Arriving in Durham for the first meeting of the UK Pynchon Network tomorrow. No joke!

Ouch. Man behind me bought ticket for wrong train company. Has to pay £120. Paid £65 for first ticket.

Prepared Pynchon Prezi.

UK Pynchon Network: pre-conference meet-up on Thursday the 31st of March at The Swan and Three Cygnets at 7pm!

Our new colour scheme! http://yfrog.com/h7zv8rzj

All the stuff on machine state inference on botnets via protocol reversing is fascinating.

Writin' my book chapter in Starbucks (urgh), leechin' their wifi (over VPN), waitin' for friends (hurry!) breakin' the law (of averages).

Perhaps we could have product placement in academic publications to help with funding? This tweet sponsored by Simon Jenkins. #HigherEdWed

Good god, Simon Jenkins does spew a load of shite. http://bit.ly/fB0P4K

Having a great Pynchon discussion this morning on Twitter; cf. @nz2_ :)

Lolling at argument that in ~15yrs we'll hit WW2 levels of debt and then will need rationing again. Yep, was caused by debt, not the war.

"However, he felt that the past history of research evaluation amply demonstrated the capacity of panel member… (cont) http://deck.ly/~ciGh1

UK-folk interested in Pynchon: come along this Friday to the University of Durham! http://bit.ly/eu8v6B

That BMJ article really is the scariest thing I've read in a long time. To see it all in one place, spelled out so clearly.

Superinjunctions now extending to libel cases http://bit.ly/eGGzLp

Mind you, I reckon £9k to be taught by me is a pretty good deal. #imkiddingdontkillme

NB. repeated sentence in two paragraphs was editorial, rather than me :P

How will teaching be affected by the Big Society curriculum? My post for @libcon: http://bit.ly/eY9eue

Right, half my Zombies book chapter written. Off to have lunch and then another tedious hospital visit.

Just deployed the phrase "nostalgia for a utopian future". This pleases me.

How long before universities follow the legal profession into no win, no fee?

More on the Godot video game. Beckett is among my favourite authors, but the estate should seriously go fuck itself. http://bit.ly/ftkKQE

Gah. Complete brain fog today, writing going so slowly.

It's really bad music.

If I can hear someone's music in the British Library from their headphones, is it reasonable to ask them to turn it down?

Programme for this Friday's Pynchon conference in Durham updated! http://bit.ly/hb4QhE

"The argument that violence against property is a legitimate response [...] has at least some validity" http://bit.ly/icQDBR

Human costs of public spending cuts: http://bit.ly/dFpRb0

If your tube line is suspended, can you get a refund or only for delay? I hate the alternate Liverpool Street route.

AHRC claim it's coincidence that their research is relevant to Big Society (para 2); did they say this to BIS, though?

Hah! Most awesome supervision to review my chapter. Supervisor: "I think it's fucking brilliant" #phdchat

Which is probably because it was a blatant plug for the book.

Metro can't see the irony of advising people to rush to their travel agent after reading 100 Places to See Before They Disappear

Really running out of time to become fluent off-page regarding my Fouault-Pynchon paper. Might just defy @jennifermjones and read it. Haha!

I love the University of Portsmouth's online payment system for conferences. Wish we had that kind of thing at Sussex.

Simon Biggs calls for calm and appraisal of AHRC/"Big Society"; claims it's more their kowtowing to impact agenda http://bit.ly/f0FDMx

Tory economic failings by @TheGreenBenches "This is the house that George Built" http://bit.ly/hQ2zaP (via @andrewspooner)

Beware all: your research council could be next. AHRC forced into prioritizing research on "Big Society" http://bit.ly/fA5dOX #phdchat

Ok, you thought the Great Gatsby game was great, it's nothing over Waiting for Godot! http://bit.ly/ez7FSV

A bit of grammar and this woman's family and pet could have been saved. So sad. http://bit.ly/icURUk

"A Progressive Knotting Into": Ill-Thought Out Montage in Postmodern Policy, err, I mean "Fiction" #bigsocietyresearchproposals

Barely Afloat: Nautical Comradeship and Misguided Quest Narratives in Melville's Moby Dick #bigsocietyresearchproposals

Does my AHRC look big in this? #bigsocietyresearchproposals (with apologies to a placard yesterday!)

BTW: government contends this is "clarification" of the Haldane principle. The clarification being that it is now annulled.

The Downward Spiral: Swift's Houyhnhnms from Big Society to Genocidal Horses #bigsocietyresearchproposals

Looking forward to seeing a load of research that shows what a shit idea it is. Genuinely incensed by that.

AHRC forced to put research into "big society" as a priority. http://bit.ly/fA5dOX

#phdchat Anyone know, at OU, how much face-to-face teaching is likely for a level 2 Lit. course, or similar?

Anyone know, at OU, how much face-to-face teaching is likely for a level 2 Lit. course, or similar?

. @liannedemello RT @SwiftKey SwiftKey is FREE on the Amazon Appstore today! http://amzn.to/hy1upA (Get the Am… (cont) http://deck.ly/~Joagb

My best wishes to all marching today - sorry not to be there.

Bah. Another 5am start, this time for a Wittgenstein conference in Norwich.

Primal Scream!

Wonder when my institution, Sussex, traditionally one of the most left-leaning universities, will announce its 9k fees. :(

My day today is hectic with this conference, back to London for Primal Scream gig, then to Norwich tomorrow for Wittgenstein conf.

Early morning trains justify in-transit tea procurement. Sorry to everyone who is always up at 5, I'm just not used to it!

Off to Sussex for the Picture This conference on epistolary writing, my role in organizing having been the tech.

Can't say I'm the biggest fan of 5am starts.

Bwahaha. Record companies trying to sue Limewire for $75 trillion, more than the entire biz has made since 1877 http://bit.ly/gwuiFN

FFS Cameron, why do we want "multi-billion pound tax cuts" on fuel when it costs an NHS, support for disabled people & an education system?

The US really should invest more in history education. Andrew Holmes is attempting to use Nuremberg defense in "kill team trial".

Osborne's cuts to corporation tax will cost us £11.2 billion over the next four years. http://bit.ly/hqMzcA

Please add me to the #projectReplay Twitter list @gopaldass

Running a workshop on Twitter. Anybody have suggestions for clients that are portable (ie. can go on a USB stick?) Deck needs Adobe Air

Petition apple to remove the "convert" gay people iPhone app http://bit.ly/iccA67

Thomas Pynchon's appearance on The Simpsons just mentioned on Radio 4!

Lunch outside the British Library. Sadly a cloud moved in front of the sun for my whole 15 minutes.

Damn. Just unwittingly recommended a book to a senior academic who, it transpires, supervised the thesis on which it was based. #networkfail

British Humanist Association study shows leading nature of census question on religion http://bit.ly/eC01UZ

#InboxZero take that!

Today: start next thesis chapter, work more on Zombies book chapter, more on Pynchon conference paper #roar #phdchat

Just watched pilot of Lynch's Twin Peaks. Fantastic. Don't drink the coffee. There was a FISH IN THE PERCOLATOR!

Scrivener for Linux appears to have serious problems with portability; getting symbol lookup errors on Ubuntu 10.10 32 bit.

Helen is downstairs listening to some free-jazz chanteuse. I'm upstairs pumping out Leftfield Tour audience recordings through headphones.

XKCD produces a visual guide to radiation doses http://bit.ly/fasygg (cc. @GreatDismal )

Experimenting with rebootless Ubuntu distribution upgrades in my VM

Mmm, just noticed that there's Scrivener for Linux in beta; going to have a play with that :) http://bit.ly/euRiNH #phdchat

My mistake; they weren't elected that year. #doh (cc. @sarahthesheepu )

.@sarahthesheepu although they supported, for instance, res #1895 establishing EUFOR as military "stabilization force" in Bosnia

Merkel: "We unreservedly share the aims of this resolution. Our abstention should not be confused with neutrality." What was it then?

Surprisingly, my MP forwarded my letter about the maltreatment of Bradley Manning to William Hague and is awaiting a response.

Trying out some of @thesiswhisperer's seven-day article tips. Currently savagely mangling yesterday's work in massive re-shuffle.

Thatcher apologised for closing clown school, fearing that w/out Eton there would be no future gov. http://bbc.in/gOtvux

Anybody seen problems w/ Android not detecting Option 3 of DHCP spec? I'm doing IT support for our IT department ;/ http://bit.ly/dWPPsO

It's summer! Deck chair. Book. Mr Whippy ice cream van intercepted!

OK, forget Crufts, this is what you *really* wanted http://on.vh1.com/gSwrVc

Coincidental meetup with @AliB68 on the tube!

Free WiFi at St. Pancras ain't so bad.

Texas proposes bill that will outlaw "discrimination" against creationists in Academia; http://bit.ly/gHqUYe

Can anyone recommend me a study on researcher motivations in selection of publication output? #phdchat

Trying to get my head around REF 2014. What info is there on quantity of output per institution (or per person)?

On the US National Security State and Bradley Manning http://bit.ly/fdYV3Z

Picture This postcards exhibition opens a week today! http://bit.ly/hBtZI5

Oh god. Is it st Patrick's day? No guinness in sight and I'm sure as hell not braving Enfield pubs.

Just finished revising draft of thesis chapter, too. Today is one of those good days! #phdchat

Conference paper accepted yesterday for Portsmouth, today another in Glasgow and Durham in two weeks. Better get working. #phdchat

Ah, and in reference to my post the other day, here's those institutions targeted for destruction: http://bit.ly/f1ptOr

The British Library from Enfield, via BETHNAL GREEN.

So they only tell me, just as I arrive, that the Victoria Line is suspended. Now going on a horrendous cross-London trip.

Sorry to have missed #phdchat again - Wednesday is my Brighton campus day!

Just confirmed: I'll be speaking on Pynchon, slavery and Enlightenment on June 17th at Portsmouth University's CSL.

Guess I should counter my Twitter echo chamber effect by following some right wing nutters, but it's too depressing.

Follow @GdnHigherEd for great coverage of #HE2011

Seems Upper Crust staff must now prefix order price with "only". I'm guessing their advisor on subtle linguistic tricks isn't Derren Brown.

For all those looking at WhisperCore for full on device Android encryption: beware closed source security apps, you don't know what they do

...and have a very nice day scheduled in Brighton tomorrow :) Night all!

Ah and with last todo item off the list I can go do bedtime reading free of guilt #itcountsaswork

Just ordered @BookaShade's Scaramanga mixes EP; sounding amazing from the samples!

If more than 1 in 10 have a personality disorder, is it really a disorder, or just behavioural variance? http://bit.ly/id5rqY

Hurrah! Just heard back from publishers and my book chapter is still on for publication, just taken longer to edit than planned. #phdchat

... and that is *not* in any way to detract from the suffering of many many people, just an observation on what we can change politically.

Coverage of Japan (about which our politicians can do little) is seriously distracting focus from Libya (about which they can) #noflyzone

"Go and ask someone on an ISP that doesn't use traffic management": rubbish; on @bebroadband my conn is always great http://bbc.in/h0ZUKj

Health groups walk away from Lansley's industry-driven responsible drinking scheme: http://bit.ly/g3QsaZ

Charlie Brooker on Jamie Oliver's Dream School is fantastic: http://bit.ly/gJFltA

Croissant. Tea. Inbox Zero. It's time for some serious thesis work!

UCU have proposed strike action for the 24th of March. This is 1st day of Picture This conference. More details on rescheduling by Wednesday

On the Japanese earthquake, at the other end of the spectrum from Fox News, is this: http://bit.ly/dUtN9m

To be fair, you can tell the Burger King boss was joking: he said British food was bad and started Burger King to fix it.

Best wishes for as pain-free a week as possible to all on #rheum

A wild Sunday night: I have finished my comprehensive indexing of Foucault's use of the term "Enlightenment" in English and French.

Bwahahaha, nobody cares about the Royal Wedding and are fleeing abroad: http://bit.ly/gDrHO3

Just have the first week to complete my syllabus now... come on all, suggestions for literature 1860-1875?

Amid worldwide grimness I had missed this good news. Illinois abolishes the death penalty http://bbc.in/e36rv0

AHRC public engagement questionnaire says quite a lot, I'm afraid: age: over 40 or under 40.

Deplorably distracted from syllabus writing by bits of Beckett: "The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new"

Amusing Amazon reviews of "A Million Random Digits" http://bit.ly/hZp5Jy

Trying frantically to give a rationale for Beckett's Watt to go on this syllabus!

Just started the initial 50gb rsync pull for my new website backup setup

Interesting piece on H.G. Wells http://bit.ly/fzUbC4

Twitter: you obviously suck at UX, hence why we want diversity. If your client was Tweetdeck, you'd have a point.

I thought Twetdeck's "Manage API rate automatically" was supposed to stop me getting API rate exceeded errors... it's failing.

WWI section of my literature syllabus is looking great! Paul Fussell, Owen, Sasson, Woolf's Mrs Dalloway and some Freud.

Thanks to equality adverts like this, even abnormal people can be treated equally http://chzb.gr/fQk4fj

Guardian's top 10 American poems: http://bit.ly/dPDdk7

Analysts say meltdown would not necessarily lead to a major disaster because light-water reactors would not explode even if they overheated

Petition: Tell the New York Times to Apologize for Blaming a Child for Her Gang Rape http://bit.ly/f7W115

Gah. I have to design a literature course from 1860-1945. I'm fine post 1900, but struggling on the earlier stuff.

Today's library session went extremely badly. On my way home to some syllabus prep work instead.

(sad, I know)

Oh, apparently Crufts is on. This is probably the only time of year I miss having a TV!

In-Law's website maintenance: [CHECK]

Mark Shuttleworth responds to the Gnome's hostility to Unity http://bit.ly/hdoFAF

"Briefly describe what you did in your job": wtf do you think a teacher does?

OH GOD THE FORM JUST EXPANDED. I thought I was done. #census

We consider our hamster a person. Can I list Wilberforce on the census?

Feeling very disgruntled about how long this census is going to take. Also "it is used to help plan and <s>fund</s> cut services"

I want to win a Desire HD with @paulobrien's MoDaCo and @superetrader! How about you? http://bit.ly/winadesirehd

If you're interested in academic publishing @dhlbrown is live tweeting a workshop from Sussex right now. #phdchat

Spent all morning doing conference organisation. Intend to now do some of that elusive research!

Provisional programme for first conference of the UK Pynchon Network sorted; awaiting approval from co-organizer.

Also, it seems the best way to deal with comment nuts is to sit back and let them triple post their way into incoherence.

Conclusion from aggressive comments: weak copyleft (/BSD) is the Switzerland of free software.

This journey is going epic. In a bad way.

Awesome! There's a BSD vs. GPL comment war in progress on my blog. http://bit.ly/g28VLU

Final chapter has shifted in response to the direction dictated by previous work #phdchat

I started with an idea for focus that has held 2/3rds of the way through my (Literature) doctorate. #phdchat

Can someone clarify exactly what is meant by tonight's #phdchat topic? What is focus as opposed to topic/title?

Got a very bitchy comment from the BSD licence fanatic who took on Stallman yesterday. #hatersgonnahate

Richard Stallman, pioneer of CopyLeft, referred to Britain as a civilized country... BECAUSE of the NHS. #savethenhs http://bit.ly/g28VLU

Awesome. Got my co-lecturers to plan the series using Google Docs collaborative sharing.

New book of Pynchon criticism released: Pynchon's Against the Day: A Corrupted Pilgrim's Guide http://bit.ly/hO0W1w

Looks like I will be en-route home during #phdchat tonight; will participate when possible, but dodgy signal on the London-Brighton line!

Pretty sure recharging my phone off laptop battery is not the most efficient route.

Stallman at Sussex thoroughly excellent; proper writeup tomorrow or day after as and when I get time. I also have a recording...

Got myself a signed Stallman book. Ace!

Oh great. So on #IWD I get horrible Twitter spam asking "have you been cheated on? Expose that hoe". Somewhat shows why we need #IWD.

Slavoj Zizek on liberal communism. Amusing (although wrong on chocolate laxatives) with a serious side http://bit.ly/c4E8w0

En route to Brighton to hear the pioneer of Copyleft, Richard Stallman, speak at @Sussexuni

The ever-excellent and offensive "spEak You're bRanes" takes on mis-citation of science http://bit.ly/eB1Sv1 #NSFW

My blog seems to be taking the place of Sussex ITS support :/

Page 150 of Max Weber's Theory of Social and Economic Organization and he's still doing definitions of terms. It's like a contract.

We don't have kids but the new Disneyland ads are so manipulative that I wish we did JUST so I could tell them they were going to Disneyland

For International Women's Day I recommend people read about Grace Hopper, who programmed the first computer compiler. #IWD

Moby Dick is way better when you're not fifteen (via David Letzler)

Anybody else going to Richard Stallman lecture at Sussex tomorrow? Quite excited here! http://bit.ly/ff0QaE

I'm attending Philosophy as Therapy: Wittgenstein and Beyond, 25th-26th March 2011 at UEA http://lanyrd.com/2011/philosophy-as-therapy-wittgenstein-and-beyond/ via @lanyrd

I'm involved with Picture this: postcards and letters beyond text, 24th-26th March 2011 in Brighton http://lanyrd.com/2011/picture-this-postcards-and-letters-beyond-text/ via @lanyrd

Awesome! Next Ubuntu version to be named Oneiric Ocelot.

Dr Fox recalls 1 Dr who had scribbled TTFO, an expletive roughly translated as "Told To Go Away", on a patient's notes. http://bbc.in/gRhzSr

Met accused of overcriminalizing protestors: http://bit.ly/exKdHv which I wrote about in relation to prisoner voting: http://bit.ly/f4Cpl4

Lunch outside for the first time this year!

Right, Inbox cleared, night.

A small, famed, Beckett quotation to round off your evenings: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail better." (Worstward Ho)

Have a review of Joe Moran's "Interdisciplinary" forthcoming in the next issue of Rupkathka; going for the Open Access, yeah.

Very excited to be going to see Richard Stallman speak on Tuesday :) http://bit.ly/ff0QaE

David Foster Wallace, The Pale King launch event: Foyle's, London, 15th April. http://bit.ly/dM4AFG

Thanks to all on #rheum; a great forum, will try to participate regularly.

Has anyone on #rheum received clinical advice on cardio risk associated with disease? It's a major problem, but hardly any awareness. #rheum

Hope everybody on #rheum is aware of the resources at http://bit.ly/fVkR0i -- even if you're not UK-based, should check it out #rheum

Mmm, listening to KLF spin-off project The Orb's Aubrey Mixes: The Ultraworld Excursions. Very fine it is too. #likeyoureallycare

Back to David Lynch. Blue Velvet today.

In-depth review with constructive criticism of the current state of Unity in Ubuntu Natty http://bit.ly/dPIDbk

To all posting these Charlie #Sheen "jokes": consider his record of violence against women & see if it's still funny http://bit.ly/ekbeog

Every time I look at train prices I despair. Seriously, £130 for an open return to Durham. How does this encourage people not to drive? :(

Ok, I recommend Internet-Ink.co.uk - they said 3-5 days delivery, it was here next day.

Putting together an Open Conference Systems setup for the UK Pynchon Network.

Good to see an Alan Turing reference in this week's Times Jumbo Cryptic! #bpark

Textual variants of David Foster Wallace's "Backbone" http://bit.ly/fx1mwO

Gah. BHA posters banned http://bit.ly/ftE9vy

Mmm naughty pizza express. Whoops! About to watch dvd of theatre adaptation of Kafka's The Trial.

Gah, the perils of forecasting: "this sunset end of a grand career"; Victor Stransberg on Pynchon in 2000.

Will forgive the person who has stolen my usual seat in the BL because he's reading David Foster Wallace.

The Times article on LSE Libya scandal is based on... Wikileaks - repercussions still being felt.

Just to clarify: was from a theatre critic who gave his name, does write for the Guardian, but wasn't from an official email address.

Just received an interview request from the Guardian for forthcoming theatre piece... anyone know procedure to verify it's genuine?

Oh for heaven's sake. Sussex do EXACTLY the same thing. Email is NOT secure for transmitting payment details. @sussexuni

UEA want my card details by email for conference registration. I've just told them that's not happening and why. #securityfail

Glad my quip amused people on #phdchat, but more seriously: if you would do your work as your life, is it really a split that needs balance?

. @ernestopriego what I took from that: Jobs thinks those in liberal arts are too stupid to use pcs and need easier toys.

What's this "life" component in some "balance" of which you speak? #phdchat

Reading David Grossman's The Smile of the Lamb. Not comparing well with See Under: Love (prob my fave book) or The End of the Land so far.

Where on earth will this end? http://bit.ly/eHzfCp #savethenhs

Is there a topic for tonight's #phdchat?

My crazy lecture proposal for Lost Highway has been accepted. To please @jonhickman it will also mention Terry Pratchett.

Mervyn King gets it right: http://bit.ly/hLZOz3 the people paying for the cuts didn't cause them.

Did the #dr11 podcast interviews ever go up? @ajcann @pigironjoe @johnigoeuk

Any institution that doesn't go to 9k devalues itself. Like placebo with drugs, if you pay more, you think it works better @jennifermjones

Don't know what I did, but my Google Reader suggested items list is now full of baby photos and pro-life groups. Gah!

Ok. Assange has totally lost it. The @wikileaks account is now merely a self-serving publicity machine for his personal rants. Shame.

Lolz from Zizek: “The first association of someone vaguely acquainted with Lacan is: 'Oh, yes, the guy who ass… (cont) http://deck.ly/~UOBVL