Last week I posted about some scientific fraud I discovered while doing research for a drug company. I must have made an impression at the company, because their COO called me yesterday to offer me a job. Although I have some reservations, I think I'm going to take it. I've been with my current company for 14 years, which is a long time. And while I basically like my job, I can see a the benefit of not having to hustle for government grants all the time. I had a great opportunity there to try to move my research into human use. It was awesome, even though it ultimately failed, so I feel like I've accomplished what I set out to accomplish. What I don't want to do is to just keep plugging away for the next great idea that may never come, trying to squeeze papers and grants out of uninteresting projects in the interim. It's scary thinking about doing something else when you've been doing the same thing for so long. But I know I'll be well-paid, enjoy the work, be good at it, and have a chance to make an impact on the field. The only real downside is that I won't be working on my ideas anymore, which is a big downside, but it's possible I've reached a dead end there anyway.
YET Speaking as an employer, there is zero downside in encouraging and funding motivated, inquisitive people with initiative and ambition. Do what they're paying you for and then ask if they'll pay you to do stuff that will make them more money. And don't lose sight of the fact that they went out of their way to bring a contrarian into the fold.The only real downside is that I won't be working on my ideas anymore,
This is really good advice, and I appreciate it. The people there know me well enough to know that I'm unafraid to say "yes", "no", or "I don't know", no matter what the prevailing consensus is. One of the things I loathe about my current bosses is that they want yes men. I've sort of become persona non grata around the department for steadfastly refusing to play that role, regardless of what their already published literature says. Yes men waste money. Yes men start wars. Yes men pass the buck. I really don't like yes men, but I like bosses who like yes men way less.And don't lose sight of the fact that they went out of their way to bring a contrarian into the fold.
Congratulations, buddy. This warms my heart. I don't expect that this will be the end of you working on your own ideas, and I am sure that you are going to bring them more value than they anticipate. If they don't find you to be an incorrigible ass, that is. You have a clarity of vision, base of knowledge, encyclopedic memory, and humility that makes you a very strong scientist; it was always a joy to postulate and hypothesize and bullshit with you. They probably aren't going to pay you enough. Your notes are shit though. Turn over a new leaf (I tried and failed). Godspeed. Let me know how it goes. Let's have a Zoom beer.
Fantastic result, man. I felt the same when I left NASA and went to work for JavaSoft... and while I regretted not being close to the planes and CRAY computers anymore, I enjoyed working in a company with tangible goals and measurable progress. The pay was better, too.
I ordered an indoor bike trainer. I'm taking enough of an interest in cycling to try to maintain a cycling base through the winter. Last year I only did cycling at the YMCA, but those classes are only an hour and not really possible during the pandemic. Also the Wisconsin infection rate is up so I'm not swimming again. Pool swimming is decently socially distanced, but the rate is much higher than two months ago so I don't feel so safe there anymore. Also lakes are cold (though a friend swears she'll swim until there's ice). So I need something else besides just running. I'm trying to do more trail running, though, partly to mix up road running and partially to think about doing a 50k. I may try to go run a trail half marathon before trails get snowy.
Ha! Here I was last week, saying I don't want to get a job, and now I've been hired on a short term, part-time contract for some basic social media management. It's funny how life works out sometimes. It's some super easy work, pretty good pay and I can go right back to government money once they stop paying me out in 6 weeks. It's a little funny that the organization I'm working for is a Cultural/Religious Community, that I only tangentially belong to and have never had any intentions of participating in. In big part because having grown up in a multitude of immigrant communities of the city, I'm too aware of how toxic it can all get very quickly. As someone integrated in Canadian/Quebecois society, I don't feel the need to find belonging with people from my origins. And these social spaces while useful and reassuring to new immigrants, to me feel claustrophobic and disingenuous. In their aim to help and support newly arrived people, they often also trap them in a bubble, an alternate reality of our society. Not to mention my lack of belief in their religious convictions. But... this organization seems sincere in their ambition to help, have places for kids and adults to meet and find community, learning opportunities, good deeds and all that. I don't mind doing this work for them, I feel it's not my place to judge anyone's beliefs and everyone I have met so far seem very nice. I just feel a little guilty for being an outsider I guess? While i'm helping them, I'm motivated by money and would not be doing any of it otherwise. I'm not very used to work on things that I'm not passionate about, where I have a detachment from the work. I think it can be a good experience - being very emotionally involved with my work is my usual thing, and it can affect my mood in other aspects of my life. Maybe i'll find out a little distance is good? Maybe i'll hate it? Let's see how this goes! I'm just a little... offended? when my mom was proud of me for getting this job. I feel i'm massively over-qualified, and am doing much harder and more meaningful things with the non-profit. I don't make money - but that's a choice, not that I don't think I can land a job at some corporate office and start earning. This work is almost like supermarket-level grunt work for my industry, and it just confirms to me she doesn't really understand what I do or who I am or what I value :(
Haha close - but not quite. I’ve actually met my current boyfriend 8 years ago when I worked as a councilor at a religious Ukrainian summer camp - and the priest there is really cool. I went to that camp as a kid, and protested all religious ceremonies because I was a little shit and he never had any problems with it. He’s a super accepting dude, that doesn’t care about other people’s beliefs as long as we provide a wholesome space for the kids. But this gig is for another religious group I don’t belong to ;) I don’t think they care about me being secular - they even said to me most immigrants are. But for sure the specifics of my wild lifestyle would be frowned upon. If I can hide those specifics from my parents, my employers are unlikely to find out. Can’t wait for the mini-satanic ritual we have planned tonight with some friends in celebration of Halloween 😈
Ya know what... I see this ALL the time! The best work is done by someone agnostic; someone outside the institution/culture who is good at what they do, and is motivated by money rather than duty. My most successful(?) client of my marketing agency was a chiropractor. I am absolutely sure that chiro is quackery and not backed by any legitimate science. But, he and I took his business from a one-man office on the second floor of a generic office building, to a brand new ground floor floor-to-ceiling-widowed corner office, in a prime location, with four other chiropractors on staff, two massage therapists, and two receptionists, all working full-time. He eventually sold the business at a HUGE profit, retired, moved to Canada with his family, and built a brand new home. And from day 1 I was sure what he did was as useful as essential oils and crystals. (Which was, incidentally, the exact business of another very successful customer I had.) Do the work. Do it well. Get paid. Move on. Your PASSION is the non-profit. What you do for MONEY is whatever people pay you for. It doesn't define you. It doesn't own you. You provide an excellent service at a good price, and give people value. Then you move on. That's winning, in my book! (And hey... if your Mom likes it too, double bonus. No need to dig in to WHY she likes it. She does. Take that win.) "It's a little funny that the organization I'm working for is a Cultural/Religious Community, that I only tangentially belong to and have never had any intentions of participating in."
In fact, I take more pride in the work I did for clients that I DIDN'T vibe with... because it showed that I actually had a serious set of skills that could work for anything (and therefore i could charge more for them), rather than just being able to do good work for friends who I liked.
We passed 200 days since our last confirmed case of coronavirus last week. The border has been closed to nonessential travel since March, except for citizens and residents, but I've noticed some friends and coworkers are starting to travel to see family again despite spikes in places like the US and EU. Hope our mandatory quarantine can prevent returning travelers from spreading it here.
Maybe with Joe Rogan having Alex Jones on his podcast again, and spouting transphobic shit again, I can convince my brother to stop listening. Unlikely.
Apparently? And apparently Joe Rogan is still giving Info Wars a platform.
I think Joe Rogan gives almost anyone a platform that will keep things controversial. I don't watch, but a coworker does... and he's constantly telling me about people the Rogan hosts. It's a really weird mashup. edit: but Alex Jones can seriously go away... and take his trans-phobic nastiness with him. While I value free speech... his hate speech tests my resolve.
As I just said to someone else on twitter: The idea that we can just let views like his be aired in public and rely on "the truth" to repel them would be comical if it wasn't so sad and fundamentally misinformed about how public discourse actually works. He can say what he wants in the privacy of his own home, but he shouldn't be allowed a platform. That is, of course, the paradox of tolerance. I know I fall on one side of it and many people here fall on the other side, but leaning on the masses to believe "the truth" and not a lie that reinforces their pre-conceived beliefs and notions is how US politics got to where it is right now (Canada of course has its own issues, much of it influenced by your politics).
Sure, Those are problems, but our current way of dealing with them is "Instead of trying to find those acceptabilities and safeguarding the intent, we're just going to avoid the issue to the detriment of anyone who is not an able-bodied, attractive, straight, cis, white man." Some of them are pretty easy to figure out, in my opinion: 1.) saying that a group of people are objectively bad because of the colour of their skin is not acceptable. Further, saying that some people are not people because of the colour of their skin is not acceptable. 2.) saying that someone is lesser because of their gender is not acceptable. 3.) saying that someone is objectively bad, or lesser because of their sexuality is not acceptable. 4.) saying someone is lesser because of their disability isn't acceptable. I manage to get through my life basically every day without breaching one of those rules. I don't even have to try, it's quite simple. I'm from a country where the concept of free speech is fundamentally different than it is in the US, so the concept of "things you can't say" isn't some Orwellian, 1984-style bogeyman. It's just not being a piece of shit, and being held to account when you are.
I would be okay with those things being laws here in the US. This is my fear, though: As long as the laws are enforced in a way that they prevent hate speech but allow the open and honest discussion of ideas with no cooling effect, all would be well. The problems start when people are afraid to research and discuss topics academically. With any sane person's interpretation of the laws, this would never occur. But the US seems rather insane to me lately.
America is fucked. Completely. There isn't a path forward that doesn't include some sort of suspension of the basic freedoms and systems we have in place today. From COVID mitigation to eliminating the Electoral College to repairing the Supreme Court to crushing the White Supremacy movement, the only way these things can be addressed is to change the game and start playing Calvinball with American's rights. And that ain't going to go over well with a portion of the populace who is deeply invested in keeping America divided and broken, as they climb over the bodies of their fellow Americans to grub for change in the couch cushions. Even if the Democrats sweep the Presidency, House, and Senate, the Supreme Court is still completely fucked, and Brett Kavanaugh just gave them the supreme right over all States; a line that the Supreme Court had always been careful to avoid in the past, to preserve the basic tenet of States Rights. And even if the Democrats sweep the Presidency, House, and Senate, Trump has appointed hundreds of partisan judges in key districts in key States across the USA, to ensure any effort at reform is stopped at the lower courts, even before it gets to the Conservative Supreme Court. And even if the Democrats sweep the Presidency, House, and Senate, Trump has appointed hundreds of industry hacks and cronies to manage the key institutions that Americans rely on to protect our lives. Remember Ajit Pai? The head of the EPA is an oil tycoon? Scientists have left key posts in droves, unable to operate under a science-hating President and his golf caddy he appointed head of the institution? Remember the head of NASA is a climate change denier, LTBGQ hater, and anti-scientific 2-term House Representative from Oklahoma who bankrupted the only business he ever ran? Simply undoing the damage Trump has done will take a single term, and won't show any significant progress on the quality of life issues that Americans actually care about. IF Biden even survives his first term. My only hope is that Biden passes quickly, Harris takes over, and uses her iron fist to force America back into the 21st century. Maybe she'll bring on Katie Porter as her VP. I'm in a bad place. Can ya tell?
I think a lot of it rides on how clear the margin is on Nov 3. Florida should have final results on Nov 3. If Biden carries Florida, then it will be clear that Trump has lost. In fact, Biden could very well have more than 270 that night. Of course, Trump will cry foul and say that there was massive fraud, but he doesn't have a lot of options at that point, and everyone except most of his base knows he is full of shit. The talk will just be centered around his concession. If Biden pulls off something crazy and wins Texas, then Trump is being compared to Jimmy Carter and he is toast. If Trump wins Florida, then I suspect chaos. He will then do everything in his power to call the election at the current counts and stop further counting. It won't be easy for him to do, however, the media probably won't maintain discipline and will follow Trump into a crazy place. Of course, Nov 3 is still a very long way away. Biden should be in Texas. Young people are voting in droves in Texas. Edit: Apparently Bloomberg started spending money in Texas yesterday.
I read a funny thing yesterday that basically said that Election 2020 might end up being Y2K: a non-event remembered as a punchline because hundreds of thousands of people successfully labored in obscurity to make it a non-event. I am concerned, I am nervous and I am not letting myself be hopeful but all of my concerns are hypothetical "what ifs" much like they were in 1999. On the contrary, most concrete facts I'm exposed to are good news, not bad. Had a dentist appointment this morning. My hygenist wanted to know if I wanted to schedule my next cleaning six months out, on the assumption we'd still have a country. I told her it doesn't hurt to plan. Then my dentist asked if I wanted to talk about braces and I said "after we're through 'this'" (waves hands) "and on the other side." "So, 2025 then." "Whatever it takes, man." If the majority of the country were racist white people with no respect for germ theory I'd be a lot more concerned. As it is, the racist white people are a numerical minority which means any shift won't be permanent. And the less they believe in germ theory the less permanent it will be.
Are you getting a lot of text message canvassing in Michigan? I'm getting a lot and have been for weeks in Wisconsin. 2020 isn't 2016 and mobile phones are even more ubiquitous, but I don't remember even a tenth of this in 2016. Florida and Texas would be crushing to Trump, but states like Michigan and Wisconsin would really make a Biden win clear even without Texas.
No matter what the result - win or loss - Trump's only plan is to claim election fraud on an unprecedented scale. Because he is a Very Stable Genius, and has created the Best Economy Ever Known on the Planet, anything other than a landslide for him is a clear demonstration of fraud. November 5th, shit in this country is going to go sideways like it never has before. And then he still holds the reins for another 2 months. And then has to show up at his "defeat party" and shake Biden's hand, and pass the crown to Biden. And that ain't NEVER gonna happen. Ever. In any way, shape, or form. This country is in for Trouble. And Biden doesn't have the chops to stitch things back together. It'll be four years of total clusterfuckery - if he lives that long - and our country will be even more fucked in 2025. This is the future of America. There isn't any way to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
I don't think that will be the case. I do think there could be real turmoil, but I actually think that the US has moved passed peak insanity, and is swinging back towards the middle. I think that Trump and the GOP are out of step with a country that has moved on. Trump is loud, but he isn't very capable, and he is in opposition to a massive system that is not well-aligned with his interests, or sympathetic to them. Currently, Trump is POTUS and he might be POTUS for 4 more years, and there is a massive amount of deference given to that. However, once Trump has lost the election, he loses his right to much of that deference. Biden is not only capable, but is respected and as President-Elect, can draw on very deep resources to ensure a transition whether Trump is physically there or not (and I expect that he won't show). The crown is taken from Trump. He can't give it away. I actually think we'll have four years that are less-divisive, and that other issues will come to the fore. I expect the GOP will spend the next four years trying to figure out who they are as their political prospects continue to recede.
I am ALL IN on your view of the future. Where do I send my money? :-) It is truly what I hope for, but... ... Trump is Osama Bin Laden. He has put forth a belief/philosophy, and empowered anyone to claim fealty to that belief, and act in his name without his permission. The white supremacists, Michigan Militias, and Proud Boys are Al Qaida cells. They operate autonomously, funded by the same dark money sources, and sometimes coordinate their efforts through whisper networks. The loss of Trump/Bin Laden doesn't disempower the people who still believe in their White Supremacy mission... it emboldens them. They now need to redeem their god, and show he (and they) were right all along, and push to establish their Caliphate on a new piece of land. (How much you wanna bet they don't set up their training and indoctrination camps on the coasts, but instead go to the wilds of middle America?) If you've been rolling coal on your neighbors and flying the Trump flag from the back of your BroDozer for the last 4 years, you don't quietly go away. You go bigger. And that's gonna be a real mess.
Just don't put it in the stock market. :) I think you give these groups far too much credit as combatants. Al-Qaeda fought a difficult war against the Soviet Union and Afghanistan before Bin Laden turned them against the West, and they were backed and armed by foreign governments (the US playing a prominent role). Those supremistst and militias are somewhat disenfranchised domestic working class folk. They have mortgages, truck payments, and enjoy deer season. Also, Biden doesn't scare them as much as Trump wishes he would. That's why Biden scared Trump so much.
Oh, I don't think Y'all Qaida will be effective fighters, but their skill is always choosing to pick on the weak and disenfranchised anyway. They don't stay around and fight, because they always lose when it comes to bare knuckles. I do think they will roam the streets, menace people, and demonstrate the "utter lawlessness in America that Joe Biden is letting happen to good, working class people", and make Joe The Plumber wish for an authoritarian to "Take Control Again like Trump did!"