Willis Gaumarjos!

Wonderful news today. Our very own Six-shooter, aka "Willi" aka "Big Shota" aka "Tyson Sadleir," recently got news that he has been accepted to no fewer than 2 graduate programs to study slavic linguistics. This is a big win for Willi since it means that he will not have to become a fireman, where his fluency in Russian would not be likely to help him succeed. American fires do not respond to Russian expletives.

To read more about Big Shota, you can go here. This man is a man's man, and I should know. I've hiked the Greater Causasus mountains with him, I've seen him resist assult from a very angry Ukrainian girl, I've seen him charm the pants off many a gogona in Tbilisi, and no American can put away khinkali meat pockets like this man, even if the khinkali did eventually win. Tyson, if I had anything to drink around, I'd propose a toast to you, chemo megobaro!

Pictures

Ok, I know I've been boring you all with post after post of nothing but text. To make up for it, I am posting a plethora of pictures taken today.

I don't know what this is. Some white thing extending into a pond on campus. May be a bike ramp?
Washed out photo of yours truly.
This is the other side of the pond with the bike ramp.
I don't know who this guy is. Mr. Tilburg, I presume. This little square is where all the bars and cafes are. Unfortunately it is about 30 minutes away from where I live (on foot).
This is the building where I live. Unfortunately, it is about 30 minutes away from Mr. Tilburg (on foot). My room is on the second floor, on the right side of the building on the corner (with blue window trim).
Some strange courtyard on campus (approximately 34 minutes from Mr. Tilburg (on foot)).
Near the pond with the bike ramp.
A happy couple.

Please weigh in

Suppose I have a theory (or model) T which makes an assumption A (A is necessary for T). Is a test of T a (indirect) test of A as well? That is, does confirmation of T entail confirmation of A?

Suppose T makes several assumptions, A, B, C, D. Now suppose we test T. Is that test a test of A, B, C, and D? Also, does confirmation of T spread equally over the set {A,B,C,D}, assuming that confirmation of T is also confirmation of its logical consequences?

The main worry is whether a test of a theory is a test of all its parts, the parts necessary for making a prediction.

This is quick, but I'm just heading out the door. Intuitions please.

Sichyashun

A sichyashun has arosen. Actually, I've known about it for some time, but now it seems that I must do something about it. I become officially illegal in about 5 weeks. Problem: I'm not slated to come back home for another 10 weeks or so. If I stay, then I'll be slapped with a lofty fine and possibly banned from all Schengen countries (most of the EU, including the Netherlands). There's no way to extend a tourist visa and it is too late (and would have been too expensive) to get a residency permit. This wouldn't be so bad were I not applying for a postdoc over here and if I did not have so many research contacts over here. Moreover, I have grand plans of visiting other Schengen countries with Tyson in the coming summers. It seems I have a couple options:

1. Leave early. This is the most reasonable option as it does not run the risk of fines and problems with coming back. The cost of changing my ticket is likely to be expensive.

2. Stick it out. This runs the aforementioned risks. One way of possibly getting around it is to report my passport as stolen and get a replacement. Then there is no record of my date of entry. Technically this is fraud, and so I'm not inclined to do it.

So, yeah. Sucks. However, it does mean that I get to see basty sooner than expected and I won't have to pay my brother as much for watching him. It also means that I can tie up some loose ends in Bloomington post haste.

Amused

A night of youtubing obsessing over Placebo's Brian Molko and Muse.

I don't know who I want to be more: Brian Molko or Christian Bale.

Anyway, I'm having a bit of an intense fixation on the band Muse. iTunes was just awarded 5 bucks of my hard earned cash for giving me the following amazing tracks:

1. Hysteria
2. New Born
3. Bliss
4. Time is Running Out
5. Knights of Cydonia.

I recommend checking out these videos on youtube. Matt, I don't recommend you check them out since you're sure to hate them. However, I'm posting the video for Knights of Cydonia since it is so freaking awesome. Matt, I recommend muting the music and playing some Johnny Cash since I'm sure you'll like the video even if you hate the song.

Tomorrow I head up to Amsterdam to work for the day. No news. Tilburg sucks. Boring weekend, though I did go to a nice party on Thursday and got to meet some new people including Alex, an Estonian Mastersuperstar. That is his new name as far as I'm concerned.

Office pictures finally

Below are pictures of my office, which I share with my flatmate, Carlo Martini (yes, that's his real name, pretty cool). I've included pictures of the wonderful coffee machine. So far, that machine is my best friend here. We have a great relationship. Today I sampled 4 of the many coffee/chocolate concoctions he so ably whips up and the push of a button. Very yummy.

I feel much better today, so I hope to go out this weekend and make friends.

Other news: I received an email from a test design company offering me $100/hour to be a freelance test consultant. Nice. Unfortunately, I have so much on my plate right now that I really need not to take on another obligation, not until the dissertation is completed.

Picture delay

Today I had intended to post some pictures of the office and such. Well, in a my sickened condition this morning, I was just barely conscious enough to realize where I was, so I forgot to take my camera to work. Yes, that's right. I'm sick AGAIN. This time it hit me around 5 pm on Saturday. I was walking back from town and noticed my arms starting to hurt (alot). When I got into the apartment, my health began spiralling downward. By 10 pm I was aching all over and had the shakes. A moderate cough was developing. I ended up sleeping in a sweater, sweatpants, and socks to combat the chills. Mind you, I had felt completely fine the day before and for the past 3 weeks (since the last time I was sick). Yesterday, I mostly stayed in bed and drank water and tolerated congestion. Today I woke up (actually, I woke up throughout the night) and I couldn't talk without aggrivating the itch in my throat (bringing on a coughing fit). Nevertheless, our little trooper stuck in there and went to the departmental lunch thinking about the terrible evil to which he was exposing his colleagues. Other symptoms include shortwindedness probably attributable to fluid in my lungs (e.g., walking and (then) talking are out of the question), lightheadedness (though no nausea), gray skies, and malais. However, the chills I had the first night are gone and the body aches are not as intense as they were on Saturday. The combination of a tender, runny nose and Dutch bathroom tissue as made for an unpleasant condition as well. It is odd how I typically get sick once per year (including colds), if that; then I come here and I get severely struck down twice in a month.

Tilburg

Below are a few photos I took of my room and Tilburg. Looking out my window you can see the building where my office is. It is a 2 minute walk. Very nice. They have free coffee in there, but I'll save all that until the next blog when I post pictures of my office, the coffee machine, and the building. I have a roommate named "Carlo" from Italy. He is a first year Ph.D. student. Good kid. Today we walked around the city together. I bought a phone finally, which I hope I can sell when I leave to help cover the cost of the phone. I got the cheapest on in stock and it was 49 euros. Pricy. I'd take a picture of it, but it is not that exciting. Speaking of pictures, sorry about the unrotated picture of the church below. I don't know how to rotate. I did it within my camera, but when I uploaded it, it just gave me the unrotated version. Ok, gotta go check on the sausages. More soon.







It seems that everything in Tilburg is blue and gray. I kind of like that. And with few exceptions, most buildings look new and interesting architecturally.