Monthly Archives: May 2014

Because The Night

Posted on 6 May 2014 by Henry Gee

Kids are wonderful. Also generous. When they were small and running with stenchly ichors from various orifices, they donated a wide variety of microscopic organisms for the amusement of my immune system. That was then. Now, though.

Posted in Apparitions, arby's, cats and other myths, cecil baldwin, chthonic, eldritch, erumpent, h p lovecraft, mysterious hooded figures, news from lake wobegon, preternatural, release of calcium from intracellular stores, Science-fiction, stephen king, the charnel house stench of uncovered graves, thinking about thinking, welcome to nightvale, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on Because The Night

OMICS, in your face…

Posted on 5 May 2014 by Steve Caplan

Before you can say “endocytic recycling,” there it is, OMICS strikes again with its ridiculous ‘in-your-face‘ attempts to hoodwink researchers into submitting manuscripts (and money). I am glad to be an “eminent, efficient and supportive adept,” but: 1) I don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in am I stupid?, BS, fed up, in your face, OMICS, Research, researcher, Scam, science, what | Comments Off on OMICS, in your face…

Catch a Tiger by the Toe

Posted on 5 May 2014 by Sylvia McLain

Last week Donald Sterling, former owner of the LA Clippers Basketball team was banned for life from the sport and given a $2.5m fine from the US National Basketball Association over his rather overt racist remarks. The arguments against this … Continue reading →

Posted in Jeremy Clarkson, racism | Comments Off on Catch a Tiger by the Toe

What makes a dog tick? No pun intended…

Posted on 4 May 2014 by Steve Caplan

Having adopted Ginger as a 4 year old Vizsla-Labrador retriever mix less than a year ago from an animal rescue organization in Nebraska, I cannot even remember what life used to be like pre-arrival of my loyal retriever-pointer-and all around … Continue reading →

Posted in animal behavior, anxiety, canine, dog, dog sense, dogs, education, Ginger, jealousy, john bradshaw, labrador, pointer, Research, retriever, science, training, vizsla | Comments Off on What makes a dog tick? No pun intended…

Tsundoqueue

Posted on 4 May 2014 by Henry Gee

I have written in these annals about the phenomenon of tsundoku – and judging by the hits that post continues to receive, it’s a topic perennially resonant with readers. For the hard-of-linking, tsundoku may be defined as tsundoku (n.) the act … Continue reading →

Posted in Annual Morston Book Sale, Books, Morston, reading, tsundoku, tsundoqueue, Writing, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on Tsundoqueue

Get out of the laboratory

Posted on 4 May 2014 by Stephen

The Society for General Microbiology (SGM) kindly awarded me this year’s Peter Wildy Prize Lecture, which I delivered at their Spring meeting in Liverpool just a few weeks ago. The prize is given for “an outstanding contribution to microbiology education … Continue reading →

Posted in communication, science communication, Scientific Life, SGM, Society for General Microbiology, YouTube | Comments Off on Get out of the laboratory

Do You Believe It’s All Your Fault?

Posted on 2 May 2014 by Athene Donald

Currently I spend far more time giving talks around gender issues than about my science. I don’t know what I feel about this. I am, after all, a physicist not a psychologist or social scientist but increasingly I seem to … Continue reading →

Posted in Athena Swan, career progression, Equality, MIT, Unconscious bias, Women in science | Comments Off on Do You Believe It’s All Your Fault?

Perfect Purple – or, how a prompt word (or two) can help

Posted on 2 May 2014 by Richard Wintle

Occam’s Typewriter is a humbling place, sometimes. Surrounded by novelists, published authors of fiction, and those who write redoubtable, well-researched and thought-provoking editorial and opinion pieces, it’s a bit easy to be overwhelmed by that imposter syndrome that keeps rearing … Continue reading →

Posted in creativity, Hobbies, Photography, stock photography, Writing | Comments Off on Perfect Purple – or, how a prompt word (or two) can help

In which I grapple with my Inner Imposter

Posted on 1 May 2014 by Jennifer Rohn

I’ve been thinking a lot about Imposter Syndrome this past week. It’s no surprise why: several funded positions have come up in the department recently, and the process of applying for science-related personal funding always brings out the worst feelings … Continue reading →

Posted in careers, staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Women in science, Writing | Comments Off on In which I grapple with my Inner Imposter