Well, since Mini insists, I suppose I’ll spare time for an update.
Life in Lincoln has been OK, aside from the random old woman who ran a red light and hit my car last week as I was making a left turn. The accident was completely her fault, and she acknowledged that, which helps, but doesn’t change the fact that I am currently missing a back bumper and will be without my car for three days next week as it is repaired. It has all contributed to a general feeling of stress, which, truth be told, I do not need more of.
I am now a Mac owner, too. I have been using a sweet black MacBook for a week, and I can’t understand why I never got a Mac before. It’s wonderful. I think Courtney is sick of hearing me gush about it, though. Can’t figure out why…. 
And now, onto what possibly only two of my readers care about: school. After thinking about it some more, I decided to go with the intro-level graduate algebra survey course (which uses the book by Dummit and Foote). I’m not completely sure I made the right decision in doing so, though. In general, I’m just really bored in the course, probably ’cause I had a great algebra prep at the U-dot (thanks, Jack!). Nevertheless, there are some things on the algebra qual syllabus that I haven’t seen, and it will be nice to be able to ease into graduate school this way, I think. So far, it’s the type of homework I can basically figure out in one setting (always with a problem or two thrown in there that’s just tricky). Analysis is just stupid. We constructed the real numbers in terms of decimal expansions…what the junk? It really was an example of the ugly side of math. Again, it’s been all review so far (and should be for most of the semester). Topology is the one normal course I’m taking that I have very little experience in (most of it came at IMMERSE, too). So far it’s going OK. About half of each of the first two assignments fell together nicely, and the other half presented more problems. But again, it’s wonderful to have other students to talk to to bounce ideas off and work through stickier situations with. The final course was actually just set today–it’s a reading course in commutative algebra and algebraic geometry, using “Introduction to Commutative Algebra and Algebraic Geometry” by Ernst Kunz. It will be neat to be pressing on in commutative algebra while I’m stuck re-learning what a permutation group is. All told, it’s eleven credit hours, and no teaching duties for the first year. School is stressful, for sure, but I’m surviving thus far.
I’ll see you all in five years. 
Sounds like a good time! Hopefully you’ll enjoy topology as much as I did – good stuff! Will you be taking algebraic topology at some point?
And I just want to point out that I am jealous that UNL’s analysis qualifier is over material that is more “elementary” than ISU’s (i.e. mostly stuff that is assume knowledge for our analysis courses). I’m surprised they don’t have Lebesgue measure/integration/etc on the exam. What’s up with that? Is your analysis course going to cover measure theory, etc?
Yeah, algebraic topology is the focus of the second semester of this year-long course, so I’ll get into that next semester, I do believe.
At UNL, there are two levels of exams that need to be passed in the first few years–the qualifying exam, and the comprehensive exam. We have to take three quals (2 of 3 from analysis, algebra, and applied math), and they can be over a wide range of topics. I’ll do algebra/analysis/topology, but some friends are doing combinatorics and discrete math, ODEs, etc. The comps are more focused in your area, so I think I’ll be able to skate by without doing an analysis comp…I think. I know one of my comps will be in the next level of algebra, and while I could satisfy the comp requirement by taking exams in the next level of algebra and analysis, I can also do it by taking the next level of algebra and then another, more specialized exam covering things that I’ll need to know for research and things.
So I’m hoping that this year’s analysis course will be my last formal analysis course, and it will end with the qual in June.
As far as Lebesgue measure/integration, the syllabus seems to say “no”. I guess that’s for the 900-level analysis course. In some sense that feels like cheating, but hey–I don’t really like analysis all that much.
I’ll just do lots of algebra and topology….
Man, if you get a Ph.D. in Mathematics without ever studying measure & integration theory hardcore………….I will be angry. It’s actually not that bad.
Hadn’t realized your blog moved. Looks nice!
Welcome to the Mac world. It is a wonderful, wonderful place. I’m actually considering adding a Mac Mini to the fleet as my secondary computer at my workstation.
Yeah, you’re not the only one who didn’t realize it moved. I like the new setup a lot better. Like my Mac…
Since this is your Mac post, you might find this icon funny. I find it hilarious.