@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social avatar

MCDuncanLab

@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social

Associate Professor at the University of Michigan. I frequently post photos of my cat and helpful tips for running a lab.

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MCDuncanLab, to random
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Whelp. Grant submitted. Probably, a modest waste of time, since the earlier edition was recommended for funding** (if funds are available). But I couldn't risk not going in this round. Finger's crossed that this one is good enough to be recommended for funding immediately with no budget cut.

Because seriously, I can't see continuing this project on the same >50K less than modular that I've had the last two grants.

MCDuncanLab, to Mushrooms
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social avatar

Good morning mushrooms!

These are from logs we innoculated winter 2020, best producers of the lot.

I harvested the biggest three of the 5 clusters.

Hopefully we get our gas back on today so we can cook them.

A pile of velvety golden mushrooms on a kitchen scale. There are 471.5 grams of them!!
Velvety golden mushrooms erupting from a log surrounded by weeds.

MCDuncanLab, to random
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social avatar

Okay, so autosave saved the day. I stayed home to work on a new section of a grant and have not saved any aspect of it, not once all day. My computer completely crashed—this never ever happens to me.

Lo and behold I lost not even one letter.

MCDuncanLab, to Mushrooms
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Friends, we have mushrooms!

Blue oyster from grain spawn seeded into cardboard in a plastic bucket on February 9th and stored in an unheated garage until they pinned yesterday.

MCDuncanLab, to random
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social avatar

My super power-finding things.

Partner: I lost my blue winter glove. I think it fell out of my jacket at work or in the store.

Me: I saw a blue glove on the bike path at x-location two days ago then someone moved it onto the grass yesterday.

Our bike commute is ~5.5 miles, and yes, friends--that is the missing glove.

AxelleCalcus, to random
@AxelleCalcus@neuromatch.social avatar

As a young PI, I spend a lot of time thinking about how to give the best feedback to early career researchers. This is hard ! Are there useful resources out there that can teach me how to do this fast and efficiently?

MCDuncanLab,
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@kristine_willis @AxelleCalcus

I second making the right moves as an excellent resource.

What sort of early career researchers and what sort of feedback?

For writing, Angelika Hofmann's Scientific Writing and Communication was transformative. It's easy to read and gives you and a mentee a common vocabulary so you can point out--here you are not 'signaling' the question or the background or here you are using a 'noun cluster'.

MCDuncanLab,
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@kristine_willis @AxelleCalcus

For feedback on productivity/work ethic/professionalism, I also found Lead Inside the Box by Victor Price and Mike Figliuolo transformative for helping me establish my expectations and communicate them.

MCDuncanLab,
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@kristine_willis @AxelleCalcus

For feedback on the process of science, I'll give a little plug for my own approach to teaching expert learning skills, which lays out a framework for people to gain mastery faster.

https://www.molbiolcell.org/doi/10.1091/mbc.E22-11-0517

MCDuncanLab, to cycling
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social avatar

We're getting a second e-bike in the household today! I couldn't convince my partner to take my slightly too-small-for-me e-bike (that'd fit them well) and let me buy a new one, but I'm excited that we're going to go more days entirely car-free.

I may still sell my e-bike and get one that fits me better. I should have known that my legs are too long to go with the suggested size/height ratio.

MCDuncanLab, to random
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Looking for tips. Due to a catastrophic fridge/freezer failure at home we're starting from scratch. What tips do you have for organizing a drawer-type freezer??

kfury, (edited ) to random
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Oh for heaven’s sake, people.

MCDuncanLab,
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social avatar

@kfury
In my defense, I’m a hypochondriac and even though I had totally valid glasses and only viewed for 30 sec at a time I kinda want to search eyes hurt but have done the eyes closed test and look at black paper and white paper test and there no sun imprint. I think my eyes hurt from squinting because i couldn’t get the position right with the bifocals looking up.

MCDuncanLab, to random
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social avatar

So, I spent last night trying to find a fridge that is the size of my current non-functional kitchen fridge and can be delivered sometime this month. I have so many questions about people's life choices? Why would you get a dual ice maker that makes 6 pounds of ice per day? Why give up that much freezer space for ice? What the heck are you doing?

Point of reference, our ice maker has been broken since we moved in more than a decade ago, and we do just fine with two ice trays.

MCDuncanLab,
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social avatar

Why do you need 4 types of ice? Cubed, Ice Bites™ , curved, or crushed.

misc, to random
@misc@mastodon.social avatar

It's kind of wild to walk through street after street in a residential neighborhood without sidewalks. Like, whyyy

MCDuncanLab,
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@misc

In Michigan, you are required to maintain the sidewalk adjacent to your property (eg shovel snow-including anything piled on the sidewalk by the city plows, replace trip hazards). This discourages people from wanting sidewalks. Why roads are plowed and maintained and sidewalks are not is the more important question.

MCDuncanLab, to random
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social avatar

Because of I learned the concept of Chekhov's gun, and I realized this is the perfect distillation of what should and should not go in . I've struggled to communicate to students what info they need to leave out of talks and manuscript introductions. I realize that Chekhov's gun is the perfect tool to explain it.

If the concept is not going to make a major contribution later in the talk or manuscript, it doesn't belong.

Thanks ppl!!

MCDuncanLab, to random
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social avatar


What's with the hands? In the planters?

MCDuncanLab, to random
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social avatar

Wow, people.

It's 2024 and you still don't know about reply all storms?

MCDuncanLab, to random
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social avatar

Dear Graduate student,

Are you overdue for a thesis committee meeting, but feel like you have nothing to show since your last meeting? I'm begging you to schedule that meeting now!

Either, your research is languishing and you need help! This is what your thesis commitee is for.

Or, you are doing fine and the committee is there to tell you that.

Future you will thank you.

MCDuncanLab, to animals
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social avatar

Molly showing off in the morning sun.

misc, to random
@misc@mastodon.social avatar

Ok, I took a ride on a Bluebike e-bike and I'm a convert. Can anyone recommend a good guide to choosing an e-bike?

MCDuncanLab,
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@misc

I have a Cannondale Tesoro pedal-assist e-bike. My commute is about 5 miles with one long steep hill at the end. I'm ~5'8' with long legs; the medium-sized bike is a bit too small for me, so I'd recommend trying before you buy or get it from someplace like REI where you can return it.

With panniers, I can do a big grocery run (Turkey, etc, for Thanksgiving).

It's a comfortable ride (front suspension). I get 3-4 commutes out of a charge. It came with a rack and built-in F/R lights.

MCDuncanLab, to gardening
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social avatar

How do people keep a garden journal? I've tried but just have a jumble of chronological notes, but with chronological, I find it hard to link things together like planted X and harvested it when??

Plus I'm bad at keeping up with it.

You'd think that some of my skills for keeping records in lab would transfer, but not so far.

antlerboy, to random
@antlerboy@mastodon.social avatar

Why electric bikes actually give more exercise than pedal bikes https://electrek.co/2024/02/20/why-electric-bikes-give-more-exercise/

MCDuncanLab,
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@MichaelTBacon @ned @dragonfrog @IcooIey @antlerboy

I agree, there should be speed limits on shared paths--e-bike or not.

I'm a lollygagger and routinely get passed by bike-bros that I think are going too fast on their pedal bikes given the chance there is a child or pet that could dash in front of them.

I also think e-bikes that can go faster than a certain threshold should be considered motor vehicles and banned on pedestrian routes.

MCDuncanLab,
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@MichaelTBacon @dragonfrog @ned @IcooIey @antlerboy

30mph sounds pretty high for a multi-use path.

I rarely get above 20mph and dislike going much faster for fear of smushing a chipmunk.

Maybe if my route weren't mostly wooded and windy, I'd feel more comfortable going faster.

MCDuncanLab,
@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social avatar

@MichaelTBacon @dragonfrog @ned @IcooIey @antlerboy

That's why I'm not opposed to limiting the type of bike on multiuse paths, if the bike can't go 45-50, it won't happen.

This is really self-interest on my part, I worry that a couple of bad accidents could get bikes banned from the path I use entirely.

MCDuncanLab,
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@dragonfrog @CStamp @MichaelTBacon @ned @IcooIey @antlerboy

Yeah, alerting pedestrians is a big issue.

I do a low-volume double ding with the hope that people can gauge my speed.

I then say, 'One bike passing now' just before I pass.

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