Noticias Grandes

Earlier posts here on TheSamuraiNinjaDon have made mention of the research-related success I've enjoyed over the past two months. It should logically follow that I am made of awesome.

To be fair, I'm only 85% made of awesome, with another 10% made of muscle and the remaining 20% made of sexy. But who's counting?

While I was lecturing my advisor's class, he was the keynote speaker at a conference in Spain. He took my hardware and a copy of my software with him, which I suppose was pretty cool. While it would inescapably stall my research, it would also provide a wonderful opportunity for the big names of Motor Control to tear me a new one.

As much as I can be more than a little prideful about the second-tier aspects of my life - karaoke, cycling, writing, facial-hair (oh, I miss my beard), among other things - there's an ambivalence to my attitude about my research. I want my professional work to be heartbreakingly brilliant, but at the same time, there's simply no way to get to that point without a few slices of humble pie along the way.

When my advisor returned from Spain, I braced myself. I was ready. It would be okay, if a little painful, to hear "they hated it" or "it's been done before" or "it's too intuitive" or "it's too counterintuitive" or "they rioted and your equipment was destroyed in the fire".

Instead, he asked, "Are you big on travel? How's your Spanish?"

It seems that the line to try my project during my advisor's demonstration started out at 50 people and grew over the course of the session. Heads of Surgical institutions and Chairs of Research departments raved about the possible applications in a variety of fields. The founder of the host institution wants to work with me to refine the project even further for use with his surgeons.

So, no humble pie for me in this story. Oh darn. What a shame. Surely I will have a big ol' frown on my face when I spend January in Spain.

Time to start relearning Spanish! Maybe I'll listen to Shakira?