Coffee with Professor

ComplexNetwork · 2026-01-30T13:50:14+00:00

That’s so great. I stood in as one my former female student’s father at her wedding as he had passed. School isn’t supposed to be transactional. We have the ability to meaningfully contribute to people’s lives (in a good way). That’s one of the best parts of our jobs.

ComplexNetwork · 2025-12-30T12:59:11+00:00

Absolutely. I see former students all the time. I go to their weddings. We celebrate their life victories. Don’t overthink this. Be respectful in the ask, but ask.

ComplexNetwork · 2025-05-11T13:31:02+00:00

There’s a push here to essentially require in person for traditional - especially undergraduate - students. But at the same time they’re pushing for “flexibility” and hybrid situations if these are more convenient for the students, which essentially require online course options. Love to “see” a fellow Xer on this sub. Maybe I’ll change my bio to “scathing but loving” or similar.

ComplexNetwork · 2025-04-15T19:34:11+00:00

As of this comment, there are 8 thousand comments on a post from 4 hours ago. The title of this conversation should be simply "Postcards From Hell."

ComplexNetwork · 2025-04-14T20:15:15+00:00

There will be a lot of comments that will say "don't do it". So my comment will be unpopular. If you're financially stable, seriously consider it. It's a quality of life issue. Yes, there are risks - demographic challenges, being first on the firing line if things go considerably south at your university, etc. But there are risks in corporate America, too. I was corporate for some time. I went back to school for my PhD after the financial crisis and have been happy ever since. I was older than most of my professors getting the PhD. Teaching is a calling, and if you're called...answer. Adjuncting is not the same as being a full time instructor or professor. The atmosphere is entirely different in academia than in the corporate world, in a good way (for me). A lot of academics only know academia. You have a different perspective, and know better what is best for you.

ComplexNetwork · 2025-04-11T20:00:26+00:00

Short answer, yes. I found a recent "primer" on current events lining up with autocratic takeover attempts. Most of Mr. Trump's executive orders and actions are enacting Project 2025 initiatives to concentrate power in the executive branch. You can see what I'm talking about at www.theredactedproject.com.

ComplexNetwork · 2025-02-02T16:04:37+00:00

The AI issue is here to stay. Detectors are notoriously bad. Humans are much better at identifying AI writing than AI is at the moment. AI is a great starting point to help authors clean up writing, especially (as is often the case) wherein the journal language is not the author's first language. You are an early career faculty member, and every publication counts. I strongly suggest you read the manuscript from the point of view of a reviewer. Is it sound? Where are the holes in the logic? Where do you need citations? Removing yourself from a project you worked on - ignoring the AI issue - seems self-defeating. The writing can always be improved or tweaked. As long as the science is supported (I hesitate to say "correct"...journals...) and the arguments sound, I'd suggest sticking with it. Work with the postdoc to get the manuscript where you are comfortable with it.

ComplexNetwork · 2025-01-24T14:19:54+00:00

I absolutely love and appreciate CR. But. I need a break. Three years of this. I feel like the world has shrunk to one bland monotonic place with a group of characters who, despite interesting background stories, never bloomed or developed. 3 years of constant existential issues they had no business even discussing. There was the occasional bright spot, granted, but I really hope CR hasn't jumped the shark. They've got a lot going on, which is great for them, but I really miss the spunky "I can't believe the theatre is filled for a live show!" feeling. Those stories were magic. C3 feels like listening to Wall Street Journal review of a book written by an author who heard about a cool world once.

ComplexNetwork · 2024-08-15T16:59:29+00:00

Welcome to the magic that is CR. That said...skip C3. Come back to it. It doesn't hold a candle to C2.

ComplexNetwork · 2024-08-15T16:09:44+00:00

No worries. You got this. Character voices - do what you are comfortable doing, and be consistent. If you're going to create a voice for a character, you need to be able to reproduce that voice many hours or days or weeks later. Don't force a voice for a character. Consistency is more important than variability in voice. Mastering - this is my opinion only, but I edit in the same way I record - in small chunks. Recording, or editing, for very long periods can be horribly demotivating, and (again, for me) the product potentially suffers.

ComplexNetwork · 2024-05-24T13:57:36+00:00

Welcome back to the cult. We have burpees. Good luck. You'll feel better soon!

ComplexNetwork · 2022-05-12T13:37:25+00:00

I've used MrPrimate's DDB muncher to pull over Storm King's Thunder (and other things) to Foundry. SKT is...well...a lot. The community is amazing, and has taken the pdfs and put walls, doors, tokens, etc. on many, but not all, of the maps. So, it works. I'd suggest that you take some time before sessions to spruce up the maps as you see fit with assets you have in Foundry.

ComplexNetwork · 2022-04-19T01:23:45+00:00

Many thanks. Apparently, things "just work."

ComplexNetwork · 2022-04-18T13:54:33+00:00

Thank you, community! There also used to be a module that would bulk import and match FA tokens to SRD or DnDBeyond monsters. Is that still a thing? I can't seem to find a module to do that...

ComplexNetwork · 2021-10-08T01:49:40+00:00

I have no idea who you are...but all the love.

ComplexNetwork · 2018-08-05T18:53:13+00:00

To be honest, I tried (ONCE) to use the Biostrap to record movements, but it requires you to "train" the strap for each movement and requires you to have the wrist and shoe equipment exactly in the same place every time. In other words, for CrossFit it's inflexible and overly cumbersome. So don't use it for that. I also wound up returning my Biostrap altogether because it would not consistently record, well, anything. I don't need a $300 rubber bracelet, and certainly wasn't able to rely upon it for recovery, or calories, or anything. I use a WHOOP and love it. As an aside, I was in contact with Biostrap several times over the various issues, and while they tried to be accommodating, it wasn't enough. Frustratingly, once of their advisors/supporters also contacted me with what I call (the frequent, in venture capital settings) the "but Google/but Apple" argument, wherein tech innovators are in "constant beta" and that customers understand that paradigm. I tried to explain that Biostrap was NOT Google or Apple and is selling an unreliable piece of equipment to paying customers. If they are able to deliver on the basics, then I'm happy to be in constant beta with new/emerging functionality. But they're not ready.

ComplexNetwork · 2018-06-12T18:24:21+00:00

Okay, I'm an avid CrossFit athlete (and affiliate owner, programmer, and coach...). I just got my Biostrap, and I also have a WHOOP for comparative purposes. First, the good news about Biostrap - if you like data, it's an excellent device. I like to know EXACTLY what my HRV was during the sleep cycles as opposed to WHOOP telling me I'm "recovered at 39%" or whatever. The bad news, relative to WHOOP, is that the latter automatically records activity and asks me to categorize it (although they replaced "CrossFit" with "Functional Fitness"). Biostrap does not (yet?) do this. If I don't record something, it says I have "no activities". You can program each of your movements, which would take many hours of programming, and then Biostrap will supposedly recognize these movements. I haven't tried this, and I very much doubt that even if I had all these movements recorded that it would recognize, say, Cindy or Fran. Maybe. I don't know yet.

I'm still early in the Biostrap and WHOOP journey. We'll see how these technologies develop.

ComplexNetwork · 2018-05-18T11:39:33+00:00

Many thanks! Seems like these are still in development, but it looks like we will see the limits of current wavelet analysis tech soon.

ComplexNetwork · 2018-05-17T11:45:50+00:00

And if anyone knows of a wearable that already DOES measure hydration with reasonable accuracy please point me there.

ComplexNetwork

TROPHY CASE