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that took way longer than it should have
Jan. 31st, 2023 08:49 pmmonths ago I turned in what I hoped was the final draft of my paper in progress to my thesis advisors, and the only feedback I got was "you should add some XRD data to the paper".
Since then I have spent many hours remote connected to the one computer at Durham which has the program and database needed to process that data, working with the XRD data for the six samples in the paper, slowly and painfully learning both how the program behaves, and how to ask the database for things in order to see if the mineral phases one expects in these rocks are present.
Eventually I worked out a consistent colour code for each mineral family (Spinel, Fe-Oxide, Ilmenite, Pyrite, Chalcopyrite, Pyrrhotite, Galena, Talc, Chlorite, Carbonate, Amphibole) I expect to be present in one or more of these soapstones, figured out which variants of each mineral from the database are the best match for the peaks in my sample, took notes on this, and exported pretty pictures of each sample's peaks with the expected peak locations for the specific mineral compositions that matched that sample.
This should not have taken this long, but, learning on one's own, long distance, flailing about some days, making progress on others...
Tomorrow I can try to add this information to the paper and make figures to illustrate it. If I am lucky, I can do that with the data that I have already copied over to this computer, and I don't need to log into the remote computer again.
However, I don't know if I am going to be able to finish this degree. Today I got an invoice for tuition fees, something that has never happened. It could be a mistake, or I could have run out of funding in that account. I am in contact with the university to figure out which, and, if that funding is out, what my options are, but I really don't feel I can afford to pay my own tuition, unless it is possible to do so once, and once only, and get the degree, and even then I would think 20 times first, as it is a lot of money, and I don't have much of an income right now (because I am trying to finish the degree, which I wouldn't be able to do if I had a job). Right now I wish I had enrolled in a Scandinavian degree program--getting paid to study sounds way better than no income and high fees...
Since then I have spent many hours remote connected to the one computer at Durham which has the program and database needed to process that data, working with the XRD data for the six samples in the paper, slowly and painfully learning both how the program behaves, and how to ask the database for things in order to see if the mineral phases one expects in these rocks are present.
Eventually I worked out a consistent colour code for each mineral family (Spinel, Fe-Oxide, Ilmenite, Pyrite, Chalcopyrite, Pyrrhotite, Galena, Talc, Chlorite, Carbonate, Amphibole) I expect to be present in one or more of these soapstones, figured out which variants of each mineral from the database are the best match for the peaks in my sample, took notes on this, and exported pretty pictures of each sample's peaks with the expected peak locations for the specific mineral compositions that matched that sample.
This should not have taken this long, but, learning on one's own, long distance, flailing about some days, making progress on others...
Tomorrow I can try to add this information to the paper and make figures to illustrate it. If I am lucky, I can do that with the data that I have already copied over to this computer, and I don't need to log into the remote computer again.
However, I don't know if I am going to be able to finish this degree. Today I got an invoice for tuition fees, something that has never happened. It could be a mistake, or I could have run out of funding in that account. I am in contact with the university to figure out which, and, if that funding is out, what my options are, but I really don't feel I can afford to pay my own tuition, unless it is possible to do so once, and once only, and get the degree, and even then I would think 20 times first, as it is a lot of money, and I don't have much of an income right now (because I am trying to finish the degree, which I wouldn't be able to do if I had a job). Right now I wish I had enrolled in a Scandinavian degree program--getting paid to study sounds way better than no income and high fees...