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 4

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

First of all, many thanks to Chall and ScientistMother for hosting the last two updates! Here are this week’s results: Congratulations to Thomas, who reclaimed top spot from Bob this week! You two must be getting lonely at the top … Continue reading →

Posted in hockey pool | 16 Comments

How the scientists stole Hallowe’en

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Here’s some classic X-Files dialogue from an episode called “How the ghosts stole Christmas“: Mulder: [alarmed at a noise] Shhh! What was that? Scully: [irritably rational] These are tricks that the mind plays. They are ingrained clichés from a thousand … Continue reading →

Posted in freakishness, photos, science, technology, television | 8 Comments

Context is everything

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Gotta love the intersection between science / clinical trial acronyms and automated word choice suggestions: Yes, lots of people eat rye bread in the former colonies, but that’s not quite what I was going for. In other news, I started … Continue reading →

Posted in English language, science, silliness, technology | 14 Comments

Loopholes

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I’m still too embroiled in deadline stresses to come up with anything original myself, so here are some little tricks and loopholes devised by two of my more ingenious friends. Use at your own peril, especially the first one… The … Continue reading →

Posted in career, silliness | 8 Comments

Derailed

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

My biweekly, half-hour progress update meetings have been running for about a year now, and are proving their usefulness yet again as I work towards Friday’s progress report deadline.The cast is never the same for two performances in a row; … Continue reading →

Posted in career, communication, science, silliness | 7 Comments

Quiz format changes – another reader poll!

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I’ve looked through the remaining pages of my now-famous desk calendar, and there is one more sciency quiz left! In the quizzes I’ve done so far, I’ve kept the comments completely open but asked that people submit only one answer … Continue reading →

Posted in competition, meta | 11 Comments

Blades of glory (with reader poll!)

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I went ice skating on Saturday! With people I barely know, for added adventurousness! Well, it was more of a shuffle than a skate, but not bad, considering I’ve only skated three times before: The first time was at primary … Continue reading →

Posted in 2010 Olympics, Canada, drunkenness, exercise, food glorious food, personal, silliness, sport | 18 Comments

Meep Meep!

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I’ve discovered another reason to keep cycling on rainy days: That’s the second one this month! The first was a scruffy little fella who suddenly appeared from a patch of mist in the cemetery when I was out for a … Continue reading →

Posted in cycling, furry friends, nature, photos, silliness, Vancouver | 4 Comments

RBO Cycling

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I’ve commuted by bicycle almost every day since I started my PhD in 1998. That’s a lot of kilometres, a lot of near accidents, a lot of hills, and a LOT of rain (we’re talking Glasgow and Vancouver here, two … Continue reading →

Posted in cycling, drunkenness, education, environment, exercise, fund raising, personal, politics, rants, Vancouver, whining | 14 Comments

Days of hours of minutes

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Cath@VWXYNot?

A blog buddy (who may or may not wish to identify themselves in the comments) posted a wee ditty on their Facebook page recently that rang very true indeed: just received something from a fellow sufferer that will only be … Continue reading →

Posted in career, communication, English language, food glorious food, medicine, science, silliness, travel | 7 Comments