From 56d58b54589cd9b2d7015208478d09339e4136dc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Blaise Thompson Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2021 16:49:14 -0500 Subject: porcupine tills --- source/2016-solstice-letter/index.html | 97 ---------------------------------- 1 file changed, 97 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 source/2016-solstice-letter/index.html (limited to 'source/2016-solstice-letter/index.html') diff --git a/source/2016-solstice-letter/index.html b/source/2016-solstice-letter/index.html deleted file mode 100644 index b94d5d2..0000000 --- a/source/2016-solstice-letter/index.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,97 +0,0 @@ - - - - - - 2016 winter solstice letter - - - - -

2016 winter solstice letter

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-← back to memories list -

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-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: PDF. -

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Winter Solstice Greetings - 2016

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-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. -

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-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. -

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-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. -

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-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. -

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-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: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.674). -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. -

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-This year I've enjoyed learning more about philosophy, rationality, and psychology. -Daniel Kahneman's book Thinking, Fast and Slow has changed the way I think about human cognition. -I'm trying to incorporate these ideas more into my personal behavior. -

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-Have a fantastic 2017. Stay in touch. -

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-Blaise Jonathan Thompson
-509 N Lake St. Apt 408
-Madison, Wisconsin 53703
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-1-424-225-2493
-blaise@untzag.com -

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