How’s everyone doing with their New Year’s Resolutions? Mine is to respond to all my text messages, which is funny, because turns out that texting less is the 34th most common resolution this year. I’m pretty sure I’m batting 100 so far. (Is that how the saying goes? Urban Dictionary is giving conflicting definitions. I know nothing about baseball. That’s from baseball, right? I’m terrible with sports. What I’m trying to say is that I’m perfect).
I’m great at resolutions. Last year my one modest goal was to keep my desktop clean.
Desktop shot from Jan 1, 2012:
Desktop shot from Dec. 31, 2012:
^If you look closely you can find a Michelle Branch CD, a scanned copy of my Masters degree, a picture of my dad asleep with a penis straw in his pocket, a Word document that lists the names of the 62 closest friends I have ever had, a resignation letter from my last job that I wrote out long before I resigned (just so that I could visualize myself leaving and therefore be less likely to stab my eyeballs out), and an adorable photo of chimpanzee babies.
2012 in a nutshell, folks.
J-Bo.net 
Yep, that looks a lot like my desktop, only neater 😦
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“batting a thousand” Yes, it means you’re getting it all right. I think it also could mean you’re getting it all wrong, too, as in, “I got all the test questions wrong, so I’m batting a thousand.” I’ve seen it used both ways.
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So then it’s 1,000, not 100? That’s the part I was confused about.
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As your Dad, I feel obligated to provide remedial eduction RE: “batting 1,000,” and am particularly discouraged because, actually, you DID grow-up in Cardinals nation. If a batter gets a hit one out of 4 times, he has gotten a hit 25% or .25 or .250 of the time — all of which mathematically are the same. Now, take the last one and lose the decimal point, and he’s “batting 250.” If he got a hit all 4 times, he got a hit 100% or 1 or 1.000 of the time. Lose the decimal point and he’s batting 1,000. Better hope I don’t tell Fredbird, who I’m sure would mock you on camera (http://www.slarc.org/Portals/_AgencySite/images/Ruby%20Toni%20w%20Fredbird.websized.jpg)
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Still, it’s really funny that she said 100. It makes it a little special.
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I’m new here. Just wanted to say taknhs for a great blog, interesting topics relevant to both FSP and MSP’s! I just started my independent career, and I struggle with defining what I expect from students in terms of hours. I came from an assistant prof’s lab where you were expected to spend ALL your waking hours in lab. Our lab became hugely successful. But now that I’m leading my own group, I wonder if this is really the right and only approach.
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The second pic made me jump. It’s all ROAR in your face! And your dad’s comment cracks me up 🙂
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That’s hilarious! Tips for keeping the desktop “looking” clean while totally keeping everything right there: One folder labeled with you rname. Stuff everything in there. That’s what I do because I cannot *stand* the visual clutter, but I never rename my saved files or think to sort them properly. Except in January, when remorse takes over and I spend days renaming pictures, sorting, and filing, just to be in the same situation at the end of the year!
Good luck!
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All I can say is, “what jerks”. I agree with exactly what you’re doing-take the high road, and if you lose a vote, you lose a vote. Use the next onptroupity to get her out for a talk. It’s so maddening to still come across this sort of thing. The good news is that the number of us who don’t like this *&%^ one bit is increasing. We’ll win more and more of those votes. It’s just…so…slow.Sorry to say, though, you’ll lose the battle (tee-hee) on the sports and military analogies. Not being a sports person myself, I’m always the odd one out, but my female colleagues are becoming pro-sport a lot faster than those analogies are losing favor. Think of it as a minor concession to inclusivity. We can treat sports language as being ungendered if we can treat one another as ungendered scientists. On a more general note, thanks for your blog. It lets me see the profession through another pair of eyes in a way that I would normally be deprived of. I can’t really walk a mile in your shoes because of my y chromosome, but it helps to at least read the diary of your travels.
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Love your desktop.
Oh, and your dad cracks me up.
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Am I the only person on the face of the planet able to keep a completely organized computer, let alone desktop? I’m starting to feel like maybe I’m the weird one, not the clutterers.
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Michelle Branch is HEAVEN. You’ve now inspired me to go listen to the Wreckers.
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