http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/jjohnson Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:24:47 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en So I came across an article today about the founder of Cirque du Soleil... http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/10/11/space.clown.lands/index.html He went on an extraordinary vacation that cost him $35 million......(crickets)......he went to space. The colder it gets the more folks tend to talk about how they need a vacation, including me! But, I thought this was ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/jjohnson/2009/10/12/i-need-a-vacation-a-35-million-dollar-one/ "Seeking: PhD Level Intern, Skills Required: theoretical modeling, kayaking, hiking, skydiving, paintballing, etc..." Think your eyes are playing tricks on you? This must be a joke?  Most people think that graduate students doing summer internships is practically as impossible to believe as the tagline above. But in my case both are ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/jjohnson/2009/09/22/skills-required-theoretical-modeling-kayaking-hiking-skydiving-paintballing-etc/ This title is an absolute understatement when it comes to the graduate experience. Most of us come to MIT with it all together, which is why we are here right? But as a first year most of us feel like everything is falling apart, we can't find a group, we ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/jjohnson/2009/03/03/things-fall-apart/ as I start 2009, I thought of how much I got done in a 2 week period while I was in India(see previous blog). I thought to myself how can I recreate that same focus that I had half way around the world back in my lab so that I ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/jjohnson/2009/01/12/focus/ I just spent 20 days on the experience of a lifetime! I went to India with the NNIN's 1st International Winter School for Graduate Students (iWSG). For two weeks we were to immerse ourselves in intense technical learning in an international environment (India Institute of Technology, Kanpur) as well ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/jjohnson/2009/01/05/wow/ I once heard that your brain is like an old sweater, once it has been stretched it will never go back to its original shape, and I definitely agree! I have thought about more diverse areas of research and the interdisciplinary possibilities between them over the course of this summer ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/jjohnson/2008/07/23/your-brain-is-like-an-old-sweater/ Tomorrow is the TQE. All the first year's are waiting with baited breath to take the qualifying examination that will determine if we in fact are "qualified" to be here, if we've mastered the basics of electrical engineering and are ready to move on in pursuit of the MS/PhD here. ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/jjohnson/2008/05/27/the-hand-of-the-diligent-shall-rule/ The other day, as I walked past the front desk I heard "good morning," I walked out the front door past massive amounts of construction and the workers nodded good morning back to me, I walked into my building past someone I knew and heard a loud "Hey Joy." I finally ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/jjohnson/2008/04/17/southern-hospitality/     As I walked pass Professor Kong's office, as I do most everyday, an indescribable feeling came over me. I would always run into him in the hallway. He would always say "its ok?" and I would say my usual "yes everythings good." But on this day I knew he ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/jjohnson/2008/03/24/a-tribute-to-one-of-the-best/ When i walk out of my office at 2am and see someone on a unicycle going down the hallway or people breakdancing or ballroom dancing in the open space between labs, or busloads of tourists taking my picture as I walk to class, or someone walking across Mass ave in ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/jjohnson/2008/03/18/what-looks-like-crazy-on-an-ordinary-day/