Kim

02:09 pm: Blackberrying
Does anyone know somewhere in or around Cambridge (within walking distance ideally) where one can go blackberrying?

12:19 pm: LASER BATTLE
Hey everyone, sorry to most of you who've seen this before from oof_suits_you but I'm doing a last minute trawl to try and make sure it doesn't get cancelled! So to all those who dream of unleashing laser battle doom upon the world, this is your chance to have a go! It's basically laserquest but held in the woods like in paintball.  A post apocolyptic forest where the remaining humans have found lasers and are trying to kill eachother? Could be. That or a bunch of friends running about in the woods and shooting each other in a wonderfully pain free fashion.

I think it could be really fun but Nick needs 10 people in total to stop the trip being cancelled, they already have 6 so that means we need 4 more in order to have a really fun day!

Bzzzzzap!

Full details stolen from Nick:

"My company social club is planning to go to Viking Laser Sports for a full day VIP package of laser combat, and currently we are 4 people short from being able to actually do it.

Put simply, this is a cross between paintball and laserquest in 15 acres of woodland!

The social club is looking at getting the full-on VIP all day package, so instead of turning up half way through the day and only getting a couple of games and limited ammo, we'd be getting:

1. All weapons

2. All the personal equipment you will need

3. Unlimited ammunition

4. As many missions as they can cram in

5. Welcome drinks

6. Free Tea and coffee

7. Soft drinks and snacks throughout the session

8. Hotdogs lunch for all the players

9. VIP gift pack

10. Prizes for the winners

All for £32 (significantly cheaper than paintball!)

This will hopefully be taking place on Sunday 11th October from 10am to 5pm but if you're interested in coming, please let me know by Monday at the latest. Social club wants £5 deposit from interested people, but this doesn't necessarily need to be by Monday.

You're welcome to bring friends with you as well!

Paintball with fricking lasers!!!"

09:02 am: One of the worst bits about graduating is that I will soon have no access to scientific journals.  I'd gotten used to having instant access =(

10:09 am: I fancy a picnic tomorrow.
Come, join me for a picnic.

Say 12 til 2.30 on Jesus green.  Let me know if you are coming and I'll make sure that there are enough biscuits and things.
I can provide cake, biscuits, pork pies and maybe some juice.  People who also wish to join in could perhaps bring something? Not really much problem if you can't, company is good enough.

If it is rubbish weather then there shall be no picnic (unless people want an indoor picnic at New Hall)

JOIN ME! =)

09:34 pm: London?
What would be a rough idea of annual living costs (rent, feeding etc) for London?  I'm trying to work out whether it would be possible to live off of £15,000 a year in London. London is a big strange place that I know nothing about other than it is more expensive than real places.

Advice?

02:39 pm: For those who are interested
There is a Lip Service Long Black coat about a size 12-14/ medium I'd say (too big for me) with padlocks on, goes down to ankle length, zip up front, £5.99 from the Save the children charity shop. One padlock appears to be missing.

Just thought I would share as someone might be interested.

08:01 pm: Careers advice
I went to a careers advice session at New Hall today.  It was useless. So I am throwing it open to the world. What is the most useful thing that you have learnt about employment? What to do, what not to do, who to work for, how much to work for, interview tips, application tips, everything.  PhDs don't appear to be going my way so I'm thinking of joining the ranks of the gainfully employed instead.

Help?

11:32 am: Advice please!
I'm clearing out my rather extensive clothes collection and need a way of getting rid of all these things, preferably making a little money along the way.
What would people recommend I do? I know nothing about selling stuff on eBay - what sort of costs are there in selling it on there?

Share with me your knowledge!

04:11 pm: Botanic gardens
I went to the botanic gardens today :-) I like it there, my favourite parts were the swarm of bees and the fake rainforest. Awesome.
I will do a proper update eventually, but it is too lovely outside right now to sit here and type!

11:59 am: Time before the big bang?

They think they've found evidence of a time before the big bang. Awesome.
I like the thought of our universe budding off of another one in a massive event for us but from something barely worth a mention in the other universe.

Link.

06:17 am: Bush does something right.
Click

One for the record books.

08:50 am: Pharmaceutical ramble
This news article feels like scaremongering to me...

It does say in the text that the only some of the drug is taken up by the body, this is true, but there are also many ways in which a drug is altered to ensure that can happen! If you just chuck a small amount of drug into the stomach then, in most cases, it will be broken down and rendered useless.  Even if you do happen to get some passing through into the small intestine then uptake would not be 100%. These are TRACE amounts of drug that they are talking about. Tiny fractions of a dose needed to elicit a medically useful response...

So.
Tiny amount of drug +stomach =  even tinier amount of drug
even tinier amount of drug+small intestine= even TINIER amount of drug actually absorbed
even TINIER amount of drug that is absorbed + the liver (where blood from the intestine typically goes first) = teeny tiny itty bitty amount of drug that may not even register.

Yes more research should be done but squirting individual cells with small doses and declaring that it has affected the cell is not the way to do it. They ought to take into account the pharmacokinetics! If I have to learn about  all this then they are surely of some use!!

Also, I don't like that they think they are affecting fish, I like fish, more research should be done on fish (who of course have a large surface area in contact with the water allowing increased absorption- the gills) and I don't know enough about fish bloodstreams or fish livers to have a good idea of how they metabolise drugs. 
So yes, do more research but make it useful and don't scare all the locals!

07:35 pm: What to do to Westboro Baptist church'ers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8cN2pB3MCE&NR=1

Get a man to flirt with one of the male members! Brilliant!

02:56 pm: My Tutor
My tutor is awesome. Really. Very helpful, very lovely and a great boost to the confidence.

Yay!

09:01 am: My cat is ok, he has a cyst and suffers from old age but it isn't cancer :-)

08:21 pm: My cat must go to the vet. I am worried as I think it might be cancer...
*fingers crossed* that he will be ok. It would be awful to lose him, I've known him for the majority of my life.

09:20 am: Best mobile phone contract bill ever :-)

	17.16
	-12.36
Calls	1.09
Messages	0.31
Mobile internet browsing and downloads	0.00
	-15.00
	-8.80
	1.08
	-7.72
	-£7.72

They owe me £7.72! Excellent!

In other news I really really ache today after falling over yesterday, my neck is made of pain.

Also people should go to www.thebreastcancersite.com because it takes about 5 seconds and they are currently trying to get enough clicks to fund an ultrasound machine for a hospital in Africa as well as funding mammograms and I don't think that they are going to make their target unless more people start clicking.

I think I am done now.

06:43 pm: http://www.elfwood.com/art/t/a/tascha/cantstandthelight.jpg.html

02:35 pm: Feeling a bit better now
For starters I have a pumpkin.
Secondly I am feeling a bit healthier in general, which is nice.
Thirdly O2 conceded that they fucked up on my contract and have given me £15 off the bill due to charging me for 3 txt messages which were covered by my contract. I think that this is pretty damn good really and don't mind getting £15 for 36pence.

And I have a pumpkin.

09:34 pm: Addenbrookes wasn't fun.
I did NOT have a good day.
Maybe it will be spoken about tomorrow, for now I am going to bed.