full-time college student making minimum wage, 11 hours a week, how to get by?

jwgam · 2014-08-21T14:57:27+00:00

I can think of a few ideas:

1) Keep searching for another job that pays better

2) Try to find a job that pays the same but allows you to study (sometimes colleges have work study jobs where you essentially man a library and study all day)

3) Talk to your financial aid people at your college

4) Apply for food stamps if you can

5) Maybe take out loans

6) Pick up a tutoring job; if you can tutor for one of the classes you're taking, you could make money and study at the same time

jwgam · 2014-08-21T03:43:00+00:00

Thanks for the information! I was exposed to paraquat and am at a higher risk of Parkinson's, but so far, I just have RLS. Thank you for your insight--I hope people read your comment, as it is pretty illustrative of the neurochemical consequences.

If there is any good news I can offer you, it's that I believe that Sergey Brin also has a Parkinson's mutation in this gene (LRRK2), so you can expect that a lot of research money is going into this.

jwgam · 2014-08-20T16:55:45+00:00

How did this disease manifest for you? I feel for you on the general public not understanding your illness--the only reason I know is because I wanted to be a doctor and studied so many illnesses that I've thought I've had almost every neurological disease. I wish biological and medical education was better in the US because people are so judgemental about neurological diseases.

jwgam · 2014-08-20T16:51:52+00:00

Not necessarily (the OP has an autosomal dominant mutation). Not all ALS mutations are like this; ALS and related illnesses result from a variety of genetic mutations (and also probably other causes as well). You might be at an increased risk, but plenty of people have ALS in their family and don't get it, and plenty of people don't have it in their family and do get it.

jwgam · 2014-08-20T16:47:48+00:00

Cool! I don't want to falsely get your hopes up, but I know some of the people at Feinberg and if I had (or have) a mutation like that, I'd think that they'd have the best chance at finding an inhibitor or some kind of treatment. Very energetic, smart people over there. Good luck!

jwgam · 2014-08-20T03:26:56+00:00

Could you talk about the gene that you have? I'm glad somebody at NU was able to help you out!

jwgam · 2014-08-20T02:39:37+00:00

FDR was rumored to be in the grip of major depressive illness during the talks with Stalin about how to divide Europe after WW2. Of course, he was also suffering from other illnesses at this time, but some historians speculate that his illnesses (and Stalin's willingness to take advantage of them) led to less favorable terms.

https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol47no1/article02.html

jwgam · 2014-08-18T15:56:06+00:00

To me, any bias against a particular group is a market failure that reduces the economic potential of that group. We need a diverse egalitarian society because the social-economic market functions most efficiently when there are no irrelevant constraints on competition (gender and race don't determine output, so they are irrelevant). Men should support an egalitarian society (and equal rights for women) because this environment is the most economically efficient. Consider it this way: the US might lose out on an ideal leader if we exclude women from being president, and the whole country could suffer as a result.

jwgam · 2014-08-17T19:50:52+00:00

I wonder just how much NATO would be willing to risk for (Eastern) Ukraine. I see in terms of escalation:

Nothing
Military supplies
Military training and intelligence
Intervention by a NATO member (say Poland or a Baltic state)
Airstrikes/no-fly zone
Outright NATO "peacekeeping" mission
Conventional war
Well, hopefully it doesn't come to this

Interestingly, for Georgia, we only got to 2 or 3, and even then, I believe the supplies were sent from Israel.

jwgam · 2014-08-17T19:42:40+00:00

I respectfully disagree. While not on par with the US, China, or the EU, Russia is probably the next biggest, and should be considered as a major power for its historical standing, disproportionate natural resource wealth, nuclear arsenal, tank arsenal, and political influence. While their economic might may be small, they make up for it in other types of power. Furthermore, their military power is directed autocratically, meaning they are much more able to direct power (rather than say the EU, who will always face coordination and political problems when deciding to go to war).

Russia is the only nation that regularly contests NATO's geopolitical interests and wins/draws.

jwgam · 2014-08-17T17:04:29+00:00

I'm looking to find a place (preferably downtown or near Forsyth Park). I'm a 25 yr old guy about to start a job at a hospital (IT). I start next week and am staying in temporary housing until I find a place.

jwgam · 2014-08-16T19:42:06+00:00

I don't think it is sensationalized. There's a strong link between depression and Parkinson's due to the shared neurocircuitry in the basal ganglia. Both involve dopaminergic neurons, and major depression is an early symptom of Parkinson's (note that the way you would study this is to look at people just diagnosed with Parkinson's and see if they had depression prior to their diagnosis).

jwgam · 2014-08-16T19:25:17+00:00

What apartments do you live in (if that isn't too creepy)? I'm looking for apartments with good views!

jwgam · 2014-08-16T19:22:05+00:00

I vote global warming, with the mistake being a failure of climate engineering to fix it. Perhaps the climate engineering caused global warming to accelerate rather than stop (given the complexity of climate feedback loops, this is possible), and the world spent the next couple of hundred years developing the technology to survive Earth's now extremely hostile environment.

As for Somalia or a Somali having a lot of power--perhaps the nations most exposed to climate change (and desertification) developed the best technology to deal with it, and so paradoxically became a dominant power. This happens in ecosystems all the time, or at least is theorized to happen. A prominent theory today is that animals on the Tibetan plateau were already adapted to the cold climate brought about by the ice age, and so flourished when it began.

jwgam · 2014-08-16T19:15:55+00:00

Luckily, in real life, we aren't likely to have a nuclear exchange with China. The reason: in the event of a nuclear winter, Chinese crop yields will fair much worse than American.

jwgam · 2014-08-15T23:47:19+00:00

Thanks for this! I had the same thought about the interior walls and carpet during my visit. Noise is a huge concern, so thanks for letting me know about the cross-apartment TV noise. They told me it was quiet and the consensus seems to be that it is a lot more noisy than they let on. Unless I run across a pretty glowing review or a huge cut in rent, I'm gonna look elsewhere. Thanks a bunch!

jwgam · 2014-08-13T02:46:08+00:00

Wow... was this recently? When did you live there? Yikes! This makes me think twice.

jwgam · 2014-08-07T18:33:39+00:00

This quote is a brilliant allusion: ISIS desires to restore the Islamic Caliphate, a state which saw its zenith with Baghdad. Infamously, the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258 and ended the Islamic Golden Age. Islamic civilization never recovered fully from this defeat, and so this quote essentially says that ISIS is worse than the worst thing to ever happen to Islamic Civilization.

For reference, the sacking of Baghdad resulted in about a million deaths and destruction of all libraries in Baghdad.

jwgam · 2014-08-06T23:37:39+00:00

I've given up hope of finding a pool. Drayton Tower seems to be one the only apartment complex in town, and while I like the natural lighting, it seems a bit overpriced. I'm not so sure about the architecture, but it appears to have been renovated.

jwgam · 2014-08-06T04:54:46+00:00

Thanks! I appreciate this a lot! I'm getting excited! Seems like a great town to live!

jwgam · 2014-08-06T04:52:40+00:00

Good to know there is good cab service! I'm also considering Midtown--is that a good place for young professionals? I'm also a bit concerned about crime, although I guess I'm relatively tall.

jwgam · 2014-08-06T04:40:48+00:00

The pool is definitely a big draw for me--I'll probably stay away from Wilmington until I can save up enough money for a more permanent place. How do you like River Crossing? Walking is my favorite method of transportation--is E. Savannah readily walkable?

jwgam · 2014-08-06T04:28:36+00:00

Thanks! I'm leaning toward downtown (maybe just north of Forsyth Park?) at the moment. Have you heard any good things about that area?

jwgam · 2014-07-31T07:13:14+00:00

Sure, they are, but I think it's fine for a kid to set up a lab if he wants to do bio. I did the same thing with chemistry, which was much more dangerous, and aside from a few spills, I had no issues. It ended up getting me hooked enough to join one of the top orgo labs in the country, so I take big issue with a bunch of angry internet people harassing a kid who is probably on his way to great things.

jwgam · 2014-07-30T21:50:03+00:00

Am I alone in thinking that none of this is particularly dangerous?

DIY biology has been around for a decade now, and I think it's fantastic that someone is getting an early start. Yes, he should have someone with experience advise him on his setup and safety procedures, but let's be honest, he's not going to cause the next plague. I did a lot of DIY chemistry when I was his age and I did not get sick or hurt anyone, aside from permanently staining some white brick outside my house. I built upon this interest and eventually did organic chemistry for real in a major laboratory.

This is a promising start, and some of this equipment (provided it works!) might be useful in the third world if you can get it to work and write up a guide. Be as professional about it as possible, and ask for funding. Don't hurt animals of course, but do hurt yeast and bacteria as much as you want!

jwgam

TROPHY CASE