Monday 17 August 2009

the summer is almost over

With all these warm sunny days, you wouldn’t say that the Summer is almost over. But it is. Academics are returning from vacations and clean their messy desks. Only this could explain the fact that within a week I have received three responses (all negative ones) re. my long-forgotten job applications. (One of the applications was submitted last December, another one this January, and the most recent one in March.) Interestingly, or maybe not, one of the letters contains a copy of the evaluation committee’s report (which looks like, well, a concise version of my CV, but at least it’s an evidence that somebody actually did read it) and a note that I am welcome to comment on this report not later than some day last month.

Needless to say, it doesn’t do much good to my ego. Even if I take the view that it is their loss. Which it is, but it is not my gain either. In any case, I am not getting paid for them losing me. (Hey, I’d like to develop this line of thought one step further. It seems that in some institutions people spend lot of time evaluating my applications. By not applying, I could save their time, effort, and valuable desk/disk space, so it’s only fair to get remunerated for that.)

Oh well. With these three off my Christmas card list, my potential employers are not exactly queuing outside. Which means I can go away again and not miss anything.

Sunday 16 August 2009

cool badges

The Science Scouts develop some seriously cool badges. For all humankind.

Anyone is welcome to use these badges, although a link to this site (or the specific badge entry) is much appreciated. Even better is if you provide an anecdote in the comments section to explain your reasons for awarding yourself the badge.

Excellent. I allow myself to award myself a few.

Saturday 15 August 2009

she’s such a geek

You will be wanting to read my excellent essay, ‘Suzy the Computer’ vs. ‘Dr. Sexy’: What’s a Geek Girl to Do When She Wants to Get Laid? in She’s Such a Geek: Women Write About Science, Technology, and Other Nerdy Stuff.

It was this charming announcement on Zuska’s blog that prompted me to get hold of the said book. And what a book it is!

Friday 14 August 2009

a threat to scientific communication

Once again, I am getting spammed by Nature — this time it is an email with a modest subject “Impact Factor confirms Nature is top research journal”. It informs me that its Impact Factor is 31.434 now. The reason they bother to send me this?

To celebrate we are offering you an exclusive 30% discount if you subscribe to Nature this week.

No thank you.

Thursday 13 August 2009

can accent damage your career?

We all know about racism, sexism and ageism, in the workplace or otherwise. But what about accentism? From A Plum in Your Mouth: Why the Way We Talk Speaks Volumes About Us by Andrew Taylor:

The BBC poll that so damned the Welsh accent was one of many over recent decades which have arranged regional accents in order how pleasant, prestigious, or socially desirable they are. A similar survey, carried out a few months later, reached much the same conclusions, with the added twist that Welsh found itself languishing around the bottom of a list of accents which supposedly gave the impression of hard work and diligence. It is significant that of the ten accents at the bottom of the poll, seven were those of big industrial cities or conurbations, namely Bristol, Swansea, Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool, Black Country and Birmingham. There are other fairly clear prejudices against the other three, South African, German and Asian — but overall, the poll was simply a vote against urban working-class speech. It is probably not unduly cynical to point out that the second survey was carried out on behalf of the Aziz Corporation, a company which specializes in ‘executive communications’, and includes ‘voice development’ among the services it offers. It’s also noticeable that surveys such as these tend to tke place either in Summer or around Christmas, when news is in short supply.

Tuesday 11 August 2009

what to tell my younger self

“If I knew then what I know now” is a regular column in The Big Issue magazine, in which celebrities tell us what they would tell their younger selves if they had a chance. It is, of course, impossible, that’s why I enjoy reading it.

What would I say — or rather, write in a column like this?