Eternal Academic

Leaving the classroom is the first step towards an education. A fifth year Ph.D. student in the Evolution, Ecology and Behavior program at Indiana University. I'm a microbial ecologist and I investigate the role of the microbiome on honey bee health.

[eternalacademic]

The Daily 202: 11 stories from President Trump’s first 100 hours that deserve more attention

Watch what they do, not what they say

[eternalacademic]

In this scorched-earth op-ed, Lauren Duca takes on Trump's systematic attempts to destabilize the truth and weaken the foundation of American freedom.

[eternalacademic]

I’m mad as hell about all the shit going down in the US so sorry for the mass amounts of political posts you’re about to get. 

Trump is destroying science so it’s like, totally related. 

[mermaidskey]

Cultural Resources Climate Change Strategy

Download the NPS’s climate change strategy- before it’s taken down. 

[eternalacademic]

Having trouble with ID’ing this bee. I think it’s Epeolus bifasciatus - but it’s missing those reddish bits. 

I can take more pics if it would be helpful - thanks in advance for any help!!! Oh - pretty confident it’s a cuckoo/parasitic bee in Nomada - just need species. 

[eternalacademic]

I’m so sensitive to people crashing and burning in grad school the minute someone posts on facebook that they’re crying in class/etc. I rush over to make sure they’re doing ok. 

This is why I’m so jaded about grad school. 

[ludaprilgate]

[nimstrz]

[soundsnotstr8]

This legitimately upsets me.

[hookteeth]

… Y’see, now, y’see, I’m looking at this, thinking, squares fit together better than circles, so, say, if you wanted a box of donuts, a full box, you could probably fit more square donuts in than circle donuts if the circumference of the circle touched the each of the corners of the square donut.

So you might end up with more donuts.

But then I also think… Does the square or round donut have a greater donut volume? Is the number of donuts better than the entire donut mass as a whole?

Hrm.

HRM.

[organisedentropy-blog]

A round donut with radius R1 occupies the same space as a square donut with side 2R1. If the center circle of a round donut has a radius R2 and the hole of a square donut has a side 2R2, then the area of a round donut is πR12 - πr22. The area of a square donut would be then 4R12 - 4R22. This doesn’t say much, but in general and  throwing numbers, a full box of square donuts has more donut per donut than a full box of round donuts. The interesting thing is knowing exactly how much more donut per donut we have. Assuming first a small center hole (R2 = R1/4) and replacing in the proper expressions, we have a 27,6% more donut in the square one (Round: 15πR12/16 ≃ 2,94R12, square: 15R12/4 = 3,75R12). Now, assuming a large center hole (R2 = 3R1/4) we have a 27,7% more donut in the square one (Round: 7πR12/16 ≃ 1,37R12, square: 7R12/4 = 1,75R12). This tells us that, approximately, we’ll have a 27% bigger donut if it’s square than if it’s round.

tl;dr: Square donuts have a 27% more donut per donut in the same space as a round one.

[pardonmewhileipanic]

god i love this site

[redventure]

can’t argue with science. Heretofore, I want my donuts square.

[mymompickedthisurl-deactivated2]

more donut per donut

[rayguncourtesan]

[eternalacademic]

Reblogging because science, not because donuts.

[micdotcom]

Mattel just debuted Game Developer Barbie — and sexist trolls lost their damn minds

Mattel just introduced a game developer Barbie with the message, “You can be anything” — including a target for aggressive misogyny. Game developer Barbie has red hair, glasses, a tablet and a laptop. But some men are not having it. The comments about her appearance (and weight) are particularly abhorrent.

[merswine]

I like when the man harasses women by claiming they are making up claims of being harassed on the internet.

[wildcat2030]

Being lazy is a sign of high intelligence

New research seems to prove the theory that brainy people spend more time lazing around than their active counterparts. Findings from a US-based study seem to support the idea that people with a high IQ get bored less easily, leading them to spend more time engaged in thought. And active people may be more physical as they need to stimulate their minds with external activities, either to escape their thoughts or because they get bored quickly.

[realcleverscience]

Well, sort-of. Check out the article. Interesting read.

[caffeinatedcraziness]

Hi everyone! Hopefully when you’re reading this I’ll be somewhere in Washington DC on vacation, so even though I got some amazing blog posts ideas this week on Tumblr, I thought I’d start off September with something a bit more chill and talk about how I plan to organize my life this year.

Hi everyone! After all the wonderful post ideas you gave me, the best I could manage in the time I had was to talk about how I organize my life in grad school! However, I went above and beyond and rather than just talking about how I schedule my day and use my planner, I also went in depth on how I also organize research papers, my class assignments and my various notes that I take for a variety of things! I hope you enjoy!

Next week may also be a chill post (I was thinking a What’s in my Bag post or a personal post about life) but after I hope to tackle some of the questions I currently have in my inbox. If you have a blog post suggestion, feel free to let me know and I’ll see what I can do about it!

Hope you all enjoy! Feel free to share your organizing tips and tricks! I may or may not steal some ideas. :p  

[studycell]

Hi everyone! Don’t worry, this isn’t another app masterpost with a huge list of useful apps you can try out. It’s been done many times before and there are many great posts which you should definitely check out!

Instead, I’ve tried to give you a short list of rated productivity apps which I’ve personally used at one point in my life and what I used them for. I’m a type of person that’ll always rather use apps over a hand written planner.

P.S. The screenshots are from the app store since some of these apps I don’t use any more and those that I do use contain some personal information :) Let’s get started!

#1 Habitica: App store rating: 4.5/5★ Personal rating: 4.5/5★

This is one of the apps I use the most. It makes productivity really fun. It could be described as a simplistic RPG game that makes your habits, dailies and to dos a quest. You can start a party and invite members, join challenges and help other people. There are also guilds that discuss a certain topic which you can join. It is very “community oriented” and I’ve met quite a few people on this app. As you can see, it is very customizable and you can edit your avatar any way you like!

Pros: A huge community of very helpful and lovely people! All of my habits, to dos and daily tasks are systematically organised and at one place.

Cons: The quests may become really repetitive sometimes. There is also no widget for android phones which makes me “forget” about the app sometimes if I don’t turn on the notifications. A calendar overview could also be great.

What I use it for: General to do list/Habit Tracker

android + iOS

#2 Google Calendar: App store rating: 4.1/5★ Personal rating: 4.5/5★

Okay so this one is pretty common and widely used, but as I said, here I will give you an overview of the apps that helped me in my productivity. It is nicely designed and you can sync it with your other google apps.

Pros: Well designed with nice widgets, widely used with a PC online version.

Cons: If the weekly overview suits you the best, it may seem kind of cramped. Sometimes it feels like they made the app just for tablets or phones with huge screens.

What I use it for: Tracking events, exams, important dates, birthdays, etc.

android + iOS

#3 7 Weeks App store rating: 4.3/5★ Personal rating: 4/5★

7 Weeks is a very minimalistic habit tracker with a simple calendar option. You can customize your colour theme and add multiple habits you wish to track. For every habit you can find available stats and simply track your progress by clicking on a current date and selecting if you have completed your daily goal or you have skipped it.

Pros: Very minimalistic and encouraging when you have the overall view of your progress.

Cons: Not really useful for anything rather than habit tracking and not really providing any external motivation. Some habits don’t really need to be done daily in order to become your daily routine, nor do you always have time for it.

What I used it for: I used this app to prepare for my German Goethe exam, since I had to practice daily in order to gain a good comprehension of the language.

android

#4 Get Shit Done! App store rating: 4.3/5★ Personal rating: 3.5/5★

If Shia Labeuf were an app, it’d be this one. It basically let’s you set a time limited goal and let’s you choose the amount of breaks you want to have for that chosen time. Very useful for when you need that psychological push to stop slacking and be productive.

Pros: Actually makes you get shit done.

Cons: Might not be for everyone. The whole app is very task-oriented which has a very limited use.

What I used it for: Studying for boring subjects for which I have zero motivation.

android

#5 My Study Life App store rating: 4.2/5★ Personal rating: 4/5★

Honestly this might be one of the best apps I have ever used for school organisation. It has a really nice overview of your exams, classes, tasks and daily lists, as well as a calendar mode and a detailed description of every class and school assignment. It is nicely structured and helps you keep track of important things. The pros and cons of this app really depend on the way you separate your general tasks with your school obligations.

Pros: Only suitable for school/college things.

Cons: Only suitable for school/college things. No widget available.

What I use it for: Organising my studying in high school. I’ll probably use it in college as well.

android + iOS

4 more useful apps I used to boost my productivity:

Focus: Very useful for getting stuff done, but gets old over time (android / iOS)

Brain Focus Productivity Timer: A version of pomodoro, but with nicer stats and a very responsive development team that actually reads your reviews!  (android + iOS version of a similar app)

Mastery: Well designed habit tracker with numerous ways to organise and categorise your habits, but goes by the false 10,000 hour myth which can discourage you if you are trying your best, and still not getting perfect. (Not everyone works the same way!) (android + similar iOS app)

Loop Habit Tracker: Nicely organised with great widgets. Not very useful for anything rather than, well, habit tracking. (android + similar iOS app)

[currentsinbiology]

Millions of Honeybees Killed in Attempt to Prevent Zika

Aerial spraying of the pesticide naled in a South Carolina county, done in an attempt to prevent Zika-infected mosquitoes from gaining a foothold in the state, resulted instead in the massacre of millions of honeybees.

While 43 Zika cases have been reported in the state, all but one were from travelers who were infected abroad. The other was a sexually transmitted case. No one in South Carolina has been locally infected by a mosquito. Nevertheless, county officials sprayed a 15-square mile area early Sunday morning. Dorchester County officials said they announced the spraying on Friday and via a Facebook post on Saturday, but many residents said they received less than 10 hours notice.  

[elucubrare]

WebMD Middle Ages

Q: I have, of late, felt strange pain in mine elbow

A: Prepare thy soul to be shriven, for thou hast THE PLAGUE

[sashayed]

Try These Home Remedyes

take in thy hand a Scourge haveing 3 Tayles, and with it flagellate thy sinnful bodye in the publick Road, crying Mercie of God 

have lesse blood

hast thou tried Arsenic

Was This Helpful aye | nay 36 out of 39 serfs founde thys helpfull

[roachpatrol]

if thou dost not posess a sufficiency of time for the weaving of thine own sacks for a sackcloth & ashys perdition garment, store boute ys fine

[sashayed]

Thys Knave Hath Procured the True & Grislye Fyngre-Bone of St. Agrippina. Thou’lt Credit NOT What Thanne Transpired 

[derichelieu]

#Doctours HATE Hym!: Lerne of a Varlet Who Hath Physicked Himself With Only Treacle (x)

[legogradstudent]

Lounging on the toilet, the grad student has the five most productive minutes of his day.

[eternalacademic]

Best new thing in the world, folks.

[cephalopodweek]

Happy Cephalopod Week 2016!

Like a giant squid rising from the depths, Cephalopod Week returns! Now in its third year, Cephalopod Week is our celebration of all things tentacled organized by public radio’s @sciencefriday alongside our friends at @montereybayaquarium and @amnhnyc.

Every year, at the end of June, we investigate the amazing science behind these amazing creatures - plus share our favorite cephalopod artwork, movies, photos, and more. 

And if YOU want to join in, feel free to submit your stuff here!

Now let’s poddy! 🐙🐙🐙

[sciencefriday]

Let’s get squiddy with it! 

[caffeinatedcraziness]

There wasn’t any doubt I would go to college one day. Learning was my past time. My passion. The sheer idea that I would someday be able to attend an institution dedicated to acquiring knowledge was like a dream come true. I couldn't wait! But, honestly, if I was being completely truthful that wasn’t the full reason of why I wanted to go to college.

So, I did have another post in mind this week, but due this post and this response to it, I had a lot of feelings that needed to be let out into internet land. The First Generation struggle is real and I hope that due to this, mostly anecdotal, post that those who never had to go through this can better understand the trials and tribulations we have to face simply because we were the first in our family to be able to get a higher education. And to the first generation college/grad student reading this, especially those just starting out, I hope that you can realize that you’re not alone. Even those of us who have made it through college still have to come across these kind of challenges each day, such as those of us who took it a step further and decided to attend grad school. There are thousands of us. And we need to support each other.

As I’ve mentioned before, I am more to happy to answer any questions any first gen students may have about college, STEM or grad school. It doesn’t matter how silly you think the questions might be. Chances are I had the exact same question.