blast to the past

i'm off to my old undergraduate institution today to give a talk for the physics department - all my old professors! i'm a little nervous about it because i have a vivid memory of them ripping apart the research of the only astronomer i remember visiting the department. its amazing how differently the details of the two fields are, even though all the phenomena are based on the same fundamental properties. it has been interesting to write this talk for a physics audience, since they don't have the astronomical intuition i have assumed in previous professional talks. but at the same time, i feel like they are a bunch of proud parents, so i'm not really that worried!

i'll try to track down a picture of myself during my undergrad physics days to share (i'll have to scan a picture because those were pre-digi-cam days!). i sort of satisfied the "hippy" stereotype: with super long hair, tie-dye t-shirts, listening to the grateful dead and lots of bluegrass, camping constantly, etc... i spent my days in the physics department working thru homework problems with a few of the guys in my class, and spent my evenings thinking about other things entirely. i'm curious to hear what impressions my old professors had of me at that time! should be interesting! i hope i remember my way around campus! haha.