More Bailout Money Released

The Senate has agreed to release the remaining $350B to soon-to-be President Obama for his sole discretion on its use.

Look, I trust Obama more than Bush - A LOT more.  But I don't like the idea of the executive branch having virtually all the power is deciding what is the best way to put this money out there to build up the economy.  Plus, Obama threatened a VETO when meeting with the Senate if they did not make and pass the motion.  That is way to Bush-like.  I'm not a happy camper.

I have projections that this economy is going to sink a lot more before we see hints of recovery.  I am very nervous right now.

LCD TVs

My birthday is next week, and as a present, my folks decided that they would buy me a new TV for the living room!  Hurray!  Good bye large, tubey, "flat screen" TV and HELLO world of LCDs!!  I am now in the process of trying to decide which one I should get.  I am debating between two TVs:

(1) The Samsung 32" Series 5, 540 LCD HDTV - 720p, 3 HDMI inputs, great reviews, and one of the most trusted brands.

(2) The Sharp Aquos 37" LCD HDTV:  My parents have the 32" version of this TV, and some friends in CT have this TV and love it.  The picture looks very decent, and currently it is on special at Costco for $599 (same price as Samsung 32").

I am just now sure if I should splurge for the larger TV or go for the sleeker, highly rated Samsung TV.  Decisions, decisions...

IPCC Models and MATLAB

So I am now back into full research mode.  It actually feels pretty good (as crazy as that might sound).  I have had a renewed sense of interest and positive energy since the holidays.  I don't know if this is just some weird "holiday hangover" or maybe just a realization to myself that I want to get done with this degree - now.

So part of my research is working with IPCC model output and trying to get it to read into MATLAB so that I can create separate files for the important variables for easier access later.  However, this is proving to be challenging on both ends:  (1) the OPeNDAP server has decided that sometimes it won't let me access files; and (2) MATLAB has decided that, while for some data it will read in big 4-D fields, for other files (even if they are smaller in grid size), it will "run out of memory."  Short of downloading every file from IPCC for every model, I am in a bit of a tight spot right now.  Plus, my advisor wants an outline for a GRL paper by the end of the week.

Breathe.  Just breathe.