No, it's wavy and yet still lank. Like wavy rat tails. Nice.

My usual brand has been discontinued...I can't find a decent replacement. I look like Neil off the Young Ones at the moment. Does anyone else know a good brand that makes lank hair look slightly less lank?

I remember an interview with James Watson, where he said that he felt sure him and Crick would not have made their discoveries under the conditions in academia today. They needed time and space to think: two things that the bloody auditors are determined to squeeze to the extreme.

I know exactly what you mean. A lot of the academics here remember the good old days, but complain of increasing commercialization. That's not to say that there's anything wrong with making money, but it can make for a very short-sighted approach. Sometimes "pure" research throws up unexpected benefits, but the accountants can't see that.

There are some loose models of structure that may help: I try to think of the "inverted triangle" - you start very generic, and gradually narrow the writing down to a fine point.

No, I have a fondness for old Charles and Camilla. We all shouted "Hey Charley!" but he didn't look up.

Woohoo, I've seen Princes Charles and Camilla with my own eyes..

Now back to work

Charles and Camilla are on a state visit to the museum opposite our lab. Half the faculty have spent the entire day gathered round my window gawping. Not much work getting done round here today!

"In American law schools ( a professional doctorate) you are marked on how well you participate in the class room. It is a HUGE part of what is expected from the students."

That's interesting that you mention that: on our teaching course we were advised that American exchange students will usually be much more vocal in a class, and were told that, indeed, it's because they're used to being graded on participation.

Yeah, I'd be pretty annoyed if someone did that to me. For the reasons Jouri says, and also cos I don't want to see that stuff.

Rigel's posts made me laugh though.

We once changed the start-up sound on our supervisor's PC: it was Christmas, so we set it to play a chorus of dogs barking "Jingle Bells". He nearly fell of his chair

When I'm giving presentations I often find that the nerves disappear as soon as you open your mouth and start talking. The anticipation is always worse than the reality, and you'll be on a high afterwards

Many cities have a branch of Supercuts: it's a no-booking hairdressing chain where you queue up until a hairdresser is available (usually about an hour's wait). They're usually cheaper that other places but I've had many nice haircuts from them.

Salon locator: http://www.supercuts-uk.com/locator.cfm

Well, I had Chinese on Pancake Day, so to balance things out I'll have pancakes for Chinese New Year.

On this subject, does anyone know where I can buy a nice cardigan that doesn't make me look 10 years older?

(i.e. not too chunky or long and definitely no collars or frills)

Sounds like he's a bit stuffy to me. We're all grown ups at PhD level; he should treat you like one.