Wed Mar 15 2006 21:04:20 GMT-0500 (Eastern Standard Time)
Really busy lately...I flew down to NY and back, went on a ski tip to Courchevel France, flew again recently,
and went rock climbing last week. That on top of all the class work... Added a resume (finally).
Sun Dec 11 2005 18:14:41 GMT-0500 (Eastern Standard Time)
What's new...too much to mention it all.. I guess the funnest thing was going flying again. I passed my check
out flight much to my surprise so if you live in the greater Boston area and see a blue Piper Tomahawk (N2503V)
run for cover. Actually I loved the ariplane.
Despite all the warnings about aggressive stall characteristics and
heavier
controls I flew it as well or better then the Cessna 150 on my first try! The Hanscom tower on the other hand
still seems very intimidating. I'll be up again next week!
Fri Sep 30 2005 23:28:12 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
Getting used to life in Cambridge. I really like the department and the city but the homework sets are tough.
It should get better. The first few sets after a summer of doing no physics are always a shock. Other then that
I've been moving a lot and trying to figure out what I want to do over the next year or so. I also really want to
go flying again but it will be tougher here. Hopefully physics will not take over my life entirely.
Wed Aug 3 17:22:20 EDT 2005
I did a brief project on computer modeling magnetic structures. It was interesting to get a glimpse at what
is actually going on in the systems that I have been working with for over 3 years now.
Other then that I flew twice over the last month or so...My landings in the C172 sucked both times
but at least my approaches were much better the second time. It is amazing how much softer a poor
landing is when the approach angle is right. As for the flare I think I was actually flaring too late this time
which is the opposite of what I usually do. Anyway it was fun and I seem to be getting used to the "stiff"
(compared to the C150) rudder and elevator.
I've also shot over 1000 .177 caliber pellets over the last month and played pinball for the fist time. I've
really enjoyed both and I might look into getting into paintball more seriously...despite all the bruises and
mud and the heat and the bug bites...
Wed Jun 8 19:59:29 EDT 2005
I've done almost nothing useful over the last month...The scary part is how much I'm enjoying it...:)
I'll have to do some major gear shifting for Harvard in a few months. I've actually decided to get back
in shape so I've spent a lot of time moving. Lost another 10lbs and my resting pulse is 48 now
so I'm real happy with that..:)
I've also started skimboardin...it is painful the first few times but
seems like a lot of fun. Did some rock climbing
two weeks ago...I got through a 5.9 route but later I was stomped by a 5.10 and had to swing to a 5.8. Did some
bouldering in 100+ temperature last Tuesday...have NEVER sweat like that in my life.
I really wanna go fly again...I might do it in a few weeks. I still flare to early and too high half the time and it is real annoying
coz I know exactly what I'm doing wrong and yet can't seem to fix it...read somewhere that using the trim wheel
more helps...Check to contact page if you have any advice...I fly C150 and C172.
Mon May 23 20:12:16 EDT 2005
Well, I've finally graduated from William and Mary. Got a few awards and I'm ready to move on.
Graduation pictures added! I flew last weekend and made one of my passengers use the barf bag.
The air was so bumpy I almost reached for the barf bag myself and the fact that I was practicing stalls
and steep turns did not help either. I was inspired by the airshow last week...:)
Tue Mar 29 10:46:49 EST 2005
Boston was fun. Actually Princeton was fun too but not quite as much. Seems like I'll be going to
Harvard after all. MIT has financial problems and there is only on CMX (Condensed Matter Experiment )
group looking for students. I prefer the program structure at Harvard better anyway. Other than that
I'm working on my thesis hard and getting ready to get out of here for good. If you are really bored feel
free to check out the rough draft of my thesis in the download section. Any comments suggestions are welcome.
Sat Feb 26 11:51:15 EST 2005
I got through a nasty cold after going skiing two weeks ago. I was already running 103-104 fever
during the last 15 minutes on the slopes and it was an interesting experience. Anyway it took about
a week to get over the cold but skiing was worth it. I got in Harvard and Princeton and now I have
to go visit them and MIT and figure out where I want to go. I'm starting to lean towards Harvard as
they seem to have only one oral qualifying exam and I much prefer that to the preliminary exams,
written exams, and oral exams that you have to take at MIT and Princeton.
I also flew today for about 1.2 hours. Happy times the Hobbs meter was broken! I still got charged
but by the tach meter so I only paid for .9 hours. Unfortunately this was offset by a hourly rent rate
increase but it was still a good deal. I'll try to fly again before they fix the thing. Did 11 touch and go
landings and one go-around. About 50/50 short field/normal. Had one horrible landing, the kind you
have to look outside the window to make sure no airplane parts are left behind you on the runway.
Did 2 bad landings but quite acceptable and had about 4 perfect landings. I don't think I have ever had
such a range in the quality of landings in a single day before but overall I'm happy. Mostly because my
approaches were MUCH better then last time. All in all minus the cold I've had a few good weeks. Going
skiing again tomorrow. Hopefully no fever this time.
Sat Feb 12 22:54:31 EST 2005
I just got good news from MIT today. I'm in with a good fellowship. It still has not sunk in but
suffice to say I'm very happy and excited about it. Going skiing tomorrow. Life is good!
Thu Jan 20 08:49:49 EST 2005
Pics from downtown Bulgaria and Lulin ( the suburb I grew up in ) are up. Also added contact
info page. I'm back to school as of yesterday so there is going to be fewer updates for a while.
Mon Jan 17 20:57:03 EST 2005
I'm back! For those of you that don't know about it yet I took a trip back to Bulgaria this winter.
It was a lot of fun but I also had a glimpse at the reasons why I moved to the US in the first
place. Anyway pictures form my buttboarding/snowboarding are up. There also pictures form
new years and a bunch of pictures from downtown Sofia and where I grew up.
Thu Dec 23 22:47:56 EST 2004
Alright done with classes and besides a B+ in modern dance I am pretty happy with my grades.
I really can't dance well so I guess a B+ is not that bad anyway but it brought down my GPA
a whole 1/100! That is simply unacceptable..:] Check the pictures section. A few new pictures
of Max ( boy he has grown! ) and a few pictures of my PBK induction ceremony. Ahh I flew
again two weeks ago! It was a lot of fun but quite gusty. I decided to go down to Currituck
County Airport (KONX). It was a short trip but I wanted to practice my dead reckoning and
pilotage skills so the GPS and VOR receivers were off limits. I found the airport just fine
but my landings were poor. First one I flared too early and stalled the airplane into a hard
landing ( maybe dropped a foot ). Second one was decent and third one I must have been
battling a crosswind because I landed in a wing low configuration, only problem was there
was no crosswind reported so I might have been correcting for a poor approach. Uhh well I
guess it's touch and go landings for an hour next time I fly. I have over 150 landings but I
guess I still need to practice landings only, every once in a while.
Fri Dec 10 10:49:31 EST 2004
Almost done with the semester. There is a lot of stuff that I want to upload so keep checking,
it will make its way onto the site soon!
Wed Nov 17 21:35:59 EST 2004
Added a few funny clips to the video section. Sitekreator is very sluggish today...they
are officially taking my page down now...:]
Wed Nov 10 15:46:23 EST 2004
Added a lot of VIs ( Virtual Instruments ) to the download section. Mostly for my use but feel
free to take a look if you are curious. They are written in LabView 7 and meant for BOP 4886
GPIB power supply hooked to a GMW 3470 electromagnet. The multimeter is HP 34401A also
GPIB connected. I did not use any "canned" drivers so the code is quite fast and stable.
Mon Nov 1 22:01:45 EST 2004
I had a very busy but exciting week that ended with and even busier weekend. The main
push was to get my Quantum midterm done over the weekend...
Looks like there is more of the same coming my way so probably no updates for a while.
Wed Oct 27 13:50:29 EDT 2004
Got my Jlab ARC badge and did a few AFM measurements. They are still as boring as I
remember and I'll have to do quite a few in the coming months. Added Tripple M poster on
my REU project to the downloads.
Mon Oct 25 16:40:50 EDT 2004
Busy day but I just got news that I had been awarded a substantial scholarship! This is the
second scholarship from Phi Beta Kappa that I receive and those guys are generous! Made my day.
Mon Oct 25 13:38:03 EDT 2004
Added two pics of Max.
Sat Oct 23 17:50:04 EDT 2004
Flew 1.0 hours in a Cessna 150 today. Did some steep turns (60 degrees bank), power on and
off stalls, normal, short and soft field take offs and normal and soft field landings. Very windy
day. Wind about 10kts from the NE and gusts all the way to 17kts! Air was a bit bumpy despite
the fact that it was a cool day and the airplane performed quite well. Overall a fun flight.
Watch for a video of the flight on the website soon.
Fri Oct 22 13:25:14 EDT 2004
Created the website today. Uploaded some pictures, videos and other files, wrote a brief bio.
New pages and updates coming soon! Gotta study for the damn Nov 13 Physics GRE...
