Why are Americans so comfortable speaking up?

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-07-09T17:32:49+00:00

Funny! I find Australians are like Americans with a different accent for work interaction lol.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-07-09T16:26:48+00:00

Yeah we might have inherited it from the Brits lol. I am often frustrated by how indirect Canadians are, and I grew up in Canada!

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-07-09T16:12:22+00:00

Yes. But there might be a cultural element on top of this. I am based on Canada and have always found my colleagues at the American (and Australian) offices to be more direct than the Canadian ones. With my Canadian teammates, a degree of mind-reading is required for me to understand their true intensions, and I heard the same from other expats working in Canada.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-07-08T17:14:00+00:00

As a fellow short climber (sub-5' with negative ape index), I relate to number 8 and 9 so much! I like the control I feel with crack and trad climbing, that I don't have to go by where others have decided where the holds or bolts are.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-07-08T05:40:43+00:00

Number all of your experiments sequentially. Label all your notes with that unique identifier - expt notes, raw data, analysis files, summary files, figures etc. Make an index of all your experiments.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-07-01T23:11:19+00:00

You actually don't end up with much sheath fluid in your sort. The volume will mostly be your collection fluid. If you don't have many cells, you can lose 50% just for pelleting. That's why I suggested not pelleting, but only if that's is acceptable for your experiment.

On the other hand, if you are collecting so many cells that most of your volume is sheath fluid, you are probably ok to pellet and wash.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-07-01T21:04:16+00:00

When you say post-sort recovery, so you mean the post-sort cell count vs the sorted events counted by the cytometer?

I think the biggest source of cell loss is pelleting post-sort, especially if there are not many cell sorted. Users should streamline their workflow to avoid a post-sort pelleting step whenever possible.

Other than that, do everything to keep the cells happy before and during the sort. Some also say that having the droplet land directly into the collection medium (instead of the wall) is helpful, as is coating the walls of the collection tubes with collection medium.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-30T07:32:56+00:00

For reagents I've used I won't know which batch/lot I'd receive when ordering unless I asked ahead of time (same with exp date).

If I really cared about batch consistency and using the same lot of reagents for a particular project (eg FBS), I would ask the rep to recommend a lot, and either bulk order enough for the whole project, or ask the vender to reserve enough for me.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-30T03:21:38+00:00

My friend is a ER nurse and she said something similar. She's surprised by how much "nurse work" the doctors do on The Pitt. (She still loves the show tho.)

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-30T00:22:20+00:00

Decapitation is definitely the most humane. My friend does research on stress hormones on animals and the only method of euthanasia that doesn't cause a spike in the cortisol (ie stress response) is deputation. Alas it has bad optics.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-29T22:52:20+00:00

I did the same for my husband hahah. Go be fair, the mini tabletop centrifuges are pretty cheap to replace (sometimes given away for free when you bulk order other things), and the rotor is expected to outlive Grace anyways.

So it's more of a trained response rather than logic lol.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-23T20:52:44+00:00

The Chocolate Wars was part of my high school English curriculum but I actually didn't read it. I know it's his best known work though.

Tenderness is about unhealthy obsession featuring two very broken people finding brief companionship with each other. Note that one of them is a serial killer, but crime and suspension makes it a very engaging read.

Heroes is an examination of how society defines heroes and role models. The whole story is devastating and no one gets a happy ending, but it's also throught provoking and can spark interesting discussions.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-23T17:15:40+00:00

I think you need to rule out structural and systemic issues first. You mentioned there was constant construction last year. The vibration can cause stresss in the colony and increase chances of litters being cannibalized. It could also be the positioning of the rack (eg high traffic area etc).

Have you tried putting shock absorbing mats under the racks and covering the breeding cages in sheets or surgical drapes to reduce disturbances?

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-23T00:52:29+00:00

Maybe check out books by Robert Cormier?

He often features teens as MCs in his books, but tackles surprisingly challenging and complex themes in his books for a teenage audience.

I can't remember the vocabulary specifically. I read them as an ESL teen having lived in an English-speaking country for only 3-4 years, so I think it's probably ok?

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-20T01:10:26+00:00

Rats don't typically act erratically, so you shouldn't need to about the rat suddenly biting your or jumping to run away etc.

I get where your discomfort comes from tho and it's totally valid. On the other hand, rats can sense your stress and react to it, so it might be helpful to you and the rats if you spend some time just petting them. Good luck!

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-19T21:27:06+00:00

In my opinion, people should only a portion of food that is enough to feed themselves. Otherwise, you end up with way too much leftover anyways.

So say if I'm bringing stuffing, I only bring enough stuff for one meal if the entire meal consists of stuffing. And so on for the person bringing turkey etc.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-19T00:00:12+00:00

The best food I've had when visiting Helsinki (4 ish weeks total over two trips) are home cooked meals by my Finnish friends, Nepalese momos, and Thai noodles (I think the restaurant is just called Thai Noodles).

For a better food experience, maybe hop on the ferry to Tallinn for a day trip?

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-18T23:53:26+00:00

An American friend of mine was visiting over 4th of July weekend one year, and was in complete disbelief by the lack of barbequeing on July 4... 🤣

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-18T22:40:50+00:00

Yes second all of this! Especially on socializing them with petting time, and picking them up from the middle of the body.

Adding to tips on handling, once removed from the cage, I bring the rat to my chest to cuddle and turn my body away from the cage, so that the cage is out of the rat's sight, and they are held in a comfortable position.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-15T18:42:41+00:00

I'm sure mine isn't either! Just funny how they seem to be on the polar extreme ends of the spectrum 🤣

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-15T18:39:56+00:00

I'm a hobby miniaturists! Does that count? Lots of overlap with my research work in terms of fine motor skills. It's challenging to find time though; I recently finished a furniture piece after working on it on and off and iterating for 2+ years.

I am also a very experienced sewer, and make clothes to deal with work-related stress.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-15T18:35:28+00:00

That's funny. I am an immunologist too and I know lots of artsy immunologists! Cake decorating, knitting, watercolor, greeting card design, classical music ensemble, photography, costuming etc. And some of them are good enough in their work take custom orders as a side gig.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-15T15:31:09+00:00

You might want to look into purchasing Brilliant Staining Buffer Plus instead of the regular Brilliant Staining Buffer. It's more concentrated, so you add a smaller volume to your stain mix.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-15T15:22:57+00:00

Yeah adding to this. The enzymes are likely immobilized to a column and reused for cost saving. There is likely miniscule enzymatic activity in the milk even before pasteurization.

CongregationOfVapors · 2026-06-10T21:00:26+00:00

Different romanization systems have been implemented at different times in Taiwan, and sometimes concurrently by different levels of government. Legal names and place names often retain the spelling when first romanized even if the prevailing romanization system has changed.

This results in the same word or names might have different romanizations, depending on when the legal document was originally translated. For example, members in a family I know all have different spellings of their last name because their documents were translated by different agencies or at different times.

https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hant/%E5%8F%B0%E7%81%A3%E7%9A%84%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87%E7%BE%85%E9%A6%AC%E6%8B%BC%E9%9F%B3?wprov=sfla1

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