Now playing: Royksopp - What Else Is There (Trentemoeller Remix)

Random link of the day: Finite Simple Group (Of Order Two) - math, a cappella style

Random Encounters of the Third Kind

I made my second annual appearance at the Detroit Electronic Music Festival last night (to be followed by an encore appearance today), and I was amazed at the range of people that I ran across that I knew. Of course, I saw many of the usual suspects from whenever I go clubbing in Detroit--Brian, Garth, Heather, etc.--but I also ran into many people that I haven't seen in quite a while. I saw Nat, whom I met three years ago at the Toronto trancEaddict meetup before Labour of Love 2003, on the dancefloor of the Underground Stage while James Holden was spinning. But the king of reunions was running across Dan, my high school classmate in Arizona who then went off to Harvard and whom I hadn't seen or talked to in at least four years, in a hallway in the Masonic Temple Theater. I can't wait to see whom I will run across today... :-)

Now playing: Richie Hawtin - DE9: Closer to the Edit

Now playing: Dido - White Flag

Now playing: Tom Middleton - BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix (15 May 2005) [Tracklisting]

I just discovered this Star Wars-themed two-hour set within the past week, and I've been hooked. It's amazing how well the cantina song mashes up with a breakbeat. In a later post, I will list five of my favorite Essential Mixes, but right now I'm going to go back to listening to this set.

When it shines, it soars

As mentioned in my previous entry, I spend a lot of time contemplating the past. Having spent a lot of time considering the past year or two in particular, I have observed that it has been characterized by the arrival of a number of unexpected successes in quick succession, followed by the arrival of a number of disappointments. The cycle repeats with a periodicity on the order of months. This periodicity roughly corresponds to my emotional time constant, and so it puts me on a wild emotional roller coaster. (unbounded positive feedback, if you will) At the moment, I seem to be on a positive part of the cycle, hence the title of today's entry. The corresponding title for the negative part of the cycle would be, "When it rains, it pours." I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop...

Thought of the day

"The past can always be rewritten by what you do today."

I probably spend more time than I should thinking about past decisions and whether or not I made the best possible choice. I have to keep reminding myself that it has not yet been determined whether or not I made the best possible choice. Even if my decision had negative consequences in the short term, it can still be positive overall in the long term provided I learn from those "mistakes."

Maybe this idea isn't as insightful as I think it is...I have a lot on my mind, some of which I might blog at a later date.

Now playing: Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism

Thought of the day

"Education is the process of realizing your own ignorance, then proceeding to do something about it."

I used to think I had a pretty good understanding of things like mathematics and physics, but as I have progressed in my studies, I have discovered that I did not understand things as well as I thought I did. Sometimes I have discovered that I have been doing things (solving partial differential equations, for example) without realizing it. Sometimes I have suddenly discovered that there were entire subfields that I didn't even know existed (abstract algebra, for example). Other times I have discovered that subfields were about completely different things than I thought (topology, for example). Yet other times I have realized that two distinct subfields obey the same mathematical equations (analytical mechanics and electrical circuits, for example). And there are yet other things that I should be able to do, but honestly am not comfortable with (solve a second-order ordinary differential equation, for example). I am working on all of these things, but I also realize that it is impossible to be an expert in everything.

Now playing: Great Lake Swimmers - When It Flows

Now playing: Coldplay - Fix You

Advisorless in Ann Arbor

A word of advice to aspiring or fledgling PhD students: choose an advisor who is young and healthy. This does not mean that you cannot complete your dissertation with a more senior advisor, but if the worst thing you can possibly imagine should come to pass, it really sucks. I speak from personal experience.

Now playing: DJ Trainwreck - Dead in the Mix (8 Jan 2005)

1. Alanis Morrissette - Uninvited (Brothers in Rhythm Remix)
2. Grayarea - Gravity (Hybrid's Love From Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Remix)
3. Syntax - Bliss (Wrecked Angle Remix)
4. Way Out West - Don't Forget Me (Way Out West's Dustbiter Remix)
5. Deepest Blue - Give It Away (Club Mix)
6. Avril Lavigne - I'm With You (Leama & Moor Remix)
7. Garbage - Breaking Up the Girl (Brothers in Rhythm Therapy Remix)
8. The Chemical Brothers - Hold Tight London (Dunproofin's Follow Me Mix feat. Katie Enlow)
9. Amber - Anyway (Steve Porter Mix 1)
10. Depeche Mode - Only When I Lose Myself (Lexicon Avenue Remix)
11. U.N.K.L.E. - Reign (Album Version)