I have no idea why I am so addicted to honey roasted peanuts from Walmart. They are so tasty, and I know that they aren’t particularly healthy, but it’s hard to stop. I guess it’s better that being hooked on something more fattening like chips, fried food or desserts. It’s like I get hooked on something every year. Another thing that I love is the Strawberry-Banana nectar from Walmart and the Fuze Refresh Strawberry-Guava drink.

Okay, enough of trivial speak. I figured this was a good time as any to write something on my blog and web space that I am paying for. I just didn’t have the motivation to blog the past few months. It would come up in my head but I never got around to actually doing it. But, instead of blogging, I’ve been doing a ton of photography and uploading on flickr. I just cleaned up over 1300 images from my winter trip and uploaded them onto Flickr. Flickr’s unlimited upload limits are fantastic for my needs. The service is really worth the money I pay every year. I’ll start using Zooomr when they get the Flickr import tool integrated because I don’t have the patience to upload, and tag all the information that I already have on Flickr.

Best of India (352 images) | All the shots from India (1012 images) | Heathrow and Philadelphia International Airports (120 images)

It’s unbelievable that I’ve been at Penn State for 8 months already. I’ve been learning so many new things. All the reasons for grad school are panning out, and I’ve gained experience in more ways than one. Academically, I’ve been filling the holes in my education from a non-materials engineering background. So, an introductory glass course, surface chemistry, thermodynamics of materials, advanced glass structure, kinetics of materials and characterization of materials later, I’m starting to gain some theoretical insight and knowledge for my research. [warning: science content ahead ] The big picture is to look at interface chemistry of Rohm & Haas‘ green Aquaset polymer and John Manville’s wool glass composition which make up the EPA award-winning new environmentally friendly formaldehyde-free insulation products (original pdf file). For now, I am making flat glas samples to check the contact angles of the polymer and its components on the glass surface. And then, do a time dependent contact angle analysis and surface composition after the solutions dry out using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). I will also do Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to look at surface morphology. This should give me some idea what to expect with the same tests on glass fibers. I’ll describe the fiber making process when I actually start making my samples for real.

Beyond school, swing dancing is going rather well. I pick up a few new moves every month. I also have 4-5 regular dance partners who mesh well with my style. I would mention names but I guess I shouldn’t. All I can say is that there is a girl who is an amazing follow who has an great style of her own. And then, there are three girls who picked up swing and Lindy so quickly, it’s still mind-boggling. They move very well, and can follow my lead style. And related to that, I’ve also uploaded several swing videos on Youtube, and found plenty of videos to pick moves up from.

Amnesty International (PSU Chapter) has been a great club and cause to be a part of. I’ve learnt a lot more about human rights, and have gotten more interested in such matters as the Sudanese genocide and terror war based human rights violations. I’ve also made some friends in this club which is pretty nice. The other one that I am involved in is the Penn State Public Issues Action Committee. I am trying to get a new fundraising idea off the ground that has the potential of raising several hundreds of thousands of dollars. The up side of this range is $1,000,000 and up if we get access to all the sources we need, and over 50% of students/staff/faculty participate. We want to use this money to support non-controversial sustainable projects in Third-World countries. We want to ask people to donate 1% to 5% of every transaction they make on campus towards this fund including parking. But so far, the Parking department is not willing to play ball and not giving us a reason. I am still to hear back from LionCash.

I have to start working out soon. I feel slow, and my stamina needs rejuvenation.

And I leave you with this candid of a girl with an iBook at Heathrow International. I like this shot.

After falling the dogs the first time, I managed to get past them to the land that they so dearly protect. They watch the gates for those who wish to transition permanently. They define the fine line between two pieces of earth. They form the people who pounce on those in the liminal zone. I was caught unawares once, and so vowed never to let that happen again. Some say that, being polite not matter how much they taunt you is the optimal route. I soon found, that they are indeed right. However, besides being logical which for some odd reason, that they seem to be devoid of that training, they want to see passion. Passion in the voice saying that you will cross over after the job is done. Learn the tricks of the trade, and then return to reap the rewards, and keep the brain from draining. They have no concept of family values and ties. They are sorely looking for the answers to their riddles that conform with their individualistic values, and selfish gains.

From what I learnt in religious studies, liminality is a zone to be reckoned with. They function outside the barriers of society, and are not governed by any rules in that zone. According to myths, all the people in the transition zone are feared for their unnatural powers. Somehow, in my case, there seems to be only one group with all the power, the Dog. It barks, snarls, and keep snipping even with soothing talk. Sometimes it sounds like harpies on the prowl for innocent blood and wayward souls. But you must feel some sympathy for the Dog, since it’s perpetual job is to filter through or turn away souls. It’s are like a gigantic purifier with certain parameters to block such as those who attempt to deceive, and those whose futures are clouded with uncertainty. My suggestion for greater efficiency would be to have one head working at any particular time so that the other two can rest. A rotation cycle is the best means to stay on the game without being overly temperamental, and keeps from crushing dreams.

Final word: They need a more efficient routines, and better customer service. I’d say that the liminal zone has the worst customer service in all the worlds, and for now is getting away with it.

Nothing’s changed in Nigeria. No progress that’s visible. I got into an under-equipped airport, with sub par service. I am thankful of the diplomatic status that IITA affords to the scientists and families, and all the perks that are attained in the process. We always have a couple of people around to help us through ticket counters, customs, and baggage. It’s so great that my bags are never checked due to the understanding that the security have with the IITA airport guys. We are trusted not to act dangerous, and they are right to. However, I hope the system is not abused because the Lagos International Airport doesn’t have x-ray for checking bags, and that means things can be snuck on, which is very distressing..

Moving on, my time at home has been very relaxing. My bags arrived a couple of days after me, but it didn’t matter a great deal as I had extra clothes minding this possibility. Nothing exciting has occured yet, but I’ve only been here a few days. One good thing that has happened since the last time I was home, is the wireless internet at the International House becoming fully open without firewall restrictions. Every online service I use works and so do all the programs. One shortcoming from this is that I won’t do anything secure on this network, but I never intended to anyway..

I have been studying like crazy the last week which explains the lack of posts. I have another week or so of this stressful ordeal and then I’m free! I have 4 finals with most being comprehensive. Finals are crazy times. Tempers flaring, head aching, panicking, sweating profusely, lack of sleep, tensions right before the exams.. Ahh!! Shit, five more years of this! Thank God for the little break at home to recuperate, and revitalize and getting excited about graduate school, and work, and lack of life in general.. I have to keep sane. Being a bum in the summer never looked so inviting .

Keeping with PhDcomics humor, this strip is pertinent to the subject of me being published. This strip is not necessarily accurate in my case .

• Missed Flunk day. Yeah! The day that I was looking forward to all year. I told everyone I knew about it. And. I friggin’ miss it. I knew if I thought about it, I wouldn’t be very happy. So, I suppressed all thoughts about Flunk Day while and after the PSU visit. I missed hanging out with friends, drinking endless amounts of beer, and taking ton of pictures. Flunk day would have been a great day for photography
• Swing at PSU sucked. This is one of my foremost passions. The swing lessons and social dance I went to was painful. It was so painful that I left part way. I hope it gets better when I start PSU. Let me tell you, I was sorely disappointed to sum this experience up.
• I’m in Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. I guess I was nominated and selected. This is an annual award given to outstanding campus leaders for their scholastic ability, participation and leadership in academic and extra curricular activities and community service (link).
• Got PSU’s official offer today. I have been given a Research Assistantship, with a bi-semester stipend and a summer stipend totalling around $18,700.
• Taking the oral Modern Physics test next Monday. I have to memorize a lot of equations, and understand the concepts to pass this trial of fire! Well, here’s to hoping for the best..
• Browsing PhD Comics and getting addicted. I must have spent a few hours going through and saving my favorites. After I’m done saving all the ones I want, I’ll put them up on Flickr.
• Had a bad dream about rejection. Again. I wish there was a better way for me to stop feeling this way. Well, apart from time anyway. I suppose this sort of dreams are getting sporadic and that is progress. There has been a lot of rejection in life so far. Grad schools, certain people, scholarships.

Travelling. I seem to do a lot of that. Even though, I have plenty of “air time”, I still get nauseous when the plane bobs up and down. You know, I should have been acclimated to that by now. But, oh well! The trip was fine except for the 3 hour delay at Detroit. That meant I got to Penn Stater at University Park at 2.30 am. Include 5 hours of sleep.

I met with Dr. Carlo Pantano for breakfast and he talked to me about the two projects pertaining to glass fibres including one on nanodiameter fibreglass. He has a lot of projects from industry and no dearth of funding. I was also enlightened about an Entrepreneurial program that graduate students can enroll in to gain business sense. That is something I intend to look into more when I decide on Penn State. The MSE department at PSU is one of the best in the country ( ranked 8th for graduate school), and ranked 1 for highest research spending. This information was courtesy Dr. Pantano while exalting the Materials Science and Engineering program. I met three other professors who described the research (thin films, photonics) that they needed students for including a Chem professor (Dr. Karl Mueller) that collaborated with Dr. Pantano in NMR studies of fibreglass. I was also taken on a tour of the most of the research facilities (MRI, MCL, MRL and Steidle Building) and shown a ton of equipment. I was duly impressed by the sheer scale of instrumentation available in user facilities including W. M. Keck Smart Materials Integration Laboratory. They are also constructing a new building in the next couple of years of MSE which is a multi-million dollar project.

I am now waiting for an offer from Dr. Pantano. The stipend should be around $18000, and he wants me to start in the summer. Unfortunately, that will not be possible to the immigration constraints. I won’t have my US visa in time for that to happen..

Apart from the science, I also got to interact with a few graduate students during the tours and meals (dinner: Korean). I have a good feeling of graduate life, and what is expected as a student. There is plenty to do outside work and school. There are a lot of clubs, and recreation opportunities. It is also within 4 hours of major cities like Philidelphia, Washington DC, Pittsburg and such. The town is essentially a college campus as PSU has 40,000 students. They are crazy about football. The downtown is compact but has plenty to offer with nightlife and stores. One of the grad students took me to a bar that had 180 different kinds of beers from various countries. The cost of living is not very high, and so I should be comfortable with the stipend. I need to get an apartment and lease a car. So, I will have quite a few expenses..

Now comes the tough decision of choosing in between Vanderbilt and PSU. I am calling Vanderbilt to see if a visit can be arranged because I want to see what else they have to offer. I am incredibly impressed with PSU’s MSE department, and swaying in that direction for a fewreasons apart from being awed. I get to start in the fall and I can live off the stipend to state a few.

Need to sleep. Only had 10 hours of sleep in 3 days. Fatigued and lethargic. Need to replenish self.

My trip with stuff Jessi and I visited/ate at (Yahoo! Trip Planner)

Click for a larger image

I guess I’ll summarize the rest of the trip and hit the highlights. We got to a few art exhibits and museums, including the Phillips Collection ( Degas, Sickert and Toulouse-Lautrec) and the National Gallery of Art (Cezanne and Dada). I loved seeing these new forms of art, although I wish I knew how to understand the art better to appreciate it. Degas liked portraying young ballerina dancers. While Cezanne was famous for his landscapes in Impressionist style? and Dada was a revolutionary movement in art post WWI with artists speaking out against the current state of the world and the evils of war. One piece of Dada I really liked was the Mona Lisa with a goatee and moustache. However, I think that piece is one of the most popular works of Dada. I might try to create a piece of Dada poetry using newspaper clippings. I want to come back and see all of the National Gallery of Art.

This is perhaps the first time that I actually saw all of what I wanted to see in the city and more. Jessi is the best travelling buddy that one can ask for. We would get back in the night and have fun online or watch the tv shows that I had downloaded. I think I have her hooked on Related.. We also discovered the fun of the Personals section of Craigslist. Both of us are going to have withdrawal symptoms from not walking 7 miles or more a day because it take 10 minutes to cross Coe diagonally .

One of the good things to come out of this trip is all the exercise we are getting by walking. We got out early to utitlize the docent-guided tours of the National Air and Space Museum. It was an hour and some walk to get there. And then, we learnt about the Wright brothers, and further innovations in aviation and space travel. I walked around a little bit more after lunch, looking at the Universe and Earth exhibit. For some reason, I remember the museum beoing larger as a child. I guess I was half the size then . I found a couple of totally random things at the museum store.

PS: I just realized how much of a liberal Jessi is, and I am a pretty conservative Moderate (if there is such a thing) when it came to financial/economic policies. I love playing Devil’s Advocate to get her worked up. Debating is so much of fun. Today, it was Walmart, and abortions..