But they don't mention the non-science related tasks, like wiping his ass and emptying his drool bucket.

I'm tellin' ya, when Hawking looks at you with that self-deprecating smile, you can be sure he's getting ready to shit his pants again, if for no other reason than the perverse pleasure he derives from watching you clean it up.

He's not allowed to eat Mexican or Thai because of that.

So it's like a nursing aide with hopped-up duties. Still cool! And it would prepare one to deal with their aged parents in the future.

Umm... so leaving Grandma under the boabab tree when she's no longer able to keep up is wrong? I so do not want to have to wipe my dad's ass.

I wonder who will get the job in the end.

Makes me wish I had gone into physics instead of chemistry. :P

The dust cloud you see in the distance is caused by thousands of graduate students in Physics stampeding to the post office to mail their resumes ... (or perhaps the thousands of graduate students stampeding to their computers to email their resumes).

Just think what it would mean to your career to spend 2 years with Stephen Hawking!! (even if it included some "unpleasant" duties)


:/

Doesn't it seem like Hawking's developed a love/hate relationship with his public? I used to hang on every word he [said], but lately it seems his research and opinions are more conservative; he no longer cuts that pioneering profile. Is that what tenure does to a physicist? ;)