Do you appreciate jdm's emails because they make you nostalgic for Olin Hall?
or
Do you hate jdm's emails because you don't use the ChemE servers anymore, and you don't go to Cornell, and he does that weird indenting thing in his emails?
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Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
no more shopping plz
Hey friends,
I've been in CA for about two days now, and let me tell you: caltech is GORGEOUS. First of all, let's cover the smell upgrade. You may remember the semen trees outside of Olin Hall. Thumbs down to those stinkpots. Outside of Spalding Hall (my new Olin) there are a bunch of trees with pretty pink flowers that I will call fruit loops trees because they smell just like the breakfast cereal. Funny story: my dad saw a bunch of the flowers on the ground that had fallen off the trees. He says "oh, they must have had some sort of ceremony outside your building. maybe a wedding?" and my mom was like "yeah, or maybe the WIND BLEW THEM OFF" and my dad looks up and sees the pink flowers on the trees. Whoopsies.
I met with housing to get my apartment assignment, and the woman at the desk saw my license and she was like "oh you're from Fairport? I used to visit friends there for Thanksgiving every year!" So even in Los Angeles county, I can't escape the Fairport connection. Oh, so housing... thankfully I got a 4-bedroom apt, aka the cheapest on-campus housing option. With all the money I will save, I'll be able to eat more than once a week! I've only met one of my roommates so far, because one (Matt?) is in New Zealand till next week, and the other (Isaac?) is at some 3-week biophysics conference every day from 8am till 11pm, and I haven't seen him yet. I did meet Jeff for all of like 3 minutes... he's a geological sciences grad student who plays the trombone. He already started working for his department and he takes music lessons at night, so I'm the resident slacker/underachiever. From sleuthing around our common space, here's what I've gathered:
Speaking of the grad students, I went to a chE social today. That's right, we abbreved chemE even further. I don't know how it's pronouced though. chee? chuh-ee? Whatev, I'm still calling myself a chemE. Anyway, the other grad students... I met some of the first years and they seem nice. There are definitely no candidates for Trouble Squad v2.0 as of yet. I'll get to spend more time with them on Monday, when we have our official first meeting with professors. I'm getting nervous!
Ok, I'm going to eat melted Almond Joys and butternut squash ravioli while I look for youtube versions of this past week's project runway & top design. I miss all y'all tons. Come visit southern california! It's delightful! And I need friends!
I've been in CA for about two days now, and let me tell you: caltech is GORGEOUS. First of all, let's cover the smell upgrade. You may remember the semen trees outside of Olin Hall. Thumbs down to those stinkpots. Outside of Spalding Hall (my new Olin) there are a bunch of trees with pretty pink flowers that I will call fruit loops trees because they smell just like the breakfast cereal. Funny story: my dad saw a bunch of the flowers on the ground that had fallen off the trees. He says "oh, they must have had some sort of ceremony outside your building. maybe a wedding?" and my mom was like "yeah, or maybe the WIND BLEW THEM OFF" and my dad looks up and sees the pink flowers on the trees. Whoopsies.
I met with housing to get my apartment assignment, and the woman at the desk saw my license and she was like "oh you're from Fairport? I used to visit friends there for Thanksgiving every year!" So even in Los Angeles county, I can't escape the Fairport connection. Oh, so housing... thankfully I got a 4-bedroom apt, aka the cheapest on-campus housing option. With all the money I will save, I'll be able to eat more than once a week! I've only met one of my roommates so far, because one (Matt?) is in New Zealand till next week, and the other (Isaac?) is at some 3-week biophysics conference every day from 8am till 11pm, and I haven't seen him yet. I did meet Jeff for all of like 3 minutes... he's a geological sciences grad student who plays the trombone. He already started working for his department and he takes music lessons at night, so I'm the resident slacker/underachiever. From sleuthing around our common space, here's what I've gathered:
- someone loves soy: soymilk, soy ice cream, soy nuggets... yum?
- someone loves coronas: I had the urge to put the empty bottles away and say "OH HO HO HO HO!"
- someone loves guitar hero: I almost brought mine but I didn't have room in my suitcase. Lucky me, I have roommates with compatible video game tastes.
- nobody loves cable TV: I guess I'll have to go without my silly bravo reality shows... or find them online somewhere.
Speaking of the grad students, I went to a chE social today. That's right, we abbreved chemE even further. I don't know how it's pronouced though. chee? chuh-ee? Whatev, I'm still calling myself a chemE. Anyway, the other grad students... I met some of the first years and they seem nice. There are definitely no candidates for Trouble Squad v2.0 as of yet. I'll get to spend more time with them on Monday, when we have our official first meeting with professors. I'm getting nervous!
Ok, I'm going to eat melted Almond Joys and butternut squash ravioli while I look for youtube versions of this past week's project runway & top design. I miss all y'all tons. Come visit southern california! It's delightful! And I need friends!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Whirlpools of You-Know-What
I propose that a quantitative measurement of the nature of our first jobs be expressed as a percent similarity to ChemE 462, Plant Design. For example, downstream refinery jobs like Alison's and Jaime's would measure about 85%. Ariel's truck vibration gig would score in the teens. My job? Well, since the scale ranges from 0 to 100% by definition, and remembering what we learned in Design about the rule-breaking powers of estimation, my job is a FACT-backed 15,000% similar to ChemE 462.
Apologies to those of you who have already heard most of this as I make my case. Words verbatim from my boss multiple times (even an hour ago today), the company is in the business of "plus or minus fifty percent." Anything tighter would be preposterously accurate. Yes, I use Aspen and am now the guy to ask when you don't understand what an error message means, though the only thing I can explain is that Joe did all our Aspen. I size pumps, heat exchangers, compressors, vessels of all orientations, columns, but obviously not valves. I do this taking into account LMTD, NPSH, L/D, % flood (82), and such techniques as:
Me: Morning, Skinny Version of Alf. Center. How was your weekend?
SVAC: [grunt]
Me: For these air coolers, should I use the values HYSYS gave me?
SVAC: Those seem high. Just use 150 for everything.
[SVAC walks away, passing my female cubemate, then stops at her desk.]
SVAC: Oh, so how was your weekend?
Guess I can't say college didn't prepare me. It also gave me ample warning that the real world is extremely strict when it comes to effective presentation of information. I realized this on Day 1 when browsing a DOE report:
But, sarcastic bitterness aside, this is what I expected when I signed up for it, and I think it will turn out well. It is still a little slow, with a lot of background reading on topics that have yet to reach the foreground, but it's picking up. The young people are laid back, the old people are a little quirky. Actual line from an email from my boss:
"BUT countersign per suggested below??? What do you think????"
Number of question marks used is exact. He either has really heavy fingers or is just dying to find out the answer.
Living in SF is also as expected, i.e. fantastic. Ariel and I have an apartment with views (with an S). The giant PFD is hanging in my room. I walk to work in 20 minutes. And this weekend we went to a chili cook-off sponsored by strippers (not the metal columns; the ones that dance on them) followed by museum-hopping. I can get used to that.
You'll have to see for yourself though. Is it January 16 yet?
See you then,
Derrick
Apologies to those of you who have already heard most of this as I make my case. Words verbatim from my boss multiple times (even an hour ago today), the company is in the business of "plus or minus fifty percent." Anything tighter would be preposterously accurate. Yes, I use Aspen and am now the guy to ask when you don't understand what an error message means, though the only thing I can explain is that Joe did all our Aspen. I size pumps, heat exchangers, compressors, vessels of all orientations, columns, but obviously not valves. I do this taking into account LMTD, NPSH, L/D, % flood (82), and such techniques as:
Me: Morning, Skinny Version of Alf. Center. How was your weekend?
SVAC: [grunt]
Me: For these air coolers, should I use the values HYSYS gave me?
SVAC: Those seem high. Just use 150 for everything.
[SVAC walks away, passing my female cubemate, then stops at her desk.]
SVAC: Oh, so how was your weekend?
Guess I can't say college didn't prepare me. It also gave me ample warning that the real world is extremely strict when it comes to effective presentation of information. I realized this on Day 1 when browsing a DOE report:
But, sarcastic bitterness aside, this is what I expected when I signed up for it, and I think it will turn out well. It is still a little slow, with a lot of background reading on topics that have yet to reach the foreground, but it's picking up. The young people are laid back, the old people are a little quirky. Actual line from an email from my boss:
"BUT countersign per suggested below??? What do you think????"
Number of question marks used is exact. He either has really heavy fingers or is just dying to find out the answer.
Living in SF is also as expected, i.e. fantastic. Ariel and I have an apartment with views (with an S). The giant PFD is hanging in my room. I walk to work in 20 minutes. And this weekend we went to a chili cook-off sponsored by strippers (not the metal columns; the ones that dance on them) followed by museum-hopping. I can get used to that.
You'll have to see for yourself though. Is it January 16 yet?
See you then,
Derrick
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Life in the West
With the death of a computer and the reluctance to break down and purchase a new one, I have finally found time during an hour-long library reserved computer-time to post something. Yay.
The summer was busy with trips to CA, NYC, Boston, South Carolina, and Washington, along with the move across the country. California is awesome. I wake up most days thinking "I can't believe I live here." I live in a little cottage in the Berkeley Hills with a view of SF Bay through a window in a back room which I will hopefully take advantage of once the sun stops making the room mad-hot in the afternoons.
Work has been quite design-like. It's pretty cool to see real, huge versions of what we created in design. Within a week of my working there my mentor and office-mate became my boss. There's a guy who looks like Hunter, and my office is right next to a louder version of Angela from The Office. Everyone seems impressed that we finished ChemE in 4 years (I guess it usually takes longer at western schools?) There are lots of young people at work and we've gone out together a few times now. Drinking with co-workers is a risky (though very fun) thing, especially when your boss is present.
For my third week of work my boss sent me to a Intro to Refining course in, oh yes, Ponca City, Oklahoma. I encourage all of you who have an opportunity to visit this place to reject without contemplation. Unfortunately this is where my computer decided to die, leaving me stranded in the middle of no-where with really no contact with the real world. But what nearly made the whole trip worthwhile was the fact that the course was taught by none other than Dr. Gary of Gary and Handwerk, for those of you who used Petroleum Refining: Technology and Economics for design (ahem Coker Distillate). He is extremely knowledgeable and it was an honor to be in his class (I got him to autograph my book.) however the man is 87 years old. A three day class about petroleum refining taught by an 87 year old man. In Oklahoma. Yes, I was pleased to get back home.
My time is nearly up. I hope all of you are surviving the real world all right.
I miss you all,
Alison
The summer was busy with trips to CA, NYC, Boston, South Carolina, and Washington, along with the move across the country. California is awesome. I wake up most days thinking "I can't believe I live here." I live in a little cottage in the Berkeley Hills with a view of SF Bay through a window in a back room which I will hopefully take advantage of once the sun stops making the room mad-hot in the afternoons.
Work has been quite design-like. It's pretty cool to see real, huge versions of what we created in design. Within a week of my working there my mentor and office-mate became my boss. There's a guy who looks like Hunter, and my office is right next to a louder version of Angela from The Office. Everyone seems impressed that we finished ChemE in 4 years (I guess it usually takes longer at western schools?) There are lots of young people at work and we've gone out together a few times now. Drinking with co-workers is a risky (though very fun) thing, especially when your boss is present.
For my third week of work my boss sent me to a Intro to Refining course in, oh yes, Ponca City, Oklahoma. I encourage all of you who have an opportunity to visit this place to reject without contemplation. Unfortunately this is where my computer decided to die, leaving me stranded in the middle of no-where with really no contact with the real world. But what nearly made the whole trip worthwhile was the fact that the course was taught by none other than Dr. Gary of Gary and Handwerk, for those of you who used Petroleum Refining: Technology and Economics for design (ahem Coker Distillate). He is extremely knowledgeable and it was an honor to be in his class (I got him to autograph my book.) however the man is 87 years old. A three day class about petroleum refining taught by an 87 year old man. In Oklahoma. Yes, I was pleased to get back home.
My time is nearly up. I hope all of you are surviving the real world all right.
I miss you all,
Alison
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Greetings from The Farm
So I recently moved into my new apartment at Stanford ('The Farm', as it is known by some -- not the most endearing nickname, if you as me, but I suppose it's no worse than 'The Hill'). I figure my name is listed under 'Contributors' so I'd best contribute (as should the rest of you) now that I have stories to tell.
This summer brought me the great pleasure of driving across the country. Ten odd days and near-as-makes-no-difference 4000 miles later, I arrived in Seattle and can now say that I've driven nearly every inch of I-90. I recommend that everyone drive across the country at least once in his or her lifetime although you might want to wait until gas (electricity? hydrogen?? ethanol?!!) is cheaper. And when you do, take some time to stop and see the sights. For me, that meant spending some time in Chicago, the Badlands, the Black Hills and Glacier NP -- all worthwhile stops. Documenting of this grand adventure can be found on Facebook (of course) and Flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/keithtwong).
Back at home, I spent much of the summer as my mom's free laborer (finish carpentry, painting, yardwork... oh joy!), but also took a break to relax in the San Juan Islands with a certain guest by the name of Alison. Visiting the San Juans is another thing to put on your list of 'must do before I die' activities -- especially if you work right next to the ferry terminal (::cough:: Jaime). I also bought a new bike (carbon fiber!), rode up a couple mountains, hiked up one more mountain, did a couple races, etc., etc..
So that concludes the fun and games. I drove (go figure) down to California last weekend and have been hanging out until orientation starts next week. Upon moving to CA, one is supposed to register his or her car here. Of course, the EPA allows CA to have its own stricter emissions requirements. My car did not hesitate to fail the smog test. Another few hundred dollars put into a car worth how much? Why do I have a car?
I'm sure you will all be happy to hear that 3/4ths of the bay area contingent (Derrick, you slacker) managed to meet up last weekend. Hopefully we can improve attendance in the future.
So... Stanford. Maybe you have heard me say this before, but my opinion is that they're trying to create a small utopian society. Not a bad goal I suppose. The campus looks perfect. Always. Everything you could ever need can be found on Stanford property. Everyone gets around campus on bikes (good thing too -- it's a big campus). Campus buses are all free. There is a nice big greenway (well, it's all brown right now) between campus and all of the surroundings. Sounds great? Well, I'm glad I went to Cornell for undergrad. I get the feeling that Cornell is a more humble, down-to-earth place (though far from the most humble, down-to-earth school). The good news is that the ChE faculty and students I've met here seem like quite reasonable and relaxed people, which is, in fact, largely why I chose to come here. It will certainly be interesting to get to know a whole new set of profs. They're an interesting breed.
So, there you go. A lot of writing from one who says little. Time for the rest of you to get on your horse and fill everyone in on what's happening in your corner of the world.
Cheers,
Keith
Monday, September 1, 2008
Life at DEI
Aaagh! Real life!
So far it hasn't been so bad, maybe even fun sometimes? Matt D and I are holding it down in northern VA (Jenna and Lindsey are nearby). Its been super having ChemEs nearby... Jenna was a sweetheart and took me car shopping when mine broke the second day here, and Lindsey's parents fed me an intense amount of food yesterday - thank you guys!!!! Um and I think I would've freaked out hardcore if Matt wasn't here too (he's also great about putting up with me talking at him through the cubicle wall all the time when he's actually being productive.)
So rather than try to coherently describe the first four weeks at Dominion, I've condensed it into top ten format. Anyway,
You know you work for Dominion when....
1. Everyone you work with is named Matt, Mark, or Mike. They probably went to MIT.
2. It seems like everyone you work with has a kid. If they don't, they're probably in France, Tokyo, Alabama or Houston.
3. You know better than to finish the coffee pot out of fear of what Mark will do. You are afraid to make a new pot in case you get the grounds/water ratio wrong. So you have another diet pepsi instead.
4. You've read more about nuclear power plant water chemistry than you did about P.Chem, and remember less. Which is a shame, because you had to raise your caffeine levels to sophomore-year-Heatherington levels to get through it.
5. The things that you work on have no names. Just acronyms and random number combinations. Example (real assignment): "Please write a report updating the IF for TT690 v. MA 600 with respect to PWSCC in SGs. Refer to the SOW or EPRI-1013640 if you need guidance."
Translation: Make up something/copy-paste stuff about the improvement factor for thermally treated high-chromium steel over mill-annealed low chromium steel in nuclear steam generators... specifically how much less likely it is to suffer from primary water stress corrosion cracking. Open and stare mindlessly at the scope-of-work or Electrical Power Research Institute report 1013640 if you have no idea what to do. Not like it will help.
6. Matt D's rage pales next to the hurricane of principle officer Bob flying past your cubicle. You eagerly await one of the promised Mark/Glenn showdowns and are considering inciting one yourself (something involving empty coffee pots and flaming bags of poo.)
7. You still don't know where anything in the lab is, but its okay... Aaron does. Besides it's probably moved 5 times since yesterday and is covered in red dust.
8. You're still eating leftovers from last week's BBQ every day for lunch. It basically fills the lab fridge.
9. You can't think about an Olympic sport without how it relates to training for war.
10. You hear far too much about everyone's personal lives through your cubicle wall. And then at happy hour. Thank goodness there are only 27 people (besides you) in the company to talk about.
Also, concentrated NaOH eats through glass. In case you were curious. Hope everyone's having an awesome time, or at least getting adjusted okay and all. Where are the rest of the updates?? Miss you guys!
Cheers and best regards,
Carly (:
So far it hasn't been so bad, maybe even fun sometimes? Matt D and I are holding it down in northern VA (Jenna and Lindsey are nearby). Its been super having ChemEs nearby... Jenna was a sweetheart and took me car shopping when mine broke the second day here, and Lindsey's parents fed me an intense amount of food yesterday - thank you guys!!!! Um and I think I would've freaked out hardcore if Matt wasn't here too (he's also great about putting up with me talking at him through the cubicle wall all the time when he's actually being productive.)
So rather than try to coherently describe the first four weeks at Dominion, I've condensed it into top ten format. Anyway,
You know you work for Dominion when....
1. Everyone you work with is named Matt, Mark, or Mike. They probably went to MIT.
2. It seems like everyone you work with has a kid. If they don't, they're probably in France, Tokyo, Alabama or Houston.
3. You know better than to finish the coffee pot out of fear of what Mark will do. You are afraid to make a new pot in case you get the grounds/water ratio wrong. So you have another diet pepsi instead.
4. You've read more about nuclear power plant water chemistry than you did about P.Chem, and remember less. Which is a shame, because you had to raise your caffeine levels to sophomore-year-Heatherington levels to get through it.
5. The things that you work on have no names. Just acronyms and random number combinations. Example (real assignment): "Please write a report updating the IF for TT690 v. MA 600 with respect to PWSCC in SGs. Refer to the SOW or EPRI-1013640 if you need guidance."
Translation: Make up something/copy-paste stuff about the improvement factor for thermally treated high-chromium steel over mill-annealed low chromium steel in nuclear steam generators... specifically how much less likely it is to suffer from primary water stress corrosion cracking. Open and stare mindlessly at the scope-of-work or Electrical Power Research Institute report 1013640 if you have no idea what to do. Not like it will help.
6. Matt D's rage pales next to the hurricane of principle officer Bob flying past your cubicle. You eagerly await one of the promised Mark/Glenn showdowns and are considering inciting one yourself (something involving empty coffee pots and flaming bags of poo.)
7. You still don't know where anything in the lab is, but its okay... Aaron does. Besides it's probably moved 5 times since yesterday and is covered in red dust.
8. You're still eating leftovers from last week's BBQ every day for lunch. It basically fills the lab fridge.
9. You can't think about an Olympic sport without how it relates to training for war.
10. You hear far too much about everyone's personal lives through your cubicle wall. And then at happy hour. Thank goodness there are only 27 people (besides you) in the company to talk about.
Also, concentrated NaOH eats through glass. In case you were curious. Hope everyone's having an awesome time, or at least getting adjusted okay and all. Where are the rest of the updates?? Miss you guys!
Cheers and best regards,
Carly (:
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