I’ve had a blog here for a long time. But now I have a feeling that my work here is done, and that there’s change in the wind. Should I stay at Nature Networks, or take the show to a different pier? I can see advantages and disadvantages, either way: right now I hover on the threshold of decision.
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I, Editor by Henry Gee
This is the Nature Network and therefore Terribly Extremely Very Serious foothold for Nature Senior Editor Henry Gee. If you want fun and games, visit http://cromercrox.blogspot.com/
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Same Show, Different Pier?
- Date:
- Saturday, 14 Mar ch 2009 - 20:52 UTC
Last updated: Saturday, 14 Mar 2009 - 20:52 UTC
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Comments
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I have subscribed just in case, so I’m not going to miss out either way ;-)
You can do both – many NN bloggers have additional blogs elsewhere.
From my selfish POV, I’d prefer you stay here – my RSS feed is too large to bother checking any more so I may lose sight of your blogging without a special effort, but I come and visit NN daily anyway to see what you and others have written.
I’ll read it either way. I always have trouble with the format at NN, but I hear that change is in the air as far as that is concerned.
I’ll still read it, of course. How else can I keep up with the activities of the Gee Family and the Gee
guinea pigschooksMenagerie?Btw, colleague of mine here would like to compare local Texas echinoid fossils (he says they’re old … Cretaceous, maybe? Honestly I’m totally ignorant about such things) with those found in the Cromer area. I can certainly post his photos on my blog. Echinoids Across the Pond.
@ All – thank you. I have no intention of burning my
brabridges. I’ll keep this blog to discuss issues that relate directly to my experience as a Nature editor, in the hope that the scientific community might find such things instructive. To that end I have changed the name of this blog to I, Editor. For the majority of my online musings, though, The End Of The Pier Show has now moved. That’s whener you’ll be able to follow the continued antics of the residents of the Maison Des Girrafes and matters of that kind.@ Kristi – sure, please send pictures of echinoids. The one’s we have here are (I guess — I’d need to check) Late Cretaceous, and arre either flattish and heart-shaped (Micraster spp.) or tall and cone-shaped (Conulus, maybe).
Henry I will find you and your blog posts whereever you hide them. I, Editor certainly makes a good blog title.
Tad OT, but how did Mr G.S. do this? El secret….
(Barry) “Island in the Stream” – Comic Relief 2009 from Graham Steel on Vimeo.
Ah, tis the end of an (pi)era. (Sorry, my punning powers are diminished at 1am.) I had the honour and privilege of being the first ever commenter on the Pier Show, way back when Henry was able to sustain a lengthy argument about medieval English without invoking Tolkien OR calcium release.
I’ve immensely enjoyed all the anecdotes, pictures and captions relating to Chez Gee, and will, like everyone else, continue to follow the transplanted pier show.
I guess you won’t be able to tend much to Pier during work hours? That’s the only downside I can see.
If you move to Blogger, the pier won’t get a new lick of paint when we move to MT4. I guess there’s much more behind this than we know, but I’m sure we’ll all have your blogs in our rss feeds (what happened to Ernest Scribbler, BTW?).
Heidi can rest easy – The Beast claims he’s an expert with Blogger too.
Way back when, I was pleased to supply NN with plenty of content, when content was what it needed most. But NN has evolved, and quite apart from various other niggles I have (which I’d rather not air in public), it strikes me that whereas there is lots of fun and games on NN, what it needs now is more science.
As I am not a scientist, this limits my options somewhat – but my new-look blog ‘I, Editor’ will aim to be more professional, as befits (I suppose) a Nature editor writing on a blog platform with Nature in the title. So to the extent I’ll be able to benefit from MT4, I will, in my NN guise.
Yes, Jenny, it means that I won’t be able to bunk off and write The End Of The Pier Show in working hours, but that’s fine – it’ll be more of a private, leisure blog, anyway. And I don’t see why I should wait indefinitely for MT4 when I can have most of what I want immediately on Blogger.
As for Ernest Scribbler? Well, as you know, he wrote the world’s funniest joke and died laughing. But seriously, I started Ernest Scribbnler as a blog for my writing and non-Nature-related activities, but soon ran out of things to say, as all the fun was at the end of the pier. The result was that Ernest Scribbler soon became a chore. Now I think I have the division just write – a blog I can legitimately claim to be related to work, and another for
pet pornextracurricular activities, whether at home, about music, gardening, whatever.Write? Right, right? Doh.
Glad to hear that at least part of you is sticking around.
Oh, and just to work in one last mention of middle-earth on NN, since you once picked me up on my spelling of Tolkien, I am sorry to report that your work is not yet done….
@Stephen – Glad to hear that at least part of you is sticking around.
The mind boggles as to which part.
The mind boggles as to which part
Try this experiment from University of Utah
The end of the End of the Pier Show? Say it ain’t so.
The nice thing about NN is that people actually read the blogs, unlike cough some other science blogs cough that one might write. And Bora’s got a point – visibility is good here and it’s convenient to see you here at NN rather than RSSing you along with 18 million other Blogspot blogs (another cough from this direction BTW).
But… does that mean we will hear more about ancient echinoids and the like on your new and shinier NN blog? Or will it all be dry commentary on the editorial process at Nature? I, for one, (and not to cast aspersions on your day job, oh no) would prefer the former. As a token of which, I give you:
Some urchins from circa St. Albans, courtesy of (a) my dad, and (b) my grandmother.
and:
something or other from limestone near Lake Ontario.
@ RW: your Grandma’s fossil is definitely an echinoid. Your Dad’s, though, looks more like a stale loaf. And the thing from Ontario is an alien.
OT question for You, Editor:
Are new submissions for Futures still being accepted, for putative rejection?
Yes.
Ah, that clears that up then. Thanks, Henry.
I will follow you, my liege, wheresowhoever you might blog
Do get up, Dr Brooks, people will talk, with you down there, like that. Luckily that Grant fellow seems to be preoccupied or we’d never hear the end of it.
Sigh. I keep adding more and more excellent blogs to my Google Reader subscription list, and here comes another one! It’s a good day when I manage to whittle my unread posts down to under 200…
After this, any more new blogs are subject to my new “one in, one out” rule.
Grant is busy skinning pigs, or murdering defenceless bunnies, or something. Enjoy the momentary respite.
Ah, another blogger develops a split personality. I’ve made an exception to my “one in, one out” Google reader rule for this one.
Henry – looking forward to reading both!
Thank you, Katherine.
Why do you blog? maybe you could gain some insight by writing them out
The answer may be to have two blogs as you have already alluded too.
People give lots of reasons for blogging, but IMHO they boil down to just one – a childish craving for the approbation of one’s peers. As Oscar once said, a young girl’s diary is private and therefore meant for publication.
There’s nothing childish about it, Henry. It drives our society.
What does? Childishness or blogging?
-There’s nothing childish about it, Henry. It drives our society.
-What does? Childishness or blogging?
Both, I guess… ;-) (life is full of choices)
… it will be fun to read both blogs, I’m looking forward it!
I will read both. Thanks for the info Henry.
I’m finding it difficult to keep up with the many weblogs I keep discovering, but I will save a bookmark to your new blog.