No matter how comfortable you are in adulthood, no matter how much you’ve come into your own, nothing will make you want to be a kid again like a quick peek at the photos from the White House science fair. (I really miss science fairs, don’t you?)

A strong federal commitment to science research funding and education are fantastic, but raising the public profile of innovation breathes life into our field in a way no financial government initiative can quite pull off.

Raising the profile of science and science fairs is particularly important for drawing and retaining girls in the field. For girls who might be interested in science but shy away from the nerd factor, the prospect of a trip to Washington and a visit with the president might be exactly what they need to tweak the profile. If anyone in D.C. can make science cool, it’s President Obama. (And he displays a genuine interest in the projects and the participating students.)

At the fair, Obama said, “You know, when you win first place at a science fair, nobody’s rushing the field or dumping Gatorade over your head.” But really, the White House science fair comes pretty close.

Did you enjoy science fairs when you were young? What kinds of projects did you do?

When I got burned out at my Silicon Valley engineering job, I thought maybe I just needed a change of pace. A breath of fresh air, a new company, a new project. But a few interviews in the same field taught me that a new engineering job wouldn’t make me happy after all. No, what I was truly after, I decided, was a full-on change of direction. It wasn’t that I needed to write new code; I needed to not be writing code. It wasn’t that I needed a new engineering project; I needed a totally different project. Ultimately, I wound up moving from industry to the non-profit sector, and it’s been just what I needed.

But when you’re burned out at your job, how do you know if it’s a new job or a whole new direction that will make you happy? I’ve got some suggestions:

You need a new job if:

• You dread going to work in the morning. We all drag a bit when the alarm goes off, but real reluctance to get the office is a real sign you need a change.
• Your commute is too long. Any commute can seem too long when you’re ready to leave your job. But if working closer to home is a possibility in your field and location, don’t let a long, exhausting commute bring you down.
• There’s nowhere to go. It’s not all about getting promoted and climbing the ladder, but it is about keeping yourself happy and motivated. If there are no other groups or jobs at your company you could move into, can you really see yourself in the same position for the next n years?
• You hate your co-workers. Well, OK, you don’t really hate your co-workers, right? Me neither. But maybe there are a few you don’t want to work with, the ones where you roll your eyes at the mention of their names. If there are too many in that category, get out of there.

You need a new direction if:

• You listen wistfully to other people’s job descriptions. I did this a lot when I was looking for a change. You work for a non-profit/the government/at an art gallery? That’s amazing—tell me more!
• Interviews in the same field feel like the same place. When you go on an interview for the same kind of job you already have and it feels like you just went into your current office, that’s a sign you need a real change. New possibilities should seem exciting and different, not old and stale.
• Working late on a Friday sucks. Working late always sucks a little. But when you find yourself asking “What am I doing this for??,” you need a good answer.

Have you been in need of a new job lately? How about a new direction?

In Washington, the anti-piracy Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act probably seemed like a great idea: tough on crime, shut down Internet pirates, protect copyrights, that kind of thing. A few weeks ago, the Senate tried to fast-track the bill, with sponsor Patric Leahy (D-Vt.) apparently thinking it could sail through before the November elections.

But Silicon Valley had other ideas, and the bill was shelved last week after 96 Internet giants jumped in with a letter of protest. No matter how tough on crime the Senate wants to appear, when phrases like “fragmenting the Internet’s global domain name system” are being thrown around, they stop and pay attention.

The bill would create a whole new way to go after Internet pirates. The Justice Department would have the authority to designate some copyright-infringement sites (movie downloading sites, mostly) as “dedicated to infringing activities” and shut down their domain names.

They want to shut down domain names! Cracking down on illegal downloading is one thing, but shutting down domain names is pretty extreme. The Internet Engineers’ letter is all about censorship and destabilizing the global DNS, but it’s also worthy of note that the bill recommends punishments far out of proportion to the crime. In the physical world, after all, the FBI confiscates your bootleg DVD and leaves the rest of your stuff alone. Why the double standard?

I’m glad the letter from our 96 rock stars had such an impact. The bill isn’t dead, and will likely be taken up again when the Senate reconvenes in the new year, but the Senators are listening to both sides now.

What do you think of the anti-piracy bill?

The absolute best perk of working in famously-laid back in Silicon Valley isn’t the pick-up soccer games at lunchtime or the telecommuting opportunities or even the free snacks. No, by far the
best benefit is the dress code—or, more precisely, the lack of dress code.

When I first began working at my small search engine company three years ago, I wanted to fit in, and so I dressed like my co-workers dressed. Although my company, like many around here, has no written dress code, there is definitely a standard. All the guys (and it’s mostly guys) wear the same thing every day: jeans, freebie t-shirt from a tech conference, and a button-down shirt, unbuttoned. When I followed the “uniform,” however, I found that it drowned out my personality. I didn’t look like the guys; I looked like a bland automaton and a wallflower. So not me.

Eventually, I decided to take full advantage of the Silicon Valley vibe. No dress code? Great—I’m going to dress like me. My weekend style is best described as “modified punk”: vans and studded belts, tattoos on my arms, but no mohawks or nose rings. I started wearing that style to the office, and I’ve felt more confident ever since.

The topic of how to dress in casual offices has come up on many occasions on women-in-science email lists that I subscribe to, and I seem to be in the minority. Most women recommend dressing to fit the culture and look professional. And, sure, people take the girl with visible tats and skull t-shirts a little less seriously, but to me it’s worth it. My style increases my self-possession, makes me surer of myself, and that helps me to be a better worker. It’s liberating to let my personality shine through and not be obscured by my clothes, even if it costs me a bit in professionalism.

How do you dress at work? Would you dress differently if you could?