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A momentary lapse of reason—Chapter Six

Posted on 28 August 2011 by rpg

Chapter Five

The Retraction

Slater watched Brad leave the room. Even after the door had swung shut, anger shot through his veins. Years of practice kept the evidence off his face.

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One morning, the phone in the lab rings

Posted on 27 August 2011 by Steve Caplan

Revenge can be sweet. It doesn’t have to be for anything really bad, or serious. Sometimes it tastes just as good in answer to a bit of attitude, some haughtiness, someone getting too big for his/her britches. Or in this case, when a recently graduated student invited dozens of people “over” for a good-bye party (to be held this u Continue reading →

Posted in actor, big for britches, ciao, good-bye, great script, hasta la vista baby, humor, l'hitraot (Hebrew), lab prank, message to those who think they can step on me, pranks, Research, revenge, sayonara, science, Silliness, stunned silence | Comments Off on One morning, the phone in the lab rings

A week in grant wrangling

Posted on 27 August 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Following Frank’s excellent example, it seemed like a good week to present a week’s worth of daily bulletins about what I actually do for a living.

As I alluded to in my last post it’s the busiest time of year for us, with way too many grants going into way too many competitions (it’s definitely a conspiracy). This last week Continue reading →

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Essential Reading, August 2011. [4]

Posted on 27 August 2011 by Richard Wintle

Canadian flag, Royal York Hotel

I didn’t agree with many of his political views, but nevertheless with all good will I direct you to this:

A letter to Canadians from the Honourable Jack Layton

If you, or anyone you know, is battling cancer, you might like to read the section headed A Few Additional Thoughts. And anyone can take inspiration from the last paragraph. Continue reading →

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Dyed-in-the-wool cheapskate

Posted on 26 August 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Being genetically half Irish and an eighth Scottish, I have green eyes and curly brown hair that used to have a fair bit of red in it. The first white hair showed up when I was 19, much to my horror, and my Mum’s reaction wasn’t much help: ”Oh, your granddad was completely white by the time he was 30″, she said reassuringly.

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Waste not, want not [10]

Posted on 25 August 2011 by Sylvia McLain

Discussion of ‘waste’ in both higher education and scientific research seems to keep popping up in my life. Both in Science Question Time (from August 24th) and in some comments here on Occam’s Typewriter posts by both Jenny Rohn and Athene Donald (make sure to read the comments !) I also keep hearing people say things about  Continue reading →

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Where is Physics Barbie?

Posted on 25 August 2011 by Athene Donald

This article first appeared in Times Higher Education on 25th August 2011. The title is as it appears there.

Diversity matters, be it in the make-up of Parliament, among our television presenters or in our boardrooms. It matters in science and technology, too. Continue reading →

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Separating science and religion

Posted on 25 August 2011 by Steve Caplan

When I was an undergraduate student in Jerusalem, I held a part-time job and worked full time in the summer one year as a bellboy and doorman at the Jerusalem Sheraton-Plaza Hotel. The multi-faceted experiences that I had could probably provide fodder for a couple of novels, but I want to focus on one specific issue.

More than anywhere else, this j Continue reading →

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A momentary lapse of reason—Chapter Five

Posted on 24 August 2011 by rpg

Chapter Four

The Outlier

Sabine was thinking furiously, knowing she had said the wrong thing. She had seen the change in Slaters eyes; wry amusement replaced almost with boredom. Merde! Think, woman. Continue reading →

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Nota bene

Posted on 23 August 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

“It is disrespectful to the speaker to show up to a lab meeting – especially one at which a student is giving a practice presentation for an upcoming comprehensive exam and has specifically asked for feedback – without a pen, paper, laptop, tablet, or any other means of taking notes. It signals that you’re only there because Continue reading →

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