Busy Busy Busy

One problem with writing a blog as a scientist is that I spend a good chunk of my time writing other stuff.  In particular, I'm currently writing several talks for SUSY 2013 next week and some seminars in the following weeks.  Much like the problem I have with reading these days, after a hard day's writing I'm not too inclined to spend an hour or more constructing a post here.

Still, I should have the main things finished soon, and I'll likely be live blogging SUSY next week as well.  So that should help me post more regularly again.  Also, as the main game I'll have with me will be ToME, I might finally get around to writing a review of it.

Power

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to stop my live blog as my laptop is running out of power.  The lack of power outlets in the lecture halls strikes again!  Tomorrow, I'll be sure to charge up fully in the morning.

Living in the Wrong Country

I noticed a news story on the effects of poor sleep today:

A run of poor sleep can have a dramatic effect on the internal workings of the human body, say UK researchers.

The activity of hundreds of genes was altered when people's sleep was cut to less than six hours a day for a week.

... 

Heart disease, diabetes, obesity and poor brain function have all been linked to substandard sleep.

What missing hours in bed actually does to alter health, however, is unknown.

Which struck a chord given what I've experienced over the last few weeks.  My apartment doesn't have air conditioning, indeed seems to have been built to keep heat in.  And so I've been struggling to get to sleep, and waking up during the night, thanks to being too hot.  All in all, I'm more of a cold weather person.  Which does rather bring to mind the question: why did I decide to move to Australia?

I'm invoking these conditions as my excuse for not posting anything recently.  Still, it is supposed to cool down for the rest of the week, which will strip me of that excuse hopefully let me get  something substantive out.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off two inches in front of my fan.

Packing

Just a note to explain the lighter than usual posting over the last couple of weeks.  I'm packing stuff up to ship for when I leave for Australia in a few weeks, and this has taken up a lot of time.  I should have that finished soon, which will hopefully let me finish off a couple of posts I'm working on.

While this is necessary, my apartment is looking increasingly empty, which does make me feel a bit sad.  I've enjoyed my time in Vancouver, and will definitely miss it.

The Trouble With Travel

This little corner of the internet of mine has gone quite quiet for the last couple of weeks.  The reason is simple; I've been travelling, and between the travel time itself, the jet lag and the things I've been up to at the places I've visited (conferences, meeting old friends) I've been unable to find the time to write anything worth publishing.

I'm currently in a relatively calm period, where I'm spending two weeks in the same place (visiting family).  So I hope to get back into a somewhat regular publishing schedule for the next week.  After that, I'm off to Warsaw for another conference, followed in turn by conferences in Vancouver and Calgary.  So I likely will be posting rarely during those three weeks.

I'm Really Not Dead...

I know, I know, I promised something new almost a week ago.  Still, between the travel plans, shifting money around so I can afford the travel, trying to get something sufficiently finished to talk about at conferences, and writing my talk, I've been quite a bit busier than normal.  If anything, I might actually be less busy once I'm actually travelling; we'll see.

Still, I will try to post more regularly, starting today.