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

We apologise for causing a gene

Posted on June 25, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

This amused me: see more Engrish The puzzle of the lost translation was solved by the first commenter on the original post, who explained that “inconvenience = gêne in French, not gène.” As in “Your knowledge of English is just … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Art appreciation class

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Here’s a shockingly bad photo* of a painting in a local restaurant. Mr E Man and I ate there for the first time last week, and had a disagreement about the interpretation of this painting. It reminded both of us … Continue reading →

Posted in art, technology | 10 Comments

Bonobos are go!

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

So you’re having a bad day at work. People are constantly demanding your attention, adding to your behemoth of a to-do list that you can’t get to because of all the interruptions. People are replying to your emails in such … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Cyborgs!

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Get Your Cyborg Name I’m yearning for nocturnal sleep, actually. And maybe a cookie. (H/T Biomechanical Operational Being Optimised for Hazardous Assassination and Rational Analysis) ETA: Get Your Monster Name That’s more like it.

Posted in meme, silliness | 3 Comments

Resoluquinox: the summer solstice update

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Wow, has it been three months already?! I’ve had mixed success with my resolutions: A) CAREERi) do everything I can to make sure I get to stay on in my job after my original two year contract expires in November. … Continue reading →

Posted in career, exercise, personal | 9 Comments

BOOM, baby!

Posted on June 19, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Baby number one of the summer has arrived! An as-yet unnamed little girl, by C-section at 2 pm PST. Many congratulations to proud parents Sally and Steve! Four more to go before July 20th, including baby #1’s cousin! One baby … Continue reading →

Posted in personal, the 2009 baby boom | 9 Comments

Outsourcing peer review

Posted on June 17, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I was interested by an article in this week’s Nature1 about the Italian government outsourcing some peer review to the American NIH. This seems like it could be a useful exercise for some governments, in some circumstances. However, I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 20 Comments

YTF?

Posted on June 16, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

My name is NOT. CATHY. My given name is Catherine, and my parents still call me that. Everyone else has called me Cath since I was 14. I don’t dislike the name Cathy itself, I just really don’t like it … Continue reading →

Posted in personal, rants | 39 Comments

Yeah yeah

Posted on June 15, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Very funny (from here) On a lighter note, do you like these beaver cup cakes my friend made for me?

Posted in Uncategorized | 46 Comments

Modern life is rubbish loud

Posted on June 11, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

So I’m loving my podcasts. I signed up for all your suggestions (and then some), and have stuck with most of them. I save the music podcasts for work; to my surprise I’ve found that spoken word works better than … Continue reading →

Posted in exercise, medicine, personal, photos, technology, Vancouver | 9 Comments