Monthly Archives: April 2012

A Secular Passover

Posted on 9 April 2012 by Steve Caplan

First, my best wishes to anyone celebrating Easter, Passover or any other holiday. As a representative of one who celebrates the latter, in my own secular way, I thought I’d post a few words about it. After all, my knowledge … Continue reading →

Posted in civil war, Jews of the south, Judah Benjamin, matzah, Passover, religious, secular, slavery | Comments Off on A Secular Passover

Final hockey pool results UPDATED WITH BRACKET INFO

Posted on 8 April 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Well, last weekend, this photo somehow got posted on Twitter: Were the 40% correct? Let’s see!

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Mentors, Friends and Saying No

Posted on 8 April 2012 by Athene Donald

Who needs mentors? It is clear that when setting out on a career, having supportive mentors can be immensely helpful: people who you can turn to for advice when decision crunch-time comes, or who provide pointers about things you should … Continue reading →

Posted in advice, committee work, decision-making, Science Culture | Comments Off on Mentors, Friends and Saying No

The Man of Science and the Man of Letters

Posted on 5 April 2012 by Athene Donald

I have just spent a few days in Lichfield, which you might not think of as a key cultural centre, but it happens to be closely associated with two giants, in the form of Erasmus Darwin and Samuel Johnson, both … Continue reading →

Posted in Anna Seward, Erasmus Darwin, History of Science, Lichfield, Samuel Johnson | Comments Off on The Man of Science and the Man of Letters

Ph.D. Pranks and Comeuppance

Posted on 4 April 2012 by Steve Caplan

Seeing as April 1st has come and gone, I would like to dedicate this blog to one of my favorite Ph.D. pranks (I’ve reported on a few in this forum in the past)–AND to tell you about a little email … Continue reading →

Posted in April Fools, humor, lab, pipette, postdoc, pranks, Research, science, Silliness, soundrel offspring | Comments Off on Ph.D. Pranks and Comeuppance

Hawking with Dinosaurs

Posted on 3 April 2012 by Stephen

Here is a ‘paper‘ that I think would not be accepted by PLoS ONE and yet it was the subject of a report on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 this morning, arguably the nation’s premier morning news show. … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC Radio 4, Science & Media, Today Programme, Tom Feilden | Comments Off on Hawking with Dinosaurs

In which I object

Posted on 3 April 2012 by Jennifer Rohn

I’ve just written to my MP, Simon Hughes (Liberal Democrat, Bermondsey and Old Southwark), airing my feelings about the Government’s hasty and ill-advised bill to track email, web and Skype communications of any citizen without just cause. A copy of … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Comments Off on In which I object

PLoS ONE: from the Public Library of Sloppiness?

Posted on 1 April 2012 by Stephen

I had an argument with my colleague in the tea-room the other day. Gratifyingly, I learned he had been reading my blogposts on the subject of open access, but it soon became clear he did not entirely share my enthusiasm … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic publishing, Arguments, Open Access, PLoS, science, Scientific Life | Comments Off on PLoS ONE: from the Public Library of Sloppiness?