used things

I was ambling around campus the other day, and my ambling took me to the campus book store. Checking out the shelf of books for this semester's physics courses, I noticed that there was precisely one used copy remaining of each of the books I needed, in addition, of course, to a plentiful supply of more expensive, new copies. "Hmm, I guess it's as good a time as any to buy books!" I thought.

As I was happily gathering up my bargain wares, I overheard another customer dejectedly exclaim to her friend, while examining the supply of books for some frosh course in a subject beginning with "M,"

"Ohh... All the copies are used! There are no new copies."

They pore over the pile of second-hand books, confirming that their search for a virgin text is indeed futile.

"Yup. No new ones. Guess we'll have to go...."

This was more than I could take. I had to intervene!

"What are you talking about? They're exactly the same, except they're cheaper," I exclaim in a combination of surprise, bewilderment, admonition, and general disgust.

The girl picks up a book, holding it gingerly as if it were something dirty. At arms' length, she thumbs through it briskly. The pages are clear and crisp with nary a mark.

"Well, I guess it's okay," she admits to her friend. "But you know how I feel about used things!"

Her friend picks up another copy from the same pile and thumbs through it with renewed gusto.

"There! This book has hilighting everywhere," he retorts as if it were some kind of victory.

Apparently vinidicated, they leave the the store. Empty handed.

to be a TA

You are driving home from school steadily at 65 mph for 130 miles. It then begins to rain and you slow to 55 mph. You arrive home after driving 3 hours and 20 minutes. How far is your hometown from school? What was your average speed?

And that, my friends, was the first problem on my first homework assignment as a first year graduate student at the University of Rochester, "a private university established 1850." Admittedly for "TA Training," the most annoying part of which is getting up at 07:00 EDT when you're still on Pacific Time.

It looks like I'll be the TA for basic electronics lab, the equivalent of Physics 7B, which I'm pretty happy about. I have an offer for a research position but I think I want to do the TA gig instead, at least this semester. Unfortunately it's not nearly as awesome as kennyjensen's electronics lab (the famed 111 lab), so we won't be making Tesla coils... hmm... OR MAYBE WE WILL.

By the way, write to me: Tobin Fricke; Department of Physics and Astronomy; Rochester, NY 14627-0171.