It's mid-December and I sure would like to see some snow here...
It has been getting colder, though.
So. This surprisingly un-stressful semester is almost over: just one more exam tomorrow and that will be it. I've already been in kind of a holiday-mode these past few days - playing computer games, reading, sleeping. I finally finished Star Control II (Ur-Quan Masters) and am now safely addicted to CIV. I've also been writing a little, but more of that later.
I've spent the last few hours buying christmas presents; or rather, not buying them, since I just can't figure out what to get to my parents and to those numerous relatives I know next to nothing about but who nonetheless are coming to spent the christmas eve with my family. Of course, this isn't any real problem since I really don't have to buy them anything, but I enjoy giving presents and would like to have something nice and personal for everyone. I would also enjoy sending christmas cards if I wasn't so terribly lazy, but I suppose this is an incurable condition. Therefore, no cards for you unless I find time to draw something before heading home for christmas. Which will, by the way, happen on Monday or on Tuesday depending on whether I still have much shopping to do after the weekend.
I might or might not have mentioned that I'll start my pro gradu (or master's thesis, or whatever) probably on March in an ongoing research project in School of Psychology. The field of the study is clinical neuropsychology, the subject diagnostic comparison between dyslectics and ADHD patients. In my thesis I will debate whether cerebellar damage plays any part in dyslexia, as has been suggested by some researcher. It's an interesting subject and I get to do some EEG scans, which is always neat.
Anyway, the point here is that I went to the laboratory yesterday in order to get familiar with the configuration of the experiment and spent there well over two hours. Of which time over half went to fixing stuff that was broken, wondering why a program isn't working as it is supposed work (even if it was okay just yesterday) and, all in all, wondering who the hell programmed this, who bought the parts of our expensive machinery and who put this all together so that it can and will never work exactly right. (Actually, I know pretty well why measurement equipment and the programs designed to use with them are, nicely put, less-than-perfect. First, Department of Psychology isn't exactly rich, and all the machinery consist of parts brought in different times from different places, and they are not always compatible. Second, the people who program software for psychologists are very rarely from the same field themselves. So psychologists don't know how to explain their needs in right language and programmers don't know what is really needed from the program, and that isn't a good combination.) But, I also got quite a good idea of what's required of me (even though EEG is cool, actually conducting the experiments is going to be unbelievably boring). More of the same tomorrow, when some collaborator from Tampere arrives and I need to meet him and discuss about which electrodes we are going to use and stuff.
Also, I accidentally noted today when passing by department's clinic that there was still room for one in adult psychology case seminar (it begins on January). This is an obligatory course, last of the clinical continuum, and only ten people can take it per semester so I had been sure it would already be full. The enrollment started yesterday morning and I couldn't get to the department then. But I signed my name to the list now and all is well. On the course, I get to interview and test a real clinical case and then I need to write a report of him/her.
Life is good. So is food. I'll probably eat something first, then continue building my ultimate civilization.
So. This surprisingly un-stressful semester is almost over: just one more exam tomorrow and that will be it. I've already been in kind of a holiday-mode these past few days - playing computer games, reading, sleeping. I finally finished Star Control II (Ur-Quan Masters) and am now safely addicted to CIV. I've also been writing a little, but more of that later.
I've spent the last few hours buying christmas presents; or rather, not buying them, since I just can't figure out what to get to my parents and to those numerous relatives I know next to nothing about but who nonetheless are coming to spent the christmas eve with my family. Of course, this isn't any real problem since I really don't have to buy them anything, but I enjoy giving presents and would like to have something nice and personal for everyone. I would also enjoy sending christmas cards if I wasn't so terribly lazy, but I suppose this is an incurable condition. Therefore, no cards for you unless I find time to draw something before heading home for christmas. Which will, by the way, happen on Monday or on Tuesday depending on whether I still have much shopping to do after the weekend.
I might or might not have mentioned that I'll start my pro gradu (or master's thesis, or whatever) probably on March in an ongoing research project in School of Psychology. The field of the study is clinical neuropsychology, the subject diagnostic comparison between dyslectics and ADHD patients. In my thesis I will debate whether cerebellar damage plays any part in dyslexia, as has been suggested by some researcher. It's an interesting subject and I get to do some EEG scans, which is always neat.
Anyway, the point here is that I went to the laboratory yesterday in order to get familiar with the configuration of the experiment and spent there well over two hours. Of which time over half went to fixing stuff that was broken, wondering why a program isn't working as it is supposed work (even if it was okay just yesterday) and, all in all, wondering who the hell programmed this, who bought the parts of our expensive machinery and who put this all together so that it can and will never work exactly right. (Actually, I know pretty well why measurement equipment and the programs designed to use with them are, nicely put, less-than-perfect. First, Department of Psychology isn't exactly rich, and all the machinery consist of parts brought in different times from different places, and they are not always compatible. Second, the people who program software for psychologists are very rarely from the same field themselves. So psychologists don't know how to explain their needs in right language and programmers don't know what is really needed from the program, and that isn't a good combination.) But, I also got quite a good idea of what's required of me (even though EEG is cool, actually conducting the experiments is going to be unbelievably boring). More of the same tomorrow, when some collaborator from Tampere arrives and I need to meet him and discuss about which electrodes we are going to use and stuff.
Also, I accidentally noted today when passing by department's clinic that there was still room for one in adult psychology case seminar (it begins on January). This is an obligatory course, last of the clinical continuum, and only ten people can take it per semester so I had been sure it would already be full. The enrollment started yesterday morning and I couldn't get to the department then. But I signed my name to the list now and all is well. On the course, I get to interview and test a real clinical case and then I need to write a report of him/her.
Life is good. So is food. I'll probably eat something first, then continue building my ultimate civilization.