um....I always include a slide like this.  We've always been told (and I agree) that the best way to do a presentation is firstly, tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you've told them. So basically a slide to say briefly here's what I'm going to be talking about, here's all the stuff, and then a final slide to summarise everything. I prefer hearing these slides in a talk too, because then you know the structure of the talk and it's easier to focus on what the presenter is saying then.
Sorry if I've made it awkward!

meanwhile in a house 50 miles away...

The Prince, on his latest ill-informed eco-rant tried to stop people chasing after the hare as it might be an endangered species, and even if it wasn't it's still good to look as if he's doing something....

In my uni, and i suspect in most, if not all unis, when you start a PhD you have to sign an Intellelctual Rights form which basically hands over all ownership of your work to the university, possible including your funding body. but unfortunately, we don't own it.

and then the cabbage said "to hell with it, it's not worth it..." and stunned everyone...

lol cakeman, us women aren't that bad!! :-)

Hi Slowmo, I hope you're getting a good sleep now first of all, that was a very early post there! Secondly, if you are 2.5 years in to your PhD you need to have a good discussion with your supervisors about where to go from here. If what this academic has published really truly is what you have been working on, and there is no scope at all for getting some original work out of it then you can still submit it as an MPhil which doesn't need to be original. However at this stage I'm sure it would break your heart to do that, so you need to see if there is enough that you can change or tweak in some way to make it different enough from hers to be original still. If not, you have to decide if it's possible to change what you have been doing and add some extra work on. Of course if you do this it will mean taking longer to submit, trying to find extra funding ro supporting your self for the duration, but if you still want the PhD I'm sure you can get it to work somehow.
Just remember at the end of the day, it's not all lost. You can still get something from it, even if it's not what you were aiming for. At least she did give the opportunity to try something else at the start by saying she had it all covered, if your supervisors told you it would be fine then maybe there is something that they have though of that she's not covered yet.
And that fact that someone else is working on the same stff as you shows you that it's not just you who finds the work interesting and important, and it's definitely not pointless. I know it's total crap at the moment but don't despair, you can get something form it, and it still could be the PhD at the end of the day.

Good luck Chris!! I'm so not looking forward to this now though!! :-)

lol what does it matter if DanB is a boy or a girl?! I agree with the others though DanB, you should move on from him. I know it's tough especially when you are in a new area and every friend counts when you are still trying to meet people, but you have to remember how much you are worth yourself and decide what you are willing to accept. And especially when he's messing you about (which he totally is) then it's better to get out now than months down the line when you've really fallen for him and gotten used to how he is. If he wants to see you, he'll make the effort, if you want to play it cool and give him one more chance then just text him and say that you're a bit busy for the next while but if he's free and wants to meet up then he should give you a call. Then you can decide what to do about it if he does! Remember you deserve the best, and if he's not the best, then he's not the one for you!

Florence you are totally right! PhDs are stupid!! But they are still better than being stuck in some crappy job where you have to listen to some idiot on a powertrip telling you what to do...oh wait, that was someone I DO work with! ;-) I was at a meeting this evening with people I though were going to be great, it was my first time going, and omg I've never met a bunch of people who procrastinate like it! Why even be on an organising committee if you don't bloody do anything?! I've got 4.5 months left to submit and have ended up agreeing to do loads of stuff just so as something will be done!! arrgh!!
Goal 3 for today has no chance of being done tonight, I think it's going to be a day long thing tomorrow at least! ah hoo!

God he really sounds like a right knob! I'd agree with keenbean and try to see him face to face, that kind of feedback at the final stage really isn't good enough. And if he won't give you decent feedback, go to someone else and ask for help, it's your PhD at the end of the day and no point not getting it how you want it just to keep him happy. Good luck with it!!

whoo go sneaks and florence! I've done goal 2, so its munch time now then on to goal 3, starting my assignment for a workshop next week!

I did it! Methods chapter done! Until I get some more revisions! :) Now, goal 2, read a paper for journal club...

have you tried 'remove space after paragraph'? or before paragraph?

Thanks Natassia and Amanda. I know he's different from me, but sometimes I get fed up of ignoring him when he's being stupid and annoying and I think it's about time he started thinking before he speaks! Then I remember that he can't know how I'm going to react to every single thing he says, so it's back to square one! It's all sorted though, it doesn't feel like the end of the relationship, we still have plenty to talk about and still have great fun together, the distance is just getting hearder to deal with though. I don't feel threatened at all with him, and it's not all my friends who think like that of him, just the ones who never really got on with him anyway, so I do listen to them. I'm just going to make my own decision about things though, I'm not too fussed on their choice of partners either really! The people who know (and like) us both think we have a strong relationship so I suppose it's all relative.
Thanks for all the advice though, you have all really helped! (mince)