Author Archives: Cath@VWXYNot?

About Cath@VWXYNot?

"one of the sillier science bloggers [...] I thought I should give a warning to the more staid members of the community." - Bob O'Hara, December 2010

The timers they are a-changin’

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

When my parents were visiting earlier this year, my Mum asked me why I don’t wear a watch any more. “I just use my iPhone”, I explained. “But don’t you miss having a watch?” “No. Strapping a device to your … Continue reading →

Posted in career, grant wrangling, personal, science, silliness, technology | 18 Comments

Useful resources for trainees

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

As part of my new role as the go-to person for everything related to my department’s trainees, I’ve put together a list of resources that I thought some readers might also find useful or interesting. The list is posted at … Continue reading →

Posted in career, communication, education, grant wrangling, publishing, science | 4 Comments

Wonderin’ Underground

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Some of the signs I saw while riding the Montreal metro made me wonder just how safe the system is: Beware of gigantic creepy tickle monsters!  And also freaky parasitic alien pregnancies! At least they’ve painted the parts of the … Continue reading →

Posted in freakishness, photos, silliness, travel | 19 Comments

I’M SORRY!!!

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

This article suddenly made me feel just terrible about the many mutations I’ve introduced into all those poor genes and their promoters!  

Posted in bad people, English language, fun with language, science, screenshots, silliness | 8 Comments

Expat: a musical in three acts

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Setting: Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom Act I: 54-40 (A whole room full of drunken Canadians is jumping up and down in ecstasy, singing along with every word of every song. Within the crowd is a group of friends, most of whom … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, embarrassing fan girl, music, personal, UK, Uncategorized, Vancouver, videos | 23 Comments

MIRABILIS!

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I just received a package from home: Yeah. Some of these are going up next to my desk at work. Unfortunately, my parents’ local post office was all sold out of Jessica’s stamp, though…

Posted in embarrassing fan girl, family, photos, silliness, sport, UK | 12 Comments

What’s in a name?: towards the development of a novel analysis of grant titles

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about how I’m going to be responsible for helping all trainees in my new department identify, apply for, and manage their awards (comment on my post, you bastards please!). I’ve spent some time … Continue reading →

Posted in career, English language, fun with language, grant wrangling, science | 23 Comments

Be careful what you wish for…

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

…because you might just get it. I wished for Mr E Man to get a job, after a couple of months in which the local movie industry was as quiet as Stephen Harper’s conscience and two non-movie job offers both … Continue reading →

Posted in first world problems, furry friends, personal, rants, whining | 14 Comments

Ask The Blogosphere – how can we help trainees with their studentship & fellowship applications?

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I mentioned in a recent post that part of my job is going to involve specialising in something that I’d previously listed as a long-term career goal. As you’ve probably already guessed from this post’s title, I’m now ready (with … Continue reading →

Posted in career, education, grant wrangling, science | 13 Comments

Progress!

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I just made a to-do list for next week that contains: more instances of “follow up with X about Y”; more entries that start with the words “organise”, “set up”, or “finalise”; many more acronyms (and initials instead of full … Continue reading →

Posted in blog buddies, camping, career, silliness | 5 Comments