it takes a lot of words to describe how something failed to work

I have been saying that I don't want to begin a serious search for a post-doc or teaching position until after I have a good draft of my entire thesis. Today is a very good example of why. This morning's e-mail in reply to a casual enquiry I made a week or three back was encouraging enough that I lost a number of hours to playing with my CV rather than making progress on my thesis and I didn't get to doing any thesis-related work till after 19:00 (ok, so I did take a mid-day walk with baronsnorri in there, but that was only a half an hour's distraction). Clearly I have a better chance of getting the thesis finished sooner if I'm not also engaged in a job search (but I knew that already, this just confirms what I already knew).

However, since then I've done several different sets of modelling calculations, none of which worked, but the manner in which they fail to work, and the patterns revealed provide me with useful information which which I hope to find some that do work. Perhaps tomorrow. Writing up a description of what I did today and the information gleaned took fully 862 words and one new figure (ok, so really four figures, I just gave them one figure number). It is now after midnight, and I think that it is high time that clovis_t and I do our walk, our yogam and get to sleep!

it takes a lot of words to describe how something failed to work

I have been saying that I don't want to begin a serious search for a post-doc or teaching position until after I have a good draft of my entire thesis. Today is a very good example of why. This morning's e-mail in reply to a casual enquiry I made a week or three back was encouraging enough that I lost a number of hours to playing with my CV rather than making progress on my thesis and I didn't get to doing any thesis-related work till after 19:00 (ok, so I did take a mid-day walk with baronsnorri in there, but that was only a half an hour's distraction). Clearly I have a better chance of getting the thesis finished sooner if I'm not also engaged in a job search (but I knew that already, this just confirms what I already knew).

However, since then I've done several different sets of modelling calculations, none of which worked, but the manner in which they fail to work, and the patterns revealed provide me with useful information which which I hope to find some that do work. Perhaps tomorrow. Writing up a description of what I did today and the information gleaned took fully 862 words and one new figure (ok, so really four figures, I just gave them one figure number). It is now after midnight, and I think that it is high time that clovis_t and I do our walk, our yogam and get to sleep!

oaty goodness

When I was a kid I really enjoyed things like crackers, chips, and other crunchy snack foods. Now that I'm responsible for my own food budget, I don't tend to buy those things, since pre-packaged foods tend to come with a fairly high price tag. Instead I tend to make myself unleavened quick "breads" of various descriptions when I want the sort of snack which would have had me reaching for a cardboard box or plastic bag when I was young.

The one I've been enjoying the past few days I call "oaty goodness quick bread". I melt a little butter in a small bowl (one sized for breakfast cereal, not a mixing-bowl), add 1/2 cup of oats and a dash of salt mix well, then add a bit of hot water and give it 30 seconds in the microwave. This results in a sticky paste, into which I stir in just enough wheat flour to turn the paste into a dough, roll it out thin and put it into the toaster over to bake and clean up the evidence whilst it cooks. 20 minutes from leaving the computer looking for something to eat, I'm sitting back down with a yummy snack, in a small enough quantity that I won't be tempted to over-eat (another problem with purchasing crackers or chips etc. If I've got it to hand, I'll eat more of it than my body needs to keep me going for the day, and I'd rather be slender, and I don't lead an active enough life to eat too much).

An even easier form of quick-bread is 1/2 cup of flour, with just enough water to make a dough (plus or minus salt) rolled out thin and baked in the toaster oven. This form tends to puff when you bake it, which can be fun to watch. Buy your flour in bulk, and this is *way* more affordable than the pre-packaged snack foods on the market...

oaty goodness

When I was a kid I really enjoyed things like crackers, chips, and other crunchy snack foods. Now that I'm responsible for my own food budget, I don't tend to buy those things, since pre-packaged foods tend to come with a fairly high price tag. Instead I tend to make myself unleavened quick "breads" of various descriptions when I want the sort of snack which would have had me reaching for a cardboard box or plastic bag when I was young.

The one I've been enjoying the past few days I call "oaty goodness quick bread". I melt a little butter in a small bowl (one sized for breakfast cereal, not a mixing-bowl), add 1/2 cup of oats and a dash of salt mix well, then add a bit of hot water and give it 30 seconds in the microwave. This results in a sticky paste, into which I stir in just enough wheat flour to turn the paste into a dough, roll it out thin and put it into the toaster over to bake and clean up the evidence whilst it cooks. 20 minutes from leaving the computer looking for something to eat, I'm sitting back down with a yummy snack, in a small enough quantity that I won't be tempted to over-eat (another problem with purchasing crackers or chips etc. If I've got it to hand, I'll eat more of it than my body needs to keep me going for the day, and I'd rather be slender, and I don't lead an active enough life to eat too much).

An even easier form of quick-bread is 1/2 cup of flour, with just enough water to make a dough (plus or minus salt) rolled out thin and baked in the toaster oven. This form tends to puff when you bake it, which can be fun to watch. Buy your flour in bulk, and this is *way* more affordable than the pre-packaged snack foods on the market...

do any of you happen to have contact details for?

Hi,

Do any of you happen to have contact details for Fionnbharr Ui Niall? (I'd have asked on the Lochac list, but I unsubscribed from that ages ago...

do any of you happen to have contact details for?

Hi,

Do any of you happen to have contact details for Fionnbharr Ui Niall? (I'd have asked on the Lochac list, but I unsubscribed from that ages ago...