Monthly Archives: August 2013

What I Did In My Summer Holidays

Some of you might remember having visited our beach hut the Maison Des Girrafes Marine Biology Field Station. We gave this up about a year ago due to lack of use on our part – as well as the fact that … Continue reading

Posted in Blog Norfolk!, Domesticrox, heathland, jenny agutter, Maison des Girrafes field research mobile unit, north norfolk railway | Comments Off on What I Did In My Summer Holidays

Landwards Ho!

A little while ago I noted that I’d had a story accepted in a new SF anthology called Looking Landwards, to be published on 28 October by NewCon Press, notwithstanding inasmuch as which I am in receipt of the official … Continue reading

Posted in Looking Landwards, NewCon Press, Science-fiction, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on Landwards Ho!

Red Flags in the Dragons’ Den

It’s a well-known fact that watching certain films and TV shows with a scientist is no fun at all – in fact, it’s almost as bad as trying to watch ER with three medical student flatmates, as I did every … Continue reading

Posted in bad people, genomics, idiocy, rants, science, television, videos | Comments Off on Red Flags in the Dragons’ Den

AMERICA!

America! It’s been a busy few weeks—or rather few months. Sister’s and families from Israel and Canada visiting, the adoption of Ginger (AKA Vi), two students who have defended their dissertations and graduated over the past 4 weeks, and a … Continue reading

Posted in America, bank, dog, dogs, humor, summer, US, velcro, vizsla | Comments Off on AMERICA!

She laments, sir,….. her husband goes this morning a-birding

The book stall consisted of at least six large tables covered with all kinds and all sizes of books. Judging from the number of people milling around the stall, there was quality here although the prices (50p for paperbacks and … Continue reading

Posted in Alastair Fitter, birds, book stall, burton bradstock, church fete, Cirl Bunting, climate change, conservation, flowers, Guest posts, nature books, Richard Fitter | Comments Off on She laments, sir,….. her husband goes this morning a-birding

Why I Can’t Write Anything Funny about the REF

It’s the silly season, a time of year when many people are on holiday and usually big news tends to be in short supply other than the the annual excitement over A level grades. (Mind you, not so this year, when … Continue reading

Posted in environment template, impact case studies, REF, Research, Science Funding | Comments Off on Why I Can’t Write Anything Funny about the REF

In which I find ‘it’

When I pictured my ‘adult’ life in academic science, it never looked anything like what it actually turned out to be. Trained as we are through the ranks, the neophyte scientist is constantly exposed to her bright future stretching ahead … Continue reading

Posted in careers, staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Women in science | Comments Off on In which I find ‘it’

Road Rage

One of things that annoy me—let me be honest, and say that along with pigeons, cycle helmets and Henry Gee, one of the many things that annoy me—is the inability of apparently otherwise intelligent folk to use a computer. But … Continue reading

Posted in Ill-considered rants, internet, pigeons, somewhere on the autistic spectrum | Comments Off on Road Rage

I smell a meme.

Some days ago, Henry posted a set of what he describes as “more or less impertinent questions” asked of “various working scientists”, and challenged his readers to answer them. Now, I’m not much of a twenty-first-century technophile, but even I … Continue reading

Posted in Blogging, Henry Gee, lazy blogging, meme, Q&A, science, The End Of The Pier Show | Comments Off on I smell a meme.

Scholarly publishing: time for a regulator?

“…price rises coupled with high profits, mis-selling scandals […] and a lack of transparency over bills have destroyed consumers’ trust […], a committee of MPs has said in a report that also criticises the sector’s watchdog for failing to take … Continue reading

Posted in ofgem, Open Access, regulation, value-for-money | Comments Off on Scholarly publishing: time for a regulator?