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A levels, Cricket and Resilience

Posted on 22 August 2013 by Athene Donald

It’s that time of year again when exam results are forthcoming, making or apparently breaking many a child’s future aspirations. GCSE’s today, A levels last week. It seemed to me that the A level media over-excitement seemed less this year, but as ever you can find stories of students who got umpteen A*s and didn’t get into Continue reading →

Posted in education, Science Culture | Comments Off on A levels, Cricket and Resilience

What I Did In My Summer Holidays

Posted on 22 August 2013 by Henry Gee

Some of you might remember having visited our beach hut the Maison Des Girrafes Marine Biology Field Station. We gave this up about a year ago due to lack of use on our part – as well as the fact that it was occasionally vandalised. Not to be deterred, we have inaugurated another and possibly more venturesome side-project, the Maison Des Girr Continue reading →

Posted in Blog Norfolk!, Domesticrox, heathland, jenny agutter, Maison des Girrafes field research mobile unit, north norfolk railway | Comments Off on What I Did In My Summer Holidays

Landwards Ho!

Posted on 20 August 2013 by Henry Gee

A little while ago I noted that I’d had a story accepted in a new SF anthology called Looking Landwards, to be published on 28 October by NewCon Press, notwithstanding inasmuch as which I am in receipt of the official publication screed, which gives full details of the book, its price, the contributors, how to get hold of a copy, and the volu Continue reading →

Posted in Looking Landwards, NewCon Press, Science-fiction, Writing & Reading | Comments Off on Landwards Ho!

Red Flags in the Dragons’ Den

Posted on 18 August 2013 by Cath@VWXYNot?

It’s a well-known fact that watching certain films and TV shows with a scientist is no fun at all – in fact, it’s almost as bad as trying to watch ER with three medical student flatmates, as I did every week from 1995-1998. Rather than trying to competitively guess each diagnosis (and argue about it loudly enough to drown out the Continue reading →

Posted in bad people, genomics, idiocy, rants, science, television, videos | Comments Off on Red Flags in the Dragons’ Den

AMERICA!

Posted on 17 August 2013 by Steve Caplan

America!

It’s been a busy few weeks—or rather few months. Sister’s and families from Israel and Canada visiting, the adoption of Ginger (AKA Vi), two students who have defended their dissertations and graduated over the past 4 weeks, and a ****load of other work-related issues.

Continue reading →
Posted in America, bank, dog, dogs, humor, summer, US, velcro, vizsla | Comments Off on AMERICA!

She laments, sir,….. her husband goes this morning a-birding

Posted on 17 August 2013 by Philip Strange

The book stall consisted of at least six large tables covered with all kinds and all sizes of books. Judging from the number of people milling around the stall, there was quality here although the prices (50p for paperbacks and £1 for hardbacks – with reductions for volume!) might have had a hand in this.

We were at the Church Fete in the Wes Continue reading →

Posted in Alastair Fitter, birds, book stall, burton bradstock, church fete, Cirl Bunting, climate change, conservation, flowers, Guest posts, nature books, Richard Fitter | Comments Off on She laments, sir,….. her husband goes this morning a-birding

Why I Can’t Write Anything Funny about the REF

Posted on 15 August 2013 by Athene Donald

It’s the silly season, a time of year when many people are on holiday and usually big news tends to be in short supply other than the the annual excitement over A level grades. (Mind you, not so this year, when there is plenty of horrendous news to occupy the mind coming from Egypt.) Of course much of the world believes academics only work fo Continue reading →

Posted in environment template, impact case studies, REF, Research, Science Funding | Comments Off on Why I Can’t Write Anything Funny about the REF

In which I find ‘it’

Posted on 15 August 2013 by Jennifer Rohn

When I pictured my ‘adult’ life in academic science, it never looked anything like what it actually turned out to be. Trained as we are through the ranks, the neophyte scientist is constantly exposed to her bright future stretching ahead in clearly demarcated steps: PhD, followed by a few postdocs, then slotting into a university job with its own i Continue reading →

Posted in careers, staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Women in science | Comments Off on In which I find ‘it’

Road Rage

Posted on 14 August 2013 by rpg

One of things that annoy me—let me be honest, and say that along with pigeons, cycle helmets and Henry Gee, one of the many things that annoy me—is the inability of apparently otherwise intelligent folk to use a computer. But perhaps more than that do I find said people’s grasp of terminology more than a little irksome.

Let me be clear.

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Posted in Ill-considered rants, internet, pigeons, somewhere on the autistic spectrum | Comments Off on Road Rage

I smell a meme.

Posted on 12 August 2013 by Richard Wintle

Some days ago, Henry posted a set of what he describes as “more or less impertinent questions” asked of “various working scientists”, and challenged his readers to answer them. Now, I’m not much of a twenty-first-century technophile, but even I know that such a thing is sometimes called a meme, and as such, absolutely Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Henry Gee, lazy blogging, meme, Q&A, science, The End Of The Pier Show | Comments Off on I smell a meme.