timuralp

Yeah, well, you know, that's, just, like, your opinion, man

One of the professors I had in undergrad wore an "I pwn n00bs" t-shirt to every exam. It was pretty entertaining.

This seems to be a relevant piece from WSJ. Personally, I seldom use dear and try to avoid it as much as possible and stick with Professor X or if I've had any contact whatsoever with the person, I start with Hi or some other form of greeting. Granted, I don't think this is a popular thing to do

You mean this?


So, let me get this straight, only an iPhone does not display the site properly? No Android phones would do this? Or OpenMoko phones? or RIM phones? And you've definitely verified this, right?



Thank god no one asked you to do that.

Yes, but as has been said several times in the thread, the OP doesn't want one. I'm a Mac user and huge proponent myself, but I still was able to offer suggestions besides "get the machine you specifically stated you don't want."

Sorry to be a pain in the butt, but you're better off getting a Mac. I've had a couple of PC laptops, and they just don't have the longevity of my MacBook. You could use a comp that will last the entire program, and a Mac is the safest bet. It's worth the student loan $$$.

You mean this?


So, let me get this straight, only an iPhone does not display the site properly? No Android phones would do this? Or OpenMoko phones? or RIM phones? And you've definitely verified this, right?



Thank god no one asked you to do that.

You mean this?


So, let me get this straight, only an iPhone does not display the site properly? No Android phones would do this? Or OpenMoko phones? or RIM phones? And you've definitely verified this, right?



Thank god no one asked you to do that.

Why don't you read the second post of the thread and notice the poster...

Also, with good conscience I can not tell someone to get a Windows PC. Sorry.

I agree that it depends on what you want to do with each. However, note-taking is not the only reason to get a laptop. For instance, the flexibility to work in different settings is one plus. For my particular work, I also need to use it to collect data in various locations. At the same time, I don't think it needs to be a top-of-the-line machine because most universities have clusters available to run the simulations/process data. At that point a laptop and a desktop become comparable in price and in my opinion a laptop is more useful than a desktop.

If note-taking is the primary reason, I would consider getting a netbook if the screen is not too tiny for you. In terms of brands, I think there's been plenty of discussions in other threads here. In my opinion, the quality won't vary that significantly between the more popular brands and it comes down to how it feels to you.

Also, this may be useful to anyone with an AmEx card (or if you open one now): up to 45% off on ThinkPad Edge models when purchasing a Lenovo laptop with an AmEx card.

I would recommend a mac book pro over a pc... you already have an iphone!

Buy a laptop, partition the hard drive, install Linux on the partition. (Don't totally wipe the HD, if you paid for windoze, you may as well have it for the rare program that can't run on Linux.) Linux doesn't get viruses/malware, it's controllable, it doesn't have wierd crashes (configured properly), it's open source, it's FREE.

Sorry, but I've got to spread the word.

PS: Don't get Ubuntu, get Linux Mint; it's easier to set up. (there are lots of versions of Linux, so you can pick the one that's right for you, another advantage)

Well, this definitely derails the original thread, but I would argue the promise to take care of the pets is not a scam. If one subscribed to the notion that when the end comes, the believers are lifted and their pets may be left behind, it makes perfect sense to sign a contract with non-believers to take care of the pets for the remainder of the pets' short life. It would be a scam if the rapture occurred and the pets were not taken care off, but I'm not sure why selling "Rapture" insurance for the pets is a scam.

Well, this definitely derails the original thread, but I would argue the promise to take care of the pets is not a scam. If one subscribed to the notion that when the end comes, the believers are lifted and their pets may be left behind, it makes perfect sense to sign a contract with non-believers to take care of the pets for the remainder of the pets' short life. It would be a scam if the rapture occurred and the pets were not taken care off, but I'm not sure why selling "Rapture" insurance for the pets is a scam.

For Linux stuff:

F-spot - photo processing/managing, although mono is a bit slow
vmware player - awesome for... anything, even running OS X for the apple salesmen
irssi - IRC can be useful and this is my favorite client

All are free.

By the way, the moment people stop saying there is just Mac and "PeeCee" is the moment I think one of my strong urges to choke someone will end. I mean, seriously, PC = personal computer, if your macbook is not a personal computer, what the hell is it?

Well, WiFi is a collection of standards that describe wireless interaction. Wireless router is a device, which allows multiple machines to connect to the Internet connection (wired and wirelessly), while providing some additional functionality, such as a firewall.



The most common setup I've seen is to get a cable modem (on one end the wire from the cable company plugs in and on the other an Ethernet port) and then connect it to a wireless router. This may be changing and some of the modems, like the one you've found, have integrated wireless access points. Bottom line is that it will probably work fine. I would be cautious about "nobody can break the encryption", though. Someone with enough time on their hands and dedication could probably find a way to get the password, but the bar is raised high enough that most people would give up.

P.S. Sadly, I made a typo in the Schneier link. If anyone cares to read it, remove the period (.) at the end.

I've had the same Dell laptop for 4.5 years. I've seen people railing against Dell repeatedly and I'm left a bit confused. As far as I can tell, I pretty much got the best value for the $600 I spent on it at the time. Often, the criticism is "runs slowly", but that's not even a hardware issue. I'm not saying that one should only consider them, but I think Dell's getting more flak than they deserve. Also, looking at the actual components they're pretty much the same across the board and one could easily figure out what the brand markup is for every brand. The only thing that really changes is the case.

actually, a 3.5 grad GPA might really hurt your chances. it's a totally acceptable GPA in undergrad, but with the high caliber of most grad students and rampant grade inflation in grad school, a 3.5 grad GPA can be borderline academic suspension in many disciplines/programs (most of my experience has been with humanities and social sciences, i'm not sure where public health falls).

you must have had some indication during the semester that things weren't going well. unless you had 100% finals and zero feedback from all of your professors, a B in grad school doesn't come out of no where. that's what i'd assume, and i promise it is what professors on admissions committees will assume as well. especially since your poor grades came in your second year and not your first, they'll see it more as a decline of your interest rather than struggling at the beginning and improving over time.

all that said, your GPA doesn't make a PhD program impossible. it will ultimately come down to your LORs, your previous research, and your future research interests, but a poor grad GPA is a massive red flag for them.

See the subtitle of the thread clearly states: "Purpose of thread: ranting" and I also clearly stated it at the very beginning of my OP...so it's not like I framed this as some sort of "please help me, I have a grave issue and I don't know what to do" thread. I also said over and over that I was mostly angry at myself for not being assertive, I don't need anyone else to tell me that. I appreciate people telling me it's not that big of deal in order to provide a touch of support, but the one thing I don't do in these forums is trivialize how others have internalized their experiences. If they share something here in the "chit-chat" section of the forum it's because they're looking for someone to relate to it, not to be told that their posts are useless and unproductive. I wasn't asking for a morality check, it was just to get something off my chest and see if anyone has dealt with something similar. I didn't think you were attacking me, it was just to clarify why I was so frustrated with my employer. There's a difference between throwing a tantrum over simply putting in a few extra days, which could certainly be taken as immature, and being upset about the reason I was asked to stay even 5 minutes longer. And she actually did hold a gun to my head, it was loaded with guilt instead of bullets....

This honestly doesn't seem like a big deal...just work the couple days and be done with it. Just be thankful you have a job to quit : )

I'm sure your manager did not hold a gun to your head and make you work for extra days. It was your lack of assertion that put you in this situation, so this rant about your employer is useless and unproductive. I actually just meant to help you put things in context with my last posting, so there was no need to be that defensive. I actually have been in situations where I have had to work past the time I said I would stop, but in the end, like I said before, you really can't let situations like this get to you, especially for someone who works with children.

You will always come across these type of "pushover' people in life who, like you said, will try to take advantage of you, and this goes for grad school as well. But at the end, you can only blame the pushover so many times...you are responsible for your life to a certain extent and and at some point you have to learn how to say no. If not, you will always have those type of people taking advantage of you. This is something I have had to learn, so please don't think I'm attacking you.

I never said she actually "coerced" me, you're taking the title of the thread a little too literally, that's what I had said throughout, that I was angry at myself for caving into pressure. What I'm also pissed about is her thought process and her mindset, that she doesn't have to get right to it and make hiring someone else a priority because she truly believes, and is actually true based on me allowing her to do so, that she can just tell me or whoever else that she needs us to do this, that or the other and it will be so regardless of how it upsets our day/routine/life. She thinks that she's this awesome boss and everyone just loves her so why wouldn't we want to do whatever she asks? That's annoying. Sure, I suppose she has the right to ask me and see if I'll just roll over and stay even though she knows I don't want to, which she did and as I said, I caved, which is my fault, but not being a robot that realization doesn't erase my feelings of irritation and annoyance by the whole thing. I don't blame her for doing it, I knew it was coming and she certainly had nothing to lose, all she had to do was say she needed me and if I said yes then that's it, she's out of a bind. I blame myself for caving and I'm irritated by her for not respecting my decision and need to be done. That's all.

I don't see the problem here. I know you specifically say you're simply ranting, but from what you describe, this isn't your boss 'not letting you quit', it's you caving in to pressure. I don't see anything wrong with your boss's actions; I might do the same were I in that situation. Perhaps a little jerky, but not so much. You gave notice, she has every right to ask you to stay longer, you have every right to say no. That's up to you. Unless she's tying you to your desk, there's no coercion here.

This for those of us who hate our pre-grad school jobs for whatever reason and just need a good ranting session....Ok so today I have been incredibly angry at myself...why? Because I caved, I totally caved in to my boss who begged me to stay longer than I wanted to. I've worked at this preschool for a good 9 months and I have absolutely had it, checked out emotionally, reached my limit long ago and there is nothing about the job or the place that makes me want to stay a minute longer than I absolutely have to. I started working there after 8 months of unemployment and I figured it would be an easy comfortable job while I go through the grad school application process. It was OK for a while, I have lots of experience with kids, but this place has become my personal Hell. So I've been anxiously awaiting the time when I'd have to leave in order to prepare for my cross-country move as well as do my required summer reading, which I've decided is right about now.

I gave my boss my notice an entire month ago. One whole month's notice, not the standard 2 weeks. It wasn't an entirely selfish move admittedly, I just really wanted to tell her already so I wouldn't have to do any more professional development nonsense, but yes I did want to give her extra time. As the weeks rolled on I got more and more anxious to just be done, but today like a giant wimp the day before what was to be last day ever, I agreed to work 3 more days because she "really needs me because someone has almost been hired." First she asked me to do a whole extra week OR until she got the new person started, which ever one came first. But knowing her the whole week will go by without getting it together. I agreed to this because she accepted my offer of coming in later in the day so I wouldn't be doing a whole regular shift. As I processed what I just did I got angry, angry at myself because for the entire month since giving my notice I just had a feeling she'd do this and I was mentally prepared to not give in. It's not my problem that during the course of a whole month she couldn't manage to hire someone. People are always dropping by to submit resumes. It's just not my problem. But what did I do? I said "well, ok, I can do that," like a total pushover. But as it was supposed to be her day off I was lucky that she didn't just leave right after that and I caught her a few minutes later and told her that I actually can only give her 3 days, not a whole week. I've told her from the beginning what I need to do this summer and I need all the time I can get to do it, plus I just want out so it shouldn't matter if I have something major like a cross country move to prepare for or not, I gave my notice, she took the letter, and it should be respected. After regrouping enough to put my foot down to be blunt, I approached her and said "I can't give you past Wednesday, that has to be it." She goes, "well, we'll talk about that when the time comes" and then chuckled like she always does when she doesn't know what to say. I, and this is a bit of a redemption, said "no, that has to be it." She just trailed off and as in any preschool it's really easy to quickly become focused on some other issue. The other teacher who was near by was like, "wow, that was blunt." I was slightly less angry with myself after that.

Is 3 days or even a week a really big deal? No of course not and it's not like I'm doing it for free. But that's not the point. I was prepared for this, I knew she would do this and it's not like she's uncaring, but she just banks on her staff allowing her to stretch them beyond where they're willing to go so she feels little pressure to get on these things fast enough. This is what I let her continue to do. She thinks that if she phrases it just the right way and bats her eyes enough you'll be tricked into thinking she's doing you some kind of favor. It's very obnoxious and we all see right through it. I keep telling her what it is that I have to do this summer and I shouldn't have to justify myself anymore, my need to stop working there should be respected and it's not. And her insinuating that I'm morally obligated to stay until she gets around to hiring someone after an absurdly long interview process is very irritating. During our first conversation about it she said it's her goal to get the new person in by the end of next week. She placed great emphasis on the word goal as if to prepare me for it not happening and therefore I'll be working until it does. I certainly never agreed to that. It's unlikely that she'll get a new person in by Wednesday so I'm not sure what she's going to do for coverage, we've been stretched thin enough for a while now, but that's her problem and I'll be interested to see how she handles it because most people just don't say no to her.

It's like because I'm not physically jetting out of the state immediately that means that I'm still available to work after I quit...that's actually the opposite of quitting. Hopefully she'll get that I'm not that big of a pushover when I walk out of there Wednesday at 6pm and don't ever come back. Ok, I feel like I purged enough...