* I hate lab reports. With a vengeance, I do. When I don't get my data for the calculations mixed up because I'm looking at the wrong line in the data sheet I'm getting confused in the calculation itself and when I'm done doing that I have me some confusion while feeding the data to the semi-logarithmic graph I make of it. The semi-logarithmic graph has been made manually, mind you, as requested by the lab staff of babysitting masterants. Ugh, I have semi-logarithmic graphs, yuck yuck yuck!!
* Guess what, I'm done with the tests time of the hyrax project!! Hooraah! I did some initial statistic handling and have sent my guide person a heads up so she can send me the testosterone, age and sex sheet stuff. Cool!! All that's left then is further statistical analysis and writing down the paperwork. I've already written down the protocol, so the Tools and Methods bit is done, done done ^_^
As for the cat cradling project, me and Prof #2 are trying to get a hold of each other and meet up about reading material for the project. Hopefully I'll manage to get a hold of him this week.
Showing posts with label hyrax project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hyrax project. Show all posts
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Research stuff
I finished another film which means there's a little less than one film left before I'm done with the 'testing' side of the project. Hoorah!
And speaking of researches, check this poll out which I devised after the latest lecture in Animal Behavior. It might sound boggly and out-worldly but if I get the right results I'm pushing this to the proff who gave us this lecture and see if I can make it into a human-animal relationship research issue thing. Quite nice, eh?
And speaking of pointless researches, here's what Monty Python had to say:
And speaking of researches, check this poll out which I devised after the latest lecture in Animal Behavior. It might sound boggly and out-worldly but if I get the right results I'm pushing this to the proff who gave us this lecture and see if I can make it into a human-animal relationship research issue thing. Quite nice, eh?
And speaking of pointless researches, here's what Monty Python had to say:
Monday, February 18, 2008
The puppy response
Hello, my name is Meirav Rath and I'm an attention whore. You give me attention, I'll be your best pal in the whole wide world.
I'm walking around the university today and run into my project's proff who's very responsive and smiley to my surprise. Enter attention whore. So I explain what I've been doing in the project so far (a.k.a what I did three weeks ago when I was NOT too lazy to sit to work on it...) and he mentioned a different graphics software I can work with. As a suggestion. He does not disapprove of what I already do or has any negative response to my 'reports'. Instead of saying "well, that'd sound like a good idea for ANOTHER RESEARCH" os something on the line of that, I say something on the line of "oh, yeah, that sounds great, I'll start redoing the whole thing with this software, what's its name again? ^_^ *wags puppy tail*". I'm more than halfway through with this project, but by god I'll re-do it ALL OVER AGAIN because my proff was nice to me *headdesk*
Go on, hit me, I deserve it *le sigh*
I'm walking around the university today and run into my project's proff who's very responsive and smiley to my surprise. Enter attention whore. So I explain what I've been doing in the project so far (a.k.a what I did three weeks ago when I was NOT too lazy to sit to work on it...) and he mentioned a different graphics software I can work with. As a suggestion. He does not disapprove of what I already do or has any negative response to my 'reports'. Instead of saying "well, that'd sound like a good idea for ANOTHER RESEARCH" os something on the line of that, I say something on the line of "oh, yeah, that sounds great, I'll start redoing the whole thing with this software, what's its name again? ^_^ *wags puppy tail*". I'm more than halfway through with this project, but by god I'll re-do it ALL OVER AGAIN because my proff was nice to me *headdesk*
Go on, hit me, I deserve it *le sigh*
Sunday, January 6, 2008
I am alive (or so it seems)
* I've worked six days this week, without even noticing it...damn, how did it come to this? Well, with nine days until the semester is due to be canceled by the strike for good and the professors still not willing to settle (they didn't show up to a meeting about it scheduled for yesturday...) it seems I still have time to keep gaining a financial fat layer before the disaster of how this academic year will look when it's finally started again will ruin any chance of me ever having a life beyond work and study.
* Speaking of life, me and the BF have a one month anniversary tomorrow (*squee*) and if I wasn't so cynical and shy I'd tell you exactly what I feel about it.
* I've updated my flicker account with some new pictures, including all my old hyrax pictures. As I was writing comments for each picture, I noticed how this stupid project and the treatment I get from the project guide didn't mar my enthusiasm for these strange little beasts. *sigh*
* Finished Mists of Avalon. Have you ever found yourself reading a book, knowing you're reading crap, but the writing style and the occasional promising plot twist kept you going?
Maybe I was fooled by Hallmark's production, Merlin, and I expected Morgaine to have a backbone to call her own. Zimmer Bradley took whatever hope I had of finding yet another female character to favor and crushed them; Morgaine is obsessed with who everyone marries and who gives birth to who as badly as the simple 'foolish' women she describes contemptibly.
The constant religious conversations were getting boring by the nine-hundredth time they were run and Zimmer Bradley's constant obsession with not taking sides or making too many snapping comments of Christianity were annoying.
Bradley gives no one a truly happy ending nor a revenge to any of the 'bad' characters and so leaves the reader with a sense of bitter disappointment. Sure, it was nice to read about the very early days of post-Roman england, but for god's sake; I could have picked up a history book and not this waste of time, energy and paper
However, watching Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail, is a wonderful cleansing experience after this book...
Am now reading Steve Jones' Almost Like A Whale.
* Speaking of life, me and the BF have a one month anniversary tomorrow (*squee*) and if I wasn't so cynical and shy I'd tell you exactly what I feel about it.
* I've updated my flicker account with some new pictures, including all my old hyrax pictures. As I was writing comments for each picture, I noticed how this stupid project and the treatment I get from the project guide didn't mar my enthusiasm for these strange little beasts. *sigh*
* Finished Mists of Avalon. Have you ever found yourself reading a book, knowing you're reading crap, but the writing style and the occasional promising plot twist kept you going?
Maybe I was fooled by Hallmark's production, Merlin, and I expected Morgaine to have a backbone to call her own. Zimmer Bradley took whatever hope I had of finding yet another female character to favor and crushed them; Morgaine is obsessed with who everyone marries and who gives birth to who as badly as the simple 'foolish' women she describes contemptibly.
The constant religious conversations were getting boring by the nine-hundredth time they were run and Zimmer Bradley's constant obsession with not taking sides or making too many snapping comments of Christianity were annoying.
Bradley gives no one a truly happy ending nor a revenge to any of the 'bad' characters and so leaves the reader with a sense of bitter disappointment. Sure, it was nice to read about the very early days of post-Roman england, but for god's sake; I could have picked up a history book and not this waste of time, energy and paper
However, watching Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail, is a wonderful cleansing experience after this book...
Am now reading Steve Jones' Almost Like A Whale.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Stuff from life lately
* The company I work in has an evening out in a restaurant for the workers. Me and another girl are doing shift at the call center. I ask for food delivery and, as drinks to go with the food, we get diet coke....because all women are obsessed with their weight and want to drink diet...
* Signed up to the university gym with the BF to help BF get into shape together. I hate the atmosphere there, so full of people high on adrenalin and obsessed with how firm the other's butt is compared to theirs and how more defined their abs are than the abs of the guy on the next treadmill. However, said gym has a swimming pull, which is hella-cool.
* Mom and Dad had their birthday this week, dad's is tomorrow and mom's was this monday. Happy birthday parents!
* Still no sign of an end to the lecturers' strike and now there's both a deadline beyond which the semester (and the year, probably) will be canceled and a threat from the universities to get the lecturers back in the classrooms via court warrents.
* Staring at many hyrax pictures, I'm beginning to see two fur patterns repeating themselves. Whether I'm bothered with gracing my proff and project guide with this is questionable since I'm not sure they'll pay attention or take me seriously.
* Attention all LJ friends, you can sign in with your username when commenting on this blog ^_^
* Signed up to the university gym with the BF to help BF get into shape together. I hate the atmosphere there, so full of people high on adrenalin and obsessed with how firm the other's butt is compared to theirs and how more defined their abs are than the abs of the guy on the next treadmill. However, said gym has a swimming pull, which is hella-cool.
* Mom and Dad had their birthday this week, dad's is tomorrow and mom's was this monday. Happy birthday parents!
* Still no sign of an end to the lecturers' strike and now there's both a deadline beyond which the semester (and the year, probably) will be canceled and a threat from the universities to get the lecturers back in the classrooms via court warrents.
* Staring at many hyrax pictures, I'm beginning to see two fur patterns repeating themselves. Whether I'm bothered with gracing my proff and project guide with this is questionable since I'm not sure they'll pay attention or take me seriously.
* Attention all LJ friends, you can sign in with your username when commenting on this blog ^_^
Sunday, December 9, 2007
*sleep deprived*
Had six shifts this week, the last of which is coming to an end in an hour and a half. Said shift has been a just me for twelve hours!! *sigh* I brought my project stuff but as it turns out we only have Excelle VIEWER at work and twelve potential hours of working on my project went down the toilet. Luckily, I've found a stash of Absolutely Fabulous season 1 and a bit of 2 to keep me company through the night, sweetie.
The worst thing about the shift is that, as I usspect, some sort of mold's setteled into the kitchen somewhere, or something's in a very bad form in the fridge, and there's an aweful smell about the whole place, which reached where I'm sitting by the monitors and all. I had to spend most of the shift with two windows open to the early winter's freezing night air just so I won't be stuck with that aweful stench and be sick all over the computer.
However, I just might have found a really nice deacent guy I really like, who really likes me. Just might, don't want to jinx it, so I'll tell you more when there's more to tell >.<
Oooh, and HAPPY HANNUKAH!!
Last but not lease; The full Beach Cleaning Day photo stock.
The worst thing about the shift is that, as I usspect, some sort of mold's setteled into the kitchen somewhere, or something's in a very bad form in the fridge, and there's an aweful smell about the whole place, which reached where I'm sitting by the monitors and all. I had to spend most of the shift with two windows open to the early winter's freezing night air just so I won't be stuck with that aweful stench and be sick all over the computer.
However, I just might have found a really nice deacent guy I really like, who really likes me. Just might, don't want to jinx it, so I'll tell you more when there's more to tell >.<
Oooh, and HAPPY HANNUKAH!!
Last but not lease; The full Beach Cleaning Day photo stock.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Henh...
In case you were wondering (or in case you even noticed...) I disappeared for a while due to a very hectic week. I've had a shift every day, including night shifts, and my god did it wreck havoc on my life. At least I got the weekend off, which was great.
I've been very down lately and it took me a while to understand why. Sat with myself and thought about it, I realized I had one of the toughest years of my life:
My first year in university was a flop no matter how much I try to cheer myself up thinking it's because of all the math-physics-chemistry I've had this year and how relatively well I did in the more animal-centered courses; I'd believe myself with these cheers if only I didn't know I let myself down in properly sitting my ass to study and cramm properly.
The project, which started on very high and mighty airs, is a flop I hope not a lot of people in my academic year will take any notice of, it's so unprofessional and lame. At least here I don't have anything to blame myself for, but rather the people I'm working with. Still, it's annoying.
My love life's been one crash after another, mostly because of my hubris, one certain condescending asshole and my lack of skills in anything that has to do with flirting, managing myself around sane normal males or choosing sane normal males as mates.
I finished my three-year-written fic and am now fumbling with editing it at a rather disappointing rate and if I knew my beta bothered reading this blog I wouldn't say I think our friendship is lacking now that our once mutual fandom is not on my interest list and the burden of how little we have in common is finally taking a toll on how quickly she does me the favor of betaing my fics. It's not that she's a bad person or that I'm angry with her but I do feel a certain loosening of the delicate voluntary bond between a writer and a beta which we used to have. I don't blame her; I'm not paying her and she owes me nothing so I feel like the fact that something's creaking in the way we work together must come from me because she's not the kind of person to demand something for a favor she does, she's great like that.
I'm 24 and I'm still living with the parents. This is going to change, now that I have a seriously profiting job and I will be seriously looking for a place to move to as soon as I have a safe layer of financial fat in my bank account (which I assume will be in a couple of months or so), but it doesn't change the strain it put on me so far or the stupidity of my behavior which lead to this situation after three years of having jobs between my army service's end and the start of my university studies.
I guess the only thing I did manage to do properly this year was to quit smoking. Way to go, me.
Then there's Clio's death. I knew Clio since she came out of her mother's belly; I raised her, I loved her, I grew to know her as she is alone with her mother and Speedy both went their own ways. Losing Clio was far more than I allowed myself or others know, for a long time. Sure, Scarlett and Sam are wonderful, adorable little treasures, but Clio has a special place in my heart.
I'm not the type to despair and I never let a problem bother me for too long without thinking up ways of solving it and seeing beyond it. That doesn't mean I can't feel bad about said problem...
I wanted to tell you about the beach cleaning operation I went to this thursday, but I didn't have the right strength for it. Also, I don't have the pictures from it yet, so...
I've been very down lately and it took me a while to understand why. Sat with myself and thought about it, I realized I had one of the toughest years of my life:
My first year in university was a flop no matter how much I try to cheer myself up thinking it's because of all the math-physics-chemistry I've had this year and how relatively well I did in the more animal-centered courses; I'd believe myself with these cheers if only I didn't know I let myself down in properly sitting my ass to study and cramm properly.
The project, which started on very high and mighty airs, is a flop I hope not a lot of people in my academic year will take any notice of, it's so unprofessional and lame. At least here I don't have anything to blame myself for, but rather the people I'm working with. Still, it's annoying.
My love life's been one crash after another, mostly because of my hubris, one certain condescending asshole and my lack of skills in anything that has to do with flirting, managing myself around sane normal males or choosing sane normal males as mates.
I finished my three-year-written fic and am now fumbling with editing it at a rather disappointing rate and if I knew my beta bothered reading this blog I wouldn't say I think our friendship is lacking now that our once mutual fandom is not on my interest list and the burden of how little we have in common is finally taking a toll on how quickly she does me the favor of betaing my fics. It's not that she's a bad person or that I'm angry with her but I do feel a certain loosening of the delicate voluntary bond between a writer and a beta which we used to have. I don't blame her; I'm not paying her and she owes me nothing so I feel like the fact that something's creaking in the way we work together must come from me because she's not the kind of person to demand something for a favor she does, she's great like that.
I'm 24 and I'm still living with the parents. This is going to change, now that I have a seriously profiting job and I will be seriously looking for a place to move to as soon as I have a safe layer of financial fat in my bank account (which I assume will be in a couple of months or so), but it doesn't change the strain it put on me so far or the stupidity of my behavior which lead to this situation after three years of having jobs between my army service's end and the start of my university studies.
I guess the only thing I did manage to do properly this year was to quit smoking. Way to go, me.
Then there's Clio's death. I knew Clio since she came out of her mother's belly; I raised her, I loved her, I grew to know her as she is alone with her mother and Speedy both went their own ways. Losing Clio was far more than I allowed myself or others know, for a long time. Sure, Scarlett and Sam are wonderful, adorable little treasures, but Clio has a special place in my heart.
I'm not the type to despair and I never let a problem bother me for too long without thinking up ways of solving it and seeing beyond it. That doesn't mean I can't feel bad about said problem...
I wanted to tell you about the beach cleaning operation I went to this thursday, but I didn't have the right strength for it. Also, I don't have the pictures from it yet, so...
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Birthdays and books (and a rant)
It's happy birthday time for my good, wonderful, amazing, lovely and talented friend from Bohemia, Kiki, happy birthday, girl!
EDIT: my father advised me to remove the ranting bit about the research. Let us just say that one day I'll have my own lab and will be able to freely do what I wish to do. Ta, dad.
I meant to write a post about books, so, yeah. Books!
Finished Winston Churchill's The Second World War's first volume; The Gathering Storm. Lovely book, not only because of Churchill's writing style but also because of the way the translators to hebrew made an effort to upp the language level as much as possible. This being a book printed around the 50s here (the whole series belongs, actually, to my uncle who got it for his bar mitzva and never laid hand on it even once IMO) it means the language is already archaic. The result is a highly stylish and delightful to read extremely detailed account of the war.
I have to admit I didn't read all of it; Churchill spent the first few months of the war commanding the navy, which he loved with all his heart, and which I care very, very little of. I skipped a chapter or two, but the most I read quite happily.
Am now reading Hogfather which is the usual Pratchett delight; same old writing tricks pulled but ever new and entertaining. Talk about it when I'm done ^_^
BTW, I haven't seen Mr Poopy Pants in a couple of days now and I suspect Sam's got a paw in this; he'll hunt flies to such extent the little thing'd eat them dead off the floor, let alone a caterpillar...
EDIT: my father advised me to remove the ranting bit about the research. Let us just say that one day I'll have my own lab and will be able to freely do what I wish to do. Ta, dad.
I meant to write a post about books, so, yeah. Books!
Finished Winston Churchill's The Second World War's first volume; The Gathering Storm. Lovely book, not only because of Churchill's writing style but also because of the way the translators to hebrew made an effort to upp the language level as much as possible. This being a book printed around the 50s here (the whole series belongs, actually, to my uncle who got it for his bar mitzva and never laid hand on it even once IMO) it means the language is already archaic. The result is a highly stylish and delightful to read extremely detailed account of the war.
I have to admit I didn't read all of it; Churchill spent the first few months of the war commanding the navy, which he loved with all his heart, and which I care very, very little of. I skipped a chapter or two, but the most I read quite happily.
Am now reading Hogfather which is the usual Pratchett delight; same old writing tricks pulled but ever new and entertaining. Talk about it when I'm done ^_^
BTW, I haven't seen Mr Poopy Pants in a couple of days now and I suspect Sam's got a paw in this; he'll hunt flies to such extent the little thing'd eat them dead off the floor, let alone a caterpillar...
Thursday, November 8, 2007
News...
1. Well then, it seems I have a new friend; a caterpillar took one of my cactees and decided to make it its home, awww. So far it's eating its little head off and pooping it all out gloriously (why am I telling you this?!) which earned him the name Mr Poopy Pants:
And here's the source of his name:
2. Sam's going to have a girlfriend!! Yes yes, a ragdoll like him only bicolor and mitted - which puts her under the title of 'pet' and not 'show cat' because such a mix is not something to put in competitions (you don't really love your cat if that's how you see 'em IMO) but that's OK because Sam's got four or five white hairs at the tip of his tail which is also aught to make him lose points in competitions. Bullshit, who gives a damn about cat shows, anyways?
Here's the little critter trying to get my attention as I fumble around Mr Poopy Pants. The sign under the plant says "Do NOT touch the caterpillar" aimed at mom who's a little sensitive about creepy-crawlies.
3. Winter started!! Yesturday it rained for the first time this year, which is mighty reasonable since it is my birthday this Saturday and my birthday always heralds the winter time. I hope this winter will be better than the last one where the rains only really started way into January...
4. Look what I made, it's a bracelet (it was supposed to be a necklace...>.>;;):
5. To the the right of this screen you can see the link bit, where there's a new link to my new flickr account. So far it contains only some of my pictures and I will be adding more monthly (what is up with this silly monthly allowance on pictures?!) so, enjoy them.
6. Oy. The research. I have so much to say - most of it swear words, most of it relating to the Death Railway and other Japanese war crimes in WW2 - about the two Nip bastards who invented the melanin characterization method by spectrophotometer, for choosing Soluene-350 as their solvent. You see, the bastards have enough founding for buying it (hell, they have their own homogenizer) and enough lab equipment for handling melanins for HPLC. I don't and my attempts to sort out the different chemicals for it hit a dead end because of the 16-lettered chemical that's missing and is a big part of the mix. Damn Nips didn't even say why they used that material of all things, they just put it in their protocol and they haven't replied to the emails I sent them both, asking if they found or heard of another solvent.
Spoke to the proff a few minutes ago and I'll be working with photoshop on scaling the hyrax coat colors to see if dominant individuals are more red...damn it, it's anything but what I wanted and it's SO SMALL and meaningless. After Lee, the doctorant who's helping me with the paper, got me all worked up about how an article could come out of this, I was so happy! Great, juuuust great; not only do I hardly need to get to the actual field of study (the field study season is in smack in the middle of the second semester and its test season) but the whole thing just got downscaled like fuck...that sucks so bad, everything I thought my research is going to be is practically gone *le sigh*
And here's the source of his name:
2. Sam's going to have a girlfriend!! Yes yes, a ragdoll like him only bicolor and mitted - which puts her under the title of 'pet' and not 'show cat' because such a mix is not something to put in competitions (you don't really love your cat if that's how you see 'em IMO) but that's OK because Sam's got four or five white hairs at the tip of his tail which is also aught to make him lose points in competitions. Bullshit, who gives a damn about cat shows, anyways?
Here's the little critter trying to get my attention as I fumble around Mr Poopy Pants. The sign under the plant says "Do NOT touch the caterpillar" aimed at mom who's a little sensitive about creepy-crawlies.
3. Winter started!! Yesturday it rained for the first time this year, which is mighty reasonable since it is my birthday this Saturday and my birthday always heralds the winter time. I hope this winter will be better than the last one where the rains only really started way into January...
4. Look what I made, it's a bracelet (it was supposed to be a necklace...>.>;;):
5. To the the right of this screen you can see the link bit, where there's a new link to my new flickr account. So far it contains only some of my pictures and I will be adding more monthly (what is up with this silly monthly allowance on pictures?!) so, enjoy them.
6. Oy. The research. I have so much to say - most of it swear words, most of it relating to the Death Railway and other Japanese war crimes in WW2 - about the two Nip bastards who invented the melanin characterization method by spectrophotometer, for choosing Soluene-350 as their solvent. You see, the bastards have enough founding for buying it (hell, they have their own homogenizer) and enough lab equipment for handling melanins for HPLC. I don't and my attempts to sort out the different chemicals for it hit a dead end because of the 16-lettered chemical that's missing and is a big part of the mix. Damn Nips didn't even say why they used that material of all things, they just put it in their protocol and they haven't replied to the emails I sent them both, asking if they found or heard of another solvent.
Spoke to the proff a few minutes ago and I'll be working with photoshop on scaling the hyrax coat colors to see if dominant individuals are more red...damn it, it's anything but what I wanted and it's SO SMALL and meaningless. After Lee, the doctorant who's helping me with the paper, got me all worked up about how an article could come out of this, I was so happy! Great, juuuust great; not only do I hardly need to get to the actual field of study (the field study season is in smack in the middle of the second semester and its test season) but the whole thing just got downscaled like fuck...that sucks so bad, everything I thought my research is going to be is practically gone *le sigh*
Monday, November 5, 2007
Bo-ring!
Mixed toluene with hydrogen peroxide.
It did not fizz. It did not bang.
Well, poo; I was looking forward for a bit of sparks *sigh*
My prof was as excited about this attempt at explosion as I was and had glitters in his teeny moleman eyes, as he babbled about what not to mix with hydrogen peroxide (which included what the germans used for their V2s) but no such luck happened as to give us the entertainment we wished to unleash upon ourselves.
Apparently, Prof has been mixing and fiddling with chemicals since he was a kid. Suppose all geeks start like that but it's only those who survive the explosions get to university to make great people of themselves. Survival of the luckiest, I guess.
It did not fizz. It did not bang.
Well, poo; I was looking forward for a bit of sparks *sigh*
My prof was as excited about this attempt at explosion as I was and had glitters in his teeny moleman eyes, as he babbled about what not to mix with hydrogen peroxide (which included what the germans used for their V2s) but no such luck happened as to give us the entertainment we wished to unleash upon ourselves.
Apparently, Prof has been mixing and fiddling with chemicals since he was a kid. Suppose all geeks start like that but it's only those who survive the explosions get to university to make great people of themselves. Survival of the luckiest, I guess.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Dreams...
Last night I dreamed a plot like I haven't for a very, very long time. It wasn't for something for the stuff I already have but of something new; something between Ratatouille and Keane, with an obsessed young man (who was a Jim Carry-ish Jonathan Rhys Meyers) running around between kitchens on this gigantic far-future ship (not a space ship, an ocean ship) in some sort of a semi-Mau-China regime, trying to order people around on how to cook properly and constantly getting chased around by security guards. Very strange, but very interesting.
I think my brain's trying to tell me it wants to put this lecturers' strike to more creative uses aside from the research.
And speaking of the research, I've hit another, small, step forward; I found out what was the 16-letters-named chemical that is 20-40% of the hair solvent. It's got an only slightly-saner name and it's on Sigma for a reasonable price which is lovely. Now all I need is a chemist to help me mix the damn thing together without exploding the whole faculty...he he he...in fact, it seems this sunday I'm off trying not to blow myself up with toluene and hydrogen peroxide.
Our little wonder boy, Sam, has got a mild throat infection and has beenspitting contemptibly taking antibiotics now, again, after having to spit contemptibly take another antibiotics for a small stomach problem the poor bunny had when we got him. Here's the little thing ruining mom's coffee table decoration:
I think my brain's trying to tell me it wants to put this lecturers' strike to more creative uses aside from the research.
And speaking of the research, I've hit another, small, step forward; I found out what was the 16-letters-named chemical that is 20-40% of the hair solvent. It's got an only slightly-saner name and it's on Sigma for a reasonable price which is lovely. Now all I need is a chemist to help me mix the damn thing together without exploding the whole faculty...he he he...in fact, it seems this sunday I'm off trying not to blow myself up with toluene and hydrogen peroxide.
Our little wonder boy, Sam, has got a mild throat infection and has been
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Getting there, I really am
There are two big problems standing between me and starting to actually do some lab work in my research:
1. The hair-sample solvent is a substance that's just a tad too expensive for my professor. This problem aught to be easily solved since I've got the ingredients list and most of which are stuff you can get at a hardware or pharmaceutical store (except for methanol, my beloved headache-inducing methanol). There are a few bizarre components but all's well. I expect to have this problem solved quite easily as soon as I'll learn how to look chemicals up on the faculty's chemical storing.
2. In order to calibrate the spectrophotometer I'll be using to test pheomelanin dosages, I need a sample of melanin of a known concentration. Ah, tricky. See, I can order melanin from Sigma BUT I'm trying to prove myself resourceful and clever by finding not-so-expensive (I have a lot to prove to my research instructor and professor, what with me being a mere second-year newbie) so I'm thinking, if I find a way to extract melanin from sepia then all I need is find a squid, right?
Well, wish me luck on both goals. Then there's the issue of cutting the hair samples into teeny tiny bits which I have to do manually for over a thousand samples because we don't have a homogenizer the likes of which the two bloody nips who wrote the melanin article had....
1. The hair-sample solvent is a substance that's just a tad too expensive for my professor. This problem aught to be easily solved since I've got the ingredients list and most of which are stuff you can get at a hardware or pharmaceutical store (except for methanol, my beloved headache-inducing methanol). There are a few bizarre components but all's well. I expect to have this problem solved quite easily as soon as I'll learn how to look chemicals up on the faculty's chemical storing.
2. In order to calibrate the spectrophotometer I'll be using to test pheomelanin dosages, I need a sample of melanin of a known concentration. Ah, tricky. See, I can order melanin from Sigma BUT I'm trying to prove myself resourceful and clever by finding not-so-expensive (I have a lot to prove to my research instructor and professor, what with me being a mere second-year newbie) so I'm thinking, if I find a way to extract melanin from sepia then all I need is find a squid, right?
Well, wish me luck on both goals. Then there's the issue of cutting the hair samples into teeny tiny bits which I have to do manually for over a thousand samples because we don't have a homogenizer the likes of which the two bloody nips who wrote the melanin article had....
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