UK student visas

The BBC today has news about problems with the immigration points system and letting students in.

There's a radio programme Donal MacIntyre on the subject this evening on radio 5 at 19.30 and an email address to contact the programme: donal@bbc.co.uk.

Something funny is happening; the PhD cartoonist, Jorge Cham, said he nearly got thrown out last week when he came to the UK to give a series of lectures. See his three cartoons:

• Detained Part 1
• Detained Part 2
  
• Detained Part 3

Perhaps it's this points system that is delaying the Home Office returning the passport of one of our Chinese students.

PhD comics

It's worrying when a genuine academic, even if an amusing one, isn't allowed into the UK, which is what seems to be facing Jorge Cham who does the cartoons of PhD students' problems, Piled Higher and Deeper has had trouble with the UK Borders Agency. See his cartoon at http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1243, which indicates he's on the point of being thrown out before he can do his lecture tour.

Continuing your writing

Having been enthused by Lao Tze's words to begin writing the other day, unfortunately the next issue of PhD comic is equally apposite. See here.

I've dumped lots of words from previous writing, so have crtl-c'd and crtl-v'd about 20,000 words, when I'm supposed to have produced only twenty pages.

Serious thought and crtl-z are now required.

Beginning your writing

Today's PhD comic is apposite, quoting Lao Tze on how to start writing.

PhD comics lecture

Poking fun at a PhD student's life is what PhD Comics is about, so I'd have liked to attend the Comics lecture at Oxford. It was the same time as they were voting in USA for Obama, so this is the artist's take on the Oxford experience. I like it because it is so true.