Fast(er) Track Peer Review

(New York, NY) - BREAKING: Following the recent announcement of a fast-track peer-review option at Scientific Reports, competing journals are pleased to announce their own revolution.

For just $749, authors can now opt-in to ReviewWare's RPS [rock–paper–scissors] peer-review track, which decides each scientific manuscript's fate by a single game of rock–paper–scissors* between the Corresponding Author and a qualified External Referee.

Source: Science Daily

Games Reviews will be conducted over Skype with an editor / adjudicator. To maintain anonymity, the external reviewer will be required to wear a glove. To accommodate increasing requests for double-blind peer review, the author selected to take part in the rock–paper–scissors duel can also choose to be gloved, thus masking his or her "identity."

Should the peer-review process result in the authors' Paper being shredded by the reviewer's Scissors (or their Rock wrapped in Paper, or their Scissors blunted by Rock), then a small additional fee allows authors to select our enhanced "Best-of-Three!" peer-review option.

Following this rigorous new review process does not obviate successfully-reviewed authors from paying standard journal processing fees. No one's that lucky.

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*For an additional $100, authors can choose the more interactive "Bear Ninja Cowboy" package. Costumes cost extra.

Confused? Check the date.

Chemistry Jam Session

I spoke at length with a good friend last night, and remembered how cathartic and enlightening it can be to talk shop; not just about molecules and reactions, but the nitty-gritty, daily ephemera that make science both so frustrating, and yet so rewarding.

Birds of a feather...

We discussed waste disposal, how living downwind of Kansas cement kilns might make you sick. We talked "up-and-comers" of the synthetic world, and how they pay their bills. Topics seemed to flow effortlessly then - silly boss comments, hierarchical Asian educational systems, company policies on travel for conferences, or how much a journal subscription should cost. The "new" (old) coinage metals. Grandstanding. Hilarious interview bloopers. The virtues and pitfalls of reading outside one's field. Though perhaps cliche, "where we'll be in 10 years" may have received some airtime.


Juggling schedules might be hard, but it's ultimately worthwhile to keep that appointment, write that review, or have a beer with an old colleague. You'd be amazed how great it feels to commiserate, compare, and re-connect.