PhD struggle

So here I am, done with all classes with one thing left to do. Write my PhD thesis. But first things first. I sort of have to know what I want to write about. And that's where the struggle starts. There is a lot interesting thiings to work on in the area of Search and Indexing, and there is a lot of things that are of interest to me. The only problem is that when working full-time, it is very hard to do something that lies completely outside your line of work. It is always better to be able to combine what you are doing at work with your thesis topic. And that's the challenge. Additionally, there is the challenge of keeping the thesis work in the foreground. The way it goes right now for me, that work is always the first thing to be pushed back and that I need to change. There is ways though to buy myself more time ... ;-). Check out the image below which is hosted at www.phdcomics.com:
"Piled Higher and Deeper" by Jorge Cham www.phdcomics.com

Less than 1 month from now ...

... the greatest sports tournament in the World will kick off with the opening match between Germany and Costa Rica. Of course, I am talking about Soccer World Cup 2006, held in Germany from June 9th until July 9th. If you have never watched a soccer world cup, do it this year. And don't get discouraged by a few low scoring games in the preliminary rounds where there are groups of four teams playing each other once. The best two team of each group advance to the next round, which is knock-out playoff style. That's where the fun begins. Give it a try. I am excited and can't wait for it to start.

Go Sharks, Baby!!!

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Originally uploaded by jmeyer.

It's hockey playoff time. Today, my buddy Chris and I went to see the first game of the Western Conference Semifinals between the San Jose Sharks and the Edmonton Oilers. The Sharks won 2:1 on a goal by Patrick Marleau and the game winner (a rocket of a shot) by Christian Ehrhoff. Playoff games are so much fun, let's hope the Sharks make it to the next round ... We had a really good time, and beers were only $7.50 for the good stuff ...