This week opened with the distressing news that Lord Sumption, supposedly someone whose judgement is entirely sound, having been a Supreme Court justice, had told a cancer sufferer live on air that [her life was less valuable than others](https://www.theguardian.com/law/2021/jan/17/jonathan-sumption-cancer-patient-life-less-valuable-others). Pretty disgusting stuff that, to me, seems to show a type of thinking that is similar to eugenics;

I am due up for vaccination in the very near future. This is good news. But it's tempered.

I am due up for vaccination in the very near future. This is good news. But it’s tempered.

A discourse of 'fairness' has emerged in open-access circles in recent years. It has come from a sense that big, for-profit publishers have not played 'fairly' with libraries over the past 30 years. It is unsurprising. These large publishers make margins of 35%+ on billions of dollars of revenue, even while library budgets stagnate.

There was some research earlier this year that I thought was apt for the pandemic, showing that [realism is key to being happy](https://theconversation.com/why-realism-is-the-key-to-wellbeing-new-research-139717), not optimism or pessimism.

There was some research earlier this year that I thought was apt for the pandemic, showing that realism is key to being happy, not optimism or pessimism.

I have, today, submitted the manuscript of my book, currently titled Warez: The Economic Aesthetics and Alternative Reality Games of the Topsite Scene to the publisher!

I have, today, submitted the manuscript of my book, currently titled _Warez: The Economic Aesthetics and Alternative Reality Games of the Topsite Scene_ to the publisher!

On the same day as I [submitted my next book manuscript](https://eve.gd/2021/01/03/i-have-submitted-the-warez-book/), I am pleased to be able to say that [Reading Peer Review](https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/reading-peer-review/42F027E4C67D246DD8C3AC440A68C7A7), my 7 ^th academic book, has been published by Cambridge University Press.

My Ph.D. supervisors were not particularly hands on. This was not slacking on their part -- it suited me just fine and they could see that I had the thesis project in hand. There was a lesson from one of my supervisors that I will never forget, though. I was writing my first conference paper proposal/abstract. I felt it wasn't quite right and asked for his advice.

My Ph.D. supervisors were not particularly hands on. This was not slacking on their part – it suited me just fine and they could see that I had the thesis project in hand. There was a lesson from one of my supervisors that I will never forget, though. I was writing my first conference paper proposal/abstract. I felt it wasn’t quite right and asked for his advice.