Eccentricity

Another Big Issue

Leila — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:27:09 +0000

Now, I’ve not had the best luck with Oxford Big Issue sellers in the past and it looks like this trend it set to continue. There are a few Big Issue guys on Little Clarendon St (where I now work) who I see on a daily basis. There is one in particular that I often see either on Little Clarendon St or outside the Tesco on Cowley Road. ‘Big Issue please, Big Issue please….etc’ But yesterday when I walked past he quite clearly said ‘Hello Leila.’ Now I’ve never spoken to this guy and by the time it had clocked in my brain what he had said I had already walked past and didn’t question him.

Weird…

Giving blood

Leila — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:49:16 +0000

I’ve never given blood but have always wanted to. I think the reason why I had somehow “never gotten round to it” was because I’d never had blood taken until recently and I was a tiny bit scared.

Recently, due to medical issues it turns out I’ve had to have my blood taken about 30 times and its not a big deal at all and of course now that I’m comfortable with it and want to give blood I can’t because I’m iron deficient.

Typical.

Pheasants

Leila — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:01:54 +0000

I take the train across Oxfordshire and Wiltshire every day and I’ve noticed in the past week that there have been an abundance of pheasants in the fields. And when I say abundance I’m talking over 100 spotted on a 10 minute high speed stretch of the countryside. Is it pheasant mating season? The males often stand in triangles of three – whats that about?

Published!

Leila — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:42:19 +0000

I had a lovely experiene today. I tottered into Waterstone’s in Oxford and bought a copy of the book I wrote part of. Then I sat on the stone steps outside the Bodleian library in the sun and read the sections I wrote over a cold drink.

Defining Moments in Science was published last week and I feel very proud to be part of it. I’m looking forward to reading it from cover to cover (all 800 pages!) but not before going for a drink tonight to celebrate my first venture into the book world.

Its the morning and we are all still here

Leila — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:01:46 +0000

I’d like to say a massive congratulations to everyone at CERN for making the LHC happen – hope you are all celebrating over there. Can’t wait till we start seeing some interesting physics coming out.

Stick it to Boris

Leila — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:49:01 +0000

Londoners have found an effective way to convey their dislike of the underground drinking ban to Boris. Instead of plastering hateful comments on the tubes they have covered the inside of the trains with Boris’ home address so if anyone would like to get in contact with him regarding the ban they are now empowered to.

Interesting

Stuff – Lots and lots of stuff

Leila — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:20:24 +0000

And there was me thinking that I’d be able to just throw all my belongings into a couple of holdalls and be off on the train. I think my first mistake was assuming that moving house by train (not that I have much choice) was a good idea. I can see it now, dragging cases and cases of books over the bridge and Leuchars at 7am on Wednesday. The second problem that is although I own a lot of books, clothes etc these are all quite ‘packable’ items and its easy to estimate how much space/weight they are going to take up. However, it seems that I had not taken into account all of the other crap I appear to own; a large ceramic duck, an assortment of plastic swords, many many hats, vases, mini herb gardens (!!), an A2 size folder with all my articles in, a blow up cactus (though at least thats collapsable)…. And I live in an UNfurnished house…

I never used to think I was a ‘hoarder’ but I am having great trouble parting with the more sentimental of my akward items.

Moving on up (and down)

Leila — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:59:10 +0000

Goodness - has it been 5 years in St Andrews already? It is typical really – as soon as the sun is shining and I have lots of spare time and for the first time in a while truly enjoying my time in St Andrews its almost time to leave. Having completed 99.1% of the degree the end is nigh and my sights are set on the south. I’m starting a job at the end of the month working for EPSRC as a programme manager, which is the job I’ve always wanted after university. The oppotunity to still be involved with research without the tedious lab/maths work and more importantly to be in the position to really have a larger scale impact on science in the UK fits all my aspirations. The people at EPSRC seem nice and most definitely ’my type of people’ so I’m hoping I’m going to feel very much at home there. I’m moving back to Oxford in little over a week and plan to commute to Swindon (hopefully with the aid of a moped).

As much as I’m looking forward to living in Oxford (proper money, a house, sunshine, punting, barbecues, bonfires, poi nights, joining and orchestra and of course Oli) it has suddenly struck me this week how much I am going to miss the little town that I still call home. 5 years has developed into a love/hate relationship with St A but in the end, its most definitely love…I’ll miss you

Awake?

Leila — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:39:26 +0000

Ok – *groan*

*Ding-dong*. Its 10am on Saturday morning after a heavy night involving heels and champagne/port/samuca/vodka and too much dancing.

*Ding-dong*. Hhmm, maybe its a delivery, I better peal myself off the bed and answer the door. A bright young face beams in at me, ‘good morning’ it says, ‘I didn’t wake you up did I?’

*Groan*

‘Would you like to buy a copy of Awake magazine?’ I hardly stopped to say no thank you before closing the door. Ok, so maybe some people might say I’m rude but come on! She wakes me up to ask me if she woke me up to then offer me a magazine called Awake. Thats fairly anti-social in my books. And in any case, it looked like some Christian thing, which undoubtedly would tell me not to go out drinking and enjoy my life and instead of spending my Saturday morning pleasantly hungover in my comfort of my own bed that I should be praising the Lord.

Ah fuck off, if I’d been more ‘awake’ she would have got a mouthful.

That or else something like this http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0055/0055_01.asp might have been coming my way.

White dielectric material

Leila — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:16:56 +0000

I do love reading about the history of science sometimes! The cosmic microwave background (CMB) – remnants of the Big Bang was first seen at Bell Labs, New Jersey. While testing a sensitive antenna Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson were vexed by a low background hiss on their signal. They checked and rechecked their equipment and even evicted a pair of pidgeons. When the pidgeons came back they had them shot and then went back inside the dish to clean off the old pigeon shit, just incase this ‘white dielectric material’ was causing the interference. Turns out it was actually proof of the Big Bang! (the background hiss, not the shit, that is)