I've been in grad school for five full years now, and I think I learned more last week than in some months I've spent here. I finally sat down and did some calculations to verify assumptions about what I was measuring, and how, and you know what? I was wrong. Of course, that happens all the time, but this was different. For starts, I think it's the first time I've really been able to take an equation and calculate something genuinely useful from it. Most of my research involves a lot of guessing and checking: guessing at how to change the plasma process to get the right coating chemistry, guessing at what AFM instrument settings will let me find out how thick the coatings are. For the most part, this stuff can't be calculated, so it was incredibly satisfying to find something that could, and that really affects how I interpret major results. Now I'm actually excited to give a group meeting talk this Thursday so I can share my findings with other people who use the same equipment.
(Okay, I'm also excited that S is coming out to visit on Thursday, too :-) )
Minor food writing/cookbook epiphany: read Amanda Hesser's Cooking for Mr. Latte. It's the first "food memoir" I've read that had you-have-to-try-this recipes, in addition to great, mouth-watering writing. I made a modified version of her Papardelle with Lemon, Herbs, and Ricotta Salata (that is, I used lots of lemon, fresh parsley in place of all the herbs, and Trader Joe's delicious Mediterranean Cheese Style Yogurt in place of the ricotta salata, which turns out to be super-salty and kind of unpleasant). The dish was a flavorful but understated, a different set of flavors than I would have put together on my own, and even though I ate three meals of it last week, I may have to go buy more papardelle and make some more. Maybe this time I'll even use the herbs.
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