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

A very retro seminar

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

(now that Big Complicated Grant has progressed to the next stage and I can draw breath again, let’s see if I can remember how to write about anything other than hockey!) I believe I’ve mentioned in the past that I … Continue reading →

Posted in cancer research, career, evolution, genomics, original research, science, technology | 5 Comments

Somewhere there’s a village…

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Just in time for the playoffs, a song from CBC’s The Irrelevant Show for all the Canadian hockey fans out there – or indeed anyone whose team, in any sport, has lost any final game in any competition. Awesome.

Posted in Canada, music, silliness, sport, videos | 9 Comments

Final hockey pool results UPDATED WITH BRACKET INFO

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Well, last weekend, this photo somehow got posted on Twitter: Were the 40% correct? Let’s see! Here’s the graph of everyone’s points from the start of the season until the end of last week, i.e. not including the final week’s … Continue reading →

Posted in hockey pool | 15 Comments

For whom the NHL polls

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

From the NHL website* today: Well I don’t know about you, but I’m convinced! Looking forward to watching the Canucks-Flames game dahn the pub with Modscientist, Lavaland and Beth on Saturday… 40% of hockey pool contestants agree that it will … Continue reading →

Posted in blog buddies, hockey pool, photos, screenshots, silliness, sport | 4 Comments

CATH GRUMPY

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Our home internet’s down. It went down on Saturday, and came back on for a few hours on Sunday before the blessed “online” light on the modem went off again. It’s done this a few times before, and always switched … Continue reading →

Posted in cycling, first world problems, personal, photos, rants, technology, whining | 14 Comments

Radical reform of peer review and research support, or rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic?

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

OR More on the proposed reforms at the CIHR, which I first blogged about last month after taking my first look at the discussion document they published. I’ve since read the document in much greater detail, and also attended an … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, career, grant wrangling, politics, science | 6 Comments

Hockey Pool, Week 25

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Well, with two weeks remaining, it just got very interesting! My goalie-fu deserted me last week, and ditching Malkin after his disappointing week 24 proved to be a big mistake as his points contributed to excellent week 25 scores for … Continue reading →

Posted in hockey pool | 12 Comments

“What’s the difference between Mick Jagger and a Scottish farmer?”

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Thus begins the last really good joke I heard, several years ago now; answer at the bottom! I recently realised that I never hear new jokes any more. I had an actual joke book as a small kid, and my … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, communication, family, fun with language, furry friends, personal, silliness, UK | 33 Comments

That’s a new one

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Also seen: “five hundred thousand cells”; “fifty micrograms”; “forty eight hours”. Amazingly enough, I was able to cut the length of the Materials and Methods section by more than twenty one percent >21%.

Posted in career, English language, science, screenshots, silliness | 25 Comments

If George R.R. Martin was a scientist

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

SPOILER ALERT! I’ve tried to be as general as possible, but there may be some very minor spoilers in this post for people who aren’t as far through the A Song of Ice and Fire series as I am (I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, career, communication, embarrassing fan girl, furry friends, publishing, science, silliness, snow | 37 Comments