Adam

Tips on Getting into Grad School: Part 1

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From time to time, people ask my advice for how to get accepted into Graduate school. Reading the school websites, and talking to professors and administrators isn’t enough.  Not to mention you need people skills to get in.  In this, the first of a two-part series, I’ll break down the very basics of what many programs require, and give you tips and tricks to help out.  The second half will be advanced tips, that show that you really want in the program.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not an expert on this subject. I don’t have the best people skills, and I don’t know all there is to know about Grad school, but I do know what worked for me, and my advice has helped a few people to get accepted so far.

I’ll begin with some general questions I get asked.  The second part of this series will go into more advanced aspects of Grad school selection and even some tips that may help you get in even if you don’t meet the requirements.

After each detailed section, there’s a “TLDR” notice. This stands for “Too Long; Didn’t Read” and gives just the basics of the section.

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Nathan Reusable Stainless Steel Bottle Review

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There has been a big controversy the past couple of years about water bottles.  It is wasteful to use single use plastic water bottles.  To remedy the problem of excess garbage (since only about 23% of the drink bottles used each year are recycled) many people began using reusable containers such as Nalgene and SIGG bottles.  It later came out that these bottles released the chemical BPA into the water. Even aluminum bottles leeched aluminum into the water. It seemed like there was no safe solution.

Having read a lot about what to look for in a reusable bottle, we began searching for the best solution. While shopping at T.J. MAXX Jessica and I stumbled on a large variety of steel and aluminum bottles.  One brand of bottle seemed to have gotten everything right. The ones we chose were Nathan Human Propulsion Laboratories 700ml steel bottles.

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Large Floor Bookshelf Part 2

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This is the second part in a two part series about how to design, build, and finish a simple woodworking project.  Please read Part 1 for more info and background on the project.  This section will mainly focus on finishing the bookshelf.

Staining wood projects is a hassle and you can quickly get in over your head.  When I first started looking for methods to stain my projects, I was bombarded with choices:

  • Oil or water based?
  • Which color should I use?
  • How long should the stain be left on the wood?

All of these variables left me confused on what I should do.  With a good bit of research, I found the answers to my questions.  My solution may not be best for everyone, but I do have justification for my choice.

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Large Floor Bookshelf Part 1

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This is the first part in a two part series about how to design, build, and finish a simple woodworking project.  This part focuses on the design and build of the project.

Jessica and I tend to collect a lot of books.   I mean a LOT of books.  When one of those cheap 7ft tall particle board bookcases we had finally bit the dust, and fell on me, I decided we would only get solid wood bookcases from now on.  I also decided that it was probably best that the bookcase we get to replace the broken one be rather short, something that would fit just under the window in our living room. With the cost of solid wood bookcases being pretty high and nothing available suiting our needs exactly, I decided we should design and build one ourselves. Rather than trying to fit a new bookcase into our living room, why not design one that already fits?

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