Yesterday I found this pdf: on being a successful graduate student in the sciences

A few sections resonate quite a bit.

1. Set Goals and Learn Self Discipline

I really liked this "Never catch yourself saying, I have not had time to set up the experiments (or
read that important new paper, or analyze the data, or work on the manuscript), because
these other things got in the way. You must set your priorities so that it is only the other
non-essential things that don’t get done on some weeks. Anything else is simply procrastination and excuses."

Damn right. I keep finding myself without enough time. I'm going to work on setting goals and meeting them. It's a skill I really must work on.

2. Regard yourself and present yourself as a professional.

This has also been on my mind lately. I want to conduct myself with more professional comportment. I must be improving since I was recently asked to speak about my research to the donors they tour about the building. Still, I think there's plenty of room for improvement.

3. Read broadly and critically

Yes. I need this. Honestly, I've been reading the literature a lot, but I ought to systematically review the current literature as it's published. It's important to know what the standards are for what may be published and what's old news. Bioinformatics moves SO FAST. Today I added a couple journals to my NCBI account for email notifications. I'll add more or remove some as seems necessary.


I do wonder what's possible as far as my career goes. Could I be an important researcher? Could I lead a large team? It seems a ridiculously difficult endeavor, but damn it, someone's doing those jobs. Are they smarter than me? More curious? More creative? They _are_ probably more ORGANIZED. Well, let's not let that hold me back.

Hm... The NYT says:

[S]enators said the tentative agreement would sideline but not kill the “public option” championed by President Obama and liberal Democrats in Congress.

Under the agreement, people ages 55 to 64 could “buy in” to Medicare. And a federal agency, the Office of Personnel Management, would negotiate with insurance companies to offer national health benefit plans, similar to those offered to federal employees, including members of Congress.

If these private plans did not meet certain goals for making affordable coverage available to all Americans, Senate Democratic aides said, then the government itself would offer a new insurance plan, somewhat like the “public option” in the bill Mr. Reid unveiled three weeks ago.

Obama supported, but never promised, a public option. He promised that people would have choice, which is what this provides. This is what he said in September:

My guiding principle is, and always has been, that consumers do better when there is choice and competition. That's how the market works. Unfortunately, in 34 states, 75 percent of the insurance market is controlled by five or fewer companies. In Alabama, almost 90 percent is controlled by just one company. And without competition, the price of insurance goes up and quality goes down. And it makes it easier for insurance companies to treat their customers badly — by cherry-picking the healthiest individuals and trying to drop the sickest, by overcharging small businesses who have no leverage, and by jacking up rates.
...
Now, it's worth noting that a strong majority of Americans still favor a public insurance option of the sort I've proposed tonight. But its impact shouldn't be exaggerated -- by the left or the right or the media. It is only one part of my plan.
...
But I will not back down on the basic principle that if Americans can't find affordable coverage, we will provide you with a choice.

I'm just putting this out there because the progressives are all going to start talking about how Obama doesn't deliver. Meanwhile, as far as I can tell, he is hewing as closely to his promises as just about any President we've ever had.

Frankly, the public option isn't that big a deal — what's important in this bill is that 30-40 million more people are going to be covered, and that insurance companies will end the (out-and-out evil) practices of denying people coverage based on pre-existing conditions and of imposing lifetime limits on the amount of compensation you can get (which means that cancer patients aren't going to get cut off after their treatment has cost, say, a million dollars).

Tags: politics

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