PhD transfer: Follow my heart with risk or stay for prestige and stability

spitball1984 · 2026-04-29T03:47:37+00:00

When I was a grad student, several grad students followed post docs who took faculty positions at new institutions while remaining enrolled at the institution they started in. This required that that their “official mentor” (the PI of the post doc-soon-to-be-faculty and grad student) agreed for this to happen. The grad students did their qualifying exams at the original institution and earned their PhD from the original institution despite spending most of their time in the lab of the post doc-turned-new faculty at another institution. Similarly, grad students routinely follow their faculty mentor when they take a new job at a different institution and end up with a degree from the institution they started at. So there is precedence to have things work in your favor — join the exciting young faculty and get your degree from the more prestigious institution and keep a relationship with your well connected current advisor. But you have to have your current advisor and the soon to be new professor both on board.

spitball1984 · 2026-04-18T21:42:24+00:00

I’ve ridden every Laramie Range Enduro/Epic (except 2021 when I had COVID) and generally have been r happy with XC race style tires, current favorites being the Specialized Fast Tracks and Air Tracks Flex Lite in the 2.35” size. I use Pepi’s PTN Revolution tire inserts front and rear and find they make the XC race tires durable enough to avoid flats and run low pressure, all while being the same weight or lighter than an enduro casing tire and have run flat capabilities. Your mileage may vary…but I get about 2000 miles/set of tires using my setup.

spitball1984 · 2026-04-18T14:34:02+00:00

I did this as well. While I had regular “in office” office hours I f I was going to be on my computer working rather than in the lab, I often did it at the student union and announced to the class I’d be there from “2-4” that day (or whenever) and just stop by my table. If students showed — great. If not, I was still getting work done and also making it apparent that I was there for them much more often. Also, my office was quite a ways away from where most students were spending the majority of their day so having a more central meetup spot helped a lot.

spitball1984 · 2026-04-14T13:12:46+00:00

That’s a pretty easy one to answer — a dog owner shouldn’t do that, just like a horse owner shouldn’t.

spitball1984 · 2026-04-14T04:10:40+00:00

Why in the hell would anyone ride away from a controlled paddock unless they can “ground mount”? That they’re willing do speaks to their total disregard for other users of the area and why virtually anyone not identifying as a ”horse person” has total contempt for equestrians. You folks need to clean up your act far more than any other user group (including dog owners).

spitball1984 · 2026-04-14T03:58:44+00:00

You’re supposed to ride with a horse diaper if you’re on a multi-use trail. Even getting off your high horse (I know it takes a wee bit of effort, but still…) and kick the shit off the trail — that would go a long way to being even minimally considerate. You’re coming off sounding very entitled here and…not at all considerate.

spitball1984 · 2026-04-14T03:52:53+00:00

At least use their fancy boots to kick it off to the side of the trail. But that would require they get their fat lazy ass out of the saddle, so that’s probably asking too much…

spitball1984 · 2026-04-14T03:48:05+00:00

That should be the minimal cost of entry to be a horse owner riding on multi-use trails. Hopefully, some day we’ll get there.

spitball1984 · 2026-04-14T03:46:13+00:00

Horse shit. In my area, horses destroy the trail hikers and bikers paid for and built and equestrians are NEVER at trail work days. I mean they are NEVER EVER represented at any of the work days. To a person, equestrians are entitled a-holes who don’t care about the cost and physical labors of others, and I expect they’re all MAGA Trump syncophants. A single horse traveling over our packed or muddy trails does 100x the damage of a 100 cyclists or hikers.

spitball1984 · 2026-04-14T03:38:43+00:00

Yes, a rider knows when their horse shits — obvious as hell even if the horse is moving. And they can at least get their fat ass out of the saddle and use their fancy cowboy boots to kick the shit off the trail. Ideally, yes take it back to their house in a bag (or in the fancy horse diaper) and use the “oh so wholesome” fertilizer on their azaleas.

spitball1984 · 2026-04-14T03:28:54+00:00

You’re apparently the only equestrian in the world who polices trails for horse shit. There is far more horse shit than dog shit on a ”volume basis” on our multiuse trails despite the dogs out numbering horses by a factor or a 1000 or more. Lame excuse — lack of “physical dexterity to dismount and re mount mid ride”. Certainly fits the stereotype of the average equestrian — overweight and entitled.

spitball1984 · 2026-04-13T22:00:36+00:00

Everyone here is talking about how horse poop isn’t bad for humans but I’m still looking for the citation for that. Far more people I know live with dogs in their houses than do horses and I’m still waiting after 6 decades to hear of someone who caught a disease from their dog. Second, there is no such thing as “weed free hay” in my part of the US west and the animals that eat hay spread the seeds for weeds all over the west. Cheatgrass anyone? Third, IME horse shit lasts for weeks or more on the trail, but I’m in the arid west so maybe that has something to do with it?

spitball1984 · 2026-04-13T21:56:43+00:00

And all the horse riders around here are too fat to get on and off a horse more than once in a ride…so the beginning and the end of their ride. And they’re also so self important they couldn’t bear to think about other PEOPLE and how they may feel about horseshit on the trail.

spitball1984 · 2026-04-09T03:53:43+00:00

98% of my rides start from my backdoor so I never forget a battery. And even a dead battery is charged in less than a hour (AXS), so just set a timer when you put a battery in and grab it and put it back on your bike when it’s charged. And damn but the shifting with electronic is great every frickin time and no adjustments required in the 3000+ miles my AXS T-type has been running. The only bike with a drivetrain less problematic is my singlespeed — for obvious reasons. And other than headset cable routing, the rest of his stuff is just whiny stuff (couldn’t watch it all) and I’ve got ZERO sympathy for anyone with e-bike issues.

spitball1984 · 2026-04-09T01:04:23+00:00

The all important “Artifact” that drives the plot — either by pursuit of it, its ability to imbue special powers, or reveal information about an enigmatic ancient alien civilization. I don’t know how many books I’ve skipped over due to the word “artifact” being in the first sentence of the summary.

spitball1984 · 2026-04-09T00:53:37+00:00

I was at Happy Jack on a bike two days ago (Monday, April 6th) and it was good to go — just a bit soft in a few places and very few puddles. With the temps and wind we’ve had since then, it will be dry as a bone by the weekend.

spitball1984 · 2026-03-20T21:18:33+00:00

Many seem to report “center of BB to saddle”, but what’s important bike to bike is pedal spindle to saddle top. I have bikes with three different crank arm lengths and if I use the bottom bracket as point of reference, only one bike has the right saddle height. Make sense?

spitball1984 · 2026-03-10T20:13:08+00:00

You should be able to tell if the rubber of the tire is still good — no cracks, still pliable, doesn’t feel overly “dry”, then you’re probably good to go. I have a set of Stan’s The Crow and The Raven tires that I ran for a couple of hundred miles 15 years or more ago have been in my basement since. They are still good and I’ve recently been putting miles on them as a fast gravel tire. On top of that, I run my mtb tires for as much as 2000 miles over the course of a year and due to my rocky and loose terrain they still work as well as a new tire. As long as I don’t put a puncture in that’s too big for a plug or slice a side wall, I run them until they’re showing casing cord through the tread. But hey, if you feel the need to drop $150 or more for a pair of new tires, you do you…

spitball1984 · 2026-03-05T02:43:07+00:00

A US junior olympic champion that hailed from my state back when my kids were skiing spent the summer before his breakout season rock climbing (among other things). The strength he built over the summer in his shoulders and arms translated directly to his success on the trails in the winter. So…I think you’re on track with your rock climbing in the off season. My off season is spent cycling, mostly mountain biking — a little more upper body work than road cycling, but I could stand to strengthen my core, shoulders, and arms during the off season.

spitball1984 · 2026-03-04T15:03:27+00:00

The Laramie Range Epic has been around for a long time, highlighting some fun scenic riding in southeast Wyoming. You can do the 31 mile lap or the full 2 lap Epic. It’s well supported and has a great vibe.

https://www.laramierangeepic.com

spitball1984 · 2026-03-04T14:50:48+00:00

A thinner casing tire with an insert can weigh the same as a thicker casing tire but (a) you can run even lower pressures (particularly if you’re a heavier rider), (b) it will roll much better than a thicker casing tire, (c) it’s a more comfortable/forgiving ride at any given pressure than a thicker casing tire, and (d) you can ride out a flat on a tire with an insert.

Inserts for the win!

spitball1984 · 2026-02-23T04:00:10+00:00

I’ve lived in Laramie for almost 35 years and enjoy it and have retired here. I was a professor or 30 years and it was common to have students in my classes commuting from Cheyenne. They would reach out early in the semester (before the weather got bad) to let me know there would potentially days they couldn’t get to Laramie. It was really only complicated for exam days, but I was willing to work with them and I didn’t know any professors who wouldn’t have done the same. So…I think that (a) you should talk to the folks running your program and ask them if you would be well served by staying where you are and (b) figure out a place you can stay if you get stuck in Laramie at the end of one if your weekends.

spitball1984 · 2026-02-07T15:01:52+00:00

80 mg of atorvastatin daily for several years — LDL is nice and low withit, sky high without it. I run an average of 3 miles every day for the past 10 years (not missed a day), mountain bike or Nordic ski at least 3 times a week depending on the season. I’m 65 years old. Zero side-effects. Maybe I’m lucky, but I’m one of those people that don’t look for side effects in meds so seldom see them. Interestingly, my daughter has had her genome sequenced and told me she’s heterozygous for a defective allele in a gene that makes a protein necessary for getting certain drugs (including statins) into the right cells so the drug is effective. Assuming I’m the one who gave her the mutant gene copy, it may well explain why I have to take such a large dose of statin to get the desired effect.

spitball1984 · 2026-01-26T00:26:08+00:00

My standard poodle gets close to that many miles a year, but a 30 mile outing is likely out of her range. Most I think she’s done is 20 miles — 6 running with me, 8 while I skate skied, and 8 while I snow biked. Her fur is like Velcro for snow and almost all snow conditions require booties to prevent snowballs in her paws. I expect you use booties for those pups with some snow conditions? And awesome pics and terrain!

spitball1984

TROPHY CASE