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The first few days of the week I had to commute to the office due to meetings, but the office is in a state of transition. The library at the uni is being renovated, and now that they have finished the roof they are ready to start on the indoor sections that include our offices. This means that the uni had to find other offices for us, and the result is a couple of corridors in another building, but most of us are going to wind up in large shared rooms, with up to 10 of us sharing a space. So at Wednesday's departmental meeting our boss explained that we will all need to be extra considerate of one another in the shared space and try not to make unnecessary noise. He reminded me that there are a number of small enclosed rooms available for telephone calls, and there are a variety of meeting rooms we can book, and we can always have walking meetings if needed. I don't think any of us are particularly looking forward to the new space, with the possible exception of Theresa, who tried to encourage the others in the research data group to join her working in the office on Monday and Tuesday, saying that when the movers show up to collect her things she will just pick up her notebook computer (which is all she ever uses--no external monitor at all) and walk to the new office. The rest of us have packed up the cables for our external keyboards, mice, and monitors etc. into boxes, which have been labeled as per instructions, taken our notebook computers home, and we will work from home until the movers have had time to move our desks, monitors, and packed boxes. I welcome the excuse to work from home!
Monday morning's meeting wasn't held in our corridor, but rather in a meeting room in the library of the Umeå Uni Art Campus, which is down by the river. So I took the morning bus one stop further than normal, to the University Hospital, and then had a lovely 20 minute walk down the hill. That was a half day planning meeting to work out what our group priorities are for this spring. Even though we had a break for fika, with some yummy pastries provided, by the time we were done I was starving, so I went straight to the staff lunch room of that library and warmed up my soup. My colleagues presumably went up the hill together, I didn't see them again after that. After eating I walked up the hill, chatting with Keldor on the phone as I did. Just as I got to the University Hospital at 12:30 and precisely as I reached the specific bus stop that my homeward bound bus stops at, it pulled up to the stop. I had been wondering if I should check the bus schedule and see if there was a bus soon, or if I should go up to the office and do some archive work till my normal 14:30 bus. This lovely coincidence of the bus appearing without my needing to wait even 20 seconds, I hopped on it, and worked on the bus till I got home 1.5 hours later.
On Monday just after I got home from work I got a text message from the city water works saying that we shouldn't use the water from the taps until further notice, not for drinking, not for food prep, and not even for washing. They referred us to the web page or the customer service number for more information. It turns out that they had discovered evidence of a break-in at the Lövånger water treatment plant, and since they couldn't know the motivation, they had to assume that someone had done something to contaminate the water, so they sent samples off to the lab for testing and told us not to use the water, and that boiling it wouldn't help. Therefore they set up some water tanks at several locations in the area for people to come fetch water. Keldor and I were both skeptical of there being anything wrong with the water--we both assumed that anyone trying to poison all of the inhabitants of a small town would be a good enough mastermind criminal as to not leave evidence of a breakin. However, it was convenient for him to stop at his dad's on the way home, pick up an extra large camping style water holder, fill it, and bring it home for drinking water. I opted to do the dishwashing with local tap water, but then rinse them with the water he brought home, but used his water for drinking and cooking. This felt like a reasonable compromise between the gut instinct of "there is nothing wrong with our water" and "but it doesn't hurt to take precautions till the lab sends back the results".
On Wednesday after our morning meeting I got an email that said that my examiners have finally finished checking my corrected thesis, and they are happy with it, so they recommend the degree be awarded; please upload the final copy of the thesis to the University Library thesis repository as soon as possible, and when that is done my name will go on the list for the next degree ceremony. Needless to say, I promptly abandoned my plans to stay on campus and work till the 14:30 bus, but immediately packed my things and headed towards the bus stop. It being a little early for the 12:30 bus I stopped at two cafes on campus to see if either of them had a tempting pastry that would be a good thesis celebration treat, but nothing looked interesting. So instead I walked over to the University Hospital, and, it still being a few minutes before bus time, went into the cafe there. They had a pecan cheesecake that looked good, so I bought a piece of that to go, and happily ate it on the bus before settling in to work.
Once home I clocked out of work early and sat down to my home computer to upload my thesis to the Durham library thesis repository. Then I spent the evening mailing the link to lots of people who had said they would want a copy when it was done.
Thursday I happily worked from home (and attended the meeting via zoom), finished painting the ceiling in the living room, and baked some yummy purple bread rolls. One of our friends once gave us a big jar of purple flour that is really tasty in bread, but the bread has unpleasant crunchy bits, so I hadn't used it in quite a while. I noticed it again when I did the great pantry cleaning on Sunday evening, and considered tossing it, but I opened it, and smelled the flour, and it smelled really yummy and not the least bit stale, so I just transferred it to the next size down jar, as the jar wasn't full. I asked Keldor what kind of flour it is, but he couldn't remember, so I had him ask the friend who had given it to us, and the answer turns out to be häggbär, which I had never heard of. The Swedish web pages I found mentioning it said that they are small, black stone fruits with a bittersweet taste and an astringent effect on the mucous membranes of the oral cavity. However, they are not poisonous and can be used for juice and liqueur if they are harvested when frostbitten. In the past, they were used to give wine and liqueur a beautiful red color or as a brandy spice. However, our friend gave them to us for baking, so I clicked through the Wikipeda entry to find out that they are Prunus padus, known as bird cherry, hackberry, hagberry, or Mayday tree, and that it is a flowering plant in the rose family. It is a species of cherry. So I asked google for bird cherry recipes, and found someone who makes a cake out of a 50-50 blend of wheat and flour made from dried bird cherry. That blog post said that people are always surprised that there is no almond extract in the cake, and that the almond flavour comes from the pits, which are dried and ground with the fruit. It said that one needs to sift it to seperate the large bits of the pit, and this made so much sense to me. Both why I thought the flour smells so wonderful, as almond is by far my favourite nut, but also why the texture of the unsifted flour in bread wasn't pleasant.
So I tried sifting it, and the bread rolls turned out amazing! That evening my friend Joakim planned to drop by on his way north, so I timed the baking to be done a little before he arrived, and wrapped the basket in towels so that they rolls would still be warm for him, and he liked them too. The only down side to this flour is that you don't see the visual change in colour when the rolls are done, as they are already so purple, so you have to trust the nose alarm, and thump the bottom of the rolls or you risk burning them.
Today I also worked from home, and after work I replied to messages from people thanking me for the link to the thesis. One of the email exchanges triggered a connection in my brain, and I suddenly realised a direction I could try looking for funding to do an archaeology PhD building on my master's research. I had seen earlier this week a notice in the university news about a funding agency that helps researcher and an industry partner hire a PhD student. At the time I thought of my interest in working as an archaeologist with the Lofotr Viking museum, so I sent an email to them, and to J. at the Umeå archaeology department, asking if there might be interest in pursuing that funding, with me as the potential PhD student, and offering to help with the application. Today J. replied saying that I should never give up my quest, but saying that the funding situation isn't bright, and that he has failed to receive that particular funding on other occasions, so it isn't easy, and requires an external partner with a good enough budget to cover half the student's salary. I haven't yet heard back from the museum, but I think they are more interested in collaboration that doesn't cost salary. However, when writing the email to the co-author of the paper I wrote last year I suddenly remembered the nice people who work for the manufacturer of the Laser Ablation machine, and the ICP-MS that I used when working in the laser lab at LTU.
They were both very helpful teaching me to use the equipment. The ICP-MS guy had done his PhD at LTU developing ICP-MS techniques, so when he finished the degree he landed a job with the ICP-MS manufacturer and has happily worked there ever since.
Today I have sent them both an email, letting them know that I had finished the degree, and where they can download the thesis and data files if they are interested, and sent them a newly updated CV. I described the funding opportunity, explained that it needs an industry partner, and asked if one or both of their companies might be interested in putting together an application with the Umeå University Archaeology department, with me as the potential PhD student. I mentioned that in exchange for funding half my salary at University rates (which are much cheaper than industry pays, but I didn't feel the need to point that out--they know) they would get my focused attention for the three months of internship, acknowledgments for their company in all of the publications arising from the research (a typical PhD by publication dissertation would need at least four journal publications, plus assorted conference publications), and additional exposure for the LA-ICP-MS methodology in the Archaeology community.
I have no idea if this will go anywhere, but if one doesn't ask it really won't, so it is worth a shot.
The other good news of the day is the message from the city that the Lövånger water tested good and we can drink it and everything again. So Keldor celebrated by taking a long bath as I typed this.
Monday morning's meeting wasn't held in our corridor, but rather in a meeting room in the library of the Umeå Uni Art Campus, which is down by the river. So I took the morning bus one stop further than normal, to the University Hospital, and then had a lovely 20 minute walk down the hill. That was a half day planning meeting to work out what our group priorities are for this spring. Even though we had a break for fika, with some yummy pastries provided, by the time we were done I was starving, so I went straight to the staff lunch room of that library and warmed up my soup. My colleagues presumably went up the hill together, I didn't see them again after that. After eating I walked up the hill, chatting with Keldor on the phone as I did. Just as I got to the University Hospital at 12:30 and precisely as I reached the specific bus stop that my homeward bound bus stops at, it pulled up to the stop. I had been wondering if I should check the bus schedule and see if there was a bus soon, or if I should go up to the office and do some archive work till my normal 14:30 bus. This lovely coincidence of the bus appearing without my needing to wait even 20 seconds, I hopped on it, and worked on the bus till I got home 1.5 hours later.
On Monday just after I got home from work I got a text message from the city water works saying that we shouldn't use the water from the taps until further notice, not for drinking, not for food prep, and not even for washing. They referred us to the web page or the customer service number for more information. It turns out that they had discovered evidence of a break-in at the Lövånger water treatment plant, and since they couldn't know the motivation, they had to assume that someone had done something to contaminate the water, so they sent samples off to the lab for testing and told us not to use the water, and that boiling it wouldn't help. Therefore they set up some water tanks at several locations in the area for people to come fetch water. Keldor and I were both skeptical of there being anything wrong with the water--we both assumed that anyone trying to poison all of the inhabitants of a small town would be a good enough mastermind criminal as to not leave evidence of a breakin. However, it was convenient for him to stop at his dad's on the way home, pick up an extra large camping style water holder, fill it, and bring it home for drinking water. I opted to do the dishwashing with local tap water, but then rinse them with the water he brought home, but used his water for drinking and cooking. This felt like a reasonable compromise between the gut instinct of "there is nothing wrong with our water" and "but it doesn't hurt to take precautions till the lab sends back the results".
On Wednesday after our morning meeting I got an email that said that my examiners have finally finished checking my corrected thesis, and they are happy with it, so they recommend the degree be awarded; please upload the final copy of the thesis to the University Library thesis repository as soon as possible, and when that is done my name will go on the list for the next degree ceremony. Needless to say, I promptly abandoned my plans to stay on campus and work till the 14:30 bus, but immediately packed my things and headed towards the bus stop. It being a little early for the 12:30 bus I stopped at two cafes on campus to see if either of them had a tempting pastry that would be a good thesis celebration treat, but nothing looked interesting. So instead I walked over to the University Hospital, and, it still being a few minutes before bus time, went into the cafe there. They had a pecan cheesecake that looked good, so I bought a piece of that to go, and happily ate it on the bus before settling in to work.
Once home I clocked out of work early and sat down to my home computer to upload my thesis to the Durham library thesis repository. Then I spent the evening mailing the link to lots of people who had said they would want a copy when it was done.
Thursday I happily worked from home (and attended the meeting via zoom), finished painting the ceiling in the living room, and baked some yummy purple bread rolls. One of our friends once gave us a big jar of purple flour that is really tasty in bread, but the bread has unpleasant crunchy bits, so I hadn't used it in quite a while. I noticed it again when I did the great pantry cleaning on Sunday evening, and considered tossing it, but I opened it, and smelled the flour, and it smelled really yummy and not the least bit stale, so I just transferred it to the next size down jar, as the jar wasn't full. I asked Keldor what kind of flour it is, but he couldn't remember, so I had him ask the friend who had given it to us, and the answer turns out to be häggbär, which I had never heard of. The Swedish web pages I found mentioning it said that they are small, black stone fruits with a bittersweet taste and an astringent effect on the mucous membranes of the oral cavity. However, they are not poisonous and can be used for juice and liqueur if they are harvested when frostbitten. In the past, they were used to give wine and liqueur a beautiful red color or as a brandy spice. However, our friend gave them to us for baking, so I clicked through the Wikipeda entry to find out that they are Prunus padus, known as bird cherry, hackberry, hagberry, or Mayday tree, and that it is a flowering plant in the rose family. It is a species of cherry. So I asked google for bird cherry recipes, and found someone who makes a cake out of a 50-50 blend of wheat and flour made from dried bird cherry. That blog post said that people are always surprised that there is no almond extract in the cake, and that the almond flavour comes from the pits, which are dried and ground with the fruit. It said that one needs to sift it to seperate the large bits of the pit, and this made so much sense to me. Both why I thought the flour smells so wonderful, as almond is by far my favourite nut, but also why the texture of the unsifted flour in bread wasn't pleasant.
So I tried sifting it, and the bread rolls turned out amazing! That evening my friend Joakim planned to drop by on his way north, so I timed the baking to be done a little before he arrived, and wrapped the basket in towels so that they rolls would still be warm for him, and he liked them too. The only down side to this flour is that you don't see the visual change in colour when the rolls are done, as they are already so purple, so you have to trust the nose alarm, and thump the bottom of the rolls or you risk burning them.
Today I also worked from home, and after work I replied to messages from people thanking me for the link to the thesis. One of the email exchanges triggered a connection in my brain, and I suddenly realised a direction I could try looking for funding to do an archaeology PhD building on my master's research. I had seen earlier this week a notice in the university news about a funding agency that helps researcher and an industry partner hire a PhD student. At the time I thought of my interest in working as an archaeologist with the Lofotr Viking museum, so I sent an email to them, and to J. at the Umeå archaeology department, asking if there might be interest in pursuing that funding, with me as the potential PhD student, and offering to help with the application. Today J. replied saying that I should never give up my quest, but saying that the funding situation isn't bright, and that he has failed to receive that particular funding on other occasions, so it isn't easy, and requires an external partner with a good enough budget to cover half the student's salary. I haven't yet heard back from the museum, but I think they are more interested in collaboration that doesn't cost salary. However, when writing the email to the co-author of the paper I wrote last year I suddenly remembered the nice people who work for the manufacturer of the Laser Ablation machine, and the ICP-MS that I used when working in the laser lab at LTU.
They were both very helpful teaching me to use the equipment. The ICP-MS guy had done his PhD at LTU developing ICP-MS techniques, so when he finished the degree he landed a job with the ICP-MS manufacturer and has happily worked there ever since.
Today I have sent them both an email, letting them know that I had finished the degree, and where they can download the thesis and data files if they are interested, and sent them a newly updated CV. I described the funding opportunity, explained that it needs an industry partner, and asked if one or both of their companies might be interested in putting together an application with the Umeå University Archaeology department, with me as the potential PhD student. I mentioned that in exchange for funding half my salary at University rates (which are much cheaper than industry pays, but I didn't feel the need to point that out--they know) they would get my focused attention for the three months of internship, acknowledgments for their company in all of the publications arising from the research (a typical PhD by publication dissertation would need at least four journal publications, plus assorted conference publications), and additional exposure for the LA-ICP-MS methodology in the Archaeology community.
I have no idea if this will go anywhere, but if one doesn't ask it really won't, so it is worth a shot.
The other good news of the day is the message from the city that the Lövånger water tested good and we can drink it and everything again. So Keldor celebrated by taking a long bath as I typed this.