Fresh from the front lines

So it's been a while. I figured I would post a couple thoughts.

I must have allergies I wasn't aware of, since I'm noticing that this time every year (or at least the last few years) I feel like crap. I've had a headache, poor mental clarity, and irritated eyes for 2 weeks now. bleh.

Wednesday, just as I began to think that I might be making a mistake in quitting my job, I was brought back to reality so quick it made my head spin. I won't go into detail (since this is a public blog), but suffice to say I was reminded of one of the primary reasons why I applied to grad school. I can't WAIT to move on.

Also Wednesday, I went to a talk by Steve Grossberg. He presents a very compelling argument for his model of laminar cortical dynamics and his push for a unified theory of the cortex. And while many of the PhD students will likely be quick to dismiss his arguments (I'm not sure why they ALWAYS do this, pride?, a greater understanding of the issues than my own?) I thought he was brilliant. Although I had some questions about the fundamentals of his models, I don't doubt that most of the details are as well-formed as his main theories.... btw. I don't expect this section to appeal to the majority of my audience, but the point is that one of the most satisfying experiences is to hear someone talk (on or slightly above your level) and having it make you think so heavily that you walk out of the talk feeling fried. (like after studying for finals)

Thursday was the last day of my class. I enjoyed this particular class so much, I wish the semester was longer. As usual, of the 2 classes this semester, I did very well in the class I really enjoyed and it's iffy how I did in the one I didn't enjoy.

I will be doing research this summer on Self Organizing Maps. The project doesn't sound like anything ground-breaking (so far), but I hear that it's a typical first summer project. Regardless, I will have the opportunity to research with a couple very talented people, SOMs are closely related to some of my bigger research interests, and I might even get published. So, it doesn't get much better than that!


Aaaannnnd, lets finish with a laugh. Watch the first half of this.