Term over!
And I am still standing...
Well friends,
Another term, my 7th since I returned to University, is now completed. Mostly. I have completed six additional courses this academic year, including:
Quantum Mechanics (2 courses - introduction and hydrogen atom)
Planetary Astronomy
Differential Equations for Scientists and Engineers
Computing for Physicists
Experiments in Modern Physics
I still have my research course to complete as a holdover into the summer, and so I will be working in the lab for the next couple of months and doing real research into Brillouin scattering in crystalline Argon. The cool part is they are paying me for this, and given that my tuition, as a “senior citizen” in Ontario, is free, this is proving to be, yet again, the best retirement gig ever!
But now, for the next four months, my weekends will not be about doing or putting off homework, but instead about the stuff I like to do or that my real boss in life, Tanya, tells me I should be doing. We normally travel during the summer, but this year we are going to forgo it as our daughter is starting University in the autumn and we want to let her have an entire summer doing nothing but relaxing in preparation. Poor girl is also having to face the prospect of going to school with her dad, yes, same University, although she will be in Applied Math as opposed to Physics. No matter, her University dating life will likely be curtailed!
Joking aside, I do have the best hobbies. I am doing a lot of astrophotography as the skies permit. I have my 200mm RASA and small portable S50 Smart scope working every chance I get. I am also adding a rebuilt Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope to the mix, which I hope to have working by the end of May. My results, though, even with the setup I have right now, are getting pretty impressive.
I also have a couple of 3D printers, which I keep quite busy. You know, my Grandfather was quite the handyman, and I sometimes like to imagine how he would react to my workshop with its computer and electronics lab, 3D printers and Photo printing system. He and I did a lot of those sorts of things together, but the technology has moved so far along since he passed away 36 years ago.
Well, I expect to post more regularly for the next couple of months. Expect lots of pictures and updates from the world of Brillouin scattering!
Enjoy spring or autumn, depending on your hemisphere! Chat with you soon.