John Hancock Center

I took too many photos on my two trips to the skydeck of the John Hancock Center ("it would be the nicest bird view of the city - if only the birds could fly that high") to publish them here. Instead I did the 360° tour with my camera. That should give you an even better impression of the scene. I hope you like it. I certainly do!
As I said above, I did two trips to the Hancock. There is the option of buying a Sun and Stars ticket, which grants two admissions within 48 hours. Thus you can experience the view at two different light conditions. And that was only slightly more expensive than the single ticket, so that was my best choice. I did the daytime trip on Saturday afternoon, and I came back for the nighttime view on Sunday night. I should have maybe come back already on Saturday night, as I missed Superbowl XLIII - but I had to charge the battery of my camera, along with that of my body. I do hope that I will get another chance to watch a Superbowl game while being in the U.S., though. I also couldn't resist buying a whole lot of touristy memorabilia, including a Chicago Bears cap. At least I'll have my gear when the next Superbowl comes up.
... It just occurred to me: referring to the name of this blog, you might say, "the owl missed the bowl". (See the very first entry for an explanation why I called this blog The Owl's Nest.)

More Music

After a successful time in the lab, we experienced what everyone in the UHV community goes through occasionally: a downtime. Right before the last series of experiments that ought to complete the data for the upcoming publication, a tiny cable came loose in the ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chamber. For the non-scientists among the readers of this blog, I shall explain UHV quickly. I study surfaces, with respect to their chemical performances (i.e., reactivities). This kind of experiments requires the use of the so-called ultra-high vacuum or UHV, which means a pressure level at the equivalent of outer space. Essentially the chamber is empty, and as a consequence, the gas phase contained in it is negligible. Hence, the surface in question will adsorb contaminations only very slowly. As you can imagine, obtaining such an environment is technically demanding. Other than good pumping, a procedure called bake-out is required, in order to remove moisture from the air that gt into the chamber, when it was opened the last time. - Therefore the loose wire is quite annoying, because it means a downtime from the experiments for several days, until the repairment is carried out and the vacuum is fully restored. Unfortunately the screw that was supposed to hold and connect the wire got stuck in its hole, and I was unable to move it at all. Eventually I even broke its head off, which means the mechanical workshop will have to remove the remainder and make a new screw for me. Estimated downtime: one week.
Back home in Berlin, this would have affected my mood quite a bit. But since I do not have to pass an exam at the end anymore, I see it a lot more relaxed. In fact, I decided to use the free time on Saturday to finally do some sightseeing, which I have been neglecting in the past. From one of the earliest posts in this blog, you might remember that you can see the Sears Tower (the tallest building in North America) quite well from the L station close to my work. It has been luring me into a visit ever since my arrival - but since I also needed to do some shopping, I decided to give the John Hancock Center a visit.
Named after a highly successful businessman, it is the fourth-tallest building in Chicago, after the Sears Tower, the Trump International Hotel & Tower (topped out in 2008 and currently being finalized), and the Aon Center (in descending order). For the sake of completeness, it be mentioned that the Chicago Spire is planned to be the new second-tallest building in town ina few years from now, but the current financial crisis has stalled further work for now, and it might even kill the project altogether.
Anyways, I did pay "Big John" a visit, and while making a connection from the blue to the red line at Jackson on the way there, I could enjoy some more music. Check it out - and make sure you don't miss the crazy guy in the audience!

Funny Hats and Nightshifts

As requested by Elyse, I shall dedicate this entry to this season's headwear in Chicago, among other topics. The winter in Chicago is colder than in Germany, and this time it is cold even for local standards. As a matter of fact, we had the coldest day in the past decade just recently. No wonder people use all kinds of fashionable and not-so-fashionable-but-hey-at-least-it's-warm kind of hats to protect themselves against the bitter cold. As for myself, I try to blend in ... and I'm not afraid of being ugly!
In the third row from the top you see sundown in Chicago. As I was playing around with the features of my camera, I discovered it has a setting particularly for sunrises and sundowns. It does add a lot of red, but that does not make this shot less scenic. Now you might think that I would be on my way home from work when I took this picture, but I was actually going there. In mid-january I had one week in which I started only in the afternoon, but finished in the early morning hours. I felt quite comfortable with that schedule; apart from my first experience at BESSY (the synchrotron light source in Berlin) this just might have been my most intense week ever, and also a very efficient one. Fortunately there is a 7-eleven within walking distance from my lab, which is open 24/7. A basic level of supplies is granted even at the strangest hours. - I am very happy with the outcome of this work, and so are the two professors involved in this - they are very keen to publish these results. What more can you ask for as a scientist?
Well, you could ask for warmer temperatures. As you can see in the lower half of this image, there was one entire day below zero. In Fahrenheit, that is, which means below -18°C. The incredible -17°F, which correspond to -27°C, have been my personal all-time low so far. Along with the temperatures you see the time - I came home at 3:39 am, went back to work at 12:44 pm and returned home again at 4:06 am. The latter was particularly painful; not due to the early hour, but because of the cold. My train was supposed to arrive at 3:25 am at the station close to the university, and I was there five minutes early. I even waited in the lab, as not to stay outside in the cold for too long. Unfortunately the train was late by 20 min, and that can be a long time at those harsh conditions. Yet I made it home, even without a frostbite, and I was rewarded with a physical proof that I had just experienced my record low temperature as of now. But honestly, I feel no need to have a reprise.
But there is more to tell. After the week of the extreme cold, I have been assigned to train a new graduate student. I feel very honored by the trust my boss puts in me by this. The student is actually from the group of our collaborator, himself being also ultimately responsible for my staying in Chicago. She is from Iran - I must admit that I was surprised that despite the notoriously bad relationship between the U.S. and Iran academic exchange is taking place. Well, within certain limitations, that is, as she was originally supposed to work at Argonne National Laboratory, but there is no way for Iranians to work there. Hence, instead of working with X-ray light, she has to put up with me. I wonder which yields the better vibes - the alternating E/B field of the X-rays or me ... Her name is Homa, by the way, which is also the name of a bird in Persian mythology. This bird designated the new king by landing on his shoulder. It seems Homa will provide me a noble time - in turn I will of course do my best to train her, so as to make her stick with her choice ...

New Year's Videos - (3) Percussion

In an earlier entry I mentioned the percussion trio performing on the blue line platform of Jackson. In this third video of three you can actually experience them. I hope you like them as much as I did on my way home.

New Year's Videos - (2) Fireworks

In this second of three videos from that night you see the some of the fireworks at Navy Pier, on 12 am of 01/01 2009.

New Year's Videos - (1) Navy Pier

Now that I own my camera for roughly two years I have finally discovered how to shoot videos ... I was just too lazy to ever read the manual, and actually I deem it possible that it actually became a victim of my most recent move out of Berlin. Anyways, this is a short clip I recorded at Navy Pier on New Year's Eve. It is the first in a series of three.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Dear all,
I would like to wish you, the faithful followers of this blog, a Happy New Year! Be all of you blessed with good health and good luck!
Once more I obtained a few photos from the beautiful city of Chicago, and I would like to share them with you. They were taken on the occasion of the celebration of New Year's Eve. Since I had no other plans, I went to Navy Pier. I assume there are many of you who are not entirely familiar with the local geography, so I give you a short introduction. I am a resident of Oak Park, which borders Chicago to the west. Navy Pier is all across the city, which has a natural limit by Lake Michigan in the east. To go there from my home I use public transportation (the"L"), from which I get off at the Magnificent Mile, a nickname for Michigan Ave. (The Water Tower Place is also right there; see the respective post.) The top left image is giving you a pretty impression of what it looks like there. Since it was a very cold night, I sought shelter in a nearby movie theater, in which I recently watched the latest James Bond movie. Given the chill out there, you might say that I did find my "qantum of solace" in this well-heated place. ("Quantum of furnace" would be another pun ...) As I was strolling in the lobby of the building I found a poster of the latest Tom Cruise movie, Valkyrie, which is on screen now. There has been a big debate in Germany, whether or not Tom Cruise is a good choice for the role of Stauffenberg, the man who attempted (and failed) to assassinate Hitler in 1944. The debate had developed quite far from the original topic, i.e., would Mr. Cruise be capable of playing his role well, involving his participation in the Church of Scientology. Also, the question was raised whether a "movie star", which he inarguably is, is able to shift to serious "acting". Germans were adding their concerns that a Hollywood depiction of a national idol might be historically inaccurate. Well, apart from the fact that Stauffenberg's class conceit might just disqualify him as a role model, of course a Hollywood movie aims at entertainment and at box office success. In my opinion it would be too much to ask for such a production to be accurate (also Oskar Schindler was not the kind of role model as he appears in Spielberg's movie). Hence I think we can be satisfied if Tom Cruise abstains from being successful in the killing, as in Top Gun he certainly would have been.
After this quick excursion in politics I continued my walk to Navy Pier ... and I got stranded just a few doors futher down the street, at Walgreens. It was already the last hour of the year, and I was curious what a pharmacy being open at this time would be like. It turned out to be more of a drugstore, but with interesting additional supplies. For instance, they also sell chocolate and the likes. Moreover, it was the first time I saw contraceptives (condoms, that's right) sold in public here. (Combining this with all the chocolate I will from now on refer to Walgreens as the "candy place" ...) Not enough with that, there were also pregnancy tests in the next aisle ... Now, I am a very organized person, which is why I was wondering why the pregnancy tests and the condoms were not in the same shelf. Then I got struck by enlightenment - it must be for mercy. Imagine you are rushing into Walgreens in a panic, heading for the pregnancy tests, and your eye catches the sight of the condoms. You will inevitably blame yourself, "why o why didn't I use one of those the other night, so I wouldn't have to come for these". Walgreens is keeping you from that hassle.
Eventually I checked out with several chocloate bars to finally head to Navy Pier. The center left photo gives you the Giant Wheel, which was set up at the place where the world's first Giant Wheel ever was standing. Next to it I found a branch of McDonald's - no, I didn't eat there this time, I was too busy staring at their claim (center right). With only a few minutes to go to midnight, I was quite susceptible to the coincidence ... I also managed to shoot one picture of the firework (bottom left), but it is kind of hard to see. I must also say that the show was not all that overwhelming. But maybe I missed the best parts, as I lasted only ten more minutes, and then I was fed up with the cold. After all it was -10°C, and it felt like -20°C! The trip home took me over one hour, and I had the pleasure to experience and enjoy the superb percussion combo you see on the bottom right photo. They were performing at Jackson station, where I was making a connection. (They were making up for the firework.)
Finally, the new year has arrived, and I am in the US. There are a few things that Germans associate with Americans: they work hard, they eat Turkey, they drink Coke, and they like Barack Obama. Well, here I am on a Saturday night (actually Sunday morning) at 12:14 am, sitting in the lab and waiting for my sample to be cool, eating Turkey sandwiches, easing the swallowing with Coke, and reading Time magazine, which I bought because it has Obama as the "person of the year" on the cover. One might say that I've apparently had the full experience already, hence I might as well return home - but I haven't finished my 50 State Quarters collection yet. So there is still something to do for me here, and I can write about it. Which leaves me to say to you: stay tuned!