June Scientiae - the journey continues

Was that the train? Was it? The Scientiae train? Oh damn, I was in the bathroom!

A couple of posts were left off the train completely inadvertently, so please accept the conductors' apologies, and enjoy a pretty open compartment on the bullet train to catch up to the main locomotive.

Photo from Frogandviking on Flickr

Penny Richards sent in a link that she thought was worth including in Scientiae -- the Australian War Memorial blog described the story of Valerie Briggs who worked at the CSIR Radiophysics Division. Briggs worked at the Center for Scientific and Industrial Research in 1944-45 -- the rest of the post outlines the kind of work she did, and shares that Briggs reports being "too busy living" to use the internet. :-)

Brigindo, over at dirt and rocks, reports some revelations about her career having emerged from organizing a panel at a not-favourite conference; she writes that her co-conspirators "have been "the power behind the throne" to a rock-star researcher. Chris still is and seems comfortable with that position. Jags and I are comfortable not being rock-stars. It seems we are all in positions that allow us to pursue the ideas that interest us. The difference to me--and its a big difference to me--is that my work is now associated with my name. I don't need to be a rock-star but when my work is out there I want it to stand (or fall) on its own." Sounds like a good plan, Brigindo. Keep us posted, especially about how your narrative analysis goes over.

FridayAfternoonWriter has been doing some serious thinking about her future that she thought fit the theme. She sometimes uses reading as a strategy to help her think about what is bothering her, as well as a few pithy inspirational sentences recorded on post-its. Hope these help you figure how to get those things you really want, FAW.

Carnival newbie Indie PhD (and Alice friend :-) ) sent in a post about her current life uncertainty -- having given up her paid job, she is launching into the unknown and insecurity of unemployment, a scary position in the context of her family's immigrant history. But she's coming up to it swinging, insisting she is so NOT WORTHLESS, and that moving forward is just an opportunity for better things.

Laura at Neurotypical actually finds herself in a pretty good place at the moment, too. She writes, "I have new challenges to face in the next year, and I continue to fret over failed experiments, family crises, and the legions of bugs that have settled in my kitchen, but I draw strength from some great support systems. Quals and roaches had better watch their backs." For sure....

Rivikah at Life and Then Some offers up some thoughts since she has had some down time with the end of the semester. Cleaning the apartment has also apparently prompted musings about the worth of doing applied mathematical research that "could be actually useful to actual real live people." She shares a story in answer to the question, "What will you do with that?," where her career path has felt "as much a vocation as anything else."

Riled, in contrast, has been musing about lots of gender identity issues in reference to her undergraduate institution and in the context of her current teaching and specifically an end-of-semester teaching evaluation. She writes, "Is being a feminist engineer an oxymoron, a paradox, a sell out? What have I compromised? Whether I'm working for change inside or outside the system may depend on the day, or on one's system definition. I know I feel called to be here in no small part due to moments like these. And that, I hope, is moving forward."

A. Non Mouse at NaCL and hv has used the June 1 deadline of Scientiae to set out some summer "New Year's Resolutions" for herself. Claiming a goal of "no excuses," she has as some goals "I will be better prepared for class...no excuses.
I will not complain about all the things I have to do...no excuses.
I will get to know my students as individuals, even if I'm vastly outnumbered...no excuses." You go, A.NM!

Sheril over at The Intersection has two items particularly of note -- one is her musings on parents who post photos of their kids, and the other is her blog movement starting June 1 to work towards stopping violence towards women and girls, inspired by Kristof's recent postings from Liberia. You should check out both, as Sheril is donating blog proceeds (generated by traffic) to Doctors without Borders. Click click click!

Finally, Mrs. Comet Hunter is 3 weeks from her dissertation defense, and although she is "incredibly nervous" she's also finding herself "coming out of the fog (as many PhDs said would happen). Things are starting to make sense, I'm starting to feel more confident in my knowledge and abilities, and I feel ready to finish this stage of my academic life." She is starting to think about new jobs, moving, and family -- a whole set of big "moving forward" steps. Good luck to you, Mrs. CH over this transition time!

I think those are all the posts that got overlooked by the original carnival -- again, our apologies, and please don't let this hiccough in our carnival system dissuade you from posting again. July's carnival will be hosted by Patchi at My Middle Years -- watch here for the call for posts.