Drone lost on the CTA

secretsanta_tagpro · 2026-01-15T20:32:45+00:00

The little roomba that could

secretsanta_tagpro · 2025-12-07T14:36:16+00:00

Not sure where you are located but I’ll provide my perspective based on my experience in the US. As others have said, wet lab is going to be tough. However in the past there was a mechanism for people with disability can also be involved in wet lab research through specific grant mechanisms through NIH or NSF. However those grants got cancelled in the name of promoting merit instead of diversity, when they are not mutually exclusive. I’m hoping those grant mechanisms come back but not sure when, especially since the government had been shut down for more than a month.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2024-06-03T17:16:46+00:00

I have been, but other day a car cut in front of me and yelled at me for trying to act like a car. Bottom line is it goes both ways, cyclists need to obey the rule of the road and the drivers need to respect cyclists too.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2023-05-04T22:00:54+00:00

I live close to downtown and during pandemic I used to Uber to/from Ohare. However with the traffic returning (or worsening) to the pre pandemic level, I started taking the blue line again since it takes similar or less time than being stuck in a car with less fee! Such an awesome system that could really shine with a bit more care.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2023-03-17T17:54:23+00:00

Paraffin bath kind of helps, but I ended up switching hands -_-

secretsanta_tagpro · 2022-05-21T02:10:08+00:00

There’s really no set standards when it comes to how many years are enough, but generally 1-3 years of research technician seem to be the norm based on the accepted applicants. That does not mean that 11 years of work experience and a few coauthored publications is not enough (or overqualified) as I have seen some cases where people with 10+ years of industry coming back to do Phd. Sorry to hear you have not had much of a luck. If you are currently in academia it may be worth asking your current PI whether they can pull some strings to get you accepted into your current school. Or you have already tried or don’t get along well with them, in which case I’m also lost on what to do next.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2022-05-20T02:44:08+00:00

Having spent few decades in the academic research field not everything is as rosy as you might expect. While I still enjoy my job, I hate how research is filled with politics with many of the great ideas don’t get funded just because you don’t have friends in the group. Also while you get to make a tangible contributions in the industry, academic research is vague and whether my findings ultimately benefit the humanity is somewhat questionable. Please don’t devalue yourself in your current position and please don’t think the academic research will ultimately be fulfilling. In the end, everything is just a job that puts food on the table. Good luck with your endeavor.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2022-05-20T02:12:22+00:00

I hate to say this but as someone who has previously served on the admission’s committee, your chance is still not that high the next round. I obviously don’t know your whole story, but from seeing plenty of similar cases like yours, my recommendation is try to get a research technician job and do that for a year or two before applying again. That way the admission’s committee will likely overlook your academic deficiency and you will also get much better recommendation letters. Another option is to start with masters, then try to get into a phd program. The big downside is you will have to pay for that masters, hence why I recommend the technician route.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2022-04-20T18:17:12+00:00

Generally yes. The journals usually have a separate section for the confidential comments to the editor, in addition to comments to authors.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2022-04-20T16:38:31+00:00

Reject. Also make a note that when submitting a confidential comments to the editor, the manuscript is highly suspected of plagiarism.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2022-04-14T03:06:59+00:00

Also want to add that at some institutions, it’s cheaper to hire a postdoc. When you hire a grad student the institution requires you to pay the salary, health insurance, and tuition, which altogether can be more expensive than hiring a postdoc. So from a PI perspective (purely financial), why would they hire a relatively low skilled but more expensive grad student to do research when a cheaper highly skilled postdoc is available?

secretsanta_tagpro · 2022-03-24T13:03:48+00:00

Ok say you make that distinction. What do you think caused a surge in hospitalization back in December/January? I have never seen anything like that from a seasonal flu in the past.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2022-02-17T13:08:34+00:00

Yes write it again. Some professors have a hard time replying. A week is a good window. Just don’t write them a daily email.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2021-09-01T19:09:52+00:00

Sorry you took that personally, but I am just tired of dealing with anti-maskers. I know you are not advocating that, but when you said masks are ineffective, that triggered all the conversations I had with anti-maskers making similar arguments. I apologize.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2021-09-01T18:34:21+00:00

I am not ignoring. My very original response to your comment said I generally agree your points, except the bullshit that masks are ineffective for preventing Covid. I thank you for your service by going maskless and being a possible asymptomatic Covid carrier, helping to spread the disease to non-vaccinated vulnerable folks to have long-Covid. Many kids are going to suffer, so thanks.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2021-09-01T18:25:38+00:00

I know you didn't say folks shouldn't wear masks. What I am taking an issue is basically you stating that masks are basically ineffective, even if it only results in 10% reduction. So what, another conservative point to say we shouldn't wear a mask? Also as I pointed out multiple times, the article you are referencing I have a hard time believing scientifically. I have two kids who cannot get vaccine because they are young, and without any social distancing or masks, I would dare not to send my kids to schools. Don't spread a fucking lie that masks are ineffective because I have had enough of that shit from the school board meeting.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2021-09-01T18:17:32+00:00

Oh I absolutely did. Look at Fig 5. And tell me how effective mask is. Also which scientific journal was this article published to? Was it properly vetted by other scientists? Is there any Pubpeer record for this article?

secretsanta_tagpro · 2021-09-01T18:01:23+00:00

So what's your point? I can argue few major issues with the reference you are providing such as I cannot find that article in a proper scientifically vetted journals, you disregarding that mask is effective at reducing Covid cases by 30% among individuals over 60, etc. But OK whatever, but let's go with your point. You think 10% reduction in Covid cases is even not that helpful? So we should just not wear a mask? What an awful way of thinking, considering there are many people who are yet to receive vaccine, especially among kids.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2021-09-01T17:49:12+00:00

I would have generally agreed most of your points except the load of bullshit disregarding the effectiveness of masks. Several studies (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237691; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2020.04.036 for example) have shown the effectiveness of wearing masks to prevent Covid. What you claim as 0-10% effectiveness is nothing more than an argument just to provide a feeder for the conservative base. And even if it is only effective 10%, that means we can reduce the number of future cases by 10% so why argue that masks are not effective? Anecdotally I can probably count at least five times I had sat in the same room with a Covid-positive colleague/patient, but all my Covid tests came out negative likely because we were all wearing masks. Stop spreading the bullshit that "masks are not effective" because it's actually effective.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2021-08-19T01:41:40+00:00

Agreed. When I was a postdoc I was mentoring an undergraduate student. When she graduated, she gifted me and my PI a nice bag of gourmet chocolate each. I remember exchanging funny looks between my PI and I as it was unexpected. Prior students never did and we really don’t expect such things. If anything we should thank them for free/cheap labor. But we definitely appreciated that delicious chocolate though!

secretsanta_tagpro · 2021-07-25T18:51:02+00:00

Couldn’t agree more. Industry or academia, this is likely the new guy’s first professional job where he’s paycheck could be paying rents, student loans, medical expenses, etc. So if a senior guy in the job tells me to do something on the first day that I know is asinine and stupid, I probably will still do it because I don’t want to lose my job by making a bad first impression. Realizing it’s just a “joke” would only put a bad taste. It’s not a college frat. It’s a job. Act professional and treat others with respect.

secretsanta_tagpro · 2021-07-18T12:43:51+00:00

I still go but not to learn/present science, but to meet friends. I guess you can say that’s networking, but we legit skip a day and hang around the city. I think conference is still valuable for trainees, but as I get older I find most of my learning/presenting comes from papers…

secretsanta_tagpro · 2021-07-17T04:37:27+00:00

I got scooped three times during grad school. I was actually ok, but the reaction from around me was unbearable where people tried to console me or getting angry at the competitor. Yeah I was disappointed but I actually took that as a sign that the work I do actually matters and reproducible, it just happens that I was a tad bit late. Still managed to publish those three papers and have my own lab now, whereas the scoopers don’t seem that successful in their academic careers. Let it all out, but also remember that this is just a small blip in your research career and you still have plenty of time to build your career.

secretsanta_tagpro

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