Snowed Under
So, seems like much of the country has just been hit by heavy snow, and here in the North East it's no exception. Fun stuff I have to say; I do enjoy snow and despite my general dislike of being cold it's kinda fun to actually have a winter that feels like a proper winter. Of course, it meant I was covered in the stuff by the time I finally walked into uni two hours ago. Thank technology for providing me with my extremely warm cashmere/wool trenchcoat, which has yet to let me down.
Christmas shopping is almost done now, with only three people left to buy for. I know what two of those gifts are going to be, still working on the third...meh, I'm sure I'll come up with something. On the other hand, work has only slightly abated. Plant Biotech project is nearing completion, and on Monday I'll be putting together the final presentation along with the rest of my group. I think we finally have all angles covered, from the transgenes to be inserted, to the plasmid vector being used, to the insertion method (rapid bombardment of cell culture with gold microparticles) to the final expected result and why we think it will work. Of course it's all hypothetical at this point (the idea of the assignment is that it prepares us for having to make presentations to grant committees), but when all's said and done bioluminescent plants are the sort of crazy, useless thing that would probably sell very well if someone went ahead and started manufacturing them.
Marine Biology presentation is done, and I'm just waiting now to actually present it.
Bioethics poster needs ammending today. That's perfectly doable.
Need to write three more feedbacks for Investigative Biology project. I hate giving feedback; the temptation to be a harsh bastard is right there, but on the other hand I know how I would want an assessor to mark my own work and I can't help but wonder if that's being too kind. Marking other peoples' work requires a very subjective judgement on fairness, and I'm not sure if my judgement is appropriate. I suppose really that it doesn't matter too much - the other members of my group are never going to find out how I rated their work - but when all's said and done I still like to think I did a decent, professional job of it. Seriously, give me a nice 6000-word essay over a group project any day. But then, if I'm going into a career in wildlife conservation then I guess I should get used to this crap.
Middlesbrough Requiem LARP on Tuesday night was a barrel of laughs. Since Duncan wasn't giving lifts this week the three of us that were heading down there from Newcastle had to get the trains there and back. The train there wasn't any issue at all, but the return journey involved a 25-minute wait in freezing Hartlepool station. At least it presented plenty of time to plot and scheme with my fellow players, which is the bread and butter of a vampire game. Myself and one other player have come up with a simple yet brilliant line of personal plot to implement over the next few months which is likely to screw both our characters over in the long term; a pity because it seems we work together with a scary degree of efficiency.
Anyway, I should probably get on and do some work, so here's a snow-filled music video of Nightwish's wonderfully angsty Nemo:
Christmas shopping is almost done now, with only three people left to buy for. I know what two of those gifts are going to be, still working on the third...meh, I'm sure I'll come up with something. On the other hand, work has only slightly abated. Plant Biotech project is nearing completion, and on Monday I'll be putting together the final presentation along with the rest of my group. I think we finally have all angles covered, from the transgenes to be inserted, to the plasmid vector being used, to the insertion method (rapid bombardment of cell culture with gold microparticles) to the final expected result and why we think it will work. Of course it's all hypothetical at this point (the idea of the assignment is that it prepares us for having to make presentations to grant committees), but when all's said and done bioluminescent plants are the sort of crazy, useless thing that would probably sell very well if someone went ahead and started manufacturing them.
Marine Biology presentation is done, and I'm just waiting now to actually present it.
Bioethics poster needs ammending today. That's perfectly doable.
Need to write three more feedbacks for Investigative Biology project. I hate giving feedback; the temptation to be a harsh bastard is right there, but on the other hand I know how I would want an assessor to mark my own work and I can't help but wonder if that's being too kind. Marking other peoples' work requires a very subjective judgement on fairness, and I'm not sure if my judgement is appropriate. I suppose really that it doesn't matter too much - the other members of my group are never going to find out how I rated their work - but when all's said and done I still like to think I did a decent, professional job of it. Seriously, give me a nice 6000-word essay over a group project any day. But then, if I'm going into a career in wildlife conservation then I guess I should get used to this crap.
Middlesbrough Requiem LARP on Tuesday night was a barrel of laughs. Since Duncan wasn't giving lifts this week the three of us that were heading down there from Newcastle had to get the trains there and back. The train there wasn't any issue at all, but the return journey involved a 25-minute wait in freezing Hartlepool station. At least it presented plenty of time to plot and scheme with my fellow players, which is the bread and butter of a vampire game. Myself and one other player have come up with a simple yet brilliant line of personal plot to implement over the next few months which is likely to screw both our characters over in the long term; a pity because it seems we work together with a scary degree of efficiency.
Anyway, I should probably get on and do some work, so here's a snow-filled music video of Nightwish's wonderfully angsty Nemo:
Click to view