Marking time… 10 Mar 201221 Jun 2018 It’s been a busy week (and a painful one: I advise my students to avoiding being old if they can and gout is one reason why – right: gout. This past fortnight has been extremely unpleasant). We are in what we can only hope is the final phase of negotiating the contracts that will give me work for a year. Since the negotiating body is the the US military, things move slowly. It’s only been six months since they announced the grant. We hope to start things shortly. I have had two papers and a book chapter take another step, one being published, and two accepted. Of course, I am still trying to finish my damned book on classification. But it is difficult when every step is like nail being driven through your foot. So I am marking time and trying to get things sorted. This is a post to alert you to my continued existence, and to thank the following generous donors to the ET fund: Filippo Salustri Kevin Zelnio David Winter Steven Hamblin Patrick Linehan Susan Silberstein Bora Zivkovic Keith Elias Gerdina de Jong and John Danaher Each of you take a measure of dharma out of the petty fate tin (right: Dharma being measured). You have all been extremely generous and I have paid the hosting, domain and internet costs for another couple of months. Now all I have to do is write something useful. Hmm… I’m applying for numerous philosophy jobs, and I understand I have a shot at one. If you would all sacrifice a virgin, or a goat, or a virgin goat (left: a virgin goat, really), to the philosophy gods, I would be appreciative. Administrative
Administrative Ronin Institute for masterless scholars 6 Jan 20136 Jan 2013 As readers may know, I, along with a great many other researchers, have no permanent position, making do with casual work to get by. This is an increasing problem around the world as educational institutions transition from being a public good to a service provider to government and economic goals…. Read More
Administrative Drowning in the sea of faith 20 Sep 2008 Actually I’m not. The Sea of Faith In Australia crowd are very nice and easy to get on with folk, and many of them are your garden variety humanists, atheists and skeptics. Lawrence Krauss is a very nice guy with a good patter in anti-ID; nothing I haven’t heard before… Read More
Administrative Home, tired, and amused 10 Nov 2009 I arrived after a not-too-shabby flight on a Qantas A388. The American couple next to me couldn’t believe it was built by the French; I pointed out that a few other European countries also contributed. I actually slept for a while. Anyway, nothing sensible is going to come from me… Read More
Yeah, virgin goats are in short supply over here, given the Republican primary race. They keep sacrificing them to appease their more rational followers … the goats that stay virgins that long, at least. Feel better soon!
Not that sympathy is worth a huge hell of a lot, but you certainly have mine for whatever it’s worth. I had a single attack of gout a quarter of a century ago, though mine was brought on as a side effect of a medicine I was taking at the time and I’ve never had a recurrence. I still remember the pain, however. When somebody opened the door of my room, the breath of wind would set off my big toe. Uric acid crystals are really, really sharp.
There have been a slew of TV ads for gout meds recently and we have been making jokes about them. Now, we may stop. In the U.S., when promoting drugs in print, on TV and the radio, advertisers are required to include warnings and disclaimers like, “In the rare event of an erection lasting more than 4 hours, seek immediate medical help to avoid long-term injury.” We like to make up our own. The current favorite is, “Tell your doctor if you have a history of sudden death.”