Category Archives: personal

Get out and VOTE, CANADA!

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Later today I will vote for the first time in Canada, and for the first time anywhere since a Glasgow by-election almost 11 years ago. Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows that voting means an awful lot … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, current affairs, personal, politics, rants | 52 Comments

Repost: finding the alternatives within academia

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

This is a re-post of some career advice I wrote lo these many years ago for the Alternative Scientist blog, which is/was written by a group of bloggers for researchers considering careers other than traditional tenure-track research and/or teaching. The … Continue reading →

Posted in career, communication, personal, science | 17 Comments

Crashing through the block

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I’ve had a bad case of blogger’s block lately, brought on by a double whammy of: 1) the worst cold I’ve had in years (which is also my third cold in 2011, ugh), and 2) News Paralysis – the state … Continue reading →

Posted in current affairs, meta, personal, politics, sport, videos, whining | 15 Comments

Germ warfare and sibling rivalry

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

A few years ago, I witnessed an interaction between two of my nephews that resulted in a moment of pure blinding insight into my own childhood. We were staying at Mr E Man’s sister’s place over Christmas, as were his … Continue reading →

Posted in family, medicine, personal | 14 Comments

Gaelic names are always the hardest to pronounce

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I’m spending all weekend in the office, working on a couple of grants that are due tomorrow. Being even more in need of sanity breaks (such as this quick blogging break) than usual, I took a nice refreshing walk in … Continue reading →

Posted in food glorious food, grant wrangling, personal, silliness | 20 Comments

Normal service will be resumed in March

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

CIHR grant deadline time is such fun! Especially when half the PIs on the two grants you’re working on are out of the country, in timezones that severely hamper communication, and half of the rest are freaking out because their … Continue reading →

Posted in 2010 Olympics, career, drunkenness, idiocy, personal, photos, rants, silliness, snow, Vancouver, whining | 12 Comments

Why a three-year PhD is not necessarily shite

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

A couple of weeks ago I was chatting to a student in my department who’s just starting to write her thesis, and I mentioned that I wrote mine in three months, from start to finish. Several heads in the vicinity … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, career, education, personal, science, UK | 44 Comments

In teh Grauniad

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

When I was about 15, our local paper ran a special schools edition. They approached English teachers around the city, asking them to contribute pieces written by local students, and my teacher picked an essay I’d written. The essay was … Continue reading →

Posted in blog buddies, education, family, original research, personal, publishing, science, the media, UK | 13 Comments

BC rocks! (And trees!)

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

I like rain. I need rain. During my first summer in Vancouver, there was a dry spell that lasted for five or six weeks. By the third week I started to feel a bit weird, but couldn’t work out why. … Continue reading →

Posted in blog buddies, nature, personal, photos, Vancouver, whining | 19 Comments

The scope of horoscope horror

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Cath@VWXYNot?

My friendly local morning news team are discussing horoscopes today. This is, unfortunately, nothing new; I had to change the channel on New Year’s Day because their guest astrologer was doing my head in with her “Scorpios will come into … Continue reading →

Posted in career, current affairs, drunkenness, family, idiocy, personal, pseudoscience, rants, television, the media | 43 Comments