22.02.09
    I spent lunch on Friday going through the low-priority emails I receive; the ones from various lists I'm on. One list is of the Museum-type organizations in the area, sometimes the emails are useful, with good resources and advice, other times it's scarcely better than junk; like this one email I received today.
    The email was sent out to what looked like their entire list of contacts simultaneously. Everyone's address was in their "to" section, meaning everyone could see everyone else's email address. This not only seemed indiscreet, it also ensured that all the various news outlets were aware that they were being spammed indiscriminately. It would have taken one extra second to paste the addresses in the "bcc" section to at least create an illusion of caring even if they were too lazy to personalize each message to the recipient.
    The press release itself was sent out as a .doc attachment, requiring downloading the file, then opening another program just to read it. The press release itself was pure text, no reason at all to be in .doc, and a simple copy and paste would have brought it into an email program. It read like an absolutely standard press release from this type of institution, though it contained a typo, it was mercifully kept to one page, which was mysteriously numbered "page 30". It was about an art exhibition, and yet no one included an image of the art.
    There are times I think I’m under-qualified for some aspects of my job, and then there are times when I think I couldn’t do it worse than it’s already being done by other people.

17.02.09
    I was watching the news yesterday morning, they were covering a group of protesters in Rome dressed as penguins. They were protesting the lack of action on the Kyoto protocols. The newscaster said the penguin outfits were to draw attention to the "melting of the Arctic".
    Sigh. I'm going to assume this was a gaff on the part of the news organization rather than the protesters. But really, these are the people from whom we're getting information? Woe to the levels of popular scientific literacy!

15.02.09

    Bake a Cake for Darwin went ahead on Thursday, the Big Man's birthday. Thirteen entries, over 70 people, and yes, I work with some high-level geeks. See all the photos here.

    And I came across this on the Terry blog at UBC. It's an online quiz where every right answer gives 10 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program. The quiz starts off with vocab, but you can go into the subject headings for questions on geography, foreign language, or art history. I'm finding the art history images somewhat limited, but there could be copyright issues with using more contemporary works. I've earned 5520 grains of rice so far, the site sponsors pay for the cost. Learning! Humanitarian Aid! freerice.com!
    And yes, the image in the picture is "The Creation of Adam" from the Sistine Chapel by Michaelangelo. But hey, Michelangelo pre-dates Darwin, he has an excuse for his ignorance.

08.02.09

...and how was your week?

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