Chicago, Beaufort, Back Yard
In this one I go to Chicago to visit Michael and then I go home to Beaufort for a week.
The semester is passing at an astounding rate. I'm now past the halfway point for finishing at Columbia. Every week there are so many engaging opportunities that it's hard to keep up. A couple weeks ago we got to get on a zoom call with Bill Gates, in which he talked about strategies for combating climate change. I was interested in his investments in next generation nuclear reactors.
They need to get cheaper and safer, but are definitely going to help us to stop releasing CO2.
If you're an original reader of the blog, you'll likely remember Michael from Geneva. We both lived in Switzerland, worked at CERN, and went to a bunch of places in Europe together, but haven't been able to get together again since then, until now.
Michael is doing a PhD in physics at Northwestern. Northwestern is in Evanston, Illinois, about 15 miles north of Chicago on Lake Michigan.
His current research is on the quantum chromodynamics correction to the magnetic moment of the muon. The standard model predicts that the muon's magnetic moment should be something different from what they're measuring, which is exciting because it means new physics. Michael is trying to figure out how those new physics work.
And his office is under this observatory, which is cool.
Before this, I had never been to Chicago, nor seen a great lake.
It's unbelievable how big they are. Lake Michigan certainly stretches the definition of 'lake' and verges on just being a sea.
You cannot see the other side of Lake Michigan. And it's not because of atmosphere or fog, but because of the curvature of the earth.
It's also really cold. The beaches freeze and create icy sand cliffs that you can see below.
Looking at the frozen beaches is slightly disturbing. When you're looking at them it's like seeing something that's not supposed to exist. Yet it does...
On Saturday, Michael, Griff (Michael's roommate), and I went into the city.
If I'm being honest, it's incredibly similar to New York, at least from an outsider.
I'm sure someone who has lived in both places would disagree.
But in any case, it's way easier for me to come up with similarities than differences.
The bean was closed because it doesn't promote social distancing.
I had just watched the Dark Knight with Willem and Jordan before coming here. It was filmed in Chicago, so it was cool to walk around and see spots from the movie like this:
After I said bye to Michael, (it was great to see Michael) I went home for the rest of the week.
Yep, I'm one of those people who takes pictures of their pets when they're doing absolutely nothing.
Willem came to hang out for a second there too.
Most of the time it was warmer in New York than Beaufort, but that's ok.
The backyard is coming together. Right now it gets about 45 min of sun, but more every day.
