Polymath1976

Well, that certainly wasn't worth a five-month wait. I got jack shit. I particularly like the text in the winners' notifications: "This award is based on your abilities and accomplishments as well as your potential to contribute to strengthening the vitality of the U.S. science and engineering enterprise." I guess I have none of those qualities. I should defect to another country. Screw this award. Seriously, though, congratulations to all the winners. You bastards.

I've got nothing. It was a bluff.

Well, then yakiguri is full of roasted chestnuts.

I think "yakiguri" is Japanese for "bullshit artist."

The announcement time must be near, for the circle is complete: Friar Tuck and Blackbeard are about to face off!

I'm also loving the GIFs. The one with Riker was particularly great. Also, "do ye a mischief" is my new favorite expression. As for the stress of this week (exams, assignments, presentations, taxes, NSF) ...

This looks like it could be a good back-of-the-envelope Fermi problem: an order-of-magnitude handicapping of award odds.

Yes, p-nut has the details in the post a few items up.

My guess is that what you saw refers to the GRE subject test scores. If the NSF pays for the test, you can't use the scores in grad-school applications until after that date.

Exactly. This is a beauty pageant, of sorts. Those who are cut in the first round can go home, get drunk, and lick their wounds. Those who make it to later rounds would have at least some consolation of having survived the first cut, even if the end result is not what was hoped for.

I do not have the least bit of animosity toward the NSF staff. I understand that the holdup is due to budget issues. But you may have misread the point of that earlier post. We would not rather be rejected than wait. Rather, for those who were never in the running, the merciful thing might be to let them know. I also understand that it's not the way it works, though. I certainly won't be pulling my application, because it very well could win. I hope it does. But if it never had a shot, the extra waiting

I hope your winning and helpful attitude came across in your application.

I second that.

Sorry for the delay the nebulous wording. By "get stuffed," I meant "you lose." I applied for the GRFP last year as a grad-school applicant, and I really didn't know what I was doing. I can't even make myself read last year's application. They were completely justified in not rewarding it with anything. This year I felt much better about it, but then I fell into deep doubt about my chances. I decided that it was hopeless, which at least conditioned me for whatever news will come. I have been less successful trying to convince myself that I no longer care about the award, though, since I can't reconcile that attitude with the fact that I have been haunting this message board every day for the past two weeks. I'm happy that the attention of Friar Tuck was attracted earlier. I feel much better knowing that he and the other Merry Men are keeping the forest of Nottingham safe for the rest of us.

For those tracking this sort of thing, I got my "get stuffed" e-mail at 1:32 p.m. PT on 2 April 2008.