In school I have put my research on hold while I take up the proverbial pen and start writing grant proposals. I am writing my third NSF (National Science Foundation) GRFP proposal and it so happens that this will be my last year of eligibility. I am pretty much done with that one because I am using the same documents from last year save a few minor changes. I have also decided to take on a bigger proposal through the NIH (National Institute of Heath) though the amount of money is considerably less. I am doing this one mainly because it will force me to write down what I plan on doing for my dissertation. This will require a lot of thought on my part as well as thought as I discuss my project with Dave and Jane, my PIs. Further, this process will go a long way in preparing me for my preliminary exams, specifically the written portion. Overall, it is a very worthwhile exercise.
This weekend was a blast. I went to the North Carolina State Fair, which is always loads of fun. My goal is to go there every year that I’m here. We saw old-fashioned crafts, a gristmill (powered by a waterwheel!), huge vegetables, and many livestock. We went on Saturday, which was a beautiful day, sunny and the perfect temperature. There was a beautiful garden exhibit. I am bummed that I didn’t take my camera.
The food. We ate at a Methodist ‘diner’ where we had very good food (cheeseburgers, BBQ pork, onion rings, ham biscuits, etc. At the gristmill we had very good hush puppies for free! We then had to try some fair delicacies, deep-fried whatever. This year’s big feature was the KrispieKream cheeseburger where a KrispieKream doughnut was the bun. I did not try that! What I did sample was deep fried Oreos, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, and cookie dough. These were not as bad as I though they were going to be, not that I am claiming they were delectable either.
“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death” -- Albert Einstein
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
The Spill and YSA conference
Sorry for the long time between posts. I’ve had a lot of fun and unfortunately a pretty bad fall. The fall happened while I was going 20-25 mph on my road bike. My tire got caught in a crack, nay, a small chasm in the pavement and that was the end thereof. I am here to testify of wearing of one’s helmet. Without my helmet I’m pretty sure that I would have permanent brain damage. Luckily a passerby took me to the hospital. Luckily Duke was three minutes away and I had enough sense to insist that he take me to student heath rather than where he wanted to take me; the ER, yikes.
While the doctor was looking me over he asked me, “Start at one-hundred, take away seven and keep going.” I quickly responded, “100, 93, 86, 79, 72, 65…” by the time I made it to 44 he said enough and concluded I had no concussion or other mental damage. He also asked if I’d be getting back on the road bike. After I responded to the affirmative he shook his head. Would you expect anything else from me? I experienced the oft-repeated response of many cyclists after a bad fall; “I’ll heal. How’s my bike?” I am happy to report that the damage to my bike and body was all cosmetic. The bike shop realigned a few components and it was good to go. My body had a bunch of road rash as well as a rather deep abrasion on my hip. Not too shabby for going down on asphalt doing 20-25 mph.
This weekend we had a YSA (Young Single Adult) conference. We had a great turn out with people driving from as far away as Atlanta to attend. Friday we played games, had dance lessons, but mainly just socialized. Saturday morning we were split up into teams to do various service projects. Our team spread mulch on one of the many trails running through the Duke Forest. In the afternoon we had several workshops that we could choose to attend; I attended one on humility and one on the commonalities between Mormons and Jews. We then had Elder Gibbons (our area seventy) talk to us. The spirit testified that he was indeed a general authority; it was awesome!
I hope to have a more insightful\inspirational post next time. Until then…
While the doctor was looking me over he asked me, “Start at one-hundred, take away seven and keep going.” I quickly responded, “100, 93, 86, 79, 72, 65…” by the time I made it to 44 he said enough and concluded I had no concussion or other mental damage. He also asked if I’d be getting back on the road bike. After I responded to the affirmative he shook his head. Would you expect anything else from me? I experienced the oft-repeated response of many cyclists after a bad fall; “I’ll heal. How’s my bike?” I am happy to report that the damage to my bike and body was all cosmetic. The bike shop realigned a few components and it was good to go. My body had a bunch of road rash as well as a rather deep abrasion on my hip. Not too shabby for going down on asphalt doing 20-25 mph.
This weekend we had a YSA (Young Single Adult) conference. We had a great turn out with people driving from as far away as Atlanta to attend. Friday we played games, had dance lessons, but mainly just socialized. Saturday morning we were split up into teams to do various service projects. Our team spread mulch on one of the many trails running through the Duke Forest. In the afternoon we had several workshops that we could choose to attend; I attended one on humility and one on the commonalities between Mormons and Jews. We then had Elder Gibbons (our area seventy) talk to us. The spirit testified that he was indeed a general authority; it was awesome!
I hope to have a more insightful\inspirational post next time. Until then…
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