"I have noticed that you failed to come into the lab on several weekends"

This is quite a memo.  (Chemistry Blog, via Boing Boing.)

I'll say it again:  one of my chief motivations to succeed in science is righteous indignation.

Update on the academic astronomy job market

From the Women in Astronomy blog comes Hannah's summary of the employment session of the winter American Astronomical Society meeting.  Wow:

Ulvestad estimated that the ratio of new PhDs to faculty openings was about 4:1, based on AAS membership data. If you counted non-university positions, it came up to closer to 2:1. Beckwith said that in steady state, the U of C system should be hiring about 7 astronomy faculty every year, but failed to mention anything about current and future hiring freezes until pressed during the question session.

Beckwith also had the audacity to tell a room full of young scientists, half of whom would likely leave astronomy, that our outlook is positive, that our PhDs would serve us well in jobs outside astronomy also. He gave an anecdote about his daughter who was an artist, and was waiting tables to make a living. To which one at least one person noted that she hadn't spend 12 years in school in order to wait tables.

That factor of 2-to-1 is roughly consistent with the numbers in this recent whitepaper by A. Seth et al.

Discriminatory ad on the astrojob posting site

So I was perusing the AAS Job Register late one night in the lab, hoping for some end-of-the-season faculty listings. Came across a small liberal arts college in Chicago (big city, check), looking for a physics professor (check) who's excellent in teaching & scholarship (check). Then there's the line, "Wassamatta College is an evangelical Protestant Christian liberal arts college whose faculty and staff affirm a Statement of Faith and adhere to lifestyle expectations."

That means no dykes, right? Google, google.... Yes, it does. Though pre-marital sex, porn, and adultery are also banned, along with unsupervised dancing -- so at least no one else would be having any fun.

Ah, well, moving on....

Job Rumor Mill

Around this time of year, ants invade the pants of young astronomers. Fellowship and faculty search committees have assembled, short-lists have been ranked, fellowships are being offered, campus visits are being scheduled for would-be professors. Rumors fly, and a rumor wiki (we are organized, list-making people, after all) collects all the rumors, so that anxious job-seekers can be badly informed.

When I do check the rumor mill, I check the wiki revisions rather than the main site, to see changes only. Today, the revision notes include this wonderful exchange:

Q: Has anybody received rejection letters for Einstein yet?
...
A: Patience, young grasshopper. They'll get around to rejecting you soon enough.

You are not welcome here.

Visiting a purple state on business, I stopped by a pizza joint, ordered a slice, and sat down with the town's alternative weekly newspaper. I read about the GOP candidate, putting the goober in gubernatorial, and how he thinks that feminists and homosexuals are destroying America. He was asked if that meant he wouldn't appoint a gay judge, and responded "It would depend on his actions." So, if a gay lawyer spends hours fantasizing about smooth pectoral muscles, but never actually goes on a date, then he's a fine candidate for the bench. Right?

I got so mad, reading the alt-weekly, waiting for my pizza. How dare this governor-wannabe force his religion on the rest of us. Do I tell him how to live his life? Which god to believe in? How to pray to her?

Here I am, in one of the few states where astronomy jobs are currently being advertised, and here's the leading candidate for governor, telling me I am not welcome in his state, nor my family, nor our values.

I finished the pizza, walked down the street, past the opposition candidate's local storefront headquarters. I doubled back, walked in, and gave them $20.