Recent Past, Near Future

1. Thought that I was going to get caught up on my sleep/rest and work on research. Wandered all over Boston and Cambridge on foot, tiring myself out. Didn't work on any research. Ended up getting in a fight last night about something really stupid. Went to bed in a foul mood. Was woken up at 9am this morning. Have not slept that late in about a year.


2. Bought a gift for The Topologist. I really want to open it and use it myself instead of saving it for when I next seem him (in a little over three weeks). Ironically, I have a complete spirograph set at home (well, all the gears and plastic parts -- the pens died and/or disappeared roughly 25 years ago) that I never use.

   



3. Did more crap for the budget at work. Need to submit the lastest revision and request for money on Monday.


4. Started to make a list of things that I should be doing for my real job. I should re-read the book that I've assigned for my seminar (Sync. As it doesn't come in a Kindle edition, I can justify delaying a Kindle. Since I have no time to read, I can also justify buying the book. I suspect that a desk copy will await me upon my return.). I need to revise my calculus slides. I need to figure out how to harness the power of databases to enforce prerequisites.


5. Got in another fight with my mother about stupid things. She can not see my point of view at all, so she insists that I do certain things to "relax" that I do not find relaxing. My job here finishes up on August 3, and my regular job resumes on August 17. She is insisting that I should go on vacation in the gap between jobs. Because nothing is more relaxing than having work pile up in my absence so that I will start the semester already behind? Similarly, she is suggesting that I should eat more junk food. Eating junk food does not make me feel better.


6. Also suggested by Mom yesterday: Since I have so much time off at Christmas, I should spend it in New Mexico. My parents will be heading to New Mexico to visit my brother and his wife and their baby. I have no interest in meeting the baby. Let me know when it turns into a person, and we'll consider it. Better yet, let's just wait until it knows calculus.


7. Pardis Sabeti was so awesome on Friday that I am tempted to start studying genomics.


8. Tomorrow is a tour of Akamai and then dinner with Tom Leighton followed by his talk. We'll see how that goes.