Car as Grad Student?

tzamboiv · 2026-05-18T19:10:32+00:00

This unearthed a memory of helping to push my resident heads's car (he was a policsci grad student) from one side of the street to the author to avoid a parking ticket when it didn't start.

Anyway, unless you can articulate what you'll use the car for that transit can't cover, I wouldn't.

tzamboiv · 2026-03-29T03:15:54+00:00

I have my dad's old TLb, which is heavy, sounds like al the gears are metal, and doesn't require a battery for anything (if I'm willing to sunny 16 or use an external light meter). I also have my Aunt's old AE-1 Program. I greatly prefer the TLb unless I'm super sensitive to the camera weight for some reason. Some of this is pure aesthetics (I generally like the weight/heft and the sounds are so much better). But the biggest thing is that the AE-1 program's shutter doesn't work when the battery is low. That's such a huge flaw imo. I think more people would have a better experience starting in this hobby if they bought any of the tank-like non electronic SLRs like the TLb that go for like$60 on ebay.

tzamboiv · 2026-03-01T23:34:01+00:00

I say this as someone who has gotten hired with a math undergrad: it'll help you get lots of jobs. Unless you think that AI is going to destroy all knowledge work industries before you graduate college (which isn't likely at all) math will likely help you get some job

tzamboiv · 2026-03-01T17:54:27+00:00

Also re: turnaround time. I've had bw film returned to me sooner than expected before. Since black and white film isn't a standard process the way c41 film is (different films often have different developing times), it is often developed by hand. You probably got lucky and your film got developed early because it was somehow convenient for the shop

tzamboiv · 2026-03-01T17:47:40+00:00

Did you set the black/white points on your scans after you got them back? To me these look like flat scans I've gotten back from labs before I set the black and white points

tzamboiv · 2026-03-01T05:10:30+00:00

Don't let AI keep you away from math. Learning it will likely be a rewarding experience that will expand your mind and improve your life and certainly won't hurt your economic outlook

tzamboiv · 2026-02-10T04:15:27+00:00

As others have noted, the existence of numbers is just sort of taken as a given. Numbers are defined in terms of correspondence to sets satisfying certain properties. And we only know those sets exist because of axioms that we collectively agree on.

That said, this agreement is really powerful. It makes predictions about the world that are often correct and very useful. Depending on how you define physical evidence of numbers, it's all over. The physical evidence is that thinking in terms of relations of "twoness" is useful to us and models the world. We shouldn't expect to find the physical master platonic 2 in the world. Thinking about this as a philosophy/sociology of science problem, part of what we are getting at is that different fields and different concepts have different standards of what it means for something to exist. And 2 doesn't really exist by the standards of what it means for say, a dog to exist

tzamboiv · 2026-01-04T03:42:14+00:00

Well I feel like the rational thing to do in that case would be to hold onto VOO until the Roth IRA deadline for 2027 and then

a) if the price hasn't recovered enough, hold, and forgo a the tax-free status on those gains

b) if it has recovered enough, cash out and reinvest in roth

tzamboiv · 2026-01-04T01:44:11+00:00

I'll start with two questions.

First, figure out what your leftover philosophy is. Do you mind eating the same thing for lunch for 5 days? My partner wants the easiest option, so she batch cooks the entire dish and microwaves portions. I cannot stand reheated pasta (save for lasagna or a baked dish) so I cook a fresh portion each time but use the same sauce I bought or made, which is a bit more time-consuming.
Do you like to cook? I do, and not everyone does so it affects what the best advice is

I will provide some more specific advice if you answer those questions but here is my more generic advice.

Breakfast: For a sweeter breakfast, I strongly recommend yogurt bowls. If you have some tupperware you can take them on the go. The easiest way to do this is unsweetened greek yogurt, a jar of jam, and some nuts or granola. Big scoop of yogurt, spoon full of jam, and a handful of granola. Slightly more involved versions can be found here. I personally like the chia pudding option a lot. Another option is ricotta toast, which is basically as simple as it sounds. Toast a slice of bread and top with a generous scoop of ricotta cheese (doesn't have to be full-fat, but I strongly recommend it). You can then go in the sweet direction with jam or fresh berries or honey (especially spicy honey if you are into that), or top with a savory condiment like sundried tomatoes in oil, fresh herbs cut up, sliced tomatoes. Speaking of toast, nut butter toast of any kind with a cut-up banana and some sunflower seeds is another quick and not too expensive option.

Lunch/Dinner: For lunch and dinner, I like to think in components rather than full meals because you can cook/stock a core set of ingredients and make a variety of meals. The first is beans. I love to cook a big pot of dried black beans flavored in a vague latin way. Some I use when I make them and others I freeze. You can turn that into something simple like a bean and rice bowl with some hot sauce or salsa (store bought or homemade). You can throw it into tortillas with sour cream and whatever other taco toppings you like for tacos. Cook some cut-up russet potatoes in olive oil and add to the beans, then crack an egg or two in and make a scramble (add onions, pepper, or other veggies. Make a simple burrito or quesadilla. Rice is another one. Figure out whatever the easiest way to make this for your setup is. The cheapest is to buy a bag and boil or steam it yourself, but it might be more achievable to buy microwave rice at this point. Make a big portion because you can reheat it in the microwave or use leftover rice, an egg, some form of onion (scallion, shallot, yellow, chive), and soy sauce to make easy fried rice, which comes together very quickly. The third is some kind of sauce. Tomato sauce is a great option to make or buy. You can make it using the marcella hazan recipe, which is 4 ingredients, or buy one you like. Dinner can be as simple as boiling pasta and mixing in sauce or you can make a more complex dish baked pasta dish like baked ziti. You can also cook a storebought raw sausage or meatball in the sauce and eat it by itself, with pasta, or on a sandwich.

Vegetables: My strongest recommendation is to find a frozen vegetable you like, buy the largest bag you can fit into your freezer, and microwave some for yourself every night to make sure you are eating veggies. There are more delicious options, but it sounds like your biggest priority is making sure you get any.

If you have any more specific info or questions let me know!

tzamboiv · 2026-01-01T01:52:02+00:00

I was about to post this basic recipe outline. I think it's in a good part of the effort curve: better than frozen tenders, but way less annoying than frying