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April 10th, 2009
10:03 pm - tweets
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March 30th, 2009
10:02 pm - tweets
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January 22nd, 2009
02:13 pm - Abstract of Lord of the Rings for students who are too busy to read the original
The Lord of the Rings:
an allegory of the PhD?
by Dave Pritchard
The story starts with Frodo: a young hobbit, quite bright, a bit dissatisfied with what he's learnt so far and with his mates back home who just seem to want to get jobs and settle down and drink beer. He's also very much in awe of his tutor and mentor, the very senior professor Gandalf, so when Gandalf suggests he take on a short project for him (carrying the Ring to Rivendell), he agrees.
( The rest )
I think I'm approaching Mount Doom
Current Location: lab
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January 16th, 2009
11:47 am - Swimming in circles
Diving is dangerous, even without getting in the water. Last night while sorting out the equipment for Sunday's diving adventure, I was loading the gear into the trailer. When I tried to rearrange it so the gear was loaded further in, the trailer tilted forwards so it came down on my toe. It made a god awful noise, partially the trailer and the gear being flung around, and partly me screaming.
Once someone got me some ice I decided that it wasn't so bad, and drove home, but today purple has spread to the foot and I'm wondering how much fun it will be to be wearing fins on the weekend. I've just had a consult with my local friendly lab doctor-to-be (medical, not philosophical) and the gist is I should be nice to it for a while.
I think I'll come diving, but I'll see how I go re whether I wear fins or try to manage without.
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November 5th, 2008
04:37 pm - maybe we can live in the US after all
I'm glad that's over. After several months of intensely following US news I might be able to do some work again. And it's such a thrashing, by electoral colleges anyway.
Jesse and I are still considering moving the the US for a while once I finish my PhD. This makes it seem a little less crazy. not that we were really considering red states anyway. All the good ones that we wanted to live in seem to be solidly blue.
Now they just have to make their food edible, and I'm there.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/goth_girl/happy.gif) jubilant
Current Music: Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2
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June 26th, 2008
10:30 pm - Down with the hypnotoad
I'm never watching futurama again. I was watching it more than an hour ago,and my laugh induced cough (ALL HAIL THE HYPNOTOAD) is only now beginning to lull now that I've had a shower, despite working my way through a packet of Soothers. I was worried that this cough not finish before all my teeth fell out.
I'm sure the cough was going round the airconditioning on the plane back from Cairns, since we've all been ill since returning. Despite the aftermath,it was a great trip. It was fun to go on a group holiday - it was me, Jesse, Susan and Kerry (WEHIettes). We fulfilled one of my childhood ambitions to go to the Daintree, where we managed to get really close to a cassowary without getting pecked to death, or whatever the Casso-wary signs are trying to warn you about.
We also went diving on the Barrier Reef. It's going to make it really hard to go diving in Victoria again, where the water definitely drops well below 24 degrees in Winter, where I'm not on a boat where they look after all the gear for you, and where there aren't thousands of awesome creatures in all directions.
I hope the cough feels better by tomorrow, as I can't really take tomorrow off. I was home on Wednesday and tomorrow is my last chance to do a culture experiment before i have to give my next division seminar. One of the joys of doing a PhD in my lab is the twice yearly opportunity to give an hour long seminar in front of all your favourite lab heads. It really rams home just how little you've accomplished since the last one. it does however provide inspiration to try to pull together loose ends and sketchy theories into some kind of coherent narrative.
So yay, a whole bunch of work to do over the next couple of weeks. (I only have about five slides that are waiting for experiments I haven't done yet, which isn't totally unachievable).
And climbing dudes - I'm not up for it tomorrow, I'm not going to be able to top last weeks effort with this cough. (And I wouldn't trust me to belay anyone in this state).
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March 30th, 2008
06:53 pm - Ant vs Moth
One of the nice things about living one floor above the ground is the lack of insect life you get in the house. It's all a bit too hard for ants and cockroaches and spiders to get to our house, so mostly they don't bother.
Unfortunately, creatures with wings don't feel the same way, and for moths, whose ultimate aim is the reach the moon, our house is but a cosy inn on the way. It's so comfortable that some of them have given up their lunar quest and instead devoted their lives to eating all the grain and nuts they can find and reproducing, which makes disgusting wriggly little things that look a lot like moving grains of rice that float.
( The part of the story where the ants come in )
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/goth_girl/thoughtful.gif) pensive
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July 10th, 2007
06:04 pm - Green
I have been reading Tim Flannery's The Weather Makers, his book on climate change. By the time I got to the end I had an overwhelming feeling of doom, and that I really should go to the reef sooner rather than later. (Screw overseas, that's our next trip. And to the daintree. It doesn't sound like that's going to be the same for much longer either).
So anyway, the only thing I could think of doing was checking to see whether our electricity was carbon neutral or not. I thought it not entirely coal, but I couldn't remember if it was 100% or not. (Turns out it was 80% Hydro, 20% wind). I discovered that Origin have carbon neutral gas, where they offset your gas carbon. So I told them I wanted it, and someone from there just called me, and told me that if I wanted it, I had to stop paying extra for my green electricity, and they'd do some package green gas electricity deal where it costs the same as coal. So for a $1 less a week, I get carbon neutral energy sponsored by the AFL, and they are sending me some globes and a new shower head in the mail. Too easy.
So those of you who are in the country / not about the leave the country and who influence the energy decisions in your place, you can make your energy carbon neutral at no cost. And I know that whether i opt for green energy or not, doesn't really influence whether my personal energy comes from wind or not, but if enough people are paying for it, they'll have to build the infrastructure to match the numbers. Anything to get away from brown coal would be good.
And a little less stupid than the government (and the oppostion's) plan to avoid climate change still using coal, but just burying all the CO2. If it works great - but I doubt they are going to be able to make a big difference in the next 20 years, by which stage it's probably too late.
Current Location: wehi
Current Mood: chipper
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June 17th, 2007
11:27 am - 2am Saturday Night:
The time that muscle ache from rockclimbing on Friday night kicks in.
Current Location: home
Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: Smashing Pumpkins - Today
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May 24th, 2007
08:39 pm - Excitement!
It's cold. Lucky I'm going to Summer on Saturday.
Current Location: home
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: the heater
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April 29th, 2007
05:54 pm - Stoichiometry, be my friend
Stoichiometry was a total piece of piss at high school, but when i try to use some in a practical way my ability to divide stuff by 1000 deserts me.
All i want to do is convert a 100uM (where u is micro because I'm too noob to make the computer speak greek) solution of primers into a concentration such that 1ul contains 3.2pM. It took a half hour debate to come up with an answer.
Arghh, I can't do science on the weekends. (during the week is struggle enough).
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April 5th, 2007
01:21 pm - Why I read Nature
Totally for professional interest of course.
And the odd gem like this "In fact, it is very difficult to totally cremate a body; organs such as the heart and intestines, which have a high water content, are very resistant to fire. We see it all the time in forensics."
This was a comment on reports that Joan of Arc was cremated three times to get rid of all her organs so there was nothing left to worship.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v446/n7136/full/446593a.html
(probably not everyone has access, if you really care and want to read the article, let me know and I'll send you the pdf)
Current Location: lab
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/goth_girl/working.gif) busy
Current Music: Breathless - Nick Cave (In my head only)
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March 3rd, 2007
12:00 am - The Color of Magic
This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy novels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club.
Bold the ones you've read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.
( Here be dragons )
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March 2nd, 2007
11:19 pm - That was more pain than it was worth
I lost my questions and generally bollucksed (that word works much better verbally, but you get the idea) it up, but finally i reached my goal of ten questions (next time the bar is going to be set much lower). Do it so i at least get a little bit of entertainment for my effort.
Create your own Friend Test here
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January 27th, 2007
06:07 pm - I just want to get from A to B (via C, after going to D)
I feel totally thwarted. After several days of looking at various itineries, deciding on desinations and optimal flight times etc, I finally felt ready to buy tickets to travel around Thailand. I find uber cheap tickets to return from Krabi (near Ko Phi Phi and many lovely tropical fish), select them, fill in all the information they want, and then 'unable to contact credit card gateway' Fuckers.
I'm not sure what else I can do except try again. (which I have, with no luck)
And I was having trouble getting the flights to get there in the first place (from a different airline, this has been an exercise in project management with flights having to meet both my timetable, and strict budgetry constraints. I've only ever bought cheap flights, and I'm not about to give up now) because that site kept on telling me that i was no longer logged in, when I was never logged in, and when i tried to register to log in it also told me that i was no longer logged in.
I guess these are all cheap for a reason.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/goth_girl/angry.gif) frustrated
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January 22nd, 2007
07:16 pm - Music is still crap
I'm not going anywhere (except upstairs back to the hood)
Suggest some music I can listen to that won't suck.
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January 1st, 2007
06:34 am - Stupid Weather
I just said that I wanted to go for a jog - which I did, but I thought there were meant to be thunderstorms today. I thought I should get it done before it rained, but instead it was humid, and I was in danger of getting sunburnt.
I haven't been running when it's this hot in ages, and I couldn't cope, so I walked back, in case my insides melted.
It's my own fault for believing a weather prediction for Melbourne, and not actually paying attention to the weather outside. :(
Current Location: home
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/goth_girl/hot.gif) hot
Current Music: Eskimo Joe - From the sea
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December 20th, 2006
06:16 am - How much am i prepared to pay to get sweaty with a bunch of other people?
On second thoughts, don't answer that.
What I really want to know, is should I go and get gym membership at the uni gym?
Thanks to Dr Nelson, the gym prices are going up a lot next year.
Rather than $324 they will be $550. but If I pay today it will be only(ha!) $385.
And individual classes are also going up a lot, from $5.50 per class if you get a 10 pass, to $10 a class. So by a quick back of the envelope calculation, I have to go to a class 3 weeks out of 4 to make it worth while.
That wouldn't be that hard if I was dedicated, but things turn up or I can't be assed and then I don't go. I haven't been since November.
Hmm, seeing it like that, considering that I won't be going again until January makes me think that there is no point in getting the membership.
Right. Problem solved.
I'm off home then :)
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September 15th, 2006
08:28 am - je suis drunk
I"m not sure that my go-to-the-pub-while-my-samples-incubate plan was one of my better ones.
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