http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/ndilello Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:14:41 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I recently discovered that my academic advisor during college is now on the faculty here in CSAIL. Cue the children's choir: It's a small world aaaaaafter all. I didn't do research with him, but I TA'd his class for two years and he signed off on my classes every semester ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/ndilello/2009/11/17/i-know-hes-not-to-blame-but/ I kid you not, the following conversation actually happened. The scene: My apartment, last week during the Angels-Yankees ALCS The actors: My roommate, myself Roommate: I really like the number 14. Me: Why's that? Because it's even. Roommate: Yeah! It's so pretty. Me: Oh, I like odd numbers. I have a thing for ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/ndilello/2009/10/28/just-some-amusement/ The Ringling Brothers circus is in town for their annual show. While I've never actually attended the circus, I always know they're here. The circus transports all of their equipment and animals up from New York via train. The train pulled into Cambridge a few days ago and they ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/ndilello/2009/10/14/the-circus-is-in-town/ A few weeks ago, I found myself on the beach with my mom, dad, aunt, and uncle. Sitting on a beach with a book is pretty much my definition of relaxation, so I was doing my best to stop thinking about work and MIT. At some point, my uncle turned ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/ndilello/2009/09/10/40th-anniversary/ Ok, my real vacation hasn't happened yet.  In a few weeks, I'll go traipsing around Glacier National Park and explore all that Montana has to offer.  But for the last month or so, I've been teaching an electrical engineering class for high school girls as part of the Women's Technology ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/ndilello/2009/07/29/what-i-did-on-my-summer-vacation/ I've lived with many different people over the years. I thought I had finally figured out the questions to ask potential roommates before agreeing to live together. What are your hours like? Do you cook a lot? How frequently do you have people over? These ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/ndilello/2009/06/17/roommates/ PhD Checklist 1. Technical qualifying exam - Completed: 5/06 2. Classes for master's degree - Completed: 12/06 3. Master's thesis - Completed: 12/07 4. Research qualifying exam - Completed: 4/08 5. Minor program - Completed: 5/09 (Note: this is new. Yaay!) 6. TA - Completed: 7/09 (est.) 7. PhD thesis proposal - Completed: 8/09 (est.) 8. PhD ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/ndilello/2009/05/14/because-its-good-to-keep-track-of-these-things/ Sometimes I think we all get carried away on this blog, going on and on about how much we love it here. The truth is, there are hard days, there are bad days, and there are days when all you can do is hop on a bus, head downtown, ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/ndilello/2009/04/22/fantasies-and-delusions/ Ok folks, I'm going a little stir crazy here. I had my ACL reconstruction surgery last week and for awhile, I lounged around in a Percocet-induced haze. Now the pain is gone, but I still can't get around very easily. Crutches are inherently slow. My biggest ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/ndilello/2009/04/01/wtp-and-acl-ftw/ The spring semester here started a few weeks ago. I have Big Plans for the spring term. I have a lot to do and I'm very excited about all of it. My research is finally in a place where I can take it and run. I have things ... http://eecsblogs.mit.edu/blog/ndilello/2009/02/22/spring-term/