Weakly wandering

I've just walked to the university from home via Woolies and I've just arrived at the uni. I've got to say that I'm absolutely exhausted. So much that my legs were shaking. I must be even more unfit than I thought. That's what uni does to you, a few weeks of no physical exercise (but lots of mental exercise) leaves so unfit you can't walk to the shops and back. It only took about half an hour and wasn't even hilly. Tomorrow I'm going to have to make the effort again to get out and exercise. By the end of June I want to be fit.

31 Today

I'm now officially on the wrong side of 30! Still, today has been a nice was to head over to the other side. This morning started with a nice cooked breakfast which was very nice. The breakfast kept me going for most of the day so there was no lunch but we took Dad to the airport. He is flying down today to visit Laura. Mum and I went to see 'the Clash of the Titans' this afternoon. I've heard that it didn't get a really good write up but I enjoyed. It was action all the way and some amazing special effects. After that we finished of the evening by heading over to Red Rooster. It's been a nice relaxing day. After the busy week I've had at uni this week, I needed it. I think I must be getting old.

Flu shot

Yesterday I had a flu shot. I had one last year and I think it helped. Of course I'm not too sure but as they give them out for free and they are supposed to do you good then I thought It would be beneficial to me if I got one. This year the vaccine contained both the current seasonal influenza virus but also the H1N1 (Swine Flu) Influenza A virus. I was told that I might experience some side effects such as a fever, sore arm or aches but as yet I haven't felt anything. I'm not sure if it will work but I figure I might as well try to protect myself and do my bit for those around me as I wouldn't want to give anyone the flu as well as wouldn't want to get it from anyone.

Wasps in the backyard

It's the Easter holidays now and last week I went back down to Brisbane to visit my parents and friends. I'd been there a couple of days before I noticed a colony of Brown Paper Wasps (Ropalidia revolutionalis) that were setting up a home on one of the pot plants around the house. I managed to get a couple of photos that didn't come out too badly.

A brown paper wasp (Ropalidia revolutionalis)

These wasps weren't at all aggressive and let me get quite close to take photos. I guess they would attack me if I was to touch the nest but they were happy to just watch me as I snapped away.

The nest itself was about 10 cm long with lots of honeycomb egg chambers running down its length.

No good assignment

I’ve just been into to see the academic advisor at uni as I wanted someone to look over my literature review before I handed it in. I came out thinking of what he told me. It was about one sentence specifically. He basically told me that it was crap. I believe that his actual words were that it was no good. The sentence is below:

“Military equipment may have played a major part in increasing the range of the vector mosquito, inadvertently providing receptacles for rainwater in which Aedes aegypti mosquitoes laid their eggs. This equipment was then moved across Asia and the Pacific. Soldiers too were moved across the region and the dengue virus continued to spread. These two factors combined to not only increase the range that dengue fever was able to spread but also provided the means through which the vectors could travel”

I thought that was a bit harsh, especially when I thought that the sentence added to the paragraph. While I wanted to know if my review was okay I guess I was hoping for more constructive criticism. Instead he said the particular sentence was useless. Apart from that all he said was there needs to be more references even if that means on every single line instead of just at the start or end of the paraphrased section. He obviously thought that he had been too harsh as when I was leaving he said that the assignment was very good three times before I left. Good but no good. Now that's confusing!

Here comes the rain

It is now March and it has been quite wet here of late. Usually it’s bright and sunny but for the past couple of weeks we’ve had rain. Just when you think it is clearing more rain comes over. Not that I’m complaining of course. I really do like the rain. When it’s cooler it is a lot easier to study and it is just a nicer feeling. I do like the sun when it comes but I haven’t seen rain like this for quite a while. Now there is even a cyclone going to hit up north so I’m sure we’ll get a bit of rain from that too. Everything here is nice and green and quite a few places inland have flooded. As I say, it makes a nice change.

Starting my 3rd year at uni

Here I am sat in the library once more. This week is orientation week. A time where the new people startin uni learn about the campus. Therefore I'm not totally surprised that there is only two other people here other than myself. Outside a few people mill around the cafe drinking coffee and chatting with one another, but for the most part, the campus is empty. In the library all I can hear is my tap-tap-tapping on the keys as I type and the wirr of the air conditioning. When I first came to uni I thought that the campus would be packed and busselling with people. This however, never seems to be the case with this uni. It is quiet and quite peaceful. Next week I imagine this will get busier, but never by as much as you think. This campus is not the place to hang around. You just do what you need to and then get out.

This year will be my third and (hopefully) final year. This first semester I’ll be doing Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Geographical Information Systems (learning how to use a mapping computer program), Integrated Environmental Management and a Special Research Project on Ecotoxicology where we will be sampling and testing an alternative water source such as grey water or storm water. I hope it all goes well.

Heading to St George

Last week my friend Stewart and I went on a bit of a road trip out to St George in Southern Queensland. We went out there for three nights looking for any reptiles or amphibians that we could find. So the first night we headed out to St George looking for a rare snake called a Woma. I would have loved to find one but unfortunately luck wasn’t with us. We managed to find a sand-swimming lizard and a western brown snake but that was it. That night we camped by the side of the road under the stars. That night the wind started to blow.

Bearded Dragon (Pogona barbata)

The next morning when we woke up and it was overcast. We packed up all are stuff and jumped back in the car heading to a place called Glenmorgan. It’s a small town about 5 hours from Brisbane. It’s still out in the bush. On the way there it started to rain. It was a nice drive on the back roads to get out there. Everything was green from recent rains and there were quite a few birds about including rainbow bee-eaters. They are a kaki coloured bird with blue and yellow stripes across the face and a downwardly curved beak. You don’t see them in Brisbane and for me, they just are so unexpected (although quite common) for me in the outback.

That night it rained. I was glad that we were staying with a couple of Stewart’s friends out there in a house. It was nice to lie in a warm bed listening to the rain falling on the tin roof. The next day it rained. It was our last night out and it wasn’t a good start. We started to head back to Dalby (the biggest down on the way out west after Toowoomba). Our campsite for the night was going to be Lake Broadwater. When we arrived it was raining. It was only drizzle, but with the gusty wind that was blowing made it feel like it was about 18oC, which is quite cool for being in the middle of summer. As it started to get dark we tossed up whether to stay at the lake. In the end we decided to pitch our tents under the covered area. It was actually a nice spot on the verandah of the hall fronting onto the lake. When you looked out east you could see across the lake and the next morning I woke up with the sun as it tried to poke itself between the clouds. That was the last morning of our trip. Stewart had to start work that day on a mine site doing a wildlife survey so I dropped him off in Dalby and headed back to Brisbane. It was a nice trip. We didn’t get to see much wildlife (except for lots of frogs that were out in the rain) but it was good all the same. I always like getting out of the city. Everything seems more relaxing in the country.

A Rufous Songlark (Cincloramphus mathewsi) that I hit when driving away from St George

It was a nice trip but unfortunatly there was a casualty on the roads. I hit a bird as we were leaving St George. A pair of them flew across the road, the first one survived but this one wasn't so lucky. As I heard the thud on the grill I knew it was too late. It is a shame that I killed the bird but I couldn't avoid hitting him. It just goes to show that you've always got to be extra careful when it comes to wildlife.

Probabilities, t-tests and z-scores

I've just finished exam for the statistics class that I took over the summer semester. In in we learnt about some of the statistical tests that can be run on data to find whether it it significant or not. My preparation for the exam involved going over and over the practice exam that we were given performing the same questions over and over again until they sank in. The test itself was challenging. Most of the other people that I've spoken to about it feel the same. The test had questions on t-tests, z-scores, chi quared, binomial probabilities and distribution curves. By the end of the two hour exam, only two people had left the auditorium after finishing the exam. For me, it was the first exam that I have had to write from start to finish. Now I've just got to wait for the results which should come out in a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed!

Looking for a new home

Since being back up on the coast I've been pretty busy. Not, as you would think with my uni summer subject but instead, looking for a new place to live for the coming year. I checked out one place yesterday and have another couple to look at over the coming week. The place I visited yesterday was avertised as a "granny flat". In essence though it was a room under a house with an ensuite bathroom. There were no cooking facilities which was a major bother for me. I'd like to be able to cook dinner there and basically use it like a normal flat. I was told that I'd find out by Sunday if the lady thought that I'd be acceptable but at the moment even though it is private and only $140 a week, without kitchen facilities it's not really what I'm looking for. And so the search goes on.