Doug Clow
@dougclow.bsky.social
I help people understand things and change them, with data. Views here my own.
"I can't quite work out whether you're a tremendously silly man, a tremendously serious man or, as I suspect, a rather unholy combination of both."
dougclow.org/contact
"I can't quite work out whether you're a tremendously silly man, a tremendously serious man or, as I suspect, a rather unholy combination of both."
dougclow.org/contact
One of the things I like about the sort of consultancy I've been doing since leaving academia is the hit rate on proposals being so very high. I sometimes cross over in to creative agency type stuff, which is fun, but has truly ridiculous levels of proposal effort vs expected value, which is no fun.
November 28, 2025 at 6:37 PM
One of the things I like about the sort of consultancy I've been doing since leaving academia is the hit rate on proposals being so very high. I sometimes cross over in to creative agency type stuff, which is fun, but has truly ridiculous levels of proposal effort vs expected value, which is no fun.
Oh well done, that's absolutely brilliant! My track record for getting academic research grants is way better than my track record for small charities. Both can be brutal in terms of success rates, so excellent work there.
November 28, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Oh well done, that's absolutely brilliant! My track record for getting academic research grants is way better than my track record for small charities. Both can be brutal in terms of success rates, so excellent work there.
Correction! @gavlebocken.bsky.social is in the Town Hall square (Rådhusesplanaden), not the castle square (Slottstorget) where he was traditionally and the town is building a new cultural centre. I guess they wouldn't want the view obstructed or, heaven forfend, any accidental damage.
November 28, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Correction! @gavlebocken.bsky.social is in the Town Hall square (Rådhusesplanaden), not the castle square (Slottstorget) where he was traditionally and the town is building a new cultural centre. I guess they wouldn't want the view obstructed or, heaven forfend, any accidental damage.
It is technically possible to use this to distinguish between the University of York, based in Yorkshire, from York University, based in Toronto ... but in practice it doesn't help.
November 28, 2025 at 11:55 AM
It is technically possible to use this to distinguish between the University of York, based in Yorkshire, from York University, based in Toronto ... but in practice it doesn't help.
Oh brilliant! What a corker. Lovely. Thank you.
November 28, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Oh brilliant! What a corker. Lovely. Thank you.
The location is not far from me and I’ve been many times, but forget the connection every time!
November 27, 2025 at 1:57 PM
The location is not far from me and I’ve been many times, but forget the connection every time!
Yeah I mean most of the sector has seen insolvency looming and so they are doing redundancies, even though workloads are increasing. Dundee was (we hope) an outlier in terms of being on top of their own finances but the situation is terrible and the government is making it worse.
November 25, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Yeah I mean most of the sector has seen insolvency looming and so they are doing redundancies, even though workloads are increasing. Dundee was (we hope) an outlier in terms of being on top of their own finances but the situation is terrible and the government is making it worse.
Maybe, but also possible he has boosted its popularity with one of the few groups in the country for whom his favourability is not so bad (children who have only the dimmest idea who he is). Not the first time he has delighted people who will never vote for him and infuriated those who might.
November 25, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Maybe, but also possible he has boosted its popularity with one of the few groups in the country for whom his favourability is not so bad (children who have only the dimmest idea who he is). Not the first time he has delighted people who will never vote for him and infuriated those who might.
Perhaps enticed by the delights of Woburn Sands’ Christmas Fayre this afternoon but frustrated by the lack of public transport on Sundays: even the exciting new(ish) Loop bus service around Milton Keynes, calling at Woburn Sands, is not running today.
November 23, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Perhaps enticed by the delights of Woburn Sands’ Christmas Fayre this afternoon but frustrated by the lack of public transport on Sundays: even the exciting new(ish) Loop bus service around Milton Keynes, calling at Woburn Sands, is not running today.
He won’t have got far, no service on the Marston Vale line on Sunday. And one could use him as a metaphor for the average line speeds when it is running (and not replaced by bus).
November 23, 2025 at 3:18 PM
He won’t have got far, no service on the Marston Vale line on Sunday. And one could use him as a metaphor for the average line speeds when it is running (and not replaced by bus).
Hice. Pronounced like Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would describe a modest dwelling.
November 22, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Hice. Pronounced like Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would describe a modest dwelling.
Yeah, total bummer, he was trying to help and putting a load of effort in.
November 21, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Yeah, total bummer, he was trying to help and putting a load of effort in.