Useless Conversation

[Nebu]

Don't take this the wrong way, but are you somewhat lowish on your particular totem pole?  

No offense taken.  I'm an associate prof (middle rank), so it's not a totem pole thing.  We're paid on a 9 month contract in the sciences but are expected to run a research group and obtain funding for the full year.  Since funding for science has been drastically cut, all funding I've obtained has gone toward grad student salaries, tech salaries, postdoc salaries, equipment time, and disposables.  Meaning, I haven't been able to obtain adequate funding to pay myself during the summer (I bet many of you didn't know that research faculty pay themselves over the summer, NOT their institutions).  This means that I'm paid for 9 months but expected to produce all 12 (train grad students, publish x number fo papers, present at y conferences, etc). 

Law is a very different beast than chemistry and this may be why you had this question. 

[Cyrrex]

Nope, not so much different, that all made perfect sense.

Though we did have our foundation money, which probably wasn't being used as it was always intended to be.

[Nebu]

We have post-tenure reviews every 2nd year.  If you're sedentary, you will either be released or given no merit raises or support.  Personally, I want my sabbatical time and access to grad students.  It pisses me off that I work 3 months for free, but it's a small price to pay for intellectual freedom. 

[FatuousTwat]

They were having some kind of party, and I figured just showing up to would be kind of rude.

You're right. Calling the cops would be far less rude.  

I wasn't seriously considering calling the cops. The only time I've done that was when some kids were blaring their terrible terrible rap music in the highschool parking lot at 1am. Of course the dispatcher was a bitch and acted like I was somehow to blame.

[Selby]

Since funding for science has been drastically cut, all funding I've obtained has gone toward grad student salaries, tech salaries, postdoc salaries, equipment time, and disposables.  Meaning, I haven't been able to obtain adequate funding to pay myself during the summer (I bet many of you didn't know that research faculty pay themselves over the summer, NOT their institutions).  This means that I'm paid for 9 months but expected to produce all 12 (train grad students, publish x number fo papers, present at y conferences, etc).

My engineering department literally had dozens of contracts that they used to pay the grad students and professors over the summer and schoolyear.  If you could write a grant proposal that got funded, you walked on water.  There were a few professors who could do it (mine was one) and it was a sight to behold - literally doing a little work here and there and getting paid for it.  Most of ours was defense related though, so it is a different beast than NIST and whatnot style contracts (which were much more difficult and work-intense to get and keep).  I worked for two different departments during my time and one was solely science funding (and difficult to get\keep) and the other was mostly defense (which was easier for some reason).

On another note, what the fuck is up with flavored malt liquor drinks?  Some numbnuts has been leaving Dragon Joose berry flavored malt liquor tallboy cans all over my cars and all I can think of is who the fuck drinks this shit?  Get some quality whiskey or scotch or just be a cheap beer guzzler.  Stuff smells like ass.

[HaemishM]

On another note, what the fuck is up with flavored malt liquor drinks?  Some numbnuts has been leaving Dragon Joose berry flavored malt liquor tallboy cans

God, that sounds like a worse drink than swilling the devil's urine filtered through the anus of a dead deer.

[Sky]

Last night I pulled about 15-20 gallons of water off my basement floor and still have some more to go. Now that the gutters are up, I got a cheap wet/dry vac and went to town on the puddles. A buddy gave me an old dehumidifier, and that pulled out about a gallon overnight. Probably need a bigger dehum at some point, putting in a pump tomorrow so I don't have to empty the bin on it.

A couple more weeks of running the dehum and I can call the basement guys for an estimate 

[voodoolily]

Last night I pulled about 15-20 gallons of water off my basement floor and still have some more to go. Now that the gutters are up, I got a cheap wet/dry vac and went to town on the puddles. A buddy gave me an old dehumidifier, and that pulled out about a gallon overnight. Probably need a bigger dehum at some point, putting in a pump tomorrow so I don't have to empty the bin on it.

A couple more weeks of running the dehum and I can call the basement guys for an estimate 

Yeesh. Welcome to the joys of home ownership! We had to tear out the carpet in ours last winter. 

[Nebu]

Sky: Get yourself a sump pump and sink it in the floor.  It's a lifesaver those times that your drains can't take care of it due to ground saturation. 

[Bunk]

Hmm, aparently I can't reply to den threads anymore. I just thought it was funny that the unknown guy who posted a necro on an Asheron's Call update got jumped on by Rasix and then denned. They actually did do a semi update for AC, they were showing it at PAX. Got myself a t-shirt the moment I mentioned having been an original AC player.

Still looks like a ten year old game, but they do keep updating it.

[Signe]

You just can't reply to locked threads.  They lock most of them now.  The people in charge are just getting old and grumpy.

[schild]

Hmm, aparently I can't reply to den threads anymore. I just thought it was funny that the unknown guy who posted a necro on an Asheron's Call update got jumped on by Rasix and then denned. They actually did do a semi update for AC, they were showing it at PAX. Got myself a t-shirt the moment I mentioned having been an original AC player.

Still looks like a ten year old game, but they do keep updating it.

When Rasix says it's Hyu, he's right.

[Signe]

Maybe you should un-ban everyone who's been banned and see what happens.    Let know if you decide to ever do that so I can buy stock in popcorn.

[Sky]

Sky: Get yourself a sump pump and sink it in the floor.  It's a lifesaver those times that your drains can't take care of it due to ground saturation. 

That's the next step. I have a strong suspicion I'm dealing with a pretty non-porous clay layer with an aquifer under it, though I'm just going by intuition and knowledge of area water features. But I want to see how much I can do to get things dried out short of digging out the foundations. I'll even consider that in a year or three, if it's possible to get it real dry.

[Salamok]

Sky: Get yourself a sump pump and sink it in the floor.  It's a lifesaver those times that your drains can't take care of it due to ground saturation. 

That's the next step. I have a strong suspicion I'm dealing with a pretty non-porous clay layer with an aquifer under it, though I'm just going by intuition and knowledge of area water features. But I want to see how much I can do to get things dried out short of digging out the foundations. I'll even consider that in a year or three, if it's possible to get it real dry.

oooh sounds like you need to build yourself a cistern for when the day of the rope hits.  Thats almost step 1 in building your own lil survivalist shithole.  Well maybe more like step 3 or 4 (after accumulating guns, ammo and going bugfuck crazy).

[voodoolily]

Sky: Get yourself a sump pump and sink it in the floor.  It's a lifesaver those times that your drains can't take care of it due to ground saturation. 

That's the next step. I have a strong suspicion I'm dealing with a pretty non-porous clay layer with an aquifer under it, though I'm just going by intuition and knowledge of area water features. But I want to see how much I can do to get things dried out short of digging out the foundations. I'll even consider that in a year or three, if it's possible to get it real dry.

Are you in an urban area? If your soils aren't mapped "urban complex" by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service), you might get some good info from the Web Soil Survey. Here's the link - just click the green "Start WSS" button, click the Navigate by Address (and enter your address) and then use the AOI drawing tool to draw a polygon around your property. Then click the Soil Survey tab and the map of soil units will pop up. Click on any soil series in the legend and it will tell you all about that soil's properties, like erosion hazard, flood hazard, clay content, how the soil formed, etc. S'fun!

[Johny Cee]

Maybe you should un-ban everyone who's been banned and see what happens.    Let know if you decide to ever do that so I can buy stock in popcorn.

I have been advocating this for years!  Oh, the fun we could have...

[Cheddar]

Huzzah!  I was just informed that because of the 3 hurricanesish storms looking to hit us here in the mid atlantic I get the honor of working weekends for the next 4 weeks.


Starting tomorrow.   

[Sky]

VL is supah kewl. 

Thanks, that site is amazing! Looks like part Fredon gravelly silt loam and part Alton-urban land complex, I'm guessing because this house originally sat just outside the city corp line? Either way it's good draining loam for the most part, apparently. There's hope yet.

[Ironwood]

Are there any f13'ers living near Naples Florida ?

[Yegolev]

Huzzah!  I was just informed that because of the 3 hurricanesish storms looking to hit us here in the mid atlantic I get the honor of working weekends for the next 4 weeks.


Starting tomorrow.   

See about getting my VZW voice quality up to Cingular standards, thanks.  Also please let me receive all of my calls and SMS.

[WayAbvPar]

Are there any f13'ers living near Naples Florida ?

I seem to remember Alluvian being from that area, but he hasn't been around for a year or two.

[Pennilenko]

Are there any f13'ers living near Naples Florida ?

I live in bonita springs, Naples border (so to speak) is within walking distance. I am also an amature weather nut. Let me emphasise amature. Ike has me concerned, but im not the panic type. If they order evacuations I leave like a smart person should.

I use this to keep my weather nut needs happy. Weather Underground This site is really good for getting a nice education in very basic weather knowledge.

[Oban]

See about getting my VZW voice quality up to Cingular standards, thanks.  Also please let me receive all of my calls and SMS.

Not to start a shit-fit about CDMA versus GSM (non-UMTS/LTE); but CDMA will always have issues with voice quality and SMS delivery.

[Ironwood]

Are there any f13'ers living near Naples Florida ?

I live in bonita springs, Naples border (so to speak) is within walking distance. I am also an amature weather nut. Let me emphasise amature. Ike has me concerned, but im not the panic type. If they order evacuations I leave like a smart person should.

I use this to keep my weather nut needs happy. Weather Underground This site is really good for getting a nice education in very basic weather knowledge.

Actually, I'm asking for non-weather reasons.

And no-one seems to know how to spell Amateur today...

(My Reasons are Mysterious at the moment.)

[voodoolily]

VL is supah kewl. 

Thanks, that site is amazing! Looks like part Fredon gravelly silt loam and part Alton-urban land complex, I'm guessing because this house originally sat just outside the city corp line? Either way it's good draining loam for the most part, apparently. There's hope yet.

Gravelly silt loam ftw. It's when you get into the clay loams, silty clay loams and silty clays that you run into trouble. Those tend to be where wetlands form. I took a grad-level soils geomorphology course in college just for fun, and I loved it. If I could have a do-over I'da minored in geology.

[Furiously]

Sky - the cistern idea for your downspouts is definitely worth trying, just moving the water away from your foundation will help a ton.

[Pennilenko]

Are there any f13'ers living near Naples Florida ?

I live in bonita springs, Naples border (so to speak) is within walking distance. I am also an amature weather nut. Let me emphasise amature. Ike has me concerned, but im not the panic type. If they order evacuations I leave like a smart person should.

I use this to keep my weather nut needs happy. Weather Underground This site is really good for getting a nice education in very basic weather knowledge.

Actually, I'm asking for non-weather reasons.

And no-one seems to know how to spell Amateur today...

(My Reasons are Mysterious at the moment.)

I went to the dictionary, I am sorry for the mispelling. I could have sworn I was taught that way in school. I guess I have become sloppy over the years.

[Ironwood]

Ok, now I'm interested;  How's things looking over there with Ike?  Think it's gonna hit you ?

[hal]

The whole subject of national responce is interesting this time around. The VA is prepaired as we speak to mobilize 2 field hospitals were ever they might be needed. We mobilized after Katrina but this time there is a lot more preparation in advance.

[Cheddar]

Ok, now I'm interested;  How's things looking over there with Ike?  Think it's gonna hit you ?

Its looking pretty bad for Louisiana right about now.

[Pennilenko]

Ok, now I'm interested;  How's things looking over there with Ike?  Think it's gonna hit you ?

Its looking pretty bad for Louisiana right about now.

This and eastern cuba.

[Nerf]

Ok, now I'm interested;  How's things looking over there with Ike?  Think it's gonna hit you ?

Its looking pretty bad for Louisiana right about now.

This and eastern cuba.

Cuba will be fine, they have a healthcare system far more advanced than ours, they should easily be able to handle this!

[Ironwood]

You're thinking of Western Cuba.

[HaemishM]

Ok, now I'm interested;  How's things looking over there with Ike?  Think it's gonna hit you ?

The projected path right now looks very similar to Gustav's in terms of where in the US it will hit. Meaning, New Orleans is fucked again, and I'll just get by with days and days of rain.