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| author | Blaise Thompson <blaise@untzag.com> | 2020-05-29 11:06:39 -0500 |
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| committer | Blaise Thompson <blaise@untzag.com> | 2020-05-29 11:06:39 -0500 |
| commit | 2cfcec1a2ff0fb7b57786f11d99586f66bb98ba9 (patch) | |
| tree | 6e1e01cd81c6a4e7924a4ae99be145a77268e773 /public/2016-solstice-letter/index.html | |
| parent | 0622ad763e69670d32f8141d12bc70cb2ea4a31a (diff) | |
| parent | ddc040ac8e2c08da9d5c8a3a7366626bb62d095f (diff) | |
Merge branch 'master' of git.blaise.zone:/git/website/memories
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diff --git a/public/2016-solstice-letter/index.html b/public/2016-solstice-letter/index.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ce279d1 --- /dev/null +++ b/public/2016-solstice-letter/index.html @@ -0,0 +1,97 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no"> +<html> +<head> + <meta charset="utf-8"> + <title>2016 winter solstice letter</title> + <link rel="stylesheet" href="../style.css"> +</head> +<body> + +<h1>2016 winter solstice letter</h1> + +<p> +<a href="..">← back to memories list</a> +<p> + +<hr> + +<p> +Blaise sent this letter to friends and family to celebrate the winter holiday season, 2016. +In addition to this html version, you can also download the letter as sent: <a href="./letter.pdf">PDF</a>. +</p> + +<h2>Winter Solstice Greetings - 2016</h2> + +<p> +Hello to all my friends and family. +I hope that you are feeling peaceful, cozy, and happy in these winter months. +It's snowing hard outside as I write this letter to you. +</p> + +<p> +I'm now in the middle of my 6th year of graduate school. +I'm still enjoying my time in the Wright group---I hope to be here for a while yet. +The past year of graduate school has been frustrating in some ways. +Lots of progress has been made, but I haven't reached the key checkpoints that I hoped to reach. +I'm looking forward to being a teaching assistant for a graduate-level electronics and instrumentation course next semester. +</p> + +<p> +This summer was busy for me. +In mid May three college friends (Kate, Nina, and Claire) joined me here in the Midwest. +We spent a few days exploring Chicago---river tour, museums, food, even a local contradance. +Pictured below is us outside of Shedd Aquarium. +We then drove to Madison and spent a few days in Wisconsin. +Exploring the House on the Rock with Benji was a highlight of the trip for me. +</p> + +<figure> + <img src="./IMG_20160517_101306032_HDR.jpg"> +</figure> + +<p> +I was honored to stand as a member of Claire's wedding party on June 24th. +The wedding took place near Claire's parents in beautiful Napa Valley, California. +It was a great wedding and I really enjoyed catching up with the Parker, Eckert and Till families. +It was also great to briefly see the Nielsens---Jim and Tracey were kind enough to loan me a car during my time in California. +</p> + +<p> +After returning home from California I had just 24 hours before flying to Amsterdam for an academic conference. +Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy (CMDS) is a small biennial conference in my narrow subfield. +My advisor---John C. Wright---was a founding member of the conference and still sits as chair of the organizing committee. +This year the conference was held in beautiful historic Groningen, the Netherlands. +The first molecular photon echo was resolved in Groningen (DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.674">10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.674</a>). +At the conference I presented a poster on my work to make CMDS instrumentation more reproducible and robust. +Afterwards I spent five days exploring Europe, traveling to Brussels and Amsterdam. +Pictured below is me in the famous Grote Markt. +I didn't really plan anything about my trip, just stepped out of the hotel and started walking. +Everywhere I went was filled with great food, people, and artwork. Very enjoyable---but I was ready to return to Wisconsin after five days. +</p> + +<figure> + <img src="./IMG_20160703_185954.jpg"> +</figure> + +<p> +This year I've enjoyed learning more about philosophy, rationality, and psychology. +Daniel Kahneman's book <it>Thinking, Fast and Slow</it> has changed the way I think about human cognition. +I'm trying to incorporate these ideas more into my personal behavior. +</p> + +<p> +Have a fantastic 2017. Stay in touch. +</p> + +<p> +Blaise Jonathan Thompson <br> +509 N Lake St. Apt 408 <br> +Madison, Wisconsin 53703 <br> +<br> +1-424-225-2493 <br> +blaise@untzag.com +</p> + +</body> +</html> |