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Word. A wonderful piece of writing.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Pure Energy Systems Wiki
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If you're as fascinated by renewable generation as I am then you should love this Wiki. I found my way there through their algal biofuels page, which is awesome!
If you're as fascinated by renewable generation as I am then you should love this Wiki. I found my way there through their algal biofuels page, which is awesome!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
the CBI is sociopathic
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They rather predictably want the government to ignore the unions' demands for flexible working hours for parents and are forecasting doom, gloom and general plagues of frogs if the government gives in. Wankers.
This is a typically one-sided argument from the corporate whores, completely ignoring the benefits to society of parents being able to spend more quality time with their children. Of course the CBI will claim that they don't deal in 'intangibles' such as 'theoretical' benefits. However, evidence exists to demonstrate the benefits of such policy. For example, the Scandinavian countries who already implement such policies have far higher education standards and lower juvenile crime rates. Social studies of parent-child contact also reveal the potential for this policy to provide much benefit to our society.
This seems obvious to me but the corporate whores of the CBI don't seem to realise this or they don't want it made known because its another nail in the coffin of their demands for global corporate slavery. So they are either stupid and have no place commenting on policy or they are deceitful and sociopathic. I wonder which . . . ?
They rather predictably want the government to ignore the unions' demands for flexible working hours for parents and are forecasting doom, gloom and general plagues of frogs if the government gives in. Wankers.
This is a typically one-sided argument from the corporate whores, completely ignoring the benefits to society of parents being able to spend more quality time with their children. Of course the CBI will claim that they don't deal in 'intangibles' such as 'theoretical' benefits. However, evidence exists to demonstrate the benefits of such policy. For example, the Scandinavian countries who already implement such policies have far higher education standards and lower juvenile crime rates. Social studies of parent-child contact also reveal the potential for this policy to provide much benefit to our society.
This seems obvious to me but the corporate whores of the CBI don't seem to realise this or they don't want it made known because its another nail in the coffin of their demands for global corporate slavery. So they are either stupid and have no place commenting on policy or they are deceitful and sociopathic. I wonder which . . . ?
Friday, July 18, 2008
another step closer to sustainable biofuels
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Thursday, July 17, 2008
science puts an end to racism
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Nice work.
Demonstrating once and for all that racism is purely a product of prejudice, arrogance, bigotry and selfishness.
Nice work.
Demonstrating once and for all that racism is purely a product of prejudice, arrogance, bigotry and selfishness.
sodding HPLC . . . .
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Punkscience just destroyed another £400 HPLC column.
Bugger.
I'm trying to quantify metallothioneins in my beasties according to a method adapted from these two papers. And its not working.
I can't seem to get a peak from the derivatised metallothionein, no matter what I do. The derivatising agent, 6-IAF, should bind happily to thiols such as those on the MT. I've tried pre-incubating the MT with cadmium to ensure the thiols are saturated, there's EDTA in the labelling mixture too which should pull those metals off and allow the label to bind. I've also tried adding a reducing agent, TCEP, so that the thiols aren't oxidised and unable to bind the metals/label. Still no peak.
I've varied the gradient, I've extended it to silly lengths just in case the MT peak was being masked by one of the other peaks that come out. Still nothing.
I'm using the gradient version of the HPLC protocol with acetonitrile/methanol and water and when I go to clean the columns after a busy day's cocking around and getting no peaks I ramp the organic eluent up to 100% to clean all the crap off the column. The first time I tried this with one of my bitch columns a load of cloudy white stuff came off as I ramped the organic phase back down again. Oh dear. That would be the stationary phase being stripped off the silica particles then. Exit first column.
I then tried using my uber-bad analytical column I bought a couple of years ago for my crab-urine work. This should have improved separation and resolution of any peaks. It didn't. No.
Instead, after taking great care not to ramp the solvents up and down too quickly and to rinse the column with milliQ I ran the wrong gradient program one day and got another nasty little white cloud in my waste bottle, just like before. I almost cried that time.
Then yesterday, using my last column- a random C8 one I 'acquired' nefariously- I switched from the stupid, shitty MT analysis to another piece of work I was planning, which also used an acetonitrile-water gradient and managed to fuck that column too, first time I tried to wash it.
Bastard fuckbollock goat cock. Now I am out of good RP columns and still have no data.
Punkscience just destroyed another £400 HPLC column.
Bugger.
I'm trying to quantify metallothioneins in my beasties according to a method adapted from these two papers. And its not working.
I can't seem to get a peak from the derivatised metallothionein, no matter what I do. The derivatising agent, 6-IAF, should bind happily to thiols such as those on the MT. I've tried pre-incubating the MT with cadmium to ensure the thiols are saturated, there's EDTA in the labelling mixture too which should pull those metals off and allow the label to bind. I've also tried adding a reducing agent, TCEP, so that the thiols aren't oxidised and unable to bind the metals/label. Still no peak.
I've varied the gradient, I've extended it to silly lengths just in case the MT peak was being masked by one of the other peaks that come out. Still nothing.
I'm using the gradient version of the HPLC protocol with acetonitrile/methanol and water and when I go to clean the columns after a busy day's cocking around and getting no peaks I ramp the organic eluent up to 100% to clean all the crap off the column. The first time I tried this with one of my bitch columns a load of cloudy white stuff came off as I ramped the organic phase back down again. Oh dear. That would be the stationary phase being stripped off the silica particles then. Exit first column.
I then tried using my uber-bad analytical column I bought a couple of years ago for my crab-urine work. This should have improved separation and resolution of any peaks. It didn't. No.
Instead, after taking great care not to ramp the solvents up and down too quickly and to rinse the column with milliQ I ran the wrong gradient program one day and got another nasty little white cloud in my waste bottle, just like before. I almost cried that time.
Then yesterday, using my last column- a random C8 one I 'acquired' nefariously- I switched from the stupid, shitty MT analysis to another piece of work I was planning, which also used an acetonitrile-water gradient and managed to fuck that column too, first time I tried to wash it.
Bastard fuckbollock goat cock. Now I am out of good RP columns and still have no data.
Friday, July 11, 2008
this site is awesome!
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Word.
Addition:
Here's mine.
Word.
Addition:
Here's mine.
research careers - an exercise in exploitation
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Careers in research suck. Not because of the work but because of the nature of the contracts that research is carried out under. Typically these are less than 3 years and often just one. Competition is high and wages often low (a typical "hirers' labour market). Whilst working on one contract it is often near-impossible to set yourself up for another to start immediately after the first has ended. For example, one of my supervisors spent 8 months unemployed between her last position and this one- and that is not an unusual spell. She told me she met a guy at a conference recently who worked in his Dad's hotel for four years before being able to pick up another contract. This isn't to say there isn't work out there- I know people who aren't suitable for the projects they are on but got the job through favouritism or by picking up the reigns from someone who had quit. And who wants to relocate every two years or so just to stay in work? Try maintaining a relationship in those circumstances, or buying a house (not that you'd want to right now).
This Guardian article outlines the situation well.
Careers in research suck. Not because of the work but because of the nature of the contracts that research is carried out under. Typically these are less than 3 years and often just one. Competition is high and wages often low (a typical "hirers' labour market). Whilst working on one contract it is often near-impossible to set yourself up for another to start immediately after the first has ended. For example, one of my supervisors spent 8 months unemployed between her last position and this one- and that is not an unusual spell. She told me she met a guy at a conference recently who worked in his Dad's hotel for four years before being able to pick up another contract. This isn't to say there isn't work out there- I know people who aren't suitable for the projects they are on but got the job through favouritism or by picking up the reigns from someone who had quit. And who wants to relocate every two years or so just to stay in work? Try maintaining a relationship in those circumstances, or buying a house (not that you'd want to right now).
This Guardian article outlines the situation well.
Friday, July 04, 2008
new wave powered generation technology
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PFC.
(PFC = Pretty Fucking Cool).
PFC.
(PFC = Pretty Fucking Cool).
busy, busy, busy
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Punkscience is going to a conference in Marseille so won't be around for a few days. You can rest assured that while I am away I will be working hard to disseminate my cutting-edge worm science to a wider audience and when I'm not doing that I will be working on my thesis. Not swanning around Marseille and getting pissed. No. Not at all. Honest!
Punkscience is going to a conference in Marseille so won't be around for a few days. You can rest assured that while I am away I will be working hard to disseminate my cutting-edge worm science to a wider audience and when I'm not doing that I will be working on my thesis. Not swanning around Marseille and getting pissed. No. Not at all. Honest!
Thursday, July 03, 2008
new page feature
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Either of my regular visitors (Hi Rossinisbird and Bryan!) might notice the new page feature on the left. I thought it might feature as a poignant reminder of the utter stupidity of voting for 'grey' parties. The spiralling oil prices, climate change and global strife that they are perpetuating have the potential to ruin the rest of our lives. It doesn't have to be this way.
Either of my regular visitors (Hi Rossinisbird and Bryan!) might notice the new page feature on the left. I thought it might feature as a poignant reminder of the utter stupidity of voting for 'grey' parties. The spiralling oil prices, climate change and global strife that they are perpetuating have the potential to ruin the rest of our lives. It doesn't have to be this way.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
PhD blues
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I am reaching the end of my PhD and will run out of money in ~3 months time. If I work my arse of for those three months I should end up with almost all of the data that I set out to collect at the start of my PhD. This is not a little impressive, I should point out. As I have been living in Plymouth and working in ~~~~~~ I have been losing three hours a day travelling. To remedy this unproductive situation I decided to buy myself a van, build a bed in the back and sleep up at ~~~~~~ during the week to give myself some highly concentrated and much needed work time Punkwiff is wholly supportive as she's fed up of me being grumpy when I crawl in at 2200, only to have to get up the next day and head back up country.
The upshot of this narrative is that I have the considerable luxury of a whole 16 hours or so of working time available to me. Being human I tend to spend at least a couple of those hours cocking around in t'interweb, which is good news for you lucky blog fiends out there as I get to share more of my fascinating life with you.
Anyhoo, I have spent the last few days quantifying lipid, sugars and protein in polychaete oocytes and preparing my talk for the SEB Annual Conference in Marseille. Consequently, I have some nice data and am going to share it with the world.
I rule.
The upshot of this narrative is that I have the considerable luxury of a whole 16 hours or so of working time available to me. Being human I tend to spend at least a couple of those hours cocking around in t'interweb, which is good news for you lucky blog fiends out there as I get to share more of my fascinating life with you.
Anyhoo, I have spent the last few days quantifying lipid, sugars and protein in polychaete oocytes and preparing my talk for the SEB Annual Conference in Marseille. Consequently, I have some nice data and am going to share it with the world.
I rule.
Chinese public transport
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Its an incredible thing to watch. I don't know what I'm appalled by most: The way that people surge forward into the train or the way that the 'porters' manhandle them so that the doors can close. It must be thoroughly degrading to have to subject yourself to such an experience every day. To me, this is a prime example of how humans can become 'desensitised' to their plight. I wonder what the Swiss make of this? If you've ever been on Swiss public transport you would know what I'm talking about.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Johann is right, but for the wrong reasons . . .
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Equality. Johann explains why its a good thing with his usual eye for telling statistics. Why this otherwise intelligent bloke continues to support the Labour Party I do not know.
""we will remember this Bill in dark times as one of the reasons to fight for a Labour government"
No, Johann, we will not. We will remember- as you yourself observe, that equality in the eyes of the law is a good thing and vote for whoever enforces it. As you noted, this legislation has been effectively castrated by the Labour cabinet. Why you continue to delude yourself that Labour is, somehow, the party of social justice remains beyond my ken. Labour will surely be remembered for failing to address climate change, despite Sir Nicholas Stern's best efforts, for the economic suicide of PFI- for which my unborn children already hate them- and for the genocide of over a million Iraqi civilians.
Vote for a future. Vote Green."
I'm working at my computer today, BTW. Can you tell?
""we will remember this Bill in dark times as one of the reasons to fight for a Labour government"
No, Johann, we will not. We will remember- as you yourself observe, that equality in the eyes of the law is a good thing and vote for whoever enforces it. As you noted, this legislation has been effectively castrated by the Labour cabinet. Why you continue to delude yourself that Labour is, somehow, the party of social justice remains beyond my ken. Labour will surely be remembered for failing to address climate change, despite Sir Nicholas Stern's best efforts, for the economic suicide of PFI- for which my unborn children already hate them- and for the genocide of over a million Iraqi civilians.
Vote for a future. Vote Green."
I'm working at my computer today, BTW. Can you tell?
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