Tom Roper's Weblog

Richard Smith's valedictory editorial in the BMJ

bmj.com Smith 329 (7460): 242
Richard Smith's valedictory editorial at the BMJ, before he leaves for PLOS. He says, among other things, that medicine would be better served by fewer, better journals that concentrate on readers not authors, with original research available freely on the web.

2004 Bullwer Lytton prize

Good to see the 2004 B-L prize won by a chap who likens the ending of an affair  "Martha Stewart ripping the sand vein out of a shrimp's tail". When I was at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons we had a full set of a first edition of B-L's works sitting untouched in the historical collection, God knows why. No veterinary connection that I could see.

First day of Goodwood

Just one today, also my nap of the day for the RP competition:
315 Betfair Cup: Byron

National Library for Health

There's some lively discussion on the lis-medical jiscmail list about the National Library for Health.
Look in the July archives

Selections: Queen Elizabeth & King George

Selections for today

York 325 Skybet Dash (Heritage Handicap): Machinist
Ascot 345 totesport International Stakes (Heritage Handicap): Ettrick Water
Ascot 425 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes: Gamut
This last selection is also my nap of the day in the Racing Post's Search for a Tipster competition

National Library for Health

Download nlhbsms.pps

Download BloggingforBSMSreferences.pdf

Yesterday BSMS hosted one of the National Library for Health's workshops.
Here's a brief presentation I gave, and a references list.

Tolpuddle: a more considered account

As promised, a more considered account.
Weather: OK, rain on Sunday morning, stopped me running, though ~I ran and got lost in the woods above Athelhampton on the Saturday
Numbers: lots of people there (we didn’t go last year, for reasons I can’t quite recall, so I'm comparing with 2002 not 2003)
Politics: well, Tolpuddle is always Tolpuddle, so Labour party stalwarts are wheeled out to do their stuff: this year Hazel Blears and Hilary Benn. But no doubt about what the crowd thought, it was Iraq that was the issues of the day
Music: the Oyster Band captivated my children, aged 12 and 10). I've always found them a bit bombastic, but enjoyed it nevertheless
Billy Bragg sang the following:
Sexuality
NPWA
She Came Along to me
The Wolf Covers its Tracks
Like Soldiers Do
To Have and to have not
Which Side Are You On
Between The Wars
Power In a Union
Waiting for the Great Leap Forward

I'm indebted to the Billy Bragg forums at : http://www.billybragg.co.uk/forums/index.php for the set listing

BioMed Central comment on Scientific publications: free for all?

BioMed Central have issued a press release with their reactions to Scientific Publications: Free for all?

House Of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology Tenth Report Scientific Publications: Free for all?

It is now up there.
Select Committee on Science and Technology Tenth Report Session 2003-04
Scientific Publications: Free for all?
PDF of main report
PDF of oral & written evidence
The report is 118 pages and the evidence 487 pages long.
I can't improve on the Open Access News summary of the recommendations and Peter Suber's version on the SPARC OA Forum

HoCS&TC Inquiry into Scientific Publications reports...or perhaps not

The press notice says: "The Science and Technology Committee will publish its Tenth Report of Session 2003-04, Scientific Publications: Free for all? (HC 399), at 0001 hours on Tuesday 20 July 2004".

But is it there? No and it's now 7.57, BST. Good job I didn't stay up for it.
However Peter Suber, who must have had an advance copy as he submitted evidence, has put a summary up on Open Access News