Janet D. Stemwedel
Janet D. Stemwedel (whose nom de blog is Dr. Free-Ride) is an associate professor of philosophy at San Jose State University. Before becoming a philosopher, she earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry.
jstemwedel
Posts by this author
August 15, 2006
In light of my earlier post on academia and capitalism, occasional commenter Jake asks what I think about the newish move, described in this story from the Associated Press, to cut textbook prices by putting advertisements in them.
So, I'll give you some key bits of the article with my thoughts…
August 15, 2006
Chatting with the chair of the philosophy department at one of the local community colleges:
CC Dept. Chair: Yeah, so I'm scheduled to teach six classes this term.
Me: Six?! While you're the chair?!!
CC Dept. Chair: Yeah, six. We have big enrollments, the full-time faculty are fully scheduled…
August 15, 2006
Walking outside with a well-known local blogger:
WKLB: I never did take a chemistry course.
Me: Why not?
WKLB: I'm not good at memorizing stuff, and there's that whole big periodic table ...
Me: Hey, my memorization skills are pretty worthless, too. But in chemistry, you don't need them as much…
August 14, 2006
Regular commenter and tireless gadfly Bill Hooker asks what my take is on the movement afoot to get academics to put pressure on (and perhaps completely boycott) scientific/technical/medical publisher and information portal Reed-Elsevier.
What's wrong with Reed-Elsevier? Among other things, they…
August 12, 2006
From time to time I get emails asking for advice dealing with situations that just don't feel right. Recently, I've been asked about the following sort of situation:
You're an undergraduate who has landed an internship in a lab that does research in the field you're hoping to pursue in graduate…
August 12, 2006
I'm going to dump these links now because I'd hate to get distracted and forget 'em.
Not a fan of the stench-blossoms? Would you prefer a peckish plant? Jo(e) shares a story (and picture) about a vacation visit to darlingtonia californica, a carnivorous plant.
Think stench-blossoms are the only…
August 11, 2006
This month's issue of Seed looks at HIV/AIDS 25 years in, and you may have noticed that ScienceBlogs has an AIDS at 25 blog dedicated to covering the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto. So, it should come as no surprise that the current round of "Ask a ScienceBlogger" features a question…
August 11, 2006
Well, I can't smell it from here on the Left Coast, but those of you in nose-shot of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden may soon get to partake of the wonder that is the Amorphophallus titanum, aka "corpse flower".
Yes, you guessed it, this fragrant bloom smells like a dead animal. Flies loooove it.
If…
August 11, 2006
The elder Free-Ride offspring had a bit of a meltdown after dinner. Witness the calming effects of science:
Dr. Free-Ride's better half: (To sobbing elder offspring) Taking some deep breaths might help you calm down.
Younger offspring: Do we breathe carbon dioxide?
Dr. Free-Ride's better half:…
August 10, 2006
Let's say I was taking down a chalkboard and trying to mount a whiteboard in its place. (For the sake of argument, let's assume I was doing this someplace where I have complete freedom to do such things all by myself, with no work order or "cooling off" period or anything like that.) That would…
August 9, 2006
Just this month, my department came into possession of five new faculty offices, owing to the fact that brand spanking new faculty offices were created in the old library building, and some of the faculty from other offices in this building are being moved into them.
Forget that our chair actually…
August 8, 2006
Tonight in the kitchen, I have cultures to attend to. Since I won't be on the road again for months, I brought out my jar of sourdough starter to revive with fresh water, flour, and some time at room temperature. And, I have some kefir culture from our friends in Santa Barbara that'll be wanting…
August 8, 2006
Chad has an interesting post about the scientific job market, in which he notes that his own experience training for and finding a job in academic science has left him with an impression significantly rosier than some circulating through cyberspace. Chad's discussion of the ways your field (and…
August 7, 2006
This is my first full day back post-BCCE (owing to a brief leisure-related detour through Santa Barbara). I am trying to dial down my coffee dependence (since I was getting my wireless where fine coffee was sold -- so I maybe overdid it a little), and my body doesn't really know what time zone it'…
August 7, 2006
Sometimes it's OK to hang back on the "Ask a ScienceBlogger" questions to let others snap up the obvious answers. (Yeah, I meant to do that!) I love Real Genius and Buckeroo Banzai as much as the next geek, but there oare other films out there worth your time.
The question is:
What movie do you…
August 4, 2006
Because some people are on record as questioning my ability to turn any conversation into a conversation about science:
"What do pirates have to do with science?"
What don't pirates have to do with science?
Pirates! by Giovanni Caviezel. Illustrated by Cristina Mesturini.
Here is a brief list of…
August 3, 2006
At the request of femalechemist, I'm going to revisit the Sames/Sezen controversy. You'll recall that Dalibor Sames, a professor at Columbia University, retracted seven papers on which he was senior author. Bengu Sezen, also an author on each of the retracted papers and a graduate of the Sames…
August 2, 2006
Another dispatch from the BCCE:
The Journal of Chemical Education (or J Chem Ed, as we call it in the biz), is, in fact, targeted to an audience of chemical educators. Its website has the online version of the journal, plus some resources for teachers of chemistry at the ChemEd Resource Shelf. If…
August 1, 2006
It was another full day at the BCCE, starting with an excellent plenary address by Peter Atkins (who wrote my p-chem text, plus dozens of other books) and David Harpp (of the Office of Science and Society). Each of them spoke about the best ways to talk about science with people who are not…
July 31, 2006
I'm blogging again from the lovely Vienna Cafe in West Lafayette, Indiana, at the end of Day 2 of the BCCE. I gave my own talk this afternoon as part of symposium session on incorporating ethics in the chemistry curriculum (along with 5 other very interesting talks). I think it went well, but I…
July 31, 2006
How a Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan. Illustrated by Loretta Krupinski.
This is a nifty science book for little kids. Our favorite thing about this book is that it's all about getting empirical.
After some unassuming storybook text (with lovely illustrations) about different kinds of seeds and…
July 30, 2006
Greetings from the BCCE! Well, actually from a cafe down the street from the BCCE, since the wireless accounts that were supposed to be set up for conference goers are not currently functional. (The lengths to which I'm willing to go to satisfy my readers!) The immediate result of this situation…
July 30, 2006
Judging from some of the comments on my latest post about the Tonegawa/Karpova kerfuffle, it's clear that there is not consensus about precisely what relationship a scientist should pursue (or avoid pursuing) with another scientist working on similar research. Part of the disagreement may come…
July 30, 2006
It's hard to know the best way to blog a dinner (especially when you have agreed, with your dinner companions, that each of you should blog it to discover whether the result is a Rashoman-like situation wherein each description might as well have been of a different event). Also, I was up late…
July 29, 2006
Elder offspring: You're going to have to put up a post on your blog saying that there will be no Friday Sprog Blogging next week.
Dr. Free-Ride: Why do I have to do that?
Elder offspring: You'll be at your conference and we'll be on vacation, so we won't be able to talk about science with you.
Dr.…
July 28, 2006
Three Bulls is on top of this, but I want to add a few comments of my own (as is my habit).
The story about Susumu Tonegawa sinking MIT's attempt to hire Alla Karpova is not over yet. Sure, the Boston Globe (and the MIT News Office) report that MIT has formed a committee to try to get its…
July 28, 2006
Duane Smith at Abnormal Interests tagged me, and I loves me some books, so who am I to refuse to be mimetic?
1. One book that changed your life?
Randy Shilts, And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic
2. One book you have read more than once?
T. S. Kuhn, The Structure of…
July 28, 2006
On the eve of the elder Free-Ride offspring's birthday, we ate at a restaurant where the kids' entrees were served with Dino Tots. Hilarity ensued.
Elder offspring: Please pass the ketchup. I'm going to make a tar-pit on my plate.
Younger offspring: The stegosaurus is really yummy.
Elder…
July 27, 2006
Bitch Ph.D. links an interesting op-ed piece in the Washington Post about the challenges of being a single parent and paying for grad school. Given the academia/parenting discussion we've been having here, I figured this was another relevant issue to consider.
I've mentioned before that the…
July 26, 2006
This morning, I finished making the slides for a talk I'm giving at the BCCE at Purdue next week. (Any of you chemists or chemical educators in the audience planning on being there?) I feel very proud of myself for having the slides written and ready to use days before I even board the plane. I'…