awvish

Well said.

Haha share the strange.

Whether or not the system is unfair (and I agree with you that it's especially rough on Ph.D students in fields that don't have a lot of outside funding for fellowships, etc) is not a good reason to take advantage of a person (your advisor) or people (your group, team, etc) in it. It's very seldom those on the interface level that are responsible for the injustice, and in this case, it's such a big system that, to my knowledge, those who are responsible are pretty much a "Them". (Incidentally, I don't have a good enough understanding of economics to follow the cause all the way up, so that last assertion could be erroneous). Edit: So, basically, what Bukharan said.

I started contacting potential PIs the February before applications were due (and continued until the end of March). That helped me narrow it down from people I wanted to work with to people who had space and/or were interested enough in me to respond. I kept in fairly loose touch with the people I was most interested in through the fall, too.

Well, I wasn't trying to show off, sorry if it seemed like that. As to the flexibility, I definitely agree--it takes some courage to switch fields and know that you'll be scrambling for the background you need to catch up with people continuing from their majors. Once you've done that, doing other risky or unorthodox things seems less intimidating.

I majored in Chemistry and English and am just starting my first year in Ecology. Like atmaero, though, I got some experience during undergrad, but unlike atmaero, I didn't know at the time that Ecology was what I wanted to do. For various reasons (social, convenience, etc) I ended up getting a job helping out in an Ecology lab during my sophomore year, which led to my having enough experience to get into an international summer research program (and was I really going to turn down a summer in a tropical rainforest?). I kept working in the lab, and the summer after that I got into another international research program (right, okay, I'll turn down the chance to spend a summer in the Mediterranean) and as a bonus, ended up with a co-authorship. I subsequently took two years off, but when I decided that I wanted to go to grad school in Ecology I was the only one who was surprised, and with the Chemistry background and the practical experience in the field I was able to overcome having (a.) poor Intro Bio grades and (b.) having taken no classes in Ecology during undergrad. I'd say I'm mostly just very lucky, but a lot of times, if you're switching fields, you're doing it because your target field appeals to you and relates to your interests. This practically guarantees that you'll have something to tie into your statements. Not always, though. Maybe you're transitioning to a new field of interest, rather than what I did (a parallel one) or what atmaero has done (continuing interest but now under its true name), or maybe you're one of those people who gets totally absorbed in what you're doing and doesn't end up with time to develop outside pursuits. (edits for egregious spelling--sorry!)

Yeah, I do end up killing a bunch of insects for research...in making that statement I was assuming that it wasn't gratuitous, which is inaccurate in some interpretations. Sorry.

Hey, I have Virgin Mobile now and have been in Ann Arbor for nearly a month. I'd say that service seems to be fine, although if you're deep in a building you may not have it. Anywhere that I'd want to talk, though (like outside) seems to work great, although I don't use data that much. If you're a browsing-mad universal coverage-wanter, it may not be for you, but it suits me fine. Hope that helps a little.

I scoop it up in a cup and put it outside. Or in a houseplant. But, then, I'm an entomology-type person...and I just don't like gratuitous killing. YMMV

I got one at a local (not chain) thrift store for $3. Probably won't use it much, but nothing's worse than stacks and stacks of papers all waiting to steal your time when you try to organize them. And I know myself too well to think I'll actually scan 'em in. My $.02

http://db.tt/DN1o8C3

I will starting in mid-June, but I didn't think they'd have semi-obsolete versions. If they *do*, though, that'd be pretty awesome. Thanks!

You might mean an eReader? If so, there's a good thread in which people have been discussing various cost/benefits of different models.

I just posted a similar message in the Lobby laptop thread, so if you read that one...I'm sorry/you can ignore this one/please don't hit the ceiling. I'm looking for a licensed Mac OS 10.5 install (not update) disk to do a clean install on my 7-year-old PowerBook G4. It's the highest this hardware can run, and I'm currently on 10.3.9, which is something of a joke at this point. All the used and new prices I can find online are pretty high, so I was hoping someone might want to help me out by selling or lending their disk at a cheaper price (I'm happy to pay for it either way). Thank you!

Help? This is along different lines, but I'm trying to do a clean install of Mac OS 10.5 on my aging PowerBook G4. 10.5 (Leopard, not *Snow* Leopard) is no longer available from Apple, and on Amazon and Ebay there are scalpingly high prices. Does anyone have an old (licensed) install disk they'd like to give or sell me? If so, please PM me. Thanks! PS The reason I'm not going for a higher OS is that my computer is of the last of the PPC-type and as such can't run anything higher than Leopard. I figure I'll buy a desktop of some sort soon, but a reasonably non-obsolete laptop (even if slightly rickety) could be really useful.