Latest activity → Feed

November 2017

Short thought

This evening at @birkbeck_arts we have Prof Joe Tabbi from UIC speaking on "Contrasting Futures of Digital Literary Practice: Postmodern Culture, CTheory, and the electronic book review". 6pm in the Keynes Library.

Short thought

In other news, I am unreasonably excited about getting the pneumovax this afternoon and then potentially not getting pneumonia again.

Short thought

Not sure I'm even halfway through. (And meant to say: not MS to book, but between published editions of book.)

Short thought

I also have another textual criticism article I'm working on that has so far resulted in a 60-page table of version variant differences from MS to book. Texts were also serialised in this case though.

Short thought

Working on my book this morning and now have stemma including French, Japanese, German, Italian, Kindle, and film-script versions of novel I'm focusing on.

Short thought

Hilary Fraser, Dean of @birkbeck_arts, introducing Julian Barnes earlier this evening for our Man Booker event!

Short thought

An exciting week at @birkbeck_arts ahead for contemporary fiction people. Tomorrow: Julian Barnes. Thursday: Joe Tabbi from UIC.

Short thought

When did people start referring to Christmas as "magical"? Has a strange pre-Christian, pagan air to it.

Short thought

This Norwegian bar/restaurant I'm in has got the soundtrack nailed. Just did St Etienne Only Love Can Break Your Heart to Depeche Mode Enjoy the Silence.

Short thought

Ok, so @ajrbyers has built the coolest feature into Janeway: track whether a system email has been delivered or gone missing in action/bounced. Can't say how useful this is for, say, peer review requests.

Short thought

My favourite item on our "new staff induction checklist" is "Explain what the fire alarm sound is like". "It's sort of an alarm, that's quite loud".

Short thought

We now have Sir Tim Gowers, Fields medallist (the Nobel of mathematics) up at #12mc2017 on perverse incentives in academia.

Short thought

Huginn and Muninn the information-gathering ravens of Norse mythology underpin the name of the scholarly communications conference that I'm at!

Short thought

Ah yes, the "unsafe spaces" programme, where they denigrate ethnic minorities, torment and bully genderfluid and queer kids, and generally stick it to the tyranny of "PC culture" (otherwise known as "not being a dreadful human being")

Short thought

REF basics from my quick scan: all research staff must be submitted. Average of 2.5 outputs required per FTE. 1 output minimum per staff member, 5 outputs max. Transitional approach to non-portability - both institutions can submit output. Used "first available date" as marker.

Short thought

Linus T says security problems are "just bugs". Well, yes, but it's like the difference between a bug that means a sidebar scroll link doesn't work and one that lets everyone read all of my emails. Both are just bugs...

Short thought

Classic gift from my colleague, Joe Brooker - an in-joke reference to Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49!

Short thought

The thing I like most about the "millennials should do packed lunches so they can buy houses" line is the follow up headline: millennials are killing the prepackaged food industry and restaurants.

Short thought

This is compounded by the fact I have no way to play it and am still having ongoing hearing loss. Great!

Short thought

Re-read part of Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory this morning before admin kicks off. Still a remarkable book.

Short thought

Ploughing through a back-list of @openlibhums library signups. Definitely a satisfying part of the job. Thanks to all our supporters!

Short thought

Probably lots of Wellcome-funded books there that are more highly cited because of biomed crossover, as opposed to non-OA? @CameronNeylon

Short thought

Anonymity in name only doesn't protect the author's identity. Just yields a false sense of security. Unveiling usually just a search away.

Short thought

My experience of editorial work: double-blind peer review is just becoming more and more untenable in the age of the internet.

Short thought

Dear @zotero, whatever you did in the last update, it's awesome. Seems to have resolved many of my stability issues! Thank you!

Short thought

Have a series of investigations and follow-ups next week. Apologies if you are awaiting a response and I am slower than usual.

Short thought

I've been quiet here recently as I've had an episode of sudden sensorineural hearing loss with acutely painful tinnitus. Origin unknown.

Short thought

The only side not hurt by the ridiculous insular antoginism of "the digital humanities bust" is the Chron.