I had been rushing to get some wafers sent out to have an expensive process done to them before a round of funding ran out.  I was working hard, and cutting corners and paying for it, but I got them out in time.  Then they came back.  I went to clean them, as I normally do, but this time things just went wrong.  Now, instead of cleaning off the debris that I wanted, I ended up actually undoing a few weeks worth of work.  Not only that, but I have still been unable to remove the crud that I have been trying to remove.  So that means that not only did I move about a month backward, but I added a week or two on while I was at it, if I didn’t ruin the wafers entirely…

But, I learned some good lessons, have some ideas how to fix the problems, and may even be able to save a few wafers.  So I can still go into lab with a sense of purpose, and will come out with a better process to show for it. 

I think graduate school has made me an optimist…

Apparently people believe that it is being used for mind control.  It seems to me that it just makes your hair grow longer.  (Yes I am the tall guy with the long hair in those pictures)Me at HAARP, Group at HAARP.  But anyway, it is always neat to see somewhere that you have worked treated with such interest…

Things that kept Jon from blogging in 2008-2009:

1. Classes
- Took that sweet class on mobile development in the fall
- Took no classes(!) during the spring term. The first time in my life that I have not been taking classes…

2. Trips
- Went to San Francisco, presented a poster.
- Went to San Francisco again, gave a talk.
- Went to San Francisco again, ate a lot of kettle corn.
— Here I am eating kettle corn in San Francisco ——>
- Went to Hawaii
- Went to Florida for New Year’s, played golf.

3. Concerts
- Went to a few concerts.
- Went to a Styx (my favorite band) concert.
- Participated in the MIT Logarhythms 60th anniversary concert. - Logs from the entire 60 year history of the Logs came back and sang together.

4. Passed the RQE!

5. Got older, had a birthday party.

6. Gave a talk at a conference.

7. Competed in the USAV National Volleyball Tournament.
- Here is a picture of the court setup at the tournament.

8. Grew a beard.

Oh yeah, I did some research, too.

Now, I have no more class requirements, so I go to whatever classes I find interesting.  I  could not take classes, but I figure that I am here, and might as well get my money’s worth.  Now, this is dangerous, as I can only take 2 classes per term, so it is difficult to choose what class to take.  But, it is rewarding, as in the past I have taken some cool classes like Public Economics, and Innovation Teams.

This year, I am taking Nextlab.  This is a class where we develop projects using mobile devices to deploy in developing countries.  Yes, most people have mobile devices in developing areas - there are actually more cell phones in third world countries than in the first world (citation needed).  Anyways, this class is cool.  We work in project teams, and each team includes a pair of students from Emerson College from across the river.  The Emerson students are at all our meetings videotaping us and will make a video blog/documentary of the project.  You can see the blog for my project here.

Other than Nextlab, I am taking an optics lab class.  Also, I was signed up for Computational Photography, but had to drop it because I can only take two classes (that is probably a good thing, as I don’t have too much free time as it is…)

Oh well, I am looking forward to a good semester.

I’m sitting here next to Ted (another EECS blogger), who by the way is crazy.  Now mind you, not scary, Silence of the Lambs crazy, but more like a friendly, Mork from Mork and Mindy crazy.

Anyways, we’re sitting here in Jerusalem and it is hot.  The reason that we are in Jerusalem is, I guess, the point of this post.  Ted and I are here in Jerusalem to teach Israeli and Palestinian high school students Java, teamwork, leadership, entrepreneurship, and other good things.  This is a MIT-based program called MEET.

I taught for MEET in 2006 and Ted did in 2007.  We are both back this year.  I am back this summer as the Head Instructor.  This basically means that I do not get to actually teach any students directly.  I am also the Head of Curriculum, so I am here to evaluate the curriculum and make sure that the students are learning everything that we want them to.  But, the real thing that I do - the reason why I am here - is that I get to make the schedule for each day and print it on little pieces of paper with clever witticisms on the top (wittiness is actually infrequent and debatable) and give them to all the instructors.

I feel fortunate that I have an advisor that is OK with me going away for the summer.  Not even that, but he was excited and said that it was a good opportunity and was supportive of me going!  It totally threw me off… I was expecting a battle and threats of not-graduating… but there were none.  So here I am.

Which brings me back to my original point.  It is hot.  My favorite time of day is when I get home and get to take my shoes off.  That and I enjoy interacting with the students and doing all those other things that are the actual reasons why I am here.

I actually miss Boston and my research.  But, I am sure that it is there waiting for me to come back, and that is comforting to know.

So, after class, I was walking around and I saw my friend Ted (also an EECS blogger) hanging out with a bunch of people. Apparently he was doing this dancing thing that he is always talking about so much. It was pretty impressive – Ted was doing all sorts of jumping and slapping his feet – pretty sweet.

Anyways, I was walking back to lab and was getting some lunch in the student center when I ran into Tron Guy… just hanging out in the student center… Apparently he was here for ROFLcon. (ROFLcon was a convention about how the internet is changing what fame means… I guess. It got a bunch of internet “celebrities” to come and talk in person)

Walking back from the student center and knowing that ROFLcon was going on, I had to choose between my original plan of going to see Senator Jeff Bingaman, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources talk about America’s energy furture or going to a panel entitled “LOLCATS: I CAN HAZ CASE STUDY?”

I ended up going to the Energy one…

“Every time we have we have this workshop, most people leave it disappointed…”

Thinking about it, this could be either the worst or the most brilliant way to start a workshop. Bear with me here. Obviously, it could be thought of as a bad way to start any presentation. If the audience is going to be disappointed, what is the point of them listening to or caring about what you have to say. I was tempted to leave due to that sentiment (as I had already picked up the handout, which seemed to have a ton of information anyways).

But on the other hand, it could be brilliant to start out with a statement promising failure. One key to success is to keep low expectations, and forecasting disappointment is a good way to do that.

It turns out, it was neither a blunder nor an attempt to set the presenters up for surpassing expectations; they merely wanted to point out that the workshop is more about giving you tools instead of answers. In case you are interested, the workshop was an guide to self-assessment for starting a career search. Pretty interesting. The Career Office is really useful. They reviewed my essays for graduate school and offer a ton of other services and workshops. I even found my totally awesome internship last summer through a Career Office info session. Check them out.

This year I am doing what I have done for the past two years - wear a Hawaiian shirt to lab. It is crazy intense fun. Almost too much fun. I pretend I am on a tropical island… that happens to have a cleanroom and my office.

<– Here I am getting ready for a day of fun.

Here I am staying safe from the sun. –>

(that one is not really me or our fab, but was the only picture I could find quickly. (NASA))

Don’t get me wrong, I am glad to be here. Also, the weather has been pretty nice lately. It is just fun to mentally go on a spring break as well.

Plans for tonight : Trivia at the Thirsty Ear Pub.