Garaphernalia 7.5

I’m quickly approaching the end of my college 2.0 experience. At an age where most people are busy advancing their careers or building their families, I decided to spend 2 and a half years taking science classes. The impetus behind this decision was that I always said if I could do it over again, I would go back and get a science degree. I then realized there really wasn’t anything stopping me, so I did.

I’m really amazed at how much I’ve learned in the last 2.5 years. I can’t look back on any period in my life and really say I’ve learned so much in so short a period of time. I started out taking classes in astronomy with the goal of getting a degree in astrophysics. Its still an interesting field of study, but due to the nature of the requirements in the department, I wound up taking classes in the Geology and Geophysics department.

I’m really glad I did.

Earth Science is probably the most interdisciplinary field of science. A quick look at the requirements for getting a degree in the various science fields at Minnesota (or any other college for that matter) will show why:

Mathematicians do not need to take classes in any other department. Physicists need only take math courses in addition to their physics courses.
Chemists need to take math and physics courses in addition to their chemistry courses.
Biologist need to take math, physics and chemistry in addition to biology.
Earth Scientists need to be versed in everything.

This is primarily because earth science is an applied field. In my two and a half years, I took courses which covered: astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, geochronology, isotope physics, stratigraphy, sedimentology, paleontology, paleomagnetism, cosmology, X-ray diffraction, structural geology, climatology, and oceanography. I’ve also spent close to 2 months in the field.

The department has weekly seminars where speakers come in to talk about research they are working on. At the start, I could understand maybe half of what was being said if I was lucky. Now I can follow along with most presentations with little difficulty and can read many scientific papers (but not all. There are still enough sub-disciplines that some terminology might be foreign, but that’s true with anyone. I know enough of the basics to figure out what I’d need to know if I don’t know something).

From a professional standpoint, an argument might be made that I’ve wasted the last two years, and that argument might be correct. From a personal standpoint, I don’t regret it in the slightest. The question now is, what do I do with it?

I’ve been able to see first hand the frustrations a lot of the grad students in the department are facing trying to finish their PhD. Its hard work, and honestly, I’m amazed that they put up with it. Some of them seem to get beat down over and over by professors and advisors who keep demanding more of them, but never really taking the time to get that involved in helping them get over the last hump.

I’ve heard horror stories of other grad students who have taken on projects, years in the making, only to have funding, data, or other research issues interfere towards the end.

I’m up in the air about continuing my education. I enjoy learning. From a personal satisfaction standpoint, more knowledge will only come through getting deeper in more narrow fields. While I know more than I did before, I now also know what I don’t know and also know how to learn what I need to know. I fear boredom getting too tied down to one subject area.

I’m also not sure that continuing down this path, at my age, would lead to anything fruitful. I can see first hand that science isn’t about geniuses making discoveries out of left field, there is a lot of things at work including dealing with your peers, funding, publishing, and politics.

I guess I’ll have time to figure it out. I think my education will only help me during my trip and might lead to some very interesting updates.

I’ve had lots of people contact me lately about my trip. I’m not sure how they’re finding out about it. I suppose its word of mouth.

I’ve been amazed at the initial feedback I’ve gotten so far. People seem more excited than I am about it. I told my banker about it and he just lit up and went on for about 15 minutes talking about his job and family and how he wished he could do something like this, and how he’d love to follow along via the web.

I’ve been spending some time learning more about photography, editing, and other things I’ll need to know. Nothing will replace actually doing it, but it will help a bunch to have an idea what every feature in the owner manual does.

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This video is amazing. The description from the Google video site:

“On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a … all » Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris. The film was limited for technical reasons to 10 minutes; the course was from Porte Dauphine, through the Louvre, to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur.

No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit.

The driver completed the course in about 9 minutes, reaching nearly 140 MPH in some stretches. The footage reveals him running real red lights, nearly hitting real pedestrians, and driving the wrong way up real one-way streets.”

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Pete tells me that ECW is going to be making a comeback. If your not a wrestlin fan, that might not mean much, but it is. Arguably the smartest move made by the WWE in ages. I was sort of between my wrestling wrestling phases when the ECW was peaking. I caught the tail end of it and have watched it on DVD. They are getting most of the original roster back to restart the brand. I can’t wait.

• Here is a short, five-part BBC series on special numbers: 0, Ï€, Φ, i, and ∞.
• They also made a second series about another five numbers: 4, 7, 2^13,466,917 -1, 74 (percent), and game theory (which is obviously not a number).
• Another BBC radio series on Archean geology and the rise of life.
• A great, and really long, review of Thomas Friedman’s book “The World is Flat”.

Sitting in Sed/Strat lab today listening to 89.3, and one of their random, eclectic songs came on the air. Someone asked who it was, I search on my laptop and came up with the name Gotan Project.

Never, ever heard of them before.

Been listening to clips from their website all day and finally got around to buying some tracks off iTunes this evening. Its sort of a tango, electronic fusion. Watch the video on their website. It contains two of the three things Argentina is best known for: tango and beautiful women. (the third being asado.
I had the chance to experience asado while in Argentina, and it was with out reservation or doubt, the best meat I have ever had in my life. )

My entire history of music listening can be described by a series of these random events which wisk me off in another direction. We’ll see if this one goes anywhere.

*Note: Despite the Argentinean overtones, the group is actually French.

The trip is getting closer. My house is getting close to being put on the market and the semester is nearing an end.

Here is where some things stand:

Website

I’m probably going to have to get some help in developing the website. I’d like to keep the core of it a standard blog application like WordPress, but make some modifications to it. Associate country, lat/long, video, etc for each entry. That shouldn’t be much more than adding a few fields to the database.

I’ll also need a complete design for the website, which I am in no position to do. I also need to find a host that can handle any increases in traffic I might see. I have no faith that my current host could handle it.

Photo/Video Serving

At this point, I’m assuming I’ll just use Flickr and a similar service for video like Youtube or Google Video. They can host the files, and I can integrate them into the site. Its the cheapest, easiest solution I can think of.

Licensing

I’m going to release all the content I create via a Creative Commons License. Its my hope that some people may take some raw video footage and do some editing or do some photoshop work on the still photos. The license will be a “you can edit and distribut but you can’t sell” type.

Video Camera

I’m leaning towards a Sony Z1U, HC1 or HC3. There is a big difference between the Z1U and the HC cams in terms of price, portability, battery life, and weight. I’m not sure which way I’d go yet.

Computer

I think I’m going to get a Macbook. Not only is the bundled video editing software pretty good, but the universe of video editing knowledge out there for it is pretty rich. I figured out how to do the basics of video editing in five minutes at the Mac store. Moreover, the Mac warranty is now global, so if I have issues somewhere else, I can still get it fixed.

SLR Camera

I’m leaning towards the Nikon D200.

Misc

I’ll need a good storage container for my electronics. I’m thinking of going with a hard sided case at this point. I’ll also need some sort of bag for carring gear around when I’m out for the day. Preferably, something that could carry both the video camera and the SLR. I’m planning on having two containers currently. One for personal stuff like clothes, and one for electronics. Some sort of security device will be needed too.

I’ll also need some electrical adaptors, but I hope not much in the way of bulky transformers. I’m also thinking a small device for finding wireless access points, an iPod, and small pocket camera (which I already have). I’ll probably need extra DV tapes, DVDs for archiving, a small extension cord/power strip, extra batteries, and memory cards. A tripod would also be necessary as will a lavaliere mic and an waterproof bag for underwater shots. A small GPS (maybe a USB one for space) will be nice too.

I’m planning on taking 2 pairs of pants, 4 shirts, 4 pair of underwear/socks, 1 pair of shoes, 1 pair of sandals. I’ll have way more gear than clothes.

I’ll be looking for help to set up the website before I go. I’m assuming that there is little need for on-going support once its up and running. If anyone is interested, please let me know. I’m going to be setting up a dummy site soon where I can start working on it.