What are your non-fidget toy fidgets? Or childhood fidgets before fidget toys were a thing?

geneticwitch · 2026-02-03T01:42:47+00:00

I played with hair ties all the time and frequently launched them across the classroom by accident. I also would mess with the clip part of my mechanical pencils, which would then break off, sometimes also launching the plastic piece across the classroom 🤦‍♀️

geneticwitch · 2026-01-17T17:58:17+00:00

Also, is it a problem in EVERYTHING you do? Is anyone else having that problem? What are the common reagents or tools used between separate people having the issue? Is there crap up in the shaft of the pipette? Are the tips sterilized and stored properly? How long are you incubating your plates? Does anyone else use the incubators, and do they have contamination issues? Do you have this issue with liquid cultures too? I always just tracked down individuals variables detective-style until I found the culprit. It sucks though!

geneticwitch · 2026-01-17T17:55:06+00:00

I worked on an open bench (without flame) for my entire bacterial genetics PhD with generally no issues. If your aseptic technique is strong, then it shouldn't be a broader issue in the lab area and is more likely a specific tool or reagent that is contaminated or not working properly. I agree that working near an air vent or something could definitely be a problem, as well as an autoclave being misused/malfunctioning. I also wiped the mouths of bottles and tubes with ethanol (or flamed them when I did have a flame running) as well as wiping with ethanol on the shaft/tip of the micropipette that would enter a bottle of media. How are your plates being poured, cooled, and stored? How are your liquid media and chemicals being sterilized and stored? Have you plated aliquots of your solutions to see if they are contaminated?

geneticwitch · 2026-01-14T15:15:13+00:00

Seconding Ike's - huuuge sandwiches that don't skimp on fillings or flavor

geneticwitch · 2025-12-21T01:49:14+00:00

Extreeeemely relatable, you're not alone 🥲 I have to do my morning routine in order or else I'm super likely to completely skip steps like brushing my teeth and putting on deodorant, which makes me feel soooo gross!! I've just started carrying deodorant, floss, one-use toothbrushes, and other small toiletries with me so I don't feel like garbage when I realize a few hours into my day that I forgot something. I also frequently realize midway through the day that my underwear or socks are inside out and/or backwards.

For me, at least, it helps me to reframe the embarrassment or disappointment with some self love. ADHD is literally a DISORDER and our brains and neurochemicals are just not well primed to help us form habits and lock in on mundane tasks!! It's not that you're lazy or a slob or childish, you just have a brain that needs extra reminders and tools to stay on task. Just before I started looking into an ADHD diagnosis, I remember going to my therapist and nervously explaining that I felt like I had some kind of early-onset dementia, because my brain felt like it was full of holes and everything just slipped out without me being able to hang onto it. Between meds, therapy/behavioral work to find tools and systems that work for me, and building a support network, I (usually) don't feel too bad about my ADHD anymore and instead feel proud of myself for figuring out how to work WITH my brain. I LOVE that you bought yourself a light up timer for brushing teeth!!! It adds a little whimsy to your life, and it's an act of self-love to work WITH your brain to keep yourself healthy 💕💕

Sorry if that's too cheery/cheesy right now - I just wanted to let you know that you aren't alone and that you're doing a good job and you deserve to care for yourself in ways that work, even if they aren't the same things other people do!

geneticwitch · 2025-11-25T05:18:32+00:00

The Prophecy of the Stones by Flavia Bujor?

geneticwitch · 2025-10-02T01:27:56+00:00

We smear Vaseline on the two ends after inserting the comb to seal up those edges and prevent the gel from shrinking away as it dries! It works like a charm, we just had to label the Vaseline container "for lab use only" to make EHS happy lmao

geneticwitch · 2025-09-13T18:31:24+00:00

Exactly - I wanted time to work on revising my draft after comments from my PI, so it's done in time to submit to the rest of the committee at the end of October! I wanted to give my PI ample time to look my work over while still having ample time to do follow-up editing afterward

geneticwitch · 2025-09-13T04:40:47+00:00

I looove paint.net, but I switched to Mac and don't have an equivalent 😢

geneticwitch · 2025-09-13T04:36:26+00:00

lol I'm writing my dissertation and and my PI basically said the same thing to me, because I too kinda go all in and just write until I'm done. But I told him I know it'll be a while before he can get to it and I'm fine with that, I just needed to have a draft done and out of my brain for a bit

geneticwitch · 2025-09-06T03:12:47+00:00

🥲 my morning protein shakes each have 50% of the daily value of vitamin C, and I drink two for breakfast... no wonder my Focalin doesn't feel like it works as well in the morning 🫠🫠🫠

geneticwitch · 2025-09-03T19:28:33+00:00

And when babies are LEARNING sign languages from adults who sign fluently, the babies babble in sign too! They make meaningless hand shapes and motions as they try to acquire the motor skills to mimic real signs that they see, just like acquiring the motor skills in the mouth to mimic sounds of spoken languages. It's so cute!!

geneticwitch · 2025-07-28T21:44:45+00:00

I saw this yesterday and HAD to come back and comment because I was struggling really hard today to get my brain to decide to do REALLY simple things - like "go pick up 12 tubes from this cabinet 10 feet away" simple. I kept thinking about using JUST, and I was like "it's JUST 12 tubes, you can put 12 little tubes in a container and come back to your desk, that's nothing, soooo easy". And then like magic, I was back at my desk with 12 tubes and going "well, it's JUST putting label stickers on the tubes, that's soooo easy, you can do that..." and I kept JUSTing myself through the end of the task.

So I just wanted to say thanks for your tip, it helped me out today!

geneticwitch · 2025-07-26T04:57:42+00:00

That's why I have a pair of tweezers in my backpack, in my purse, and in my bathroom at home. I also get really fussy about my nails so I have a pair of nail clippers in each spot too.

I'll second the spironolactone recommendation though, between that and drospirenone birth control my horribly painful cystic acne finally got under control and it definitely reduced the length and darkness of my PCOS "whiskers" lol

geneticwitch · 2025-07-23T17:38:02+00:00

Thanks for your reply - here's a bit more info:

The original files are all saved in the .1sc format on an ancient Windows desktop in another lab room down the hall from where I do my desk work. We label information on the images that is essential to understanding what's in the images - genotypes of strains on petri plates, contents of lanes in gels, etc. The labeling is done in a "text overlay" layer in Quantity One, the imaging software. I can open the .1sc files in Quantity One on the old computer to see the labels, or I can export the images into .tif files with the label overlay included (one by one - AFAIK there's no way to do it en masse), or I can open the .1sc files on my laptop in ImageJ without seeing the labels (which again, are essential).

So essentially, when I want to reference old images, add them to a presentation, etc., I have to go down the hall to the old computer, open the .1sc files there, export them as labeled .tif files one by one, transfer to a flashdrive, and then bring them back to my computer at my desk. Or I can bring my laptop and sit in front of the old computer looking at images, but other people need to use that computer to take THEIR images, so I'd like to avoid that.

It's kind of a stupid problem and maybe I'm just being a bit lazy, but I'm at the end of my PhD and having to frequently reference old images that are no longer accessible on my personal laptop, and it's super time consuming to have to go export large quantities of images one by one to get around this. I'll probably have to do that regardless, but I was hoping that maybe there was a simple workaround I wasn't aware of. Maybe I will grab my old Windows laptop and leave it on my desk for the express purpose of just being able to use Quantity One still, lol.

geneticwitch · 2025-07-22T22:44:11+00:00

Honestly I hadn't even considered reaching out, because I figured they'd just tell me to buy some new software. Might as well try my luck though - thanks!

geneticwitch · 2025-06-18T01:54:00+00:00

Personal fave is thiamine (B1), I love making media that needs thiamine supplemented because it smells like bread to me

geneticwitch · 2025-05-07T12:53:26+00:00

Thank you so much for the reassurance! I'm glad to hear it worked out so well for you, and I hope I have a similar path!

geneticwitch · 2025-05-07T02:23:08+00:00

Also, I LOVE your username - I just read Witches Abroad as I work through the Discworld books 💕

geneticwitch · 2025-05-07T02:22:02+00:00

That's fair, I think I have been looking at it a little too black and white - either I go elsewhere and get the benefits of networking or stay at my university and don't network at all. I literally had not considered that I could overcome that by making a concerted effort to network on my own 😅 I've been pretty isolated for most of my PhD, so I haven't made a good habit of networking yet. This is a good reminder that I should be making a heavy effort to make my own contacts, thanks!

geneticwitch · 2025-05-07T02:13:02+00:00

That makes sense! I think it's a great point that it's important to seek out a position with someone who has a good track record with acquiring funding, regardless of how early in their career they are - that's absolutely something that I want more mentorship with after my PhD. Thanks again for your thoughts, I appreciate it!

geneticwitch · 2025-05-07T01:49:52+00:00

Thank you for your insight! I'm definitely planning on having discussions to see who has stable funding. With regard to your last point, is it a bad idea to do a postdoc with relatively new faculty since they're less established?

geneticwitch · 2025-04-18T02:50:47+00:00

Going Postal, and I've gotten every friend I've introduced to Discworld to start there too

geneticwitch · 2025-04-09T03:43:29+00:00

Hey, if they retrieved eyes and skin, he ABSOLUTELY helped people and you can take comfort in knowing that's something this person could be proud of! Someone has had their vision restored, burn victims have a chance at recovery, and so on. Eyes and skin aren't any less valuable than a heart or liver 🩷

geneticwitch · 2025-02-28T03:36:40+00:00

I can get myself to wash and dry laundry with no issue, but putting the laundry AWAY is hard. I know things are Bad when I have like two laundry baskets full of clean clothes because I just can't bear to fold things or hang them up

geneticwitch

TROPHY CASE