Sometimes the smallest things can hold you up. A task that seems straightforward turns into a huge deal. It can be so aggravating!
EGM and I are both dealing with simple things that are turning out to be huge assholes, but for different reasons. I’m working on the Crummy Tedious samples (have you noticed the counter moving?) and although I’ve got some momentum right now, when I take a step back I get so disheartened that I’m still working on these samples that should have taken only a summer to finish. They are just a lot more difficult than they should be. EGM has reached a step in his work where the technology available isn’t performing as well as he needs it to. Now he’s struggling to find something better. With his obsessive personality type, solving this problem is a big time suck.
The insidious part of these small jobs that take more time than you plan for them – vampire tasks – is not the time you actually spend working on them, but the time you spend fretting and procrastinating. It’s the procrastination that turns them into big scary beasts that block the path to project completion.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Ultimate Twix Challenge
I've probably mentioned before that Awesome Technician and I frequently issue Twix Challenges for each other. If one of us is having a blah day and needs some motivation, the other will define some milestone that needs to be reached by a certain time (e.g. finish half of your samples by 2 pm) and if the goal is achieved, the person gets a Twix from the vending machine. Sometimes the challenges are small, like something that can be accomplished in a few hours, while other times they are big, like a data analysis project that might take days or weeks. The trick is that the challenges are difficult but attainable and we follow through. If you don't meet the goal, you don't get the Twix.
Recently Awesome Technician said that when I graduate, she will try to get me a Twix cake. We're not sure what that might be like, exactly, but the idea of it certainly has motivated me to work!
Recently Awesome Technician said that when I graduate, she will try to get me a Twix cake. We're not sure what that might be like, exactly, but the idea of it certainly has motivated me to work!
Midwest ScienceBlogs Event
For their millionth comment shindig, ScienceBlogs is expanding the party to the Midwest with an event hosted by Alice Pawley and Steve Higgins, probably in Champaign, IL, probably on September 27. I'm interested, but on the fence. Is anybody else going? Do any of you who know where I live want to carpool? Email me if you want to talk about it, especially if you think we live in the same place.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Reflections on kittehs
Since tonight we finally got around to properly cleaning our place after the cats' departure, I thought this would be a good time to share what I thought about them.
Recall that we kept our friend's two cats while he was away for three weeks. EGM had cats growing up but I did not. We had been toying with the idea of getting one, so we reasoned that this extended cat sitting experience would give me a chance to see if I really want one.
I do not want one anymore.
The cats were nice, but they weren't really fun enough to make up for all the yuckiness. They would sometimes sit nearby, but they never wanted to cuddle very much. Instead, they liked to sit on the mantle, or between the window and it's screen, or some other equally inappropriate place. They did, however, always want to get into our bedroom which I had deemed off limits. They would scratch and meow at the door when we went to bed, even jumping up to try to turn the doorknob. From the inside of the room it felt like a movie where monsters were trying to get in.
Then there was the mess. Thankfully, EGM had the foresight to roll up most of the rugs and cover the couches with sheets before the cats arrived in order to limit the hair. Even still, there was cat hair everywhere. And litter tracked throughout the apartment. And they knocked stuff over. And clawed up the toilet paper and paper towels. I think the real problem for me was that they used the whole volume of a room -- no surface was off limits for them. So after they used the litter box, they'd jump up on the kitchen counter or something. Eww.
We were out of town a bunch after the cats left and then we were lazy and then we realized that our crappy ass vacuum with just a plain tube attachment was no match for the lingering cat hair. We borrowed our friends' Dyson last week and finally got around to using it tonight. I feel much better about my world now that the place is all clean. I'd hate to mess it up again with another cat.
Can you tell I'm not a pet person?
Recall that we kept our friend's two cats while he was away for three weeks. EGM had cats growing up but I did not. We had been toying with the idea of getting one, so we reasoned that this extended cat sitting experience would give me a chance to see if I really want one.
I do not want one anymore.
The cats were nice, but they weren't really fun enough to make up for all the yuckiness. They would sometimes sit nearby, but they never wanted to cuddle very much. Instead, they liked to sit on the mantle, or between the window and it's screen, or some other equally inappropriate place. They did, however, always want to get into our bedroom which I had deemed off limits. They would scratch and meow at the door when we went to bed, even jumping up to try to turn the doorknob. From the inside of the room it felt like a movie where monsters were trying to get in.
Then there was the mess. Thankfully, EGM had the foresight to roll up most of the rugs and cover the couches with sheets before the cats arrived in order to limit the hair. Even still, there was cat hair everywhere. And litter tracked throughout the apartment. And they knocked stuff over. And clawed up the toilet paper and paper towels. I think the real problem for me was that they used the whole volume of a room -- no surface was off limits for them. So after they used the litter box, they'd jump up on the kitchen counter or something. Eww.
We were out of town a bunch after the cats left and then we were lazy and then we realized that our crappy ass vacuum with just a plain tube attachment was no match for the lingering cat hair. We borrowed our friends' Dyson last week and finally got around to using it tonight. I feel much better about my world now that the place is all clean. I'd hate to mess it up again with another cat.
Can you tell I'm not a pet person?
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
It's never too early for an opus
Today Ecogeoman learned that his very first paper has been accepted! There are revisions, of course, but the reviews border on glowing.
The manuscript was 120 pages (1.5 spaced) including figures and references.
In other news, our symposium proposal is nearly finished. All we have to do is hash out the speaker list, which has become quite a task. We're happy with the proposal text, having recieved positive feedback from colleagues. However, we're struggling to ensure that each talk addresses the questions/problems we raised in the text. This is easier said than done.
The manuscript was 120 pages (1.5 spaced) including figures and references.
In other news, our symposium proposal is nearly finished. All we have to do is hash out the speaker list, which has become quite a task. We're happy with the proposal text, having recieved positive feedback from colleagues. However, we're struggling to ensure that each talk addresses the questions/problems we raised in the text. This is easier said than done.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Blogging for writing's sake
I started blogging for a variety of reasons. One of my hopes was that regular blog writing would improve the quality of my professional writing. When I started this blog, I was mostly working at the bench. I knew, though, that I would soon be focusing some of my efforts on manuscripts so I wanted to get some writing practice.
It’s difficult to measure improvement in writing, especially one’s own. Unfortunately, I don’t think blogging has helped me that much. I write my posts somewhat quickly and while I read over them before I publish, I don’t spend any time really editing (that’s probably obvious from my frequent spelling errors and run on sentences).
However, I do think blogging has removed some of the mystique surrounding writing. Each time I post, I’m submitting a piece of writing to whoever wants to read it. That has made me a little less nervous about presenting my work for review by advisors and colleagues. In addition, I think I feel less block overall. Blogging is something I choose to do because I like it, not because I feel like I have to for any reason. Sometimes when I decide to write about something, it’s a little hard to start. I have to get over it though because I really want to write my little bloggy essay. I’ve learned that I just have to get a sentence down and it will usually flow from there. More importantly, I’ve learned that any sentence can be changed. Even if everything sucks at first, I can improve it (althoughusually sometimes it continues to suck). I’ve tried really hard to apply that same approach to my science writing to get me over the inertia of starting.
Someone else recently posted something on this topic and got me thinking about it. I would like to link to that blog, but for the life of me I can’t remember where the post was. I guess that’s the problem with reading two weeks’ worth of posts in a few days.
It’s difficult to measure improvement in writing, especially one’s own. Unfortunately, I don’t think blogging has helped me that much. I write my posts somewhat quickly and while I read over them before I publish, I don’t spend any time really editing (that’s probably obvious from my frequent spelling errors and run on sentences).
However, I do think blogging has removed some of the mystique surrounding writing. Each time I post, I’m submitting a piece of writing to whoever wants to read it. That has made me a little less nervous about presenting my work for review by advisors and colleagues. In addition, I think I feel less block overall. Blogging is something I choose to do because I like it, not because I feel like I have to for any reason. Sometimes when I decide to write about something, it’s a little hard to start. I have to get over it though because I really want to write my little bloggy essay. I’ve learned that I just have to get a sentence down and it will usually flow from there. More importantly, I’ve learned that any sentence can be changed. Even if everything sucks at first, I can improve it (although
Someone else recently posted something on this topic and got me thinking about it. I would like to link to that blog, but for the life of me I can’t remember where the post was. I guess that’s the problem with reading two weeks’ worth of posts in a few days.
Alerts
The new Scientiae is up at Lab Cat!
And have you seen the highly entertaining recipe battle between Physioprof and Isis? The first round is an amuse bouche (which Isis kindly defined for the ignorant masses who don't typically enjoy 9 course meals). I voted for Isis this time because her fruity shrimpy recipe sounded much more appealing than Physioprof's chawanmushi with borderline exotic ingredients. Also, although Psysioprof's had fewer steps, Isis's seemed easier, which is also a bonus for me. And I don't have any little ceramic cups with fucking lids or tiny little spoons, so I couldn't make the custard thing if I wanted to.
They really ought to put up a post for each round at the voting blog so we can write commentary in the comments field there rather than on our own damn blogs.
And have you seen the highly entertaining recipe battle between Physioprof and Isis? The first round is an amuse bouche (which Isis kindly defined for the ignorant masses who don't typically enjoy 9 course meals). I voted for Isis this time because her fruity shrimpy recipe sounded much more appealing than Physioprof's chawanmushi with borderline exotic ingredients. Also, although Psysioprof's had fewer steps, Isis's seemed easier, which is also a bonus for me. And I don't have any little ceramic cups with fucking lids or tiny little spoons, so I couldn't make the custard thing if I wanted to.
They really ought to put up a post for each round at the voting blog so we can write commentary in the comments field there rather than on our own damn blogs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)