Missed Connections

Dad's emphasis on being on time for trains has not been ingrained in my head yet. My inability to make it on time to modicums of commutation is a omnipresent joke among my family and friends and it just keeps getting better with the passage of time. Though I can proudly say 2009 has been awfully sober except for the one time I threw myself in front of the Peter pan bus to Stamford in March ensuring that I am on it. The train rides and the flights have been less dramatic. I should not be speaking too soon, lest California 2k8 part two happens.

Circa Christmas 2k8, family and a bunch of friends were in Southern California living it up in the heat while I was literally white amidst white. It took a week of phone calls, emails, cajoling, threats and then eventually I was not given a choice to make it to the west coast for a week of sunshine and fun. Indecision had another laugh while I contemplated traveling on either the 23rd or the 24th, deciding on the former. My flight was at 7 in the morning and I spent most of the previous evening and night doing the most inane things and did manage to complete some packing in the meantime. I finished most of what I was doing by 3 and in anticipation of sleeping on the flight, I hit the couch for what I called a little nap for an hour before heading out to the airport at 4.

I wake up to bright light on my face thinking that I have been magically transported to the northern Canadian border. I looked at my phone to see it flash 7: 10 AM in my face!!! I pinched myself to make sure that I screwed up and woke up G who in characteristic slumber tone said the most meaningful words I ever heard that month, "Why Am I Not Surprised". I called M, who was in deep sleep ( it was 4 AM PST) only to hear her mumble something incomprehensible. I did get a rundown when she was fully awake. Eventually, in true holiday spirit, the sweet lady at the United Airlines counter did reassign my ticket for the 24th morning. Atonement for my sins included being the butt of jokes at a lot of gatherings during that trip. Thankfully, a focused host and 2 alarm clocks made sure I was on time for the return trip back to Boston.

The Belgian Connection..

What connects this kid

to this guy

this guy

and him

Think a little young Belgian reporter and his faithful fox terrier whose exploits have taken him to wee little corners of the world. He's met Al Capone in Chicago, wrestled gorilla's off the coast of Scotland, gets acquainted with a perpetually inebriated Captain in the sands of the Sahara, encounters the Yeti while looking for lost friends in Tibet and even manage to land on the moon.

Thomas Sangster (that kid from Love Actually) plays Tintin in a forthcoming motion capture version of the Adventures of Tintin in a series of films to be directed by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. Spielberg directs the first, which is based on The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure, while Peter Jackson directs the second installment. It is speculated that the two will co-direct the third. In Spielberg's own words in favor of 3D motion capture,

"We want Tintin's adventures to have the reality of a live action film and yet Peter and I felt that shooting them in a traditional live action format would simply not honour the distinctive look of the characters and world that Hergé created.

"The idea is that the films will look neither like cartoons nor like computer-generated animation. We're making them look photo-realistic, the fibres of their clothing, the pores of their skin and each individual hair. They look exactly like real people - but real Hergé people."

Andy Serkis would say Aye to that, for he is no stranger to that art of film making. His antics coupled with computer animation created one of the most memorable fiend of middle earth and celluloid history- a certain creature which went GOLLUM GOLLUM. He's plays Captain Haddock in the Tintin series.

Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles!!!!

Here's a little bit of Tintin trivia:

"The Castafiore Emerald" is the only book which contains a wee bit of profanity, wherein a character uses the word "DAMN"

In June 2006, Tintin became the first fictional character to be offered the Dalai Lama's "Truth of Light" award because " For many people around the world Tintin in Tibet was their first introduction to Tibet, the beauty of its landscape and its culture. And that is something that has passed down the generations".

A Week In Oblivion

Brookhaven is the place in the middle of nowhere, nestled somewhere in the middle of Long Island, in between extensive interstates connecting the entire stretch of this eastern part of the United States with New York City and New Jersey. Queens and Brooklyn form part of Long Island which extends about 190 miles and true to its name, is much longer than its wider. This place is extemely popular for its vineyards, beaches and of course the Hamptons.

Getting to Long Island from Boston is dicey as driving would mean getting to New York and then entering Long Island, which is like a detour through hell to a lot of people. The alternate route we employ is to use the Cross Sound Ferry which connects New London, Connecticut to Orient Point, NY which is the furthermost on the northeast tip of Long Island. That little waterbody between these two ports is the Long Island Sound. The ride's an hour and a half long, and on a nice warm and sunny day, being on the ship's deck gives you extended views of the big colonial houses that the Hamptons are famous for.

Brookhaven National Labs. This is where a bunch of us drive down from the urban locales of Boston to the extended greenlands of Upton, NY. BNL as it is known, is part of the US department of Energy and predominantly works in the areas of nuclear physics. Its home to the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), employed by scientists to study the origin of matter and the structure of protons. NASA has its own labs at the BNL facilities called the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) and thats where we do most of our work. This lab simulates conditions in outer space where astronauts are exposed to ionizing radiation. Radiation in general consists of particles like Alpha, Beta along with heavy ions such as Fe, C etc. Any radiation, which penetrates body tissue causing loss or gain of electrons is called ionizing radiation. People on the earth are protected from such radiation, thanks to our environment and the magnetic fields. DNA damage by these radiations lead to mutations manifesting themselves in the form of various genetic defects. Beams of heavy ions are obtained from a booster reactor at the desired energy levels and dosages. Biological specimans like animal models, cells and DNA are irradiated with these particles and their effects analyzed.


Taking into account the high health risk involved in working with radiation of this magnitude, the security levels undertaken are of the intense order. Sample this, the beam is located atleast 200 feet from the lab premises. In order to get to the location of the beam, one must be identified by an iris scanner and then be cleared for entry by visual confirmation from a team of engineers sitting half way around the campus. That is Step 1. Step 2 involves taking a key from the switch board, once when the signs light up indicating that the beam area is secure and safe for human invasion. Once you enter the beam area, the area is shielded by a lead labyrinth, to prevent the linear progression of leakage in case if something happens. Once the samples are housed, you need to make your way out, repeat your iris scan and return the key to the EXACT SAME location for the doors to close. If this isnt done in the sequential order, the beam will not be delivered. Once the coast is cleared, the signal is given for the beam to build up and then the appropriate dosage is delivered to the samples.

Its been a nice long week doing stuff like these in Brookhaven and we get back to Boston tomorrow. I come back again in April, June and July for 10 days each to continue our work. However monotonous, laborious and tedious the entire process is, its an opportunity that not all get to be a part of-A bright speck on my professional curve.

Hooray for Oblivion!!

P.S: Long Island is extremely famous for family owned business especially breakfast houses and cake shops. I am really looking forward to visiting the East end Breakfast house tomorrow morning on our way back. They make the best egg sandwiches in this part of the world.