She's a smart girl. Did I mention she has just turned 19 (started Berkeley at 15)?
She is planning to graduate this May from Berkeley with double major: in Electrical Engineering and Math.
What worries me she does not seem to care for teaching, and if not teaching what else to do with PhD in Math?
Yes, there are those "quant" positions in Finance that Mike (paisan) has mentioned, and they pay really really well, but my daughter (being very liberal and socialist -- Berkeley influence), thinks Finance is totally evil and at this point she's not considering this as a career possibility...
Wow, that is really impressive. I never knew you had a genius in the family! Was your daughter always ahead of her age scholastically?
When I was teaching freshman Calculus at William & Mary, I had an 8th grade student take the class. She got an A, and did better than all of the college students. Later she did early-early admission to college, then grad school, etc. It was real gratifying to see such a bright young student mow through the ranks like that. I lost track of her, but I'm sure she's doing something great now.
(By comparison, I am quite a slouch. Regular schedule for bachelors and masters, and then it took 9 years to finish my doc...)
She'll come around, when someone offers her $500k a year to do math, she'll like it, not to mention it's not all bad.
I went to Styvesant (a few other crew members did too) an was supposedly gifted, except I'm fairly un-motivated. Took me 7 years to finish undergrad, switching majors 3 times. But it was fun.
Seriously, though, tell her there are many, many positions in the Finance world where she can really make a difference; show her empathy. Areas like Housing Finance and Micro-Finance are good examples.
In the latter, we make loans as small as $100 to very poor families so that they can earn a living. An example is an olive oil making kit - it's enough for them to start their own tiny business and get on their feet. The loans are paid back in no time. Often the clients are poor widows in Africa whose husbands died of AIDS.
Housing - my brothers in Brazil had to save up tons of money because banks would only lend them short-term, i.e. 5 years or so. This is a real sore spot because lower/middle income families can't afford homes since they often don't have access to the 30 years mortgages we assume the rest of the world can get. I earn less, yet live better than they do. It's not fair.
I'm fortunate enough to work close to people in those fields and they're quite passionate about their work. It's cool to see it.
If she thinks banks are evil, what about working in the area of Corporate Governance? Police those very people she thinks are evil, even take them down and again, make a real difference.
Sorry, I'll end my rant here, but let her read this post just to get a taste of the kinds of things she can do in the field of Finance.
-juice
PS Funny thing is I'm not even in the field, I just support people who are.
Excellent thoughts Juice! While I don't think finance work is totally evil (as Mike has also pointed out) there are opportunities to do good work in the field, as your organization shows.
Talk about feeling inadequate and math, I have been around a few bright young students who had more natural talent that most people and totally kept me on my toes. In fact I remember telling one student to slow down so I could catch up with his progress! It's always gratifying and humbling to see a real genuis come along. Puts it all into perspective. The energy of youth is a powerful force!
That's right -- your daughter is a Cal right now. Well, as a Berkeley and Cornell alumnus, I think your daughter should go to "high above Cayuga's waters". :-)
Does your daughter like the Cal environment? The two schools complement one another nicely. Both have very grand campuses and diversity. However, one is predominantly private and the other public.
A campus visit will certainly help make a decision. My info on Cornell is 15+ years old, but please let me know if you have any questions between the two schools.
Say congrats to your daughter for me from a fellow 'CAL' alum!
I'm sure she'll do just fine- she sounds like a bright cookie!
She's still young and idealistic- when she realizes the world isn't quite as simple as we'd like it to be, (lots of bills!) those high paying jobs will start sounding much less evil! (I can't think of any of my fellow classmates still out and protesting grapes!)
BTW, she could always work for the Pentagon with a math PhD. (Don't tell her I said that!)
Wow, so much interesting info! I'll definitely pass on to her all these interesting suggestions and thoughts.
Ken, did you have a car when living in Ithaca? Since she does not have much experience driving on a dry surface to begin with, I'm very apprehensive about her driving in the snow or rain. I've heard bus system is pretty good in Ithaca.
But then again Ithaca is so "in the middle of nowhere" that I can see how someone would want to have a car to get out of town from time to time.
Just an update folks. This Saturday we are bringing the 94 Legacy Turbo that I bought from a fellow member her on Edmunds 3 years ago to the cage-builder. We'll have it back next week and will be getting it ready for the NASA-MidAtlantic Charlie Gibson 3hr Enduro race at VIR Feb 25th.
If anyone is in the Central VA/Northern NC area and wants to come out we'd be thrilled to have some Edmunds Crew out there to root us on. With the cold temps and probability of rainy and bad weather, and Subaru reliability we look to place in the top 10 overall finishers at the event.
It's actually in Danville which is on the VA/NC border, out in the middle of no where!
I'm actually not driving this year competatively, I'm car-owner and Crew Chief/Logistics/Manager. Adam is driving the car cause he is 2-3 seconds faster than me at any track with the car!
Thanks for the compliment. But one thing I've learned at the track is to check your ego at the door. With that said, he's like my brother anyway so the team effort in our opinion will really help us win races. Despite what a lot of folks who amature race think, it is a team sport and as such you really need the backup and support to make things happen. I am also in charge of getting some sponsors, so if anyone out there owns a biz and wants some advertising.... We will be going to nationals in Ohio this year... hint hint suttle suttle.
Yeah, he can concentrate on driving while I worry about the rules, the equipment, the fees, etc. Alex is the guy who does the work on the car and he's great at it. So our 3-man team works well. Will keep you posted as the season progresses. It will be fun to get Subaru some press time on a grassroots level.
Yes, Ithaca is "in the middle of nowhere", but as the bumper stickers say, "Ithaca is gorges." Ithaca also has a number of good places to eat. When we are in Ithaca we always try to fit in a meal at the Moosewood, a long-time vegetarian favorite, which appeals even to those of us who aren't vegetarian. It was probably there when Ken was a student.
My older daughter is at Michigan right now. She lives on campus, sans car. I've never been there but she says it's laid out as a quad with the library, dorms, dining hall, and classrooms all linked. Little, if any, time is spent outside getting from one section to another.
Both girls know their "job" is to get through school. So no cars for them! (And no auto insurance costs for me! )
When I was going to Cornell, I didn't get a car until my senior year. As an undergrad, you typically live in dorms or apartments close to campus so everything is accessible by foot or bus.
As a grad student, her choices might be more varied. I do recall quite a few graduate housing units in North Campus (quiet setting). College Town, just adjacent to campus has many apartments for rent (more lively setting). Both have bus service and is walkable.
Most everything, at least as an undergrad, is right there around campus. The only times I would go to Ithaca and the surroundings were for more grocery shopping, eating at a different set of restaurants or just simply to see the Finger Lakes. She may be able to get by without a car, at least initially -- many other students do.
Driving in the snow just takes patience, caution and practice. There's different types of "snow" and your daughter will learn how to judge road conditions. I'm sure she has a good head on her shoulders as demonstrated by her academic rigor and will be fine.
I commuted for the first semester, but then I sold the car and got around with a scooter.
Gotta say, they're incredibly useful. If you're limited to a 5 miles radius, they do everything for cheap and can park anywhere, at least the smaller ones.
I was driving in to work this AM, and saw a lady in a BMW 323i convertible with her hazards on, steam coming out from the engine bay. I stopped and asked if she had a cell phone to call for help, and she'd left it at home. Freezing cold, too.
We called her insurance company, who then dispatched a tow truck. We also called her work, and mine, to say we'd be late.
After that I gave her a ride to work. Felt pretty good after all was said and done. I'd hope someone would do the same for my wife or mom if they were in the same situation.
Steve, this plan is in place already! At the end of July I've got a brand new shiny dark-silver Forester'06 2.5X (although no option/toys on it). The plan was, my daughter will be taking old Forester to BART and back, and to get around town, and thus she'll build up some driving experience over time.
But then she got overwhelmed by school, working towards double major and also doing research and earning recommendations necessary for top grad schools... so as it stands now she's still w/o license
Thank you again, good Samaritan, for rescuing me this morning. My car was towed successfully to the mechanic in Rockville. Have not heard from him yet, but assume it will get fixed. My son was mortified when he heard that I left the key in it for the tow truck driver -- he was sure that it wouldn't be there very long before someone stole it! Thanks again.
Good deed there juice. Not to toot my own horn but I will.
I had a similar situation recently. I was leaving a Home Depot about 9 AM last Sunday when a woman in her 70's driving an old Acura Vigor pulled off the highway into the parking lot. Her right front tire was smoking - she had run on the flat for about 5 miles or so.
I offered to change it for her. It took about 10 minutes of unloading her trunk to find the spare and jack - the jack was on the floor of the backseat. She didn't have a tire iron but luckily all Acuras/Hondas use the same size so I flagged down a passing Accord driver and borrowed her tire iron - I didn't have the Ody. The spare was almost flat and luckily I carry an air compressor. Pumped it up and she was set.
She said she couldn't offer me anything other than her thanks - I told her that's fine, I just wanted her to help out the next poor schmoo she came across.
Met the family at church just in time all covered with mud and dirt and blood.
Better sign up for Subaru's Enjoy Winter Sweepstakes then. (And no I didn't sign 100 of y'all up to increase my chances...but the thought did cross my mind :shades: ).
Sorry, 48 contiguous United States and DC residents only.
Good Karma worked for me, as my boss asked me why I was late, and forwarded that note to her. She was so impressed she copied the whole division and I had a few folks patting me on the back.
Honestly though, the deed itself is pretty rewarding.
Dave, Thanks for the info...how much did the run you? ANy installation problems? How is everything else...haven't seen you online in a while (could be I am getting senile???) Serge
last week we missed 2 days of school due to extremely low temperatures and wind chills ... and "some" snow ...
yesterday it was not "nice" on the trip home from school, but not too bad ... just watching for drivers who thought they didn't need to slow down on snow and ice (grrrr) ...
however, when i to our street it hadn't been plowed ... no big deal for the outback ... and then i started into my own driveway ...
well, husband has been keeping driveway shoveled but yesterday the wind was blowing VERY hard from the east (usually wind is from NW with snow) ... at any rate it had blown his carefully shoveled snow into a large drift across the driveway ... the drift was about level with the door handle on the Olds Cutlass parked in the driveway ...
took one look at it ... and just drove into the garage .. knew it was "loose" snow ..
and we're out of school again today .... it's nice now, but I will NOT want to make the days up later!
They closed schools, but the Fed opened 2 hours late.
That was OK, though, I had time to shovel the drive and also go sledding with the kids for a little while.
My wife drove all the way to work, and get this - noone else made it work! She didn't even have the keys, so she could not get in to the building!
She actually drove all that way, and then drove back home. At least she made it safely.
I went in 2 hours late. Oddly some roads were completely clear, while others were a mess. Even some pretty important arteries were untreated.
Saw an Explorer that crashed to hard on a guard rail that is lost its bumper, then skated across and hit the other guardrail, ending up facing traffic. Yikes. Slow down! :mad:
What a miserable storm this was! We got 3" or 4" of some of the wettest and heaviest snow I've ever dealt with. David, our son even had trouble getting up our driveway hill with his '06 Outback Sport as it was so slippery. Of course, Annie our Golden standing in front of his car didn't help matters much either. He made it but not without a lot of slipping and sliding. I told him he almost gave AWD a bad name.
We had about 4" of snow which had turned to sleet and back to snow a couple of times.
Kids are home with my wife as they cancelled school. Our town uses a reverse 911 system to call all students and their parents to advise of school closings. Nothing like the phone ringing at 6 AM.
Yeah, it sure was heavy. I think we had snow, rain, sleet, freezing rain, then more snow, then some hail, then more snow.
It added up to about 4-6" or so, with 2-3 layers of ice in there. I could barely lift a large shovel-full of the stuff. Pushed most of it down the driveway and to the sides.
I took the WRX and went up and down the drive a bunch of times with no problems. This is the first snow that all I did was shovel a path to the street, as it was so heavy.
The next few days should be interesting as we are have some contractors do some work in our den. I wonder if they can get their truck up our drive?
Probably, RWD and lots of weight, all of it shifting to the drive wheels.
They'd be less likely to make it up a steep hill with FWD, actually.
Get some sand just in case, that's what I use. Non-toxic, and nobody slips. Plus it doesn't matter how long it takes to melt, it still doesn't slip. Just sprinkle some on the top layer.
Comments
She is planning to graduate this May from Berkeley with double major: in Electrical Engineering and Math.
What worries me she does not seem to care for teaching, and if not teaching what else to do with PhD in Math?
Yes, there are those "quant" positions in Finance that Mike (paisan) has mentioned, and they pay really really well, but my daughter (being very liberal and socialist -- Berkeley influence), thinks Finance is totally evil and at this point she's not considering this as a career possibility...
When I was teaching freshman Calculus at William & Mary, I had an 8th grade student take the class. She got an A, and did better than all of the college students. Later she did early-early admission to college, then grad school, etc. It was real gratifying to see such a bright young student mow through the ranks like that. I lost track of her, but I'm sure she's doing something great now.
(By comparison, I am quite a slouch. Regular schedule for bachelors and masters, and then it took 9 years to finish my doc...)
I went to Styvesant (a few other crew members did too) an was supposedly gifted, except I'm fairly un-motivated. Took me 7 years to finish undergrad, switching majors 3 times.
-mike
Seriously, though, tell her there are many, many positions in the Finance world where she can really make a difference; show her empathy. Areas like Housing Finance and Micro-Finance are good examples.
In the latter, we make loans as small as $100 to very poor families so that they can earn a living. An example is an olive oil making kit - it's enough for them to start their own tiny business and get on their feet. The loans are paid back in no time. Often the clients are poor widows in Africa whose husbands died of AIDS.
Housing - my brothers in Brazil had to save up tons of money because banks would only lend them short-term, i.e. 5 years or so. This is a real sore spot because lower/middle income families can't afford homes since they often don't have access to the 30 years mortgages we assume the rest of the world can get. I earn less, yet live better than they do. It's not fair.
I'm fortunate enough to work close to people in those fields and they're quite passionate about their work. It's cool to see it.
If she thinks banks are evil, what about working in the area of Corporate Governance? Police those very people she thinks are evil, even take them down and again, make a real difference.
Sorry, I'll end my rant here, but let her read this post just to get a taste of the kinds of things she can do in the field of Finance.
-juice
PS Funny thing is I'm not even in the field, I just support people who are.
Talk about feeling inadequate and math, I have been around a few bright young students who had more natural talent that most people and totally kept me on my toes. In fact I remember telling one student to slow down so I could catch up with his progress! It's always gratifying and humbling to see a real genuis come along. Puts it all into perspective. The energy of youth is a powerful force!
The link's on the left.
(Must be something I'm forgetting)
Cheers!
Paul
-juice
That's right -- your daughter is a Cal right now. Well, as a Berkeley and Cornell alumnus, I think your daughter should go to "high above Cayuga's waters". :-)
Does your daughter like the Cal environment? The two schools complement one another nicely. Both have very grand campuses and diversity. However, one is predominantly private and the other public.
A campus visit will certainly help make a decision. My info on Cornell is 15+ years old, but please let me know if you have any questions between the two schools.
Ken
I'm sure she'll do just fine- she sounds like a bright cookie!
She's still young and idealistic- when she realizes the world isn't quite as simple as we'd like it to be, (lots of bills!) those high paying jobs will start sounding much less evil! (I can't think of any of my fellow classmates still out and protesting grapes!)
BTW, she could always work for the Pentagon with a math PhD.
tom
Ken, did you have a car when living in Ithaca? Since she does not have much experience driving on a dry surface to begin with, I'm very apprehensive about her driving in the snow or rain. I've heard bus system is pretty good in Ithaca.
But then again Ithaca is so "in the middle of nowhere" that I can see how someone would want to have a car to get out of town from time to time.
If anyone is in the Central VA/Northern NC area and wants to come out we'd be thrilled to have some Edmunds Crew out there to root us on. With the cold temps and probability of rainy and bad weather, and Subaru reliability we look to place in the top 10 overall finishers at the event.
-mike
-juice
I'm actually not driving this year competatively, I'm car-owner and Crew Chief/Logistics/Manager. Adam is driving the car cause he is 2-3 seconds faster than me at any track with the car!
-mike
Perhaps you slow down substantially for track driving.
-juice
-mike
-juice
-mike
Martin
Lot of news today about the big snow dump in upstate NY.
My older daughter is at Michigan right now. She lives on campus, sans car. I've never been there but she says it's laid out as a quad with the library, dorms, dining hall, and classrooms all linked. Little, if any, time is spent outside getting from one section to another.
Both girls know their "job" is to get through school. So no cars for them! (And no auto insurance costs for me!
Jim
You mean besides Kate herself, right?
When I was going to Cornell, I didn't get a car until my senior year. As an undergrad, you typically live in dorms or apartments close to campus so everything is accessible by foot or bus.
As a grad student, her choices might be more varied. I do recall quite a few graduate housing units in North Campus (quiet setting). College Town, just adjacent to campus has many apartments for rent (more lively setting). Both have bus service and is walkable.
Most everything, at least as an undergrad, is right there around campus. The only times I would go to Ithaca and the surroundings were for more grocery shopping, eating at a different set of restaurants or just simply to see the Finger Lakes. She may be able to get by without a car, at least initially -- many other students do.
Driving in the snow just takes patience, caution and practice. There's different types of "snow" and your daughter will learn how to judge road conditions. I'm sure she has a good head on her shoulders as demonstrated by her academic rigor and will be fine.
Ken
Gotta say, they're incredibly useful. If you're limited to a 5 miles radius, they do everything for cheap and can park anywhere, at least the smaller ones.
-juice
Steve
(far enough down state that it is cold, but only a few inches of old snow on the grass).
I was driving in to work this AM, and saw a lady in a BMW 323i convertible with her hazards on, steam coming out from the engine bay. I stopped and asked if she had a cell phone to call for help, and she'd left it at home. Freezing cold, too.
We called her insurance company, who then dispatched a tow truck. We also called her work, and mine, to say we'd be late.
After that I gave her a ride to work. Felt pretty good after all was said and done. I'd hope someone would do the same for my wife or mom if they were in the same situation.
-juice
-juice
But then she got overwhelmed by school, working towards double major and also doing research and earning recommendations necessary for top grad schools... so as it stands now she's still w/o license
Thank you again, good Samaritan, for rescuing me this morning. My car was towed successfully to the mechanic in Rockville. Have not heard from him yet, but assume it will get fixed. My son was mortified when he heard that I left the key in it for the tow truck driver -- he was sure that it wouldn't be there very long before someone stole it! Thanks again.
:shades:
-juice
I had a similar situation recently. I was leaving a Home Depot about 9 AM last Sunday when a woman in her 70's driving an old Acura Vigor pulled off the highway into the parking lot. Her right front tire was smoking - she had run on the flat for about 5 miles or so.
I offered to change it for her. It took about 10 minutes of unloading her trunk to find the spare and jack - the jack was on the floor of the backseat. She didn't have a tire iron but luckily all Acuras/Hondas use the same size so I flagged down a passing Accord driver and borrowed her tire iron - I didn't have the Ody. The spare was almost flat and luckily I carry an air compressor. Pumped it up and she was set.
She said she couldn't offer me anything other than her thanks - I told her that's fine, I just wanted her to help out the next poor schmoo she came across.
Met the family at church just in time all covered with mud and dirt and blood.
Sorry, 48 contiguous United States and DC residents only.
Maybe I'll go to the grocery store and enjoy the "show" as people fight over milk, bread, and toilet paper :P
Good Karma worked for me, as my boss asked me why I was late, and forwarded that note to her. She was so impressed she copied the whole division and I had a few folks patting me on the back.
Honestly though, the deed itself is pretty rewarding.
-juice
I bet schools will close on Wednesday either way. Our county gets scared when the wind blows.
-juice
Front Kenwood KFC-X170 [6.75"] spacer required.
Rear KFC-X130 [5.25"]
Thanks for the info...how much did the run you? ANy installation problems?
How is everything else...haven't seen you online in a while (could be I am getting senile???)
Serge
DC will probably get rain, but I'm NW of the city, so it's colder, and we may see a snow/ice mix.
I hope it's colder and just snows. Eyes are peeled.
-juice
yesterday it was not "nice" on the trip home from school, but not too bad ... just watching for drivers who thought they didn't need to slow down on snow and ice (grrrr) ...
however, when i to our street it hadn't been plowed ... no big deal for the outback ... and then i started into my own driveway ...
well, husband has been keeping driveway shoveled but yesterday the wind was blowing VERY hard from the east (usually wind is from NW with snow) ... at any rate it had blown his carefully shoveled snow into a large drift across the driveway ... the drift was about level with the door handle on the Olds Cutlass parked in the driveway ...
took one look at it ... and just drove into the garage .. knew it was "loose" snow ..
and we're out of school again today .... it's nice now, but I will NOT want to make the days up later!
(yeah, husband is out shoveling again .... )
That was OK, though, I had time to shovel the drive and also go sledding with the kids for a little while.
My wife drove all the way to work, and get this - noone else made it work! She didn't even have the keys, so she could not get in to the building!
She actually drove all that way, and then drove back home. At least she made it safely.
I went in 2 hours late. Oddly some roads were completely clear, while others were a mess. Even some pretty important arteries were untreated.
Saw an Explorer that crashed to hard on a guard rail that is lost its bumper, then skated across and hit the other guardrail, ending up facing traffic. Yikes. Slow down! :mad:
-juice
Oh well, back to shoveling...
Bob
Kids are home with my wife as they cancelled school. Our town uses a reverse 911 system to call all students and their parents to advise of school closings. Nothing like the phone ringing at 6 AM.
It added up to about 4-6" or so, with 2-3 layers of ice in there. I could barely lift a large shovel-full of the stuff. Pushed most of it down the driveway and to the sides.
-juice
I took the WRX and went up and down the drive a bunch of times with no problems. This is the first snow that all I did was shovel a path to the street, as it was so heavy.
The next few days should be interesting as we are have some contractors do some work in our den. I wonder if they can get their truck up our drive?
Bob
They'd be less likely to make it up a steep hill with FWD, actually.
Get some sand just in case, that's what I use. Non-toxic, and nobody slips. Plus it doesn't matter how long it takes to melt, it still doesn't slip. Just sprinkle some on the top layer.
-juice
IIRC, all four speakers plus the spacer for front came in under $200.
Haven't been online regularly. Work has been keeping me pretty much busy during the day, and I'm too tired after work.
Gee, I haven't seen paisan for over I don't know how many months.
-Dave
Bob
-juice