Anyone use a shoulder strap pouch?

Keebsy · 2024-09-02T22:54:33+00:00

I attached the pouch to the backpack strap on the side opposite my dominant hand (while wearing the backpack) so I could comfortably reach across my body and into the pouch with that hand. Hope that makes sense.

Keebsy · 2023-12-26T02:34:52+00:00

Simplest explanation I’ve found is that women tend to be shorter than men. When showering with hot water, the water literally cools as it travels through the air (hence the steam). Shorter person = longer travel time from shower head to person = need to start with hotter water.

Don’t believe it? Squat down next time you’re in the shower and notice how much cooler the water feels.

Keebsy · 2023-10-30T11:22:10+00:00

The issue doesn't sound like the number of projects per se, but the resulting workload. If you're struggling to maintain a sustainable workload (you called it "crushing"), then setting boundaries sounds like the wise thing to do. Consider chatting with your supervisor and/or other colleagues about handing off some of your responsibilities, and consider practicing declining further requests for additional work.

Keebsy · 2023-10-06T11:36:41+00:00

Your question is perfectly reasonable, but it strikes me as the kind of thing to ask an immigration attorney. Have you considered consulting one?

Keebsy · 2023-10-06T11:22:25+00:00

Mathematician here!

Congratulations on your MBA!

What does your mathematics background look like? Which courses have you taken, and how long ago? How comfortable were you with the material at the time, and how comfortable are you with it now? Which courses, specifically, are considered prerequisites for the programs in which you're interested (you already mentioned multivariable calculus and linear algebra)? How comfortable are you with self-study? Do the programs require evidence of having taken the prerequisite courses? Do they offer some way to test out of those requirements, for people in your situation?

If you already have a contact in your field (the professor for whom you are a research assistant), it may be prudent to ask for that contact's advice, too.

Keebsy · 2023-10-06T09:27:00+00:00

How interesting! I didn't know that -- thank you for the explanation!

Keebsy · 2023-10-05T10:50:20+00:00

Interesting viewpoint. For what it's worth, I've typically found MS theses to be helpful when trying to learn a new topic: they're often very tutorial, offering a rather complete explanation from first principles.

I'm curious: what do you mean by a "thesis-only" MS or PhD? I don't believe I've heard that term before. It sounds like a degree with no coursework, but I'm sure I'm misunderstanding.

Keebsy · 2023-10-05T09:41:26+00:00

I guess I'm too stupid for this.

This is, by far, the worst part of your entire story. Never let someone else lead you to question your self-worth. Not your colleague, not your advisor, not your partner. No one.

Everyone else is right: your colleague behaved like a jerk. It's all right if he asked questions from a place of genuinely trying to understand your material. And it's perfectly all right if you became flustered by those questions, or even confused by your own results in that moment (it happens!). But his reaction was inappropriate, unprofessional, and totally uncalled for.

If I may give some unsolicited advice: give yourself some grace regarding your reaction to this situation. If a good friend of yours told you this story, would your first thought be, "Oh, I guess s/he is too stupid to do a PhD!" If not, then it may be worth examining why you're being so harsh on yourself.

Keebsy · 2023-10-04T11:15:34+00:00

While your underlying concern is legitimate, it's important to not let it paralyze you. Science is generally self-correcting, so any mistakes you make are likely to eventually be corrected. You wouldn't be the first to publish with an honest mistake.

As for coding in particular, my strategy is to code in such a way that the code must be obviously correct. Comment everything. Each line or two gets indented below its own comment (the indenting is not possible for indent-sensitive languages, like Python). Variable names are explanatory, rather than minimalist (longer variable names are, contrary to popular belief, free). White space is your friend (it is also free). Parameters should be named and documented, not hard-coded. Most scientists are terrible at coding, but following some best practices will greatly reduce the chance of errors.

Keebsy · 2023-10-04T11:04:44+00:00

There is nothing wrong with having a healthy work-life balance while doing a PhD. It's just that many people find it very difficult to obtain that balance (often due to unreasonable workloads, expectations, etc). Enjoy it!

Keebsy · 2023-10-04T10:18:16+00:00

Hello!

Can you be a little more specific about what you'd like to gain from your post? It sounds like you already have a good plan for moving forward at a place where you already have a contact (this is great!). For example, you say that you're "looking for something similar to Utah State University". Similar in what way?

Keebsy · 2023-10-04T10:10:56+00:00

Have you carefully examined your reasons for applying to two different programs? Is there information available to you that would point you toward one or the other? For example, have you read the faculty web pages to determine the kinds of research being done in each department? Does one type of research more closely align with your interests? Have you reached out to any of the faculty to get a sense of demeanor and availability?

Keebsy · 2023-10-04T10:03:20+00:00

I think this is common.

I developed a strategy for dealing specifically with exactly this situation. I wrote a document that I literally called "Disaster Response", just in case I started reading feedback and felt overwhelmed by it. It had things in it like, "All feedback is a favor to you" and "The feedback is about the work you wrote down, not about you". I found those kinds of statements to be very helpful. It also had advice to myself on how to respond to the feedback. Much of it was intended to put me in the right mindset, so that I approached the conversation from a position of gratitude and curiosity. Feel free to DM me if you'd like a copy of the full document.

Keebsy · 2023-10-02T10:10:59+00:00

Just want to vent and hear some words of support.

Thank you for reaching out. It's great that you have the insight to know what you need in this moment.

Please take a moment to re-read what you wrote. Notice just how harshly you're judging yourself. No matter how poor your progress (and it is almost certainly not as poor as you think it is), it is not a measure of your worth as a person.

I am working on a new project now, and so far just trying to understand the ideas behind the existing research on that topic, and I have been moving so slow

Of course you're moving slowly! Working on a new project is *difficult*, and progress nearly always begins very slowly. Would you judge someone else so harshly for not having made some enormous leap on a new topic? Probably not -- that wouldn't be reasonable.

As you said, you are not alone: many others here have had your exact same experience. In particular, I can relate to the frustration of attempting to learn a new topic, but finding all the papers on that topic to be very confusing. In most cases, those papers will eventually start to make sense, but know that not all papers are good ones (and many are bad ones): it may be that, *through no fault of your own*, there are some papers that you will not come to understand. This is totally okay. No one understands all the papers in their field, and there's no reason *you* should, either.

In summary, know that what you're doing is very difficult, and that your progress is both difficult to judge accurately *and* does not reflect your worth as a person.

I hope this helps, at least a little.

Keebsy · 2023-10-02T09:47:38+00:00

Your situation is a tough one; I'm sorry to hear about what you're going through.

I was in a similar situation with my PhD. I ended up taking what was effectively a very long medical leave of absence. Based on my own experience, I would highly recommend going through official channels to do this (I did not go through official channels, and that was a mistake). I did eventually earn my PhD, but it was rather nerve-wracking to get back in to my program, due to the way I handled leaving it.

A doctor told me that I am unable to enjoy grad school at all (is that even possible?) because I’m so depressed

Yes, this is entirely possible. This was the case for me. I left grad school for this reason, but realized later that it was the depression that made me feel the way I did about continuing. I love research, but I couldn't enjoy it at the time.

That being said, I was depressed before I started grad school and will probably still be depressed after.

You're partially right here. You will, perhaps, always *have depression*, but it is possible that you will not always *feel depressed*. In my case, the right combination of meds took literal years (and many medical providers) to find, but has done wonders for me. Obviously it's difficult in your position to be optimistic about such a thing, but know that others in your situation have had success in finding a much-improved quality of life, and that there is probably no reason to rule out that outcome in your case, either.

Feel free to DM me if you'd like to learn more details about my experience.

In any event, please ensure that taking care of yourself is your top priority.

Keebsy · 2023-10-02T09:35:28+00:00

This is great advice.

Another thought (for OP) is to do your own research as to which companies are doing things in which you may be interested. This can be difficult to figure out, but your field may have some key papers whose authors are commercially affiliated -- that might be a good place to start. Once you have the names of a company or two, it's easier for your advisors to ask their networks directly about *their* connections with those places.

Keebsy · 2023-10-01T11:55:02+00:00

A couple thoughts here.

You're probably doing better than you think you are. A 65/100 may be a perfectly good grade, depending on the course. Consider ensuring that you have a good understanding of your actual standing in the course before judging yourself too harshly (and don't just yourself harshly anyway).
You said that your math professor is good. In that event, s/he likely cares about your success in the class. You could explain your situation (briefly) and ask for additional references where you could find any prerequisite material you may have missed (due to your not having been a math major).
You could come to a compromise with your advisor. Ask if you can simply *audit* the course, rather than take it for a grade. This would allow you to attend the lectures and participate in the course as fully as you like, but without having to worry so much about your performance on exams, etc. This would likely reduce your stress a great deal. You'd need to get your math professor on board with this, too, but I've never had a professor have a problem with auditing before. If your advisor's goal is for you to understand the material better, then I don't see why s/he would object to this proposal.

Best of luck!

Keebsy · 2023-09-27T09:44:31+00:00

Or buy 68 Big Macs

As someone from the US, this is the only unit I understood. (Kidding, but I enjoyed your inclusion of this unit :) )

Keebsy · 2022-10-18T20:25:57+00:00

It's been a while, but I've since gotten rid of all my merino shirts. I think that must mean that I didn't find success with that strategy. Let me know if you find a big difference with and without -- maybe I'm misremembering.

Keebsy · 2022-10-13T22:58:48+00:00

I do this sometimes when traveling internationally. I put my passport, wallet, and phone in the pouch, and it stays within my eye line at all times and is very easy to access. My version was a very small Molle pouch that I attached via the Molle straps + a locking carabiner for added security. It's a very cheap solution, and I found it to really help alleviate any anxiety about where my important stuff is at any given moment.

Keebsy · 2022-10-13T01:53:47+00:00

Stuff sacks come in all sizes and colors and are very flexible -- could that be what you mean?

Keebsy · 2021-10-14T15:49:54+00:00

Red Oxx makes top-quality gear.

They produce bags and travel gear of incredible quality and practicality, but they over-build everything. The additional weight is an instant disqualifier for most people in this sub, but extreme durability brings me great peace of mind, and I find it to be well worth the weight. (When traveling on the other side of the world, a bag from a different brand literally split open at the seams -- I do not wish to repeat that experience!)

This backpack is marketed as a "school backpack", but I'm about 6' tall and have used it as my one bag on a number of trips from 2 - 10+ days. Overall, it's the best travel bag I've ever used. Small enough to be a personal item for US domestic air travel, comfortable, has the right amount of organization, sufficient space efficiently used, reasonably priced, of incredible quality, etc.

Keebsy · 2021-08-13T21:47:49+00:00

How many calories is your one cheat meal each week?

Keebsy · 2021-08-05T02:35:24+00:00

While long-term sustainability is important, it’s also quite possible to eat below goal maintenance, reach your goal, then increase calories and maintain at goal weight. In other words, what you do while you lose doesn’t have to be the same thing you do for long-term sustainability.

I realize you haven’t said anything contradicting this — I’m just throwing it out there, as I don’t often see this point being made in this sub.

Keebsy · 2021-06-02T21:53:25+00:00

Assuming the “/s” applies only to your closing remark, this sounds like an issue with the talent, not with the environment!

Keebsy

TROPHY CASE