electricland

Immunology makes my head hurt.

So after plugging my project into MS Project this morning, it is my considered professional opinion that I am totally screwed. Which I knew, but it's nice to have confirmation in black and white (or red and blue, now that I've done the pretty critical path Gantt chart, which makes the screwage so much easier to see).

Also? Web-based project management/time tracking SUCKS. At least, it does when you have to make 4 clicks just to get to the page you want to change. EACH TIME. Grrrraaaaagh.

In other news, good weekend. I exercised and cooked and saw the family for brunch and everything (although I didn't tidy my apartment, because really, there are so many more pleasant ways to spend your time). crankygrrl called in hung over this morning so I had no transit buddy. Guess I shouldn't have fed her quite so much Laphroaig last night.

I just spent two solid hours arguing with Word. I love that. Still, it's (a) working and (b) prettier now, so I won't complain.

For future reference, EndNote and the Track Changes function don't appear to get on.

Nothing much to report, except that there are still way too damn many things that can cause epilepsy. Way too many. Also, cousin J has been checking out houses again, and she found this gem -- that's right, it's completely gutted, they're not doing viewings because there is "trouble with the executors," and they want $299 K for it. Madness, I tell you!

In happier news, happy birthday, moonlightjoy! This is gonna be a great year for you!

1. Return of the Timesheet - Anyone out there used EasyProjects.NET? We are supposed to be starting to use it, except that as is customary we haven't really sat down to think about how. My boss claims to believe it's the answer to all our problems. As far as I can see it'll be useful for time tracking but that's about it -- there's no way to create dependencies, for instance. Plus, it's web-based, which means (comparatively) slow, even though the server is right here in the office. We do have an "implementation plan" which is basically a half-assed quick reference guide -- I'm sorry, but how does telling me that the Development status "implies that the task is under development" help me? I've just spent half an hour on the thing and have a page worth of comments/complaints. Although I am trying to be positive, because I know we need SOMETHING, and if we are going to have a web-based time tracking application this seems as good as any. What I would LIKE for planning out my time, and what I was promised, is a copy of MS Project, but no sign so far. I will bother my boss about this.

2. Hummer: The Fragrance.

3. Discworld novels with "grown-up" covers. I'm sorry, people, I feel the same way about these as I do about the "grown-up" versions of the Harry Potter books. This is what they are. Suck it up. If you think you're too cool to read a book with this kind of cover, you probably won't enjoy them anyway. And shame on you too, Corgi.

On the plus side, I bought a lovely journal bound in green leather with daisies embossed on it for the Great Writing Adventure (which I should've started yesterday).

Everyone on my Friends page seems to be going crazy for hot chocolate today. Hmmm...

I bought shirts! One super-cheap and the other two decent priced, from H & M. Mostly because I only remembered after leaving the house that I'm going to my aunt's birthday party tonight and perhaps jeans and a T-shirt is a little sloppier than I want to go. I don't know where my head is at today.

In other news, there are WAY TOO GODDAMN MANY epilepsy syndromes! I swear they're multiplying like bunnies. And it will continue -- one of my references cheerfully says "The full repertoire of pediatric epilepsy syndromes has certainly not yet been defined, and fascinating work continues to reveal interesting new subsets of patients..."

Curse you, researchers. Curse you.

I've decided I've had it up to here with research, so I shall write for the next 45 minutes and call it a day.

Not a good start.

Went over to the hospital to pick up my new Metropass (which I should have done last week) to discover that the office closes at 4. Then found I had lost my ID at some point on the (really not very complicated) way, and couldn't find it. Dammit! Should've just stayed in my office.

maybe someone will turn it in.

I love it when a bunch of librarians have already thought about a problem for me. Synonym-hunting just got easier.

“Studies that applied EEG criteria for seizures documented 50% mortality in preterm and 40% mortality in term infants [with neonatal seizures]. The prevalence of adverse neurologic sequelae was 65% in survivors.”

wah.

It seems to be the Day of Responses. So far I've received an article summary I asked for a couple of weeks ago, answers to a set of questions I asked a MONTH ago (and I'd been trying to chase this doctor down for a good month before that) and the following from a nice doctor in Finland:

Dear [me],
I can at once send you a modest copy of that paper. May be you appreciate it more thatn a beeter one a bit later.

Merry Christmas!

I call that perfectly charming. And he sent it to me all of about 2 minutes after I sent the begging email -- I'd been looking for some information and it looks like this guy's paper has exactly what I need, only no university library in Canada appears to carry the journal in question (I believe I ranted about this a few days ago).

So. Good things happening!