It has been a beautifully clear and sunny day – perfect weather for a barbecue. We dined and chatted with our guests as the afternoon turned to dusk and then the stars began to wink in the night sky.
After everyone had gone and the clearing up was mostly complete, Saturn had ascended above the houses across the street. It’s been a few m Continue reading
Let’s see: a Canadian federal election, an electoral reform referendum in the UK, a new opposition leader and talk of an early provincial election in British Columbia, and lots of coverage of the likely US Republican party presidential candidates, all together, simultaneously, and at the same time?
No wonder politics has been on my mind a lot Continue reading
This week I attended a meeting about art and science, organised by SameAs. This is a newish group that aims to bring together “interesting people from diverse backgrounds to discuss science, technology and everything in-between”. Basically it is a free meeting held in a pub with some interesting speakers and a good crowd of people.
The Continue reading
Lecturer Nicholas Morton recalls his shock on being told that “Students don’t like reading”. He found this to be true – most of his students prefer computer games to books. In the Times Higher he describes his practical response to this situation
Recently, I decided to act on this expectation and launched a “Read Continue reading
No, not in the Darwinian sense but more in a socio-cultural one. This week I am at an annual conference that I have been attending on and off (but more on) for nearly 30 years, which is a rather sobering thought in itself. And I want to reflect on how the world has changed, as reflected in this microcosm, during this period. For those of you who f Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland for the first time in 7.5 years since I completed my postdoctoral research there in 2003.
I will always remember Maryland as a magical place, full of wonderful trails to walk, magnificent trees and forests, and of course the fantastic Continue reading
Libraries are not all about storage these days, but for some libraries storage is still a key issue. The BLDSC is a case in point.
If you have ever asked your library to get you something that they didn´t have in stock then it’s likely that you have had the benefit of the services of the BLDSC (British Library Document Supply Service). It is Continue reading
Writing about science. It’s important. And not just because you could win some dosh from the Wellcome Trust.
I tried to explain why (and a little bit about how) in a guest post on Grrlscientist’s blog today. Continue reading
Animal control is a problem for most US cities, and seems to be an especially major issue in my city. The problem has been compounded by the current economic recession, with people abandoning or giving up pets that they can no longer afford. At the San Antonio Horse Show, the main concern was once that people with horse trailers would leave with Continue reading
I have been working my way around the solar system with my telescope. The moon was easy to spot. And Jupiter and Saturn were not so very difficult to find, though they proved to be beyond my photographic capabilities. Over the weeks and months, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and finally Uranus have succumbed to my searches. Of all the official objects in th Continue reading
