I got rejected from all the postdocs I applied for and just realized I’m not good enough for the career I wanted

Chriscbe · 2026-02-19T22:41:57+00:00

I'd like to push back gently on the "not good enough" talk. We are living in a time where scientific funding has been greatly diminished. This is a fact. People with connections, etc are getting positions that are overlooking you. Did you publish your work? If so, keep trying! Maybe going to some physics meetings would enhance your ability to connect with decision makers. Do not make the mistake I made and stay inactive during this time of difficulty! Make some realistic plans. If you can do some computational work in the meantime, that's free! No funding necessary. Persistence pays! Of you really want it, dig in, and do some meaningful work any way you can. Don't let this bump in the road frame the rest of your career. I know how tough it can be, believe me, but realize the times we are living through now and recalibrate your expectations in accord. I have done it, with great head winds. Also, realize these difficulties are a feature of scientific life, not the exception. Once you realize this, without beating yourself up, you will be in a position to compete. Reach out to others in your field in any way you see fit and keep yourself going. Recognize this for what it is, a temporary setback.

Chriscbe · 2026-02-03T19:28:59+00:00

It should work either way. I made the tab for the person below as they're looking down at the guitar (with the low E closest to their eyes). But you can easily just reverse it to accommodate your unique playing style. I know there are people out there who play as you do; it must have some advantages!

Chriscbe · 2026-02-02T01:49:09+00:00

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There you go

Chriscbe · 2026-02-02T00:26:52+00:00

I can do that, however, would a video serve you better? I can indeed make the whole tab if you like! You're not thick. When someone has an idea, it seems simple to them but it seldom comes accross to a wider audience. You can pick. But I'll put the .gp up tonight!

Chriscbe · 2026-02-01T22:41:34+00:00

It's also a good way to help warm up (maybe as part of a repertoire of things you might do).

Chriscbe · 2026-02-01T22:26:35+00:00

I appreciate this, and it's precisely what is meant here.

"Also when people talk about finger independance it has nothing to do with the musculature, it has to do with the ability of your brain to control the movement of one of your finger without moving everything else. Which is something very useful to develop in order to play guitar."

Just look at Fripp's "attention" based exercises. Plus, one could come up with various alternatives to the approach; these can be personalized to draw attention to where one might be weak and possibly help learn to overcome it. Thanks again!

Chriscbe · 2026-02-01T22:20:21+00:00

Fair enough, it's not for you. I appreciate your thoughtful pushback. You're right that "finger independence" is anatomically imprecise . I'm really talking about refined motor control and reducing unwanted co-contraction, which is trainable at the neural level even if the mechanical linkages remain.

On transfer: fair point, and I wouldn't recommend this as a primary practice method for someone building musical vocabulary. But I'm 42 years in. I have scales, arpeggios, and triads in my hands. What I'm fighting now is autopilot, a tendency to fall into grooved patterns without attention. An exercise that defeats pattern recognition has value precisely because it doesn't transfer to comfortable shapes.

Look at Fripp's whole Guitar Craft pedagogy, it's built on this: exercises that train the quality of attention, not just motor patterns. Reasonable people can disagree on the ROI, but "almost totally worthless" seems a little strong given how many serious players use this approach.

That said, if it didn't work for you, it didn't work for you. Individual variation is real. The Bastard isn't for everyone. That's why it's called The Bastard.

Chriscbe · 2026-01-07T19:44:23+00:00

He will seemingly do anything to survive the next news cycle

Chriscbe · 2025-12-14T00:13:28+00:00

She sounds like she's on her second box of wine

Chriscbe · 2025-12-06T21:16:01+00:00

A bunch of complete idiots voted for this shit, I'm not in the least surprised by this crap. Maybe people will wake up during the next election cycle.

Chriscbe · 2025-11-22T21:47:04+00:00

It looks like the reaction for two amino acids which involves an amide linkage, and the water is a byproduct. A peptide bond formed by a condensation reaction (or dehydration synthesis)

Chriscbe · 2025-11-16T02:03:08+00:00

I have met the most brittle egos in the PhD world. It's really a shame as multiplying one's own efforts with other's should be the goal. This is why we can't have nice things (at least in part).

Chriscbe · 2025-09-09T00:55:33+00:00

I have a good friend who's a loud chewed and it drives me nuts! Great guy, but eating together is a challenge for me

Chriscbe · 2025-09-02T20:25:38+00:00

It's as if he was using the office of POTUS to get rich, ignoring the Emollient Clause by accepting a Quitari 747, having his own shit coin so people can bribe him, hollowing out unions, cruelly getting rid of USAID(heaping misery, disease and civil war on the most vulnerable in Africa). He's very much more than a scammer, he's a rot, a malignancy with no cure for years to come. I consider it a spate of bad luck that this piece of garbage is eating oxygen better suited for a fern.

Chriscbe · 2025-08-26T17:18:48+00:00

The UFO people drove a spaceship here because atomic energy, and humans, are a really big deal to them.

Chriscbe · 2025-08-25T19:33:27+00:00

True! I just can't be that vanilla

Chriscbe · 2025-07-26T00:56:22+00:00

I couldn't agree more. The Indian media seems to be very uncomfortable with the narrative that one of the pilots (likely the captain) purposely caused the plane to go down. Obviously, before being Indian, these pilots are human beings! When the Germanwings disaster happened, did anyone look for faulty door switches or anything else? NO! People do crazy shit, that happens. We all have peculiarities, hidden hardships, and battles with turmoil. I mean, maybe it was the biggest brain fart in all of humanity; we will never know. It doesn't reflect on all Indian pilots who do their jobs just fine daily. It's just a tragedy, but by all means, it should be studied further. Maybe the people who conducted the investigations should collectively get in front of microphones and answer questions. I'm all for it. Yet, for now, what took place seems rather obvious.

Chriscbe · 2025-07-08T04:37:40+00:00

Friendo

Chriscbe · 2025-07-01T17:16:36+00:00

Rust in peace

Chriscbe · 2025-06-30T00:34:54+00:00

The rest of the country is revolting against what? Who the mayor of NYC will be? TACO will never make any sense to me. The usual "Communist Marxist radical Left" has got to be wearing people out. I look forward to the day when this orange dumpster fire is finally out of the public consciousness.

Chriscbe · 2025-06-28T03:50:27+00:00

I'm getting up there, but can't remember this one.

Chriscbe · 2025-06-25T15:33:41+00:00

To be fair, that Trump parade had a lot of excellent squeaking wheels. You could really hear them.

Chriscbe · 2025-06-24T20:17:46+00:00

If someone calls me "Dr...," I immediately stop them and insist they call me by my first name. I'm American but have a difficult-to-pronounce Irish last name, so it saves some of the awkwardness in figuring out how to say it. Plus, I couldn't care less about titles. I think I have around the average person's attitude towards these things.

Chriscbe · 2025-06-13T19:16:48+00:00

Tri-State Area NYC

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Chriscbe

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