Posts by academicalnerd@qoto.org
(DIR) Post #AHuV0RjZW8PUCt3kEC by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2022-03-29T16:12:46Z
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People are more important than wires. People often forget this, especially the IT enthusiasts.
(DIR) Post #AHuXwXpHE1IHnyYiZ6 by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2022-03-29T16:52:39Z
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@skellsI meant the internet, but yeah, the cardiostimulator wire is sure important…
(DIR) Post #AIgJtVyE6ab1oLhKkK by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2022-04-21T05:44:47Z
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There is no “safe and stable 9/5 work” anymore, not for my generation. That’s even more true for this country. Not that I ever aspired to settle down for a quiet life of an office worker, but the opportunity was there. Now it’s not, and it is somehow liberating.
(DIR) Post #AIi8uI5YUbDjrqDHma by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2022-04-22T15:07:30Z
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@adamasnemesisWell, yeah, but this idea is becoming even less realistic over time.
(DIR) Post #AOCECruqPekUdcq0NE by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2022-10-03T16:45:07Z
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Well, that did not go well, eh. As some of the subscribers probably know, I’m from Russia. This platform is small enough to speak more or less openly, so here is a quick recap of what the last week looked like from the inside.Putin declared mobilization: men with previous military experience must go to war, anywhere between 300k and 1 mil of them all over the country (the precise number is kept secret). On the first day, no clarification about categories was given, and hell broke loose. Amputees, elderly, people who never served in the army, parents of infants were drafted. Police would break into houses and catch people in subway.The mobilization was not evenly distributed. In small towns and villages more people were drafted, to the point where protest started, especially in southern regions. In big cities it is less noticeable and smaller percentage of men are drafted, while more have the resources to flee.The chaos subsided over the next few days. Some people are now excluded from mobilization, like students and workers of “crucial infrastructure”, including financial sector. Most employers fight for their workers and try to keep them safe. Universities and scientific institutions do the same, draw all the resources they can.From the first day, people started running. There is a humanitarian catastrophe on the border with Georgia, people have to pay to locals even to get in lines. Airplane tickets are sold out, ones that left are priced 10k$+. Estimates say that at least 200k left for Georgia and Kazakhstan that have land border with Russia. Better estimates do not exist at the moment, but it is compared to the Exodus by some.Many people agree to fight and even buy ammunition for their own money to have better chances of surviving. Some of them are patriots, most of them seem to be obedient to whatever ones in power say.
(DIR) Post #AOCECtebwyx61rG4Lg by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2022-10-03T16:48:13Z
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An important thing most people do not consider now is the economical impact. At least 300k working men are drafted, possibly more. The state feeds them, pays them a salary (which is not that small), pays substantial compensations in case of injury or death, while the economy is deprived of the 300k of perfectly good workers. It is unlikely to cause the collapse, but the consequences will hit after a while, I’m sure.
(DIR) Post #APX01NK8joiAldpnFY by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2022-11-12T15:04:34Z
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Conferences now became quite close-minded and elitist: the same people, year after year, polished presentations, barely any input at all. There are a few large ones every year, but they are expensive and quite limited number of people are allowed in. Which raises the question: does anyone know a platform or a website where one could post unpolished results and discuss them with other in hopes of feedback, corrections or even collaboration?
(DIR) Post #AQhLeEydkyudW660XI by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2022-12-17T08:23:45Z
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I’m a city dweller. I pray on coffee and sandwiches on the go, sounds of cafes and subway soothe me and car fumes etched my lungs while I was infant, crippled my immune system for good. The city breathes, it has its own heartbeat, trembling under the streets. There are demons lurking in passages and walleys in the night, there are shadows of doubts and passions and sins imprinted in crosswalks and pave tiles.I think it was in 2014 when I saw this the first time. The shift in people’s feelings, the surge of excitement and a feeble protest that was smothered in a matter of days. There were subtle hints that I couldn’t quite pick up at that age, unfortunately. Or maybe for the better.Now I see with my own eyes, no goggles needed, the consequences of the past year. First, the police came. Two guys armed with pistols in every station, just standing there, talking to each other and squeezing money out of illegal immigrants on the occasion. Two more, with AK each, standing at the entrance during rush hour. I wonder if these weapons are off safety?Every day I ride the subway and every day there is a drunk man lying on the floor. I haven’t seen this in a while in the city center. They don’t look homeless or too poor, you can usually tell by looking at the shoes and the coat. They look like they are lost, fell out of place, somehow ended up in the center instead of the suburb slum. Maybe boarded the wrong train or skipped a bus. Sometimes police takes them somwhere, sometimes they just watch, smirking.I go to malls in the city for clothes and presents. Shop windows are shining with new goods, closed stores (h&m, cropp, uniqlo, and others) are replaced with new ones, either local or chinese-owned. Mostly the latter, but no one seems to care. It all looks very modern and quite civilized, there is even a robotic coffee kiosk at the entrance for some obscure reason. Someone couldn’t tolerate an old-fashioned coffee machine, can’t say I blame the man.And now it’s not just the glamour and the overspending. It’s empty syringes in restrooms and fear in the eyes of the school students who go there for an ice cream when the weather is bad. I saw a few couples there over the years – boy with a boy, girl with a girl. Dyed hair, good clothes, albeit expressive, holding hands and laughing louder than considered polite. The capital was always a touch more tolerant than other cities, at least in places like this. Not anymore, not since December the first. Look over the shoulder before telling a joke, just in case. Not a paranoia, but a well-justified caution.I will keep doing what I must, and try to tell the tale while I still can. Not because I am good at it, but because I cannot do it any other way, it seems.
(DIR) Post #AQhLeGqCpJM1IWAIfQ by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2022-12-17T10:34:10Z
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A few typos there, but I got emotional and didn’t do a proper proof read. Maybe it’s better this way.
(DIR) Post #AQhMHi3XZjnSzuCyP2 by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2022-11-12T16:12:37Z
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@abde It's good, but I'm looking for something more forum-like.
(DIR) Post #AQirevGluDtqNLuDdg by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2022-12-18T06:25:56Z
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@FailForward @abde It works reasonably well even despite the gatekeepers in the form of publishers. But the feedback loop length has become the limiting factor in the process. And some areas have lower entry barrier these days (like ML for instance), but journals and professional conferences still have high entry requirements.
(DIR) Post #AQvZkrOrvsbzzaqzx2 by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2022-12-24T07:15:40Z
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In reply to @FailForward ‘s Christmas post.New Year mood: notes, essays due on a weekend, exams in two weeks and everyone’s ass is on fire these days. Happy New Year, wish everyone to survive ‘till the next one…(okay, okay, it’s not that bad, I’ll survive, but no cookies for me this time around)
(DIR) Post #AQvyRUZ36p52WKTcbQ by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2022-12-24T14:13:08Z
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@FailForwardThanks! Honestly, way too many things turned into an utter shitshow so I just decided to ditch nearly everything and act more or less on a whim. Whatever happens – happens. I don’t really read news, barely check my mail and going to visit at least two parties before the new year hits. And throw one on the 31st-1st, because I can. Maybe I’ll get slightly more serious afterwards. Maybe not…
(DIR) Post #AR0N42NL1W19v6keO0 by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2022-12-26T17:07:55Z
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@FailForwardIt kinda is. The first 10-15 tweets contain real facts, I checked/heard from reliable sources most of them. Gang wars and the rest of the thread look questionable, I don’t think any prognosis stands a chance these days, good or bad one. We (as we-the-country) are, indeed, quite fucked, but underestimating the societal inertia is quite short-sighted.
(DIR) Post #ATKjDMzSGBrOuzLAXo by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2023-01-10T12:10:21Z
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Today a realization struck me. A simple one, but I feel like sharing it for some reason. Envy is horrible and it is not talked about for the most part. It poisons people and hurts their relationships, while the solution is relatively simple. To not be envious of someone, it is necessary to learn to be happy for their accomplishments. It mostly works for close people, but being envious towards close people is most destructive as well.This ability to feel joy is not “free”, it has to be learned and cultivated either in the family during adolescence or consciously later in life. And I am infinitely grateful to my family and friends who seem to have taught me that over the years.This sounds childish now that I read it, but hey, why not. Maybe it will offset some of that gloominess of mine.
(DIR) Post #AZ3HbBB3SHelaRn5dI by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2023-08-21T05:05:47Z
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I don’t even know if my posts make sense for readers, honestly. My English is a bit rusty and there is no feedback most of the time as I write into the void. Do you people read me? Are the texts clear? Or is it an indistinguishable mess of words?Here is what I’ve been up to. First and foremost, new lab. Now my main work is to use neural networks to predict crystal stability. It took me a while to write and train the model for this, about a year along with studying and an internship. However, now that it’s mostly ready, I have to do an experiment.It is not strictly necessary, but my department requires master’s dissertation to contain some experiments. I had to make one for bachelor diploma and now the history repeats itself. However, now I am in a different lab, with far better apparatus and work ethics. The experiments are mostly made with solid-state synthesis, which makes thing way easier (weigh – press – anneal – analyze – repeat).Apart from this and an ungodly amount of papers I needed to study in the field and crippling burnout from personal problems, the last year went well. Now I have a week to finish most of the experiment and prepare something like the dissertation proposal. It is a discriminatory practice my department uses to make some students’ life more difficult. In my case it’s the theoretical nature of my work that is causing problems.But I’ll power through this eventually.
(DIR) Post #AZ3IWkqbVUWsipgAOe by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2023-03-09T02:56:23Z
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I had a discussion with a friend today and now I’m curious: do you people cook for yourself? Does someone cook for you? Do you buy food? What do you typically cook?I cook most of my food when I live alone and it’s usually simple and healthy “meat+vegetables/pasta/rice” dishes, salads, eggs in all varieties and a sandwich here and there.No poll attached, I’m interested mostly in long and unnecessarily sophisticated answers. Let the 65k character limit be useful.
(DIR) Post #AZ3XHlqozaGqnr5tTM by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2023-08-24T12:43:24Z
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@FailForwardI don’t think any comedian, no matter how high, could come up with the things that happen here occasionally. I’m looking for PhD opportunities now and aim to have a way to get the rest of the family out, if need be. Also, hopefully getting married amidst this mess in a few months.How does it feel to be here? On good days it’s mostly anxiety, on bad days – despair. However, since avoidance is the primary strategy for both people and the governmental structures in authoritarian regimes, many people simply ignore the situation in their day-to-day life. I do this sometimes too, because it is impossible to keep this horrid mess in the head at all times while taking care of the family and working. One has to look for balance between being aware but useless and being useful and caring for their loved ones, but ignorant at times.
(DIR) Post #AZ3XfO9ujLQUH1HoUC by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2023-08-24T12:47:40Z
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@FailForwardSounds good. I am extremely ectomorphic and mostly try to keep my BMI up and build some muscle and fat. Because by default I quickly lose both.The question was asked at that time because I discovered that there is a large cohort of people who do not cook for themselves at all and only eat food they buy. It is a viable strategy here in Moscow as ready-made food is widely available, and not even that expensive. I’m wondering if it’s prominent in other places as well.
(DIR) Post #AZ5qXTaOxHEmEaXITw by academicalnerd@qoto.org
2023-08-25T15:28:34Z
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@FailForwardThe age/demographic perspective makes sense, yeah.