You’ve spent months battling with radiators and cold wet weather, but the summer is finally upon us and to make things even worse we’re heading into a heatwave. The office that just weeks ago seemed impossible to keep warm is now so sweltering it feels as though you’re stepping into the sauna when you arrive each morning. Like most people, Jamie has been struggling with this, so I’m here to offer ...[Read More]
Conferences are a vital part of academic life but with many conferences moving online due to the pandemic, the virtual conference hall can be a minefield! After a year of conferencing from afar, Kiran Chotalia shares the tips and tricks to make the conference experience live from your living room a breeze! It would be an understatement to say it has been quite the year. Travel restrictions put a f ...[Read More]
In this weeks Wit & Wisdom, revisit some cybersecurity 101 nuggets! We are not even half-way through 2021 and I can list more than a handful of occasions where my cyber-safety, both private and professional, was jeopardised (that I have been made aware of, the actual number is probably much higher). The Dutch research council was hacked1 (ransomware; documents leaked after refusal to pay; fund ...[Read More]
With real-life water cooler time at a premium, Paul has found that talking about the weather and Emily in Paris just isn’t breaking the ice. By Zoom, he asks possibly the worst qualified person in geodynamics: How can you turn your colleagues into friends? Dear Paul, Why would you want to? You only have a contract of up to three years, so by the time you’ve moved on from Emily in Paris ...[Read More]
In this week’s post, Mohamed Gouiza discusses the challenges of living under constant stress, paralysed by the possibility of failure and self-perceived inevitability of impending breakup. Continental rifting, of course! Oh… did you think I was talking about life as a researcher? Under tensile stress, the lithosphere stretches, the asthenosphere rises, the crust fails, and rifts form. During this ...[Read More]
Too envious to watch Netflix’s Selling Sunset? Gone through the top 5 geodynamic movies? Lock-down vacation too boring for words? In need of useful procrastination? Search no longer! We have compiled an extensive list of online webinars and speaker series that were already active pre-Corona or saw the daylight during the pandemic to stay in touch with our colleagues both abroad and next door ...[Read More]
Yu-Seok has depleted his streaming service queue, thrown all of the stocked board games off the table, and eagerly seeks new ways to squander his energy after a long workday of couch-surfing underneath his laptop: What should a scientist do as a pastime? Dear Yu-Seok, Where can you find the time? And the energy? Aren’t we all simply working continuously? I go to extremes to even find the energy an ...[Read More]
In between homeschooling three children, Zoom meetings, online teaching, Skype vivas, and emergency grant reviews, Alex wonders: How do I keep track of all the newly published research out there? Dear Alex, I am sure it’s on the minds of many of our fellow academics, who just reside bored in their homes at these times. What else to do during a pandemic other than scouring Twitter for the new ...[Read More]
After asking many times whether or not I can hear him and just generally struggling to communicate, Noel finally manages to ask: On average, how many times is ‘Can you hear me now?’ uttered during a conference call? Dear Noel, Unlike the ritual of – the almost spiritual – sharing of screens, the accidental muting of the microphone and the associated questions varying on the theme of &# ...[Read More]
During the umpteenth conference call this week, it is finally time for Carrie to share her screen. So, naturally, she asks: Where is the share screen button? Dear Carrie, I am not sure how to break this to you. Indeed, I am not sure if I should be the person telling you this. However, since you ask, I feel obliged to divulge this secret to you. Just promise me you will not tell anyone. Okay? Do I ...[Read More]