Achievements

[Radbaron]

Otaku: do you watch MythBusters?
They did a show with thermite, tried to cut a minivan in half, but forgot that the metal would run when it was liquid. I think it was one of the 2-hour specials

[thaldin]

That was a great episode =)

[Radbaron]

I busted a Mythbuster Myth...

[cyanide_sweet]

YAY! DO tell! Which myth? :O

[Radbaron]

The Robin Hood myth.

When they were trying to get one arrow to pierce the second one by placing it directly behind , while still in the bow. I pointed out to them that the shooting arrow would still be under stress and acceleration until it left the string on the bow, and thats why it was deflecting from the target arrow. It's like hitting a nail with a hammer. The hammer has to be in motion for it to be effective. No matter how hard you move your arm/hand , if the hammer is resting on the nailhead, it aint gonna budge.

I have a lot of beefs with that show sometimes, they never take safety seriously.

[Otaku201]

I've gone from the "scarily quiet guy who rarely speaks to anyone" to "the guy who has the balls to make speeches about drugs, guns and sex without breaking a sweat" in about 1 year. Not sure whether to consider this an achievement or the unlocking of a hidden talent.

[midgetshrimp]

Either way it makes it sound like your life is an XBox game.

That was pretty neat though (the video).

[Otaku201]

Either way it makes it sound like your life is an XBox game.

What does that mean?

[midgetshrimp]

Most XBox 360 games have achievements and hidden features you can unlock to improve your "gamerscore".

[Don Alexander]

Thread necromancy alert!!!

Also re-railing!

Achievement: I have made 10% of all posts in the complete Ma3 forum.

And holding, at 10.50%...

But now, to more serious issues!! I am making this post as a motivator to myself, and as a kind of diary...

First off, I wish to point any possible new readers to this post, where I tell a bit about what I'm doing for a living and what I have achieved so far.

So...

Since about a year, the path to my PhD has been fully mapped out, and is perfectly clear:

A) Revise, resubmit and get accepted a paper I submitted in December 2007 ( )
B) Revise, resubmit and get accepted a paper I submitted in April 2008 ( )
C) Finally finish a paper on a GRB whose afterglow I discovered in January 2006 ( )
D) Write and hand in my fucking thesis!!!!
E) Pass exams!!!!
F) Defend my thesis and get my hand shaken!!!!

Now, since almost a year, I have been stuck on A)... It is a huge amount of work (and with every passing week, it seems to become more), but I confess to be a terrible procrastinator as well. Roughly, from December '08 to April '09, I did almost nothing...

I can split A) into several subcomponents:

1.1) Update afterglow data base in paper, adding all events that meet the sample selection criteria...
1.2) ...and also update any existing events if new data is published.
2.1) Read all literature relevant to the work which has been published in the last 1.5 years (like, 50 papers... )...
2.2) ...and implement their results, ranging from single sentences to new chapters with tables and figures.
3) Update text and figures to reflect all that has been added in the last 1.5 years.
4.1) FINALLY send out a revised draft to all co-authors, and ask for comments...
4.2) ...and implement these as they come in.
5) Analyze still unfinished images, add data to table, and modify results based on final addition of data.
6) Submit and pray the referee does not ask for another round due to all the changes.

Now, for the ACHIEVEMENTS...

1.1) DONE
1.2) DONE, but if anything comes in in the next weeks, will be added - but this is usually a matter of a few hours work.
2.1) DONE just this morning! Though again, new papers appearing in the next few weeks will still be included.
2.2) Mostly done. Am right now working on a new chapter (with new table and figure) based on that very final paper I read this morning.
3) The next step. Most of the grunt work, like writing the GRB descriptions in the appendix for all the new events, has been finalized, only thing missing is the main text and the figure captions.

That's where I stand. I'll update this in the coming weeks and months to show off how far I have come!

Step 4) will be a ginormous leap for me!!!! With the exception of a few people, most of my co-authors have no idea I have been working so much on the paper, and basically think I have disappeared off the face of the Earth or something like that.

Steps 1.2), 2.2) and 4.2) will be running next to the main step 5) as soon as 4.1) is achieved.

EDIT - 03. 07. 2009:
1.2) Added one single new data point...
2.2) Read two new papers, one yesterday, on today, both now cited twice each in paper. Added large new section in a chapter based on the very last paper I read before making the main post. That done, can now proceed with 3) !!!

EDIT - 06/07. 07. 2009:
3) is done baby!!! Draft has been sent, so 4.1) has been done!!! Lots of stoopid problems with the mail, though... Some first comments have already come in...

[Radbaron]

Don: I just read your linked post...


HOLY SMEGGING CRAP!!! Twice published in Nature? You're our very own Mr Spock!

[Don Alexander]

In the first one, I'm just one of many, many little henchscientists in the back rows. I'm a lot prouder of the second paper, where I actually made some important contribution, but that one, alas, is being ignored by most of the world.

When I get a first author Nature paper, then you may call me Spock.

Though I'm way too horny to be Spock. ;)

[Radbaron]

Well, it has been over seven years.....

And, if you saw the Star Trek movie......... (says no more)

[Gredinus]

I just managed to read 256 chapthers of Mahou Sensei Negima! (aka: Negima! Magister Negi Magi) in a week.

P.S. would have taken less if it wasn't for shool and stuff...

[Lilianna]

I actually haven't read anything substantial or academic this week. Normally, I've got my hands on some classic literature or an article about something physics-y.

Not reading anything for a week is a HUGE deal for me. And I feel the need to fix this by getting my hands on Fahrenheit 451 to read for the fourth time sometime soon. Also, my mythology book. And maybe try to get through some of Les Miserables again.