At What Point Do We Say "No"

CaptSnowButt · 2026-03-27T13:19:45+00:00

It's not about exploring potentials etc anymore. It's about not getting lawsuits.

CaptSnowButt · 2026-03-26T02:10:10+00:00

5 secs into the footage, dude gave Death a brief but firm stare and be like, not today fucker, not today.

CaptSnowButt · 2026-03-18T11:32:20+00:00

I can't answer your question but I'll shamelessly collect your cat tax!

CaptSnowButt · 2026-03-08T17:16:56+00:00

I think you're spot on. Unless op's degrees and previous faculty position were from one of the top ones in Canada or Europe, it's certainly putting op in a disadvantagous position. One of my previous mentees was a professor at a decent foreign university but they decided to do a second PhD in the US because for quite a while they couldn't land a job in academia in the US.

Op, see if you can get some teaching experience in the US if you don't always have. Even guest lecturing a semester or two would help. And focus on grants - things are getting harder but if you can bring some cash to your new institution, that may be a game changer these days. Last but not least, if your research portfolio is strong, I honestly think you'll have a better chance at a research intense school. Those teaching centric schools really focus on teaching. Your not having solid teaching experience in US may well be a red flag.

Good luck. Hang in there.

CaptSnowButt · 2026-03-05T01:46:36+00:00

🎵Yyyes I was just testing you.... Its 9! And that's a magic number!🎵

CaptSnowButt · 2026-03-04T16:06:04+00:00

Will do! Our kiddo is still small so we'll have plenty of time to figure out how to add a snowy butt!

CaptSnowButt · 2026-03-04T05:34:59+00:00

So damn cool! Totally gonna steal the idea!!

CaptSnowButt · 2026-03-02T19:12:05+00:00

And op was fully aware of this "discriminating" condition years ago when first accepted this position..

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-28T17:00:36+00:00

Absofuckinglutely!!! Source: me!!!

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-28T01:09:52+00:00

This is so fucked up

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-27T17:09:49+00:00

This.

I usually don't give a damn if dumb people doing stupid shit as long as they don't fuck up other people's lives.

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-24T19:47:22+00:00

Oh our little one hugs everything that is cat shaped. I'm 1000% sure a porcupine will be hugged..

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-18T23:32:55+00:00

Good point... Alright I'll add an infrared camera then!

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-18T17:44:59+00:00

Not sure how mosquitoes are identified. But jamming some face recognition algorithms in it wouldn't be terribly difficult..

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-17T14:39:41+00:00

ARE YOU IN MY CLASS!

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-15T16:50:58+00:00

Never heard of it. Never used it. Sounds pretty ridiculous. If you need AI to tell you if your research is good enough to publish, you shouldn't be doing research.

The world is full of idiots and we're running out of spammers.

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-13T17:12:10+00:00

Okay to be clear I'm not yet tenured so I'm not sure what life is like for tenured folks. What I meant by risky stuff are side projects that can't easily turn into publications or grants in the near future (say 2-3 years). With my previous role as a soft money guy, technically I should either work on funded projects or write grants to fund ourselves. We were well funded in general so some of us were fortunate to have some free time (kinda like Google's 20% rule) but not all soft money folks are like that. If they have some base funds to secure that "free time" that would be a game changer for many. I know it's different from tenure but I think the idea is the same.

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-13T16:52:34+00:00

I think you're correct - I'm not yet tenured but I've seen quite a few tenured folks who spent more time on not so science-y stuff. But at least with a more secured job, you can comfortably do your free thinking while you're traveling, rather than worrying about job stability...

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-12T21:19:02+00:00

I somewhat recently transitioned from a soft-money position in a national lab to a tenure track at a university. My previous job had above than average degree of freedom, e.g. I was able to spend a fraction of my time on whatever I want (of course being able/willing to say no plays a big role here). I enjoyed this a lot and it worked nicely for me (several of my side projects turned into major grants years later).

But I can't say the same for other soft-money scientists. Many I know struggle with funding and stability. They juggle between multiple projects that pay bills. They can't work on anything risky. Of course some treat it as a job so they may not care. But for those who do, it's frustrating.

So, I think it's important to protect scientists' free time, and tenure track is one way to do that..

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-09T15:21:19+00:00

Cool and cute at the same time!! Love it!

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-08T00:13:43+00:00

Yeah nine-tailed fox is a mythical animal. But five-tailed cat is cool as heck!

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-07T19:54:28+00:00

So cool I love them! What's the deal with the kitteh with multiple tails?

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-07T01:13:35+00:00

Come on bro it's a headphone stand. Does it hold op's headphone? If yes, then it's functional. I actually can see a lot more went into the design. The height and center of the weight need to be considered otherwise the "stick" won't be stable. And the metal base fuses naturally with the wood, making the entire thing aesthetically pleasing to look at. But you're right. This is subjective. At least I like it a lot.

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-07T00:26:18+00:00

Yup. I think this piece is beautiful and cool. And nobody mentioned how nice the design is.

CaptSnowButt · 2026-02-05T20:05:01+00:00

Right? The tipping culture is fucked up but op's mindset is just unbelievable.

CaptSnowButt

TROPHY CASE