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

From far and wide, O Canada

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

One of my oldest and best Vancouver friends… who was a grad student in my postdoc department… who I first met (properly) at a house party in early 2002… who turned up with a huge group of friends… who the … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, personal | 18 Comments

Silver linings

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

There’s one good thing about the Canucks being out of the playoffs. Before: After: (Explanation for non-hockey fans)

Posted in photos, silliness, sport | 7 Comments

Thanks, Auntie Mermaid!

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Your present for Saba (geddit?) was most gratefully received!

Posted in furry friends, photos | 6 Comments

If in doubt, PANIC!

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

email sent: 11.45 pm on Tuesday email read: 8.03 am on Wednesday email content*: “Cath, please make sure we have the project ready for the extremely important meeting with external collaborators at 8.30 am, thanks” my existing knowledge of said … Continue reading →

Posted in career, silliness | 9 Comments

This just gave me chills

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

And it’s a commercial!

Posted in music, videos | 7 Comments

Grant wranglers of the world, unite!

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I’m in the early stages of submitting a pre-application to a new (to me) funding organisation, which involves finding and summarising a lot of information from their website. I was impressed by the following option: The PI also may provide … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments

How dumb am I?

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Important things I forgot to mention in my last post: I’ve had a chat with my boss, and I’m now much more confident about keeping my job when my contract runs out in November! The exact source of my salary … Continue reading →

Posted in career, meta, personal | 16 Comments

Good week!

Posted on May 9, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

In the last 7 days: I found out that I passed my citizenship test, and I have a date for my ceremony! I’ll become a Canadian citizen* on May 29th. This means that I’ll miss out on voting in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, career, freelancing, furry friends, personal, photos | 28 Comments

Hygiene hypothesis

Posted on May 8, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

The clinical building at my institute has always been very conscientious about infection control. They’ve had hand sanitiser dispensers for years, but in the last few months (before swine flu!) they’ve begun to supplement them with large numbers of new … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 31 Comments

Hobbits ‘are a separate species’

Posted on May 6, 2009 by Cath@VWXYNot?

So says the BBC. For someone like me, who’s aware of the context (and hasn’t read the latest issue of Nature yet), this phrase made perfect sense. But you have to wonder how the average BBC website reader reacted to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments