ariadne smith

Yesterday I got some company exploring when Jana arrived from California, and Emily came over to our apartment from her dorm at Ecole Polytechnique. It was beautiful weather – mid 70s and perfectly sunny. We headed straight for the Eiffel Tower to walk around. There were people all over the grasses – picnicking, playing football, practicing karate in a circle. The tower is majestic, and simply standing under it is quite awe inspiring. Apparently when Eiffel constructed the tower, he said that it would withstand the test of time as long as it was repainted every 7 years. So regardless of its condition, 25 tons of a new color of paint cover the tower. It apparently takes a crew of 25 painters more than a year to paint it from top to bottom. The 19th painting took place this March, and it’s now a beautiful brown-mauve type color.

We walked around the gardens and around the Invalides for a while longer. Napoleon’s tomb in inside, and I definitely want to go back and see that in the future. Since grocery stores close at 8, we decided to get provisions and cook dinner. We ended up with a selection of cheeses (brie de meaux, goat cheeses covered in raisins, chives, and apricot), bread, and wine, intended to be appetizers for the chicken and vegetables we planned on cooking. We didn’t get very far after the bread and cheese, though.

We looked up a few bars/clubs with the intention of going out, but decided we were too tired. I have a feeling that it’s usually going to end up this way unless there are people we are planning to meet somewhere. I’m not big on running around in the city in the dark. BUT the plethora of streetlights make it very safe to walk around.

After lounging a bit, we decided to venture to Montmarte and Sacre Coeur, since it was a clear day and the sights of the city would inevitably be great. We wandered around the Cimetiere de Montmarte, stumbling upon the graves of great artists – Berlioz, Degas, and Dumas to name a few. The cemetery is unlike anything I’ve seen. It looks like it’s filled with tiny stone houses and mini replicas of churches.

We meandered up the streets to Sacre Coeur, and stopped and ate sandwiches at a park on the way. The streets got more and more crowded, until it was just a sea of tourists at the top. No matter how lovely teh scene is, I really dislike being in overly crowded places, so even though the view was nice (Paris looks huge!), I wanted to get away from the area. Montmarte is also pretty sketchy, especially walking through the park on the way down.

Jana and I explored the area of Boulogne-Billancourt. It’s very cute! The Bois de Boulogne are only 2 km from our place, and are the remnants of an ancient oak forest of Rouvray. The park covers over 2,000 acres and is has beautiful meandering paths with lots of greenery, picnickers, and tons of cyclists! We walked alongside the longchamps raceway, which I definitely want to come back to when there’s a race.

We bought a warm baguette on the way home, cooked dinner, and became glued to our computers. Tomorrow is our last day before work starts, so I want to do some more practical things, like finding how to get to work, and looking for pools in the area.

A demain!

• • Comments [0]
  • Categories [Uncategorized]

Flight from BOS->CDG was smooth (although I didn’t sleep much), complete with 2 meals and a cheesy Jim Carrey movie (Yes Man). Picking up luggage, clearing customs, and catching the Air France bus to Porte Maillot took under 30 minutes. I met Linda at her apartment. It’s in a wonderful area – right next to l’arc de triomphe and the champs elysees. It’s so parisienne – tiny rooms with a cute court yard and a kitchen the size of a small closet. After a 5-hour nap, I walked around the area. It’s incredibly cute. The streets are remarkably clean and all the stores/buildings seem very neat and well designed. I strolled down the champs and had the song stuck in my head: Les Champs Elysees

Rasto/Linda got back from work and we hung out and talked for the rest of the evening. Today, I got up and left the apartment with everyone and decided to take the metro to the tuileries. It’s amazing how you can step out of a metro tunnel and be instantaneously amidst these incredibly beautiful and famous buildings.
I walked around seemingly before all of the tourists woke up – the gardens/louvre were empty. I stopped for lunch at La Creperie de St. Germain in the 6th arrondissement (St.German de-Pres). I had a “lorelei” (whole wheat crepe, raclette, lardons, pommes du terres), a cup of cider, and a confiture chantilly (apricot jam and the best whip cream I have ever tasted). OMG it was delicious, but very rich, and my stomach kind of hurt after. I walked around the 5/6eme and looked at shops, then hopped on the metro to meet the agent at the apartment. I didn’t realize that the apartment isn’t in the 15th or 16th arrondissement, but actually in a suburb just outside of Paris called Boulonge-Billancourt. It’s a lot less lively than the 17th where Linda/Rasto live, but still cute. I did a few groceries at the center of the town. The grocery store was in a mall and seemed upscale and fun, but with reasonable prices. There’s so much to choose from – I’m eagerly awaiting Jana’s help in the grocery department when she arrives tomorrow morning. They have great things – a whole aisle dedicated to chocolate, a full charcuterie, and cool shopping baskets that have long handles and wheels – so clever!

After riding the metro back and forth from Linda/Rasto’s a third time, I feel like I have a pretty good sense of the underground transportation. We’ll see how successful I am tomorrow. Jana’s arriving early in the morning and Emily and I are meeting up at noon to go exploring!

• • Comments [0]
  • Categories [Uncategorized]

I’m leaving tomorrow for a summer in France – more specifically, interning at EDF R&D in Clamart and living in the 15th arrondissement in Paris. I have a direct flight from BOS – CDG arriving Thursday morning, and Rasto and Linda are graciously allowing me to stay at their apartment in La Defense until I can check into the apartment on the 29th. I’m going to take the Air France bus to Porte Maillot, which is about 2 minutes walking distance from their apartment, then either crash for the day, or explore Paris a little.

I have most necessary things in order: travel guides (that I’ve read cover to cover, thanks to a stimulating weekend at my grandmothers), voltage converters, and that awkward little travel purse that thwarts pick pocketers.

My friends who are there already (Rasto, Emily, Alex) all say that the city is beautiful. Once I get my bearings, I’ll start planning weekend trips to other parts of Europe to visit the other mit eurotrash. I’m going to try to write here frequently with updates on my travels and lots of photos!

Bon voyage!

• • Comments [0]
  • Categories [Uncategorized]

So the Tesla Model S is pretty and gets even the best of us drooling about a sleek environmentally friendly ride, and a plug-in garage and white picket fence to boot. However, there’s something fundamentally wrong with Tesla’s development and I doubt the company will survive to see its beauty on the market. Not only have they planned poorly (Musk says he underestimated the time, money, and effort required to build a car company), but they are relying on a $450 million loan from the DOE to actually manufacture the car. Not to worry, though. Worst case scenario is that those who paid in advance for the car lose their money. No big deal.

My father so astutely pointed out to me last night when I was reading the article that the numbers Tesla rattles off for vehicle performance and charging don’t make sense. They claim that the car can go 300 miles before having to recharge, and that it takes only 45 minutes to recharge completely. Say that an electric vehicle requires 0.25 kwh/mile (a very conservative estimate) and that it takes .75 hrs to charge. This yields a total of 100,000 watts per charge. Divide that by the rumored 440 volt charging that the model S requires and you end up requiring about 230 amps per charge. There aren’t even any public 440-volt charging stations in existence – with a “normal” charging station of 240-volts, the Tesla would need over 400 amps, which is a pretty high current. So not only do they have to worry about getting the money to build the car, but finding a way to build these unconventional charging systems with high current requirements to boot.

I’d love to see the car succeed, but I seriously doubt in five years I’ll be able to choose between purchasing a Ford Taurus and one of these.

• • Comments [0]
  • Categories [Uncategorized]

It’s odd for me to say, but sometimes I think a little materialism is comforting. I say this after spending the last few days in Ashland, OR where the most artificial thing you’ll find is a premium case of “pepsi natural” made only from real sugar and natural flavors. I found myself wandering down the “cosmetics” aisle at the food co-op. Everyone there is weirdly happy and wears clothing made out of some kind of plant. Anyways, I don’t even wear makeup, let alone like it. But it was good to see something familiar in this unfamiliar place that my family now calls home.

In Boston, I despise shopping. It puts me in a bad mood when I see people glued to their bags on Newbury, isolated in their material world. But a similar thing happened when I was in a small village in France (St. Romain) at age 14. I wanted nothing more than to see the stores and cafes in the near-by city of Beaune. The countryside seemed too isolated for me, and yet now I long to spend a summer in a place like that. I think it’s less an attraction to materialism than it is to things that are familiar when you’re in a completely new place, and feel kind of alone.

• • Comments [1]
  • Categories [Uncategorized]

http://www.davidhorvitz.com/if/

I came across the page of a guy who, for a given amount of money, will give you obscure things: a rock from brooklyn, one of his secrets, a letter of apology written to someone he has wronged. It’s ridiculous and brilliant all at the same time. Spending $1 for a complete stranger to think about you for a minute has no value, but there’s something strange and amazing in knowing exactly that: that you have forged a connection (through money, mind you) with another being for just a blip of time. He can also do things like travel to Japan and have green tea with a monk. If people pay for this, they’re definitely looking for vicarious enjoyment of those things that are too risky and crazy to do on one’s own.

I want to do this. Some starting deals could be:

for $2 I will play you a song on my guitar, record it, and send it to you.

for $1 I will do a problem set from a course at MIT and send you a copy.

for $3 I will think about you on my bike ride home from work. All nine miles of it. Bonus miles $.25

Now I just need paypal.

• • Comments [0]
  • Categories [Uncategorized]

So the Discovery Channel is putting together a new show featuring high-speed cameras, intended to demonstrate every day marvels that can’t be observed with the naked eye, eg champagne bottle being opened, cat licking its paw, or a silicon wafer fracturing in real time. Prof. Buonassisi is going to mention the idea to the show’s rep, as she had expressed interest in including a project from the mech e department. Folks at the museum of science are also interested in the video. I’m excited to go back to school and help work on one that’s even better – good lighting, better positioning, varying samples. I uploaded one clip to my public: http://web.mit.edu/ariadnes/Public/PV/

• • Comments [0]
  • Categories [Uncategorized]

Seeing as there was a lull in my projects at work, I decided to take it upon myself to make Boston Scientific a greener place. The company goes through hundreds of polystyrene cups and trays, soda cans, and utensils every day. The company only has one small crate tucked behind a table in the cafeteria for cans and a few bins for recycling papers around printer areas. I spent part of Monday on the phone with people from the American polystyrene recycling association or something to that extent, and emailed facilities to see if I could get more bins around the floor. No response, so I took drastic measures.

And by drastic measures I mean wrapping a can in paper and decorating it with recycling symbols and “please recycle” mounted on top of my cube so that it would be visible from many angles. I had a few people stop by later that afternoon confused, thinking I had become a recycling center. Nonetheless, they were supportive of the effort.

Today, my surge endured a direct blow from facilities. Janitors, most likely brainwashed and unaware of their actions, removed my can, my symbol of hope and a greener future.

I have moved on from the can to a bin, taken kindly from the VP of R&D’s secretary. I plan to again decorate it and make my cube an area to shed the burden of cups and cans. Wish me luck.

PS I hope things are busier next week

• • Comments [0]
  • Categories [Uncategorized]

• • Comments [0]
  • Categories [Uncategorized]

I got this email this morning and it really made me smile:

Hello Ariadne

how are you and how are your studies going???
Are you still playing the guitar???
A big hug over the atlantic.

Antigoni

She is one of the most amazing guitarists in the world. I was lucky to have the chance to perform and study with her in high school. Her daughter, who is probably 3 or 4 now, is named Ariadni and she is adorable. Last year, she started a workshop for young performers in Volterra, Italy that consisted of lessons and concerts held in an old farm house in the countryside. It sounded amazing – unfortunately the class goes until September 10th, which is past the start of MIT.

This email made me realize that there are so many things that I still want to do with guitar! Go to Volterra! Study in Brussels! I’m going to make an effort to plan my internships/plans to incorporate such a guitar experience in the future…

• • Comments [0]
  • Categories [Uncategorized]