Thus Spake Zuska

See You In A Few Weeks...

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:50:39 -0500

Tomorrow I'm off to western Pennsylvania, for a week with mom. Taking her to some doctor appointments, but more importantly, finishing up the planning and preparation for her 80th birthday party, which we will celebrate on Saturday the 6th. After the party I'll be back home for just a few days and then off on a long-anticipated vacation with Mr. Z.

The upshot, of course, is there won't be much happening around this blog for the next two-three weeks. I should be back and ready to blog again just about the time all of you are winding up your academic terms and ready to take off and not think about blogging for a few weeks.

Happy December, everyone.

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Picturing Malia Obama in the White House

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:39:34 -0500

Tonight I watched the Barbara Walters interview with Barack and Michelle Obama. They were talking about their daughters' reactions to the White House, and shared a story about Malia. She said that she had thought that the White House would be an untouchable place, where you would be afraid to touch anything, but it wasn't like that. And that when she had some long papers to write for her classes, she thought she might work on them at the desk with that thing signed by Lincoln - meaning, the draft of the Gettysburg address. She said she thought it would inspire her to think big thoughts.

My first reaction was "aw, that is just so cute." And then my second reaction was just sort of a chill and a thrill, to think of that little girl working on her homework at a desk next to a draft of the Gettysburg address.

It feels damn good to be living through this piece of history. May we all be inspired to think big thoughts, good thoughts, and go forward into a better future.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

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"Give Me A Head With Hair; Long, Beautiful Hair"

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:56:58 -0500

Mr. Z and I went to see "Quantum of Solace" last Friday night. The cineplex was packed and teeming with Twi-hards. I went into the bathroom and found three of them before the mirror, primping and fixing their carefully coiffed hairdos.

And what hair they had! Long hair, thick hair, shiny hair, healthy hair. It was almost painful for me to watch them, knowing full well how they must take for granted their luxurious heads of hair. Because it never occurred to me in the past that my hair would change in any substantive manner - at least not until I got really old and gray.

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Caffeine Really Is A Drug!

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 23:05:17 -0500

I've been essentially caffeine-free for about five years now. After my stroke, when the migraines got progressively worse, all sorts of things that never bothered me before suddenly began serving as migraine triggers. Peanut butter. Bananas. Yoghurt. Onions.

And caffeine.

Now, caffeinated soft drinks I can do without. In fact, I can do without soft drinks altogether. But I love, love, love coffee. So, I switched to decaf, 'cause I couldn't go without. Over the past five years - no regular coffee, no caffeinated soft drinks, very rarely here and there a cup of tea. I know there is still a low level of caffeine in decaffeinated coffee but it's nothing like a regular cup of coffee - about 5 mg of caffeine compared to 100 to 150 mg of caffeine for a regular cup. I drink about 3 or 4 cups of decaf throughout the day on weekdays, from about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., so I'm getting 20 mg gradually over 6 hours.

Last weekend, at the farmer's market, I bought coffee beans - a local university had a table at the market to raise awareness about fair trade coffee. It was very cold and windy and I was in a hurry to get home and, unfortunately, I forgot to specify decaf. Once home, I realized I had a bag of regular beans. And I was almost out of my usual decaf.

I thought, well, maybe I can mix it and it won't be so bad. I made a pot that was 30% decaf and 70% the new full-strength caffeinated stuff. I drank one cup.

And then I felt like I was high.

The top of my scalp felt tingly, and I felt almost euphoric. It was hard to sit still, because moving around felt like so much fun. My heart was beating faster, and at times I felt almost dizzy. At first the sensation was sort of fun but then I wanted to walk away from it, make it stop, and I couldn't, and it became mildly distressing. No wonder the Mormons advise against the Demon Caffeine. Eventually, of course, it wore off and I was back to normal, but I didn't drink any more coffee that day! I've laid in a new stash of decaf now, but I have no idea what I'm going to do with this bag of really lovely smelling coffee beans.

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PhysioProf Tagged Me With This Damn Five Things Meme

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:22:07 -0500

I haven't done a meme in forever. I was going to spend time today writing something substantive in response to the many thoughtful comments on my blog post on the proper way to be a woman in science. Or on some new topic. But instead I'm producing a response to this meme. Blame PhysioProf.

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Radio Stories and a Web Resource

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:11:38 -0500

These may be of interest to readers of this blog:

A new web resource, that's really a catalog of many resources:

[Ruta Sevo has] posted about 100 recommended resources on women in science and engineering, organized into small chunks, calling it "10 x 10 List." When you use Google to find things, or a large database, you have to decide, "Is it any good?" These are short lists of selected resources for people who are entering the field. There is much more out there, of course.

And the WAMC Radio Series on the Role of Women in Science and Engineering is now available online. The program is called The Sounds of Progress: The Changing Role of Girls and Women in Science and Engineering. More details about the program after the jump. The series was funded by your tax dollars via an NSF grant so you may just want to take a listen!

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The Proper Way To Be A Woman In Science

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:02:30 -0500

Though university administrators seem to be widely reviled among faculty members, one of the best jobs I ever had was in administration. Many wonderful opportunities came my way; possibly the most mind-stretching, exhilarating, and rewarding of these was the chance to spend four weeks attending the Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration, held at Bryn Mawr College. Just imagine spending four weeks with several dozen intelligent, interesting women from colleges and universities all over the U.S., from a range of administrative areas (including faculty members looking to move into administration).

As you can imagine, with any group this size, there would be some people you would just absolutely love, and some who might just rub you the wrong way now and then. Very early on, one of our instructors gave us this valuable advice: Pay attention to the person who annoys you. Stick with them long enough to try to figure out why you are so bothered by them.

That wording is key: not, figure out why they are so bothersome, but why you are so bothered by them. What are you reacting to, what is being triggered in you, what does this mean for you, what can you learn about yourself from it, and what, if anything, do you want to do about it?

Of all the that I learned in those four weeks, this advice has stuck with me - nay, nagged at me - ever since. When someone annoys me, I just want to get the hell away from them. And there are some kinds of "annoyance" that call for putting as much distance as possible between you and the annoyer: sexual harassers, loud cell phone talkers in public spaces, evangelical proselytizers at your doorstep. But there's another kind of annoyance that really calls for you to move closer in and ask yourself why, really, you feel so squirmy whenever That Person starts Mouthing Off.

Lots of people seem to be annoyed with Dr. Isis lately, for lots of different reasons. But I want to focus on one particular reaction to her and her blog.

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Earth Science, With Kids

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:21:59 -0500

Late last month the Chronicle ran a neat piece in its Careers section, titled Mothers in the Field. It's not behind a paywall - yay! Joan Ramage Macdonald, assistant professor of geology at Lehigh University, and Maura E. Sullivan, PhD candidate in ecology at the same university, write about their experiences taking their young children with them into the field.

And I do mean into the field! Joan took her infant with her into the Yukon Territory to do her research on the evolving snowpack. Maura does research in permanently saturated wetland environments, and first took her daughter with her when she was just 10 weeks old.

Ovaries of stone, those ladies have!

The main challenges in accomplishing fieldwork with an infant in tow are doing the work while keeping the child cared for and happy, dealing with the unexpected, and breast-feeding in inhospitable settings. You're putting yourself, your colleagues, and your infant in an atypical situation. So being inventive is extremely important. Being prepared is important. We both felt that breast-feeding offered a distinct advantage over bottles; we didn't have to worry about spoiled milk or a hungry baby if we ran into delays.

I think you'll enjoy reading their story, if you haven't run across it already. It was critical, of course, for these women to have the support of their departments and colleagues. Just as important, they had supportive spouses and, in Maura's case, a grandma available to help out with childcare.

I especially liked this observation by Joan and Maura

Fieldwork is good for babies: It teaches them adaptability and a love of the outdoors. Their exposure to students is mutually stimulating and fun, and they benefit from a strong relationship with their caregiver, whether that is a parent, a grandparent, or a nanny.

Fieldwork is good for babies! And it's good for mamas not to have to choose between career and family. Rock on, Joan and Maura!

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They Should Call It "Tree-of-Hell"

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:45:27 -0500

At this point in the fall, most things in my garden have closed up shop till next spring. Oh, there are some chrysanthemums blooming, and the Virginia sweetspire and chokeberry tree have put on their fiery fall colors, but there's not much in the way of growth going on.

Except for the evil invasives. Sunday I went out to take a closer look at my beauty bush, which is currently sporting a heavy crop of bright purple berries, and discovered to my dismay about ten or more tree seedlings springing up all around it. Three of them had already grown quite thick little trunks and were threatening to turn into saplings. I pulled out the littler ones by the roots but those bigger ones - about an inch thick - required stronger measures. Mr. Z and I dug out the soil a little around their base, and then cut off the mini-saplings as low as we could. We then immediately painted the exposed cut surface with Round-Up.

Why go nuclear on these plants? Because we are dealing here with Ailanthus altissima, or "Tree-of-Heaven". Tree-of-Heaven is one of the most aggressively invasive plants around. The National Park Service has this to say about it:

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Women Paid Poorly, Men Behaving Badly - What Else Is New?

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:22:33 -0500

According to the Chronicle Newsblog

Female professors at the University of Texas at Austin earned an average of $9,028 less than their male counterparts in 2007, and senior female faculty members there feel more isolated and less recognized for their work than do their male colleagues.

You can find the full report here and a press release from the university here.

The comments section at the Chronicle post is full of the usual dismissive commentary that arises whenever the issue of gender inequities in salary is broached. I liked this response from Meshiko:

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Welcome, Dr. Isis!

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:14:11 -0500

Zuska is thrilled to announce that Dr. Isis the Scientist, Domestic and Laboratory Goddess, has joined ScienceBlogs! Yay! Another kick-ass woman blogger in the neighborhood! And a well-shod one, too! Stop on over and say hi as she gets settled in to her new digs. Welcome, Dr. Isis!

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The Cookies Don't Lie

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:41:35 -0500

Who needs sophisticated tracking polls when you've got...cookies!

A local bakery not far from where I live makes presidential candidate cookies for every presidential election. This year they added vice-presidential cookies. You can buy an Obama, McCain, Biden, or Palin cookie - and help predict the winner of the election in the process!

Since the 1984 election, Weinrich's in Willow Grove has been icing its round red, white and blue cookies with the names and, this year, the faces of the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates.
And in every election but one, the sale of cookies has predicted the presidency...

...Barack Obama is walloping McCain at Weinrich's - on Thursday his lead was 58 to 42 percent, or 4,772 cookies to 3,462.

But even if you've snagged yourself one of those tasty cookies, you still need to go out and vote tomorrow! Happy Election Day, everyone!

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Thanks to All Who Participated in Donors Choose!

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:46:07 -0500

To all of you who participated in the ScienceBlogs Donors Choose Challenge this year - many, many, many heartfelt thanks! We raised $503 here at TSZ but together all the ScienceBloggers raised almost $31,000! That money will have an impact on at least 10,000 students!

All but one of the proposals I selected ended up getting funded, via your contributions and other sources. I've gotten some feedback from some of the teachers and thought you might like to hear what they have to say. I know your cash is hard-earned, and money is tight for everybody right now, so I am especially grateful to all who donated. I hope the words of these teachers will lend a special warmth to your heart and reinforce your sense of the worthiness and need of a project like Donors Choose.

If you didn't get a chance to participate during October but would still like to give...there's one more proposal on my list that needs funding, and has only 28 days left. You can still give to that proposal, and help those kids get their microscopes!

Now on to the teachers:

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While I'm Away, Maybe You'd Like To Play...

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:07:01 -0500

...with Donors Choose?

Hello, Zuskateers! I'm setting off today to go spend time with mom, who is in the hospital again. I don't know how long I'll be there, which means I don't know when I'll be getting back to blogging. If I have time while I'm there I'll try to get in a short post or two but it seems unlikely. If you comment on something and it gets lost in moderation, please be patient; I will try to check every so often to make sure someone's pearls of wisdom did not get caught up in the spam filter.

In the meantime, while I am gone, maybe you would like to consider supporting the ongoing Donors Choose fund drive we ScienceBloggers have going on this month. There are prizes involved! See this post for information. You can see information about my challenge on the left sidebar, with links to take you directly to my challenge site, should you be feeling like parting with your cash. All the projects I selected came from high poverty schools. These teachers and kids could really benefit from your help, even if you only have $5 or $10 to spare. Thanks for considering supporting this worthy cause, and I hope to see you back here soon.

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What's Wrong With These Scholarships?

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:52:38 -0500

Janet at Adventures in Ethics and Science writes about prizes for women:

2008 is the tenth year of the L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science awards to remarkable female scientists from around the world. Indeed, our sister-site, ScienceBlogs.de, covered this year's award ceremony and is celebrating women in science more generally with a For Women in Science blog. (It, like the rest of ScienceBlogs.de, is in German. Just so you know.)
In addition to the global contest, three further scholarships are given to women scientists in Germany. But, the only women eligible for these awards are women with kids...On the one hand, children are labor-intensive (as is science), so help caring for children is a good thing. But in theory at least, this would also be an issue for male scientists with kids.

It's possible to interpret scholarships like this as saying that no woman, remarkable scientist or not, could be completely fulfilled if she is not also a mother. Is this a social pressure that really needs to be reinforced with cash prizes?

On the other hand, it is still not uncommon for women in science to feel like having kids will be taken as definitive evidence that they weren't really serious about being great scientists -- because if they were, they would never sacrifice the time and energy children require, but would devote all of that to their research...

...[W]hat kind of message does an award like this send to you? Do you think it's a step in the right direction, or does it entrench assumptions that ought to be abandoned?

Here are my thoughts in response.

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