Category Archives: English language

Could this be…

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

…the most useless list of spellcheck suggestions of all time? (I’m sure a tamarind genome sequence is in the works, somewhere…) …the worst possible weather in which to be running around collecting grant signatures from PIs in three different buildings? … Continue reading →

Posted in career, drunkenness, English language, idiocy, photos, publishing, science, screenshots, silliness, snow, technology, Vancouver | 8 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

A Few Maxims For The Instruction Of The Over-Educated

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

The Western blot – an assay that allows you to separate all the proteins in a sample by size using gel electrophoresis and then detect the presence of a particular protein using an antibody that (hopefully) binds specifically to it … Continue reading →

Posted in English language, science, silliness | 25 Comments

LabLit: like a boss

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?
Posted in English language, screenshots, silliness, technology | 4 Comments

Weight, watt?

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

From an automatic pre-send spell check of an email I sent today, asking a PI for guidance on some subfield-specific terminology: Very helpful. In other news, I learned today that my online life is benefiting my career: years of experience … Continue reading →

Posted in career, English language, grant wrangling, idiocy, meta, publishing, science, screenshots, silliness, technology | 20 Comments

“I always know everything”

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

^^quote by my youngest nephew, then four years old (he’s now ten, still knows everything, and wants to be a lawyer, FSM help us all). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I spent Friday in an all-day symposium at my institute, on the subject of … Continue reading →

Posted in career, conferences, English language, family, medicine, Rumsfeldian symposia, science, silliness | 4 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

Science Crossword Quiz

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

As I mentioned on Friday, while tidying my desk at work last week I found a new and miraculously untouched science puzzle from last year’s desk calendar! It’s in the form of a crossword, and after trying and failing to format … Continue reading →

Posted in competition, English language, science | 28 Comments

A week in grant wrangling

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Following Frank’s excellent example, it seemed like a good week to present a week’s worth of daily bulletins about what I actually do for a living. As I alluded to in my last post it’s the busiest time of year … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, career, current affairs, English language, furry friends, grant wrangling, personal, photos, politics, science, silliness, travel, Uncategorized, whining | 15 Comments