http://www.tomspot.com/protension The online journal of Tom Elgin Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:10:04 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en After a ridiculously enjoyable summer of travel (see prior post, and maybe pictures coming to flickr someday) I've arrived in Washington, D.C. I'd been told it's a fun city with a lot of young people around. I was a little worried about the lack of mountains over 10,000 feet. Everything ... http://www.tomspot.com/protension/2009/09/19/dcs-good I start my dream job in Washington DC in September. Just signed a lease in Vienna (no commute!). I'll post more about that some day. Until then, I'm having some fun and I'm posting it here rather than sending a mass email. Hopefully I don't have a stalker. June 14 Graduation. Family ... http://www.tomspot.com/protension/2009/06/11/summer-of-09 I just discovered a map created by NPR in April called Visualizing the U.S. Electric Grid and I think it's the coolest thing I've seen, maybe ever. There's a few things I'd do differently (scaling of power plant dots, etc.) but it does a far better job of presenting ... http://www.tomspot.com/protension/2009/05/30/a-view-of-us-electricity-by-npr It kills me not to know this but I've all but just forgotten what the color of her eyes were and her scars or how she got them ... One thousand miles away there's nothing left to say ... http://www.tomspot.com/protension/2009/05/22/300 I think we're all familiar with the adage that "Biology is really chemistry, chemistry is really physics, physics is really math (and math is really hard)." That is, to work on biology you have to spend a lot of time understanding the chemistry involved. After taking some finance courses from ... http://www.tomspot.com/protension/2009/05/05/investing-is-really-accounting [Explicit content] Everywhere on the internet seemed to have this song horribly wrong, so I wrote it up. I added some explanations to the slang for fun. Akon (TI): (yeah) konvict music (ok) grand hustle movement (you know what this is partna) hey (ain't no ... http://www.tomspot.com/protension/2009/04/23/correct-real-lyrics-for-hero-by-ti-f-akon This spring I'm taking a class called "Organizational Behavior," which is one of the least engineering-y classes in my program, but so far it's been about as interesting as it could be -- which is really interesting. A question I remember wondering a lot growing up as a math major (and ... http://www.tomspot.com/protension/2009/04/12/what-do-managers-do Was the response from Liz, a girl I met on the bus from Cobano to Santa Teresa, as we lay on beach towels watching the sun descend over the Pacific. I was explaining my plans for the coming summer which, to me, looks pretty empty (and promising). Maybe it's just ... http://www.tomspot.com/protension/2009/04/04/so-many-goals I think Google Search will become irrelevant within a couple years, but I'm interested in what other people think right now. When and why do you use Google, and what does it get you? To find a home page of a site you're already aware of -- I don't remember the exact ... http://www.tomspot.com/protension/2009/02/23/google-is-dead I've read a few books this year and realized that it can be fun and informative. Obvious? Well, it's been a while since I made time for it. But reading mad me realize there's a bunch of books I want to read. Just in case anyone ever feels ... http://www.tomspot.com/protension/2009/02/19/wishlist