Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Public Health Warning

It is increasingly common among those who extend their education (or “Student”) to develop tunnelus visionlus, a debilitating condition that renders sufferers unable to think beyond their focus of study. This condition was recently described in "Factor of Impact", a highly regarded journal dedicated to the phenomena of delusions.

Particular to those ensconced in research, though not exclusive to the field, this aggressive disease can leave sufferers with the paradoxical feeling that time is both condensed and infinite. This is illustrated by the common cry, or variations thereof, amongst sufferers: Where Did The Weekend Go? or When Will It Ever End?

This condition is often accompanied by extravagant fantasies that the thesis produced at the end of Student-ship will serve mankind in its Significant, Relevant Contribution to the canons of world knowledge, rather than the reality of producing a big book that only a handful of people will ever read.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that tunnelus visionlus may be aggravated by lack of exercise, social isolation and takeaway food on the way home from the lab. Care must be taken to prevent progression towards guilt of Catholic proportions when Students take time out from studies to eat or sleep.

Although a magic bullet for this insidious condition may be decades away, some methods have been found to be effective temporary treatments. It is recommended to gently lead the Student away from their experiments towards a pub, a band and a beer or three.
Note: this treatment has best efficacy when Students are submitting university forms or discussing timelines with supervisors.
For other conditions of which to be aware, I refer you to Serenity Later, Vernoona, Cassiopeia Gegenbaurer III, Sartorial Splendour and Flygirl.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Yippee!

How's this for a tough life? Last weekend, a bunch of scientists descended on sunny Lorne for a conference. The previous fortnight's preparation was hard going but turned out to be well worth it. Oh and I'm all over Illustrator too - double yipeeee! A conference is hard work: lazy lunches on the beach, a small nap then back to the talk-fest-o-rama.

The weekend was topped off by a beautiful wedding in the gardens of the Exhibition Buildings, coincidentally holding a bridal expo. Yup, picture the bridezillas and wanna-beeees walking out to the real thing. Luckily, the gale-force winds died down during the intimate ceremony with only a few small branches and leaves as confetti!
Ahhhh.
And a lovely reception to boot, congrats Ilse and Derryck!
PS: Happy Valentine's Day for Wednesday folks, or Happy Un-Valentine's if you're a grouch/non-believer ;)

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

go on, you know you want to...

some links i have been clicking on
:: you can bake muffins for the boys or you can throw rocks at them!
:: have just recently started reading this great blog Drawn! - all kinds of 2D creativeness at the helm of John Martz
:: another secret love, i like 'big fish ensemble' and 'confusebox' - how bout choo?

...would love to hear what you've been reading lately!

Monday, February 05, 2007

Cabin Fever

have been holed up at the computer for the last week - til all hours after work and most of the weekend. except for a lovely Yarra side BBQ on Satdee (thanks Elmo!), it's been a sad state of affairs in the social department (sorry kaz, cass and kaluuuds - didn't make it on frideeee)!
all this amounts to a frazzled cabin fever of some sort, so apologies go out on the astral plane to the poor (albeit incompetent) sods who copped it when i ran some uni errands this morning... you won't have to see me again, hopefully it's the last time i have to enrol!