Back in April I helped out as support crew for my friend Christina's Trailwalker team (you might remember this). I said then that I'd be willing to do the walking next year. So our team is now registered and I have started training. Incidentally this coincides with a 'walking programme' IRL is doing for 6 weeks from now until Christmas, where teams of four combine how many steps they do each day (measured by an oh-so-accurate pedometer) and see how far down the length of the country they can get. Some people seem to be taking it really competitively; I think our team is just interested in seeing just how many steps we do take on an average day. (For example, just pottering around home, driving to work, pottering around there gets me about 5000 - that's without going for a walk at lunch time as we normally do, or playing sport, or going for a run when I get home.)
So most days I will go for a walk or play soccer at lunchtime, and if I'm feeling energetic when I get home and have time to, I'll go for a run. Anyway on Thursday I walked to work, and back home, 7 km each way. It's a start for the 100 km and if I learnt anything from watching people last Trailwalker, the key to completing it is how much training you do.
You can donate to our team here. If everyone I knew donated just $5 it would see my share covered...
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
I've been a slacker... and I've been to Melbourne
Sorry to all the regulars out there for not having written anything for *gasp* over a month - I sort of feel like there hasn't been much that's happened lately that's of interest. But then maybe what I think is dull other people think is interesting? Let me know, write a comment!
So since I got back, let's see. Had a few weeks at work catching up on things and getting back into the groove. About 2 weeks went by before I realised, heck, I'm going to Melbourne in two weeks and I'm not prepared! Anyway everything came together in the end, but it did give me a bit of a shock. The same is true now - I go back in another 2 weeks or so and there is a lot that needs preparing beforehand; hopefully I can do it in time.
In addition to the above I went on a 'leadership development programme' at work after being encouraged to by my boss. It was one of those things where you put eight strangers in a room and give them some information and tell them to come up with an answer. They psychoanalyse you and report back at the end of the week with their observations. Apparently I am 'empathetic' yet 'intolerant' (no surprises to the latter, but the former??), have 'clear leadership potential' but I don't 'understand how the company functions'. I'm still seeing it as just a box that needs ticking to get people off my back about going. The trouble is we have a part 2 coming up in between me getting back from Melbourne next time, and a group meeting down in Tekapo, which gives me no time to prepare for a neutron scattering symposium in Sydney the week after that! (Ok so maybe my life is not as boring as I think.)
So, the most recent trip. There were two experiments I was involved with this time. The first was looking at the melting behaviour of small In particles: members of our group who do computer modelling 'found' some interesting behaviour when the particle size is below a certain value, so we are trying to prove it experimentally. We have tried various experiments 3 or 4 times before, and these ones actually worked, which is great.
The second was helping some students from Imperial College who were looking at small-angle x-ray scattering of gold particles as they stick together through connector molecules and then when an enzyme is added, how they redisperse. Don't ask me what it's actually useful for.
While we were doing the first experiments, they were setting up for their annual open day that weekend. We had a bit of fun with the pedestrian fencing that surrounded our beamline.
So since I got back, let's see. Had a few weeks at work catching up on things and getting back into the groove. About 2 weeks went by before I realised, heck, I'm going to Melbourne in two weeks and I'm not prepared! Anyway everything came together in the end, but it did give me a bit of a shock. The same is true now - I go back in another 2 weeks or so and there is a lot that needs preparing beforehand; hopefully I can do it in time.
In addition to the above I went on a 'leadership development programme' at work after being encouraged to by my boss. It was one of those things where you put eight strangers in a room and give them some information and tell them to come up with an answer. They psychoanalyse you and report back at the end of the week with their observations. Apparently I am 'empathetic' yet 'intolerant' (no surprises to the latter, but the former??), have 'clear leadership potential' but I don't 'understand how the company functions'. I'm still seeing it as just a box that needs ticking to get people off my back about going. The trouble is we have a part 2 coming up in between me getting back from Melbourne next time, and a group meeting down in Tekapo, which gives me no time to prepare for a neutron scattering symposium in Sydney the week after that! (Ok so maybe my life is not as boring as I think.)
So, the most recent trip. There were two experiments I was involved with this time. The first was looking at the melting behaviour of small In particles: members of our group who do computer modelling 'found' some interesting behaviour when the particle size is below a certain value, so we are trying to prove it experimentally. We have tried various experiments 3 or 4 times before, and these ones actually worked, which is great.
The second was helping some students from Imperial College who were looking at small-angle x-ray scattering of gold particles as they stick together through connector molecules and then when an enzyme is added, how they redisperse. Don't ask me what it's actually useful for.
While we were doing the first experiments, they were setting up for their annual open day that weekend. We had a bit of fun with the pedestrian fencing that surrounded our beamline.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Recapping the trip
(To read a day-by-day account from the start, click here.)
Highlights of the trip:
The view of the Edinburgh city skyline from the visitor information centre
Kelvingrove museum, Glasgow
Rock of Cashel, Ireland
Getting upgraded from Singapore to Sydney coming home
Lowlights:
Losing a wallet
Hotel in Cardiff
American tourists, especially noticeable at Blarney Castle
Weather in Dublin (a shame since there was so much to see that we missed out on)
Highlights of the trip:
The view of the Edinburgh city skyline from the visitor information centre
Kelvingrove museum, Glasgow
Rock of Cashel, Ireland
Getting upgraded from Singapore to Sydney coming home
Lowlights:
Losing a wallet
Hotel in Cardiff
American tourists, especially noticeable at Blarney Castle
Weather in Dublin (a shame since there was so much to see that we missed out on)
8 September
London - home
The weather forecast was for a hot day in London, but it wasn’t as bad as expected. We headed for South Kensington where I had arranged to meet up with some colleagues at Imperial College while Mum looked around the museums. Both of us had quite a productive time it would seem!
From there it was on to Heathrow and then the long flight home. On the Singapore – Sydney leg we found we had somehow been upgraded to premium economy which was a welcome change as the other flights were pretty full!
The weather forecast was for a hot day in London, but it wasn’t as bad as expected. We headed for South Kensington where I had arranged to meet up with some colleagues at Imperial College while Mum looked around the museums. Both of us had quite a productive time it would seem!
From there it was on to Heathrow and then the long flight home. On the Singapore – Sydney leg we found we had somehow been upgraded to premium economy which was a welcome change as the other flights were pretty full!
7 September
Cardiff - London
We had the morning to kill so walked from the hotel to Bute Park, next to the castle. We made our way back through the shops and arcades, picked up our bags and went to the train station. This was a bit challenging because Mum’s suitcase handle had decided to stop working. (Better than the wheels not working though...)
Again the train to London was uneventful, as was navigating to Pimlico and finding the hotel (the same one we had stayed at when we first arrived). Our last dinner before heading home: at Nando’s.
We had the morning to kill so walked from the hotel to Bute Park, next to the castle. We made our way back through the shops and arcades, picked up our bags and went to the train station. This was a bit challenging because Mum’s suitcase handle had decided to stop working. (Better than the wheels not working though...)
Again the train to London was uneventful, as was navigating to Pimlico and finding the hotel (the same one we had stayed at when we first arrived). Our last dinner before heading home: at Nando’s.
6 September
Cardiff
After a rotten night’s sleep – the bed was nothing more than a piece of hard foam on top of an mdf sheet - first stop on our list was the castle. This was very good, with an ‘interesting’ film illustrating the history of the site, and the audio tour was good as well (in contrast, for example, to the audio tour at Alcatraz which I just found plain annoying). The rooms in the house were amazing to look at. It’s hard to imagine living there though!
After this we made our way to the bus stop for the hop on / hop off tour, and got off at Cardiff Bay to have lunch and a bit of a wander around. Although the tourist information centre there had come highly recommended on an internet site Mum had looked up, we found it a bit pathetic really. The bay itself was very nice and the waterfront kind of reminded me of a saner version of Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. Then it was back on the bus to the national museum. We didn’t think this was as good as many of the others we had been to – there was not much flow from one gallery to the next. We spent the rest of the afternoon riding the bus around before making our way back to the hotel.
After a rotten night’s sleep – the bed was nothing more than a piece of hard foam on top of an mdf sheet - first stop on our list was the castle. This was very good, with an ‘interesting’ film illustrating the history of the site, and the audio tour was good as well (in contrast, for example, to the audio tour at Alcatraz which I just found plain annoying). The rooms in the house were amazing to look at. It’s hard to imagine living there though!
After this we made our way to the bus stop for the hop on / hop off tour, and got off at Cardiff Bay to have lunch and a bit of a wander around. Although the tourist information centre there had come highly recommended on an internet site Mum had looked up, we found it a bit pathetic really. The bay itself was very nice and the waterfront kind of reminded me of a saner version of Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. Then it was back on the bus to the national museum. We didn’t think this was as good as many of the others we had been to – there was not much flow from one gallery to the next. We spent the rest of the afternoon riding the bus around before making our way back to the hotel.
5 September
Manchester - Cardiff
The train journey from Manchester to Cardiff was uneventful, and we were able to check into the hotel at about 2 pm. There were lots of road works in the area around the hotel, but even so it gave an impression of the streets being modernised in contrast to most of the other places we had been to. We had the afternoon to wander around – to the tourist information centre as a first stop, then through the various shopping malls and arcades back to the hotel.
The train journey from Manchester to Cardiff was uneventful, and we were able to check into the hotel at about 2 pm. There were lots of road works in the area around the hotel, but even so it gave an impression of the streets being modernised in contrast to most of the other places we had been to. We had the afternoon to wander around – to the tourist information centre as a first stop, then through the various shopping malls and arcades back to the hotel.
4 September
Manchester
Showers throughout the day. We made our way to the tourist information centre, then decided to use the hop on / hop off bus tour. We got off at the Museum of Science and Industry, which was quite interesting (although we only looked around the exhibits in the main building). The tour buses here only went every 45 minutes, and we must have just missed one coming out of the museum.
Showers throughout the day. We made our way to the tourist information centre, then decided to use the hop on / hop off bus tour. We got off at the Museum of Science and Industry, which was quite interesting (although we only looked around the exhibits in the main building). The tour buses here only went every 45 minutes, and we must have just missed one coming out of the museum.
3 September
Dublin - Manchester
The sun was out as we made our way from the hotel to the ferry terminal at Dun Laoghaire by bus and local train. The ferry to Holyhead was not as smooth as the Stranraer – Belfast trip, but I slept for some of it and managed ok. At Holyhead we had a 45-minute wait for the train to Manchester, but when we arrived there we managed to find the hotel very easily.
The sun was out as we made our way from the hotel to the ferry terminal at Dun Laoghaire by bus and local train. The ferry to Holyhead was not as smooth as the Stranraer – Belfast trip, but I slept for some of it and managed ok. At Holyhead we had a 45-minute wait for the train to Manchester, but when we arrived there we managed to find the hotel very easily.
2 September
Dublin
In the morning we left the rental car at the hotel to be picked up and made our way by bus to the city centre. There was a bus stop right outside Trinity College which was one of our planned sights so we got off there and went to see the old library and the Book of Kells. It was intriguing to see all these people who had come, essentially, to look at a Bible!
After this we made our way to the museum to have a look around.
After lunch we got on the hop on / hop off bus tour. By this time it was raining quite persistently, which added to the traffic woes. We got off at the Christ Church / Dublinia, but decided we would rather go and see the prison. The next bus didn’t come for about half an hour, and by the time we had crawled past St Patricks and the Guinness brewery, the last admission time had well gone by. So we just stayed on the bus back to the city centre, had something to eat, then got the bus back to the hotel. A bit of a shame that it rained all day and we were only there for one day – it seemed like there was a lot to see and do.
In the morning we left the rental car at the hotel to be picked up and made our way by bus to the city centre. There was a bus stop right outside Trinity College which was one of our planned sights so we got off there and went to see the old library and the Book of Kells. It was intriguing to see all these people who had come, essentially, to look at a Bible!
After this we made our way to the museum to have a look around.
After lunch we got on the hop on / hop off bus tour. By this time it was raining quite persistently, which added to the traffic woes. We got off at the Christ Church / Dublinia, but decided we would rather go and see the prison. The next bus didn’t come for about half an hour, and by the time we had crawled past St Patricks and the Guinness brewery, the last admission time had well gone by. So we just stayed on the bus back to the city centre, had something to eat, then got the bus back to the hotel. A bit of a shame that it rained all day and we were only there for one day – it seemed like there was a lot to see and do.
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