thusspakezuska
Posts by this author
August 25, 2007
I'm supposed to be enjoying the music at the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival this afternoon. But it's a hundred and ten, hundred and ten in the shade. And I don't know if I can even drag my ass out there for the Seldom Scene at 3:00 p.m. Mr. Zuska is, of course, sweating it out and recording all…
August 24, 2007
There was no Friday Bookshelf last week because I was in NYC having a good time, I mean discussing science and such with the Scibling crew. This week I am in Gettysburg for the Bluegrass Festival, so no Bookshelf again. Should be back to the regular schedule next week.
August 24, 2007
Thanks to the Chronicle for pointing me to Beloit College's annual Mind-Set List, which reminds us just how out of touch we old fogies are with this year's crop of first-year students. As the Chronicle notes:
The Mind-Set List draws much of its inspiration from the blank stares of students too…
August 22, 2007
So, Happy Blogiversary to me! One year ago today I officially started blogging here at Science Blogs. Here's my incredibly dull first entry. Although I did use the word "penis" in it.
By the way, this is also my 300th post on Science Blogs, though I have no idea how many posts I made on the…
August 22, 2007
Since I don't work I have a lot of time in the morning to listen to talk radio. One of my favorite shows is Radio Times With Marty Moss-Coane. Marty, you rock, girl! She can wrangle arguing guests or a too-chatty caller like nobody's business.
Today's show was all about the Michael Vick dog-…
August 22, 2007
Perhaps you don't remember an entry I wrote about a year ago titled Pink Is For Boys, Blue Is For Girls. I linked to a Fairer Science post that was debunking a Times Online editorial suggesting girls had a biologically determined preference for "pink fluff". Fairer Science quoted a June 1918…
August 22, 2007
The end of the month is creeping up on you, faster than you think. So doggone it, get your post for the Sept. 1 Scientiae carnival written and submitted! Or at least start thinking about procrastinating writing it. Remember the topic is UNLEASH; more elaboration on that here. Instructions on…
August 20, 2007
Sooooo beautiful. You must read what Pat has to say about APS's CSWP compiling a list of female-friendly physics departments. And follow the links therein. Here's how my various alma maters responded to this survey question: Please describe why someone applying to graduate school who is…
August 20, 2007
Here's a charming quote from a recent LA Times piece on neuroscience:
...Lynch said: "Several years ago, I sent a student out and said, 'Your job is to find out what the boys know about assembly.' That's what grad students are for. They're the cannon fodder of science. You throw them at problems…
August 20, 2007
You know, bad karaoke can happen to good Sciblings.
But however distressing some people might find the proceedings, other people will always blend tastefully with the surroundings.
Kevin and Karmen just sat back and took it all in.
As Chris Rowan has reported, Janet is indeed the most…
August 20, 2007
Maxine Clarke commented on this blog:
It might be an idea to read the Nature site before you opine. As I mentioned at the blog from which you found this information, Nature's mission statement was updated years ago and is available at the "about the journal" page free access. See http://www.nature.…
August 19, 2007
Sciblings in NYC....we came, we met, we ate and drank, we talked nonstop, thanks to Seed and Adam Bly. I did not puke on Adam Bly's shoes after all. He is a very nice guy. And has a beautiful home in Manhattan.
But when we were in some gin joint on Saturday night, who should join us for a beer…
August 19, 2007
Have you read the Nature editorial? Have you read my earlier post about it? Maybe what you are wanting is a deeper textual analysis of the editorial itself. You've come to the right place.
Men [sick]
Our 1869 mission statement is out of date.
That's what the bitchy, complaining women are…
August 16, 2007
By way of the daily Chronicle of Higher Education, I learned that Nature has made a quantum leap into the...well...sort of into the early part of the 20th century.
In an editorial published online this afternoon, the journal announced that it would amend its mission statement, which appears each…
August 16, 2007
Nothing gets by Absinthe's diligence.
Inspired by my recent post regarding women's washrooms, Absinthe writes to tell me:
Not having enough washrooms for women violates Title IX. who knew??? Check this out.
Absinthe suggests we study the ratio of womens' to mens' rooms in the top 50 physics,…
August 15, 2007
Female Science Professor has been posting a set of tales based on her recent, annual trip to spend quality time with the extended family. Those of you with families should be able to sympathize.
In Men Are So Special, she reminisces about last year's bang-up good times:
It might be easier to…
August 13, 2007
So, I can't sleep because I'm very worried about my mom right now. I won't bore you with details; she's okay for the moment but a lot is weighing on my heart.
The upshot is, you get a post about Barbie dolls.
Yes, Barbie dolls. Inspired by Keet & Nini, whose site I found by way of…
August 13, 2007
Benjamin Cohen at The World's Fair has an excellent post up that should interest many readers of this blog. It is an interview with David Hess, author of Alternative Pathways in Science and Industry: Activism, Innovation, and the Environment in an Era of Globalization. Here's the intro, to tempt…
August 13, 2007
I am so happy for Debbie Schwartz.
I read in my paper this past weekend that Debbie has given her laundry room "the star treatment"!!!!!
What can this mean? Why, let me tell you:
Her super-capacity washer and dryer sit on marble floors and bask in the light of twin bronze chandeliers. A…
August 11, 2007
The other day I wrote, half in jest (but only half), about the threat of women taking over the nation's technical universities and thus filling up campus wastecans with used menstrual pads and tampons.
This inspired Absinthe to comment:
Your comment about the trash cans hits a nerve with me...…
August 10, 2007
Three for the price of one in this week's Friday Bookshelf! Which maybe makes up a little for the complete lack of a Friday Bookshelf last week.
First up is Lynn M. Osen's classic, originally published in 1974 and simply titled Women in Mathematics. Osen's slim volume has been beloved - and…
August 9, 2007
I read this article in the LA Times about Russians racing to claim the seabed under the Arctic ice as their territory, other nations fussing that it's really theirs, and everybody ignoring that the only way they can even have this argument is because the damn ice is melting away. Only it's even…
August 9, 2007
It's called "social desirability bias". And the voting public suffers from it.
It leads likely voters to "underestimate their own prejudices when talking to survey takers", says Dalton Conley in the Chronicle Review.
We know we are supposed to treat all candidates the same, regardless of race…
August 8, 2007
I just wanted to take a minute to explicitly thank the two readers who created the nifty new banners you've been seeing here at TSZ. The banner on the main page was created by Alexis and the banner on the individual entry pages was created by Malyze. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
August 8, 2007
By way of the LA Times, we learn that women are flocking in droves to Caltech this year:
According to preliminary figures, 87 women are entering a freshman class of [235] students in September. That 37% share is Caltech's highest since it began admitting undergraduate women in 1970, when pioneering…
August 6, 2007
It's never too early to start thinking about the next Scientiae...which is scheduled for September 1, right here at my place.
Is there a theme? Yes, there's a theme. The theme is....UNLEASH.
That's right. You heard me. Unleash.
What in your life feels locked down and caged in, in need of…
August 3, 2007
The latest Scientiae is up over at Twice's place. Haven't browsed through it all yet, but it's always good reading, so go read!
August 3, 2007
Thanks to B. Cohen for sending me this link to an installment of McSweeney's Annals of Science. Oh, the mighty struggle of sperm to fertilize egg! That's just good readin'. You'll want to scroll on down and read about electrovibratory massage as well. You may recall I mentioned an essay by…
July 31, 2007
You can study it scientifically, gather the data, analyze it, publish it in Science, and have it discussed on NPR. But by golly, if you are asking us to give up cherished stereotypical beliefs about male and female nature, then you can just take your data and shove it, mister! You are wrong,…
July 31, 2007
Absinthe has an announcement on her blog about a new online support group for junior female particle physicists.
There is a new online discussion group aimed at junior female particle physicists (up to and including the postdoctoral level). The group allows junior females to talk openly and…