Latest posts

Helloooo! I’ve moved (again)

Posted on 30 July 2012 by Bob O'H

I started blogging just over 5 years ago (damn, I missed my blogoversary by a month). The following year, I left Blogspot for Nature Network. Well, now the powers that be have decided to close the NN blogs, and shift bloggers who wanted over to SciLogs. I considered this, but decided instead to join the hive of villeins here at Occam’s Typewr Continue reading →

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Work-Life Balance for Whom?

Posted on 30 July 2012 by Athene Donald

Can women ‘have it all’ (i.e. have a family as well as a career) is a question frequently asked, and one Sally Feldman referred to in her article in last week’s Times Higher Education. Although the sub-title for her article said ‘despair not’ – despite the growth of presenteeism, the high-profile women who have dropped out of pressured jobs because Continue reading →

Posted in chidcare, paternity leave, Women in science | Comments Off on Work-Life Balance for Whom?

Wilderness

Posted on 29 July 2012 by Henry Gee

What is the difference between Left and Right? I have always had trouble with this. When I was small I learned the difference from a Natural History Museum guidebook which, on one page, had a picture of Tyrannosaurus rex on the left, and Iguanodon on the right. As a five-year-old I knew my dinosaurs long before I could appreciate the difference bet Continue reading →

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The cairn as a symbol of mentorship

Posted on 28 July 2012 by Steve Caplan

In the spirit of my previous blog on self-promotion, I forge on.

Cairn

Sometime this spring, I was nominated for a national award known as the Thomas Maciag Award, a National Institutes of Health sponsored award for a scientist who embodies the spirit of the late Thomas Maciag, an outstanding scientist, mentor and also a renowned artist.

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Kaddish

Posted on 27 July 2012 by Henry Gee

Forty years ago eleven athletes and officials were murdered at the Olympics in Munich.

As the media frenzy around this year’s London games ramps up from Over-Excited to Orgasmic, you can bet that at tonight’s opening ceremony, there will not be a minute’s silence to commemorate this appalling violation of what we are told is the O Continue reading →

Posted in antisemitism, Cromer, Domesticrox, hypocrisy, Israel, Liberal Judaism, munich 1972, olympics, Politicrox | Comments Off on Kaddish

Be careful what you wish for…

Posted on 27 July 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

…because you might just get it.

I wished for Mr E Man to get a job, after a couple of months in which the local movie industry was as quiet as Stephen Harper’s conscience and two non-movie job offers both fell through amid a confusing haze of vague job descriptions, constantly pushed-back start-dates, and – ultimately – unre Continue reading →

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How far will you go to self-promote?

Posted on 27 July 2012 by Steve Caplan

At the risk of going overboard…

MOM steve shirt

WHS steve shirt

At least it’s clear to me that I wasn’t going to be a supermodel…

Posted in aggressive salesperson, humor, Lablit, nudnik, pushy, science, shirtlit | Comments Off on How far will you go to self-promote?

By Degrees

Posted on 26 July 2012 by Athene Donald

I’m reminded of the words of the Joni Mitchell song stating “I’ve looked at life from both sides now” as I consider my feelings regarding degree ceremonies. I think I have by now looked at graduation from just about every conceivable direction (certainly more than two). It is, to my horror, nearly 40 years since I first donned a hood and gown Continue reading →

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PLOS shift

Posted on 26 July 2012 by Frank Norman

Camel case (the practice of writing words with some inner uppercase letters) is one of my pet hates, as it demands sufficient finger dexterity to make sure you hit the shift key at just the right point in the middle of the word. Prime offenders are brands such as EndNote, iPad and PowerPoint. A reverse example is the open access publisher PLoS (Pub Continue reading →

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Sometimes things are just OK

Posted on 25 July 2012 by Sylvia McLain

Everything is OK

Last weekend I was part of an Occam’s outpost (with Jenny Rohn and Stephen Curry) who spoke at the Winchester Science Festival - well done to James Thomas (@jimbobthomas) for organizing it and thank you for inviting me. It was my first science festival gig (hopefully not my last). I had sort of an amorphous subject I assigned to myself (wi Continue reading →

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