Jumping between manuscript chapters

I am still fighting toward a complete draft of my dissertation, to go to the external examiners by the end of the month.

The three central chapters — political opportunity, mobilizing structures, and repertoires — have gone to my 3rd committee member, but the other two don’t want to share his comments until we have finished going back and forth on the introduction and conclusion.

I sent a revised conclusion on Monday and am working on the latest comments on the introduction before I switch back. Today I went to the libraries on campus to have another look at Jennifer Hadden’s Networks in Contention, which we are using to situate the project in the scholarly literature.

The next version of the introduction is due at the end of the day tomorrow.

Nikon leaving the dSLR business

In a surprising if not shocking move, Nikon has announced that they will stop making new digital single lens reflex (dSLR) cameras. It’s shocking to me because ever since digital cameras have existed, Nikon dSLRs have been considered among the best by professional photographers. They’re even used on the International Space Station, where shipping anything up from Earth is so costly that there’s no reason to send anything but the best, not to mention how great photos have always been a key means of outreach for the space program.

COVID-19 in summer 2022

Despite what you might think based on the behaviour of governments and many Ontario residents, the COVID pandemic continues: ‘It’s the real deal’: Doctors warn about future wave fuelled by Omicron variants.

I am continuing much as I have for the last two years: mostly going out only for groceries and exercise walks, avoiding group events and wearing a mask when I do attend, and generally not trying to get sick at a time when illness could interrupt my dissertation completion and wedding travel plans, not to mention threaten vulnerable family members in August.

My advice: get vaccinated, keep masking, and ignore the pushy folks who will try to bully you into taking fewer precautions because they don’t want to follow them.