The Happy News thread

[Alelou]

China's not a done deal yet, but I am very hopeful. I'll have to blog from there if I get the gig.

It's way more exciting than the conference in Toledo I have to go to.

LOL. Two words: lake effect.

Where in China? (And where in Hawaii?)

[justTripn]

Honolulu. I got the email!!!! This is for real. YIKES.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Cool, justTripn! Being in Hawaii with Trek and astronomy geeks... What are the odds?

[Asso]

Honolulu. I got the email!!!! This is for real. YIKES.

[Silverbullet]

Honeybee. where in China. I was stationed in China for a year and a half.

Hopefully, you can get to Xian while you are there to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. thousands of them each with a different face. Naturally, you can buy small replicas of them.

When in Beijing try tostay at the Jiangua (sp) Hotel. small but people are (were) vey nice. Forbidden City is a must as is the Great Wall. Hope you get the job.

[Elessar]

Cool, justTripn! Being in Hawaii with Trek and astronomy geeks... What are the odds?

It's an excellent place for observation, not nearly the same level of artificial light and infrared noise, especially out on the outer islands.

I know JT will enjoy herself

So I MAY have happy news but I don't want to get too excited yet because I'm not sure...

I applied for UT-Austin for the Master of Science program in Aerospace Engineering, sent in my app on December 19th. I've been writing to the graduate committee for the grad program, then they said to write the department, so I did a few days ago, and I haven't heard a response.

But I got an email today -- to my newest email address, which I haven't had very long -- from FAFSA reminding me to apply for financial aid for the 2010-2011 school year

I was thinking maybe if the University has formally placed their own internal paperwork, it may've set off some bells and whistles at FAFSA to send me an email (which, like I said, I can't imagine any OTHER way for FAFSA to have my email address, other than getting it through this recent app), and maybe the Uni is just too damn slow and haven't responded to my email. All the status page says is that all components to my application package have been received and sent to the graduate committee for review. Interestingly, the LOR from my department head still hasn't made it in but he took forever last time, too. The other two came in fine, including my buddy who works at NASA and my former sponsor when I was on the satellite propulsion design project... who's also a professor emeritus on the aerospace engineering faculty at my undergrad... so I was hoping they'd go ahead and decide without my dept head's LOR.

By the way, I was confident this time around because my latest GRE score was

Verbal: 670
Quant: 740
Analytical Writing: 6


So...now the waiting game to see if something comes in the mail

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Cool, justTripn! Being in Hawaii with Trek and astronomy geeks... What are the odds?

It's an excellent place for observation, not nearly the same level of artificial light and infrared noise, especially out on the outer islands.

Of course, why didn't I think of that? Isn't that where the Keck Observatory is located, the one they have used to search for extrasolar planets?

[Alelou]

http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/mko/about_maunakea.htm

Meanwhile, I think I just saw the International Space Station out there tonight. But it's so bright I'm hoping I'm not mistaking a plane for it.

[justTripn]

The International Space Station would move across the sky maybe two or three times as fast as a plane and it can be quite bright. It has all those solar panels hanging off it.

I'm crossing my fingers for you, Elessar. Go ahead and make some phone calls. I've just been through this thing with my kids. J.'s application to Pitt got put on hold for nothing. They were waiting for his second set of SAT scores. I said, "He didn't take the SATs twice. Does he have to?" They said, "No. Just have him call and we will reactivate his application." ARGGHH!!!! Why did they deactivate it? Horrible bureaucracy. A few days later he got his acceptance letter. Way after all his friends got theirs. We were doing all this useless soul searching, trying to guess why he wasn't accepted while others just like him were.

Yes, Mauna Kea is famous. However, when people actually tour these holy places of astronomy they often say its not quite as fun as you would think, because of the lack of oxygen on mountain tops. I don't know if Mauna Kea is that high, hmm . . . Yes, it would be fun.

[Alelou]

Well, it's so high that even though Hawaii is tropical there was snow on it the whole time we were on the island. That would have been in April. (We didn't go up, just drove around it.)

[Elessar]

The International Space Station would move across the sky maybe two or three times as fast as a plane and it can be quite bright. It has all those solar panels hanging off it.

I'm crossing my fingers for you, Elessar. Go ahead and make some phone calls. I've just been through this thing with my kids. J.'s application to Pitt got put on hold for nothing. They were waiting for his second set of SAT scores. I said, "He didn't take the SATs twice. Does he have to?" They said, "No. Just have him call and we will reactivate his application." ARGGHH!!!! Why did they deactivate it? Horrible bureaucracy. A few days later he got his acceptance letter. Way after all his friends got theirs. We were doing all this useless soul searching, trying to guess why he wasn't accepted while others just like him were.

Stupid people shouldn't be allowed to hold the fates of others in their hands!

[Ludmila]

Congratulations, justTripn!
I hope you will have other pleasant "wild coincidences."

China's not a done deal yet, but I am very hopeful. I'll have to blog from there if I get the gig.
It's way more exciting than the conference in Toledo I have to go to.

Good luck, honeybee, with China's adventures! Though I might be more envious of visiting Toledo. I am not sure about your conference but Spanish people organize the conference of physicists very well.

LOL. Two words: lake effect.
Where in China? (And where in Hawaii?)

Explain me, please, "lake effect"

[Alelou]

Lake effect refers to the daily, never-ending snow and/or cloud cover that accompanies living downwind of a large body of water in the winter (at least until it finally freezes solid, if it ever does).

[Ludmila]

Thank you, Alelou, for nice explanation! I am now glad more that I am being near "a large body of water" only in the summer.

[Elessar]

Thank you, Alelou, for nice explanation! I am now glad more that I am being near "a large body of water" only in the summer.

Lake Baikal?