I Can Has Funding?

Yes, this is a LOL cat picture.

I created it in celebration of my completing the latest fellowship application - and a chapter of my dissertation. Phew!

For anyone who's wondering... this is Curious Georgette (1991-2000).

The New iPad

Ahhh, to have disposable income! www.apple.com

Then again, it is such an unfortunate name. I think I will call mine the iTablet (iTab or maybe Tabby for short). My mythical iTab will be coming soon to somebody else's house, not mine. Unless I get funding for next year, that is. Hmm... maybe I should stop blogging and get back to work.

Progress to date:

1) Completed pretty much everything but the chapter for my fellowship applications

Probability, Fortifications and Some Moving Math

So this weekend I was proud to field a phone call from my baby brother (I have to add the baby part because he's like six feet tall so I can't call him my little brother anymore, and he looks older than me, so I want to make sure no one's in any doubt that I am the big sister here). He had some questions about probability.

Now, it's been probably eight years since I had much to do with probability, and it was never my favorite subject. In fact, I seem to remember calling a certain course "Probability and Sadistics." Nevertheless, I actually knew what he was talking about! And sorta helped him out! I'm so glad to know that I can still legitimately call myself a mathematician.

On another note, yesterday I was also randomly looking up something re: the US Navy on wikipedia and followed a few links to discover some guy called Vauban, who I'd never heard of before but was a French fortifications expert in the 17th century. Cool.

Then I went into the APS today, pulled the first of my manuscript sources, and discovered it was on Vauban. Creepy, bizarre, coincidence?

At work today, I got to talking with another fellow today about moving. A few quick calculations lead to some very frightening results. I think I need a job. And to not move for a few years. Because here's my current track record:

In the past 18 months I have lived in 8 different cities. Not counting all the moves of the past 18 months, I have still moved 14 times and had 13 different roommates in the past 10 years. (So that all took place in a 8.5 year time frame, for those who are counting.)

Research accomplished this weekend and today:

1) Wrote up more stuff for my current fellowship application.

2) Outlined a chapter of my dissertation.

3) Read a couple of manuscript sources.

4) FINISHED the almanacs at the APS.

Whew!

Filthy Lucre

So I realized today that I've got a little over two weeks to write a chapter of my dissertation in time to submit for a dissertation-writing fellowship. Maybe I should spend a little more time dissertating and a little less time blogging if I want to bring home the filthy lucre....

In other news, my newest house-mate is also working at the APS with me. Yea - I'm no longer the only one!

Research accomplished today:

1) Read another half dozen almanacks.

2) Got started on my Folger homework assignment: figure out some primary source of mine that might me useful for my assigned partner's own dissertation. Hmm... anyone want to read some fun account books??

The Wrong Side of the Tracks

I live on the wrong side of the tracks. I'm not sure what the right side of the tracks is - or if it even exists - but going over railroad tracks five times on your two mile bike ride is five times too many!

In library news, the UIUC Rare Books & Manuscripts department has acquired a collection of mini... mini books. These aren't your ordinary mini books (Baker's Wellspring of Sciences is always pretty small, for example). No, these are almost dollhouse sized books! Itsy bitsy and have to be read with a magnifying class. Or maybe a high-powered scientific microscope....

On a related note, apparently Sir Conan Doyle wrote a Sherlock Holmes story for one of Queen Victoria's grandchildren's dollhouses. Book size: mini mini. Print run: 1.

Research accomplished today:

I read a couple of Baker's books (hence the reason they were on my mind) and did research on what fellowships I ought to be applying for, so I can have funding for next year.