I'm famous!

Greetings one and all, I apologize for the delay in posts I've been rather busy, particularly getting ready for an upcoming presentation to the monthly meeting of the UPC analysis group (UPC = Ultra Peripheral Collisions, a type of collision between atomic nuclii where they miss, but are close enough that they still interact via electromagnetic forces). I've been struggling to debug a macro that will draw a nice pretty picture for me to use in the UPC meeting and that will, eventually, be the foundation of my thesis. First I have to get it working...

The basic problem is that there are two types of data files that we use here: ESD files and AOD files. Don't ask me what they stand for because for all I know they are secret code for secret things hidden subliminally in the file once you convert it to binary and play it backwards while watching the Wizard of Oz (I buried ALICE...). Anyway, ESD files are the broad, all encompassing data files that are produced by the ALICE DQM (Data Quality Management) team from the raw data that comes off the detector. AOD files are more distilled and compact, having more events (data produced when two particles collide) in them but focusing on certain types of data.

The macro I'm editing was written for ESD files and I'm trying to make it work for AOD files. Apparently two different groups of people wrote the software for ESDs and AODs without documenting things much for either kind of file and yet failed to make AOD related functions do the same thigns as ESD related functions, or sometimes it has a different name, or sometimes the link to what little information there IS on the code is broken... Grrr.

As anyone who has tried to teach themselves something that was written by scientists for themselves then posted "for the convenience of others" online can attest to, scientists are terrible, TERRIBLE, when it comes to both introductions, and moving smoothly from simple to complex. Its like they forgot every feeling of frustration that THEY once had on these lines when they were learning similar things when they were me. That and they all work 80 hour weeks at their normal jobs and have no time.

Anyway, that's pretty much what I'm up to: working on this so I can go be the center of attention for a while in front of people who will likely tear my presentation up one side and down the other while offering helpful suggestions I dont understand and may not be relevant to what I'll be doing. The things I do for attention... And a Master's degree.

Oh, and speaking of being the center of attention, the article has been published!

http://alicematters.web.cern.ch/focusonjamesross is where it's at. Check it out!
Until next time!
Caio