Thus Spake Zuska
Archives for March, 2008
Pseudonymous Writing: Two Views
Posted by Zuska on March 31, 2008 Pseudonymous blogging – and commenting – is common. Some like it, some don’t; some see the need for it, some don’t. Whatever side you’re on, you might be interested in these two recent columns from the Chronicle of Higher Education. Against pseudonymous writing For pseudonymous writing
Friday Bookshelf: Gardening For Life
Posted by Zuska on March 28, 2008 In the spring a suburban homeowner’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of lawn. Originally uploaded by garethjmsaunders. Fertilize! Break out the emergent herbicide! Fire up the sprinklers! Here comes the lawn mower and weed whacker! The relentless battle to maintain a time-, energy-, and resource-consuming monoculture that provides a perfect habitat for Japanese beetle grubs…
Advice From “Becoming a Writer”
Posted by Zuska on March 27, 2008 Writer’s block sucks. So I did what I often do when I’m faced with a problem I need to solve: I bought a book. The book in this instance, Dorothea Brande’s Becoming a Writer, was originally published in 1934 and was out of print for some time until a recent reissue. It is a charming…
Some More Links for 3-17-2008
Posted by Zuska on March 17, 2008 Good stuff from the AWIS Washington Wire: A new website on reducing stereotype threat. The engineering of ice cream, from Yale’s first female dean of engineering. “More than half the women in the world live in countries that have made no progress in gender equity in recent years. ” See the Gender Equity Index website…
Links for 3-17-2008
Posted by Zuska on March 17, 2008 You just have to read Non Sequitur today. It’s a great strip in general but I really liked today’s comic for reasons that will be obvious to you. Lab Cat has announced a Fortnight-long Food Fest. In fact I am so excited about food and my “F” that I am having a food fest for…
Patch Hunky, PhD
Posted by Zuska on March 13, 2008 Alice recently told her ethnic story over at Sciencewomen, and asked others to join in the attempt to “displace white from the default position”. Of course lots of comments ensued; her follow-up is here, and well worth reading. In the follow up you can find links to others who took up Alice’s challenge. I’ve been…
You Have To See It To Believe It
Posted by Zuska on March 11, 2008 A reader recently emailed me about Sociological Images. What a great blog! WHY: What with the kids these days being all media-saturated, a good image is often more effective for getting a point across than all the citations, repetition, or jumping up and down and saying “really I swear” can ever do. This blog is…
On The “Choice” Of Having A Child
Posted by Zuska on March 7, 2008 Last month I wrote about children, academic careers, and moms. Lively discussion ensued. Here’s something you should read for a follow up, and hat tip to Sciencewoman for the link: Let me reminds you, once again, that people do not “choose” to have kids. A lot of people choose *not* to have kids–birth control, wealth,…
“Geek Chic – Computer Science Is The New Sexy”
Posted by Zuska on March 7, 2008 According to the Chronicle news blog, computer science enrollment is down by half since 2000. …undergraduate enrollment in computer-science programs had fallen to half of what it was in 2000 (15,958 to 7,915, to be exact). But according to Inside Higher Ed, the computer science major has rebounded!
Welcome, Jane!
Posted by Zuska on March 6, 2008 Lucky for Scienceblogs – Jane of See Jane Compute has just moved in with us! Scienceblogs has really needed someone from a computer science/engineering perspective. I am thrilled to pieces that she has signed on.