The correct response to this sign is to take the table and leave everything else.
Alik Widge
@alikwidge.bsky.social
Neural engineer, stealth mode neuro-entrepreneur, interventional psychiatrist, sometimes neuroscientist, dad. Making brains work better. https://www.tnelab.org
A med student, a resident, and a pediatrician walk into a bar... ... no, a campaign fundraiser bc they're all running for state legislature. Wow. The next generation of medicine is inspiring.
Current events can make the world feel very bleak. And then you learn that someone is composing sonnets based on pop songs and you are reminded that there is beauty everywhere. popsonnet.tumblr.com
Pop Sonnets
Old twists on new tunes, every Thursday.Book now available from Quirk Books and HarperCollins UK.
popsonnet.tumblr.com
Glewwe et al. demonstrate that female mice outperform males in a touchscreen set-shifting task, suggesting that stable choice commitment in females paradoxically enhances cognitive flexibility
Sex-biased computations underlying differential set shift performance in mice
Neuropsychopharmacology - Sex-biased computations underlying differential set shift performance in mice
nature.com
So am I right that the "you get to add 1 page of preliminary data 1 month before" rule is still live? All the notices are from 2023, but it appears like there's been no recission.
Moment of brief academic joy: editing a grad student's paper, collaborator puts a random speculative idea in the Discussion comments, and as I'm reading and replying, I realize it's a great theoretical take that could be a new R01.
I am confident the answer to this is some combo of "No" or "Only CSR knows", but is there a way to find out what the actual distribution of numeric scores was for scored/discussed grants for a given IRG? Seems like that would help interpret what "Competitive Not Discussed" WOULD have scored.
I’m a cognitive psychologist. Don’t tell me this isn’t a stroopwafel.
Very serious question that I cannot find the answer to by search: people are now using GenAI to effectively bot online studies. But do those bots emulate things like the Stroop effect, or do they lack cognitive interference? We're trying to validate some data.
A campaign making the rounds here in Minneapolis, to reduce the dollars flowing to Big Tech to pressure them to speak out against the invasion. www.resistandunsubscribe.com Almost nobody can get off all these platforms, but we can get off most of them and reduce others.
Resist and Unsubscribe
resistandunsubscribe.com
Scenes from today's protests. This is what Minnesota looks like. This is who we are. We show up for our neighbors. Such amazing energy on a brutally cold day.
Tomorrow, there is a mass civic day of action in Minnesota, with a general strike and a march. The weather forecast is -30 with wind chill. We're marching anyway, because this is Minnesota. Cold doesn't stop us fishing, skiing, camping, or fighting for truth and decency.
I had no idea that my youth spent hand-hacking HTML for pizza money and having l33t h@xxx0r w3b$it3zzz would turn out to be a Useful Skill for a Serious Scientist. Anyone know if the biosketch supports <blink> for good measure?
Facing a new year, I found this @dansinker.com post from February — about how the KKK in the 1920s felt unstoppable, about the people that fought against them anyway, and about how fascism always fails — to be a welcome read. dansinker.com/posts/2025-0...
What Felt Impossible Became Possible | dansinker.com
dansinker.com
Applevent, Dec 21: Arkansas Black (sweetlandorchard.com/arkansasblack). Yeah, we skipped days, it was Honeycrisp, you know about that one. Another 5/10. Perfectly eatable, cool name, super dark skin, but nothing exciting here. We've been on a run of mid apples here and hoping for another Frostbite.
Applevent, Dec 18 (Dec 17 was crabapples): Esopus Spitzenberg (sweetlandorchard.com/esopusspitze...). +1 for the name. Not a bad apple. Crispy, juicy, minimal tartness, a little toastiness. Not a must have but did not regret. 7/10 because it's so fun to say.
Esopus Spitzenburg — Sweetland Orchard
sweetlandorchard.com
No apple, it was a weird one. Instead, my lab Christmas gift: a Pichu with implanted electrodes. The head cap leaves something to be desired.
Applevent, Dec 15: Golden Russet (sweetlandorchard.com/goldenrusset). Good things come in small packages! Mostly sweet, a little acid (not like a Pink Lady though), quite juicy, and with a spicy note we haven't seen since Frostbite. They make a cider out of this and I'm sad bc it's sold out. 8/10.
Applevent, Dec 14: Caville Blanc D'Hiver, an apple so old it was at Versailles (sweetlandorchard.com/calvilleblanc). Delightfully weird: tart, lemony, a little juicy. Served on a cheeseboard and consumed by a pack of teenagers. Solid 7/10, would not seek it but would have again.
Applevent, Dec 12: Hubbardston Nonesuch (sweetlandorchard.com/hubbardstonn...). 5/10 on the basis of the name alone. It does have a slightly nutty flavor and is an interesting apple. Still does not beat Frostbite which leads the first half of the calendar. Might make a good cider.
Hubbardston Nonesuch — Sweetland Orchard
sweetlandorchard.com
Read it here: www.bmj.com/content/391/... We hope you will share it broadly and if you find our points compelling enough that you will engage with it and discuss. @patientrevolution.org
Reclaiming human care from surveillance capitalism
We must end the commodification of health data by big tech companies, centre healthcare on care, and put people back in control, argue Victor, J P, and Victor M Montori Big tech companies are drivin...
bmj.com
Applevent, Dec 11: Keepsake (sweetlandorchard.com/keepsake). One of the parents of Honeycrisp and a descendant of Frostbite, which we loved. Not bad, 6/10, but not as good as either parent or child. Crisp, good texture, juicy, not nearly as sweet as advertised.
Applevent, Dec 10: Winesap (adamapples.blogspot.com/2009/11/wine...). A 3/10 with profound "meh". Again just too soft for eating out of hand, plus thick skin that makes the experience worse. Lacking in flavor. Maybe good for cider, not good for me. Kids didn't finish their slices.
Winesap **
Hundreds of apples, plus notes and comment on the harvest and more.
adamapples.blogspot.com
Applevent, Dec 9: Fireside. Another UMN alum, from the days of FDR. Bred from McIntosh and is a lot like it: inoffensive, sweet, but too soft for me. 6/10.
Applevent, Dec 8: Zabergau Reinesse (sweetlandorchard.com/zabergau). 4/10. Another soft flesh apple, not particularly juicy, flavor mild to bland. Easy to grow but not fun to eat. Darn immigrant apples interfering with Gold Standard Fruit.
Zabergau Reinette — Sweetland Orchard
sweetlandorchard.com
Applevent, Dec 6: Haralson (sweetlandorchard.com/haralson), one of the OG UMN outputs. We loved its child Honeygold, Haralson itself is 5/10. Flesh is mid btwn crunch and soft, flavor mid btwn sweet and tang, and overall the apple is mid. Proof our apple game is improving over time!
Applevent, Dec 5: Connell Red. 7-8/10. I was really worried about this one, I despise Red Delicious. This is so juicy it should be on a Matt's Bar menu (IYKYK). Not as crisp as Frostbite, but still good. There's a vanilla note over the sweetness. I wouldn't seek this out but would buy it on sale.
A thought I need to formalize as a comment. 2 kinds of grants die at study section: concept is bad/low-impact and concept is potentially good but approach is bad (in eyes of reviewer) 2 kinds succeed: concept is good and PI bowed to reviewer concerns, or PI is super famous MUST FUND. (1/N)
The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is seeking input on Federal policy updates to accelerate the American scientific enterprise. This is your chance to give some feedback on how the past ~10 months have gone for science. www.federalregister.gov/documents/20... I plan to highlight:
Applevent, Dec 4: Honeygold (sweetlandorchard.com/honeygold). Another 8/10. Sweet, crisp (Frostbite was better), very slightly spicy. WAY better than its parent Golden Delicious and another fine example of Minnesota apple engineering. The kids loved it.
Applevent, Day 3: Northern Spy (sweetlandorchard.com/northernspy). Solid 5/10. Firm, not as crisp as Frostbite, decently juicy, nothing special on flavor, just middle-of-the-road sweet fresh apple. A good "if you use one apple for eating and cooking" kind of apple.