Lately, I've been reading about salmon. Adult salmon swim upstream thousands of miles to return to the place they were born. Because their objective is to reproduce, they stop feeding, their stomach disintegrates, and instead all their fat stores go to producing eggs and sperm. Only the fittest salmon make it to the spawning grounds.

And I realized, postdocs are just like salmon.



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Out 'n 'bout:

If you eat enough shit sandwiches in academia then you're bound to have success.  [Maybe, but who would want to kiss that face.]

I'm not saying it's your fault, I'm just blaming you. [Oh wait, was that your insecurity talking?]

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My officemate knowing of last week's hulabaloo left a piece of yummy German chocolate on my desk. Think hard because it may be as small as a stranger smiling at you, what act of generosity have you been the reciepient of today? 

You know I'll just keep asking until I get something resembling a response....

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If you folks are feeling generous, Donor's Choose could still use some help. There is another project that readers could get behind, it's to bring microscopes into the classroom. Its called, Request for Young Scientists' Tools of the Trade.

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Good grief.

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Lately before we go to bed, HippieHusband and I watch Animal Planet's 101 Dog Video's. I think, in part, because we both want to get a dog. But another reason is because we want to watch something that makes us feel happy before we go to bed. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of dogs. Last night, however, I decided to listen to something else - it was what I would call a "wisdom" talk. I needed some advice that I felt went beyond career advice.

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In all my bellyaching and self-absorbed navel-gazing, I completely forgot to thank the very generous person who donated $680 to the "Do Plants Wear Genes?" Donor's Choose Project.



Thank you, whoever you are. There is another project that readers could get behind, it's to bring microscopes into the classroom. I believe its called, Request for Young Scientists' Tools of the Trade. If you're feeling generous...

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After I received an email from RedBull, I spoke with several tenured and t-t faculty to get their opinions on how to deal with this.



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Be forewarned, this is a rant.

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I hope that some of you folks can give a few dollars towards improving scientific literacy! My fav is "Do Plants Wear Genes?" It's too bad there isn't something like this for Canadian schools - or maybe there is and I just don't know about. Details and links below.

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Well I did it.  I wrote the crappiest piece of shiza manuscript I have in a long time.  But the reason I made myself do this is I have a perfectionism problem.   This was an experiment to see if I could find a way to overcome that challenge. 

Now I have what I like to call the pseudocode for a manuscript.  All I have to do is work on it just 1 paragraph or 1 figure a day (and/or 1hr a day) and pretty soon I'll have a manuscript worth sending to RedBull.  We'll see how it goes.....

So peeps did anyone else do a #madwriting fest?  Do they find it helps or hinders their writing (of any kind!)?

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Well so far I'm doing pretty good at meeting my writing goals. I sent out my Research and Teaching Stmts to 4 different people in my field and one who was only remotely related. When I get comments back, I'll edit and send out my t-t applications.

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So yesterday, I went and bought extra space in my DropBox because I was running low on space on my laptop hard drive.  I'm storing data that requires 40GB of memory.  Because of the way DropBox works, ie it syncs your computer, it turns out that in order to use that extra space, I have to have extra space on my laptop.  But the reason I bought the extra space was because of a LACK of space on my computer.

Any suggestions?

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Life as a postdoc is hard, but I try harder to remember this.

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Made it back home safe.  Got my fellowship application in on time - 2 hrs to spare.  Yeah me! 

Went into the lab today and saw RedBull for the first time in two months. Our conversation went like this"

"Hey RedBull. Just came by to say, hello and I'm back!"

"Oh okay.  Your priority over the next two months is to get that analysis on the Alphabetum done and turned into a manuscript." 

Not even a 'hello how are you' or 'welcome back'. Seriously? Well, at least it's not forever.  In fact, if I have it my way, I could be doing something else next year.
 

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Well I'm finally heading home after a very productive time at BigEasternU.  I gave lab meeting on Monday and yesterday ElectricPotential and I met to discuss where we're at on the project.  He feels I've collected enough to write up a manuscript.  I've been extremely productive but even better is my renewed excitement about science and my research.  It's wicked. 

Now comes the hard part.  Writing up the manuscript. 

In the meantime, I have a fellowship application to complete and (while I think it's probably about a year premature), I will be applying for jobs this year.  So it means I'll have to move on revising my Research and Teaching Statement. You just never know...

Wish me luck!

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This lovely image is from here.

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In a culture where women are already experiencing devasting effects because of the sex ratio bias, the Chinese government goes ahead and does this.

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This about sums it up. Wouldn't you say?



Thanks to brilliantly smart-ass responses to completely well-meaning signs.

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I am having an amazing time working as a visiting postdoc at BigEasternU. It has made me appreciate what I need as a postdoc to thrive. The biggest factor is the nature of the PI.



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Yesterday Jack Layton died.



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Hermitage at Scientopia has a carnival on women in science. But it's sans bebes. She elicited questions and sent them to us. Here are my answers.

1. When you were looking for your post-doctoral position, how (if you knew) did you know that your PI would treat you fairly?

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This bit of genius is brought to you by Matushiq Sotak.



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Every time I go to a conference, for some reason, I do something that is incredibly embarassing.

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Today, I met another woman who is a postdoc and has decided to leave academia. That's a total of 5 women now, all of whom were postdocs for somewhere between 1-5yrs and have left or are planning on leaving. And no, it's not always because of family/kids.

I met PostdocXX yesterday at a conference mixer and we immediately hit it off. After the last symposia, we went for drinks and talked and talked or rather she did. I think she was just so grateful to find someone sympathetic to her struggles. She's in a lab with 17 postdocs (50:50 male:female) and 3 grad students. At this conference with her are three postdocs from her lab (2 guys and 1 other gal). Her supervisor is here at the conference and it turns out that he's decided to play hookey and go and see a ball game. The interesting thing is that he's invited four people to join him. Guess who. All boys. And two of them are postdocs from his lab. The other two are colleagues of his that are also both senior faculty. So her and this other female postdoc have been left out. She knows that this is an ideal networking opportunity, but doesn't get the chance to participate because whether by intention or not, she has not been invited. In PostdocXX's words, "I'm just tired of battling the old boys. I don't want to do it anymore. It's not that DrXY is not a good scientist, he's so great. And when I need to talk with him about science, I just email him and he will immediately set up a time. He's got great ideas and is very encouraging, but I don't feel supported, you know. I guess I'm just not ambitious enough." WTF, another one bites the dust, is what I thought.

So on that note, here is the last of my reposts on career trajectories. It's called, "The Glass Ceiling of Academia." and is from April 1st 2010.

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I realize that I haven't mentioned anything about why I'm chosing certain blogposts to repost here. There isn't any particular chronological order, but more whether these posts relate to some event that happened to me in the day. And no I'm not schizophrenic and I haven't made the decision to switch to industry (really the decision isn't made until there is a job in hand). This post has more to do with the bad decisions that I made during this day.





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These past few days, I've had a chance to hang out with my sisters Fortune and Wisdom. Fortune recently got a new job and Wisdom had just returned from travels of her own in far far away lands. We had an amazing home-cooked Indian dinner, cooked by Wisdom, and then the three of us just sat around in her family room talking over tea, just being family. Our relationship has evolved over the years in ways that I could not have imagined. There were times when Fortune and I didn't talk for what seemed like years,now our relationship is like Summertime, a Mary Cassatt painting, the women don't always look directly at each other, but their shared experience brings a sweetness into the moment. Wisdom and I on the other hand, are very close. With her, there is an ease to the relationship. I feel like Wisdom is a warm blanket, a cup of cocoa, and an engaging book on a cold night. But its the combination of both of them that is calming and invigorating, like it reminds you of the things that are important. You know, priorities. On that note, here is a post from May 11 2010.



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While I'm traveling I've decided to repost a series of old blogposts on the academic trajectory. In part because I'm lazy (give me a break traveling is tiring) but also because lately my career choices have been on my mind.

I've had some interesting conversations with some sr faculty, which when things settle down I will write about. So for now, peeps, you will have to be content with some oldies but goodies. This first one is from April 2010.



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I'm travelling yet again today - thankfully it's a direct flight.  But I am sitting in the airport, waiting to board and across from me are what would be cute, small creatures except that they are screaming, strike that, sqeeling in glee.  Their harried father keeps saying, "this is not good airport behaviour" and "inside voices please."  He is on is iphone trying to ignore them now.  You know, I remember that age and just squeeling for no reason whatsoever.  Please, please let me not sit beside, in back of, or any where near those creatures.  Travelling is such a challenge.  In another week I'll be on a plane again and then 10 days later I have another trip.  Any tips on how to make this a more relaxing and less stressful time?

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Travelling sucks.  Canceled flight, loud kids, drunken passengers, and lost luggage.

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Bill Maher rules.  Too bad the ones that need to listen, watch Fox and fill their souls with McHappy meals.

"The moneyed elite (ahem job creators) in this country are dragging a bag filled with your future down the steps, and [the Republican base's] reaction is, 'Hold on there, that looks heavy. Let me give you a hand getting it into your trunk." Bill Maher

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This morning on the way to work HippieHusband and I had a discussion about charisma, charm, and academics.

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Happy Canada Day to me!

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If any of you have seen the recent viral video where Miss America contestants were asked about whether evolution should be taught in schools, then you will love this. I did.



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Yesterday, at our weekly writing get-together, a fellow female postdoc, Phylofemme and I talked about one of the things that we thought women scientists were more prone to than men scientists - the need to explain yourself. Or as I like to call it bean'splaining.

Bean'splaining is not the same as "mansplaining." For those of you who don't know - mansplaining is word for men who "delight in condescending, inaccurate explanations delivered with rock solid confidence of rightness and that slimy certainty that, of course he's right, because he is the man in the conversation." (Urban Dictionary).

This is the exact opposite. A bean'splainer provides unnecessary and detailed personal information that justifies a particular behaviour or lack of action. We felt that women were more prone to this than men - of course this was based on a depauperate sample size (N=5).

An extreme example of bean'splaining could be something like this, your former supervisor writes you an email regarding data for a manuscript and it takes you a week or so to write him/her back. In the email that you eventually write, you say something like the following:

"Dear Dr. Dr.: . . . More

I don't know why I have a twitter account.  I've asked multiple questions to the twittersphere and not a single reply.  When I read through the twitter posts, the converations appear  to be amongst a small and select group of individuals (oh my gosh a clique you say?) or the tweets are simply mast$#%*.   

The question I have for you, dear tweeter.  Is what do you think of the twittersphere?  Oh and can anyone tell me what the competition is called when you write for a month and then count the number of words.  Is it inanmudiro or something like that?

GO CANUCKS!

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This reminds me of where I live. I wish cities across the USA would make it mandatory for all cops watch this video.



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This blog has been quiet for a couple of weeks because I am so overwhelmed by all that needs to get done to meet my goals. It may be quiet for a little while longer...

But I did read this and it made me wonder if each gender percieves what constitutes housework differently. Here is an excerpt:

An Oxford University study says if current trends continue, women will probably have to wait until 2050 before men are doing an equal share of the household chores and childcare. According to the paper published in the latest issue of the journal Sociology, ‘substantial and persistent obstacles’ remain.

The amount of time women spend on routine housework still ‘dwarfs’ time spent on non-routine domestic jobs carried out by men. Nevertheless, there is evidence to show that the gender gap in housework and child care has been narrowing gradually. Women’s time spent on caring and chores in the home declined gradually from about 360 minutes a day in the 1960s for both the UK and US to 280 and 272 minutes, respectively, in the early 2000s. In the UK and the US, men went from spending 90 and 105 minutes a day, respectively, on housework and child care in the 1960s to 148 and . . . More

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This is one of the worst things that could have happened to Canada.  Stephen Harper and his conservatives have won a majority.   We have lost our country.

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Today Canadians go to the polls, in fact, those in Eastern Canada, probably already have voted.  And I am holding my breath.  I will be checking the interwebs frequently today to find out as much information as I can but there is a 73-year old law in Canada that prevents the media from presenting early election results.  Section 329 of the Canada Elections Act says that "no person shall transmit the results or purported result of the vote in an electoral district to the public or another electoral district before the close of all the polling stations in that other electoral district."  This provision essentially means that if I lived in Western Canada I couldn't use the election results of Eastern Canada to influence how I would vote .  This is because Eastern Canada's poll's (Newfoundland and Labrador) close 4 1/2 hrs ahead of Western Canada.

But because the provision was written prior to the invention of the internet and social media, it's unclear whether tweeting results is a transmission of results or simply communication between two individuals.  You can be fined up to $25,000 for transmission of results, but communication between two individuals is not illegal.  Is tweeting transmission?   Elections Canada says it is considered transmission of results i . . . More

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Today I had a friend email me this link. It's a link to an April 21 2011 article in Nature called "The PhD Factory." The authors suggest that the world is facing unsustainable exponential growth of newly minted PhDs into a shrinking labour market and that it's time to stop and re-examine the system.

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It's Friday and I thought that a little Canadiana might be in order. Ever wonder what the Canadian Wildlife Service does?



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