Have you heard the one about PowerPoint?

A word about PowerPoint. PowerPoint was released by Microsoft in 1990 as a way to euthanize cattle using a method less cruel than hitting them over the head with iron mallets. After PETA successfully argued in court that PowerPoint actually was more cruel than iron mallets, the program was adopted by corporations for slide show […]

Deep thoughts about editing

Not sure where I found this, but it’s classic!

Unintended consequences of choosing coauthors

I had been trying to track down this paper for several years. Finally, I was able to get my hands on it. Like many papers you get, they turn out to tell you something different than what you were hoping to hear. In this case, it was a pleasant surprise. The principal result is that […]

The importance of proper punctuation

From Steven Colbert’s Twitter feed @StephenAtHome and #igotthetweetslikegrassley.

A letter from the frustrated author of a journal paper

Paul Roebber sent me this hilarious letter written by a frustrated author to the Editor. Enjoy! Glass, R. L., 2000: A letter from the frustrated author of a journal paper. The Journal of Systems and Software, 54, 1. [PDF] Image from http://lightsallaround.wordpress.com/author/jackieleasommers/

Very short abstract

From arXiv.org: Can apparent superluminal neutrino speeds be explained as a quantum weak measurement? M. V. Berry, N. Brunner, S. Popescu, P. Shukla (Submitted on 13 Oct 2011) Abstract Probably not. [Thanks to Dan Housley for pointing this out.]

6 Habits of Highly Annoying Public Speakers

Cracked.com (America’s only humor site since 1958) always has great reads. Today’s entry was no exception. The 6 Habits of Highly Annoying Public Speakers As an example, Number 6 is “Blaming the Audience for a Lack of Enthusiasm”, illustrated above. The most annoying thing, beyond being nagged to do something you don’t really want to […]

For better outcomes in the review process, send your editor some food and drink

If the results from a recently published article on the factors affecting judges making parole decisions are analogous to that of a journal editor making accept/revise/reject decisions on manuscripts, then send your editor some food and encourage them to take a break. Danziger, S., J. Levav, and L. Avnaim-Pesso, 2011: Extraneous factors in judicial decisions. […]

How science progresses (a cynical viewpoint)

This is one of the most hilarious movies I’ve seen about how science works (or doesn’t work, as the case may be). Although it is a discussion between two physicists, you can imagine your favorite subdisciplines in your own field interacting this way.

Writing Advice from William Safire

Dave Jorgensen sent me this wonderful piece of writing advice from author, columnist, and presidential speechwriter William Safire. 1. No sentence fragments. 2. It behooves us to avoid archaisms. 3. Also, avoid awkward or affected alliteration. 4. Don’t use no double negatives. 5. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, “Resist […]

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