Sometimes life is rough and you just gotta struggle through it. A couple days ago, I returned from a 10 day trip to Hawaii. (Did I mention the life is rough part?) The reason for the trip was, of course, physics! But this time, and it's been too long of a time, the physics was for me. Not for the lab, not for the linear collider, not to save the particle physics planet, but simply to get my hands dirty and do real science. It was the best time I've had in a year. And, it just happened to be in Hawaii....
A gang of 4 of us have been working on this paper. We've actually been doing it in drips and dabs for awhile now (I won't say exactly how long), and quite frankly, I'm amazed that we haven't been scooped. (The project requires a certain degree of tenacity and a wide spectrum of talents, so perhaps that's why nobody else has tackled it, don't know. But, experimentally, it has never been more relevant than it is now - so our timing will be perfect!) All 4 of us are dedicated to getting it finished now. To meet this goal, the gang decided to meet at one of our home institutions. Being based in almost perfect Northern California, I would normally play the role of host. However, one of our collaborators is based at the University of Hawaii. And naturally, that takes precedence over California! A note to all young physicists out there: It is important to have collaborators in nice places! So, we all 4 met and worked hard for a week and accomplished much. A great time was had by all, doing science, undistracted! I can't say how nice it was to devote an entire week to science and get away from everything else. We've set ourselves a deadline for a full draft of the paper, and we intend to meet it. (Note: I was in the lab today, Sunday afternoon, working away on the project and interacting in real time with 2 of my collaborators.) It will be done by the end of the summer. Naturally, since I was already in Hawaii at the start of Memorial Day weekend, I hopped over to the Big Island and spent the long weekend there. (Did I mention the life is rough part?) I was completely incommunicado for 4 days, and loved every minute of it. Saw volcanoes, green sand beaches, drank Kona coffee, and had my very own private sea turtle (dubbed George ) visit me. Life really doesn't get any better!
