August 2009
20 posts
“I went on a girls’ night out recently. The invitation said ‘dress to...”
– From Zoe Lyons at this years Fringe in Edinburgh. My personal favourite of “funniest joke” (via the BBC news story)
6 tags
Accessibility is easy. It is easier than being not...
From ”Why is it that Apple always seems to get to the future first?”
“Where is everyone else? In my opinion Apple is here, not because they are altruistic and not because they are afraid of being sued. They are here because they understand consumers. They know people want functions and fun. People don’t really care about how something works. They just want it to work and to be...
8 tags
WatchI love data. There I said it. This is the accumulation of (actually 4 years) data collection, data parsing, late nights and scratching my head deeply.
Basically I collect all NHS Job information relating to “Occupational Therapist” and parse it using some nifty tricks. I now have all sorts of stats on the job market in the UK. If you want anything in particular give me a shout. For a...
4 tags
How cool am I? This was one of the first records I...
4 tags
WatchWatch this in line with this blog entry from the Mendeley Developers titled “Who is killing science on the Web? Publishers or Scientists?”.
“They decide what is and isn’t fit for publishing. They decide when and where you can self-archive manuscripts and supplementary data. They mesmerize and trap us with the lure of journal impact factors like a baby unable to wean itself....
4 tags
Citing papers that you’ve never read — or that... →
I have read a few papers and always amazed at this. You see the odd student do it but does make you wonder I about the quality of the peer review process when it makes it through to the final copy.
4 tags
“nb. I haven’t done a #weloveTheNHS because I really think...”
– Me. Yes, I am quoting myself. How up myself am I? On this whole NHS and death squad thing coming out of the states. Let me be clear: I love the NHS idea. Hell, I switched careers for it. But it is a monster and one that suffers from its own success.
6 tags
And this is why I call it Neuromotor Dysfunction.
I am finally writing my paper. It’s a slow painful process but one I really need to do. Now not to bore you with the details the subject matter is a piece of research that I took two years to carry out with children and cerebral palsy. All but one child in the end actually had what you would classically call CP. However I am (trying my hardest) to stay away from the term. I’m doing...
7 tags
my iphone may be oleophobic but it isn’t yoghurtphobic.
Phone call to Sensory Software (Developers of The...
Me: You know your application is great but I'm having problems with this..
Support/Techie: Well, its not that easy to fix. See its the way it has been designed.
Me: ..but you should be able to. What language is this written in. It can't be VB (Visual Basic)
Support/Techie: [Silence]
Support/Techie: Umm. Yes. It is. Infact about 90% of our current software is written in VB. It's quite remarkable what it can do...
Me: ..and it can't do.
Support/Techie: We are going to re-write it in a different language actually. C #. But it will take a lot of relearning..
Me: No shit.
“I wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for the NHS. I have received a large...”
– Stephen Hawking, quoted on Talking Points Memo: he likes his “Death Panel” Health Care just fine, thanks. (via blech)
My rant email to VIS (Mac repair shop, Reading)
I’m so mad I’m posting this here. The store in question by the way is VIS in Reading:
“Hi there I have used you friendly folks a few times now. The last I think was to get my DC-In board fixed after I lost the powerlead end in my powerbook G4. Now let me point something out; I have been up for fixing my own mac in the past but stayed away from it because I was always fearful of...
WatchSome things aren’t much different however (see my other entry on the Pathe/OT archives). The same principles exist of “independent living” now as they did in 1961. Check out that old school wheelchair too. Some amazing things “We have enough room for every single one of them [blind children] in Britain”. That’s quite a claim. What happened to Overlea and...
WatchIncredible bit of video in re: to the emergence of OT becoming more meaningful. From 1970 “Difference between this and Occupational Therapy is that they are doing something worthwhile”. i.e. OT isn’t worthwhile? (from the Pathe archives at http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=74499)
