Latest posts

Muddled Mess or Merely Work in Progress?

Posted on 19 May 2013 by Athene Donald

What do our surroundings say about us? If we choose to work in an office strewn with bits of paper, open files, journals and other debris, is this a testament to the fact our minds are on higher things and we are misunderstood geniuses? Or does it simply indicate that our parents didn’t berate us enough as children to keep our rooms tidy? Here I’m Continue reading →

Posted in desks, offices, REF, Research, Science Culture | Leave a comment

The Sunday Sci-Fi

Posted on 19 May 2013 by cromercrox

Every so often someone on this site or elsewhere asks for recommendations for good science fiction to read. I’ve read several wonderful SF books recently, so as a public service I’d like to recommend them here. I’ve based this post on reviews I’ve written in Goodreads, which is a social networking site for bibliomanes.

First Continue reading →

Posted in across the event horizon, alastair reynolds, chris beckett, dark eden, goodreads, growing pains, ian whates, mercurio d rivera, Science-fiction, terminal world, Writing & Reading | Leave a comment

Crabs

Posted on 17 May 2013 by cromercrox

North Norfolk this weekend will witness the Cromer and Sheringham Crab and Lobster Festival, a grand jamboree of fun and frolics, not all of which are connected with our crustaceous compadres. crabfestAll three of you will be aware by now that I’ve written – and am indeed the author of – a novel that falls into the sub-genre of what one l Continue reading →

Posted in by the sea, Cromer, cromer and sheringham crab and lobster festival, Domesticrox, fiction lab, Writing & Reading | Leave a comment

After the storm

Posted on 17 May 2013 by Steve Caplan

So it’s after the storm. I don’t mean a physical storm–of course I am referring to my recent experience in posting some thoughts on Prof. Stephen Hawking’s decision to join the boycott of Israel. From threatening personal emails to being called a racist bigot (and worse), I’ve been somewhat peaked piqued at the the res Continue reading →

Posted in art, BDS, boycott, Israel, Lauritzen Gardens, lego, omaha, Palestine, Palestinians, peace, Research, science, Stephen Hawking, West Bank | Leave a comment

Impact factors declared unfit for duty

Posted on 16 May 2013 by Stephen

Regulars at this blog will be familiar with the dim view that I have of impact factors, in particular their mis-appropriation for the evaluation of individual researchers and their work. I have argued for their elimination, in part because they act as a brake on the roll-out of open access publishing but mostly because of the corrosive effect they Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, science | Leave a comment

Dogsplaining #4

Posted on 14 May 2013 by cromercrox

Heidi the Golden Retriever explains the slight excess in the expected number of gamma rays in the Higgs experiments, using only her eyebrows.
IMG_6965

Posted in Domesticrox, gamma rays, heidi the dog, Higgs, Silliness | Leave a comment

Reinventing Excel

Posted on 14 May 2013 by Stephen

In Reinventing Discovery Michael Nielsen says that one of the great things about the Internet is the way it can connect problems with problem-solvers. Well, let’s see if that’s true.

I have a problem with Excel, or rather, with a particular spreadsheet that I would like someone to solve elegantly.

Continue reading →
Posted in administration, Excel, macro, Michael Nielsen, Tech | Leave a comment

Will This Look Good on my CV?

Posted on 14 May 2013 by Athene Donald

This is a question I was asked recently in the context of outreach work (I answered yes), but it applies across the board. For those climbing the academic ladder specifically, it perhaps amounts to ‘does anything other than research count?’ I would again say yes. So what follows are some thoughts on career progression provoked by a variety of recen Continue reading →

Posted in career progression, commitee membership, Equality, experience, promotion | Leave a comment

Seen in Devon

Posted on 14 May 2013 by Philip Strange

adders multiplying

On a recent family walk near Beesands in South Devon (in the fog if you look carefully), we spotted this sign on land behind the beach.  Perhaps we were all in a silly mood but it made us smile and lead my wife to sum up the mood: “I see the adders are multiplying”.

 

Continue reading →
Posted in adders, beesands, devon, Fun, Guest posts | Leave a comment

On Biological Modelling

Posted on 12 May 2013 by cromercrox

IMG_7106
No. 94. Coccoliths.
With apologies to rpg. But why should cell biologists have all the fun? Continue reading →

Posted in biological modelling, coccoliths, happy plankton, Nonsense, Science-less Sunday, Silliness | Leave a comment

My Life in Nebraska

Posted on 11 May 2013 by Steve Caplan

Years ago, when I still permitted myself a very tiny slice of time for television, I enjoyed the antics of Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer in the British comedy series, “As Time Goes By.” In particular, I wholly identified with the rather reclusive and mildly anti-social Lionel Hardcastle, author of the not-exactly-best-selling book,  Continue reading →

Posted in as time goes by, author, Books, libraries, Nebraska, norfolk, novels, promotion, science, self-promotion | Leave a comment

I blame the parents

Posted on 10 May 2013 by Austin

From time to time, I am given to wondering why I have achieved so little in life generally.

Answers suggested by my friends and family have included ‘laziness’ ‘not trying hard enough’ ‘lack of confidence’ ‘too unfocussed’ ‘too much procrastinating’ ‘laziness’ (again) ‘no Continue reading →

Posted in Family business, Getting old, Grumbling, Humour, Procrastination | Leave a comment

Planes

Posted on 10 May 2013 by cromercrox

When I moved from London to Cromer, colleagues were genuinely aghast, How, they asked, would I get to international meetings? “Norwich International Airport,” I replied. It’s 35 minutes’ easy drive from my door. Parking is plentiful, cheap, and all of a hundred-yard easy amble from the terminal. From Norwich you can get one Continue reading →

Posted in airports, Commutatis Maledictis, Cromer, Norwich International Airport, planes, Politicrox, Schiphol, travel | Leave a comment

Science: better messy than messed up

Posted on 9 May 2013 by Stephen

I am fascinated by the psychology of scientific fraudsters. What drives these people? If you are smart enough to fake results, surely you have the ability to do research properly? You should also be clever enough to realise that one day you will get caught. And you should know that fabricating results is a worthless exercise that runs completely co Continue reading →

Posted in Diederk Stapel, fraud, Impact Factors, Norovirus, Scientific Life, Structural Biology | Leave a comment

In which things flow naturally forward

Posted on 9 May 2013 by Jennifer Rohn

I’ve been pondering the impermanence of things lately.

Maybe it all started with the departure of a well-liked clinical researcher from our lab, an OB/GYN with a sense of the absurd who never failed to make us laugh. Now when we walk by his empty bench, it’s a reminder of the absence in our close-knit team – an absence so strong that it’s almost a Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Nostalgia, staring into the abyss, The profession of science | Leave a comment