Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Procrastination


How on Earth do people get things done? Yesterday David told me that one astronomer decided not to shave until he'd submitted his paper. A year or so later he had a huge, scraggly beard! I need to do something similar. Perhaps no burgers until my Jodrell Bank timing noise paper (which I've now been writing for 7 years) is finished. Okay, Jonathan you read it here - don't let me eat any burgers.

Today I again don't seem to have accomplished much. I've rewritten about half of my Jodrell Bank paper and hope to give a copy to Andrew tomorrow morning (I'm going to have to stay up late again). I also attended heaps of meetings as always. I've got to 1) finish the Jodrell paper, 2) finish the third tempo2 paper, 3) complete the gravitational wave paper with Andrea, Joris and Bill, 4) finish reading in FITS files into our software, 5) develop some new software that carries out fast folding algorithms, 6) complete research into pulsar timescales (the advantage here is that I could present this work in Rio in 2009), 7) develop frequency dependent standard templates, 8) update all our data from Parkes, 9) finish documenting the DFB and 10) fix up all the issues in tempo2. There's probably heaps more, but that's certainly enough to be going on with!

Played tennis this evening. Jonathan and I beat the experts!!!! Ate a rather undercooked bangers and mash for dinner. I need to spend a little more time on my cooking from now on. Suggestions welcome!

I attach a completely gratuitous photo to this blog of the map on my last flight from England to Australia. I really enjoy flying. I've just had a phone call from Maryam (from a phone box) who seems okay although she'd recently had a seizure and suffered some depression. Hopefully she's getting through this okay. Interestingly we're both looking forward to trips to Italy! I'm still enjoying my "freedom" a little (I can stay late at work without having to worry about Maryam), but things still pop up (like the screen saver on my computer that says "Hello Maryam") that make me rather upset for a while. Oh well, back to work (and learning Italian).

3 comments:

Alison Hobbs said...

One of the reasons people can't get everything done is because they write a blog, I'm afraid, but please don't let this stop you, because this blog is so appreciated. The after effects of undercooked sausages may also hold you up for a while. If you give them a minute or two in the microwave before grilling, next time, that will make sure the insides are done, but prick the skins and cover them with some kitchen paper first, in case they explode.

Anonymous said...

I have a menu - a recipe for every day of the year. I'll email you that if you want. But since it's designed to be seasonal you may need to cook July's menu in January and vice versa (although I suspect the climate's are too different for a change that simple).

Now you've got a permanent job, can you afford a cleaner?!

George Hobbs said...

Hey Emma,

I certainly would like a few recipes!

Cheers,
George