A Certain Slant of Light

But hey, after A WEEK I have a new passport! - their website says may take up to three weeks, so I am very impressed with this. Also have the old one back (sent separately). The photo of course strongly resembles a headshot from a C19th volume of an institution for the criminally insane at which the head doc had taken to photography and theories of physiognomy, but don't they always?

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In the world of spammyity-spam-spam:

Really, I am quite tempted to 'deliver an oral talk' (? as opposed to doing a presentation in the form of interpretative dance?) at the 13th International Congress of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (ICGO-2026 Asia) as it's in Kyoto: 'adorned with early autumn foliage, offering a serene backdrop for academic exchanges, you’ll have the chance to experience traditional tea ceremonies, stroll through ancient bamboo groves, and engage with a city that values both heritage and scientific progress'.

But am not at all tempted (more DESTROY THIS WITH FIRE & EXTREME PREJUDICE) by this solicitation:

Imagine if, instead of being buried in PDFs, your work could answer questions directly, 24/7. Not just to students, but to anyone curious, anywhere in the world.
When corporate companies, grant providers, grad students, journalists ask AI about your field, they get up to date info and not outdated summaries.
Today, your Google Scholar profile just sits there. No one can ask it questions. No one can discover the depth of your work through AI search.
AI is becoming the new search engine for expertise. And academics are invisible.
We built something to fix this. Your own .cv domain. LLM optimized. SEO optimized. Analytics. Branded URLs. Digital Chat Twin.

Ask ME the questions, please. Because, and I quote, 'No one can discover the depth of your work through AI search'. Many a true word.

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And, in fact, this week has been quite the flurry of that Dr oursin being relevant - apart from query on scholarly listserv which was well in my wheelhouse but had me going 'would be helpful to indicate what reading - apart from google search - you had done before asking for suggestions' -

Request to referee a paper on topic on which I am somewhat reluctantly considered a Nexpert, for journal in an area in which I am not.

Query from researcher about sources for a possible project of theirs.

Invitation to go and talk about the History of 'Engines of Love' (as the condoms found in William Empson's college rooms were described) in connection with an exhibition in the summer.

Have also had agreeable email exchanges with Elderly Antiquarian Bookseller friend.

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On the downside, printer is acting up, doing both being fussy about toner cartridge AND thinking there's a paper jam in Tray 1. Sigh.