I found this impressive pair the other day. I was actually looking for nuts….
Archive for the Uncategorized Category
Two Lovely Bags
Posted in Uncategorized on August 13, 2012 by telescoperTop Tips for Academic Job Interviews..
Posted in Uncategorized on August 8, 2012 by telescoperNot ready yet to resume full-time blogging, but have enough internet access to reassure everyone that I am indeed still alive, and able at least to reblog this nice article by Bruce Bassett, giving advice to anyone preparing for an interview for an academic position….
We have recently gone through an extensive senior job search for a joint position and the questions we asked the candidates were fairly generic. But I remember my own early job interviews and how badly prepared I was for them, so I thought it might be of interest to list the questions we asked the candidates and the kind of responses panels are typically looking for. At a certain level these questions are obvious as soon as you put yourself in the shoes of the interview panel, and that would be my single biggest piece of advice. Imagine that you are on an interview panel looking for a colleague. What would you be looking for?
Forbes recently crunched recruiter questions down to three core issues: “Can you do the job? Will you love the job? And can we tolerate working with you?” In the academic context, where permanent positions…
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Interlude
Posted in Uncategorized on August 3, 2012 by telescoperOwing to foreseen circumstances I’m going to be taking a break from blogging for a while. Normal services will be resumed as soon as possible but, for the time being, there will now follow a short intermission.
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The Olympic Torch reaches its Final Destination
Posted in Uncategorized with tags 2012 Olympics, Absolutely Fabulous, Is it over yet?, Olympic Torch on July 27, 2012 by telescoper
Intermission
Posted in Uncategorized on July 5, 2012 by telescoperOwing to a combination of circumstances, I’ve decided to take a break from blogging for a while. Normal services will be resumed as soon as possible but, for the time being, there will now follow a short intermission.
Follow @telescoperThe Ant Whitworth Caption Competition
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Ant Whitworth, Antfest, Crete, star formation on June 26, 2012 by telescoperLast week a number of colleagues joined friends from around the world at a star formation conference in Crete to celebrate the scientific career of our esteemed Professor Anthony Whitworth who recently celebrated his nth birthday (n→∞). I wasn’t there myself, but an anonymous informant (Derek Ward-Thompson) gave me this photograph of said Professor, apparently taken at the conference dinner:
Don’t ask me what’s going on, but I think this picture is ripe fodder for a caption competition!
Please let me have your suggestions through the comments box…
Follow @telescoperGove Agreement
Posted in Education, Politics, Uncategorized with tags education, GCSE, Michael Gove, Politics on June 25, 2012 by telescoperI’ve had the same worry about finding myself in agreement with Michael Gove, at least on a few things; see here, for example. Anyway, this piece makes some very good points about the corruption of the GCSE system.
What do you do when someone with whom you basically disagree, says something sensible? Michael Gove has placed me in this situation three times now.
Firstly he abolished the Qualifications and Curriculum development Authority (QCDA). Secondly he pointed out at that school IT lessons are at best uninspiring. And now he has gone and acknowledged that our system of competitive exam boards has driven down GCSE standards.
You may not have noticed this because he also called for GCSEs to be replaced with ‘O’levels. I sympathise with his motivation – to raise the bar for the most academically able pupils – but I think he is wrong on this. It would be enormously disruptive, enormously divisive, and there is actually nothing inherently wrong with GCSEs.
The problem with GCSEs lies in the ‘almost corrupt‘ link between publishers and their ‘pet’ exam boards. The BBC…
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“It’s a girl thing” is patronising drivel.
Posted in Uncategorized with tags EU, It's a girl thing, Patronising stereotypes, Women in Research and Innovation on June 22, 2012 by telescoperThis excruciating video, produced under the auspices of the European Commission via “Women in Research and Innovation”, is (I suppose) meant to encourage more young women to become scientists.
Based on the female scientists I know, and the general reaction to it on Twitter (see hashtag #sciencegirlthing) and elsewhere this morning, I’d say it’s more likely to make them throw a brick at their screens….
..and make the rest of us wonder why the EU is wasting its money on tripe like this.
Follow @telescoperUPDATE: 23rd June. They seem to have removed the video. Good.
UPDATE to the UPDATE: 23rd June. It’s back again.
Health and Beauty
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Beauty, Booze, health on June 21, 2012 by telescoper
A Cross Country Ban….
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Crosscountry Trains, WIFI on June 20, 2012 by telescoperFollowing on from the X-rating awarded to this blog by Orange Mobile, my learned colleague Dr Dread informs me that it is also banned from Cross Country Trains:
Inappropriate or malicious? Who, me?
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In the Dark 