The Importance of Stupidity and Sunshine

Not necessarily simultaneously.

I read two completely unrelated but very interesting articles this week, both of are which I thought are worth passing on.

The first, I would suggest every scientist read, is "The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research" by Dr. Schwartz. It was published in the Journal of Cell Science in 2006, and the article talks about this constant feeling of "stupidity" when doing research, and how this feeling is necessary for good science. When you're in lab, completely stumped, and you have no higher knowledge to refer to, it is then that you know you're doing good research. If you're asking the questions no one has answers to, you are by definition the cutting edge. That feeling of frustration has been felt by everyone who has worked in a lab, and this short article lets you rest assured that you are not alone, and that feeling is not in vain.

Having spent more than half of my semester reading Science, Nature and Cell papers, I understand what feeling Dr. Schwartz is referring to. The older papers read like a good detective novel: there was a question about basic science, the authors conducted a series of experiments to answer them, and in the end they had a definitive, conclusive mechanism or result to show for it. You left the paper with a satisfied feeling. However, as we began reading the more recent papers, published in 2008 and later, the conclusive detective novel transformed into a Goosebumps "choose your ending" storyline. The authors had a question, they conducted experiments to attempt to answer them, but the final meaning was open to interpretation. That satisfactory feeling was gone, as the papers raised more questions than they answered, and often left me wondering "so what?" and "how did this paper get published in Science?". That's when it hit me, these papers aren't conclusive because we are now at that cutting edge. This feeling of unsureness is a result of that same stupidity Dr. Schwartz is referring to. We are doing good science.

The second article, "Bright Ideas for Treating the Winter Blues" was something I came across in the Wall Street Journal this week that simply answered questions I've had for years. I've always joked that I must be a rare, photosynthesizing human because I found myself so much happier and more energetic in the sunshine. The article goes over the link between depression and the seasons, and ways to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder, which they suggest results from lack of sunshine throwing off your circadian rhythms, which in turn affects your mood. As I'm diving into my first winter on the east coast, I'm glad to know this information beforehand, and if things get too dark and depressing, I can always try some light therapy. Ahh, as if there weren't already enough reasons to live in California. :-)

Fall Colors

If there's one thing California is missing, it is a real fall. This is my first time living (year-round) in a region with real seasons, and even though I prefer milder temperatures, the past few weeks in Philadelphia have been absolutely gorgeous. The weather has been fluctuating between warm and refreshingly brisk, and even though sun has been scarce, the gray weather only adds to the vibrancy of fall. I really wish I had a camera to capture this, sadly I haven't bought one yet, but I will share my friend Heather's pictures of fall in Fairmount Park to give you an idea.


One memory I will always cherish is ambling through Penn's Locust Walk (lined with trees and gothic brick buildings), wrapped in a scarf, kicking up piles of orange-red leaves and laughing at Landscaping Services' futile attempt to clear all the leaves as hundreds more fall.

:-)

Religious Promiscuity

After what has been a physically, mentally and emotionally trying three weeks, today I inadvertently found solace in a house of worship. Well not just a place of worship, but three distinct places.

The first was completely spontaneous. While at Biketoberfest (an outdoor celebration of bikes, beer, brats, and bands), we spotted a beautiful church behind the stage and decided to amble through between bands. They happened to be having a service, so we sat in for a bit.

After Biketoberfest, I went to a Diwali celebration by Penn's Hindu Student Council. Here I witnessed and participated in my first puja and arti, very exciting!

Finally, since Diwali is a festival celebrated by three different religions (Hindus, Sikhs and Jains) in India, they proceeded to the Sikh celebration as well (singing hymns, or kirtan).

At each and every event today, I felt this amazing calm fall over me, especially while listening to the choir or singing hymns with everyone. While I had no particular affinity to the content of any of the prayers, the soft singing and sense of a community bound without ulterior motives was very soothing. I don't know if this makes me more or less atheist, or more or less Sikh, but it was a good day.

:-)

Our Rockstars Aren't Like Your Rockstars*

I love engineers, this is no news, but here is a story that made my night:

I went downstairs to the TV lounge to watch the season premier of Big Bang Theory last night. There were five of us there, we laughed, enjoyed the show, and at the end we all got into the elevator to head to our respective rooms. As we get in, I noticed only "10" was pushed on the elevator. Odd, I thought, 5 strangers watching a TV show out of a 22-story building, funny that we're all from the same floor.

Oh wait, 10th floor is the science and engineering floor, that explains it.

:-)

*If you don't get the title, here's a must-see ad by Intel. If you don't like it, please let me know so I can immediately remove you from contact.

Things to Note

People here smoke a lot.

Drivers here honk a lot.

Too many people wear too much perfume/cologne (they're probably the smokers).

Learning How to Fish

I had heard that classes in graduate school had a different dynamic than undergrad, but I wasn't aware how contrasting they would be. The most noticeable (and welcome) change is that classes aren't textbook-centric anymore, but are literature-centric. Two of the three classes I've attended so far (because we started on a Wednesday, haven't had Monday or Tuesday classes yet) have over 30% of the class grade based on in-class discussion and presentation of research articles. Also, by allowing us to bring in papers we find interesting, we can gear the curriculum towards our personal interests. The goal of classes isn't to lecture at you, but to teach you how to find and critique the most relevant, up-to-date literature so you can teach yourself. My professor this morning described it in the best way "we're not going to give you the fish, we're going to teach you how to fish."

Being treated like an adult at school makes me feel more like an adult. Having swapped out my jeans for khakis and my backpack for a Penn tote bag, I really feel like a graduate student. And I must say, it feels great.

:-)

Philly, to the power 24

In my last post, my sentiments about this city were lukewarm. There was culture, but no crazy. There was personality, but no pizzazz. Turns out we were just looking in the wrong places. After the busiest and most fun 24 hours in the city of brotherly love, all of my reservations about this move have been eliminated (well, except for the winter, we'll see about that in a few months). Let me take you through my day.

Saturday night, the ladies and I Yelped "Philadelphia nightlife," threw on our dancing shoes, and headed out on the town. First stop was this new place by campus, The Blockley Pourhouse. Opened recently, this place is shiny and spacious, and although the crowds are missing, it has great potential. Because it's new, the bartenders are all trying to buy loyalty and a crowd of "regulars" with free drinks galore. Needless to say, we liked. Buzzin' off of free booze, we hopped into a cab and told the cabbie to take us to the party. He did just as asked, and took us to THE place to be on a Friday or Saturday night, meaning 2nd @ Market. This two block strip was spilling with people coming in and out of the 10-15 bars, clubs and restaurants to fit every need. There were the grungy Irish pubs, the swanky clubs and upscale cocktail lounges. We found our place at the perfect combination of these 3, called Plough & The Stars. It was casual bar meets club, with two levels of dancing, and packed to the brim. Hours of dancing and meeting the locals = night of success.

Sunday morning, with a few survivors from the night before, we headed over to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which is free on the 1st Sunday of every month. Getting to the museum involved walking along the beautiful bike/run trail along the Schuylkill River. The museum itself was nothing short of grandiose (and actually more impressive than The Met), and located in the lush green Fairmount Park, it was the wow factor I had been missing.

After the art museum, we found ourselves on a spontaneous, self-guided tour of the Parkway, i.e. the Museums District of Philly. This is essentially the culture center of the city, housing several museums and libraries, city hall, and the stately Cathedral Basilica of Saints Paul and Peter. Even walking around, this is the most safest, most beautiful, spacious part of the city, with historical buildings, water fountains in every direction, and the flags of the world lining Ben Franklin Parkway. I can see that I will be spending many weekend afternoons exploring this district.

We got back to campus just in time for the Graduate Student Center's "Gnome Hunt/Happy Hour". I can't say enough how much I'm love the GSC. They have this ridiculous obsession with gnomes, which seemed absurd at first, but after this event, is very impressive. The entire GSC building is sprinkled with gnomes in the most random places, and they have pictures on the wall of the gnomes all around the world with them (Rome, Paris, California!). Our goal was to run around campus finding all the hidden gnomes, in the mean time, forcing me to go to many important places on campus I would have never known about otherwise: Fine Arts Library, Botanical Gardens, Penn Museum (which houses the 2nd largest collection of Egyptian artifacts after Cairo), Penn Bookstore, etc. Running around campus sweating profusely for an hour, and ending with an exquisite banquet and happy hour! :-D

Banquet ended just in time for Brittany and I to scuttle over to the first ever Philly Naked Bike Ride! I am officially a part of this city's history. I thought I'd done my fair share of crazy things, but this surpassed anything I'd done before. We collected at the Schuylkill River trail again, only to see hundreds of bikers and LOTS of flesh!

Entered the body-painting tent, stripped down and started painting! Once we were all decorated, it was 90 minutes of riding through every neighborhood of the city, yelling and screaming whilst being naked. The best way to describe it is a Critical Mass where everyone's naked. The reactions of unaware people on the streets were to die for, some of my favorites being the wedding happening along the Schuylkill, the hundreds of people having outdoor dinners at the upscale Rittenhouse Square restaurants, and a random guy on the street "this is the best f*****g day of my life!" Finally, the city has personality! I rocked a map of Cali on my back, and thus met many people from California, which is always great!

Finally, I got home, finished off the night with painful yet hilarious karaoke and salsa lessons with the building, washed off the paint, and passed out.

:-D

A Moment to be Pennsive

Although not quite done with my first week in Philadelphia, I have done enough exploring in the past few days to give me a sense of what I've gotten myself into. I now feel I can give a rudimentary judgment of several aspects of my new life.

The School:

Classes haven't started yet, so I can't say anything about the academics, but the campus itself is gorgeous. Taking my afternoon strolls to and from orientations have always left a big smile on my face. With the tree-lined cobblestone paths and the rustic red and gray brick buildings, I found myself thinking several times "ahh, its good to be back on the east coast." With art displays all over campus (notably the Peace, Love and Broken Button), and well-maintained landscape, you can tell it is an Ivy League.

I got my first exposure to Ivy League brats when my professor warned us, as TAs, to "watch out for the donor kids." Yowza, if children of donors are significant enough to mention during a TA meeting, this must happen often. On that same note, EVERYTHING at Penn is sponsored or donated, from entire buildings down to a stairwell in the BioE (here called BE) building.

My favorite part about the school so far is the Graduate Student Center. It is an embarrassingly well-funded organization that puts together very fitting events for graduate students (happy hours, city tours leaving you to do your thing downtown, "gnome hunts", salsa nights). With so many Master's students, it makes it a blast!

The City:

I was warned about Philadelphia's safety before coming here, but I brushed those warnings off thinking "meh, I lived in Harlem, how much worse could it be?" Turns out, a lot. UPenn, like several other schools located in crappy cities, has its own bubble in the middle of West Philly, which is the second worst part of town (coming in after South Philly). Inside the Penn Bubble, life is great. Students and upscale shops all around. Ten blocks east and west of where I live, you don't want to be caught alone. While every school warns you "never to walk alone at night," here doing so would mean risking your life. Luckily, we have been doing group tours and exploring the sketchier neighborhoods of town in safe numbers. Just two days ago, two women were raped (by the same man) two hours apart in Fairmount Park, which is immediately east of us. Today, two of my friends were followed around a Kmart by a sketchy man who purchased nothing and was just browsing for girls out alone to attack. Needless to say, I am on my guard, and very happy staying inside my Penn Bubble.

Safety issues aside, during the day and in groups, Philadelphia is a pretty cool city. It's no New York in culture, but there are several cool districts with lively restaurants and bars. And of course, the history isn't lost of me, although I was more impressed with Boston in that aspect. But everytime I pass by a food cart or walk into a subway station, I am happy to be living in a city again.

The Liquor Laws

Not that this defines my lifestyle or anything, but the peculiar liquor laws of Pennsylvania are worth mentioning. For starters, grocery stores don't carry alcohol at all. Beer must be purchased from special "Beer Distributors" where it's only sold by the case, and wine/hard alcohol from "Wine & Spirit Distributors." However, one AWESOME side effect of these prude laws is that, because liquor licenses are so difficult to obtain, many upscale restaurants are Bring Your Own Bottle (BYOB)! I haven't tried one yet, but I am excited to.

My Housing

Ahh, my biggest disappointment so far, and the reason I broke down into tears on my first night...my housing. I signed up for university housing because I figured it would be the safest, cleanest deal, based of course on Cal's on-campus housing. I am living in Sansom Place East, the graduate high-rise apartments, or as we like to call them, the Graduate Student Projects. The apartments are tiny, the building is grungy overall, and I think I was just cursed with the worst apartment. My walls are dirty, my kitchen has obvious marks of a huge fire, the previous resident was a smoker, and worst of all COCKROACHES come creeping out at night! Ugh. After 4 days of serious cleaning, and asking the facilities repair for an exterminator, I am finally getting comfortable in this shit-hole. Never again will I take on University housing blindly. My quality of life has definitely dropped, from my awesome, well-stocked apartment this summer to eating soup and most-likely a dining plan at Penn.

However, aside from the actual apartment, the building has great amenities. There are group activities regularly, where I have met most of the people I now hang out with. There is a computer facility, free laundry, and this amaaazing view of downtown Philly on one side (I am the 10th floor), and phenomenal sunsets on the other.

The advantage of shitty housing is that it encourages you to stay out, which is pretty much what I've done all week. The weather has been beautiful, the people and events great, it's pretty much been a mini-vacation. I'm sure this euphoria will die quickly once school starts and the weather heads toward winter, but I am enjoying it now!

Peace, Love and a Broken Button,

Kiran

At the Intersection of Birth, Residence, and Religion

As a child, I read a fair share of books about second generation immigrants facing culture clashes and identity crises (the prototypical example being The Joy Luck Club). Even though I am a second-generation immigrant myself, I never faced any angst about my identity, and hence couldn’t understand what these books were aiming at. Even throughout high school, as I fought my parents for freedom and independence, I never really felt like that reflected on my identity, it was just my parents’ way of raising children.

Self-awareness slowly began to rise in college, as I realized how much American pop culture I was clueless about, and when I was first asked if I was American. In answer to the latter, I said ‘no’, mostly because I have always thought of myself as Indian, and I don’t identify with many inherently American traits (I read somewhere that the average American is obese, monolingual, and doesn’t hold a passport). However, upon hearing my reasoning, one friend challenged me with “well would you identify more with an Indian girl your age or an American one?” A great question, and obviously I would identify more with an American, which finally made me concede that I must be American after all.

The third prong of my identity comes from being born in a Sikh family. I was raised as a devout Sikh for more than half my life, until I realized I believe in science more than supreme powers, and declared myself an atheist. At this point, in my mind, I completely shed my Sikh identity. This is all old news, however, so why bring this up now? Last month, my parents held a Sikh prayer recital, called an Akhand Paat, in honor of my graduation. After spending two entire days with my extended family volunteering and listening to prayers at our local church, I realized that I will always be a Sikh, whether or not I believe. I found my lips automatically moving to the hymns that defined my childhood Sundays, and despite being Atheist, I got a great sense of peace, community and family bonding by being there.

So finally, at age 22, I can understand what an identity crisis is, and say happily, that I have solved mine with the below pie chart.

Yes, I am that bored at work.

:-)

My tête-à-tête with Miss Austen*

Of the three books I picked up with my “no internet after 9pm” rule, my instincts drew me to Pride and Prejudice first. I could sense the drama and taboo locked between those covers, and I was sure I would appreciate it. With my limited knowledge of the book beforehand, I expected the entangled “love”** stories to appeal to the romantic in me, however the book surprised me when I found myself engaged on several other levels.

The first and foremost was the intense pride and feminism evoked by every one of Elizabeth’s unorthodox actions. Admittedly, the desire to prove female independence and equality were a factor in my decision to become an engineer, but aside from that, I don’t feel any strongly feminist emotions on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, I often find feminists rather irritating, mostly because I believe a proactive, doing mentality goes leagues farther than the passive, complaining route in promoting equality. However, this was all thrown aside as Elizabeth, with a strong will and love for her sickly sister, ran the five miles to Netherfield in the storm, despite the impropriety of a young woman doing such a thing. One of my favorite lines from the book is when she arrives at Netherfield, with the bottom of her dress covered in mud, and Mr. Darcy notes that she looked beautiful, despite her face being “flushed with glow of exercise,” where a footnote then explained that exercise was considered improper for upper class women, as it indicated working in the field. I felt this great surge of pride in Elizabeth, and Mr. Darcy himself gained brownie points for shunning society’s expectations and admitting (if only to himself) his attraction to such a rebel.

This leads me to my other point of surprise. There was something incredibly attractive in the defiance of taboo in such a repressive culture, where simple gestures, such as Mr. Darcy’s uninvited visits to Mr. Collins’ parish, raised eyebrows. As Mr. Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s relationship progressed, I found the conversation during their racy rendezvous as exciting as a sexual encounter, and was often nothing short of turned on. Besides a very enlightening look into my own sexual psyche, this book let me rest assured that even in the most repressed of times, people had no trouble getting their yayas.

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and will probably continue down this line with Sense and Sensibility someday, if not soon.

*Upon researching, Jane Austen was the only (and hence oldest) sister, so would have gone by the name Miss Austen, according to the rules stated in her book.

**I use this word with caution, because I do not believe that any girl in this story actually loved her suitor/husband, with, of course, the exception of Jane.

Can't Wait for UPenn!

My excitement for Philly and UPenn is increasing, helped along by the numerous awesome invites I keep getting, like the following:
----
We cordially invite you to attend our annual SUMMER BARBECUE!
Here’s all the details...
DATE: Friday, July 17th
TIME: Noon to 2:00pm
WHERE: In Front of Levine Hall
FOOD: Fresh grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, corn on the cob
DRINK: Beer from Penn Engineering Alumnus Mark Edelson, owner of Iron Hill Brewery.
----

I approve!

No Internet after 9

Inspired by Ravi's broken computer (and thus his lack of internet at home), I have decided to impose a "no internet after 9pm (on weekdays)" policy on myself. This way, I can better use my time during those nights by reading. Today I picked up Pride and Prejudice, The Satanic Verses, and A Tale of Two Cities from Moffitt- time to enlighten myself (sans Wikipedia)!

The Traditional Marriage Algorithm

I was recently introduced to this concept of the Traditional Marriage Algorithm, also known as the Stable Marriage Algorithm. On hearing this name, my first instinct was to laugh. Typical computer scientists, try to break down love into a matter of numbers and algorithms (it reminded me of this classic xkcd).

To give a brief synopsis, with n girls and n boys, each ranks the opposite sex in order of preference. The goal is to find a stable pairing in which no girl or guy can find a better match (i.e. higher ranked than their current partner) and leave their existing marriage. In practice, each guy proposes to his top girl, whereas she can say no or maybe, and at the end of the day/round, she picks her top and rejects the other maybes. In the next day/round, the same thing happens again, and girls can "trade-up" their list, and men who were once engaged may no longer be so. A great explanation of the entire algorithm and its repercussions on both parties is found in this "Lecture 10: How to Think Like A Computer Scientist" from Duke's CS department.

While the purpose of teaching this to CS students is for proving algorithms, the most interesting point was the following: The Traditional Marriage Algorithm always produces a male-optimal, female-pessimal pairing. Meaning, the person who asks always gets the highest person on their list that would produce a stable pairing, whereas the person who waits to be asked doesn't necessarily walk away with the best possible mate.

What does this say about our dating patterns? As a girl, if I follow the standard and wait to be asked out, I am automatically losing. Well, it's a good thing I don't. Finally being a "forward" girl has been proven to pay off!

That said, there is a risk involved in being the "chooser". Looking back on my own experience, the times I have taken initiative (and thus chosen someone at the top of my list), are the only times I have been burned, or traded-up, in the case of this analogy. What the algorithm simply overlooks as "rounds" are in reality a series of break-ups, each involving months and possibly years of your time.

What does this finally mean? To avoid heartbreak, one should never date someone hotter/more-successful than themselves. However, for the promise of the best partner possible, the risk of being traded-up must be faced. Which would you choose?

Privatization of Public Assets

From elementary school to community college to Cal, I have always prided myself on being a product of public education. I have always been a strong supporter of public education and do not see the need to pay the big bucks for success. I realize that, as a Californian, the bar for public education is much higher than other states and I'm fortunate in that aspect.

With that said, off I go to University of Pennsylvania, which is not only a private university, but also an Ivy League. I was always hesitant towards the Ivy League because (in my mind) it represented the incompetent, silver-spoon-fed heads of political (i.e. George W. Bush) and corporate (i.e. Rick Wagoner) America. My summer at Columbia shattered this illusion, but replaced it with the reality that Ivy League schools are run by incredibly disorganized administrations with elastic budgets and ill-defined goals. Public universities are more streamlined, more resourceful, and more efficient simply because they have to compete with private universities on a fraction of the budget.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great school and the opportunity is amazing, but part of me feels like I'm cheating on my values- paying for the brand name education in hopes of easing myself into a job based solely on prestige of my school.

What prompted this post? This past week, I officially became a Quaker. PennKey in hand, housing assigned, and classes picked, my excitement is quickly rising to join UPenn's Bioengineering community and Philadelphia in general, so I'm not exactly sure why I'm writing this negative post. Maybe it's to ease my guilt of leaving Cal. I may be a Quaker for a few years, but I'm Bear for life!

Kayak to Japan anyone?

In honor of this awesome xkcd, the roommates and I asked Google Maps for directions from Berkeley to Catalina Island. Looking at the steps 13 and 27 below, it's good to know Google has a sense of humor.

Of Professors and Bums

I noticed the weirdest and saddest parallel the other day: how similar and often indistinguishable Berkeley professors (specifically engineering professors) are to Berkeley bums. Don't believe me? Read ahead.

• Both have frazzled, unkempt hair
• Both wear clothing that looks like it was once respectable, clean and/or fashionable
  
• Both are seen frequenting north side eateries such as Stuffed Inn and La Val's, voraciously scarfing down food, usually alone
• Both can be seen walking around with piles of papers and mumbling incomprehensible phrases in angry bursts

:-)

Email Conundrums

Having graduated (woot woot! yes, more on that later), I'm now facing the issue of changing/forwarding emails.

Problem 1: My @berkeley.edu account will soon (and apparently without warning) shut down. It has been my primary email for 4 years, and all my important accounts are linked to it.

Problem 2: My current @gmail.com address is a very unprofessional address. I wish to make a permanent and respectable email account that I can use for years to come. Something that is easy to remember and not embarrassing to have on a resume.

To solve the first problem, I have slowly started using my Gmail address for other online accounts. To solve the second problem, I have created a more professional Gmail using my name, not my 9th-grade AIM screen name. This however, creates:

Problem 3: Should I forward my new Gmail to my old one? Or should I forward the old to the new, which would allow me to slowly phase out the old one. Option 1 has the advantage that I keep my Google Calendar, Reader, Photos and Chat contacts. Option 2 has the advantage that Gmail will import all my contacts and email from the old account, and I can slowly but finally phase-out my incredibly difficult and childish AIM screen name, and I can consolidate all my emails into one, clean account. But this comes at the cost of losing my Google Photos, Reader, and Calendar.

Are there other options? Please give me suggestions!!

Auntie Kiran

I was home last weekend, and had two one-on-one occasions with the baby (my nephew, Kabir). It was so much fun, and he is finally turning into a real creature. At close to 3 months, he's responding to our voices, cooing, grabbing things, and just being cute overall!

Liddle Date!

After my last attempt to find the Berkeley waterfalls ended in a muddy face-plant, I never thought I'd go back. But I finally succeeded yesterday, with Kate's guidance! It couldn't have been a cuter date: biking mid-finals, then (stupidly) climbing up the waterfall (or in Kate's case, stepping in). 

Either way, the waterfalls were much more impressive than I thought. It really was a tiny oasis in the middle of Berkeley, with no sign of surrounding city life. The waterfall is behind Cordonices Playground, up a few secret trails. For detailed directions how to get there, see Weekend Sherpa.

Conversations to Remember

I do love my puns, and somehow R always manages to have the best ones:

R: So what is the deal with stalking Vassili? are you over Blah Blah? Quit vacillating!

:-D

Just for the record, I was not stalking anyone, just getting help reading a friend's blog that happened to be written in French.

How I Met Your Mother

"But never forget, that any day, you could step out the door, and your life can change forever."

-Ted Mosby :-)

After what has been a trying three months, an exhausting few weeks, and a demoralizing day trying to figure out what the next step in my life is, this quote was just what I needed. It really takes off the pressure and allows me to let my life unfold.

Twitter

     As a generation who grew up with the internet at our sides, I've always wondered what type of technology it would take to "age" us. What new thing will our children rave about that we won't have any comprehension of? Today I got the first feeling of being "aged," and I realized that just one seemingly insignificant internet "phenomena" can do the trick. I speak, of course, of Twitter.

     In the last few weeks, Twitter kept showing up in the most random times in my life. Now, I've been aware of Twitter for a very long time, and for the most part didn't feel the need to make an account solely for the purpose of updating my status. At that time, of course, I had a Facebook and it served that purpose (plus many more) just fine. 

     The alarming part wasn't simply how often Twitter was being mentioned, it was more about the legitimacy of the source. Here are some of the more notable mentions:

Strike 1: April 8th, 2009, Interview for a Technology Consulting firm

     Interviewer: Do you Twitter?

     Me: (blindsided) No, sorry, I don't.

     Interviewer: It's okay, I don't either, the company made me put that question in there.

Strike 2a: Mid-April, 2009

     Online I came across an interview of a notable politician (male, I can't remember the name) who mentions Twitter as one of his main news sources. Also, President Obama's use of Twitter in his campaign, though much earlier, was also surprising.

Strike 2b: April 26, 2009

     Xkcd.com makes a comic about Twitter. Now this may sound trivial, but I love xkcd.com, and feel a little put down every time I don't understand something they post. I know it's silly, bite me.

Strike 3: April 27, 2009 (today), Starbucks 

     I was enjoying a mid-morning tea and scone at Starbucks, playing Solitaire on my phone and minding my own business. A 50-something lady sitting next to me says something about "I should get to my car, I don't want to get a parking ticket." I wasn't sure why she was telling me this, but I smiled politely at her. A minute later, she looks directly at me, says "I'd rather be talking to myself than be on Twitter," and guffaws loudly. What? Either she thought I was Twittering and ignoring her, or this 50-something lady had a Twitter and I didn't. Either way, I had had enough. 

    So today I joined Twitter. I might not need it or want it, but I shall give it a try. So Twitter me! www.twitter.com/ksekhon

My Not-so-Brewed Awakening

     Don't let the title mislead you, this post has nothing to do with coffee or Brewed Awakening, which has recently entered the Top 5 of my favorite Berkeley cafes (see Yelp for why). The awakening of which I speak is my social consciousness.

     Today I participated in National Rebuilding Day to satisfy the community service requirement for BioEHS. The goal of the former organization is to improve living conditions of hard-pressed communities. So up I got at 7:10 am on a Saturday morning, and sans coffee, headed over to clean up the yard of a free clinic in West Berkeley, Lifelong Medical. While leading our landscaping team (Go Blistering Green Thumbs!) through two truck beds of wood chips and ground cover to provide a low-maintenance, water-conserving front yard, I began talking to the site leader, a Professor Emeritus from UCSF, about the clinic. In response to his gratitude for our work, I said "I'm happy to be here," and I realized that I really meant it. I honestly couldn't think of anything better to be doing on a Saturday morning than shoveling dirt around the yard of a free clinic. He went on to tell me how the proposed budget cuts by the state were going to force them to shut down some of these clinics, and it moved me so much I am actually writing a letter to the state assemblyman to contest these cuts. Wow, who would have thought, that in the countdown of my departure from Berkeley, my political apathy would finally succumb to Berkeley's activist spirits?

     I joined BioEHS solely for the honors cord at graduation, and have always grumbled about completing their requirements for membership, but for the first time today, I felt like I understood why the requirements existed. I can't say I would have done either Berkeley Project (last semester) or National Rebuilding Day if they weren't required, but I definitely took away something positive from both. Even if the effect lasted only a day, I became a selfless, socially-conscious citizen while volunteering, which aren't words I would normally use to describe myself. I will no longer complain about BioEHS, or any other social organization for that matter, as I am finally realizing the importance of a well-rounded individual. 

An Apple a Day... Keeps the PC Doctor Away

     While reading Lifehacker's interview with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, I came across a comment of his that made me double take:  "When we first started with Apple computers, it was my dream that everyone would learn to program, and that was how they'd use their computer." 

     Being a recent PC --> Mac convert myself (note the one-sided arrow), if there is one major shortcoming I have noticed, it is that Mac's don't allow much user input. Apple's philosophy seems to be "well our way is just so damn good, you won't need to modify anything." With millions of users and a large emphasis on design, most of their flaws and inconveniences have already been ironed out, but needless to say millions of users have millions of different needs, so having a fixed user interface isn't perfect for everyone. What type of fixed functions am I speaking of? The most annoying example is how the function for closing your computer screen cannot be changed. With my Dell (may it rest in peace), I had it programmed (okay, wrong word in this context), I had it set to "do nothing" when closed, so I could close my screen when moving my laptop around or simply playing music. This is not an option with my Macbook. There are many such frustrations I came across almost daily when I first converted, but have now grown accustomed to.

     Going back to the original quote, I find it surprising that Apple's software has trended towards minimal user input, especially when it was made by and for hackers. However, I am no programmer, so maybe I am just completely oblivious to this hackable, modifiable Mac. If that is the case, I would like to know! It might be time to hire me an unemployed EECS graduate to make some changes for me!

Reunited and it feels so good...

     After only 3 weeks without TDH, this post may seem unwarranted and overdramatic, but the joy that came with my recent bike ride begs to differ. It was a cloudy afternoon, and wanting to exercise, I hopped on my bike and within minutes I was out of the cloud range (clouds were hovering over just the campus, surprise surprise) and riding along the sunny bay, blissful as can be. The excitement and tingling sensation in my lower body (some not so metaphorical) from hopping on after so long wasn't even hampered by the pain in my quads from the lovely trek back home.

     I didn't realize how integral having a bike had become to my life until I was in Berkeley without one. Suddenly simply getting to class and work was a 20 minute trek. I felt helpless and yearned for TDH every time it was sunny and I wanted to be active. Be it as a means for exercise or transportation, having a bike has become a part of my lifestyle. I am always hesitant to use the word "biker" when referring to myself because it alludes to competitive biking, but I feel I have now earned the title.

To the Parentals

          Today, as I walked home from my undemanding (and overpaying, in my opinion) job, wearing shorts and enjoying a Cookies n' Cream frozen yogurt on this rare sunny day in Berkeley, I couldn't help but think "wow, I love my life". It now hit me, what a friend meant, when months ago he said I lead a "cushy" life.

          And who do I have to thank for this? Cliche as it may be, my parents. Despite the countless parenting errors they've made throughout the years (most of them, thankfully, with respect to my older siblings), they must have done something right along the way. Here I am, graduating from Cal and going on to an institute for higher education. Seriously, parents, good job. I can't imagine what it must be like, raising your children in a country and culture you are completely unfamiliar with, yet somehow they managed.

          As graduation gets nearer, I'm increasingly tempted to do a reminiscent post about how much I've grown since I came to Cal, but more noteworthy is how much my parents have grown since I came to Cal. From the oppressive, overbearing control-freaks I left at home in August 2005, I now go home to relaxed, lenient parents who actually understand the concept of a two-way discussion about my future, trust my decisions and *dare I say it* acknowledge my independence. It's amazing how much they've adapted their parenting to my lifestyle. Whoever said you can't teach an old dog new tricks obviously hasn't seen the turnaround empty-nesting parents can do in four years. Not to give them more credit than they deserve, since relinquishing control over my life wasn't necessarily their choice, but still, they handled the power transfer gracefully, and to that I am grateful.

          I'm grateful? What? Had I told the rebellious, 17-year-old me "you'll appreciate them four years from now," I would have laughed in my own face.

The Craft of Oatmeal

After my sister's dire warning that eating eggs for breakfast every morning would catch up with me, I have been splitting my mornings between heart-hating eggs (yum) and heart-healthy oatmeal. And finally, after a few months of playing with the recipe, I have mastered my oatmeal! Better yet its vegan oatmeal. 

Ingredients: oatmeal, soy milk, nutmeg, and brown sugar

You need approximately 2:5 ratio of oatmeal to soy milk (this can be tweaked in order to assure your oatmeal cooks for at least 15 minutes before thickening too much). First put the milk on the stove (low-medium heat, keep it low if your pot isn't non-stick), once it is visibly warm (but before boiling), add a pinch (~1/8 tsp) of nutmeg for each serving, and stir in. Next add the oatmeal and let it cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently (this helps condense the soymilk and thicken the oatmeal). Finally, when you're done and it's off the stove, add brown sugar to taste!

Soy has always gone well with nutty spices such as nutmeg, but adding the brown sugar on top just makes this oatmeal a cozy winter delight!

:-)

Technical Communication

In the past four years, I've had to read many books I didn't exactly enjoy, either because they were long-winded (Morris' Structures and Properties of Materials), poorly written (Popov's Mechanics), or just uninteresting (History of Modern Southeast Asia). But for the first time, I am reading a book that is actually offensive.

The book, Technical Communication by Mike Markel, explains how to effectively write and speak when preparing reports, giving instructions, or addressing superiors in technical environment. It first makes a great point of listing eight "Measures of Excellence" (like clarity, conciseness, comprehensiveness, etc.) that are essential for technical communication. However, starting with the second chapter, the book nosedives. One of the eight measures it lists is gearing your writing to the correct audience- making sure the language is formal/informal and advanced/basic as you expect your readers to be. Markel completely ignores his own point as he devotes entire sections to teaching college engineers how to "Use E-mail to Send Files." At first I figured this must be an old textbook, written when "e-mail" was first introduced. But it's copyrighted 2007. The entire text not only over explains the most fundamental concepts, but targets it to a fifth-grade reading level. Ironically enough, Markel mentions that if your language isn't appropriate to the audience's level, they may not trust your content and be compelled to follow its instructions as well.

To make matters worse, the chapter on working in groups- which is actually necessary for many engineers- opens with "Participating in a meeting involves listening and speaking...Listening is more than just hearing..." and continues at this level, insulting the intelligence of its readers sentence by sentence.

Ugh.

How to break into The Claremont Spa

In case someone Googles this exact phrase 50 years from now:

To break into the Claremont Resort & Spa's hot tub, go in ~1/2 hour after it closes (10:30pm), walk into the Claremont like you own the place, nod to the Concierge, make a right at the elevators, and right before you hit the elevators, there are stairs going down to the Spa. Follow the stairs. On the way down you will see this picture- it is every bit as good as it looks.

Be careful not to get caught. Hopefully the frosted glass doors will be cracked open (i.e. assuming janitors are cleaning), and keep following the hallway until you hit the Men's and Women's Spa. Enter the one that doesn't have a janitor. And soak. Quietly.

:-)