Quantum Rocketry

1. Paychecks getting deposited
2. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C Minor
3. Gliese 581c
4. Free food

Originally posted 15 April 2006:

1. Be addressed as “Lieutenant Shoer” once again (Ithaca Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol)
2. Kayak in Cayuga Lake (or should I call it Kayaka Lake?) – No have kayak. Yet?
3. Go wine-tasting any time I like – Not that I do. But I could!
4. Officially call myself a rocket scientist
5. Be the first person in the world to work on an entirely new class of spacecraft – Well, in the first group to do so.
6. Have a color as a mascot
7. Live in my own apartment
8. Be surrounded by gorges and waterfalls
9. Walk down the hall to the ornithopter lab or mix things up with a visit to the college synchotron – Again, not that I do, but I could! There are some pretty damn cool toys around here.
10. Use Zaphod Beeblebrox’s pickup line: “Hey baby, you wanna see my spaceship?” – Haven’t come close to making this one yet, much to my disappointment. But just give me a couple years!!

1. On-campus modes
   1. Lab
   2. Lecture
   3. Problem set
2. Post-seminar: vulture mode
3. Intermittently: caffeine acquisition
4. Responsibility avoidance mode
5. Off-campus modes
   1. Problem set
   2. Vulture
   3. Sleep mode
6. Intermittent procrastination/Internet mode
7. Examination mode

1. When people use the word “lay” (past tense or transitive) when they mean “lie” (present tense or intransitive).
2. When people talk during movies. Particularly during the really heavy scenes, and particularly when their comments demonstrate only a superficial understanding of the movie.
3. Creationism, in both its young Earth and intelligent design varieties.
4. Piles of dirty dishes in my sink.
5. When my blood sugar is over 300 mg/dL.
6. When otherwise intelligent people commit informal fallacies and respond arrogantly to counterargument.
7. Misrepresentation of science and scientific theories by media/politicians/etc.
8. The trump: When I catch myself doing any of these things.