Letter of Recommendation Sample Close Colleague

Letter of Recommendation Sample Close Colleague SAT/ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You don't need to be someone's supervisor to keep in touch with her a suggestion letter. You may have an associate request that you think of one when she applies for an interior advancement or a situation outside the organization. This example letter's composed by a partner for somebody applying to an initiative situation at another organization. As an associate and companion to the applicant, the author can talk both to her expert abilities and to her own advantages. Peruse on to perceive how the author bolsters his associate's request for employment. Test Recommendation Letter #7: Written by a Coworker Mr. Ernie SandersChief Marketing OfficerGlobex Tech55 Valley RoadPalo Alto, CA 95014 Dear Mr. Sanders, I’m satisfied to suggest Alice for the situation of Editor-in-Chief with Globex Tech. As a kindred IT Content Editor at CloudArk, I’ve worked nearby Alice for as long as five years. Not just has she been a key player in our group, yet she’s likewise become a nearby close companion. Alice’s abilities and administration characteristics would make her a significant expansion to your data innovation content improvement group. While Alice has discovered accomplishment at CloudArk, helping increment our blog traffic from a couple thousand to more than one million month to month perusers over her time here, she’s hoping to amplify her aptitudes as a pioneer inside a bigger organization. Our little beginning up doesn’t yet have the open doors for authority for which Alice is qualified. Alice is ready to step into a job of article the executives for a substance program with the potential for worldwide reach. Alice can design, make, and market IT substance and construct a worldwide nearness for Globex Tech. She’s an incredible essayist and editorial manager with an office for making an interpretation of specialized data into drawing in content. She has utilized her insight into the tech world both to advocate CloudArk’s blog and to build up a stage for instructive preparing, including IT-related confirmations, workshops, and online courses. She has her finger on the beat of innovative patterns and gives content that’s both valuable and spellbinding to perusers. Alice weds her composing aptitudes with a working information on computerized and inbound showcasing. She works across internet based life, email crusades, and other advertising effort to impact viral commitment. Her last three posts over our web based life stages produced an unequaled high of 20,000 offers and got numerous novel guests. In a main situation with your organization, Alice would utilize vital strategies, similar to website streamlining and web based life measurements, to take your web nearness to the following level. Notwithstanding her expert capabilities, Alice has individual characteristics that make her appropriate to authority. She’s normally fallen into the job of â€Å"point person† that huge numbers of us go to with questions. She’s not reluctant to face challenges and regularly proposes new headings to investigate. Alice was instrumental in presenting our instructive stage for preparing, for example, a heading that has demonstrated to be exceptionally productive. She’s focused on quality, development, and progress, and she moves her colleagues to make progress toward the equivalent. To put it plainly, Alice is an individual with vision. On an individual note, Alice has become a dear companion over our long periods of cooperating at CloudArk. She sorted out a few get-togethers for the organization, similar to bar meet-ups and 5k races, assisting with encouraging group union and permitting us to frame an extraordinary kinship. Truth be told, we’re going path running this Saturday. Alice’s fun and well disposed character are simply good to beat all of her numerous different capabilities. Alice has my most noteworthy suggestion for the situation of Editor-in-Chief with Globex Tech. I’m eager to see the bearings in which Globex Tech will develop under Alice’s administration. If it's not too much trouble don't hesitate to get in touch with me for any additional data. Much obliged particularly for your time. Earnestly, Robert WordsworthIT Content EditorCloudArkrwordsworth@cloudark.com(866) 811-5546 Robert sounds sure that Alice has the article and web-based social networking abilities to beEditor-in-Chief. Proposal Letter #7: The Breakdown This proposal letter test is one composed by a collaborator for somebody applying outside of the organization. This associate depicts his own fellowship with the candidate while additionally pointing outthe applicant’s proficient skillsand work execution. He begins with an announcement of solid help, just as a clarification of why Alice is hoping to step into an authority position at a bigger organization. Robert depicts Alice’s past achievements and future potential. He shows how she contributed toCloudArk's development, portraying her aptitude in content creation and information on mechanical patterns. He additionally addresses her computerized and substance advertising capacities, the two of which would be basic in her objective occupation. Notwithstanding talking about her encounters, Robert clarifies that Alice has the authority capacities and vision to move into an Editor-in-Chief position. He says she’s become the â€Å"point person† for her associates while likewise exceeding expectations at community work. This previous aptitude is additionally prove by prudence of the way that the letter is composed by a work associate. As Alice’s companion, Robert’s likewise ready to address a portion of her own advantages, giving an extra measurement precisely. Generally speaking, Robert states solid help for Alice’s application and gives models regarding why she’s prepared to step into a place of publication administration. His letter presents Alice’s publication and advertising capabilities and demonstrates that she’s set up positive associations with her partners. Need to give a solid suggestion to your worker, however don't have the opportunity to create the ideal letter? PrepScholar's new suggestion apparatus, SimpleRec, takes you from sincere goals and a clear page to a completely composed and organized letter of proposal in less than 5 minutes. You should simply give us some straightforward snippets of data about your worker and your experience working with them, and we'll wrap up. Give a shot SimpleRec hazard free today: What's Next? Not every person asks an associate or supervisor to give them a letter of suggestion. Individuals who are simply out of school regularly ask a previous teacher. Look at this next suggestion letter test to perceive how a teacher underpins a previous understudy's employment form! Is it accurate to say that you are searching for more rec letter tests? Allude to this total reference letter manual for discover more examples and become familiar with the letter composing process.

Critical Analysis of CSR

Question: A few pundits of CSR guarantee it is minimal more than greenwashing; to what degree do you concur or oppose this idea? Answer: Presentation: As expressed by Alves (2014), with more noteworthy embracement on the green items and administrations, a few corporate bodies have been found to prosecute their promoting plans encompassing bogus and deceiving natural advertising approach. This methods for advertising movement has been prevalently named as greenwashing that combines the idea of green (earth sound) and whitewashing (covering the bad behavior) as a way to deal with promoting. A greenwasher is a firm that specifically reveals the uplifting news and holds the terrible news. As contended by Bazillier and Vauday (2015), CSR exercises carried on by significant Companies are increasingly similar to an icy mass; it is undetectable to a huge degree. These exercises are regularly focused to endeavor corporate control instead of a basically guarded picture the executives movement. Eco-accommodating items, natural and normal segments are the basic deceiving terms that significant organizations use to depict an eco-accommodating n ature of the items that they assembling and sell (Parguel et al. 2012). Development of Greenwashing Practices: Greenwashing isn't something new by and by however proves recommend that these acts of neglect have its root during the 1970s when there was development of ecological developments (Alves 2014)). It was during that time, that numerous organizations began deceiving purchasers expressing that the items or administrations offered by them are natural cordial. In this regard, Mahoney et al. (2013) brought up that by understanding the gainful effect of the greenwashing CSR exercises, numerous organizations frequently settle on expanding the venture on these practices. Mahoney et al. (2013) additionally uncovered certain confirmations that a corporate body can without much of a stretch embrace a notoriety methodology to conceal the strange or different things that may make an awful notoriety against the organization. These confirmations have been getting featured effectively in light of the fact that buyers have gotten progressively cognizant about the exercises and simultaneously, the media has gotten mindful and prepared to feature any sort of deluding circumstance that a corporate association can perform. Corporate Social Responsibility and promotion are the key supplements that major corporate houses use to make a maintainability approach towards the general public. In the view purpose of Parguel et al. (2012), the corporate duties towards the general public and the earth have brought about greenwashing because of certain recognized uncommon suspects towards the CSR rehearses. These practices, whenever considered from the viewpoint of monetary advantages, have helped numerous organizations to make great measure of cash. As expressed by Tsagas (2012), CSR exercises likewise go about as a methods for correspondence for the corporate associations. Commercials and CSR exercises are carried on to improve the notoriety of the organizations. So as to help this reality, adopting an off-base strategy and spreading falsehood by correspondence is a typical situation. In this manner, CSR and green correspondence are normally utilized by the organizations as a vital apparatus to accomplish their objectives. Hypothetical Approaches Towards Greenwashing CSR Activities: Visser (2012) remarked the greenwashing rehearses have changed to a huge degree and the experts have been found to utilize new and better procedures to intentionally shroud the undesirable results and send non-obvious data to delude the shoppers. A hypothetical structure proposes that there are two degrees of correspondence: the prompt, which are the non-unquestionable data and the other are the hard news which can be confirmed by the customers in lieu of specific costs. As per, Visser (2012) in the primary signal, the firm is found to reveal the data to general society with no kind of greenwashing and by not putting resources into much in uncovering the data to the buyers. Be that as it may, if there should arise an occurrence of other structure the firm needs to contribute and channel the confirmations, as it were, so as to make a decent picture among the purchasers. The EU Takeover Directive towards the consideration of socially capable conduct of significant associations to make a defend firm towards the corporate control. It was under this arrangement that the corporate exercises of the associations were held under sufficient perception (Tsagas 2012). Moreover, point by point examination of the financial advantages and different determinants will be dissected and afterward if necessary legitimate modification of the exercises will likewise be made. The commission detailed that the corporate bodies need to play out certain social duties towards the general public that would profit the specific endeavor as well as the general public where it works (Tsagas 2012). The exercises ought profit the investors of the association as well as the customers also. Confirmations of Greenwashing Activities: An ongoing case has been featured in California where significant water producing organizations were blamed on the utilization for the water bottles. The jugs were professed to be biodegradable and recyclable however the fact of the matter was uncovered very soon (Mahoney et al. 2013). Another such issue was featured from Cadbury too. The Chocolate Company is notable for its captivating history of its CSR exercises. Kraft assuming control over the Company was consistently at a hazard yet similar dangers were relieved by the guarantees made by the Company towards their buyers. Once more, if a comparative case is thought of, Quaker Oats likewise made vows to improve the state of the general public by offering healthy sustenance to the hungry and the malnourished and to offer work to the jobless (Filipovic 2013). Be that as it may, the circumstance was changed very soon the entire vision of the Company to improve the social condition vanished. End: Before the finish of the conversation, it has been seen that endeavor misbehaviors as CSR exercises. Greenwashing is a typical methodology that significant associations are embraced to make a pseudo and positive picture of the association to the customers. There have been various guidelines that have been made to improve the state of the social exercises attempted by these associations. Be that as it may, so as to stay up with the expanding rivalry, the corporate associations on occasion are found to adopt certain strategies that are bad enough for the general public and the customers also. Thusly, it tends to be said that with better guidelines and by laying certain temporary guidelines, the misbehaviors can be controlled to certain degree. Reference List: Alves, I., 2014. Green turn all over: How greenwashing uncovers the constraints of the CSR paradigm.Journal of Global Change and Governance,2(1), pp.1-26. Bazillier, R. also, Vauday, J., 2015. The greenwashing machine: is CSR more than correspondence. Filipovic, C. 2013. Mixed: How Kraft's Acquisition of Cadbury Ended the Dynasty of a CSR Luminary | Justmeans. [online] Justmeans.com. Accessible at: https://www.justmeans.com/online journals/ambivalent how-krafts-procurement of-cadbury-finished the-line of-a-csr-illuminating presence [Accessed 28 Dec. 2016]. Mahoney, L.S., Thorne, L., Cecil, L. what's more, LaGore, W., 2013. An exploration note on independent corporate social duty reports: Signaling or greenwashing?.Critical Perspectives on Accounting,24(4), pp.350-359. Parguel, B., Benot-Moreau, F. also, Larceneux, F., 2012. How manageability evaluations may hinder greenwashing: A more critical gander at moral corporate communication.Journal of business ethics,102(1), pp.15-28. Tsagas, G. 2012. Considering the Value of Socially Responsible Practices Post Takeover of Cadburys Plc by Kraft Foods Inc: Implications for the Revision of the EU Takeover Directive. SSRN Electronic Journal. Visser, W., 2012.The period of obligation: CSR 2.0 and the new DNA of business. John Wiley Sons.

Corporation and all other organizational forms Essay

1-1. What is the most significant contrast between an enterprise and all other hierarchical structures? Proprietors of an organization are not at risk for commitments the company goes into in light of the fact that a partnership is characterized as a lawful substance separate from its proprietors. 1-2. What does the expression restricted obligation mean in a corporate setting? Constrained risk implies that proprietors/financial specialists are exclusively at risk for the sums they put resources into the organization; and proprietors/speculators are not liable for any obligations, reprobate assets, or assortments brought about by the organization. 1-3. Which hierarchical structures give their proprietors restricted risk? Enterprises give proprietors constrained obligation and restricted organizations give constrained risk to the restricted accomplices, not the general accomplices. 1-4. What are the fundamental preferences and detriments of sorting out a firm as a partnership? The fundamental points of interest of an association are they offer constrained obligation to the proprietors, more prominent liquidity and life expectancy because of a boundless number of potential proprietors putting assets into the firm. The primary detriments of an association are their twofold tax collection from benefits/profits and the partition among proprietorship and control of the firm. 1-5. Clarify the distinction between a S organization and a C company. The contrast between a C partnership and S company is a C enterprise pays corporate annual assessments on benefits and afterward the benefits are appropriated to the proprietors, whom are answerable for paying personal charges on these income. S enterprises don't pay corporate charges on benefits, however they pass the whole expense obligation onto the proprietors. The proprietors of a S partnership are constrained to close to 100 U.S. residents. 1-6. You are an investor in a C company. The partnership wins $2 perâ share before charges. When it has paid assessments it will disseminate the remainder of its profit to you as a profit. The corporate assessment rate is 40% and the individual expense rate on (both profit and non-profit) salary is 30%. What amount is left for you after all charges are paid? Profit accessible after corporate charges: $2 x (1-0.4) = $1.20 Dividend accessible after close to home duties: $1.20 x (1-0.3) = $0.84 After expenses are paid, a profit of $0.84 per share is accessible for appropriation. 1-7. Rehash Problem 6 expecting the enterprise is a S organization. Profit accessible after corporate expenses: $2, S organizations are not dependent upon corporate charges. Profit accessible after close to home assessments: $2 x (1-0.3) = $1.40 After charges are paid, a profit of $1.40 per share is accessible for dispersion. 2.8 In mid 2009, General Electric (GE) had a book estimation of value of $105 billion, 10.5 billion offers remarkable, and a market cost of $10.80 per share. GE likewise had money of $48 billion, and all out obligation of $524 billion. After three years, in mid 2012, GE had a book estimation of value of $116 billion, 10.6 billion offers exceptional with a market cost of $17 per share, money of $84 billion, and all out obligation of $410 billion. Over this period, what was the change in GE’s: a. advertise capitalization? Market Value of Equity = Shares remarkable Ãâ€"Market cost per share 2009: 10.5 billion offers x $10.80 per share = $113.4 billion 2012: 10.6 billion offers x $17 per share = $180.2 billion The adjustment in advertise capitalization somewhere in the range of 2009 and 2012 is: $180.2 billion †$113.4 billion = $66.8 billion. b. advertise to-book proportion? 2009: $113.4/$105 = 1.08 2012: $180.2/$116 = 1.55 The adjustment in advertise to-book proportion somewhere in the range of 2009 and 2012 is: 1.55 †1.08 = 0.47 c. undertaking esteem? Endeavor Value = Market Value of Equity + Debt âˆ' Cash 2009: $113.4 + 524 †48 = $589.4 billion 2012: $180.2 + 410 †84 = $506.2 billion The adjustment in big business esteem somewhere in the range of 2009 and 2012 is: $506.2 billion †$589.4 billion = - $83.2 billion 2-11. Assume that in 2013, Global launchesâ an forceful showcasing effort that helps deals by 15%. Be that as it may, their working edge tumbles from 5.57% to 4.50%. Assume that they have no other salary, intrigue costs are unaltered, and charges are a similar level of pretax pay as in 2012. a. What is Global’s EBIT in 2013? 2013 Revenues: $186.7 million x 1.15 = $214.705 million EBIT = $214.705 million x 0.045 = $9.66 million b. What is Global’s total compensation in 2013? Total compensation = EBIT †Interest Expenses †Taxes 2013 Net salary: ($9.66 million †$7.7 million) x (1-0.26) = $1.45 million c. In the event that Global’s P/E proportion and number of offers remarkable stays unaltered, what is Global’s share cost in 2013? 2013 P/E proportion: 2012 offer value/profit per share = $14/$0.556 = 25.17 2013 EPS: 2013 Net salary/shares exceptional = $1.45 million/3.6 million offers = $0.403 2013 Share cost = 25.17 x $0.403 = $10.14 per share 2-24. Assume your firm gets a $5 million request on the most recent day of the year. You dispatch the request with $2 million worth of stock. The client gets the whole request that day and pays $1 million forthright in real money; you likewise issue a bill for the client to pay the rest of the equalization of $4 million of every 30 days. Assume your firm’s charge rate is 0% (i.e., overlook charges). Decide the results of this exchange for every one of the accompanying: a. Incomes = Increase by $5 million b. Profit = Increase by $ 3 million c. Receivables = Increase by 4 million d. Stock = Decrease by $2 million e. Money = Increase by $1 million ($3 million profit + $2 million stock †$4 million receivables)

buy custom Opportunities Existing in the Market essay

purchase custom Opportunities Existing in the Market paper Openings existing in the market transform into beneficial endeavors because of a careful examination of the present market just as surveying and assessing current patterns in the market. A successful market investigation will empower an individual answer crucial inquiries like, what the rising patterns in an industry are, what qualities or potentially shortcomings do your rivals have, the appropriateness of your area, regardless of whether your idea fills a specific hole in the market and the potential clients one can serve in a year. So as to distinguish openings and potential dangers, one needs to examine the predominant patterns in the business of his advantage. The investigation involves examining nature for circumstances like a contenders disappointment/defect, populace increment prompting more appeal for your item, a market hole, among others. Dangers incorporate solid rivalry, presentation of comparative items and client disappointment. On the off chance that one is quick in spotting openings and dangers before others, he stands a superior chance to grow their piece of the overall industry. This, thusly, invigorates your organizations creation, which could prompt expanded benefit. The following stage towards discovering openings is the thorough appraisal of the nearby market territory. Here, one needs to utilize financial and segment measurements to assist them with deciding the business potential that the market oe is planning to serve holds. These insights should be contrasted and those from different areas so the business visionary can evaluate the quality the market region has. Break down your market territory by first characterizing its geographic size. Also, get information on the demography of your cut out territory. These remember information for the period of a great many people in the territory, their instruction level, sexual orientation just as their degree of pay. As a rule, there will be different firms who entered the market before one does. They are, accordingly, wellsprings of rivalry. In any case, from the union of the substance of what we shrouded in the principal week, I comprehend that similar contenders could also be rich wellsprings of important data that could assist one with breaking down market openings and request. Discovering openings likewise implies evaluating your rivals shortcomings and qualities just as learning structure their accomplishments and disappointments. Getting new clients is one the very pinnacle of joys that organizations brag of. Most business ventures are progressively centered around the procurement of new clients than moving in the direction of opening the estimation of the current clients. It is astounding what number of organizations neglect to consider the current clients as the most important assetsPreviously, I accepted that genuine benefits originated from new clients since all organizations drudged to enlist new clients, paying little heed to their present client base. In any case,, after the conversation of the second weeks point on clients and their worth, I presently understand that the business existing clients are the wellspring of its genuine benefits. Getting another client is far much exorbitant than managing a current one. For a business to open the estimation of its clients, it must welcome that clients are its most valuable resource. They, in this manner, should be dealt with a similar way one treats gold. Issues that current clients raise ought to be managed before those of forthcoming clients. Clients should be furnished with results of high caliber that fulfill their necessities. I have discovered that clients are a rich wellspring of important data, in the event that they are tuned in to and regarded. At the point when I begin utilizing my innovative abilities sooner rather than later, Ill tune in and have regard for my clients. This will be so in light of the fact that I comprehend that this will empower me cut down on the expense of testing new items in the market. Clients can be held by utilization of outstanding client care methodology. Customizing reactions with respect to client requests is likewise a useful asset for developing client reliability and altruism. This may be tedious, yet the awards of steady utilization of these apparatuses are much far more noteworthy. In rundown, clients are a business most important resource, and the more a business cares for its main resources, the gainful it is probably going to get. Purchase custom Opportunities Existing in the Market exposition

The Junior Spring Line-Up, Part 1 Classes

The Junior Spring Line-Up, Part 1 Classes Last year, my class sizes were on the order of 100, 50, 60, and 20. This year, my class sizes are roughly 5, 6, 8, 6, and 25. Im learning to read and pronounce Middle English, writing pieces on radio astronomy for my Science Writing class, taking field trips to MITs Wallace Observatory to look through telescopes and sketch constellations, learning about our solar system, and getting a broad introduction to the universe using quantum physics and thermodynamics. Three of my professors have Wikipedia pages, and one just published a book. One has a function named after him. In college, I think its important to take classes that are special, in addition to classes that are useful which isnt to say that useful classes cant be special. My astrophysics class is, for example, very useful and very special. But I want to start by introducing a class that isnt so obviously useful but is probably one of the most special classes Im going to take as an undergraduate. Without further ado, Im taking: 21L.460 Medieval Literature: Chaucer Arthur Bahr. What a man. First of all, his last name is an anagram of h-bar. Second of all, he is officially a Medievalist; he is versed in Old English, Latin, Old French, Old Norse, Middle Welsh*, and Greek. *Did NOT know that that was A Thing. This semester, hes teaching a class on Chaucer, as well as a class on C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. I didnt know he was teaching the former, and signed up for the latter along with half of MIT, because how could anyone resist a syllabus that includes Beowulf, The Hobbit, The Magicians Nephew, and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe? Before the first class, I went to a Burchard Scholars reception, where I identified Prof. Bahr by his nametag and introduced myself. He told me about his plans for CS Lewis/Tolkien, then about his plans for the Chaucer class. I was sold. This goes back to what I was saying about taking classes that are special: this is a chance to read Medieval texts significant, milestone-in-western-culture Medieval texts with a Medievalist. In the original Middle English. If I picked up Troilus and Criseyde without Arthur Bahr to guide me, I wouldnt get anything out of it. On the other hand, The Hobbit is pretty accessible. Also, it turns out that Arthur Bahr carries around course materials with him everywhere he goes. Wait here! he said, and disappeared to the back of the room. When he returned, he piled  a Middle English glossary, a poem by Chaucer in the original Middle English, a translation of the first few hundred lines of Chaucers Troilus and Criseyde, and a syllabus (written, to my surprise and great relief, in modern English) into my arms. Woah. There are six of us in this class, and it is not for the faint-hearted. For each session, we read hundreds of lines of Troilus and Criseyde in the original Middle English. Each class begins with a short quiz, to test our grasp of the language (Middle English grammatical structure is more flexible than modern English grammatical structure, which means that the sentence subject can acquire a lot of distance from the verb. Connecting verbs to subjects can get VERY confusing.) After Troilus and Criseyde, were reading the Canterbury Tales, also in Middle English (AHHHHHH SO EXCITING) My favorite passage from Troilus and Criseyde so far: Ye knowe ek that in forme of speche is chaunge Withinne a thousand yeer, and wordes tho That hadden pris, now wonder nyce and straunge Us thinketh hem, and yet thei spake hem so (I.22-25) 21W.777 The Science Essay Personally, I think that every scientist should be forced to take a science writing class. Learning to communicate your work to the layperson is doing a great service not only to your specific field, but to all of science. It speaks volumes that an institution like MIT has a masters program in Science Writing. The co-director, Seth Mnookin, recently interviewed Nate Silver when he came to MIT. All those pictures Michael has of Nate Silver waving his arms? Seth was a foot away, sitting at the table with him, wearing he same clothes he wore to our class that day. Seth also teaches my Science Essay class. And has a Wikipedia page. Anyway, there are five people in this class; we discuss the reading (highlights have included this, this, and this), discuss each others writing, or workshop our own pieces. I recently wrote a few pages about radio astronomy, for example, for the My Science assignment. Thats because my major is physics, my minor is astronomy, and my research interests are in: 8.284 Modern Astrophysics On the first day of class, Paul Schechter (the professor) said this may be the first subject for you for which physics is not the subject. The idea: most of us in that room are physics majors, and are used to taking physics class in which the purpose is for us to learn more physics. In this class, the purpose is for us to learn astronomy: physics is a tool. Paul Schechter has a function named for him, and has been teaching the class for longer than Ive known what a function was. Some of the astronomers that I spoke to at the AAS conference took the class with him when they were undergraduates, and went on to become professional astronomers; Prof. Schechter says he sees us all as potential future colleagues. Its not a class that you can glean from a textbook; the syllabus says that no single text covers the material of 8.284. The treatments for each major topichave been appropriated from a large variety of sources. The following list of texts covers most, but not all, of the material covered in this subject. A list of 17 textbooks follows. So far, weve covered various coordinate systems (my brain has a REALLY hard time with astronomical coordinate systems), stellar distances, stellar magnitudes, Keplers Laws and their application to binary star systems, the mass-luminosity relation, and are launching into stellar structure. Each of our problem sets requires us to write scripts in a programming language of our choice, which I appreciate one cannot practically hope to become an astronomer (or a physicist) without knowing how to code. This weeks problem set has us solve the Lane-Emden equation for a polytrope of index 3, by coding a 4th order Runge-Kutta method; if that sounds a little scary to you, know that it sounds even scarier to me, because my solution will get graded. To my delight, my theoretical training in astrophysics is balanced by: 12.409 Hands-On Astronomy: Observing Stars and Planets The professor, Amanda Bosh, was an undergrad at MIT. She took this class, with a man well call Mr. Bosh, for reasons I will let you determine. She then went on to TA this class, also as an undergrad, with another physics major in her year: my current  UROP supervisor, who (according to Prof. Bosh) currently holds the Fastest Drive Time to Wallace Observatory. When my UROP supervisor took Junior Lab (which I took last semester a ritual for all MIT physics majors), he was lab partners with Mr. Bosh. And surprise surprise: Amanda Bosh and Mr. Bosh ended up getting married. When Prof. Bosh told me all this,  we were in the van, driving (very safely) back from Wallace Observatory. It was past midnight, and my brain basically exploded. I still have a hard time getting my head around HOW ADORABLE THAT STORY IS. And lets be real: there is something romantic about hands-on astronomy. We drive for about an hour, out of Boston and through the (snowy, this time of year) woods, before pulling into a sideroad that leads to the observatory buildings. Last time, we went inside, got a tour of the facility (THE TELESCOPES ARE SO BEAUTIFUL), then walked out to receive a tour of the sky: all the constellations, with the naked eye and through binoculars. I managed to spot Jupiters moons (you can see them with a strong pair of binoculars.) We then sat by ourselves in silence for about an hour, sketching the sky as astronomers have been doing for millennia. After that, we went back inside, made hot chocolate, polished up our sketches, and drove back to MIT. On the nights we dont go to Wallace, we go up to the roof and use smaller telescopes. Last week, our reading was about constellation mythology. I talked to Prof. Schechter, and we agreed that if graduate school doesnt work out, a solid backup plan is to give constellation mythology tours in Grand Central Station, dressed like a Greek muse. 12.400 The Solar System Professor Richard Binzel  wears a different astronomy tie to each lecture. Hes also a fantastic lecturer; the subject material isnt particularly mathematically challenging, but its a wonderful survey of planetary science that I wouldnt have otherwise. He was a guest on the NYTimes a couple of weeks ago, when the meteor hit Siberia. Last class, he told us about a meteor that was used to determine the age of the solar system: the oldest rock known. He then said and here it is! and seemingly brandished it out of thin air. While the 25 or so of us gaped at him, he unwrapped it carefully, then passed it around the room. It was the same shape as a round loaf of bread when you saw it in half: one flat, smooth edge, and a rough round exterior. The flat face was speckled grey, yellow, and pink: bubbles caused by extremely high temperatures, I think. From the flat rocky side, one would not be able to distinguish it from your average hunk of granite. Im busy this semester. My brain and attention is stretched thin, across my classes and dorm politics, across teaching and blogging and research. But its of huge help to my sanity that I wake up every morning, excited to attend every single one of my classes.