May 2012
20 posts
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It's official. I'm in love.
Papers makes this awesome whooshing sound when it matches my articles to the repository. It makes me smile every time. I just want to spend all day every day organizing articles.
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It must be nice
Me: I’m finishing up this poster and I’m looking for a good article that talks about divergence of vocalizations and speciation. Specifically something about alarm calls. Do you know of any off the top of your head? The internet and library are not cooperating.
Him: Yeah, the classic paper would be Marler 1955. Let me go check my card catalog and grab that for you.
[Less than 2...
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enchantedoblivion asked: I don't know how you can handle a doctorate program and a life. That's remarkable. I can't handle school and I have no obligations. I guess you just have to want it badly enough. So here's a stranger giving you a thumbs up :) P.S. Good luck using End Note, I hope you figure all of that out.
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Article Organization
Several of you chimed in with opinions/suggestions on my post about EndNote, so thank you!!! I got it (for free) from my advisor a while back but didn’t really mess around with it until yesterday. I went and took a look at your suggestions (stick with EndNote, or get Papers by mekentosj, or Evernote). Evernote looks cool for other things, but probably isn’t the best in terms of...
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EndNote
wakeupyourwindows replied to your photo: I’m pretty sure that Jorge Cham can see me in my…
Why did it take you this long to start using EndNote?!?!?!
I’m lazy. It seemed like a lot of work. I procrastinate like no other. The thought of going through and adding the gazillion articles I’ve read gives me anxiety. It annoys me that it would all be on my office computer, what if...
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Range Maps
Does anyone have any suggestions on what to use to create really good looking range maps? I want to combine information about habitat ranges of different species so that I can include them on my poster in just one map. I will be honest, I suck at Photoshop/Gimp/etc. Any ideas?
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Today I got all of my stats work (for two classes) turned in, and emailed the professor about this last class I’m going to do on my own. As soon as I’m done with that “class” I will officially be ABD (that’s All But Dissertation)!!! I am signed up for all dissertation credits next semester (and will be in the spring as well), and I’m on a mission to get...
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Back to work
I took two days off last week to visit my dad (he was 3 hours away for a business meeting) and yesterday to go to the zoo. Today it was back to work, well a half day of work since I couldn’t manage to get to campus before lunch time. I had a fairly productive day though*:
paid my student account so my hold was lifted
filled out the FAFSA (yes, I know I am incredibly late-and...
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Related to my last post, the humans at the zoo infuriate me. Grown ass adults banging on the glass or throwing things. Yes, a father set a wonderful example for his children by throwing a stuffed animal at a gorilla that was sitting by a window. Repeatedly. While laughing. We should be able to lock them in cages and throw things at them.
On a less serious/angry note, the keepers/maintenance...
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There’s nothing like reading award nominations and CVs to make you feel like you’ve accomplished nothing in your life and you will never succeed.
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Looking for academic jobs is the biggest pain in the ass. I did, however, just find an amazing job opening. Unfortunately they want someone for this fall and it’s extremely far away. As in on the other side of the planet far away. Completely unrealistic, but it would be awesome!
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My students are only 30 minutes into their 2 hour final and I am already bored out of my mind. I’ve graded their study guides AND review paper rewrites. Also (TMI) I really need to go to the bathroom. Plus I’m exhausted. This is going to be a very long hour and a half.
April 2012
23 posts
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I am a Rock Star (and apparently not very humble)
I just finished an entire summer stats course on non-parametric statistics in the 2.5 hours it took my students to work on their in-class assignment (minus the time I spent answering questions, passing back homework, and leaving the room for the course evals). One less thing I have to do this summer!
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Next Fall
I just ran into the professor who I TA for on my way to my office. He told me to let the department chair know what I want to do next semester (I never knew I had a choice in the matter). I told him I didn’t know and asked what my options were. That seemed like a better idea than saying “All I know is that I never want to be a TA for this class again.” Then I felt guilty for...
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You're killing me
Why?????? Why are you making me regrade your paper so you can get over 100%? Why weren’t you ok with the 100% (or nearly 100%) that I gave you the first time? You already have an A in the class.
I never want to see these papers again.
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A Successful Research Meeting
My meeting about the research position turned into an impromptu career advising session. The person I met with has an impressive career AND happens to be one of the nicest people I’ve talked to. I’ve only had the opportunity to chat with him a few times since he started here, but each time I was impressed.
Anyways…our chat about the position went well, the grant application...
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Just finished my second to last lecture of the semester! Woohoo!
Also I have a meeting this afternoon about a research opportunity this summer. It’s research on undergraduate retention and getting it would mean I don’t have to teach this summer. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
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I just need to get through this week
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Remember that Red-tailed Hawk nest?
Go check out the chicks!!
And here’s a pic of one of the chicks being fed bits of pigeon.
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Quick, don't let them see my caffeinated beverage
I always feel like I’m doing something illegal here. Today I walked in drinking a Pepsi and wearing clothes that allow two of my tattoos to show. I notice on days like this I walk past the campus ministries office (and any faculty I see) a little faster than normal.
I know they don’t care about my stupid Pepsi, I’m just paranoid.
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To Do
I’m trying to get a lot done before going out of town on Friday:
grade both sections of stats homework to hand back this week
enter grades in the grade book
grade the paper rewrites (one section turns these in tomorrow)
grade the stats homework they turn in this week
read articles for animal cognition tomorrow (most of them I’ve read several times-we’re currently covering my...
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This is why I love teaching
I just had a student come up to me after class:
“I just wanted to say thank you for explaining everything so thoroughly in a way that we understand. And making sure we understand. I took this class last semester and failed it, my TA really didn’t explain things so I had no idea what we were doing. You take the time to explain things in multiple ways and it’s obvious that you...
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I recently started having my babysitter come every other Thursday so I would actually get out of the house instead of being a homebody. Tonight is that night but I have so much grading to finish. I am basically paying someone money (and babysitters aren’t cheap) so that I can go to campus and grade papers. There is something really wrong with this. I’ve attempted to turn it into a...
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More grading tonight
I actually tracked my progress on that grading last night. I’m a dork, I know. I’m trying to improve on this tonight.
9-10 graded 4 papers, 4 posters, and 4 peer reviews
10-10:45 Wii fit 30 minute free run while watching New Girl, followed by some water and a snack
10:45-10:50 grading a paper
10:50-11:50 my grandmother calls. I should clarify, my CHATTY grandmother calls. We...
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haniemarie replied to your post: A mess I don’t want to be in
Just be careful about FERPA. I’m not sure what your role is, but sometimes rats do win - especially when their FERPA rights have been violated :(
Yes, this is a HUGE issue. I most definitely will not be telling him any confidential information. From my understanding, and I should probably read that stuff again, FERPA...
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A mess I don't want to be in
A while back my masters advisor sent me a text to tell me that my “favorite” person was trying to move here for school. This was a person in my program that I did not get along with because said person was a terrible graduate student and human being. To keep it short and simple, I’ll just say this person wasn’t honest and because of my role in the program and some shared...
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Yay! My abstract was accepted for the conference...
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Ah, the joys of reviewing grant proposals
I don’t understand why people can’t follow directions. This is something you start learning in kindergarten (if not earlier). If there is a page limit, do not exceed it! Why is this so difficult? You have a PhD or are in the final stages of earning one! Tomorrow I’m going to tell my 5 year old the page limit and ask him how many pages they should write. It scares me to...
March 2012
17 posts
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Caw Caw
I was outside before class this afternoon mimicking a cardinal song (by whistling), trying to get them to sing back to me. It wasn’t until a few minutes had passed and I got a few strange looks that I remembered that staring up in the trees and making bird noises was not normal behavior.
I study animal communication and I am terrible at mimicking animals sounds. Obviously this talent...
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WIGGLE YOUR TUMBLR NAME(S) AROUND. →
jtotheizzoe:
climateadaptation:
imwithkanye:
apoplecticskeptic:
themattsmith:
wanderlustandtethers:
UNWASHED NERD TARTLETS -or- DAUNTLESS, TENDER WRATH.
Rolls right off the tongue.
HMM! AT THE TITS
PICKLE POP ECSTATIC!
I just got my next song title. :)
I’m White Yank.**
**Totally putting this on a shield and running into battle. Don’t question me, I’m the White Yank.
“I AM...
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Guess that fish part
So, I wasn’t kidding when I said I found this stuff interesting and was trying to figure out the fish parts in my tank. I’ve read about fish behavior (particularly antipredator behaviors, and communication in a limited number of species) but I don’t know much about fish anatomy. I was curious about this (note how nasty the water was-eating giant fish is messy):
Turns out...
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I went and got that facial, it was awesome and so relaxing. Got a little massage and everything. When I got home from my relaxing afternoon, I was immediately greeted by a terrible smell, cloudy tank water, and floating fish parts. My turtle has, yet again, let the feeder fish live until they are bigger than him and then went on a murderous rampage. And of course he kills the pretty, healthy,...
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Must stay awake during their exam
I’m exhausted. I’m in my classroom early (like always) and I finished reading the article I have to present in my own class tomorrow. Unfortunately I can’t concentrate on these grant reviews because I am so tired. If I put my head down on the desk right now I’d be out in seconds. I should have gone back to my car for a little nap, but it’s too late now. I will...
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Back to a somewhat regular schedule
My grandparents are gone, the “spring break” that wasn’t really a break is over, and now I have a ton of work to do again. I’m already procrastinating tonight, so I’ve decided to just let myself put work off for an hour. I’m going to work out and then get to it, no excuses. Tomorrow the plan is to work on my grant reviews, give my students an exam, and then...
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Bird Cam: Live Red-tailed Hawk Nest →
Go check out the live feed going on over at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Currently the male is incubating two eggs. There is also a chat feature, so you can ask questions.
UPDATE at 11:25 CT: Now the female is incubating the eggs. She’s the bigger, more colorful one (also banded on the right leg, while the male’s left leg is banded). If you watch this later and aren’t...