Latest posts

How Not to Spend a Bank Holiday

Posted on 4 June 2012 by Athene Donald

While most of the country is thriving on a diet of bunting, boats on the Thames, nostalgia and street parties, many of us in Cambridge are struggling with more mundane matters. Exams. The University of Cambridge cannot afford, in its 8 week terms, to indulge in random days off. Students and examiners alike have to comply with a regulated timetable Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge life, education, examinations, marking, practical classes, undergraduates | Comments Off on How Not to Spend a Bank Holiday

Lonely One

Posted on 2 June 2012 by Steve Caplan

It’s been quite a week for me; an assortment of 6 different grant proposals having been submitted from my lab–most of them co-investigator proposals requiring a good deal of interdisciplinary coordination. In fact, the last few days I felt very much the way a chess grandmaster must feel when playing those “simul-chess” games Continue reading →

Posted in career, chess, education, janis ian, loneliness, lonely one, PI, postdoc, principal investigator, Research, science, student | Comments Off on Lonely One

Skate

Posted on 1 June 2012 by Henry Gee

This is not a skate. It is something else. Possibly a cod, or, notwithstanding inasmuch as which, a haddock*, pictured on Cromer East Beach earlier today.
IMG_5926
Cod is Dead – Nietzsche

I mentioned skate for a different reason, namely and heretofore the campaign to get a skate park up and running in Cromer. Continue reading →

Posted in beach, beachcombing, Blog Norfolk!, cod, Cromer, cromer skate park, die Labour die, it has not escaped our notice, left wing snark, nietzsche, Norman Lamb, One's Jubilee, oy veh my poor feet, skate | Comments Off on Skate

In which the post-doctoral playing field is leveled – in one small corner

Posted on 31 May 2012 by Jennifer Rohn

The British governmental body responsible for funding research and postgraduate training in engineering and the physical sciences, known as the EPSRC, has been getting some bad press recently. But I couldn’t help being impressed by their new fellowship policy, which was pointed out to me by fellow OT blogger Sylvia McLain.

As my regular readers wil Continue reading →

Posted in careers, Policy, The profession of science, Women in science | Comments Off on In which the post-doctoral playing field is leveled – in one small corner

Last day, in photos

Posted on 31 May 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

inboxzero
WOOHOO! (achieved with 24 hours to go. Sent Messages folder also now empty).

CIHRfeed
I seem to be leaving at a most fortuitous time…

Continue reading →
Posted in career, photos, Silliness | Comments Off on Last day, in photos

Who are You Calling a Geek?

Posted on 31 May 2012 by Athene Donald

In my last post, I threw out the fact that I didn’t feel the word ‘geek’ was necessarily going to encourage young girls to see science/engineering as a career for them, a point that was picked up both by my fellow OT blogger Sylvia McLain over at Girl Interrupting, and also by some (female) commenters on Twitter. My previous post was written around Continue reading →

Posted in adolescence, careers, education, Geek Manifesto, Women in science | Comments Off on Who are You Calling a Geek?

Open Access: Money and Data talk and say the same thing?

Posted on 30 May 2012 by Stephen

One of these days — I promise — I will get back to writing about science. But a conjunction of tweets today brought to me three articles on open access that were interesting in different ways but curiously all seemed to point in a similar direction.

First, a post on the Scholarly Kitchen blog (h/t Alicia Wise) from Rick Anderson, who is the Associa Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access | Comments Off on Open Access: Money and Data talk and say the same thing?

In which science funding gets personal

Posted on 29 May 2012 by Jennifer Rohn

We are usually one step removed from the science that we fund. As taxpayers, we delegate to government bodies the decision about where and how much cash is allocated. Even if we give to specific charities, we can’t control which specific scientists or projects will end up benefiting. On the whole, this is probably sensible: most people don Continue reading →

Posted in Science Funding | Comments Off on In which science funding gets personal

Lord Of The Rings

Posted on 27 May 2012 by Henry Gee

I have just acquired a new toy. Here it is:
IMG_5908
As you can see, it’s a ring modulator – no, not a means of assuaging the after-effects of very spicy foods (the assumption to which my friend Mr M. P. of Cromer leapt instantly), but a somewhat arcane species of electronic device. The ‘ring’ comes from the ring-like arrangement of Continue reading →

Posted in jon lord, Music, ring modulator, Science-fiction, screaming batshit, Silliness, stockhausen, Technicrox | Comments Off on Lord Of The Rings

Is it hip to be square?

Posted on 26 May 2012 by Sylvia McLain

One of my all-time favourite novels is Geek Love by Katherine Dunn.

It’s not what you think.

Its about Circus Freaks. Continue reading →

Posted in Evidence-based thinking, Geek, Geek love | Comments Off on Is it hip to be square?