Monthly Archives: March 2014

Alice’s Restaurant Massacree

Posted on 25 March 2014 by rpg

In other news, Australia’s ongoing experiment with biological warfare doesn’t appear to be having any more success than it did with cane toads. “Killing dingoes has side effects” (and presumably not just for the dingoes) screams the Nature Research Highlights … Continue reading →

Posted in art, cane toads, dingoes, internet, kangaroos, rants, video | Comments Off on Alice’s Restaurant Massacree

Alumnicious

Posted on 23 March 2014 by Henry Gee

You know the feeling – no sooner have you graduated from some hallowed hall of learning or another than one’s alma mater sends you a begging letter. It’s rare for one to receive such a missive from an institution of … Continue reading →

Posted in a night at the opera, alma mater, alumni, bohemian rhapsody, deep purple, deep purple in rock, idi amin, peter jackson, queen, sevenoaks school, the hobbit, zack chaudhury | Comments Off on Alumnicious

Autobuccinery

Posted on 21 March 2014 by Henry Gee

On my thirtieth birthday I remember feeling that whatever else I might have achieved, I’d at least published my first book. More than twenty years later, it seems I might have produced something that people actually want to read. The Shameless Plug has made … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, reading, Writing, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on Autobuccinery

In which we feel the force

Posted on 21 March 2014 by Jennifer Rohn

It’s amazing what you can buy off the internet these days.

Posted in Silliness | Comments Off on In which we feel the force

Costa Rica – Part 1: The Tree House

Posted on 21 March 2014 by Steve Caplan

Our Casa de Rana (frog) Tree House, recently Costa Rica is an incredible country, often described as the “Switzerland of Central America” (apologies to my UK friends, but Ben Nevis and the Munroes don’t quite compare with the Alps…). A … Continue reading →

Posted in Arenal, armadillo, birds, coffee, conservation, Costa Rica, ecotourism, education, guides, hummingbirds, rain forest, science, Tree House, tropical paradise | Comments Off on Costa Rica – Part 1: The Tree House

Considering the Historical Context

Posted on 20 March 2014 by Athene Donald

At a talk I gave in Sheffield last week the local MP Meg Munn remarked on the fact that, being a non-scientist, she had learned a lot about how science is done from reading my blog (in particular this one, … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science, lectures, Newton, Teaching, Von Guericke | Comments Off on Considering the Historical Context

Lock up your hydrangeas, drug thieves about!

Posted on 19 March 2014 by Philip Strange

Plants are rich and varied sources of chemicals that change brain function, so-called psychoactive chemicals. For example, the coca plant, a shrub indigenous to the foothills of the Andes, was used for thousands of years by the local people because … Continue reading →

Posted in cannabis, cocaine, cyanogenic glycosides, flowers, Guest posts, hortensia, hydrangea, hydrogen cyanide, marijuana, mescaline, opium, peyote, psychoactive chemicals, tetrahydrocannabinol | Comments Off on Lock up your hydrangeas, drug thieves about!

Ceci N’Est Pas Un Oeuf

Posted on 18 March 2014 by Henry Gee

I know Spring really is here when the Cromer Poultry Great War Re-Enactment Society lays the first egg of the year. This is it. As I don’t know which particular member of the CPGWRS laid this particular egg, I shall … Continue reading →

Posted in Cromer Poultry Great War Re-Enactment Society, Domesticrox, egg, Spring | Comments Off on Ceci N’Est Pas Un Oeuf

Surfacing from the jungles of Central America

Posted on 16 March 2014 by Steve Caplan

Following my 3rd trip to Central America in the last 10 years, and my second visit to Costa Rica, I have returned from the rain and cloud forests invigorated by the immense diversity of flora and fauna, with the spectacular … Continue reading →

Posted in animals, birds, blue crowned motmot, fauna, flora, hummingbirds, science, wildlife | Comments Off on Surfacing from the jungles of Central America

MOOCs: my other online compulsion

Posted on 16 March 2014 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I’ve heard a lot about massive open online courses (MOOCs) over the last couple of years, but hadn’t quite got around to trying one until Eva mentioned on Facebook recently that she’d signed up for a communication science course, and … Continue reading →

Posted in blog buddies, career, communication, education, personal, technology, why I love the internet | Comments Off on MOOCs: my other online compulsion