Monthly Archives: October 2022

What I Read In October

Posted on 29 October 2022 by Henry Gee

Shon Faye: The Transgender Issue I was alerted to this by Stephen: it was something of an eye-opener. From the amount of newsprint and airtime devote to trans people, you’d think they were engaged in a full-scale invasion. Shon Faye shows … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in anjana ahuja, edward gibbon, forever free, forever peace, Jeremy farrar, Joe Haldeman, nick davidson, Shon Faye, spike, the Cuvier Geoffroy debate, the decline and fall of the roman empire, the forever war, the greywacke, the transgender issue, toby appel, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on What I Read In October

Does Life Get Better at Mid-Career?

Posted on 28 October 2022 by Athene Donald

Julie Gould and Nature Careers podcasts have been running an interesting series (Muddle of the Middle) on what it’s like to be a mid-career/middle aged scientist. A time when precarity is likely to be past, but reality of all the different … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in equity, harassment, obstacles, patronising, Science Culture, Women in science | Comments Off on Does Life Get Better at Mid-Career?

Camp Catastrophic

Posted on 27 October 2022 by Henry Gee

Back in the early days of the present unpleasantness I was engaged to take part in a literary festival in Hay-on-Wye (no, not that one, a different one). Cognisant that Offspring2 is a keen bibliophile, I thought I could take … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Apparitions, automobile association, camper van, Hay-on-Wye, How The Light Gets In, travel | Comments Off on Camp Catastrophic

Part-time talking

Posted on 26 October 2022 by Stephen

Things have come to a pretty pass when the UK can churn out Prime Ministers more frequently that I post to my blog. It might be taken as a sign of the times if the times weren’t so damned confusing. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in science | Comments Off on Part-time talking

Investing in People

Posted on 24 October 2022 by Athene Donald

We have all got used to the wonders of Zoom (or Teams if you prefer) over the last couple of years. It may have made academic life as we were used to it viable during the pandemic, but it has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in apprenticeships, careers, education, House of Lords, Science Funding, skills, solar panels | Comments Off on Investing in People

The Rings of Power: Impressions of the First Series

Posted on 17 October 2022 by Henry Gee

You’ll both be aware that I offered a few impressions of the first two episodes of The Rings of Power, the multi-squillion-dollar televisual emission from Amazon Prime. Now that all eight episodes of the first series (or ‘season’, as we … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in amazon prime, durin, elrond, galadriel, gandalf, gil-galad, halbrand, john garth, Monty Python's Life of Brian, sauroin, Science-fiction, the lord of the rings, the rings of power, the science of middle earth, tolkien | Comments Off on The Rings of Power: Impressions of the First Series

The Rings of Power: Impressions of the First Series

Posted on 17 October 2022 by Henry Gee

You’ll both be aware that I offered a few impressions of the first two episodes of The Rings of Power, the multi-squillion-dollar televisual emission from Amazon Prime. Now that all eight episodes of the first series (or ‘season’, as we … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in amazon prime, durin, elrond, galadriel, gandalf, gil-galad, halbrand, john garth, Monty Python's Life of Brian, sauroin, Science-fiction, the lord of the rings, the rings of power, the science of middle earth, tolkien | Comments Off on The Rings of Power: Impressions of the First Series

Why We Still Need Ada Lovelace Day

Posted on 11 October 2022 by Athene Donald

Today is Ada Lovelace Day, a day to celebrate women in science and inspire future generations. It is often said that ‘you cannot be what you cannot see’, and if young children only ever see images of men as scientists, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The Future of Skills and Education?

Posted on 2 October 2022 by Athene Donald

It is only six weeks since I last wrote about skills on this blog. Not, you might think, a very long time for change to happen. And yet much has. A new monarch (probably the least important for the theme … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in education, Equality, Further Education, investment, Lifelong learning entitlement, Science Funding, science superpower | Comments Off on The Future of Skills and Education?

What I Read In September

Posted on 1 October 2022 by Henry Gee

Edward Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume 4 (Folio Society Edition). We arrive at last at the Fifth Century and the agonising collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Assailed by barbarians on all sides (The century … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in accordion crimes, Annie Proulx, Barkskins, Belisarius, Brokeback Mountain, David hereby, edward gibbon, interstellar, J R R Tolkien, Justinian, Lost Realms, mark twain, Max Adams, Procopius, sleepers of Ephesus, the decline and fall of the roman empire, The First Kingdom, the Shipping News, the time machine, Theodora, Thomas Williams, Us and Them, woody Allen, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on What I Read In September