First piece of exciting news is that I’ve finally joined in on this decade and bought a tablet. I did not buy an iPad – I can’t afford it, plus I’m not overly fond of the business model or the operating system. (Although obviously I prefer the Apple business model to the Wal-Mart one…) Anyway, I’d heard great things about the Android operating system, both from industry reviewers and several friends whose opinions about technology I trust. So, with some research I came across the Google Nexus 7 tablet, which is a lot cheaper than any Apple product and seemed to be of comparable quality (with some key differences that basically boil down to Android vs iOS or Google vs Apple). The “7” in Nexus 7 stands for 7-inch screen, so it’s more the size of a Kindle or iPad mini rather than a full-size iPad, although there is also a “standard” 10-inch model available too.

Anyway, I saw rumors that a new model, with cellular network connectivity in addition to the already-supported Wi-Fi connectivity, would be available soon, so I held off on a purchase and I’m glad I did. Honestly, buying this piece of technology has somewhat restored my faith in humanity. I feel like as a society we’re finally in the future. From basically anywhere I can communicate with basically anyone in a multitude of ways. This thing is equipped with remote internet access, ebooks, video (TV & movies), video conferencing ability, and even facial recognition technology that works 70% of the time. Plus the Google voice typing technology has actually gotten really good. You talk and it types what you say. Basically I can dictate everything – internet searches, emails, instant messages, my grocery list – to the device and it will record it for me in text format with shocking accuracy.

My only concern about moving to this technology has been the push by all the big companies to “The Cloud.” I’ve always tried to be secure and private about my data (just one contributing factor to why I’m no longer an active Facebook user). But at some point I decided to live in complete denial about data mining and virtual-personal-space and just embrace the idea. Now all my music, all my contacts, and my calendar are synced with Google servers, in addition to the access they already had to my browser bookmarks, browser history, emails, etc.

I’ve installed apps on my tablet for blogging (which I’m using right now), banking, gaming, making a grocery list, storing my pictures (the one major type of data I’m still mostly choosing to store on my hard drive rather than upload to servers), emailing, editing MS Office files, editing and compiling LaTeX files, messaging with friends, and keeping track of sports scores. I guess the goal is to be able to stop lugging around my laptop and only use it at home, and do most of my remote/traveling work on my tablet.

It’s a major advantage as a teacher and a practicing mathematician to be able to work with Excel and LaTeX on the go. And storing files remotely gives me access to current versions of all of my files from my tablet, laptop, and office computer simultaneously with no effort at all. Plus, if and when I ever need to share files with collaborators, it will be easy to work with the most recent version and share access and make changes.

In summary, I’m super happy with my most recent big purchase. And with the state of consumer technology in general.

As for the non-digital parts of my life, I can’t complain. At the end of this semester (which is two weeks from today), I will be halfway through the current projection of how long it will take me to complete my doctorate degree. Pretty exciting! My research feels like it’s going really well, better than I could have hoped when I started.

I’m really busy and stressed out right now, but that’s just the way it is at the end of the semester. I’m going on vacation the week after finals and getting out of town, so at least I have something to look forward to in the near future. As a grad student my to-do list is always going to be endless, even during semester breaks. I’ve just gotta take some me-time and put everything else on pause every so often to keep myself sane. I think I’m finally close to striking the right balance. There’s room for improvement, but I feel like this semester I’ve done the best I have in my entire life at balancing work/productivity with fun/relaxation/sanity. Maybe eventually I’ll even be able to work in some concern for my physical well-being (eating more healthily and actually exercising sometimes). And I’ve also been financially responsible for the most part (even though I just spent $300 on a tablet I don’t technically NEED). I’ve recovered from spreading myself thin over the summer (when I had to go 2 months without a paycheck) to feeling comfortable with my bank account again.

Anyway, I think it’s back to work for me. Hope all is well out there with you, friends and family. I miss you all dearly!