Monday, December 14, 2009
Balkans-Bound Ben?
Yesterday, I was hard at work in my office, conveniently located a half block away from my apartment when something unusual happened. No, it wasn't the fire alarm going off. That happened on Saturday, was far more disruptive, and has its own separate story ending with firemen busting down a door and me going nearly deaf from the building's all-too-efficient klaxons.
In comparison, the events of yesterday seem almost tame. Hell, they are tame. And to anyone other than a historian of technology, they would be downright esoteric. So I'll cut to the chase and say that I found a potential research angle which, if properly pursued, could have been my ticket to another exciting European conference, this time in beautiful southeastern Europe.
To be sure this wasn't a mirage, I e-mailed my adviser and started trying to do some preliminary digging using the magic that is the Internet. My adviser responded enthusiastically and suggested a few journals I could peruse for more information. After spending this afternoon poring through several very large volumes concerning the state of Soviet solid state physics during the 1950s and 1960s, however, my enthusiasm has declined somewhat. I have no problem pursuing this project in the long term, but there is a great deal more work to be done.
Given how hectic this week is, what with various holiday parties (and pub quiz!) to consider, I think a trip to the Balkans may not be in the cards this time around. Perhaps next year.
Two other points of new business:
1. The annual holiday movie quote contest will be posted by the end of the week.
2. Rambling Dave has his own blog dedicated to his pursuit of superhuman running abilities. Keep track of his progress on Mile for Mile! (And welcome to the Invisible Blogroll, David!)
Yesterday, I was hard at work in my office, conveniently located a half block away from my apartment when something unusual happened. No, it wasn't the fire alarm going off. That happened on Saturday, was far more disruptive, and has its own separate story ending with firemen busting down a door and me going nearly deaf from the building's all-too-efficient klaxons.
In comparison, the events of yesterday seem almost tame. Hell, they are tame. And to anyone other than a historian of technology, they would be downright esoteric. So I'll cut to the chase and say that I found a potential research angle which, if properly pursued, could have been my ticket to another exciting European conference, this time in beautiful southeastern Europe.
To be sure this wasn't a mirage, I e-mailed my adviser and started trying to do some preliminary digging using the magic that is the Internet. My adviser responded enthusiastically and suggested a few journals I could peruse for more information. After spending this afternoon poring through several very large volumes concerning the state of Soviet solid state physics during the 1950s and 1960s, however, my enthusiasm has declined somewhat. I have no problem pursuing this project in the long term, but there is a great deal more work to be done.
Given how hectic this week is, what with various holiday parties (and pub quiz!) to consider, I think a trip to the Balkans may not be in the cards this time around. Perhaps next year.
Two other points of new business:
1. The annual holiday movie quote contest will be posted by the end of the week.
2. Rambling Dave has his own blog dedicated to his pursuit of superhuman running abilities. Keep track of his progress on Mile for Mile! (And welcome to the Invisible Blogroll, David!)
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