This is not an update. Rather, I wanted to direct your attention to the trailer for Christopher Nolan's upcoming film. It is called The Prestige, and not only does it have a great cast and a proven director (he's proven himself to me with Batman Begins), but the story is about two magicians. It looks like my kind of film. Check it out if you're ( Read more... )

Well, it turns out that I have the evening to myself. Daniel and Sylvia are out to see The Da Vinci Code, and it was clear that Sylvia just wanted to take Daniel out, so the night is young and entirely my own. And what was my first inclination as to what I should do with my free time? I thought that it would be enjoyable to have a couple beers, ( Read more... )

I have to get off the computer shortly, so this is going to be rather brief, but I wanted to register my opinion on the World Cup. I want to express the fact that I was extremely disappointed in Zidane's behavior on Sunday night. I think that the least a professional athlete who makes millions every year can do is to keep his/her cool on the ( Read more... )

I think the hardest part about living in Austria these days (besides the obvious language barrier) is the fact that I'm not living with a close friend but rather an acquaintance who is quite antisocial. That is not to say that Daniel and I don't talk. When I say antisocial, what I mean is that Daniel has no sense at all for social situations. He ( Read more... )

All right. Finally the circumstances are right for a substantial update as to the project I'll be working on this month. I have my lab notes, a cold, authentic Austrian beer, and the will to immortalize this project in my journal. ETA: I am realizing that to do this stuff justice (and to maximize the chances that the reader stays interested) ( Read more... )

I keep meaning to make a full update now that I have a better understanding of the project that we are working on, but I also keep forgetting to bring my lab notes home for reference when I type up the details. We're working with some really cutting-edge technologies though, which is really exciting. Tomorrow morning I'm going in to the lab early ( Read more... )

Yesterday I had the pleasure to meet Daniel's (the guy with whom I'm sharing the apartment) aunt, uncle, and adorable four-month-old baby girl. They gave us an in-depth walking tour of downtown Vienna, pointing out historical sites and museums I might want to check out during my stay here. I have every intention of doing just that as soon as I ( Read more... )

This will have to be fast because the England Portugal match starts up again in a couple minutes, but I am in Austria and doing fine. Unfortunately, the jet lag got to me, and I failed to get good sleep last night, but I expect I'll be able to sleep tonight what with all the travel and previous deprivation. I found an Irish pub called Charlie P's ( Read more... )

Benton Paul friends me on Facebook. I mean, I didn't think the guy ever knew who I was. Weird.

Back to work.

I was eating those Dove chocolate hearts the other day, and the wrappers have little positive suggestions about love on the inside (because you can't just sell chocolate these days). They said things like "Make someone melt today" and "Get swept away by love." Then I opened one that said "Be your own Valentine." That actually strikes me as a ( Read more... )