Uprooted and rebooted

Finished a draft of chapter 5, introducing higher order difference equations used for modeling age distribution in population. It's got the Fibonacci sequence of course, and basic Leslie and Usher matrices. Next up: introduction to eigenvectors and eigenvalues, that were already seen in solutions of the higher-order difference equations. Gotta sneak things in...

I finished a draft of Chapter 4, which completes the first part of the book, on dynamical systems in one dimension. This is all such classic, delicious applied math, I love it. Now it's on to two-dimensional systems and linear algebra. Damn, I'm so lucky to have my job...

I finally finished a draft Chapter 3, a bit behind schedule. Goal for the rest of today: organize all the pieces for Chapter 4, and game out what's needed for each section (modeling, analytical, computational, and synthesis). Will report on the progress for all y'all.

So I'm spending the summer trying to write something resembling book chapters for my project (Quantitative Methods for Biological Sciences). Not that I expect to finish, but i'd like to produce drafts of 8, or better yet 12 first chapters (3 of the planned 7 units). Currently working on Chapter 3, which introduces basic numerical methods for solving ODEs that can't be solved analytically.

I am going to use LJ to write about the writing, so that fear of public shaming will keep me better motivated. Goal for today: finish writing sections 3 and 4 of chapter 3. Feel free to kick me in the comments if i don't.

This is really a memo to myself, a reminder of the good things i have in life. Here is a partial list of musicians that i've seen in 2009 (the ones that i remember at the moment). They are arranged roughly in descending order of my enjoyment of them - not that any of them were bad.

1. Chick Corea & John McLaughlin
2. Curumin
3. M. Ward
4. Alfonso Ponticelli & Swing Gitane
5. Hewar Music group with Grazyna Auguscik
6. Mama Digdown's Brass Band, Lubriphonic, and Chafo
7. Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble
8. Vic Chestnutt & Elf Power
9. Peanut Butter Wolf
10. Great Lake Swimmers

Tonight i'm gonna see Reginald Robinson, a ragtime pianist/ composer.

I don't know if I've ever been so glad to feel that spring is here. This winter has been a bitch. I've been traveling at least once a week, and sometimes twice, since last fall. This weekend i'm in Chicago and i feel i can breathe again. 

So after five interviews at different colleges, and no offers (although i have yet to hear from one), i realized that i am really happy where i am. I mean, i knew that before, but it was very useful to see what other institutions are like. My job at U Chicago, where i get to teach incredibly motivated and interesting students, is pretty much a dream. And now it looks like i may be able to stay longer, with the class becoming required for the students in their M.D. / Ph.D program. I guess they like what i'm doing. 

My boss wants me to put together a book out of the course materials, so i've been working on getting it started. This summer I will be in Madison, staying in one place, and working on this book business. And of course, spending time with Ellis. I can't wait.

It's so sweet to realize sometimes that what you have is what you want.
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Не помню, чтобы я когда-нибудь так радовался приходу весны. Эта зима была просто лютой по всем понятиям. И я куда-то мотался, как минимум раз в неделю, а иногда и два, с прошлой осени. Сейчас я в первый раз в Чикаго на выходных, и наконец могу вздохнуть.

Пройдя пять собеседований в разных колледжах, но не получив от них предложений (еще от одной лавки я не получил ответа), я врубился, что мне и здесь хорошо. То есть, я это и так знал, но было полезно посмотреть на другие заведения. Моя работа в Чикагском У, где я учу потрясающе умных и заинтересованных студентов - просто полный кайф. И сейчас есть сигналы, что я мог бы здесь остаться подольше: мой курс собираются сделать обязательным для аспирантов в программе M.D. /Ph.D. (где одновременно получаешь обе степени). Вроде, они мной довольны.

Мой начальник хочет, чтобы я писал учебник по своему курсу, и я веду подготовительную работу. А летом я буду сидеть в Мадисоне, никуда не ездить, и писать свой учебник. И, конечно, проводить время с Елисеем. Просто зашибись.

Так классно осознать, что то что есть, это что тебе хочется. 

My son and i went snowboarding today, for the first time for both of us. It was cool, although the ass gets tired of slamming into the ground. I think we both made about the same amount of progress at reducing the number of falls going down the bunny slope... Photographic evidence below:
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А вот мы с сынишкой сегодня пошли на снежных досках покататься, в первый раз для обоих. И было вполне здорово, хотя задница устает грохаться об землю. Мы оба достигли некого прогресса в катании с самой маленькой горки. И вот вам фотки:

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This past week i went on two campus interviews for faculty positions, at Franklin & Marshall in Pennsylvania and Mount Holyoke in Mass. Both positions are in the Math departments, but they're both looking for an applied person. Both departments are populated by super-nice people, based on my observations and on talking with people in other departments. Both have a lot of older, tenured people, and so there will be a lot of new people coming in the short- to medium-term. Both colleges seem to have good colleagues outside Math for me to collaborate with, who get major grants and have interesting research. But... Mt Holyoke clearly takes the cake on several fronts. The people are just a bit more personable and easy to talk to, i think the quality of their work is a bit higher, the students are more impressive, and there's just no comparison on the location. Lancaster, PA is the middle of Amish country, with very little going on besides the college. Mount Holyoke is in a small town too, but it's near four other schools, and the students can take classes at the other schools, and the faculty can work together and even have joint appointments at UMass. And there's actually some life in Northampton, from what i hear.

The fact that Mt Holyoke is a women's college (the oldest women's college in the US) first made me a little unsure - what's the role of a male teaching at a place like this? But the faculty are really evenly split, even in math and science, and seems like it actually makes gender less of an issue than at a regular co-ed college. And in fact, it was really refreshing talking to so many female colleagues - it's not the case at most places.

So i'd be really tempted if Mount Holyoke made me an offer. They even told me (jumping the gun?) that they would be fine with me taking another year at Chicago to finish the research and teaching i'm doing there. And they offer a sabbatical leave after 3 years, and then after another 3 years, if you get tenure. Now the big question for me, of course, is whether teaching in an isolated idyll of a liberal arts college is what i want to do with my life. Well, provided i get an offer. ;)

I am in Madison this weekend, as usual, and was meeting some friends for breakfast at this big indoor place, where they have a Winter Farmer's Market (with cheese and honey and beef jerky) and where you can purchase a very nice, above-mentioned breakfast. They also had a live band playing some jazzy and folksy stuff. After waiting in line and paying for the food, i was scouting a table for my friends and myself, when i hear the band playing a Django Reinhardt tune i know (i think it's called Minor swing), so i come closer and listen. The guitarist notices my interest, and says (while doing some great leads)
"Do you play?"
i say, "sure, a bit."
"Do you know this tune?"
"Yeah, it's a Django tune, isn't it?"

So he hands me his guitar, switches to fiddle, tells me the chords, and i'm playing with the band! It was awesome, i sat in for several songs, mostly American fiddle and banjo tunes, and i even led them through "Long Tall Texan" despite the irony of a short Russian singing it. Turns out, i've seen the leader before - he's a great fiddler, guitarist, and banjo player named Doug Brown. We have several mutual friends in town, and maybe i'll get to play with him again. It was a real treat, playing with great players for a bunch of people eating breakfast on a freezing winter morning.

And my friends forgave me for abandoning them for a half hour to play. I just had to eat my breakfast cold.

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Я , как обычно, в Мэдисоне по выходным, и в субботу утром пошел с друзьями позавтракать на зимнем фермерском рынке, где продают зимние дары природы, типа сыра, меда, и сушеной говядины, а плюс к тому еще готовят вкусные вышеупомянутые завтраки. А еще у них играла музыка - три чела лобают что-то джазовое. Мы отстояли за жратвой, и я пошел искать столик для компании, и слышу, что играют знакомую песню Джанго - есди правильно помню, называется Минорный Свинг. Я стою, зацениваю, что гитарист вытворяет, как вдруг он, не прерываясь, меня спрашивает:
- А вы играете?
- Да, малость.
- А эту песню знаете?
- Да это же Джанго, верно?

Он мне дает гитару, говорит мне аккорды, а сам берет скрипку - и мы играем! Было классно, я с ними сыграл несколько песен, даже им дал тему Long Tall Texan, которую они не знали, но этот невысокий русский их научил. Оказалось, что я знаю этого музыканта - его зовут Doug Brown; он весьма известен в Мэдисоне и я раз ходил на его концерт. У нас есть общие знакомые, так что мы, может, еще поиграем. 

А кореша мне простили, что я их на полчаса оставил, только пришлось завтрак холодным хавать.

Sometimes it's good to get good news, know what i'm sayin'?

In the past couple of days i got invited to two campus interviews at a couple of nice, liberal arts schools in the East, and looks like there are prospects for more. Of course, managing all the pieces of my life's puzzle will be hard, but for now there are no decisions to make, just gotta enjoy meeting colleagues and being wined and dined. That sounds pretty good right about now!

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Хорошо же иногда получить хорошие новости.

Только что узнал, что приглашают на собеседования в два (весьма хороших) колледжа на востоке США, и похоже, еще кое-что намечается. Конечно, надо будет подумать, как утрясти все мои жизненные связи, но пока никаких решений еще принимать не надо. Только съездить, затусить с коллегами, нахалявку пожрать (а кормят всегда конкретно) и защемить кайф. Сейчас это вполне ксати!

So you know i enjoy playing music, and have long wanted to do it in a more organized fashion, that is with people, and rehearsals, and maybe eventually gigs - like a band. So, although i don't want to jinx this thing, but i started playing with a guitarist friend of mine, and it's awesome so far. It's not clear that we're that similar musically - she's an old metalhead converted to jazz fiend, and now she's really into gipsy swing. And i'm into like rock and pop mixed with nostalgic Russian tunes. But she's a total Slavophile, and can even sing Russian cartoon songs, so i think we'll have a good time.

Speaking of rock and pop, for some reason i've been into the Stones lately. Check this video of Miss You - even if you've heard the song 100 times, you gotta see Mick do his thing, especially in the middle: "Whattsa mattah witcha BOYYY??"

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Я вот давно как хочу играть на своем инструменте посерьезней - с челами, с репетициями, и может, даже людей потешить - типа бэнд. Хотя не хочу сглазить, но начал играть с одной знакомой гитаристкой, и пока щемлю кайф. Не совсем понятно, достаточно ли у нас общего-музыкального - она старая металлистка, сейчас перековавшаяся на джаз, особенно цыганско-свинговый. Ну а я так, попсу и рок музыку вместе с ностальгическими роднами напевами лобаю. Правда, она славянофил, и может петь песню Крокодила Гены про день рождения, так что наверняка нам будет весело.

Кстати о попсовом роке, чего-то я последнее время на Стоунз завис. Зацените, как Мик это делает:

The easiest thing to do is to forget the good things you have, and to suffer from the lack of what you don't have. But really, you only need a few things for a good life: food, roof over your head, conversation with a good friend, and the feeling that you're not a piece of shit. Maybe the last one is hard to find, but it's always there.

See also: Rolling Stones, You Can't Always Get What You Want

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Нет ничего проще, чем забыть про все то хорошее, которое есть, и страдать от отсутствия того, чего нет. Но на самом деле, для хорошей жизни нужно не так много: еда, крыша над головой, разговор с хорошим другом, и чувство, что ты не говно. Moжет, последнее не всегда так просто найти, но оно всегда доступно.

Смотри также: Rolling Stones, You Can't Always Get What You Want

Just for the hell of it, two songs that kill me:

Bill Withers:


Dwight Yoakam:


Rock over London, rock on Chicago!

We endured an arduous direct flight from Chicago, during which we were fed and watered at regular intervals and even able to watch Mick Jagger shake his thang on the the monitor in the seatbacks in front of us, and which arrived on time in Moscow-Domodedovo. After passing through customs, we were accosted by a band of rogues, who happened to be brother F with two friends. We were forced to swallow this injustice along with some beer. Finally, the rogues dispersed to Siberia, and we took off in an old purple Volga (c. 1980) with our driver Yuri Ivanovich, a nice man from Pushchino. B could not decide which was more oppressive, the heat in the back seat of the car, or the lack of roadside bathroom facilities. She decided to concentrate instead on the distinct absence of seat belts in the back seat of Volga, which (once we got out of the numerous and dusty traffic jams) was hurtling down a small, undivided highway. Y.I. and M chatted about driving in Russia and whether drivers had improved in their willingness to follow the rules, as cars passed us on the shoulder at high speeds, kicking up more dust into the hot car. Did we mention it was hot and dusty? Our journey was complete when we arrived in Pushchino and saw Nana and Dada waiting by the door of their apartment building. They greeted B with kisses and even admitted to knowing M. We were led inside and promptly fed and told to get a lot of rest.

Today was even more arduous. After rising at 11 a.m., we had tea and breakfast. Then we went for a walk. Then B took a nap. Then we had tea and dinner. Then we went for a walk. Somewhere along the way (perhaps when we were investigating the mysterious old mansion on the river?) our shoes got muddy. We washed our shoes, then we had tea and more dinner.

In other news, B loves Russian cookies, and, inspired by the scientific method, plans to investigate the maximum number of their varieties. Keep your bookmarks pointed this way for the results of the study.

Sorry it's been a long time...

A certain brother named pointy111 has been talking about this DC dude named Wale, and turns he's been collabing with the Roots! Check them tearing it up (with Chrisette doing amazing singing too):


N.B. I have it on good authority that this is not just some hip-hop shit, this is GoGo music from DC. Damned if I knew that...

Here are two roughly recorded songs, one by me, one by Bess. We got to play on each other's tunes:

Broken Cup song
Starling

Enjoy!

For me, this past year has been the craziest of my life, in terms of changes, new possibilities, and absolutely insane amount of movement.

Here's a quantitative summary of my year 2007:

• 17 cities or towns slept in (best as i can recall)
  

• 7 papers published (most were written the year before, and only 3 first-author)

• 6 conferences presented at

• 5 conference talks given (one was a poster)
• 5 modes of transit used (car, bus, city train/subway, long-distance train, plane)
  

• 4 job offers received (2 tenure-track, 1 lecturer, 1 postdoc fellowship)
  
• 4 different residences lived in (for at least a month)

• 3 on-campus interviews attended
• 3 countries visited (including US)
  

• 2 employers milked
• 2 songs recorded (not mixed yet)

• 1 new course developed and taught
• 1 divorce filed for
• 1 new girlfriend found and suckered into staying with me

The strange part is that it was so packed with things that even though they all contributed pressure, i couldn't focus on all of them, so it really wasn't all that bad. I kinda enjoyed it all. So bring it on, 2008!

Maybe my russo-english liguo-brethren (and -sestren) already knew this, but i only recently realized the possibilities of translating form Russian internet-speak (aka Olbansky, a misspelling of Albanian) and lolz-speak. For instance, the seminal Olbansky word "Превед!" (a misspelled "Hello!"),  canonically associated with "Медвед" (misspelled bear) from this watercolor painting by John Lurie, where the bear originally said "surprise!":


What i realized is that there is an obvious parallel in Lolz-canon, and that is "oh hai", as illustrated by:


or my favorite theological commentary (from a thread making fun of the new Creationism Museum, which includes this display of Martin Luther nailing his theses up)


So all this is to say that if anyone wants to start a new Olbansky-Lolz dictionary (before both forms become obsolete and die, if they haven't already) then I have one entry:
Превед! = Oh hai!

In case you haven't noticed, there's some heavy shit going down in Burma (fuck the junta, let's not call it Myanmar). Here's a blog with on-the-ground reports:

The sanctions Bush announced yesterday may be the only thing he has done recently that I agree with, since the regime is one of the most odious on the planet.

Ellis in the car, riding with Mama and Papa (after seeing the Simpsons movie last weekend)

E: Will people ever stop making candy?
M/P: No, I don't think so. Why would they?
E: What if everybody died?
M/P: Umm, well, I guess then there wouldn't be any candy.
E: Yes, there would!
M/P: But who would make it?
E: Robots!
M/P: Ah, alright. But who would eat all that candy?
E: Tornados!

The End.