Best gift card ever!

  • October 29, 2006

Here’s a gift card I got today at Target:

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And here’s what it looks like when you push the power button on the front (just to the left of the Target symbol):

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Woah! It has four LEDs built into it and looks amazing. Easily the best gift card I have ever seen. The best thing is that it is more or less free, since there is no limit on how much (ie. how little) you put on it nor how soon you can spend it. So I put $10 on it, and then immediately redeemed it to buy the rest of our order 🙂

Oh yes, and the Wii logo doesn’t hurt. In addition to my game collection I have a fairly large collection of paraphenalia, so this fits nicely. Maybe I should scan and post some of my collection one day…

Christmas List

  • October 28, 2006

Here’s a Christmas list, directed at Australian readers. If you’re feeling generous, feel free to send some of these my way:

– Fruit Tingles
– Redskins
– Polly Waffles
– Fruit Pastiles
– a box of Nutri-Grain cereal
– Cadbury ‘Snack’ chocolate
– Cadbury chocolate bar containing honeycomb

This list contains items not available (or usually out-of-stock) from everythingaustralian.com, from which I obtain Aussie candy here in America.

Oh yes, I would also love a good recipe for Apple Slice (which is available in most every Australian bakery) if anyone has one!

I’ll update this list as Christmas draws nearer…

And feel free to add a comment with lists of whatever you may need/want from America!

  • Posted in Miscellaneous
  • Robert

Exam: 10/31/06

  • October 28, 2006

When x-rays ‘shine’ through a crystal and are ‘photographed’ on the other side they leave a pattern which contains information on the crystal structure not dissimilar to how a shadow contains information on what exactly it was that blocked the light.

However, for various reasons, deciphering the crystal structure from the x-ray pattern is a difficult task (although made easier in recent years as computing power increases) that requires a great deal of physics and mathematics to solve.

One tool in the solution is a mathematical formula called the Patterson Function. At 11am this coming Tuesday – Halloween in America – I will be giving/taking my oral exam and my topic is “Patterson Methods and Crystal Structure Determination”. I will present a 45 minute talk on the Patterson Function and it’s various uses in crystallography, and will be quizzed on the topic by a comittee of three faculty members. I’m not particularly concerned – I have spent about 2 months preparing – but since some of the mathematics is tricky I hope certain questions may not be asked!