Posts by Bart Janssen
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Hard News: Masters of Reality, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
What are they thinking?
I suspect it's two fold. First they don't feel that the close relationship with The Greens has helped them win votes for themselves and it certainly hasn't been the magic bullet to kill NACT. Second with the loss of Russel Norman it's more difficult to find someone reasonable/respectable/serious enough - seriously Steffan Browning?!?!?!
My bet - expect to see even more distance between Labour and The Greens over the next three years.
Not sure if that's smart but I expect it will occur.
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Speaker: Women, science and superheroes, in reply to Amy Gale,
I’ve never met anyone who has done an unpaid science/tech internship in the US, and don’t really ever expect to.
Yes BUT.
While it's true undergrads are usually paid and paid quite well, after the PhD it is a completely different story. I have seen several post-docs asked to work for periods on projects "while their stipend is sorted out" and when they do get money it is nowhere near what could be considered a decent salary. There are many reasons for that but ultimately it comes down to a willingness on the part of PIs to pay very low wages in order to spin the grant money out further. I've also seen it argued that importing cheap labour in the form of overseas post-docs effectively broke the labour market in the US.
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Hard News: When the fast track seems a…, in reply to richard,
I was being somewhat flippant. The difference is that prof is highly variable ranging from revered academic to bureaucratic flunky, by contrast Dr is theoretically a bit more standardised. In practice though Dr is highly variable too with value depending very much on the granting university.
In the end nothing beats actually talking to the person and in Dr Easther's case it doesn't take long to figure out he's a smart cookie.
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they’re all good outcomes of the government’s legislative move to fast-track
I think one of the fears of this kind of fast track is that a small panel could be corrupt. But equally a small panel can often achieve goals impossible for a larger group in a longer more drawn out bureaucracy.
Whether the government actually intended the outcome it got or not, it does seem as though the panels put together recently have actually cut through bureaucracy to achieve really good outcomes for the communities affected.
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Hard News: When the fast track seems a…, in reply to David Haywood,
In my experience a Prof is several degrees scarier than a mere Dr.
In no small measure because Prof is conferred by the bureaucracy of the university whereas Dr is merely conferred by the scientific community. Be afraid of those able to wield the power of the bureaucracy.
As for the German system it is arcane and terrifying, it is no wonder that German graduates casually wreck havoc whenever they feel the urge.
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Hard News: Masters of Reality, in reply to Russell Brown,
Still relevant: Matt Nippert's 2013 story A licence to print money:
How good was SkyCity's winnings from that deal? An Australian casino consultant believes the Government significantly undervalued the gambling concessions it finally granted to SkyCity.
The Government's own officials consistently raised concerns as far back as 2010 that the nub of the deal - the 27-year extension of SkyCity's exclusive Auckland casino licence - was being similarly undervalued. Across the ditch, casino licences have sold for hundreds of millions of dollars.
There is an error in perception here. Most reasonable people think Key and his team are acting to make the best deals for the country. That is very obviously a false perception.
John Key and his close team are acting to make the best deals for themselves and their personal friends AT THE EXPENSE OF THE COUNTRY.
They have correctly identified a flaw in our system wherein providing you can retain an absolute majority in parliament you can do anything you like - in this case as in many others - what they like is making buckets of money for themselves and their mates.
They are utterly corrupt and all the analyses of their actions fail because people keep assuming they are decent human beings.
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As a crusty old male scientist, can I just say this is freakin' awesome.
Any efforts to get more girls keen to apply their talents to science is very much appreciated. Far too many grant panels and planning meetings are bathed in testosterone. One day we might even get some women in science actually running our CRIs ... we can but hope.
As an aside my field of research is dominated by about half a dozen groups most of which are led by amazing women (including our own).
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Southerly: This Week in Parliament: 2…, in reply to Rob Stowell,
takes the time to write her own life story
Is she perhaps related to the Miss Spong who was reported to be Churchill's bodyguard during the WWII? I think those documents may have become public domain now.
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Muse: A C!#& and Balls Story, in reply to Soon Lee,
There was a multiplex on Clark St* where we would go regularly and maybe one day there will be again.
I remember the bowling alley!!!
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Muse: A C!#& and Balls Story, in reply to Russell Brown,
It'll look quite different when the lights go on.
They always do, dear.