Neist

I'm organizing bookmarks. Anyone else not done this in a few years? Trying to sell off some of my unused flotsam and jetsam around the house, too. I am dedicated to having a more efficient life this year.

Nope! But it wouldn't be surprising, either. I'm not sure how other history departments work, but I don't see a syllabus until the first day of class. And unsurprisingly, we read a lot of books. The faculty members typically only assign easy-to-locate material for the first week or so, but it's a little bit annoying, I admit. If classes last semester were any evidence, I'll need to pick up 12-15 books per history class. Library classes are less. And the history class books, while often cheap when bought second-hand, can be costly. A few in the $50-ish range wouldn't surprise me. To be honest, my schedule is going to be so different this semester, I'm going to have to readjust. I'm taking two classes instead of three, and like @hippyscientist, I want to be a bit more proactive with my research in this downtime. I want my coursework to be a necessary evil, not a time-consuming everything. I see graduate school as a time where I need to polish my academic voice, so to speak, and I need to do research to accomplish that.

I probably only spend around $120 to $130 on myself as is, but I'm not really satisfied with the crappy quality of meat I have to buy to make that work. I'll probably still cook a whole chicken every so often, because that's super cheap. Thanks! Vegans eat a lot of beans, quinoa, nuts, and similarly dense foods. Lot of greens, too. The only reason I haven't tried the diet sooner is because you have to be relatively careful if you want to ensure that you're not giving yourself malnutrition.

I don't have anything meaningful to add other than you are generally correct on the history of science front. Historians of science typically identify, or at least more primarily identify, by discipline, and dedicated history of science programs usually identify their strengths by discipline. So, for example, I study the history of evolutionary biology.

So, I think I'm going to go vegetarian/vegan. It's not an ethical issue to me as much as an economic one. Meat is expensive, and I've just gotten over a throat illness that I'm pretty sure was caused by my insistence to keep eating milk products despite them severely inflaming my throat. I hope everyone's new year is going well! I had a black truffle, filet mignon, and fig pizza on New Year's Eve. It was the yum, and the most expensive pizza ever.

Np! I've quite enjoyed what I've bought from them. Made in the USA, too, if that matters. I'm rather ambivalent on that point, but some people care.

This last fall I purchased a Waterfield Designs (https://www.sfbags.com/) sleeve for my tablet, and while it certainly was not cheap, it is very attractive, durable, and well-made. I'll probably leap for a full bag next time I'm in the market for one. I'm not too sure what I'd recommend, but I thought I'd throw another brand/option out there.

Well, sorta. I realized just now that I mistyped. I've held Galileo's copy of Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, if memory serves. I believe the copy of Sidereus Nuncius that I've held was a copy of a member of the Medician court. We have a pretty impressive rare books collection at the University of Oklahoma, actually. Probably one of the larger collections of history of science books in North America. We own all sorts of neat things.

Ah. Neat! I've held his copy before. It's a pretty unique experience! I've always found original works far more enjoyable and readable than what one might initially imagine.

That's strangely particular. What do you study? I post in a thread similar to this one in the history subforum, but currently, I'm reading The Glass Universe by Dava Sobel. It's not bad, and I'm usually a fan of Sobel, but it's not really a topic that I enjoy reading. Glad I read it, though. Not sure what I'm going to read next.

The only classics works I like tend to be science fiction. The rest is very meh. Ever try to get through Moby Dick? Oh my, that's a tough one...

Eh, some people are terrible at tests. Mendel (of pea fame) failed his teaching exams. Horribly. Tests certainly aren't a measure of potential, and I certainly have seen that anecdotally in my life. Grit by Angela Duckworth is super elucidating on that point, too.

Looks right up my alley. I'll add it to the list. Thanks!

Took me longer than I would, but I finally finished On the Origin of Species. The holidays completely kills productivity with familial obligations. Now, I'm reading Monk in the Garden. Not sure what I'll read next. Hm.

So, today was my daughter's fourth birthday. I took her to the Science Museum Oklahoma. I am very tired. I was there for five hours. Geez, where do kids get their energy from? Also, the Science Museum Oklahoma is super cool! I was raised in Oklahoma, and I've been to the museum probably at least a dozen times, but it's been at least a decade since I last visited. It's neat!

Spiced black rum mixed with hot chocolate. Put a healthy dollop of whipped cream atop it and a little bit of spice, whatever you fancy. I used nutmeg.

You too! I'm drinking boozy hot chocolate.

Sorry about that. I ran into some similar complications perpetuated without my desire when applying to to graduate programs. I just lowered my head and rode it out. Good choice! Oddly enough, that one is made by the Radiolab people. I love the way they cut their audio.

Well, considering your a scientist, I recommend Radiolab. It's a good one, especially the older issues (which have more to do with science)

My thesis chair has a dragon tattooed on the side of his head. I imagine that some hiring committees looked disfavorably at his tattoos, but he holds a tenure track position. So, I wouldn't necessary say that they severely impact one's employability.

Lol. Well, give one of those a listen. It's hard to explain what they are without ruining them.

@Need Coffee in an IV It's in the vein of the docudrama podcasts that recently gained popularity (i.e., Limetown, The Message, Tanis, etc.). It's by The Message people.

Okay, so, the Life After Podcast is one of the best things I've listened to in a long time. I thought I'd share. Good stuff.

@nevermind You do envirotech? That's a pretty small world! We have a couple people doing envirotech work here at OU (one faculty member and one graduate student). Who knows, maybe you'll run into each other at some point. @hippyscientist It's a big game of trial and error! People don't understand when I tell them that I'm not exactly sure what's bothering me. It takes a lot of experimentation to pinpoint it! @Pink Fuzzy Bunny Good for you! If there's one universal that I've seen in my program in my contingent, it's that people have really developed a more exact sense of what they want to do professionally. I'm pretty sure that after one semester some of the people who wanted to get a Ph.D. in my program will instead leave with an MA. I still enjoy academia, but I'm not sure if I'd want to be a faculty member.

Well... I ate a bunch of waffles (butter), and then, later, I had some mac and cheese (cheese). Unfortunately, the Kefir probably wouldn't help. I don't think I'm lactose intolerant inasmuch as increasingly allergic to milk protein. I don't get the tell tale digestive issues associated with lactose intolerance. I get incredibly bad drainage (a common allergic reaction for me), to a point where, if severe enough, I risk starting to choke. Thankfully, I'd have to eat a lot of dairy before I got to that point, so usually I'm just fairly uncomfortable. I can pop a few Benadryl, but then I'm halfway asleep for 4-6 hours, so.