Challenge Accepted!

So for a while I've been wondering which thing to next cross off my 30 before 30 list, and then went and did something that I'd completely forgotten was on the list anyway!

It all started on Saturday, when Husband had the day off work for once. We went out for lunch, and on the way back to the car I spotted a tattoo shop that had a sign saying "we do piercings". I mentioned to husband that I still meant to get my lip pierced one day, to which he laughed and said something along the lines of "Sorry but I don't think you're ever going to be able bring yourself to do that"... challenge accepted!

#12 complete! Sorry for crappy quality iPhone pic!

Thankfully, it was nowhere near as painful as I thought it might be. It's still a tiny bit swollen, and eating, drinking and brushing my teeth are still a bit of an issue, but overall I really like it! I think the owner of the tattoo place thought I was a bit precious though asking if the piercing would permanently mark my face - especially since he had a spider web tattoo covering half of his!

In other 30 before 30 news, I'm a bit closer to also completing #7 - get my drivers licence. I've always argued that I don't want to learn to drive on husband's car as I'd feel terrible if I wrecked it, especially since he needs it for work. Although potentially a lame reason, yesterday I got my own car - hooray! 

Husband named it Kirby...

...Like this little guy! [via]

It was a very busy weekend!

That's boring. You're boring everybody. Quit Boring Everyone!

Well now that I've prepared you for what may be a potentially boring post I will continue (though hopefully I haven't biased you towards viewing it as boring by saying that - am I over thinking this? Have I had too much caffeine? I'd say so). Anyway...

A while ago I read this article about nesting in the office. Some argue that having a clean and clutter-free work desk leads to more productivity, while others suggest that 'nesting' (having personal items, and work organised in a way that is however you want) can make you feel more comfortable and at 'home' and therefore that is more productive. I personally agree with the latter. I am so glad in the PhD office that we each get our own little cubicle that we can decorate however we want. Here's mine in case you're interested: 

Astute/regular readers will notice my 'motivational' Productive June Poster - Sleeping is for Unproductive Losers.

Much to my surprise, that plant (named Artemis Esq.) has been alive in my care since 2008!

This is Percy. He is my favourite solar-powered toy. His little head and feet move and everything!

As you can see, when it comes to decorating I am a seven year old child. I like lots of bright colours and toys. Some people may find it distracting to have all this stuff on their desk, but it just makes me feel like it is my place. Most of the time I forget it's there while I'm working, but it's a good quick mental break (and eye exercise people!) to look around at a variety of fun things.

What do you think? Is 'nesting' productive or unproductive? 

P.S. Thanks to those of you who submitted questions for my valuable 'advice'. I will work on answering some soon! There's still time to ask questions also - HERE!

P.P.S. I have a facebook methingy now! Take a look and be my friend please :)

Thanks!

Just a quick note today, to say thanks very much to YOU - the regular readers of my blog. It's very affirming to see (according to google) that at least 50 people think I'm interesting enough to follow. I really do appreciate all the comments I get, and also always try to comment back.

What else...? Oh, um - look at this cat. 

You actually really should visit the nyan cat website. It has a song!

That is all.

Cool and/or nerdy apps

Since I recently bought an iPad, and also own an iPhone (no apple did not sponsor this post) I thought I would mention a few apps that I think are pretty cool - but keep in mind that I am a giant nerd (and have never proclaimed otherwise). As such you may not find them as interesting as I do if you aren't as similarly nerdy. 

Star walk even works in daytime!

Star walk - hold the iPad up to the sky and it will tell you what constellations you're looking at! This app is extremely well made, and very fun to use. It is very pretty - everyone I show makes this noise: "ooooooooh" - but this app also is very clever and makes me feel like a back up career in astronomy is possible yet!

Pocketshrink - this one is specifically for iPhone. The point is that you can use these apps to diagnose yourself with 3 different disorders: ADHD, Panic disorder, and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). I generally think using the internet or an app to diagnose yourself is a bit dodgy - however I actually know some of the people involved in developing it, so have reason to think it's fairly legit (Hint: if you're using your iPhone to check if you have NPD, and also at the same time using it as a mirror, you probably do have it hehe).

Ted - "riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world". Ted talks involve a huge variety of speakers on a wide range of topics, and are well worth watching if you want to be challenged, entertained, or amazed (or all of those). I was excited to find out Ted also comes in app form, so you can take it wherever you go and watch when you have a spare few minutes.

Wikipanion - Although I constantly warn the students I teach to never cite Wikipedia as a reference, I do actually use it a lot to start my search on a topic. Wikipanion makes this very easy when trying to search from my iPad. It is very easy to navigate, and quite intuitive. Much better than trying to search the website from the iPad or my phone. See also Howstuffworks - This app includes over 40 000 articles, and 12 000 videos, as well as quizzes. Informative and also amusing.

Brain Pro - The anatomy of the brain is simply amazing, and this is a great app to explore this. You can view the brain from different angles, at different depths, and using different brain slices. You can make little pins pop up on all the different brain areas (just like when I was in neuroanatomy in uni) and each pin will give you information about what that brain area does. There are also quizzes (that aren't easy I'll tell you that much!), not to mention that it's just really pretty. Awesome.

[pic via]

Some of these apps I've mentioned are free, and a couple are on the slightly pricey side, but I do think they are worth getting. As you can probably tell, I did go a bit app crazy, and my credit card definitely noticed! At least the ones I've mentioned are somewhat educational!

What are some cool and/or nerdy apps you think are worth checking out?

Not a very good post.

Well, in that it's really only a few bits and pieces of what I've been up to, instead of a particular story. So imagine we're catching up for a coffee (or sugarfree energy drink) and you have asked me: what's been going on lately? 

Unfortunately, nobody has yet signed up for my experiment which is a bit of a bummer. I suspended it for half of last semester to sort out biohazard issues, but now they're all fine it'd be nice if people wanted to actually do my experiment! In the mean time, I've been working on statistics and writing up my second paper (and kind of ignoring for now my first paper that needs re-working due to being rejected) which I'm finding interesting at least.

I finished reading the book The Passage. I feel this is worth mentioning, as firstly it was a really interesting book, and secondly because I was so enthralled by it that it took over a few of my days so I wasn't doing much else in that time! I'm looking forward to the second and third parts of the series.

Finally, my tax return came in on Saturday and so I bought an iPad 2! It is pretty. I am planning to do a post shortly on some really cool science/nerdy apps that I have come across.

So pretty...

Well now I should probably get back to work! Sorry for the lack of posts lately peeps, but stay tuned :)

One day I could be a great absent-minded professor.

On the way to uni the other day I received a phone call. Much to my surprise, it was from the police station near my house. Obviously getting a call from the police can be a little unnerving. However I realised it was my friend, who is a policeman. I thought perhaps he was just playing a prank and just wanted a friendly chat about something until this:

[via]

Him: So - have you lost your keys?

Me: No... I don't think so *rummages around in bag, GASP* I have!

It turns out, checking the mail on my way to the train station that morning I was happy to find a phonecover I'd ordered from ebay had arrived! YAY. So I opened it up, put it on my phone and went on my way. Some really nice person later on saw my keys still sticking out of the mail box, took note of the address and went and handed them in at the police station. Thank God it was that person that found them and not somebody who decided to rob the place instead! Also, I'm told that usually what happens is people hand in keys, but if they don't know the address they go in the 'key drawer', usually never to be used again. Not many people think to go ask the police about their keys, but anyone turning up at the police for keys have the lucky task of searching through the drawer on the off-chance somebody handed them in.

I wish I had these Tiffany & Co. keys (though maybe I'd lose them too!)

I often tease my husband about his forgetfulness (he's lost keys and wallets on several occasions), but I knew I had to own up to this mishap since my friend now knows what a goober I am. I have grave concerns for any future children Husband and I may have!

Going to New York!

There is a conference at the end of June where I'm going to present some of my research, and it just so happens to be in New York (which I've never been to before). It also just so happens that the university is paying for me to go! Tough life. 

I am very much looking forward to it - however not so much the flying for hours alone. On our recent trip to Europe I was mostly ok, but it was comforting to look to Husband for reassurance when turbulence hit. When I'm by myself there's nobody to calm me but myself (and I'm rubbish at that). I know rationally how safe flying is, but when I'm in the air it's definitely a different story. Anyway enough of thinking about that, I'd much prefer to think about...

Shopping! The conference is on 5th avenue, and I'll also be staying at a hotel on 5th avenue. I think there's a couple of shops around there hey? :P

Now I just need to make sure I have data before then...!

[source]

P.S. Any suggestions on what to look at, where to go etc. would be welcome! :)

I know what the internet needs - yet ANOTHER blog.

This is something I've been considering for a while, mostly because it's a good way to procrastinate I feel. It seems all a bit self-indulgent though but I'll see how I go. So what do I have to contribute that's particularly new or interesting to the internet? Perhaps nothing... Wow this is gripping stuff so far.

I may as well start by talking about myself. I am in my 3rd year of a PhD degree. This is supposedly the time when all your research and ideas come together and a thesis should be the result. Personally, I don't see it happening just yet! I also teach tutorials and will even be doing a little bit of lecturing this year, which will be fun, but quite time consuming. Additionally, I got married at the end of last year (even though some people argue that getting married in the middle of a PhD is the worst idea ever, but oh well). Sometimes I even try to have friends and a life. So I suppose I'll be writing about juggling all of those things and trying to stay sane. I should probably also mention that I am a GIANT nerd. So I will also be talking about what I find interesting - nerdy science-y stuff. Finally, as you may guess from my desire to stay at uni for as long as possible and not get a real job, I am fighting the fact that I am growing up, and really actually old enough to be called an adult - ugh.

So I suppose I should get back to uni work now that I've successfully procrastinated and - OOH LOOK A SHINY THING.