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This is perhaps the first levelheaded analysis of the current academic situation by anyone in academia.

Throughout this entire situation I have been wondering why is there such a shock that the NIH and its functions are being targeted to the detriment of both US public health and American biomedical supremacy?

There has been no secrecy in the growing resentment towards both the public health establishment and academia generally. The sentiments are not new but have accelerated in the past years. Watching this should have set off alarms for anyone whose livelihood is dependent on government-funded academic research. And yet it seems as if everyone is quite shocked that anyone wanting to target these sacred establishments might actually do so.

When I started my graduate education one of the biggest shocks to me was how politically disengaged most academics actually are. While receiving nearly all research funding and employee salaries through government grants, there is rarely an attempt at general outreach activities (besides what is mandated by grants, which tend to benefit college town rich kids, another time…) and a lack of communication to government officials about how the funding they receive benefits their jurisdiction.

This all leads to a situation where very few people know where most of the NIH’s massive budget actually goes. Knowing that it mainly goes to universities largely doesn’t help if the assumption is that universities exist largely to disseminate left wing ideology and run up exorbitant bills.

These are the days of stock buybacks contributing more to budgets than R&D. It is certainly not the days of Bell Labs.

The weather is warming up and the sun is setting much later so I’ve been able to go on a couple of outdoor runs. Certainly getting back into a routine after a lack of warm winter days/treadmill sessions to ease me through the colder months.

Here’s a view of Tussey Mountain. If you look closely you’ll see the last remaining snow (“…and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the gravity of our situation.”)

Same recipe as last week but with a shorter bulk and longer secondary fermentation. For the past few weeks I have dialed back the hydration a bit to get “prettier” loaves but I am missing the crumb texture from ~85% hydration.

Baldwin writes with a certain raw emotion that wonderfully captures the chaotic and often illogical thoughts produced after a major event. This novel covers a lot of ground on power, passion, and the search for a true self against a life of expectations.

This novel shares many similarities with Suyin’s “Winter Love” which I read earlier this year and loved. Both feature queer relationships occurring between two people one of with is rich, married/soon to be, and one is in a straight relationship. Both even share some structural similarities as reflective novels that look back on a defining relationship that was bound to end and remain secret.

The difference comes from Baldwin’s near-sighted response to his plans and ex-pat life falling apart after falling in love with a man who ended up jailed and executed for petty theft linked to desperation after the end of the relationship. As stated above, there is a certain craze and electricity going through this novel. This comes at the expense of some degree of polish in style and refinement of thought.

Suyin’s writing feels like it’s taking place far in the future from the events described. Mostly reading like a reflection occurring after much thought and acceptance. There is also a certain restraint and subtlety which extends a relatively quick plot into something that sparkles with mystery and feeling. One of the best short books I’ve read and such a shame that it hasn’t found a place on a similar shelf!

50% whole wheat, ~80% hydration, too much time in bulk