Sunday, August 29, 2010

Whether you're a long-time LabSpaces devotee or have only recently stumbled upon our magical bloggy world, we know you're here because you expect nothing but the highest quality science news, advice, and thought-provoking opinion. True to form, we began this week with an intense and important discussion, one into which few other blogging collectives would dare dip even their pinky toes:



But lest you think we do nothing around here but hotly debate incredibly complex and relevant issues, let me assure you that we take ample time as well to help each other out in times of need. For example, when Gerty-Z had a mild new-TT freak-out, Odyssey stepped up and wrote her (and other probably freaking-out n00bs) a great response. So chock-full of wisdom was Odyssey's post that Gerty immediately collected herself and paid it forward with a post bursting with advice for the likes of Dr. O and myself--those on the TT job market. The great ideas there may or may not have then inspired Dr. O to take it another step with a post to benefit younger post-docs who are applying for a K99 award. Do not put that shit off!!! Holly even gets in on all the helpfulness with some great tips on how to track down some cash to get that startup...erm, started up! Looking back at this beautiful chain of goodwill, it would appear that I'm the jerk who failed to keep things going. Let's move on then, shall we?

Lab Mom wrote of the great gender imbalance in dinosaur camp, and wondered whether parents weren't pushing their young daughters toward science as much as they should. This blossomed into a nano-carnival of sorts, with follow-ups from Disgruntled Julie, who suggested that we may in fact be pushing our girls too much into physical sciences (be sure to check out the excellent comments) and Catherine Anderson, who stressed the importance of parental influence on shaping a child's gender identity, particularly when biology may have left things a little...ambiguous.

And I don't know how they do things where you come from but...we compared some of our general institutional- and lab-wide practices. The inimitable Genomic Repairman pondered the idea of an absolute deadline for post-docs, while Dr O gave grad students permission to write their theses, whether or not they have real permission. Are you following? The commentariat had lots to say on matters of cleanliness--chiming in with their lab's routines at GR's post--and on the questionable hiring practices of Tideliar's unfortunate friend "Dr Malcom." Finally, I hosted a discussion on the best places to get some good writing done--hopefully Amanda (Lady Scientist), who's busy drowning in the quicksand of her thesis, got a few ideas of how to mix it up a bit.

Of course, we're not all business all the time, you know! Lab Mom takes the old right brain out for a spin once in a while, getting crafty and cruising Etsy for funky, science-themed garb. In other internet adventures, Tideliar got an...unconventional suggestion for a good time from Amazon, and Biochem Belle went to a conference in her PJs. Evie cleared up some misconceptions we might have about life in Israel, and Odyssey found a plane with a sense of humor. And speaking of humor, Angry Scientist's latest cartoon taught us an important life and science lesson at the expense of someone who I'm sure is completely made up.

It's a good thing we're so skilled at having fun, because life is not always so kind to your friendly LabSpaces bloggers. Why, just this week alone, Damn Good Technician got dissed by the Magic Hands Juju Fairy, Geeka got pooped on, and Genomic Repairman , to put it delicately, got smacked in the nuts by a flyaway gas line. He's cool about it though--make a good joke and he'll send you a bottle of MFJ!

Our benevolent Overlord Brian is also running a contest for normal people--whichever non-blogger to get the most points in September wins a prize pack full of sweet, sweet LS swag! So what are you waiting for? Get commenting!!