Archive for 2013

So was your PhD like this, too?

Gurus, who, I trust you know, are Indian teachers, expect you to contemplate the acorn ten years at a stretch, and if, in that time, you are no wiser about the nut, you are not very bright, and that may be the only certainty with which you will come away, which is a post-graduate melancholy—for […]

While you’re waiting for the bus

Stuff worth reading Why YouTube buffers: The secret deals that make—and break—online video. “Verizon has chosen to sell its customers a product that they hope those customers don’t actually use” Science to be key factor in lawsuit against oil and gas companies for coastal loss Long term monitoring is important for science – and good […]

As if she had once owned the earth

The landlady had always been impressed with the ability to pay. When she found a stream of wealth, she followed it to its source and before long, it was not distinguishable from her own. She felt that the money she paid out in taxes returned to all the worthless pockets in the world, that the […]

Same old, same old

June and July look just the same, but July felt better. The pain was less intense and my mood better. I’ll take what improvements I can get. If you’re paying close attention to these graphs, you’ll notice that the numbers for September – December are higher than they were in previous versions. That’s because I […]

Staying on the tenure track when you probably won’t get tenure

Sometimes I worry that I shouldn’t be in graduate school, that because my migraines may make the standard tenure track job impossible for me, I should be pursuing something else. But I’ve watched so many talented friends flounder for months or years on the job market working soul sucking jobs with employers who think you […]

Bulbs from my mother

From 3QD: What the Old Woman Said I will tell you this. There was a garden by the pump. Fallow land given me. My father built flowerbeds. Offshoots of paths. Geometric patterns. Cuttings. Bulbs from my mother. The texture of earth. Stone. The smell of water. I could grow anything. I will tell you this. […]