Category Archives: Department of the Drama

Personal musings.

PopSci: “Comments can be bad for science”

Posted on September 24, 2013 by cicada

Popular Science just announced that they’re turning off reader comments on at least some science articles: It wasn’t a decision we made lightly. As the news arm of a 141-year-old science and technology magazine, we are as committed to fostering … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs and Blogging, Department of the Drama, Science in culture & policy, Science Journalism, Web 2.0, New Media, and Gadgets | Comments Off

Goodbye, Google Reader; Goodbye, Missing Friends

Posted on June 23, 2013 by cicada

You probably know that Google Reader is shutting down. It makes me grumpy; I don’t find Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Flipboard, or anything else to be an adequate substitute (I’m trying Feedly at my fiance’s behest). Even worse, this unwelcome development … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs and Blogging, Department of the Drama, Ephemera, Uncategorized | Comments Off

To Mac users of MS Word

Posted on July 17, 2012 by cicada

Just posting this as a public service: if you are using Word on a Mac running Lion, and every time you print a document you get an annoying extra page of gobbledygook, go to the Print settings in Word’s Preferences, … Continue reading →

Posted in Department of the Drama | Comments Off

Reminder: Follow BioE on Twitter

Posted on July 13, 2012 by cicada

Hope you’re having a great summer! Sorry the blog is so dead! I’m so busy right now, my brain is scrambled. (That can sometimes be a good feeling — but not so much this time.) I have a few draft … Continue reading →

Posted in Department of the Drama | Comments Off

Myopia

Posted on December 17, 2011 by cicada

“I fear that the character of my knowledge is from year to year becoming more distinct and scientific; that, in exchange for vistas wide as heaven’s scope, I am being narrowed down to the field of the microscope. I see … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Department of the Drama, Ephemera, History of Science, Littademia | Comments Off

Where’s 2008-2011?

Posted on September 16, 2011 by cicada

Greetings, readers! As you may have noticed, the most recent posts here date back several years. That’s because my posts from 2008-2011 were published at Scienceblogs.com/bioephemera, where they remain. I do not know if the posts will continue to remain … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs and Blogging, Department of the Drama | Comments Off

An unstable contest of minds

Posted on March 24, 2008 by cicada

I was reading last week’s New Yorker, and this passage by Adam Gopnik – part of a long piece about professional magicians – caught my attention. I really agree with this: Whatever the context, the empathetic interchange between minds is … Continue reading →

Posted in Department of the Drama, Love | 1 Comment

I am the Atom!

Posted on February 21, 2008 by cicada

My friend mdvlst just reminded me that there is actually an obscure DC superhero with my name, and moreover, she’s a scientist superhero: Jessica Palmer is the costumed super-hero known as the Atom and hails from a parallel reality known … Continue reading →

Posted in Department of the Drama, Frivolity | Comments Off

The end of an era!

Posted on February 6, 2008 by cicada

That title sounds pretentious, doesn’t it? I’ve decided to make a big change. As of today, bioephemera will be moving to Scienceblogs. I hope that all of you will join me there; please update your bookmarks to point to http://www.scienceblogs.com/bioephemera … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs and Blogging, Department of the Drama | 6 Comments

Holding pattern

Posted on February 1, 2008 by cicada

Friends & readers, I have to put bioephemera into stasis for a few days. I have a lot of topics backing up, so there is more coming, and I will update you all next week.  Till then, hang tight . … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs and Blogging, Department of the Drama | Comments Off