Let it snow!

This morning I awoke to the grey, wet mess from yesterday. But it was snowing. I dont care what anyone says. I like snow, and I think snow is good for the spirit. Makes me optimistic. Smiles all round. People seem happier to talk, even if it is just about the weather. And lets face it, it is rather exiting. Real snow is such a rare event in the home counties that its almost worth celebrating over a few big, wet flakes. I was so happy about it, I even stared the week in ski trousers & shirt and not my usual scrubs. Good thing too. It is rather nippy indoors today. On the cool side of 13°C. Not that I mind. Its snowing.

what I will say is that I'm pretty optomistic that the snow will not have any impact on us what so ever. Its just too damn warm out there to do any real damage. Personally, i cant wait to see what the weather brings us next October, November and December. One can only hope...

Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

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ReeBops!

I love ReeBops! Just so cute and, well, yummy. I say that, but they actually are not that yummy. I have left the marshmallows out on the side for the past 2 weeks. Means they are nice and hard on the outside. Unfortunately, they are also really gooey on the inside too. Personally, I wouldn't have bothered with the air drying, but teachers orders you know!

For those not in the know, ReeBops are a teaching aid in genetics for 6th formers. What I have made are the parent ReeBops. They are identical apart from sex, and have 8 chromosomes. This means that a good phenotypic expression can be gained by the students, and the odd of each group making an identical child ReeBop are rather slim.

Basically, the students are given the parent chromosomes. They provide the genotypes for the offspring. The students then use a decoding table to work out how to put together their child ReeBop. ie: LL= green legs, Ll= green legs, ll= Red legs. Its also rather amusing when they get it wrong, not that that is a bad thing. It mearly highlights genetic abnormalities.

So, tomorrow, my parents should have an entire family!

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Grazing

I love recieving  parcels and stuff. And on monday my snacks arrived. In a parcel. 100% recyclable in fact, and full of yummy stuff. Its a new thing I'm trying. I need to boost my food intake with some good calories and fats scince I'm under eating by about 500 calories everyday. So, I now have to start eating more. I thought that was the perfect excuse for chocolate, but as it turns out, I have to eat something called 'good calories'.... darn.

Anyway, the grazenibble box is just one of many new things I am trying. I went for this because I am more likely to eat something which doesnt need cooking/peeling/heating and other time watsting methods associated with eating. I've got better things to be doing at work. 

Graze offers to two types of box. The first is the Nibble box which I have, with 4 different punnets. The  is a fruit box which contained one huge punnet of fresh fruit and two little punnets. I was rather exited to receive mine, because you never know what your going to get. They offer 117 different punnets, which means I know next week, I will have something completely different. They cater for those with nut allergies, and if there is something you dont like on their extensive list of foods, you can 'bin' it, and it will never be delivered to you. Including postage, I thought that the service was quite reasonable. I had it delivered straight to work, and it was ready for me Monday morning in the first post.

Oh, I also have a voucher for a free box for a friend. If you want one, just with your name, and I will email it over.

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Dimensionally Challenged

This is what my brand new water bath is supposed to look like

and this is what turned up. hmmmmmmmm.

Not too happy

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Will it, wont it?

Big fluffy hail. And bright sunshine. Well, it keeps threatening to snow, and we have only just reached feb, so the odds are quite good that it will snow again. And it does keep trying, but I believe being so far down south, in land and low in altitude, its never going to happen.

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Data Loggers Move Onwards and Upwards

For many years, the data loggers have been separated out. I had half of the boxes, and the the biology-esque probes and gubbings down stairs. And in physics they kept all the physics-esque probes, the computers and the other half of the boxes.

This system worked mainly because we in biology never actually connected the field boxes up to any computer, and they were never used regularly anyway in either biology or physics.

Roll along the new ISA's and well, a new solution was needed.

Its been Kates pet project for the past year. She has managed to resource laptops, rebuild them and get them running win 98, as well as organising new leads, gubbings and probes. We even have a training day coming up.

Upshot of this all is, I now have a lovely empty shelf where all my data logging stuff used to be. A bit sad, because it looked really very neat and tidy when it was all away in its boxes. I like neat and tidy by the way. And properly labelled.

But check out their new home! Everything in one place. Makes me very happy.

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Baby's Breath

Thanks for the help with the identification on my plant! Over the weekend it flowered, and looks beautiful. And yet, I have yet to understand why its fragrance is called 'baby's breath' Has anyone ever smelled a baby's breath? Because that plant smells nothing like vomit, digestion acids, sour milk, johnson & johnson baby wipes.

The garlic is doing well. Thriving in the bucket, as is the mustard. Thats getting a bit lancky, so I need to turn that over pretty soon.

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Resazurin

yet another example of some very pretty chemicals

A pretty pastle colour in the pestle, but as soon as it hit water, it exploded into a deep purple colour. Its interesting to note too, that to the naked eye, it also has hues of red and pink, but the camera could'nt pick them up.

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Plant

Anyone know what type of plant this is?

I am watering it, but apart from that I have no idea how to look after it. eeek!!!!

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Shiny Science

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A bit of a Dr Horrible fan, and this made me smile. Oh, I do love my shiny toys equipment

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