Gene Ice - Balladeer

Texan Gene Ice wrapped up his conference presentation in song. (The lyrics are on the screen so sing along). My talk was much more mundane.

EpiPen

I used my EpiPen for the first time yesterday after a bad encounter with walnuts. (This was despite the chef swearing that he'd only used almonds in my dessert.) I have to admit that I was a real woose about jabbing myself.

The internet

"The internet wasn't created for mockery, it was supposed to help researchers at different universities share data sets" - Homer Simpson (2005)

Share????

Magnolia House, Marysville, VIC

The cutest, fluffiest kookaburra I've seen joined us for breakfast today on the deck of Magnolia house, which our group has rented out for the week of the SCANZ conference.

Crystal-24

Down to Marysville, a small town in the "Mystic" mountains ~1.5hr north-east of Melbourne, for Crystal-24 (SCANZ crystallography conference) and a workshop on how to replace grad students by 6-axis robotic arms.

Ben's Photo Shoot

Ben needs b&w studio shots for entering piano competitions. And he needs them now. I think we managed one shot where he wasn't grimacing, rolling his eyes or out of focus.

New neighbour

While I was away a big FAT spider moved in and built himself a mansion just outside my window.

Home Sweet Home

I've been delivered safely home to my family who barely recognised me after another lengthy absence. Thanks Qantas.

Due to a westerly encounter with the International date line, this entry has been deleted.

St Pat's Chicago Style

Snuck away from experiments for a couple of hours to meet up with Sandra and Stephen and their crazy friends to hear her cousin's cousin's husband's band play at the Irish pub for the local St Patrick's season celebrations.

Quasi-crystal Goo

Check it out. That fleck of sample may be Nobel-worthy. It can't be a bad thing to run a few samples for a potential Nobel laureate. Notice the high tech mount - sandwiched between 2 pieces of tape with bulldog clips.

Argonne's White Deer

The white deer graze freely around the Argonne lab. This one's grown a nice set of antlers just in time for spring.

Sunset Chicago

Sunsets in Chicago are always pretty stunning. Must have something to do with the land being as flat as a pancake

Murray the Snowman

Sunrise over the APS

The only occasions when I'm awake early enough to see the sun rise is during experiments.

PDF Experiments

All set up and ready to go. Bring on the photons.

High energy

What's 3 mm thick, made of copper and sits in the synchrotron beam? A filter. After a year or so the beam burnt through this filter which needed replacing.

Set up at 11-ID-B

Pete and Chuck setting up for experiments at sector 11.

Nemo. Nemo. Nemo

Business must have picked up at the Shedd Aquarium, Chicago after the success of Finding Nemo with scores of rugrats there to visit. I found Nemo too.

BA297 LHR-ORD

Farewell to old England. Hello Chicago. Another luxurious flight with British Airways, where the food is worse than Qantas, but they give you less frequent flyer points to make up for it.

Enough Snow

It's official. I'm over snow. For a while it was novel, but with day after day of English snow where there is not enough to be pretty and only enough to be cold and wet, I've had my fill. Good thing I'm leaving tomorrow - Chicago here I come.