It's not you, it's me

Break from A Exam studying -- have a book series review!

Has anyone ever had the experience where they didn't enjoy a book (or enjoyed it less than they might have) because it was about something they didn't think it was about?

I read Lilith Saintcrow's Dante Valentine series, about a Necromance(r)* bounty hunter. The first book involves her getting hired by Lucifer (yes, that Lucifer, even if most Judeo-Christian theology Does Not Apply) to chase down a renegade demon who was also a serial killer who killed Dante's lover, Doreen. And...( SPOILERS for the first two or three books! )

So, Lilith Saintcrow and Dante Valentine -- it was a good set of books, but it's not you; it's me. Also, I just bought the first Jill Kismet book and I just hope that Jill remains distinct in my mind from Dante. I mean, I like sarcastic, strong women with interesting abilities and angsty pasts as much as the next person, but I like them to be different.

It's not you, it's me

Break from A Exam studying -- have a book series review!

Has anyone ever had the experience where they didn't enjoy a book (or enjoyed it less than they might have) because it was about something they didn't think it was about?

I read Lilith Saintcrow's Dante Valentine series, about a Necromance(r)* bounty hunter. The first book involves her getting hired by Lucifer (yes, that Lucifer, even if most Judeo-Christian theology Does Not Apply) to chase down a renegade demon who was also a serial killer who killed Dante's lover, Doreen. And...( SPOILERS for the first two or three books! )

So, Lilith Saintcrow and Dante Valentine -- it was a good set of books, but it's not you; it's me. Also, I just bought the first Jill Kismet book and I just hope that Jill remains distinct in my mind from Dante. I mean, I like sarcastic, strong women with interesting abilities and angsty pasts as much as the next person, but I like them to be different.

Work

My practice for my A exam on Friday went well -- I got a lot of questions, but thankfully most of the comments were along the lines of 'organize your talk better'. I also spoke to my advisor and got some plots on Saturday. He reminded me that I am allowed to shunt questions off if I'll answer them later, and to say 'I don't know -- I haven't done that yet' and 'well, I haven't done that yet, but if I can speculate...' (in other words, to make it clear when I am talking out of my ass and when I think I should know it). Which is funny, since that's the exact opposite of my problem with my qualifying exam -- I would just say 'I don't know' if I couldn't answer it perfectly.

My advisor also asked me to make an Important Mission Decision for Cassini. Well, not an especially important one. Seems one of the observations we're planning doesn't have enough data volume, and we can't go begging for more, since the Enceladus folks are also on that day's run and they are short as well. My advisor's cut out all the obvious things, and asked me what the best thing to do to get rid of 1/3 of the data we take without losing much science, since I'm the one who works with this kind of observation. Hee! Power!

In under 48 hours, I'll either be getting a Master's Degree (and cleared for a Ph. D) or being told to pack my bags. I am a bit scared. Better then I was, since my peers and my advisor seem to think I can do it.

Work

My practice for my A exam on Friday went well -- I got a lot of questions, but thankfully most of the comments were along the lines of 'organize your talk better'. I also spoke to my advisor and got some plots on Saturday. He reminded me that I am allowed to shunt questions off if I'll answer them later, and to say 'I don't know -- I haven't done that yet' and 'well, I haven't done that yet, but if I can speculate...' (in other words, to make it clear when I am talking out of my ass and when I think I should know it). Which is funny, since that's the exact opposite of my problem with my qualifying exam -- I would just say 'I don't know' if I couldn't answer it perfectly.

My advisor also asked me to make an Important Mission Decision for Cassini. Well, not an especially important one. Seems one of the observations we're planning doesn't have enough data volume, and we can't go begging for more, since the Enceladus folks are also on that day's run and they are short as well. My advisor's cut out all the obvious things, and asked me what the best thing to do to get rid of 1/3 of the data we take without losing much science, since I'm the one who works with this kind of observation. Hee! Power!

In under 48 hours, I'll either be getting a Master's Degree (and cleared for a Ph. D) or being told to pack my bags. I am a bit scared. Better then I was, since my peers and my advisor seem to think I can do it.