No longer missing.

OK, so its been mentioned that I have left the blogging to Kat recently. I've been soooo busy trying to look busy at work, I haven't had time to pay a visit. Actually, blogging would appear to be a good way to waste work time.....hmmmmm. Maybe I will post every day.

I was off in the States recently for a conference on TSEs (mad cow disease and friends). Some interesting bits, but the room was very much populated by suits and regulators, and it was a wholly unsociable environment. So I had a chance to check out the sites of Baltimore, which left me about 5 nights sitting in my hotel room reading. The one interesting place in Baltimore was the National Aquarium, complete with its Austalia section (which had no fish-cockatoos, galahs, lizards etc instead). The giftshop was full of Australian stuff, including the small vegemite jars at US$8.00 each and some of the tackiest things you'd ever like to see. We now have one of those yellow, diamond, kangaroo's next 4km signs on our fridge-complete with "National Aquarium, Blatmore" written on it.

Another thing Baltmore had was poverty. Everywhere. Homelessness, boarded up shops, a huge underclass, blue collar workers picketing offices (I saw 4 protests in 10 blocks while on a walk). Pretty uninspiring that a country with so much money can't look after its own people better, and this is coming from a Howard voting, unsympathetic monster. Maybe I would of grown up with more compassion if I was American, or maybe I would just hate the poor. Regardless, it reinforced to me that I could never live in the USA.

As Kat mentioned, I have also gotten a job teaching a course on Natural History to American students over the summer (they are coming to Oxford). I get to set the curriculum of the course, and prepare all of the material. A solid amount of work, but I am really enjoying it so far and it is good practice in case I end up lecturing in the future. Plus they pay me £1250. Money money money.

I have a meeting today that I am not looking forward to. It's a funny one-I was volunteered as the biological safety officer (BSO) and chair of the genetically modified safety committee (GMSC) for the national blood service (NBS) in Oxford, and we are reviewing our first genetically modified risk assessment (GMRA-form FRM/HUR/HS/042/01) using the Guide to the Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) Regulations 2000 (also known as L29). First, if I see another abbreviation I might lose it. Second, I don't understand what any of that means, I was volunteered because there was no one else. Third, I don't work with genetically modified organisms myself and don't understand all of the things referred to in the regulations. Fourth, help me!!! Lets see if I can BS my way through this one.....

Not much else is going on. Was my Birthday recently, and some of my friends sent me a funky cheese and wine basket, which I enjoyed no end. Meg also sent me a voucher for Virgin (not the good type-the music store), which I just spent on 4 DVDs-Along cam polly, delicatessen, office space and the magic roundabout. The rest of you are tight arses.

Word to 3 plasmid, self-inactivating Lentivirus gene transfer system.