Monthly Archives: September 2003

An outburst of piety.

Posted on September 27, 2003 by acb

October is shaping up to be phenomenally busy. I have finally finished a troublesome book outline, and can get that off. I have to profile Redmond O’Hanlon, Robert Silvers, and possibly Marvin Minsky for the Guardian. I have promised a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism | 6 Comments

All biologists should eat kippers

Posted on September 27, 2003 by acb

because it is quite impossible to bone one without thinking about development. All those ribs, each one a tiny bit shorter than the one in front, but each one growing through the same double turn, first out, then in to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blather | Comments Off on All biologists should eat kippers

more doggy nonsense

Posted on September 27, 2003 by acb

The BBC did not just get its metaphors wrong about Craig Venter’s sequencing of his poodle’s genome. they failed to notice that he hasn’t actually done it. According to the AP report, “The researchers achieved what is called 1.5 X … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Science without worms | 2 Comments

Reasons to avoid Today

Posted on September 26, 2003 by acb

— the Radio show, that is. I was listening this morning, as I usually don’t, and caught the news that Craig Venter’s dog has had its genome sequenced. I hope they did it properly. In any case, it was announced … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Science without worms | 2 Comments

keeping up with the de Joneses

Posted on September 26, 2003 by acb

A post at Languagehat put me in mind of something Eamon Duffy said on Sunday: he’s working on the manuscript annotations in late mediaeval prayer books. These were surprisingly common, especially after the invention of printing. People wrote all sorts … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Literature | Comments Off on keeping up with the de Joneses

Feedback

Posted on September 26, 2003 by acb

Last week’s Wormseye column drew quite a range of feedback from around the world. Here’s some of it, with comments. The same thing is going up on the Guardian’s site, but they can’t do CSS so I thought I would … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism | 3 Comments

The banana principle

Posted on September 24, 2003 by acb

At lunch on Sunday, I found myself sitting between a doctor and the master of a Cambridge college, who were having a competitive whinge about the ways in which bureaucracy and de-professionalisation were wrecking their lives. Actually, said the Don, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Science without worms | 4 Comments

MS and chatrooms

Posted on September 24, 2003 by acb

I can’t say that Microsoft’s decision to close down all their chatrooms all around the world for fear of paedophiles strikes me as particularly public-spirited. It looks more like an ethical excuse to get out of a loss-making business that’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Software | Comments Off on MS and chatrooms

good journalism

Posted on September 24, 2003 by acb

You need solid journalistic skills to run a first class blog, as well as application. That’s why there are so few of them. But I now believe that The Whiskey Bar is the best and most savage political journalism I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism | 1 Comment

a little mystery

Posted on September 20, 2003 by acb

I know I shouldn’t be writing about the war so much, but it’s less disgusting than the gay bishop story. And one really puzzling thing did happen this week: on Thuersday and Friday, there were numerous reports that a large … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in War | 1 Comment