TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
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| Welcome to my new blarg | GrrlScientist "Blog" actually came from the word, "blarg" – that sound people make when they are retching. It only morphed into "blog" as the result of a typographical error ...Like most people, I always wanted to be a success; I was born wanting to accomplish something worthwhile that would justify my existence on this planet. So even though I worked long and hard to make myself into a success, I've only managed to succeed at failure.Even though I managed to work my way through to the PhD and I also managed to win a postdoctoral fellowship, my efforts to progress beyond that stage were stymied. Frustrated with my inability to find a job – any job – I fell back on the one thing I've always done since I first could pick up a crayon: I wrote about it. Except this time, instead of hiding my words under my mattress, I wanted to make my frustrations public. Because I knew thousands of other young scientists also shared my sense of betrayal, I wished to remain anonymous, to give voice to their outrage as well as my own. So I started a blog.I started a blog back when such things were very controversial and I used it to do something that is also quite controversial: rant about my job-seeking frustrations. Besides using my blog to write about my interviews, to publicly correct the bad punctuation and grammar on rejection letters that I received, I also wrote vignettes like this. Unfortunately, word leaked out about this blog. Even though my postdoctoral colleagues who also were seeking jobs were quite amused by it, I was promised in no uncertain terms that I would never again work in either scientific research or academia if I did not immediately stop writing this blog – indeed, stop all writing activities that were not either invested in writing grants or papers. Apparently, my colleagues were not the only people reading my wee blog. My thousands of readers provided valuable support and encouragement that kept me going through the many dark years that followed. Even though I am still unemployed, I did marry one of my many readers and I now live in Germany. Contrary to what many of you know about internet lore, blogs did not actually get their name from a condensation of the phrase, "web blog." No, my friends, the truth is that the word, "blog" actually came from the word, "blarg" – that sound that people make when they are retching, and it only morphed into the word "blog" as the result of a typographical error. An apt name when you think about it, since blogs generally qualify as written retching. So this one typographical error was dutifully copied, pasted and repeated by dozens, then hundreds and now, by millions of people.Since most blogs have typographical errors sprinkled throughout, it seems somehow appropriate that I managed to find my way here, to add my written retches to the "stable" of science blarg writers at The Grauniad. But don't expect my efforts to succeed.GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Crystal sponges to mop up power station CO2 A team of Australian scientists has developed a new material that can soak up large amounts of greenhouse gases. abc.net.au |
Patrols to prevent whale harassment Wildlife officers in Albany will speak to a witness who says they saw a teenage boy climbing onto a whale's back last week. abc.net.au |
Telescope site to be protected from radio interference The communications regulator is preparing to introduce legislation banning the use of certain radio frequencies in an area of Western Australia earmarked for a major astronomy project. abc.net.au |
Shift Happens This video asks: what are we doing to help our children be successful in the 21st century? Considering the current unemployment rate, the average number of jobs that the average person will have by age 38 (10-14 in the USA), and the fact that we are preparing our children to hold jobs and to use technologies that don't even exist yet, this is a critical question that we must think aboutContinuing on the statistics theme, we all know there are "lies, damned lies and statistics," but statistics are valuable for helping us to process and understand what we see and experience. For example, this video uses the latest statistics to ask the question: what are we doing to help our children be successful in the 21st century? Considering the current unemployment rate, the average number of jobs that the average person will have by age 38 (10-14 in the USA), and the fact that we are preparing our children to hold jobs and to use technologies that don't even exist yet, this is a critical question that we must think about. This video is an official update to the original "Shift Happens" video from Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod. It includes new and updated statistics, thought-provoking questions, a fresh design and really cool music. For more information, or to join the conversation, please visit the shifthappens wiki. Content by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, design and development by XPLANE.GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |