OT Statins and roller coasters

Neither of us are in it for the money. It's fairly galling when 2
years of work has no outcome other than an internal report to the
funder. Until the funder approves it for release and thus lifts the
embargo it's in a black hole.

They own the data, we can't publish. The submission date for the
biggest conference in our field has just passed. I've submitted a
joint paper on the new work (which isn't government funded) but there
are 3 projects that I could have put in papers for, good international
and national policy work, commissioned by 3 separate bits of
governance (including quangos) that are in the above mentioned black
hole.

Academics rely on peer reviewed journal stuff for career survival.
We've signed a book contract (not as good as peer review in terms of
research evaluation) for one of the above projects and it looks as
though that may get killed as well.

It's not about the money, it's about evidence of best practice which
gets buried when it doesn't fit a certain political view point.

The work we do makes for better national, local and individual school
policy. All of which lead to better education for kids, which leads to
a better society. It's no fucking use sat on a desk in the department.

Hmmm I appear to have ranted again.

We're about to go out to dinner, I shall do just that.

 

As you may have noticed, my employer was in the press recently for
attempting to construct the most expensive corporate suicide note in
history.

The prospectus document, for a deal that never happened, stretched to
over 1200 pages. All produced to a very tight time frame, with zero
additional budgeting.

It doesn't only happen in academia.

Both seem to involve spending bucketfuls of other people's money on
something that may or may not be of benefit in the future.

 

OT: UKRM film club : "The **** It List"

 

I can't get my head around the fact I'll be 64 later this year.

And I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

Mick in limbo:
I can't emigrate to New Zealand on a work visa because I'm older than
56.
I can't emigrate to New Zealand on a retirement visa because I'm not yet
66.
Bugger, time to look elsewhere for a couple of years.

 

Rent a cottage in the Isle of Wight (if it's not too dear)

 

A cottage in the Isle of Wight? Isn't that a kind of death?

 

In message

Yours sincerely, fading away

 

Ahem. /s/fading/wasting/

 

Funny you should say that: The Compasses Inn is not that far away from
me.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/woman-found-in-pub-freezer-was
-shot-in-head-1933617.html

 

In message

Happens when old age catches up with you ...

 

When me and me brother were kids we used to hold down 8 x 4 sheets of
asbestos for my Dad to cut into soffit boards with a circular saw.
'Mind your fingers...............'

 

It's a bloody certainty to be honest.....