The next portion of this journal will be handled as a Q&A to address many questions that have arisen from the first wave of emails I’ve gotten. (Okay, so some weren’t directly questions, but it’s funnier to think they are.)
Q: So what’s the deal with you in Sydney? (submitted by Jeff W.)
A: Reading comprehension skills weren’t really taught in our EC schools. *grin* Jeff, I’m NORTH of Sydney (about 2 hours), in Newcastle, Australia. But I am glad that you asked why I’m here. For the benefit of those friends whom I haven’t spoken with in many months or even years, I’m here at the University of Newcastle to work on a part of my dissertation research. My dissertation is on low-Reynolds-number particle transport in narrow channels. The goal of my thesis… *hands waving, jargon being spewed at a rate of 15 abnormal phrases like “Reynolds number” and “microfluidic devices” per minute, eyes of audience glazing over as they are stupefied into forgetting to breathe… 3.721 hours later* and so I’m here to do some experiments with very viscous fluids that are similar to ones that my supervisor over here, Kevin Galvin, first devised while on sabbatical at the University of Colorado.
Also, I’m here to get to hang out with the Aussies, play with the wallabies, dive with the reef-dwellers, and just generally have a life-altering personal growth experience. (Note that I said life-altering, not mind-altering—I’m talking about the experiences, not illegal drugs.)
Q: Is Newcastle really as industrial as it looks? (submitted by Chris B.)
A: Newcastle is a former mining/industrial town that’s in the middle of a renaissance of sorts into a resort town. (Note the euphemistic “large working harbour” on that page.) Back in the late 1980s (I think), the steel mill shut down and the place was on the skids. But in the past few years, the city council and local businesses, among others, have been throwing money at becoming a clean seashore town with beautiful beaches and proximity to Sydney but much fewer people. Just recently large cruise ships have been encouraged to stop here in the harbour (so the tourists can spend money). The area is currently a mix of brand-new buildings and old, burned-out ones side-by-side. I can’t imagine how nice it’ll be five years from now, with how much they’re investing in making it better.
Q: Who are the cute women in the pictures? (submitted by Jason G., David B.) [Disclaimer: if Jason or David’s women are reading these pages, these are not the same Jason or David that you might be dating.]
A: The dark-haired one is Andraea, the half-Brit, half-Aussie of my last post. She’s backpacking around Oz for a few months. The blonde is a Brit named Claire, also from my last post. I’m going to try to label pictures in the future so that people have some idea of what they are. If you check the pages in a couple days, I should have some descriptions up.
Q: So how is the weather, compared to the cruddy ice and snow in Raleigh, NC? (submitted by Alli and D. W.)
A: The weather here is wonderful. Highs of 25 or so each day… in degrees Celsius, that is, or for the conversion-challenged, 77 degrees. We get thunderstorms some afternoons and nights, but overall the weather reminds me greatly of summer in northern CA.
Q: Have you found a place to live yet? (submitted by Chris B.)
A: I am happy to report that I have found a flat to share with Elizabeth (shown here with her brother, Andrew, and his wife, Fiona), a nice Aussie who works in the School of Architecture at the Uni. We live in a two-bedroom flat on the first floor of a building that was recently (5 years ago) remodeled and was originally built as the nurse’s quarter for the nearby hospital. Very spacious (especially compared to Dave’s “mansion” in Tokyo. Then again, real estate here isn’t nearly as expensive as Japan). I don’t have a great view, but at least I do live two blocks from the beach and two blocks from the train that takes me to Uni.
Q: Where can we send large sums of money, fancy jewels, deeds for beachfront property, and other gifts befitting someone as wonderful as you? (submitted by Anonymous)
A: My mailing addresses for any of the above (or any other care packages or letters you might care to send):
(Note: corrections made to contact info 16 February 2004)
Home address:
Michelle E. Staben
Unit 110/ 26 Pacific St.
Newcastle NSW 2300
Australia
Work address:
Michelle E. Staben
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment
School of Engineering, Chemical Engineering
Building EB
University of Newcastle
Callaghan NSW 2308
Australia
(Please use the work address for packages—it would be much easier for me to get them.)
Phone number: Work: Offices: 011 61 2 4921 5573
011 61 2 4921 7033
Common room: 011 61 2 4921 5720 (better for long phone calls)
I’m pretty sure that the way to call from overseas is correct as listed for the first number (just replace the last 8 digits with the desired ones). If you’d rather get ahold of me at home, let me know and I’ll give you that number. The time changes make is so that finding me at work is probably easier. (Note that I was wrong about how to contact me—this is the exact series of numbers that John B. tells me is correct for the US from when he called to tell me that we (NCSU) beat Duke in basketball!) Also, if you call and the person who answers the phone speaks in really broken English and seems to have no idea who I am, ask for Elly or Anthony or Nigel or Gabriel, all of whom speak very good English and know who I am.
Q: Are the grad students here as cool as at CU? (submitted by Chris B.)
A: Graduate students seem pretty nice. This department is MUCH smaller than at CU, with about 15-20 graduate students in the program. Probably two-thirds are Australian by birth, and the rest are a conglomerate of various countries, including Singapore, Korea and China. I haven’t spent too much time with them yet. I have gotten to know a German named Sigrid, who’s here from a university in the Netherlands.
Q: Have you found ultimate there yet? (submitted by Lane W.)
A: Sadly enough, no. I’m really jonesing for a game, too. Elizabeth told me that some Americans up at the Uni played, but since the students aren’t back from summer yet, I haven’t seen anyone yet. I’ll have to ask around. My cleats are getting bored sitting in the closet all alone, and I’m itching to break in some virgin plastic I brought with me (a new Kali disc, available for purchase to support the team in their bid for a fifth straight year at College Nationals).
Q: How ARE those vegemite sandwiches? (submitted by Jeff W., Scott H.)
A: I don’t know yet. I was planning to try it until I read the label in the grocery store and learned that it’s YEAST. Ewww. Yeast is meant to be used to MAKE things, not to be eaten on it’s own. Sure, it’s high in vitamin E, but who eats raw yeast? I have had some good fresh fish since I’ve been here, but I’m not sure I’m up for the vegemite.
Q: Don’t bubbles just completely suck? (submitted by Chris B.)
A: Chris didn’t really write this, but we’ve talked about it so much in lab that I know he would ask it if he knew I had a problem with it here. WARNING: If you don’t want to hear me yammering on about my job, then stop reading now. Chris (and, to a lesser extent, Andrew and Brian), you’ve heard me complain enough that you need to read this. J So about those bubbles… bubbles are the bane of microfluidics research, at least when you’re not trying to create them. Many a day of mine at CU has been spent trying to get all the bubbles out of my channel so I can do some particle velocity measurements. Well, the problems are even worse here. Each time I refill my tanks, I have to wait AN ENTIRE DAY for the bubbles to float to the top of my really viscous polyalkylene glycol before I can do any experiments. And then, just my luck that the rig I was using for my initial experiments has a leak in it, allowing bubbles in. ARGH. (Chris, I hope you’re enjoying your month without bubbles.) I have decided that, someday, if I ever have kids, I will NOT let them play with bubbles, since bubbles have been slowing pushing me towards the edge of sanity (yes, I’m pretty sure that I still reside on the sane side, although some out there may beg to differ).
That’s all for now, folks. More pictures and stories to come later (after I do some photo-editing later tonight).
