Lousy Smarch Weather

Not the 13th day of the 13th month, but the weather was stormy all day today. I managed to get to school, then back to the apartment again between the stronger showers. We were under a tornado watch most if not all of the day, but I didn't see anything near that bad. There was a thunderstorm last night, but today all I noticed was some harder rain.

In missles today, we had the design discussion I mentioned in yesterday's post. Amy, Lee, and I are all in similar places with similar designs. Gloyer seemed to think my and Lee's designs were very close, and they really aren't. They're in the same ballpark, mostly because we're working within the same universe. As Lee pointed out after class, a shark is similar to a dolphin because they both live in the ocean. Our designs are similar because we're working with the same requirements and similar engineering skills, not because of collaboration. We're no collaborators! Collaborators should be shot! Or airlocked.

After class, I read some papers for Dr. Moeller. They dealt with thermocouples embedded within a test medium and using the result for accurate predictions. Didn't seem that ground-breaking, but it never does when you read the polished papers (and even less so when you read it in three different papers the exact same way). I found the information he wanted, and left it on his door. I really needed to talk to him (a "come to Jesus" if you will) about my thesis, or lack thereof. It was supposed to start LAST spring, then over the summer, then take up a lot of time in the fall, then early January, then "soon." I told him well over a year ago that I was looking for a project to finish in time to graduate in May 2008, and I've kept reminding him of that goal. Now, the thesis scheduling deadline is three weeks from tomorrow, and I haven't even started on ANYTHING. May doesn't seem very likely, and August deadlines are approaching quickly. I need a thesis, any thesis will do, any advisor will do. I hate, hate ultimatums, but one is rapidly becoming necessary. I agreed to do this project, but that does require there be a project for me to do. I tried to track him down after lunch, but no success. He must have a seventh sense about these things (his sixth is his ability to tell when squirrels are frightened). I'm going to have to have that talk before Spring Break.

"And there it is."

More tomorrow.