I completed my peer review of a grant application and submitted it (my third peer review in as many days). True to the cliché, I then received not one but two (2) peer review requests from a different agency.
Me: (sighs in Sisyphean)
#LifeOfPI
Spoke to a few people in my lab today and noticed they were wearing gaudy/loud clothes. Thought it was a bit out of the ordinary but didn’t say anything. Noticed others on the floor dressed similarly. Have now had it explained that it is to combat Blue Monday.
I was at the bar drinking when out of nowhere a man came and punched the bartender.
The bartender hit his head against the counter and died.
The owner tried to stop him but to no avail.
The man knew what was coming and I did to him what he had done before.
#visualnovel #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #indie #game #games #vn #adv #steam #gaming #aenigma #visualnovels #linuxgaming #linuxgame #krita #art #artwork #arte #retro #renpy #anime #gameplay #scifi #pc #wishlist #immersive #lifeofpi
Amusing anecdote from yesterday's speaker: two dev bio postdocs who worked on the project both quit science. One became a landscape gardener and the other one a crypto bro. Both earning significantly more money now than the PI on the project.
Everything In Its Right Place
Sign o’ the times: a page advising authors on how to optimise their manuscript for SEO. It's written by Wiley's “Customer Content Marketing Manager”.
@steveroyle Ouch.
Today I congratulate myself for living in a civilised country that recognises the need for two (2) consecutive bank holidays following hogmanay. I then immediately uncongratulate myself for writing a grant with a submission deadline of 7th January 🙄
#LifeOfPI
I booked today as annual leave and yet, I find myself typing this in my office. Fortunately, I’m not here for long but have already had to report a malfunctioning piece of equipment etc.
Argh! #LifeofPI
On Friday, I literally said DO NOT order a $400 'keep-frozen' product on the Friday before Christmas, because it might get stranded somewhere.
Damnit, if I wasn't just about to leave for the holiday at 11:30 on Dec 24th when the FedEx guy found me in my office with said product.
Thankfully, it was the good FedEx guy who would find people rather than tossing it in a corner where no one would see it.
I am the keeper of some precious human cell lines over the next couple of weeks. Just had to passage and cryopreserve one line. It's the first bit of cell culture I've done in years. Pleased to report it's like riding a bike. Well, let's see if they survive.
If articles like this make you feel bad for "doing things wrong", please remember Betteridge's law of headlines.
I would like to thank everyone who takes an extra moment to soften the tone of their emails. Who gets to decide what is "professional" anyway?
@ianbetteridge
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg118dqj2no
I hope everyone gets good secret santa presents at their lab celebrations this year. But, nothing you get will ever beat this absolutely beautiful DNA scarf knitted for me by my own lab secret santa, using recycled yarn. It could not be a more perfect gift for me. Please admire!
A happy moment in the #LifeOfPI
A special day as we celebrate the successful viva of Dr Tamina Lebek, who developed her brilliant #PUFFFIN cell-neighbour-labelling system during her PhD.
I must say we've outdone ourselves this time with the cake (credit: Rosa), and the amazing hat (credit: Jen, Sophie, Aisling, Alicia) topped with a felted pufffin that I'm very proud to say I made myself (also shown here in its embryonic form).
I never tire of seeing the little "celebration" emoji next to a successful grants in one of my funding portals (even though this one is [scary number] years old now).
Rather disappointed that there isn't also an emoji beside a more recent *slightly* less successful (ok, unsuccessful) grant. I hope a committee will be set up to discuss this important issue and that an appropriate emoji will be deployed in due course.
Seeking advice!
Academics: further to @steveroyle's discussion today about writing tips:
When writing a grant application, is is acceptable to re-use text from one of your own papers? For example, if you've written a review, can you use some of the same sentences in the "background" section of your Case for Support?
I don't see why not, but then again there are other seemingly-accepted rules on self-plagiarism that don't make sense to me.
Advice welcome 🙏
Being able to delete with impunity is key to writing and editing. I struggle with this*, so my tactic is to have a second document open called Graveyard where I paste in the text I have cut. I can't remember ever reusing something from there, but having the safety net gives me freedom to edit.
* either because I think my text is so wonderful or because I am inveterate hoarder.
It's Friday and I may have just busted out a Jean-Paul Sartre quote in the lab chat.
Movies of the day (4/8) 🎬 Life of Pi(2012) 🎬 Stand by Me Doraemon 2(2020) 🎬 Anastasia(1997) 🎬 The Blind Side(2009) © TMDB #LifeofPi #StandbyMeDoraemon2 #Anastasia #TheBlindSide #Adventure #Animation #Drama #Family #Fantasy #ScienceFiction #Movie #MovieOfTheDay #OnThisDay #TMDB
In the last month or so, I have had an unusual number of requests to join my lab. Not sure exactly, but I'd guess 2 or 3 times as many as Oct/Nov last year. Perhaps it's just a blip but I'm wondering if there's a general trend.
Shepherd's Pi
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