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

Hockey pool, week 25

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

First of all, many thanks to everyone who’s shared the update posting burden! I’m happy to take it from here as we enter the final couple of weeks, but your help is greatly appreciated – the pool became a bit … Continue reading →

Posted in hockey pool | 20 Comments

Typo-chondria

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I received an interesting request last week from one of my colleagues: “Please provide an update on the [gene name] ozone OCD”. The email in question was sent to me, several other colleagues, and some of our external collaborators. The tell-tale … Continue reading →

Posted in career, communication, English language, technology | 8 Comments

It’s Friday, Friday!

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Yesterday was Thursday! Tomorrow is Saturday! And Sunday comes afterwards! (Lyrics courtesy of a strong contender for The Worst Song Of All Time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2LRROpph0 I’m so happy about today’s events (more on that later) that I no longer feel depressed … Continue reading →

Posted in current affairs, drunkenness, food glorious food, music, photos, politics, silliness, videos | 27 Comments

Lunchtime Linkfest

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

A quick round-up of what I’ve been reading and listening to! There’s a great article in Current Biology (my all-time favourite journal) this week, titled “Why should biomedical scientists care about biodiversity?”. The authors argue that working on the standard … Continue reading →

Posted in current affairs, cycling, environment, music, nature, science, silliness, technology | 6 Comments

Crashing through the block

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I’ve had a bad case of blogger’s block lately, brought on by a double whammy of: 1) the worst cold I’ve had in years (which is also my third cold in 2011, ugh), and 2) News Paralysis – the state … Continue reading →

Posted in current affairs, meta, personal, politics, sport, videos, whining | 15 Comments

Bragging Rights Central: new archive post

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Keep ’em coming, folks! VWXYNot? Comment(s) of the Week: Mar 04 2011: Mike for “Mrs F. and I shall mostly be caring for a very unhappy, snotty, feverish infant tonight. Beware: this is the sort of trouble that Valentine’s day … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Bragging Rights Central: new archive post

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SAINT PATTY’S DAY!

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

(this is a re-hash of last year’s post. I’m gonna keep doing this until people stop calling it St Patty’s Day) It’s Paddy. The diminutive form of the name Patrick (or Pádraig in the original Irish form) is Paddy. Therefore it’s Saint Paddy’s day. Patty … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Gonna go where the bright lights and the big city meet

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

No red guitar (on fire*) in sight, though, just this: Two questions: 1) Why does anything need to be taken beyond anyone’s desires? Let alone a toilet, of all things? 2) Just how beautiful does anyone desire a shopping mall … Continue reading →

Posted in idiocy, rants, shopping, silliness, Vancouver | 29 Comments

Spring forward

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Woohoo, daylight saving time! Now, if only the rain would stop, it might feel like this winter will end at some point… The following conversation occurred last week, during a regular conference call with some US collaborators: Collaborator: “We were … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, silliness | 19 Comments

Germ warfare and sibling rivalry

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

A few years ago, I witnessed an interaction between two of my nephews that resulted in a moment of pure blinding insight into my own childhood. We were staying at Mr E Man’s sister’s place over Christmas, as were his … Continue reading →

Posted in family, medicine, personal | 14 Comments