As you can probably tell by now, I have very little desire to do well at this AMS gig. I have low interest in the subject, my supervisor is a tool/n00b/incompetent (as a supervisor... as a clinician he does well), and I'm tired. Very very tired.
I'm taking a weekend off from 20-22nd November. Can't wait.
I just got water on my notebook. Damn.
I'm going to buy a camera, so I can post photos of really uninteresting crap (unlike James, of course).
I want to go home and bake. and then throw the cake at something.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The Head
A photo from before the battle in Leominster. You can see how serious the people were... this would be a heavy helmet, and it's dented too...
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Gourd flowerpots
Aren't these cool? I want to grow some gourds at home and use them for this... These gourds were found on the side of a covered road in a little village on a hillside. It was a funny village; no vehicle would be able to traverse the majority of the streets because they were so steep and so uneven, and little old grandmothers lined the ways, selling apples and oregano and (mmmmm) figs, as well as some hand-made things. There was a tiny area with some tourist-oriented shops, and the village was famous for its wine (which was, apparently, very unusual; quince wine?), so quite a number of wine stores were offering tasting. We ate in a restaurant which sold delicious stuffed zucchini flowers. The owner of the restaurant challenged me to a chilli-eating competition, which was fun. :) Small green chillis are hot, though not unbearably so...
Friday, October 30, 2009
The things one learns...
Yesterday, I found out that a cell line with which we have been working in the lab actually has prostate cancer because of a virus (Xenotropic Murine Leukaemia virus-related virus), and we have not been working with it in a containment level appropriate to this. It's been in the literature for 2 years, but we were only told yesterday... and my supervisor wanted us to keep working with it. I'm not too keen on getting chronic fatigue/prostate cancer, so there's a definite NO from me. It's pretty terrible that he asked us to keep working with it! I just hope that I didn't catch it while the cells were growing.
Ah well... at least it was found out before I started doing heaps of work with that cell line...
On a happier note, my site is now fully up and running; it has 20 prints for sale, at last. It's shocking how expensive it is to actually have something printed at high quality, though; I really want to find a cheaper source! (Other than the really good one in the US that won't ship outside America)
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Turkish meat
I don't know what this stuff is called, but it is raw meat, semi-dried. Not dry like jerky, but not that bloody. It's coated in something like flour, which has become soaked in blood. It appears to be kept for months at a time, and is eaten as is... no cooking, no washing, no disinfection. It seems the Turkish are quite used to eating meat that has sat around unrefrigerated for a considerable amount of time; most of the doner kebabs sit around all day, free to any flies, dripping meat juice and fat, until evening comes and the cooker is turned on. Still... the stuff in this photo is worse, eaten raw, as it is. It has a strange smell, too...
Marshaling
In the light of having plenty to whine yet nothing much to actually tell, I'll write on the boring subject of marshaling at the GP Exam.
This is the exit OSCE exam for aspiring GP reg's. While it can be taken at any stage of GP training, most candidates sit for it in their last year... which can be pretty sad for those that I have seen 3 years in a row.
The 14 OSCE stations can range from basic to very challenging; purely Q&A to procedural skills. A marshal's job entails ensuring smooth transition of candidates between each station, bringing them water and escorting them to toilets, and making sure they're not doing what they're not supposed to do. It really is a easy job - therefore not surprisingly boring after the first hour. Apart from looking after an unbelievable number of nerve-stricken candidates, who's cerebrum automatically shuts off and therefore cannot see signs, are unable read their names on the name sheet, and fail to hear instructions, there is not much else to do. And as long as one is vigilant at recognising such lost sheep and provide babysitting service promptly, any drama can be avoided.
Because I've marshaled for a number of times now, I became the lead marshal for Sunday afternoon's session @ RWH. An even easier job, because rather than being stationed at a particular position and watching over that whole area, I was the roamer - which actually means that I don't need to do anything at all. I did attempt to make myself useful, by volunteering for the occasional water jug refills, chatting with the College admin staff, and sometimes strolling around, smiling at everyone and asking "everything cool?" The rest of my time were spent either at my Spanish workbook, which I did pathetically little of, or in front of mountainload of very yummy free food... muffins, yogurt slices, fruit cakes, croissants, biscuits, sandwiches, rolls, puffs, salads, nectarines, apples, pears, bananas, melons, pineapples, strawberries, dried nuts, dried fruits. By the end of 6 and half hours I concluded that GPs, too, are a contributing factor to obesity.
So when this finally ended we counted the marking sheets, mused ourselves with glimpse of not-so-nice examiner comments on candidates who I have seen 3 years in a row. And then as the marshals get their $80 gift voucher, I get $120 for my "additional troubles". Mmm, not complaining =).
This is the exit OSCE exam for aspiring GP reg's. While it can be taken at any stage of GP training, most candidates sit for it in their last year... which can be pretty sad for those that I have seen 3 years in a row.
The 14 OSCE stations can range from basic to very challenging; purely Q&A to procedural skills. A marshal's job entails ensuring smooth transition of candidates between each station, bringing them water and escorting them to toilets, and making sure they're not doing what they're not supposed to do. It really is a easy job - therefore not surprisingly boring after the first hour. Apart from looking after an unbelievable number of nerve-stricken candidates, who's cerebrum automatically shuts off and therefore cannot see signs, are unable read their names on the name sheet, and fail to hear instructions, there is not much else to do. And as long as one is vigilant at recognising such lost sheep and provide babysitting service promptly, any drama can be avoided.
Because I've marshaled for a number of times now, I became the lead marshal for Sunday afternoon's session @ RWH. An even easier job, because rather than being stationed at a particular position and watching over that whole area, I was the roamer - which actually means that I don't need to do anything at all. I did attempt to make myself useful, by volunteering for the occasional water jug refills, chatting with the College admin staff, and sometimes strolling around, smiling at everyone and asking "everything cool?" The rest of my time were spent either at my Spanish workbook, which I did pathetically little of, or in front of mountainload of very yummy free food... muffins, yogurt slices, fruit cakes, croissants, biscuits, sandwiches, rolls, puffs, salads, nectarines, apples, pears, bananas, melons, pineapples, strawberries, dried nuts, dried fruits. By the end of 6 and half hours I concluded that GPs, too, are a contributing factor to obesity.
So when this finally ended we counted the marking sheets, mused ourselves with glimpse of not-so-nice examiner comments on candidates who I have seen 3 years in a row. And then as the marshals get their $80 gift voucher, I get $120 for my "additional troubles". Mmm, not complaining =).
Photo schmoto
Cupcake doodles > James' arty farty shots.
Only kidding. Can you tell my mind is wandering? If only my feet could too.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Columns
Greek/Roman ruins in Turkey... they're everywhere. Actually, Turkey has an amazing amount of history attached to it. It's been the home of the Lyceans, the ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Persians, the Ottoman empire, the modern Greeks, and now the Turkish. All over Turkey, very extensive ruins of all these civilisations may be found. I'll have more photos from an absolutely enormous ruin we visited in Pamukkale, as well as the beautiful travertines there.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Pensive Cat
I thought I'd break my Turkey post into a number of (disjointed) posts based on some photos that I am processing. Please tell me what you think about this idea, if anyone except me still reads this. :P
Cats are everywhere in Turkey, and I mean /everywhere/! The funny thing is that they're not malnourished, and nor are they scared of humans in the way wild cats in Australia or England are. In fact, I was so surprised when I got back to London and saw a cat running away from me, because I had just spent two weeks with very friendly and obedient cats. All cats in Turkey seem to have an intuitive understanding that "tss tss" means "Go away" and a sound I can't represent with letters (that is made by creating negative pressure in the mouth with the mouth open but the tongue at the roof of the mouth, then pulling the tongue downwards, making a click-kind of sound) means "look this way".
I met a range of cats, from very boisterous kittens to slow, stately older cats. One particular kitten would not stop moving, and hunted everything that moved, including one's feet as soon as one dared to lift them. Tying my shoes with the cat attacking both my hands and my shoelaces was a rather amusing experience, and I only managed by diverting its attention to my mother's shoelaces.
Funnily enough, with cats everywhere, dogs would probably be expected, but except in the rural areas they are completely absent. I think this has to do with the fact that dogs are haram for muslims. Even in rural areas, they are quite rare, though we had an interesting experience in one town where we were adopted by a dog for part of a walk, until we came to a blind corner (in a ruined Greek village). Around the corner was a man with a slingshot and a large rock, attempting to ambush an kill the dog. The dog had clearly met him before and refused to round the corner, whereupon the man came around and, disregarding our party, began shouting at the dog and attempting to shoot it. Fortunately the dog was clever enough to get away and we were spared the sight of an injury or death... Talking to a local later it turned out that man was a bit strange, and that he and the dog have quite a history. It seems quite propitious for the dog that the man was a poor shot with his shanghai!
(oh, this photo has my new watermark... I thought I should start adding that since I'm starting to sell them, though I don't know whether I should make it more obvious. I don't want it to get too much in the way, but I want to prevent people from taking the photos without permission...any comments?)
Cats are everywhere in Turkey, and I mean /everywhere/! The funny thing is that they're not malnourished, and nor are they scared of humans in the way wild cats in Australia or England are. In fact, I was so surprised when I got back to London and saw a cat running away from me, because I had just spent two weeks with very friendly and obedient cats. All cats in Turkey seem to have an intuitive understanding that "tss tss" means "Go away" and a sound I can't represent with letters (that is made by creating negative pressure in the mouth with the mouth open but the tongue at the roof of the mouth, then pulling the tongue downwards, making a click-kind of sound) means "look this way".
I met a range of cats, from very boisterous kittens to slow, stately older cats. One particular kitten would not stop moving, and hunted everything that moved, including one's feet as soon as one dared to lift them. Tying my shoes with the cat attacking both my hands and my shoelaces was a rather amusing experience, and I only managed by diverting its attention to my mother's shoelaces.
Funnily enough, with cats everywhere, dogs would probably be expected, but except in the rural areas they are completely absent. I think this has to do with the fact that dogs are haram for muslims. Even in rural areas, they are quite rare, though we had an interesting experience in one town where we were adopted by a dog for part of a walk, until we came to a blind corner (in a ruined Greek village). Around the corner was a man with a slingshot and a large rock, attempting to ambush an kill the dog. The dog had clearly met him before and refused to round the corner, whereupon the man came around and, disregarding our party, began shouting at the dog and attempting to shoot it. Fortunately the dog was clever enough to get away and we were spared the sight of an injury or death... Talking to a local later it turned out that man was a bit strange, and that he and the dog have quite a history. It seems quite propitious for the dog that the man was a poor shot with his shanghai!
(oh, this photo has my new watermark... I thought I should start adding that since I'm starting to sell them, though I don't know whether I should make it more obvious. I don't want it to get too much in the way, but I want to prevent people from taking the photos without permission...any comments?)
Thursday, October 22, 2009
It's feeling a bit empty in here...
Hi everyone... It's feeling a bit empty here! We need to get some more posting going. I will try to write up a post about my Turkey trip in the next few days, but it would be great to see something other than my rambling. :P If you would like to be subscribed to the blog and/or comments in your email, then just reply to me in this post and I can add you to it. Then, in the rare event that anyone posts or comments (:P), it will be sent to your email so that you don't have to visit the site to know that it's there. :)
In other news, I've started up my own websites, http://enlightened0ne.com and http://enlightenedphotography.net. Currently they both redirect to the same temporary website. I am working on learning how to make a decent site with proper paypal and credit card payments etc. If anyone needs some hosting space, I have plenty! :)
Oh, and just so that there's a picture on the front page, here's one of the Turkey photos that's passed muster:
Again, comment here if you want to receive blog posts and/or comments in your email. Hope AMS is going well! :D
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)