spectastic

just go on websites of professors you want to work with, find the people page, and there's usually an alumni section that sows you where the professors students end up

anyway, I think I understand where the professor's coming from now. and admittedly, my post might have seemed vague in what it was asking.

I was clearing up misinterpretations by said poster, not trying to be argumentative. doing a phd for fun.. where did that even come from??

uuuummmm... nobody insinuated anything about getting a phd for "fun." PI doesn't care if I have hobbies. He's just had a history of people who've had hobbies that interfered with their work. we've already established that's a nonissue. he's not really dissuading me from joining his group. sorry if I miscommunicated that. he's asking me to think some more about this, even though I've pretty much made up my mind. at the very least, this is a foot in the door for me into a pretty awesome program, with abundant resources, and opportunities to move on after some experience. he seems pretty jaded and frustrated by the funding situation with the government, and told me straight up he doesn't know if he'll be successful about securing funding. No skin off my back if he's not able to fund me for a phd, I've got a TA option that can get me through the first year and worry about the other stuff later. at worst, I leave with a masters to do a phd somewhere else. seems like a good enough plan to me, I don't know what else he's worried about.

I've been talking with a PI about starting my masters and then moving towards a PhD. This is a type of situation where the student must already have a professor willing to take him/her before the student gets accepted. We're compatible; he likes me, and I like him. There are two problems. One of them is that he's not totally convinced that I know what I'm getting myself into, even though I've done research throughout undergrad, and think I have a pretty good idea. The thing is, I'm passionate about science and technology, and I don't think I can get a satisfying career with just a bachelors degree. I think the professor's concern stems from the fact that not all of his students are committed to their research, and because I have hobbies, he's worried that'll take up my time. I've already told him it won't happen, yet he still wants me to take some time and think about it. Perhaps I'm missing something... Was grad school a shock to you guys when you first started? If so, how did it affect your career outlook? the other problem is the professor tells me he's concerned about funding, I think largely due to the fact that there's a guy with a super group (like 40 people in the group) in the engineering department that's sweeping up all the grants from the DOE. He told me there are some pretty sweet TA positions that I can get that will pretty much pay for my tuition, and then some, and that'll get me through the first year. But he still seems concerned about it, as if he's repeatedly asking me "are you sure you want to be in my group?" like it's a path down a dead end or something. Anyway, I don't get it, and I'm hoping someone on here can help me interpret. thanks PS I met him twice now. We'll meet again next week to see if we're both good with what's being proposed.

ennis haywood (if that counts). i was his neighbor when he played at isu. gave us a poster of the season calendar with him in it. we were new to america so had no idea who he was until we saw his wife crying on tv after he died saw a lot of ex pro cyclists in the races in texas, but don't really know any of them. a bunch of them are in austin, but the big shots are busy traveling. there's a guy riding with bissell that i see in the driveway series from time to time. still haven't seen kellen winslow yet though. gives me great ego that I'm faster than an ex nfl player on a bike

how cheap is it to live in central/south america? europe? Oceania?

I can almost hear Nixon rolling in his grave. The fact that fracking is exempt from the clean air/water act really irritates me. I'm not in the business. perhaps it's inherently impossible to maintain air/water quality with the technology, but letting them loose like that is an open invitation to exploitation. This can be addressed by electing the right people into office, but I think the root of the issue surrounding this is just the lack of awareness among the general population. People would rather remain ignorant of what's going on around them until it's near the doorsteps. So we're electing the same muppets into office. climate change ranks lower than gas prices in this country. my roommate (who happens to be a high school teacher) doesn't believe in climate change, thanks to the overpaid republican morons in congress spreading Koch funded propaganda. I'm probably generalizing. maybe someone more politically apt than me can comment on that..

times are changing. I had a coworker who was boasting about his 21 mpg highway eco boost.

what the hell? which school is this? did you stab him in the balls with a sharpie (the metal kind)?

I still think californians are already way more environmentally conscious than the rest of US, with their strict emission regulations for refineries and other plants, fuel efficient vehicles and better public transportation motivated by high gas prices, way more bike friendly (davis has what 70% bicycles compared to cars?), and now water conservation. everyone I met over there abide by a minimalist, take what you need philosophy. Meanwhile, in texas, we got rednecks making a killing in the oil fields, driving their 20 mpg pickup trucks 80 miles a day for their commute, living a life of bigger is better, and high consumption. so whatever the national average is for wastefulness, I'm pretty sure California is on the better end of the spectrum. and I still rent is a serious problem, that's worsening, along the entire coastline apparently. This one lady I stayed with in Santa Cruz was housing 2 students, one of them in the shed, for $600/month, and that's supposed to be a hard to find steal... gawdamn, a $600/month shed is a steal? no thanks! and of course it escalates when you go towards the metro areas. million dollar "modest" houses? just... hilarious.

so is the "drought" more of a byproduct of climate change, or water over-usage, or both? because I don't understand how this seems to be happening just in the Central Valley, but not elsewhere... that I know of.

Wait it's over 5 years. That's why I was thinking 25, because the 5% compounded over 5 years will result in a little more than a 25% tuition hike. It's a growing bubble

or that, whichever one's cheaper, although neither will be cheap to build or maintain. and yea, 5%, not 25%. over the next 4 years i think

sounds like a scam.

I would be more worried about the 25%/year tuition increase in the next 5 years in all UC schools, the high taxes, gas prices, the rent (which is absolutely fucked), etc. as far as the drought, I stayed with a family there who talked about a $5000 bill for going over the month's water limit, which goes on to show how ridiculous their budget issue is in the state. I think the main blame is being put on climate change, where the snow in nor cal that supplies the rivers of so cal is declining. if that were the case they'll have to build some bad ass, and expensive pipelines, which will suck for the tax payer. so in summary, way too many people, way too expensive. great area, but for the aforementioned reasons, I'm picking Austin instead.

the 20s is a period of self-examination, according to John Gray

unfortunately that's not up to you. producing a few geniuses won't prevent the oversupply of idiots.

I would pick internship for the money and experience, considering it will be a look ahead on where you'll probably end up, unless you ultimately decide it's not for you. I think the difference is marginal with respect to which one will give you a better chance of admission, but that's speaking broadly. you know the details more than anybody i think it's importantly to diversify your experiences as much as possible early on.

what's this deal where 80% of all the sublets you see are "for girls?" gender discrimination is not ok!

charles koch - fuck him and his muppet politicians

trust Allah. he will guide you to the promise land.