Don’t you just love it when
admin January 25th, 2008
That guy who passes you just to run the red light immediately gets pulled over? Me too!
Archive for January, 2008
Heath Ledger is dead
admin January 23rd, 2008
Wow. I can’t believe it. He seemed so normal and promising and he has a small child. This is so sad. I don’t know why I am taking this so personally. Maybe, maybe I think that if something awful can happen to someone like him, it can happen to any of us.
Looking back – common grad school questions from a science perspective part 1
admin January 23rd, 2008
Since I should soon be finishing up my time in graduate school, I thought I’d impart a little of the knowledge I had to learn along the way. These are some common questions I often answer for graduate students attending recruitment events at my university. I am always very honest with them, and fortunately, many decide to come back.
1. How do I decide on a good university?
Reputation matters in grad school. All other factors being equal, many students find great success by going to the most highly recognized university in a highly recognized lab. This is especially true if you want to go into research in academia or in a large company afterward. Of course there are several factors which can completely negate the positives of a big name school. If you hate the school or the location or your advisor or what you are doing, then the biggest name might not be the best. But, if you really have no idea of where to go, name does matter on the resume, even more so than for undergraduates. Also, you are not there to learn in the same way you were as an undergraduate. Students can end up in bad situations at any university, but if you end up in a bad situation in a top university at least you will still have a respected name on your degree. Finally, it does not always correlate but there tend to be reasons why particular schools and labs are highly regarded. They usually are doing something right. If you are not there to later go into research and only want to dive deeper into a beloved topic or have some other strong reason to go to a lesser known school, then this consideration is not as important. Rarely though do I hear people from top schools wishing they had gone elsewhere, whereas in my experience the opposite occurs with some frequency.
Also, make sure that either the advisor you want has already accepted you, or the department has plenty of people and projects that interest you. Many students are surprised after arriving that their favorite lab is not currently taking students, or even worse, just not taking them. Some labs do not accept masters students. Ask how interdisciplinary the department is. If you don’t find something you like there, can you easily transfer to another lab in another department? Also ask about the people you will be working with. Are the staff helpful? Staff are commonly overlooked but are integral to your graduate success. Do the school and department have plenty of money? How well is the equipment maintained? How will you be paid? Do the students seem enthusiastic about their work or about ready to jump off a building? Depression is quite common in graduate school. Are there study abroad opportunities (yes, these do exist in grad school)? How many students are on welfare? – This is way too common. What kind of health insurance does the school provide? What are the steps to qualification for your degree?
2. How do I decide on an advisor?
This is probably the most important decision that you will make in your grad school career. Your advisor is more important than your project. You need to make sure that you have a good personal and professional relationship with your advisor. The best way to find out about a potential advisor is to ask her grad students pointed questions away from the lab or behind closed doors. You need to know the answers to questions like: What kind and how much funding does she have? What is her management style? Are you glad you chose this lab? What do you like best/least? Where are the students going after graduation? How well does the advisor represent the students and the lab to the world? How many high quality publications does the lab produce? How collaborative is the lab? Are there any social lab activities? How many post-docs does the lab have? How is paper authorship determined? How many first-author papers do the other graduate students have? Does the advisor pay for students to attend conferences? How many days/hours is the advisor in her office, in the lab? What kind of space is there for me? What kind of equipment and equipment access do I have? Is the professor personable? How does the rest of the department view this professor? Are the graduate students happy? Are there favorites? How long does it usually take to graduate? How large is the lab in terms of members? How many members are forecasted for the future? How does the advisor assign projects, and who will be there to help me? Does the advisor have any plans to leave before my time is over? Am I interested enough in this work to devote several years of my life to it? If I get bored, how easily can I change topics?
Also look for warning signs like fast or steady decrease in the number of lab members, any members losing funding, or stressed out graduate students consistently there in the wee morning hours when it doesn’t seem necessary.
Make sure that you get opinions from several students and post-docs in other labs too. Ask both experienced and new members. Sometimes the new are overly enthusiastic. Sometimes the old are tired and bitter. If you can contact former students, this might also be a good idea. And of course, talk to your potential advisor. Be very open and honest about your interests and potential. Ask about what projects you would be working on. Be polite, but don’t be afraid. This is your chance to get to know this person. Make sure that their idea of you is equally accurate.
Coming soon:
3. Should I get a masters first?
4. Should I go straight into grad school or take some time off first?
5. Should I go to grad school or try to get a job?
6. Should I apply for this fellowship?
7. How do I become successful in graduate school?
8. How do I maintain a good relationship with my advisor?
9. What are some things you wish you had done?
10. What are some things you wish you hadn’t done?
11. Would you do it again?
Probe your subconscious
admin January 23rd, 2008
These tests claim to probe your automatic tendencies. I find this very interesting. Although one of the great things about human intelligence is that it allows us to overcome such tendencies, it is still instructive to know that they exist.
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/
Look that cute piggy porkchop in the eye
admin January 18th, 2008
It is my firm belief that if every piece of meat came with a picture of the animal, or the facility, it came from, if people actually listened to the information about how terrible the practices in the meat industry are, if people knew how smart pigs are, or how sweet cows are, or how much chickens suffer, our consumption would dramatically decrease. If you can not look that animal in the eye, and then kill it, you shouldn’t be eating it just because someone else made it easier. I am so glad that some people with good publicity are doing just that. If you can’t take it, don’t eat the meat. And really, who is really human who isn’t disturbed by something like this?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/dining/16anim.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
(Thank you to Michelle at http://mihow.com)
PS
admin January 18th, 2008
Oh! I totally forget the BEST part of the second trimester: THE SEX. So much wonderful horny no birth control spontaneous any time sex. Every day hot lubed self-initiated steamy wonderful wild loud fulfilling sex. And the boobs. The bigger fuller rounder bouncier boobs get much appreciation during the sex. And during the day, for that matter.
How could I have forgotten about that? Damn.
And this is why this blog is anonymous.
1st trimester down
admin January 18th, 2008
So I am beginning my second trimester and I thought I’d reflect a little about my pregnancy for anyone who might be interested. I know I read many of these stories before deciding to reproduce myself.
Some resources say that women “just know” when they are pregnant. I was not one of those women. The only thing that might have clued me in was a passing thought that I seemed to have to pee more than usual. But then I figured it was just me drinking more liquids or my body figuring out that it could pee whenever it wanted to when I was at home. Really, I also didn’t really think that I could get pregnant the first month of trying. I had heard that the average was 6 months, and I had friends who had been trying a few months already. Plus, I knew one girl who got pregnant the first time, and I figured it was like knowing someone who won the lottery. The chances of winning after knowing someone who has won are so small, you might as well stop playing.
So, when I peed on that stick (I recommend First Response) and I got a faint line, my husband cautioned me not to get my hopes up, and so I didn’t. It turns out that I was testing too early. It also turns out that any line is a positive line. Because of all this caution and the faintness of the line, I never got to have that “Holy shit I’m pregnant guess what honey we’re pregnant woohhooo I can’t believe it” moment. And, I’m sorry I missed that. I realize now that I was looking forward to that moment.
My first symptoms were excessive peeing and cramps. I really don’t think I pee as often now as I did the first trimester, although on a long hike both me and the hubby can be seen scouting for good secluded spots at least twice before we get back. At least now I only make one middle-of-the-night run instead of the previous minimum two. Cramps are also normal as your insides grow and shift and shouldn’t be a concern unless they are very painful and accompany blood. All of this I read online. God bless WebMD.
I was hoping that being young and healthy the “morning” sickness would pass me by. It didn’t, but I have to say that it was light compared to other people I know. My worst moments were puking in the car, and having to jump out of the shower so that I didn’t puke in there. I think I still have plastic bags stashed all over the house and the car for that reason. What helped me the most was taking the vitamin just before I went to sleep at night (no more nasty vitamin burps or pukes – shudder) and NEVER getting hungry. I ate as soon as I woke up, and then at every sign of hunger after that. I kept snacks in the car, in my office, and next to the bed. I ate small amounts frequently. And I didn’t let myself get too tired. If I thought that 8 PM was too early to go to bed, my retching reminded me that it was not. I must mention that through all of this my husband was wonderful, often heading out late at night to get me something that I thought I could eat, or forgoing nice restaurant meals for ordering-in at home.
Let me also mention that at this point you might be feeling so bad all the time that you start to get angry at the source of your sickness – the baby. I certainly did. I couldn’t drink or eat many things I wanted to, and here I was sick all the time because of this damned baby. The best thing to treat this, I found, is an ultrasound picture. Little fetal babies are just so cute, especially YOUR little fetal baby.
By week 10-11 this phase was mostly over. It feels great, other than the annoying stabbing pain in the side, that apparently is my uterus pulling away from the inner wall (fun!). I am enjoying this trimester as I still look normal and I hear that the third comes with its own annoyances. The two things that still annoy me are my inability to drink wine or cocktails (grr) and my inability to run. Many of my friends have 5Ks, 10Ks and triathlons coming up and according to my heart rate, I can’t join in. Apparently even good hikes are dangerous. Even though apparently the 140 heart rate limit is no longer the standard, my pulse timings are telling me I’m near 180 on the easiest jogs, and that is not allowed. So, walking and weight excercises are it. Fortunately, my body seems to be OK, and I have not gained any weight. I am even a little worried about my lack of weight gain while at the same time happy that I am in my normal clothes. It will happen soon enough, I’m sure.
I know every person is different and every pregnancy is different too, but perhaps more of these personal stories will help people figure out their own bodies, and their own willingness to sacrifice it a little to grow this baby thing. I have the utmost respect for women who decide not to have kids. So far though, I’m glad I didn’t.
Energy Conservation
admin January 16th, 2008
Today is COLD. And all I want to do is curl up with something warm to drink and read. Unfortunately, that is pretty much what I have done all morning. Somehow I am thinking that reading Science and New Scientist does not count as thesis prep.
Thesis Reality Hits
admin January 14th, 2008
Wait! Did I think I had a whole SEMESTER to get my dissertation writing and defending done? “Semester” sounds so long and nice, doesn’t it? Apparently you have to get things to people a little before the institute deadlines, and apparently the institute wants them before you actually graduate (crazy! I know). So my “semester” = 2 months. Oh, and all those other projects I was working on, yeah, I need to still do those too. Ahh!