README.markdown @ c9ed3d057c32

[TOC]

# August 2023

## 2023-08-21

First day of orientation as a PhD student.  Here we go again, back to school one
final time.

Figured out the campus wifi despite the Linux jankery.  Had to:

1. Register as a special device, the laptop registration link redirected to
   nothing useful.
2. Use `nm-connection-editor` from `gnome-network-manager` to edit the
   connection and manually set up the WPA2+PEAP+user/pass for the connection.

Finally fixed the dulwich errors from hg-git.  Since I'm using Debian's hg now
instead of building from source, I needed to install dulwich somewhere that the
system python can find it.  I almost installed `python3-pip` to do that, but
then realized I could just install `python3-dulwich` and be done.  Cool.

## 2023-08-22

Day 2.  Lots of getting talked at, meeting with advisors, etc.  Still trying to
get all the moving parts settled down — hopefully it'll be a lot clearer once
classes and rotations start (though I'm sure it'll be busy in a different way).

First time trying the Ann Arbor bus system, the bus was 20 minutes late.  This
bodes well.

## 2023-08-23

Got a presentation about things to do/see/eat in Ann Arbor.  Lots of things to
try.

Advice from existing student panel:

* Keep in touch and make connections with folks in your cohort/community who are
  going through the same stuff as you.
* Rotate with anyone your want, don't let anyone tell you not to.
* Don't forget to have a life.  Don't spend every weekend in the lab.
* Don't compare yourself to each other.  Lots of variety in the incoming people.
* Ask for help.

What to ask/think about when looking for a lab:

* Do you have funding to support me?
* Do you have plans to stay at the university?
* Talk to current and previous students (and where those ended up).
* Talk to multiple students (people have different experiences).
* Work ethic.
* Mentoring style.
* What are your expectations of me?
* Priorities toward students (high/low?).
* How did they handle difficult situations in the lab?
* Find a good PI, because they're the one that will be there the entire time
  (students/etc can and will leave).
* Tell them what you want to do (e.g. go to conferences), and based on their
  responses you'll know whether they're a good fit.
* Switching labs is possible (not ideal though).
* Listen when people tell you a place sucks.
* Alumni are great because they don't have the power dynamic to worry about and
  can actually be honest.
* You can change rotations if you really need to, even if it's the second week
  in.
* Ask how many slots there are vs how many rotations they're taking to judge how
  competitive joining the lab will be.

## 2023-08-24

Did the Python pre-test so I don't have to take the introductory programming
class.

Did more online training.

More talks.  Lots of meeting people after.

## 2023-08-25

Lost power last night because of the storms and DTE says I won't get it back til
tomorrow.  This is… not great.

Doing more trainings and paperwork at a school building so I can plug in my
laptop.