'Oregon Trail' Gen X Nerd

  Image from https://www.ted.com/playlists/870/what_to_do_when_it_feels_like_the_world_s_on_fire Getting creative (or, publish or perish) by Jen Davies, nerd September 23, 2026 A significant challenge for me as a university professor is the pressure to write. I've never minded writing, I'm just not good at doing it on-command, you know, like "Hey, I have an hour, let me get some writing done." My motivation to do it is not on a switch, so I have so far struggled to get done all the writing that I have to get done. The expression we use in academic is "publish, or perish" - meaning, write stuff and get it into print (preferably peer-reviewed print in the sciences) or you'll lose your job. One of many reasons I started this blog was to put myself on a weekly schedule of writing something. Anything at all, really. And it has been fun, and I don't plan to stop yet. I also chose the blog format because it's a practical outlet: the occasions when I hav...

Photo taken by https://www.instagram.com/mistymeadowsphotography/ Ottawa Comic Con: Anything for Ben Solo by Jen Davies, nerd Sept 16, 2026 You can see the IG Stories we posted here as Highlights: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18132942568645476/ And the best-ofs are here:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DdXIemzkkoh/ or  https://bsky.app/profile/thehuntforbensolo.bsky.social/post/3mvnx7u64dk2z (It's on all the socials at savebensolo.com if you prefer TikTok or whatever else.) Last weekend I was in Ottawa for their annual Comic Con. It was a convenient halfway point more or less for me and my fan campaign friend who cosplays Leia from Star Wars, and we figured it was time to send Ben south with her to tour the US East Coast a little. It was such a fantastic weekend! See the photos on social media (links above) - we had such a great time. Highlights included meeting Giancarlo Esposito, who was delightful. He co-starred in Megalopolis with Adam Driver, and he sh...

Image from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autumn  Autumn = Change by Jen Davies, nerd Sept 2, 2026 Fall is probably my favourite season: it's warm but not hot, the leaves change and are beautiful, and generally change is in the air. I like change, too much my spouse would probably say. I have none planned for myself this fall, for a change, not even a new haircut. It's going to be a hell of a fall for me because of work. As a professor I teach, serve, and do research. I'm teaching 3 classes (that's a lot because of the other two commitments), may be integrating more effectively into the social services network in my community, and both wrapping up a small research project as well as drafting some articles. And I have an idea for a professional book. It's a lot to get done. It's also a continuation of the ongoing self-perception shift I have been having to make, from frontline service provider or service manager to faculty member. The priorities are very different...