I took time off after my PhD, and here's my thoughts on the matter: 1. I was very tired after my PhD concluded. I really wanted to rest. And this felt like a more important consideration than needing to find a job right away for the sake of being able to have a ready, assured… Continue reading Should you take time off after your PhD?
Exploitative western scientists in foreign countries
I am still trying to get the last chapter of my PhD published, two years after graduating, and I have no idea if this is an average or super-long delay. I like the paper, though, at least the form it's finally taking. It's about the marshes in southern Iraq. Back in 2003, these marshes were… Continue reading Exploitative western scientists in foreign countries
Linda Holeman
Very early this year, before coronovirus upended things and before the Black Lives Matter protests, one of the big pieces of news and talk was that book, American Dirt. I know, seems forever ago! Hardly a blip now! American Dirt was disliked for the way the white author had portrayed the Mexican characters, and I… Continue reading Linda Holeman
Applying for a job and interviewing at SESYNC
(Back in spring 2019) "Well, it was nice to meet you!" So said a man as my Skype interview with him and his colleagues was wrapping up. He hadn't otherwise said much of anything the whole time, he'd just sat there while the lady beside him ran the show. But at the very end, he… Continue reading Applying for a job and interviewing at SESYNC
Wildflowers in the Piedmont
I have such a nice book: A field guide to wildflowers of the Eastern United States by Tom Gold Knight. I think I bought it in the mountains somewhere, at one of the pretty gift stores they have at the national or state park rest stops. But sadly, even though I've been looking hard, I… Continue reading Wildflowers in the Piedmont
So you have an interview with Descartes Labs?
I wrote all the following in fall 2018 (?) right after my final interview. But I couldn't post any of these job search posts until the sensitivity of the matter had receded somewhat. Descartes Lab is some sort of company that uses GIS and maps to solve problems for other businesses. If I remember correctly.… Continue reading So you have an interview with Descartes Labs?
Remove landsat 7 black stripes from QGIS
I figured this out on my own! This is a manual solution. So first, you have a raster file as follows: (in my case, I downloaded it from Google Earth Engine). Those black stripes are from when the satellite that took the picture of this place (Landsat #7) broke. It broke four years after it… Continue reading Remove landsat 7 black stripes from QGIS
Blackberries
June 17 The blackberries have been ripening over the last week. I think the best is still to come: If I remember correctly, they're all completely gone by mid-July.
Finding a Syrian-Danish-American online
A long, long time ago -- 2012 to be exact! -- I read an article in the Huffington Post. It was a somewhat whiny article, I thought, and it was in response to some sort of uproar about Muslims in America happening at the time (though there have been so many uproars, I don't even… Continue reading Finding a Syrian-Danish-American online
How I got two science communication jobs
I have seen on Twitter the heart-ache for people in science communication who can't find full-time jobs with benefits. Well, I found two of them. So let me tell you how I did that. First, how did I search for job openings? I'm not very good at that, but one thing I did was to… Continue reading How I got two science communication jobs
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