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 We seem to be back… 29 Jun 201229 Jun 2012 It looks like the permalinks now work. Continue to inform me if things go screwy. Read More
Administrative Jobs for Philosophers 7 Oct 2007 Does anyone who reads this blog have access to JFP from the American Philosophical Association? None of the locals or my usual contacts do, and by the time I can get a subscription going, I’m likely to have missed the deadlines this year. Drop me a note if you do…. Read More
Administrative Travel Diary 5 12 Oct 2009 So, here I am in Oxford, about to go and explore. The conference in Göttingen was absolutely marvellous. I met many interesting people (below the fold I tell you about a few). My only objection was that there was too much data! I’m a philosopher, Jim, not a scientist. Actually,… 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.”