Excel carpal-tunnel

Nothing like early on-set carpal-tunnel syndrome as a result of number crunching in Excel. Today's been a data day and I've realised part of the reason I am so easily distracted on data-days: because with all the "shift+ctrl" +"ctrl+V" combinations my wrists take a beating. So much for speeding things up using keystrokes instead of the mouse. *clicky clicky* The distractions are often wrist breaks and they do help break the monotony of almost 2000 of the same keystrokes for just one page in a spreadsheet.

Just blogging this I'm intentionally dancing my fingers around the keyboard and flexing different muscles. I've seen people after carpel tunnel ops and it ain't pretty. *stretch, yawn, flex*

The positive spin on this is that I'm actually crunching numbers all to draw graphs so that I can formally unpack my results. There's a pearlescent lining here somewhere.

Non-events in real time

I love watching the Webcams on the SANParks website. It takes much strength of will not to spend the whole day obsessing about what has been seen on the cams. but checking the night-time sightings recorded on the forums is part of my morning ritual when I get to my desk.

The other night, a few weeks ago (thanks Bessie for the most useful expression), there was a fabulous sighting of the rarely seen caracal. The excitement of a sighting recorded (for about a year on this particular forum) is palpable even 12 hours after it was "seen" by the nightwatch, as though I had seen it in real life.

This got me thinking, even though these cams are very popular and most forumites will openly admit their addiction, what if no-one records a sighting? Is that a non-event does it even matter that no-one witnessed it? On a similar vein, if a tree burns in the savanna and no-one is there to douse it with water, does it burn as hot? If a cam goes un-watched do the animals stop visiting the waterhole? I know the answer is no but if someone doesn't witness their visit, does it really happen :P

Exam blues ... well purple

There is a saying around Wits that if you haven't started studying for exams by the time the Jacaranda's bloom then there is a good chance you may not pass the exams. Given the tendency to weight exams heavily in the overall mark, this concerns most students.



The Jacarandas on campus are old and huge and beautiful. Their purple flowers are like the shedding of a drab winter coat, coming into flower around mid-October. When exams start in the second week of November (on the normal time-table) then the warning in the myth above is enough to spur-on even some of the most recalcitrant students. However, this saying has never been more true than this year.

Exams started nearly a month early this year, making space in the timetable for the 2010 enforced shut-down in the middle of the year. So this year the start of exams coincided with the start of the purple flush. If you hadn't made an effort to study, well, uhmn, then maybe there was no hope. Exams ending, in the first week of November, will probably the coincide with the falling of the purple blooms. And then if definitely would have been too late.

Reading writing and arithmetic

I'm working on a knowledge review for the bigger project of which my research forms part of and it's due ... oh heck at the end of September. The reading part took a few months, in between my teaching responsibilities. I had done well and was ready to get writing late September. Like I said I was ready, but I was not necessarily willing. Procrastination crept in for about 2 days and I called it 'not knowing where to start'.

In popped an old visitor that I actually enjoy entertaining - arithmetic. With heaps of data to analyse at this stage of my research and a meeting with my supervisor - Mary - looming, some number crunching was far more enticing than writing.

I'd been scrabbling around with the writing for a few days and had some thoughts on paper, when Mary handed me a great little book to look over: The Scribes Journey by Cecile Badenhorst. Just reading the introduction and doing the playing with the first exercise got me excited about reformulating the bits I had done and adding the rest of the knowledge review. I also had about 8 blog ideas rush into my head at once. Mary also gave me another book by Cecile about writing a dissertation and it's already in my shopping basket at my favourite online store.

The first full draft knowledge review is now on Mary's desk for review and so should be distributed before the next project meeting early in November.

So this is what I learned through this exercise. Reading writing and arithmetic sometimes appear out of order and that's just fine. I also know that I'm OK with reading, it takes me a while to do, partly because I get distracted easily and partly because there's so much out there to read. I'm getting better at arithmetic because it's a practise game and I know I'm smart enough to get to grips with numbers and sometimes even statistics! And there's no pretending anymore, with good works like "The Scribe's Journey", writing can also be fun, freeing and painless. I also know that the first draft may be a list of ideas scribbled on some paper, it's seldom a master piece right off the bat. Just writing something gets me to what I want to say. Here's to balancing the threesome of reading, writing and arithmetic into a relatively pain-free thesis, and many more regular blog posts.

If you've got something to say, even if there's no one to say it to, write it any way. That which seems trivial to you now maybe profound only 5 minutes from now.

Doing things differently and learning new "stuff"

Ever noticed how going to a new place with new people can be great fun and filled with learning? I spent last week down on the KZN north coast with a fun filled group of colleagues, 3rd year students and Amy (a colleague's 4 year old daughter). A diverse mosaic of personalities and experience, almost as diverse as the landscape patches we were exploring: dune forests, grassland patches, sandy beaches and rocky shores. Even the weather was diverse: from a rainy beginning to hazy mornings and sunshiny afternoons. The almost gale force winds were the only constant, with only one calm day in the whole week.

What did I do differently? Well apart from engaging with a group of colleagues outside of my normal sphere of influence, I co-supervised a project on the rocky shores. I thought I knew very little about them to start with and I did compared with Jenny's astounding knowledge of marine species. But I learnt I'm a quick learner and by the end was more comfortable helping the students identify organisms. That's some of the new 'stuff' I learnt. Like that Ascidians are chordates because their larvae have notochords - pretty cool stuff to know. Thanks Jen.



You know it's a good days work when you can birding and hear / see at least 5 new species you've never identified before, have breakfast and get 'work' done on the rocky shore by 14:00 on a Friday. I'm really disappointed that I didn't get out with the small critter collector people too. Darn slippery rocks and unsteady feet. Next time Mark for sure!

Teaching a small group of enthusiastic students - in spite of having to have a late lunch and working in a howling gale - in such a novel manner is something that I did differently and got to learn a bunch of stuff about. Graham mentioned that as staff we open our personal lives to scrutiny by students on these types of field trips. Graham: thanks for being the model of professionalism while still engaging on a human level with the students.




Quick itinerary summary:

Day 1: Depart Wits Sunday 6:30. Breakfast at Wimpy in Ermelo 9:30 (yes I lead everyone on the windy-windy route - sorry!). Quick comfort and snack stop in Pongola. Interesting bumpy journey - how did you sleep through that Steve? - to Sodwana. Arrive and settle in at Sodwana Bay around 16:00.

Day 2: Breakfast and recce exploration of landscape patches. Never done about 3km hike in 45 mins! Rewarding lunch followed by project design sessions dinner and a lecture. Expedition to the rocky shores at night - fun times!

Day 3: Earlish start, breakfast and get the gear together. Start project just before low tide. Back in time for lunch and an afternoon on an adventure with Amy followed by convivial dinner.

Day 4: Game of 'keep the ball in the air' after breakfast, and head to the beach. Only calm day so project data collection was fun. So was the sand fight with Rob and slipping on the rocks and landing face first on a wet rock! Afternoon spent consoling my ego and playing with Amy, coaching her towards the "most awesome-ist sandcastle builder in the world" award. Oh and Paddle-Pops ROCK!

Day 5: As the tide got later and later so did our beach departure time, but breakfast remained at 7am. The Cheese and Wine group were concerned about missing lunch and so were motivated to do a proper job in good time to get back for lunch. Dinner was followed by drinks at the guys cottage and some entertaining commentary on rhythmic gymnastics from Beijing. The early mornings got the better of most of the staff and we all could barely keep ourselves awake enough to see SA's Odette Richards.

Day 6: Last day of data collection, latest day to hit the beach. Probably the windiest day too. More sand castle building after lunch, good dinner and a short lecture on what was expected on the last day in the field.

Day 7: Be there when Amy woke up - by personal request - with an extended story time. Breakfast and gear pack up. Got our group working with their data, watched some rugby, panic station assistance for group before their presentation. Presentations and good dinner, bit of socialising, followed by packing and fading.

Day 8: Depart Sodwana 6:50 - 10 mins early! Good cheerful drive back including some name trashing disco moves. Back at Wits just after 15:30.

Splendid trip. Cheers! to doing things different and learning new stuff.