Monthly Archives: August 2022

Dodgy Encounters with a Fragile Piece of Equipment

Posted on 31 August 2022 by Athene Donald

Doing a PhD is hard work, stressful and uncertain. Even with the most understanding of supervisors, the clearest goals and routes to get there, there will be hiccoughs and worse en route to getting the letters after your name. And, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in craze, Ed Kramer, electron microscopy, luck, Research, Siemens | Comments Off on Dodgy Encounters with a Fragile Piece of Equipment

A Declaration on Bicycle Assessment – the Decision

Posted on 31 August 2022 by Stephen

Reader, I bought a Brompton. After all my research – and a considerable amount of humming and haa-ing – I finally took Henry’s advice and went to my local bike shop to test-ride a couple of different eBike models. The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific Life, travel | Comments Off on A Declaration on Bicycle Assessment – the Decision

What I Read In August

Posted on 26 August 2022 by Henry Gee

Edward Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (vol 2) (Folio Society Edition) I bought a handsome 8-volume set of Gibbon’s classic history cheaply on eBay. Attentive readers will note that I reviewed volume 1 last month, so … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in 64 charing cross road, alastair reynolds, annie barrows, arian heresy, athanasian creed, battle of hadrianople, century rain, council of nicaea, dan simmons, darrell bricker, dracula, drood, edward gibbon, empty planet, flashback, john ibbitson, les liaisons dangereuses, lovedeath, mary ann shaffer, miriam margolyes, paul ehrlich, paul morland, rebecca, the decline and fall of the roman empire, the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society, the population bomb, the terror, this much is true, tomorrows people, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on What I Read In August

Celebrations are in Order

Posted on 21 August 2022 by Athene Donald

A Level results are out, and students are now either celebrating, or sitting in misery having had their worst fears confirmed. Cambridge colleges, such as my own, will be assessing whether or not we’ve hit our multiple targets – by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Churchill College, education, minority status, STEM, Women in science | Comments Off on Celebrations are in Order

What I Did In My Summer Holidays

Posted on 17 August 2022 by Henry Gee

You’ll have read in these annals that the Gees have acquired a camper van, specifically a 1995 Mazda Bongo. After tootling around in it locally, the time came for its first Sea Trial, as it were. So one Friday during … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in carmarthenshire, Domesticrox, mazda bongo, powys, travel | Comments Off on What I Did In My Summer Holidays

Brief Book Review: Lessons in Chemistry–a novel by Bonnie Garmus

Posted on 13 August 2022 by Steve Caplan

I can hardly keep up with the reading pace of some of my Occam’s Typewriter colleagues (looking at you, Dr. Gee—and I loved the Richard Osman recommendations!), but I have had the pleasure of reading a number of really good … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Bonnie Garmus, book review, inequality, Lessons in Chemistry, misogyny, Research, reviews, science, Women in science | Comments Off on Brief Book Review: Lessons in Chemistry–a novel by Bonnie Garmus

Joining the Dots Around Skills

Posted on 10 August 2022 by Athene Donald

You don’t have to read beyond the first few lines of the summary of last week’s House of Lords’ Science and Technology Select Committee Report to recognize they are sceptical about the Government’s direction of travel when it comes to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in absorptive capacity, careers, diffusion, education, Felixstowe, green economy, House of Lords, Science Funding | Comments Off on Joining the Dots Around Skills

Van Extraordinaire

Posted on 1 August 2022 by Henry Gee

Here is my new toy. It is a Camper van. Specifically, it is a 1995 Japanese-import Mazda Bongo Friendee, bought from my friendly local motorhome and caravan dealer. It happened like this. Me and Mrs Gee were driving along in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in covid, Domesticrox, glamping, Hay-on-Wye, How The Light Gets In, leraning curve, mazda bongo, meatspace, Science Is Vital, travel | Comments Off on Van Extraordinaire

DIY, You Are Dead To Me

Posted on 1 August 2022 by Henry Gee

For reasons with which I shall not detain you, I have been trying to hang a door in the interstices of the Maison Des Girrafes. The door frame exists, so I needed to find a door to fit.  That’s when … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in DIY disaster, Domesticrox | Comments Off on DIY, You Are Dead To Me