Hi everyone,

I'm attending two conferences on similar topics this summer. I wrote a seperate paper for each one, with about 50% overlap. However, the reviewers of the first one recommended a re-write because I was trying to cover too many topics. So I figured: alright, I'll just use what I submitted to the other one. So now there's a 95% overlap. However, I noticed, upon submitting that I was agreeing to not submitting the paper to any other conferences. Any opinions on how much paper #1 should differ from paper #2? What are the ethics on recycling? Technically, I could redo aspects of one of them in the next 24 hours (before it's due) but I'm really not keen on that! There will be about 10 conference attendees in common. Thanks in advance.

-Baldy

I'm working on my proposal. If I don't finish by the end of the month, I risk delaying defense by a year. My supervisor is going away for a big chunk of the summer. How convenient!

Angie, I faced a prof a year ago at a conference that I had let down (big time) during my undergrad. He barely remembered. We had a pint together, and then I mentioned it and we had a good laugh. In your case, if the prof is a decent person at all, they'll be happy to see that you're on your feet and running. I'd say say hi, have small talk,and don't bring it up unless he does. Don't avoid him. Just tell him what you're working on. Try to move on. Good luck!

Some of my friends are using Tecplot, but that may be for fairly technical graphs. I use MATLAB and love it. Again, not great for non-technical stuff. Try Excel 2007...it has fancier built-in styles (if you're not already).

Totally! I just got out of a 8ish-year relationship a month ago. Things were going OK, then I went out on Friday and got completely hammered. I pretty much had 5 useless days follow. I kicked the slump the day that my supervisor gave me small menial, but totally achievable, tasks. Before that, I was doing a lot of sitting down in front of TV for 5 minutes...which turned into an hour.

Try speaking to a friend who is smart, but not in the field. That will give you perspective. People who aren't in your position and don't have to face the same material every day tend to be blown away by PhD-level research. I gave a presentation to a fine arts class yesterday (I'm an engineer), and they were super-interested by the topic; yet I am often bored by it.

I have been doing my PhD for nearly 2 years now with a very busy supervisor. He has a dozen students plus he's aggressively pursuing more funding and he's head a large research body. The bottom line is that I speak to him about my research once a month, if I'm lucky. Usually when I send him a paper to proofread, he's surprised at what I've been up to (i.e., he had no idea what I was working on in the last month). He also barely finishes reading the first page before sending it back - probably because he's got other more important/seemingly pertinent things to do. On the upside, things are lucrative because he's got contracts/money coming out his ears. So you could say, I'm a well-paid grad student who must work independently, hoping I'm on the right track. Hope that helps.

I have experienced the same thing. I know it makes you feel really unimportant. My best suggestion is to politely ask to be included. They probably don't realize you feel this way and think that you would rather be doing your own research. Afterall, you main objective is to finish your research and graduate. That being said, my strategy is to take on as many small but important tasks as possible, so that they are forced to include me in communication. For instance, this could be taking minutes, contacting someone, booking a meeting room, etc. Gradually wedge your way in so that they realize they need you.

I guess it's been too long since I've worked in a "wet" lab, for me to know the terminology! In fairness, the OP is incoherent :)

First off, I doubt you could get your bath water to 70C, since the hot water tank is unlikely to exceed 55C. Secondly, maybe a couple litres will evaporate, at most. As water evaporates, it will rapidly cool the remaining water in the tub. I really wouldn't panic. I used to leave hot water in the tub over night to save on heating costs, much to the disgust of my housemates. I just realized I might have misinterpreted your post. If you left the water running and there's no overflow prevention measures, then yes, you are f&cked.

Great story, Graham! If only everyone were that cool!

I was at a big design meeting the other day, and people were consistently pushing an idea that is trendy, but very illogical. When it was my turn to speak, I spoke my mind. It was apparently a touchy subject because many people around got very defensive about it. Frankly, I knew it would be touchy, but it had to be said. I wouldn't have slept well that night if I didn't get it off my chest.

However, the some of the people that were there could be my future employers. Given that I am normally quiet, they're going to remember me for being a negative sh!t disturber.

Has anyone else been in a situation where they strongly disagreed with a superior? Is it better to swallow your thoughts or let them out?

I know that the only way Google was able to get permission to scan books is by keeping parts of the book concealed. I think it's on a per publisher/book basis. Therefore, they're not allowed to sell them either.

I am wondering if the section that's concealed depends on what you searched. i.e., if you know which section you want to view, try searches that are very specific to that section. Just a thought...

Try bit torrent for more popular titles, not that I'm condoning that sort of thing!

Thank you to everyone's response. You all gave me a new perspective. One that will, hopefully, let me sail through the next 2ish years!

Thanks Aloha. My supervisor is a bit standoffish and busy...but I guess that's another story. It just frustrates me I thought I had these great ideas that would finally satisfy him and now I discover the past 2ish years may have been mildly wasted.