My Model

I have been spending the majority of my free time working on my model lately. My model, as I regularly refer to it, is a laterally averaged finite difference model that simulates the hydrothermal performance of approximately 300 miles of the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers. FASCINATING, I know. It is not really my model at all, it was developed by USACE and is a project I am completing for another pseudo-government agency; however I've spent enough hours customizing this one that I will continue to refer to it as my model indefinitely.

While I consider myself a relatively sane person most of the time; I believe that spending so much time with my model may have secured a ticket for me on the Acela to crazy town. Please allow me to explain...

The model I am using in the published and supported format has a very nice graphical user interface (GUI - "gooey"); however, the project I am working on required modifications to the source code (FORTRAN...yay!) that were not compatible with the GUI. SO...the executable now appears as a DOS window and requires basic knowledge of command line (yay! again). As if the little black window and antiquated code weren't enough, there are no fewer than 20 input files with thousands of data points in F8 format. My worst nightmare lately is a stray comma...last week a ":" that appeared in place of a "." cost me no less than 45 minutes.

SO...why do I believe the product of gooey punctuation and the brainchildren of Backus and Paterson is causing my mental demise? I regularly find myself staring at the DOS window as it scrolled through a year in 55 second increments and attempting to will it to produce better results. I also made an argument to a coworker today as to why the only thing more useful than calculus is differential equations. If you happen to see me roaming Vanderbilt's campus with a cup of coffee in one hand, grungy t-shirt, and tattered jeans...no worries, that's just how I role lately. However, if for any reason, I seem to suddenly FORTRAN, DOS, and GUIs...seek help immediately for I have surely gone from a little nerdy to completely insane.