Monthly Archives: July 2012

PLOS shift

Posted on 26 July 2012 by Frank Norman

Camel case (the practice of writing words with some inner uppercase letters) is one of my pet hates, as it demands sufficient finger dexterity to make sure you hit the shift key at just the right point in the middle … Continue reading →

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Sometimes things are just OK

Posted on 25 July 2012 by Sylvia McLain

Last weekend I was part of an Occam’s outpost (with Jenny Rohn and Stephen Curry) who spoke at the Winchester Science Festival – well done to James Thomas (@jimbobthomas) for organizing it and thank you for inviting me. It was … Continue reading →

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All your blog are belong to us

Posted on 24 July 2012 by rpg

Almost, but not quite unrelated, to the Winchester Science Festival this last weekend, Occam’s Typewriter will be able to make an exciting announcement soon. Possibly next week. Stay tuned!

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Your Invitation to the Open Access Debate

Posted on 24 July 2012 by Stephen

I said the open access debate had been torrid. And it continues apace in the wake of last week’s announcements from the UK government and RCUK, the organisation that represents the common interests of Britain’s Research Councils. This week at … Continue reading →

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Tsundoku

Posted on 23 July 2012 by Henry Gee

Thanks to a meme on Facebook (which I discovered courtesy of a Mr A. S. of London) I have discovered a Japanese word that could and should be appropriated into what King Alfred called Englisc. That word is tsundoku and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Cromer, Domesticrox, panjandrum, reading, Science-fiction, secondhand books, teeth, Writing & Reading, ylang-ylang | Comments Off on Tsundoku

More Than Just Gender

Posted on 22 July 2012 by Athene Donald

Last week I attended an evening at the Royal Society, badged as a discussion between Vince Cable and the RS President Paul Nurse on ‘UK Research: building bridges, building prosperity’. In fact it wasn’t really a discussion at all, so … Continue reading →

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Should I buy a lottery ticket?

Posted on 22 July 2012 by Steve Caplan

I’m not a gambler, but every once in a while a weird coincidence strikes–sometimes so weird that I wonder about my “luck,” and with such a rare and unusual event unfolding, whether it would be more likely for me to … Continue reading →

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Creationists – Serpents in Eden

Posted on 21 July 2012 by Henry Gee

I’m working my way through an edit of The Beowulf Effect, or whatever it’s going to be called, after it came back with a lot of helpful comments from referees (I know, I know, taste of my own medicine.) While … Continue reading →

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Semantics

Posted on 21 July 2012 by Steve Caplan

On my way to pick up some sushi and maki rolls from a nearby restaurant, I encountered this intriguing sign: So, as a scientist, I first thought “Why 21 pounds?” Why not 12, or 15, or 17 and 3/4? But … Continue reading →

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Flying through the Crick

Posted on 20 July 2012 by Frank Norman

Quick update to my post about the Crick Institute building site. The Crick has now released a fly-through video animation to show what the interior of the building will look like. It is just 4 minutes long, and includes some … Continue reading →

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