sloppyminutes

How well known outside Canada is the politically-inspired Rhytisma epidemic in maple trees, caused by the mayor of Montreal’s attempt to stop illicit sex in the park?

I have two questions. First question: are you gay? And second, why are you gay?

I hope this message finds you well.

Jim, were the Dexter books your biggest inspiration for creating the show or did they just lay the framework for an idea you were interested in? Besides Michael C Hall, if you could pick any three actors to see audition for the role (from the pilot) today, who would you pick?

Hi! A lot of the intended readers of published academic research already have free access to it, paid by their university or company. What kind of change in readership are open access publishers interested in? Is there more of an effort to reach people in developing countries, for example, or to make the academic papers easier/more exciting to read for a non-academic audience?

I think PLoS's recent progress update report shows that they're interested in making scientific research more approachable, and that they are succeeding. There's less (positive) focus on impact factor (much more criticism) and more focus on readability, downloads, and social media.