On being humbled

Last week I had one of the scariest hours of my academic life. I am supervising a new graduate student who will be continuing some of my research and therefore using a lot of the data processing codes I wrote during my graduate career. He's at the point where he's just starting to learn how to convert the raw binary files to ascii and make pictures of the data. Not a quantitative analysis, but a qualitative one that really gives a good feel for the quality of the data, and what types of analysis you might want to do. He is also using the instrument in a new manner than we have in the past and so this step is crucial to understanding the different data format. Well...his pictures were all squished up. We went through all the possibilities, all the parts where his data could be different than mine, plotted, replotted, and all signs were pointing to a bug in the code. My code. The code I have used FOR EVERYTHING I HAVE PUBLISHED TO DATE. I started to feel sick to my stomach and sent him to lunch. For about an hour, I sat, I drew pictures, I checked the math, I checked the code, I plugged in my good data, I panicked and I forced back tears. It really was there, it was a bug, and it was wrong. The number of thoughts that rush through your head in a moment like that can't be counted. What was I going to do. Managing a McDonald's was becoming a real option. But how, my images weren't squished, my values were all right, they agreed with the physical setup of the field site, how could I have missed it, how could we all have missed it. After several deep breaths I shuffled over to my advisor's office and muttered out a "we have a problem", although the words weren't necessary because the look on my face was enough for him to say "what's wrong?" at the exact same time. We talked through it and he laughed at me. "Everyone needs and ego check now and then". Turns out the "bug" in relation to my data causes a maximum 4% error, in most of my papers it's really more like a 2% error. Making my maximum error of < 2 meters in an instrument with a 2.5 meter resolution. So, no mistake. Biggest sigh of relief ever. The error compounds at larger measurement angles, a 90% error at the angles of the new data...hence the squishing. Ego checked.

After that fiasco I came home and knit. It always calms me. Well, the stars must have been misaligned that day, because I cast on for a new project without checking the gauge. I've been burnt by this before so I typically check, but it was for a baby sweater, and you cast on just about as many stitches for a gauge swatch as you do for the project, so I thought what the hell. I knit a few rows and measured the gauge, it was about right, so off I went. Well about right is not right. On the left we have a the peapod sweater I knit for my soon to arrive nephew (still needs blocking and buttons) It is sized for ~3 months. The same age I was shooting for with the one on the right.

It was supposed to be a shower gift for friends that are having a baby in October. I was on a baby kick, so when the invitation came, I figured I could churn one out in time. Now it will be for little nephew to grow into. It's cotton so he should get use out of it during some season. Shower gift from the registry was delivered today.

Ego checked, and rechecked. Tell me, was I starting to get cocky? The universe seemed to think so. I was unaware.