21 February, 2006
Too Europe
It's not just silly little things like packets of ketchup that you have to pay for or jump through hoops to get in Europe. I've been wanting to use some UK weather data in my dissertation. Getting archived hourly weather data in the U.S. is easy. Yeah you have to pay for some of it, but a lot of it is free. California, for example, has a public network of weather stations with free data archives available to anyone. It makes a big difference. For future research, I may start focusing more on California.
The UK, on the other hand... it's a nightmare to find free archived hourly data of good quality. Normally you have to pay a lot for it. I, as a student, could possibly get some for free for use in my dissertation if I meet a long list of conditions, fill out a couple forms, and my advisor and I sign another form and mail it to the UK for approval. What a pain. I'd need it right now if I'm gonna use it at all, so I probably won't.
California, good for you. You'll likely receive the benefits of my research before anywhere else. UK, I wish you weren't so European about your weather data.
Update: I recently learned that Oklahoma now has publicly available data. So, like California, Oklahoma will be at the top of my list of places to research. In fact, the data from Oklahoma is of higher resolution and is even easier to access than that from California!
20 February, 2006
Friend of God
I've been missing Reading a lot. One of the things I miss is my church there. So last Sunday I visited Riverside Church, the one that Reading Family Church reminded me of. During the service, we sang a song with the words "I am a friend of God, he calls me friend."
There was a time, not long ago, when I would've thought that was a dumb, shallow song that probably doesn't belong in a church service. But this week I couldn't stop thinking about it. It's actually a very profound statement.
Think about your friends. How would you feel if your friends ignored you because they're too busy with other things? How would you feel if they only talked to you when they wanted something from you? How would you feel if they believed false ideas about who you are? How would you feel if they hurt you over and over again? How would you feel if they said they believed in you but acted as if you don't exist? And how would you feel if they sentenced you to death for crimes they committed?
Would you still call them "friend"?
I think God teaches us a lot about friendship, and friendship teaches us a lot about God.
11 February, 2006
Acrobat Reader
Sorry, nothing about England today.
When working on my dissertation, I have to read a lot of journal articles. These are almost always in PDF format. The worst part about it is that I've had to use Adobe Acrobat Reader to read them. I always get frustrated at how it always takes so long to open, crashes my computers, and bugs me about updates every day.
I'm a big fan of Adobe. I couldn't live without Photoshop and Illustrator. Adobe is based in my home town. I have friends and relatives who have worked for them. I have nothing against them. But I think Acrobat Reader is a terrible piece of software.
So I did a Google search for "Adobe Acrobat sucks" and through that was able to find a
MUCH better and leaner free PDF reader. I still had the original search window open when I tried to uninstall Acrobat.
The uninstall program gave me an error message saying "You must close the window: "Adobe Acrobat sucks" before you can uninstall Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0." That was a little sad. I felt like I hurt its feelings.
10 February, 2006
oBBCessions
I think the BBC is obsessed with global warming and George W. Bush. Those of you who don't get your news from the BBC may not even be aware that global warming is entirely Bush's fault.
Perhaps I'm going about my dissertation the wrong way. Rather than studying the physics behind anomalous nighttime cooling at the Micronet, maybe I should look into the possibility that it's primarily caused by George W. Bush. I'd know right where to go if I wanted to publish that sort of finding.
08 February, 2006
Not knowing people
In some situations, particularly with big groups, I've noticed that people here at OU don't seem as friendly as in Reading. They're not unfriendly, but they don't make as much of an effort to talk to me.
I think it's because in the main groups with whom I spent time in Reading (Windsor Hall and the MSc meteorology students), everyone was new and didn't know each other at first. They didn't already have friends there, so they were looking to meet new ones. Here it seems like everyone already has friends who they stick with, and are as eager to make new ones.
I probably would've felt the opposite way if I went to Reading during the spring term instead of the autumn. So if you are thinking about studying abroad or transfering to another school, I recommend starting during the autumn term.
06 February, 2006
University student
Sorry, a more personal entry today.. something I've been thinking about a lot lately.
I feel like my time in Reading was my first real university experience. It was my first time living on campus, first time regularly eating with other students, first time regularly studying with other students, first time being far away from what I thought of as "home", first time going to pubs, and first time to really feel like a university student.
One of the things I miss about Reading is being a regular university student. Most of the people who knew me there didn't know anything about the more unique aspects of my life. They just knew me as Matt, the American, the guy who did the "cow presentation", the one who never drank before, the one who doesn't think George W. Bush is the cause of all problems in the world, or the one who had some (let's say, "interesting") ideas about the Bible.
I didn't feel a need to prove anything to anyone or do anything spectacular. All I had to do was pass my classes, make progress on my dissertation, and experience life in the UK. It was nice. Now it seems like there's a lot more pressure. Not because of anyone else -- I impose it on myself. But why?
Sometimes I feel like I want to (after this Ph.D. thing is over) slow down, have more of a normal life, get married, have kids, and maybe fall short of my goal of somehow solving all of the world's problems through microclimate research and graphic design.
05 February, 2006
Cartoon Protests
This stuff is ridiculous. Yes, I know that not all Muslims are violently
protesting or setting buildings on fire because of the silly cartoon. But a lot are. When cartoons are made to mock Jesus or Christianity (or any other religion, for that matter), this kind of thing just doesn't happen.
What's the difference? Whatever it is, it's a big difference. You can say "Islam is a religion of peace" all you want. But it's obvious that the followers of Islam are more violent than those of any other major religion.
02 February, 2006
AMS Atlanta
For the past few days I've been at the annual American Meteorological Society conference in Atlanta, GA. Yesterday I gave a poster presentation and an oral presentation and today I chaired a session and went on a tour of The Weather Channel.
Last night at the OU party I got to talk to one of the main professors who I worked with in Reading -- the first time I've seen anyone I knew there since I've been back in the U.S. That was very neat.
Tonight I went to an "Irish pub". It did remind me a little of the pubs in Ireland and England, but many things were different. For example, the tables didn't have numbers on them (it seemed as if they didn't even serve food), the drinks were expensive (compared to England), most people didn't order their drinks at the bar (a waiter type person came to the tables), and the funniest part of all, they checked everyone's ID as we walked in the door. I'm not quite sure what would qualify it as an "Irish pub". But it was an interesting/unique experience.
It would be very funny to see an "American pub" in Ireland or the UK.
