school I am. Unfortunately I've never been in such an ideal situation since I got to Cornell: everyone I have studied with has been in ILR with me.
I find it better to study with someone else in a different school because none of the idle conversations in between has to do with class. If anyone mentions anything about what they are studying, the other person cannot contribute much - the conversation stays short. Since we both study different things, we get a little 'break' from what we're studying to listen to a short blurb about another topic.
Or maybe I just don't like what I am studying and the offering of alternatives is amazing.
In other news, I plan on making dumplings for a friends' dinner party next week. I have never made them with beef before, so I am going to do a trial run this weekend or later this week.
That's right - a day long study date. Bring it on. I haven't done one since freshman year second semester at Rutgers. I had a ridiculously productive time: I finished up my paper, did my problem set, and finished my article for The Visible Hand. I am only so productive when I am studying with someone who is not in the same school I am. Unfortunately I've never been in such an ideal situation since I got to Cornell: everyone I have studied with has been in ILR with me.
I find it better to study with someone else in a different school because none of the idle conversations in between has to do with class. If anyone mentions anything about what they are studying, the other person cannot contribute much - the conversation stays short. Since we both study different things, we get a little 'break' from what we're studying to listen to a short blurb about another topic.
Or maybe I just don't like what I am studying and the offering of alternatives is amazing.
In other news, I plan on making dumplings for a friends' dinner party next week. I have never made them with beef before, so I am going to do a trial run this weekend or later this week.
Saturday 13 February 2010
Snow and Me, A Bad Love Story
Recently this week there was a huge snowstorm on the eastern coast. Dear RU got classes canceled for one day and most classes were canceled the subsequent day. All Jersey schools, Pre-K and upwards, followed suit, some canceling classes for more than one day. Kids made giant snowmen, huge phallic structures, had legendary snowball fights, and an all around great time being in college on a snow day.
I was sitting in class thinking, damn I shouldn't have transferred.
Ithaca had gotten some snow, but (a) Ithaca has a higher standard for what constitutes "a lot of snow," and (b) Cornell kids have been toughing it out climbing slopes, so what's a little loss of friction going to do? Binghamton was close by and had not canceled any classes, so it felt fair.
Until Bing canceled their afternoon classes. Cue the melodramatic "life isn't fair" exaltation.
But it makes sense doesn't it? The distribution of possible snowfall levels is skew right (I am never sure which is which, but there is a larger concentration on the left side). So we are more likely to get a little bit of snow than enough snow to make ten-foot tall gargantuan snowmen.
Then there are the infrastructural resources of the municipality to deal with snow. For areas which see a higher average snowfall, they have more resources such as snowplows. Having more resources increases the ability to cope with higher levels of snow, which means there is a higher threshold for snow to reach the heavily desired "canceled classes." (And it doesn't help Ithaca got less snow than NJ did.)
I was sitting in class thinking, damn I shouldn't have transferred.
Ithaca had gotten some snow, but (a) Ithaca has a higher standard for what constitutes "a lot of snow," and (b) Cornell kids have been toughing it out climbing slopes, so what's a little loss of friction going to do? Binghamton was close by and had not canceled any classes, so it felt fair.
Until Bing canceled their afternoon classes. Cue the melodramatic "life isn't fair" exaltation.
But it makes sense doesn't it? The distribution of possible snowfall levels is skew right (I am never sure which is which, but there is a larger concentration on the left side). So we are more likely to get a little bit of snow than enough snow to make ten-foot tall gargantuan snowmen.
Then there are the infrastructural resources of the municipality to deal with snow. For areas which see a higher average snowfall, they have more resources such as snowplows. Having more resources increases the ability to cope with higher levels of snow, which means there is a higher threshold for snow to reach the heavily desired "canceled classes." (And it doesn't help Ithaca got less snow than NJ did.)
Tuesday 9 February 2010
Nerdilicious
I am a nerd.
It's something I would not have admitted to a few years ago. But here I am, a self-respecting nerd. I was always on the look out for something to make me happy - something mature. Since I left high school, I believed having no major or direction would be better than having the "incorrect" major or direction. I tried to a few different things, but found all of them unsatisfying. I wanted to pursue many different fields and did not commit to any specific one. I was unintentionally waiting for something else to come along that was even more attractive. Bit by bit, I figured out what I liked to do and what I didn't like to do.
What did I like to do? It turns out I had known all along: I love to be creative and experiment with the world around me to see what happens and why it will happen. It was something I had known since I was a kid playing around with Legos, learning about the world through the TV, and wondering what would happen if I messed around with the circumstances and introduced animals to different places. People are (only) slightly different from animals and collecting data from people is far easier than collecting data from animals. I want to study the data patterns and trends - something economics lets me do.
Unfortunately, it took a while for me to understand this about myself. I started with wanting to do "important" and "relevant" government things to gain recognition from others. When I wanted to do something more in that area, it turned out I needed a graduate degree. To pursue a graduate degree, I did research for one summer in economics because it is something I am above-average at. Left to my own devices over the summer and struck with a near-terminal case of boredom I found myself thinking of ideas to research... and loving it.
I do not believe in destiny, but if you look around for long enough, you will find something you like to do!
It's something I would not have admitted to a few years ago. But here I am, a self-respecting nerd. I was always on the look out for something to make me happy - something mature. Since I left high school, I believed having no major or direction would be better than having the "incorrect" major or direction. I tried to a few different things, but found all of them unsatisfying. I wanted to pursue many different fields and did not commit to any specific one. I was unintentionally waiting for something else to come along that was even more attractive. Bit by bit, I figured out what I liked to do and what I didn't like to do.
What did I like to do? It turns out I had known all along: I love to be creative and experiment with the world around me to see what happens and why it will happen. It was something I had known since I was a kid playing around with Legos, learning about the world through the TV, and wondering what would happen if I messed around with the circumstances and introduced animals to different places. People are (only) slightly different from animals and collecting data from people is far easier than collecting data from animals. I want to study the data patterns and trends - something economics lets me do.
Unfortunately, it took a while for me to understand this about myself. I started with wanting to do "important" and "relevant" government things to gain recognition from others. When I wanted to do something more in that area, it turned out I needed a graduate degree. To pursue a graduate degree, I did research for one summer in economics because it is something I am above-average at. Left to my own devices over the summer and struck with a near-terminal case of boredom I found myself thinking of ideas to research... and loving it.
I do not believe in destiny, but if you look around for long enough, you will find something you like to do!
Monday 1 February 2010
Cooking in College
I know I am supposed to be studying, reading textbooks, attentively taking notes in class, etc. but it is also an excellent opportunity to be independent. Independence from the many endemic restrictions at home, as well as the opportunity to purchase ingredients (from Wegmans)!
I do not know too many dishes other than the usual "throw stuff into a pan/pot and wish for the best." So I am looking for recipes for some interesting things! I want to try my hand at Hushpuppies and Scalloped potatoes. Not sure what else to try, so I am always open to suggestions. Something with fish would be really cool though! Although seafood tends to be expensive. Maybe I can make some nice meat sauce for pasta. Or a hamburger so I don't have to keep on buying them.
All this writing about food makes me hungry. I will have to endure to tomorrow's breakfast of cereal. Just cereal - nothing special about it. Okay, I mix some granola into it, big deal.
I do not know too many dishes other than the usual "throw stuff into a pan/pot and wish for the best." So I am looking for recipes for some interesting things! I want to try my hand at Hushpuppies and Scalloped potatoes. Not sure what else to try, so I am always open to suggestions. Something with fish would be really cool though! Although seafood tends to be expensive. Maybe I can make some nice meat sauce for pasta. Or a hamburger so I don't have to keep on buying them.
All this writing about food makes me hungry. I will have to endure to tomorrow's breakfast of cereal. Just cereal - nothing special about it. Okay, I mix some granola into it, big deal.
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