Posts by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
(DIR) Post #AbEgCeBWf2lZ2O00tk by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T16:19:56Z
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I feel like I've had a lot of support and encouragement to bring my own ideas and energy to our department; we have constraints, of course, but I feel like people are willing to try new things and always want to do better by our students and each other.
(DIR) Post #AbEgCfGAfG4mN5BEmG by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T16:26:29Z
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For example, we have made changes recently to streamline our BS program, including working to make our intro sequence more accessible to a broader population of CS students, and easier for transfer students or students with previous experience. We're always looking to make things better.
(DIR) Post #AbEgCfx45mO4W7FUdU by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T16:30:46Z
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I feel like that the institution as a whole values family and work-life balance, but I experience that most directly in our department and through our faculty union. Life as a faculty member is busy, but the people I interact with recognize that our personal lives are a priority for most of us.
(DIR) Post #AbEgCgjHCWx4vdnzma by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T16:36:56Z
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I felt very supported by SCSE and my department as a tenure-track faculty person, and I found the tenure process to be positive, clear, and friendly, with annual reviews. If we hire you, we want you to get tenure. We will find people to mentor you, and you'll be invited to tenure-track faculty breakfasts, where you'll get to know our accessible college administration.
(DIR) Post #AbEgChWuE0ePPZ1d8i by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T16:40:30Z
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I love living in Duluth. It's a beautiful small city on a hill at the western end of Lake Superior -- the "Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas". Duluth has about 86k people, with a metro area of about 280k (extending far outside the city and into WI).
(DIR) Post #AbEgCiKtEAdJuaPY36 by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T16:42:34Z
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While housing prices have gone up here as they have most places, Duluth is still a fairly affordable place to live (relatively speaking). Like cool 100-year-old houses? Got'em. Like newer modern designs? Got'em. Want a condo with a view of the GLOAT (Greatest Lake of All Time)? Got'em.
(DIR) Post #AbEgCj7oIHlUMJIcIi by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T16:49:53Z
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Duluth is also a politically diverse, but generally fairly progressive city; it's likely to challenge your ideas about what small cities in the midwest are like, if you think of the midwest as "flyover country".We have a vibrant arts and local music scene: https://duluthhomegrown.org/ ... and for a small city we get some great national acts coming through. For example, Bon Iver played this summer at the Bayfront Festival Park on the shore of Lake Superior.We also have an exploding craft and craft brewing scene: https://northshoreexplorermn.com/lincoln-park-duluth/
(DIR) Post #AbEgCjqTcDUgaqCHvE by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T16:52:01Z
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Given it's size, Duluth doesn't have everything, of course, but we are only 2.5 hours by car or shuttle van (or 45 minutes by plane) away from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, one of the best (IMHO) metro areas in the US.
(DIR) Post #AbEgCkVx80fefTbPZQ by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T16:53:04Z
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Now, if you've heard anything about Duluth, chances are it's been in a joke about it being cold. And yeah, I'm not going to lie, it gets cold here. BUT
(DIR) Post #AbEgClDuUZpgroAW5Q by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T16:54:04Z
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There is so much amazing stuff to do in the winter in Duluth! Duluth has tons of groomed ski trails, downhill runs, year-round mt. biking (fat bikes with studs rule!), ice climbing, ice fishing, hockey, curling, skating, and so much more...
(DIR) Post #AbEgCluRwPrOzk4UOO by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T17:02:09Z
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As the old Scandinavian proverb goes, "There's no bad weather, just bad clothes." People here know how to handle the winter, and -- if you do happen to get stuck in the snow -- strangers will pull shovels out of their cars and help dig / push you out. My point is this: if you know you absolutely hate the cold, OK, maybe you won't like Duluth. But if you're just unsure about what winter here is like, maybe give it a chance... you might find out that it's beautiful and fun.
(DIR) Post #AbEgCmimvG7tVrcgr2 by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T17:04:58Z
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There's also incredible warm-weather outdoorsy activities too, of course (all that other stuff, just without the snow). After all, there's a reason that people flock to Duluth in the summer. The amount of trails, parks or wilderness, in or near Duluth is astounding -- Duluth has over *200 miles* of trails open to hiking, many of which double as ski or bike trails.
(DIR) Post #AbEgCnjt8ebIfZ95Cy by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T17:11:12Z
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Maybe the outdoors isn't your thing. No problem. There are also arts non-profits, several community theatres, galleries, and other venues, museums, a ballet, an opera, a symphony, lots of crafting and other types of indoor activities. Lots of ways for you to plug in and find your people.
(DIR) Post #AbEgCofJh8XPXg0wim by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T17:14:38Z
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Or maybe you like the outdoors, but not the sweaty, exercising kind of outdoors. There's so much to see and do in the woods here, and near the water, and lots of people to do it with if you want.
(DIR) Post #AbEgCpeI2RJKamXdlA by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T17:16:44Z
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We're also just a couple hours from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), an incredible wilderness area (with the similar Quetico across the border in Canada). Canoe camping rocks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_Waters_Canoe_Area_Wilderness
(DIR) Post #AbEgCqeKJmvzhBZBSK by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-28T17:19:54Z
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Anyway, bringing it back to CS... if you think you'd like a half-teaching, half-research tenure-track position in CS at a friendly, mid-sized school in a unique city in a beautiful place, then consider applying here! More info here: https://scse.d.umn.edu/about/faculty-searchesYou can also email: cssearch2023@d.umn.eduThanks for reading, and again, please boost this or share this information with anyone you think might be interested. #jobs #AcademicChatter #tenuretrack #compsci #duluth #duluthmn
(DIR) Post #AbJt5aME80nUioJXEG by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-10-30T19:28:39Z
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"Why programmers like cooking: You peel the carrot, you chop the carrot, you put the carrot in the stew. You don’t suddenly find out that your peeler is several versions behind and they dropped support for carrots in 4.3" -- Randall Koutnik
(DIR) Post #Abdbo0550WlA3iKtMG by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-11-09T16:02:54Z
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My first network card, an SMC 10mbit ISA bus card, bought so that I could put my computer (a 100Mhz 486 DX4) on the campus network in the spring of 1995. It was advertised for sale in some computer magazine for $49.95 which was an outrageously good deal. It has RJ45 and BNC. #retrocomputing
(DIR) Post #AcVJ6SX5oS3aYXooEK by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-11-03T14:33:08Z
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@spacehobo So, I punched your HELLORLD! code you updated according to the actual behavior of the '12 (and now the emulation), and it works! I made some videos that I'm editing down, so stay tuned...! #pdp12 #retrocomputing #UsagiElectric #pdp #dec #vintagecomputing
(DIR) Post #AcVJ6UHDKSXlxsP9l2 by tastytronic@teh.entar.net
2023-11-03T14:37:48Z
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This program is going to be a great basis for a video about how the PDP-12 draws characters on the scope... in short, characters are 6 dots high by 4 dots wide; there are many patterns of 6x2 dots, and letters are constructed by building each character from left and right halves. You can kind of see this in the way that the H has a gap in the middle of it. When I use the "auto single-step" mode on the '12 and slow it down, you can see the characters being written one half at a time. @spacehobo thank you so much for writing this code, and giving us something fun to run on the '12 and a new thing to describe about how the machine works!#pdp12 #pdp #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #dec