I'm not the only one!

It's nice to see someone else had the same response to seeing the Mona Lisa as I did. I'd also like to complain about the 50 other tourists gathered round desperately trying to take photos in spite of the conditions & spoiling my already terrible view.

LOTRO is cheaper

I just installed a piece of equipment that cost the school over $18000. Its a spectrophotometer about half the size of a slimline computer. While browsing through the functions I found a section entitled "games" I then played tetris on this machine for 5 minutes. I resisted sudoku.

I would say that this was the most expensive computer game I've ever played, but I remember playing patience on an atomic absorbtion spectrophotometer that cost the company I worked for over $20000 at least ten years ago. At least that machine had the excuse of being attached to a windows based computer. The new one is a little unit with it's own screen and numeric keyboard.

a real academic

On Monday my business cards arrived. This morning I got a rejection letter for the first paper that I wrote myself. I am now a real academic.
It's one of those "deal with the critiques and you're welcome to resubmit" rejections. Since the critiques were mainly about things I thought were weaknesses in the paper, I'm happy to work on them - but it may take some time :P
I'm choosing to see it as a sign that my instincts about what makes an acceptable paper may actually be right. I submitted because the lab time I had to do this work was over, so I worked with what I had found. Must find more lab time (I do have some funds to do it in).

havent blogged in a while

I've been designing new curriculum (ok, sitting in the room and asking questions while other people design curriculum), writing lectures and pracs - new subject...I'm writing bird lectures and bee lectures and designing a project for a student to do. So lots of things I've never done before. I just came back from holidays and got sick enough to stay in bed for 4 days, then I came back to work, while still convalescing and so I'm quite tired. Things are only going to get busier, so i really should get back on anyway. But those are all my excuses.

I still have to finish the Britain holiday stuff on my blog and I've since been on another holiday. Even my recreation is getting on top of me.

BTW, while looking for a journal article to use as a statistics example for vet students, I came across a paper on measuring dog flatulence on different soy based diets....soooo tempted to use this one.

Shades of British travel

I was on Holidays in Kentucky and Sydney for a week and got home today. My flight from Sydney was delayed due to technical difficulties, resulting in a new plane, a missed connection in Brisbane and my luggage has not arrived with me. They may get it to me tonight some time...I hope.
Anyone want to fly with me ?

so cold

I am training for a trip to the coldest part of NSW in a couple of weeks by doing a walk in Freezer clean up. I'm spending about 2 hours a day in there. My nose goes numb, my fingers go numb, the cold seems through my shoes. And boy, is there a lot of old rubbish in there. I'll probably end up with a cold from the rapid fluctuations in temperature.

back to the Britain trip - day 9

Yup, frightened of spiral staircases. After doing some sales shopping at The Edinburgh Woolen Mill, I went for a hike around Clifford Castle. I felt terrified and dizzy on the spiral staircases. It didn't help that Clifford Castle was built on a large mound of earth that couldn't support the weight of the walls properly. This meant that one wall slumped sideways (big crack in wall) and the spiral staircases, as well as being spiral, are on an angle. The mound of dirt had been put there for an earlier fort and the stone castle walls were an upgrade if I remember rightly. Clifford Castle was also the site of a massacre of Jews during a dark period in York History. There is a memorial to it at the front of the castle. This was one of the periods that the castle burned down (only the stone walls remain).
After this i went to the merchant adventurers hall. This is an impressive example of how the earth build to bury stuff. the hall which was used at one point as a hospice, is much lower than the gardens outside - they have flooding issues and have had for hundreds of years. But I think it used to be much higher up. The gardens just got higher over time. I also had coffee in the oldest Coffee house in York (very tall skinny cafe restaurant now, about 3 or 4 floors and the staircase was not quite spiral)
Next on my quest to do everything was, in order; Visit to the treasurers house, the railway museum and high tea at Betty's - very posh & I have photos (i am such a tourist). After that I did a 2 hour walking tour. I got home at 9pm and planned the next day for maximum efficiency. My feet were very sore, but the skies had been lovely and blue so I took advantage of it.

Clifford Castle spiral staircase

Merchant Adventurers Guild

High tea

Roman fort tower wall (with more recent wall - medieval - on top)

christmas presents

This morning when I got in, I had an email from GenBank informing me my sequence would be released to the public on the 25th of December. How's that for a christmas present, my first sequence data. :)
Then after I had coffee, I had another email informing me I now had access to an account code for discretionary spending (read research and conferences and business cards etc).
Of course, this is money I should have had access to in August, and the statement online says it is 2007 money (I get more next year & this should roll over) and since it arrived today, on the last day of work, after all the supply businesses, ordering system and printery has closed, I can't spend any of it till next year anyway.
However, I was expecting to still be fighting for access to the money in six months.
I wonder if I can get business cards printed before I get to Sydney in January?

here tis...or at least the close up

I haven't found a full shot I like yet...I may go with the official one on the stage recieving the certificate. I look insufferably smug in it though.

three days and counting

I got my PhD gown yesterday. I've tried it on - its very heavy and the sleeves drop to mid-calf level. Now I have to buy an outfit to go under it

floppy hats away!

I will definitely be going to the graduation ceremony on the 15th December 2007. I will definitely be wearing a blue floppy hat :)
I was talking to someone yesterday who will be graduating at the next graduation in april 2008. She also wants to wear the blue floppy hat & claims a large part of doing the PhD was to wear the hat. It's not just me who did my PhD so I could play dress-ups. Anyone else do the time to wear the gown?

my head hurts

I finally had time to do some admin stuff, sent it away and both lots came back with: please update/change certain things. None of these fixes are easy, I'm not sure if they are relevant or correct either, so I'll have to think about it, ascertain the validity of the change and then either spend much time doing the changes or penning a coherent reply explaining why I think I shouldn't do changes. I also have an eyestrain headache from all the reading I've been doing, without glasses, bad jenny.

Anyone else have issues wearing glasses while lying down to read? I don't like the way they squish and move when I roll onto my side. Maybe I need contacts.

not playing, reading

My temporary surge of energy has gone...once again i have no enthusiasm for anything that requires thought. There sits LOTRO, all paid up and all I want to do is reread some of my old favourite novels. I have decided this is because I know I will enjoy them without having to invest any mental energy in them. Aha! I'm brain tired. Maybe its the post PhD brain shut-down. My brain has said "you don't need me any more" and gone for a walk...it may be some time.

Day 8

BTW my parents came home today from their Scotland trip. Their flights home were apparently quite lovely. A combination of flying Qantas and much prayer.

On the 8th day of my Scotland trip,
I went to castle Howard;
1.5hr bus trip from york
8 pound 80p return
long walks on the grounds
tame peacocks everywhere!
a really cool fountain
roman statues and mosaics
Gainsborough's on the wall
and some weslydale cheese

I know it doesn't scan...but I would have had to make something up for it to fit.
BTW they were also filming the new version of brideshead revisited there (same place the first one was filmed).

The banks of the river Ouze were overflowing on this day too...I couldn't walk the paths.

wearing a floppy hat

I am 99% sure I will be "presenting" at the graduation ceremony in December. This is what you do if the PhD has already been conferred but you want to attend the ceremony in full gear and shake somebody's hand. I've always said I did the PhD so I could wear a blue velvet floppy hat...so I'm not missing out on it. I've sent in my paperwork. Now to keep a finger on the pulse so it doesn't get lost.

quicker than NaNoWriMo

This is more my style of writing...and it takes less time

Miss Cranky Pants

I'm tired, so tired. Every time someone says something I disagree with, I get snappy. Partly because I'm too tired to think rationally about my arguments. Today at lunch we had a discussion about Dawkins "the god delusion" and "is there any proof of god". I tried to point them just in the direction of Marco's blog and Dr Clams' blog directly, but no-one seemed that interested in actually reading something someone else had written that I found interesting and relevant. They just wanted my opinion...and I'm tired, cranky and not able to string two thoughts together.
I also get cranky when my argument for not reading something (which is as follows) "I've read for and against reviews that indicate I won't enjoy it and I have limited time and very limited energy for things I know I won't enjoy, so i choose not to read them" is answered by "you can't make a judgement without reading the book".

Yes actually, I can. And its something we all do every day when making choices about what we believe or decisions we are going to make. In an information age, it is not possible to examine every piece of information about every factor in our lives before making choices. Our time is not infinite. Even in science we usually start with reviews to get a big picture before deciding on how much detail to examine. And as Marco said "I'm not Dawkins target audience"

Ooh, that vent felt gooood.

the rest of the day seven pics

York Baptist Church


The view from the wheel


me on the wall - the slightly pained look is me trying to smile while figuring out whether I have the camera far enough away and pointed in the right direction


a view of the wall


remains of a roman tower from the original roman fort as viewed from the wall

heh

Middle ages tech support

Some day people may look at computer training videos and find them just as rediculous

Day seven: sunday

I went to church this morning at York Baptist. Good service and the light streamed in through coloured glass windows. Afterwards I rode the Yorkshire wheel and then walked the walls. There was a brief sunshower so I pulled out my umbrella. A gust of wind promptly broke it. Then the sun came out again. After the walls I went to Bettys, hoping for a late lunch, but it was very, very full. So I went to Marks and spencers and shopped for a while. when I came out, the roads weren't packed and were very wet so there was either a rainstorm or a flash flood to clear the streets while I'd been in Marks & sparks. Still trying to find a meal, I was caught in another rainstorm and took shelter in the roman museum. I finally had coffee and a giant cookie at Starbucks. I do believe it was the first starbucks coffee of my life. Nice but no better than Gloria Jeans.
After this, I climbed the minster tower (276 steps). I also found out I have developed a fear of spiral staircases. Going up was scary as I was thinking the whole way that I'd have to come down again and there was no hand rail at some points. There were times going down that I sat on the stairs and used hands, feet and butt to work my way down. I never used to be afraid of spiral staircases. perhaps I'm developing a sense of my own mortality (or morality as one of my students wrote).
Dinner was a leek and cheese pasty with an apple and rasberry pasty for dessert. I walked home in rain so heavy that in spite of a roughly fixed umbrella, my shoes squelched and my jeans were wet to the knee. Thunder and lightning even!
Much walking today. There'll be pics once blogger fixes the glitch.

climbing the minster - in sheer terror

The view from the top of the minster