Personal Development
I have decided to keep a log of what I learn each day. Being a postgrad is difficult. You often feel isolated and demotivated. Mostly, you feel as though you are not achieving anything. I have heard many a postgrad say that they feel they are actually "getting more stupid" as their PhD progresses...
I have found a solution! I feel that no day is a waste if I have learned something or tried something new. Now, I try to tailor that, "something new", towards my PhD. I am keeping a log of what I have discovered here, that others may read it and be inspired.. or at least, learn something new, for themselves that day ;)
here goes....
- young people
really do care...
- 13/09/2009:
The "elephant ear", a common decorative garden plant in South Africa, is also the source of a popular Taiwanese dessert... Taro. In this format, they look like small purple Christmas ornaments with a texture appearing similar to sweet potato. The taste, after warming for ~10 minutes in a hot oven, is of creamy-crumbly vanilla. A healthy alternative to ice-cream :)
- 04/02/2009:
The surest way to stop your colleagues from "borrowing" your pen, is to visit the beautiful Warwick Castle and buy yourself a giant feather quill pen - prefferably in bright pink.
- 05/02/2009:
* Fossils of prehistoric reptiles possessing two front feet have been found, confirming the evolutionary link between extinct sea-going reptiles and modern serpents.
* The largest snake on record is a fossil of a 13 m long python found in Columbia.
* The approximate average daily temperature of that time could be calculated relative to the size of such a cold-blooded reptile, as cold blooded animals growth is limited by the maximum temperature of their surroundings. Hence Columbia's average temperature at that time must have been 30 - 32 °C, compared with today's average of 28 °C.
- 06/02/2009:
* 2H2O is the correct written form of deuterium, not the popularised D2O version. With the superscript 2 denoting the isotope, as normal.
* Significant parts of the neanderthal genome have been successfully sequenced from genetic material taken from a thigh bone found in Croatia.
* The A46 is the main road between Stratford-upon-avon and Coventry.