Maria

Is anyone here going to ESA, and if so would you be interested in doing the ecology themed escape room with me?

I assume they still have some descendants in Germany, maybe in the areas of Spain and France they took over too

Looked into it and turns out I'm poor enough for a premium tax credit, hooray! Thanks Obama!

a man in a tie says " i gotta get out of here " ALT: a man in a tie says " i gotta get out of here "

Looked up ACA plans (because $21k makes me too wealthy for TennCare and the university doesn't offer health insurance) and I'm just going to have to be uninsured for 3 years. Cannot afford to pay the premiums even with the highest deductible plans.

The dean of academics for my college is another example - I think the undergrads lack foundational knowledge because only one semester of biology OR chemistry is required (for ag majors w/ conc. in env sci), yet she's focused on everyone making a linkedin profile.

Has anyone else noticed a pattern of students and administrators overemphasizing networking? It's not just a lack of technical skills, even soft skills are lacking; I have an intern this summer who hasn't given me any reason to write a good letter of rec and yet is focused on networking.

Since culture is part of it, I wonder how much environmental good could be done if Pope Leo reinstated fasts from red meat every Friday for Catholics. If just half comply that's still 700 million fewer red meat meals a week.

I had a field tech from Smith College and she was great. Super organized, on top of things, could be left in charge of other undergrads. Big fan of their students!

a cat is crawling up a set of wooden stairs and the caption says so tired ALT: a cat is crawling up a set of wooden stairs and the caption says so tired

I wish the grad school would tell us what needs to be fixed when they send back thesis formatting revisions. Instead they just say "revisions needed" and attach the formatting handbook

We had them in early July here in Tennessee

All I want for Christmas is for the grad school administrators at my university to write clear instructions or to pick up the phone. These clowns won't even respond to emails from students unless you CC faculty. They make me think an EdD actually makes you less qualified to work in education.

Maybe after this era is over we should put the private prison execs on trial for their crimes against people. Nuremburg pt. II

Not mad, just wishing that bureaucratic issues like software bugs didn't make my job more difficult.

Did you know that Enterprise's roadside assistance uses different software than the rental service? That's why they accused me of not being a customer and refused to send help. I had to hitchhike in the back of a pickup with my undergrad and all our equipment. The park ranger also never showed up.

Is it just me or has NPR lost their ability to critique the current administration? The last couple months of coverage have felt off.

My future father-in-law referred to the destruction of the sciences in this country as "a necessary restructuring". I'm not one to argue, but he shouldn't be surprised I'm taking his son to live in another country (and the wedding will be in Ecuador, where the majority of my family lives).

My hometown has quite the cottage industry around thimbleberry jam, people are quite protective of their harvest locations. Go to Keweenaw county, Michigan if you want to find them (you can find them in the rest of the UP too)

Thimbleberries?

I think the main point is the sacrifice, which makes no sense for me as someone who doesn't like meat. My favorite meal is rice and lentils but that would seem like an act of penance to people who eat steak

Tip for undergrad techs - if you have a complaint, address it with your supervisor first. Going straight to the dean of academics to file a formal complaint before talking to anyone in the lab is how you get fired (because no one wants to employ a tattle-tale).

I really liked China's rail system when I visited Beijing and Shanghai in 2010, and from what I've read there's been a lot of expansion and improvement since then! I'd love to return to visit Gansu and Anhui provinces (and travel around via train)

I wonder how much we could reduce emissions by having inter-city trains in the US. A lot of people will fly to destinations that are more than a ~5 hour drive, seems like a perfect place for trains to reduce flights

There won't be any postdocs for me here, I need to leave the country once I graduate. Hopefully things will get better and I can come back to help rebuild once we have an administration that likes scientists

I know exactly one Albertan. He immigrated to Nashville, TN and claims that he is a "refugee of medical persecution" because his Canadian employer fired him for refusing to get vaccinated. So... I assume the Albertans that are like him think it's okay

I was just in Paris a couple weeks ago and it is beautiful. My mom said it's much cleaner than when she visited in 1990!

Pumped for ESA this year, I have a colorful schedule for every waking moment of the week and a system for notes/business cards/reading recommendations. Hope to see some of y'all in Baltimore!

Volunteering with a kids' summer program this week and it turns out they are unpredictable. I planned a fun activity for them involving dry beans and they ended up throwing them at each other.

I don't care what Laura "feed undesirables to the alligators" Loomer has to say about anything. In fact, her disdain for a political candidate is a ringing endorsement of their morality.

I'm so ready to be done with field work. Very jealous of anyone who doesn't have to get dozens of ticks and get soaked to the bone for data.

Just another way for him to go after academics. All he has to do is say that their research is fraud