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Category Archives: English language
Tuesday pet peeve: people who don’t know what agnostic means
The increasing frequency with which I hear scientists misuse the word “agnostic” is starting to annoy me. It’s usually used to mean “I don’t have a strong preference”: for example, “I’m agnostic as to protocol – I could go either … Continue reading
Posted in English language, plagues, science
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In a twist
About ten years ago, a Dutch friend told me one of the most epic “lost in translation” stories I’ve ever heard. I re-told the story many times over the next couple of years, but hadn’t thought about it for a … Continue reading
Posted in communication, English language, Silliness, snow
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The tartle response
The Rock Paper Cynic comic titled “That Awkward Zombie Apocalypse Survival Moment When…” would soooo happen to me. I really am awful; I usually need to meet a new person at least two or three times, within a short period … Continue reading
Posted in English language, fun with language, personal, Silliness
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Facebook, grammar, and sisterly love
Back in 2010, I wrote a blog post about how although my sister and I took very different career paths, we’ve ended up with similar kinds of job. I am sad to have to report that since then, we have … Continue reading
Posted in English language, family, screenshots, Silliness
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“I’ll be the judge of that”
I’ve noticed a recent increase in the number of emails I receive that say things like “this is a polite reminder” or “this is a gentle reminder”. While there’s never anything in the message to contradict the sender’s choice of … Continue reading
Posted in communication, English language, grant wrangling
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FIRST!
So last night, I was enjoying a friendly Twitter argument with @ScientistMother and @27andaphd about Tim Hortons commercials. During the course of our conversation, it transpired that both ScientistMother (born in Canada to foreign-born parents) and I (born in the … Continue reading
Posted in blog buddies, Canada, English language, family, fun with language, rants
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I’M SORRY!!!
This article suddenly made me feel just terrible about the many mutations I’ve introduced into all those poor genes and their promoters!
Posted in bad people, English language, fun with language, science, screenshots, Silliness
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What’s in a name?: towards the development of a novel analysis of grant titles
A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about how I’m going to be responsible for helping all trainees in my new department identify, apply for, and manage their awards (comment on my post, you bastards please!). I’ve spent some time … Continue reading
Posted in career, English language, fun with language, grant wrangling, science
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Victoria Secrets
One of the things that makes you feel a long way from home when you move to a foreign country is that you have no idea when the long weekends fall. We get a pretty good deal here in British … Continue reading
Posted in Canada, English language, fun with language, grant wrangling, personal, Silliness
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That’s a new one
Also seen: “five hundred thousand cells”; “fifty micrograms”; “forty eight hours”. Amazingly enough, I was able to cut the length of the Materials and Methods section by more than twenty one percent >21%.
Posted in career, English language, science, screenshots, Silliness
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