The term gone by

Wow, into the last weekend of term already.

Will be a really hectic end to the term, after an uncharacteristically relaxed 5th week with a few lectures canceled. Making up for it now with 4 supervisions to complete before I leave. But that's not all.

Stuff that needs to be done next week -
1) project proposal, bu 5 Dec
2) collecting payments, and tidying up cf accounts, including arranging for word alive payments and possible alteration of booking
3) planing games for houseparty
4) changing flight dates, maybe.

Work this term
Work has been good - it's not that I'm coping any better, but I am at the very least progressing through some parts of the course. Found several people to ask when stuck at stuff, and have very helpful supervisors. Would really like some time during the holidays to work and have them around, but I dont know if I might be in the mood to work when it's so cold, and when meals won't be that regular at college. Also there may be a fee for changing flight dates, will have to weigh these factors.

QFT, QCMFT, and particle physics are really nice courses. have really good lecturer for particle physics, and awesome supervisors for QFT and QCMFT. Glad to be given this opportunity to learn these subjects with the resources available, but kinda feel like I'm not making the most of it. I feel the urgency to learn as much as I can here while i have access to these resources, before I have to do it on my own if I go back home after this.

On the other hand, I can't wait for this hectic lifestyle to be over. Hope to enjoy the comfort of staying at one place permanently, and feel at home in it. Though I fear that the lack of resources may stifle, and that I'll miss the things I take for granted here when I'm back home - the space, freedom, and managing my own life.

yeah, just reflection arising from the anticipation of impending doom of the last week...

Online Condensed Matter Field Theory Textbook

Kleinert, H.: Gauge Fields in Condensed Matter,World Scientific (Singapore, 1989)

Singapore? 1989? Gauge fields in condensed matter? hm...

lolcatz

Physics people

Ed Witten

Arxiv entries

Reminiscence - looking back upon the good old 90's

Watch CBS Videos Online

Schizophrenia that is America

I dont know about you, but while watching scenes of jubilation all over the world (even my friends at home are holding a party to celebrate Obama's victory) that the election of Obama into office has ignited, I can't help but wonder at the phenomenom of the schizophrenic organism that America is!

One moment, they elect a warmonger into office that carries out the collective desire of the people to unleash hell on their enemies, but alienanates the country from the rest of the world; and the next moment they elect a black man who becomes the darling of all the alienated people around the world. 

I am astounded at my own enthusiasm for Obama becoming president, and I reckon that is how many people in the world feel. I am personally hopeful that the progress of science will be facilitated with Obama in office, and I reckon that people all over the world have their own individual reasons for being enthusiastic at Obama being the president. It seems like he stands for the opposite of everything that is bad about America (and there are many things going wrong in America today), simply because he is black and having a black person as president itself represents such a radical change.   

It will be interesting to watch which of these expectations come to fulfillment in the end. It's not that I'm sceptical, but it is just inevitable that not all the expectations will be realised. 

Nevertheless, let's toast to the president of the world!

Election Fever

Whoa, I'm actually anxious about the US elections - anxious for Obama to win... When the first of the numbers showed Obama behind, I actually freaked at the thought of McCain being the next President. But the numbers has since changed, and it looks like Obama's now comfortably ahead. 

The figures as of 0105 GMT 5 Nov 08

Here's to the first Black President of the world's declining superpower!