Category Archives: communication

“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

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

Whaddya mean “that’s not normal?!”

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

North Yorkshire, circa 1987. A classroom full of nine- and ten-year-olds. An assignment to write a story that involved food. A girl (not the blogger!) standing up at her desk, pulling her knee socks back up before starting to read … Continue reading →

Posted in career, communication, education, family, food glorious food, freakishness, grant wrangling, personal, silliness | 14 Comments

Time to write a final report on a completed grant!

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?
Posted in cancer research, career, communication, English language, grant wrangling, Instagram, photos, silliness | 14 Comments

Lay it on the line

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

As I mentioned way back in 2008, I’m often called upon to write lay abstracts for my department’s grant applications and website, and – less often – for press releases and assorted other documents. This is still one of my … Continue reading →

Posted in career, communication, English language, grant wrangling, science | 12 Comments

Question About “VWXYNot?”

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Thus read the title of an email in my inbox this morning. The message continued: Hey, I consult for a Canadian immigration lawyer who is looking to expand her presence online.  I am  interested in having a mention within one of your … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, cancer research, communication, idiocy, meta, personal, science | 16 Comments

Signs of tampering

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

In the internet age, anyone can have their say on anything; news articles, blog posts, YouTube videos, politicians’ Facebook pages and pretty much everything else you can find online all have comment sections. Last week, however, the most striking examples … Continue reading →

Posted in communication, current affairs, drunkenness, Instagram, music, photos, Vancouver | 5 Comments

Separating the l33t from the graph

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Were you ever explicitly taught which graphs to use to represent different types of scientific data? I remember some very basic lessons on this subject in high school maths (and possibly biology), but once I reached university it was never … Continue reading →

Posted in career, communication, education, English language, science | 25 Comments

The Teacher Feature

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Writing my last (proper) post reminded me that way back in 2009 I started a series on my most influential teachers, and that I’d intended to include my PhD supervisor in the list. However, given that it’s World Teachers’ Day … Continue reading →

Posted in career, communication, education, music, personal, science | 6 Comments

SOP: Sadly Opaque Protocol

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Heard in a recent(ish) meeting to define a tumour xenografting SOP to be used by three different labs: PI 1 (Xenografting Expert): “The first thing you need to do when you get a new tumour is to determine if it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in communication, science, silliness | 12 Comments