I often get asked about my bike. ”You’re so into bikes! Why don’t you have a prettier* bike?” Or a lighter bike. Or a fancier bike. Well, I think my bike is very pretty and fancy. It isn’t light though. She isn’t light for a reason. I don’t know a lot about bicycles, but I [...]
July 18, 2010
Bicycling from Corvallis to Portland
A few days ago, despite a badly bruised (fractured?) rib, I biked with my partner from Corvallis to Portland. We stuck to scenic country roads as much as possible, so our route was not the most direct – 80 miles became 110 as a result, making this the longest bike ride either of us had [...]
July 7, 2010
The Watermelon Problem
Suppose you have gone bicycle camping and carried a small, but hefty, watermelon to enjoy by a fire1. Unfortunately, the watermelon is too big to eat in one sitting. And, unfortunately, since you don’t own any one-time-use plastic, you didn’t bring anything with which to protect a cut side. Cleverly, you think “Can I cut2 this [...]
Summer undergraduate research projects in theory
“In theory” as in “in theoretical computer science”. I am lucky to have a student through the CRA-W Distributed Research Experiences for Undergraduates program. Anna Harutyunyan joins me for 10 weeks from Utah State University. I think it might be more of a learning experience for me than Anna (although my opinion is biased) and [...]