JAWRA Blog

Writer’s block

Ken Lanfear — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:30:52 +0000

Ken's Montblanc pen

A minor tragedy happened the other day at JAWRA World Editorial HQ. Casey, the official JAWRA cat, jumped up for her customary mid-morning scritch and brushed my Montblanc pen to the floor. A plastic part inside cracked. OMG! I’ve used that pen for almost 30 years. It’s been all around the world producing a shelf of travel diaries. Every paper I’ve written, every speech, and (true!) every computer program has started in outline form from that gold nib. I feel struck dumb, or at least illiterate.

For those into fine pens, the pen in question is a Montblanc Generations model 320P in burgundy. It’s no longer sold to individuals because Montblanc realized it was way too good for an entry level model. Sleek and light, it fit comfortably in my pocket, and it wrote (Why do I use the past tense?) writes like a dream. The pen is a minor celebrity on the Web. It served as the model when I created a banner for the Contact USGS page.

My cherished pen now is on its way to the Montblanc pen hospital. A repair probably will cost me, but it’s only money. I just hope the parts are available.

Why all this concern over a piece of technology which has long been obsolete? Even I now take more notes on my iPad than on paper. My slide rule, once a constant companion, likely will never be used again for serious calculations. A fine pen, with its smooth feel and tactile feedback is a reminder that good writing is more than just a bunch of electrons. It is thought.

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Unhelpful reviewer comments

Ken Lanfear — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:01:48 +0000

I normally don’t get on reviewers, because I so appreciate their contributions. But, sometimes an unclear comment can make their hard work go to waste.

Under the “Literature Cited…” review category, one reviewer wrote, “There are not enough relevant references in the paper.” That’s all, no hint of what works or subject area might have been shortchanged.

What am I supposed to recommend to the author? There is no magic number of required citations. The comment sent me scrambling back to the other reviews, to see if they noted the same shortcoming, perhaps with better recommendations. Nothing there. In the end, I told the author to think about the comment but not necessarily do anything.

Lesson: Say WHAT you think and WHY. Tell the author what needs to be done to satisfy your concern.

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Wall Street Journal –> Fox “News” in pinstripes?

Ken Lanfear — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:27:21 +0000

Warm weather here at JAWRA World Editorial Headquarters. Sat outside in fountain plaza drinking a latte. The ice rink still is operating, thanks to good refrigeration, with some skaters in short sleeves.

The Wall Street Journal the other day carried an article, “No Need to Panic About Global Warming.” It was signed by 16 concerned scientists. You can check the list for yourself. 16 out of how many hundreds studying climate change who think it’s real? I was concerned a couple of years ago when the owners of Fox “News” acquired the venerable old WSJ. Are my fears realized now? Maybe it’s time to panic about the news media.

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Chop abstracts in half!

Ken Lanfear — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:02:46 +0000

Too many authors don’t realize an abstract is NOT the place for a big introduction to your study. Background information doesn’t belong here! I’ll repeat what I’ve said before: online, you have about 7 seconds to engage the reader before they go elsewhere. Don’t waste those precious first words.

Here’s some advice. Read your abstract until you come to the first sentence which tells what you actually did. Delete everything before it. Trust me, it’ll make for better reading.

In praise of Hemingway’s style There’s a nice article in the Wiley-Blackwell blog on sentence...

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In praise of Hemingway’s style

Ken Lanfear — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:05:34 +0000

There’s a nice article in the Wiley-Blackwell blog on sentence length. Recommended reading for all aspiring JAWRA authors. Ernest Hemingway started out as a reporter, and his style retained the short, crisp sentences of good reporting. I spend entirely too much of my time untangling overly complex phrasing of authors, and wishing they were more like Hemingway.

I recently accepted a paper by a Chinese author. Maybe he lacked the confidence to use the lofty and long phrases typical of science writing, or maybe his ESL teacher had wisely focused on Ernest Hemingway. In any event, he presented his work in short, declarative sentences. What a breath of fresh air! Amazingly, one reviewer took this fellow to task over his short sentences; this was one of those rare reviewer recommendations I happily told the author to ignore!

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Jim Biesecker

Ken Lanfear — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:15:46 +0000

Just received the awful news Jim Biesecker, USGS Retired, passed away today. Jim was my boss during the time we were building USGS’s water.usgs.gov website. He was a great guy to work for, one of the real characters of USGS. Buy any USGS’er a drink and you’ll surely get stories about Jim.

An adept manager, Jim was the one who found the funding (I hesitate to use the term, “slush fund!”) to create the popular real-time streamflow service. Please think of Jim next time you get your data.

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Gettin’ ready for GIS

Ken Lanfear — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:17:37 +0000

I spent the last two days going over the program of the AWRA Spring Specialty Conference on GIS, looking over the abstracts of the talks and posters, and emailing authors of those showing potential as a JAWRA paper. It’s not an exact science, so please don’t be offended if I didn’t email you. I’ll be in New Orleans this March to learn more.

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Board notes: where is JAWRA heading?

Ken Lanfear — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:48:40 +0000

Spent Friday and Saturday at the AWRA winter board meeting. One topic we discussed was where JAWRA is heading in terms of technology. So, I’ll share some of the discussion with you.

No, the paper copy is not going away! Not yet, anyway. You need to recognize, however, the online version – the version of record since 2007 – already offers features you don’t get in paper. Online readers often see color figures instead of black and white, and can access supplemental files containing data and more detailed explanations. We’re going to push the envelope a step further in 2012 to support the GIS Specialty Conference: online video, large maps, and computer code.

Recognizing some of our readers don’t even want the paper copy, AWRA will be offering a special “introductory” rate for online-only membership. You’ll get all of the content, none of the dead trees. Eventually, the paper version will become a “premium” offering for those who still want limited content delivered this way. No price schedule or time frame yet, but stay tuned to the AWRA website.

What does the slightly more distant future hold? Wiley-Blackwell already is hinting at journal apps under development. Going this direction would do away with inelegant supplemental files and embed the functionality directly into the articles. There really is no print equivalent for this type of presentation. Even the venerable old two-column format might be replaced by something more suited to your particular reading device. Remarkably, the same technology might still be able to offer two-column formatting on the fly for print-on-demand. We’re not there yet, and don’t hold me to these claims, but this stuff is coming close enough to think about.

What will not change? That’s easy: Quality! Even if a future review process requires looking at a video, rest assured that video will face the same careful scrutiny the text gets now. You deserve the best and will get the best.

It’s tempting to think the information technology we grew up with has been around forever. But, change actually as been the rule, not the exception. Think of postcards, records, black-and-white TV, VCR’s, 8-track tapes, and Captain Kirk’s communicator. Four centuries ago, some monk probably sat in a monastery and said, “You know, this moveable type just doesn’t look as good as the old handwritten scrolls. It’ll never catch on.”

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Dumb author mistakes, part n+1

Ken Lanfear — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:34:04 +0000

I just rejected a manuscript where the author failed to cite a closely-related article he had published in another journal. The two weren’t identical, but were close enough to require explanation.

Duh! Do these guys think we don’t check anything? A diligent Associate Editor made a quick search and found it. Hard to hide stuff on the Internet!

We expect authors to be forthcoming about related work, so we can make a fair, informed decision. It is not acceptable for our reviewers and editors to find it themselves.

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Blackouts today

Ken Lanfear — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:31:37 +0000

If you’ve tried to use Wikipedia today, you’ll have noticed it and many other websites have gone dark for today in protest against two proposed internet piracy bills. Our websites will stay open, though I too am naturally wary of measures promoted to protect big music and movie interests. There remains a great danger of shutting out dissent and innovation.

I will repeat JAWRA’s policy to scrupulously respect the letter and the spirit of copyright law. (See my Rights Management posting.) Responsible publishing by authors and editors remains the preferred enforcement tool.

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