WOO HOO! GRADUATED FROM UNI!

After three-and-a-half years of hard work, a couple of disappointments, the first two years driving 10 - 15 hours just to get to my courses, 8am lectures, practicals, assignments, tutoring first years, going on some great field trips and getting some extra experience in the lab, I graduated today with my Bachelor of Science (with majors in Genetics and Zoology )

Today was a bit wet, not the best weather to graduate in (I don't mind though, as long as the rain falls in our dams! They still haven't reached the magical 40% mark ) Also, I did get blisters from the shoes I wore I'm trying to make them more comfortable. Probably not the best day to wear them, but they matched my outfit well

Seeing as I have my degree, the next ten months will be very interesting. For those of you who don't know, I've been accepted as an Honours student (which involves doing research). I have my induction meeting on Monday. Oh, and I've been allocated a room, yay! No more having to go all over the campus looking for study places at the libraries, or trying to find a spare computer lab not taken up by other courses.

I'm doing my Honours on these insects known as scale insects (a.k.a mealy bugs). I'm working on a particular species - Apiomorpha minor. I'm trying to work out whether it's actually a multiple number of species, by comparing DNA samples and describing it's morphology (what it looks like, distinguishing features).

So, I apologise if I'm not around as much as I used to be, and if my blogs tend to be uni-orientated. I promise to leave room for the W.E.N.T.W.O.R.T.H.M Club meetings and I'll definitely be on the PB forum to chat (especially with Season 4 coming soon!)

Have a great week

Penny

M.I.A. for a few days

Okay, I apologise for not being around tv.com for the past few days. I decided to go down the coast for a few days with mum, her partner and my brother. I am on holidays, so instead of being stuck in the house twiddling my thumbs, I thought I'd get out of the house for a bit. And it was so worth it At the moment the humpback whales are migrating northwards to their winter breeding grounds, and some come really, really close to the shore, only a few hundred metres from the shore. And I also saw a pod of dolphins (I think they were Tursiops truncatus or bottlenose dolphins). Anyway, seeing as I'm a sciency person and I've had it drilled into me to make a note of everything, here are my observations of my wonderful cetaceans I got to see

7th July 2008 Hastings Point Headland, NSW 28° 21' 38.121'' S
153° 34' 36.663'' E (Yeah, I know, I'm getting technical ) (12 O'clock = East)

7.12am: 12 O'clock, blows at surface, small pod 2-3 animals

7.14am: 12 O'clock, blows at surface, small pod 2-3 animals

7.15am: 12 O'clock, blow at surface

7.16am: 12 O'clock, blow at surface

Pod appears to be playing near the surface as they slowly head northwards

7.19am: 1 O'clock (new individual), brief surfacing, moving northwards

7.20am: 12 O'clock, brief blow at surface

7.23am: 10 O'clock, blow at surface, heading northwards

7.24am: 10 O'clck, two blows, possibly another pod, activity near the surface, two whales at least

7.24.30am: 10 O'clock, blow at surface

7.25am: 10 O'clock, blow at surface

7.25.30am: 10 O'clock, blow at surface

Returned to house for several hours before coming back to the headland

10.10am: 10 O'clock, blows at surface, possibly two pods

10.14am: 12 O'clock, I individual whale, head lunge/breach on surface

10.15am: 10 O'clock, blow at surface

8th July 2008 Hastings Point Headland, NSW 28° 21' 38.121'' S
153° 34' 36.663'' E

9.31am: 12.15 O'clock, 3 blows in quick succession, one individual whal

9.36am: 1.30 O'clock, dolphin pod spotted! 5 - 10 animals (probably Tursiops truncatus), moving northwards. While watching for humpbacks, pod separated slightly between 10 and 11 O'clock, possibly herding shoal of fish towards the rocks

9.37am: 12.15 O'clock, 3 blows in quick succession

9.41am: 12 O'clock, 2 blows, small pod 2 - 3 individual whales, moving northwards

9.44am: 11.45 O'clock, single blow at surface

9.52am: 10.45 O'clock, one blow, one whale moving northwards

9.53.30am: 12 O'clock, blow at surface, possibly new individual whale

9.53.45am: 12 O'clock, one blow, same animal as before, moving northwards

9.58am: 12 O'clock, 2 blows, 2 whales (small pod), moving northwards. Another two separate blows quite soon after the first two.

10.00am: 11 O'clock, blow at surface

10.01.30am: 11 O'clock, blow from 1 whale?, another blow slightly behind first blow, possibly two whales

10.01.45am: 10.55 O'clock, blow at surface, 1 whale

10.02am: 10.45 O'clock, blow at surface, possibly same whale as above, heading northwards

10.03am: 10.45 O'clock, surfacing whale (no noticeable blow)

10.04am: 12 O'clock, two blows at surface, possibly two individual whales, heading northwards

10.05am: 11.45 O'clock, 1 individual whale surfacing, no blow

No whales sighted for 12 minutes, left to go back to house to get ready to come home

Okay, hope it isn't too sciency All in all, a great couple of days, I only wish one of the humpbacks had been Migaloo!

Migaloo: Aboriginal for "white fella", only known pure white humpback, approx. 14m, has been heard singing, so he's a male.

He's soo beautiful ... sigh. And he turns the water around him a pretty green colour.

Yay, I received an email telling me my Honours application was successful! Looks like you're all going to have to put up with me talking about scale insects for 10 months or so Just kidding,

4th W.E.N.T.W.O.R.T.H.M. Club Meeting

3rd July

I sincerely apologise for posting this a day late, my excuse is I didn't have access to a computer because I was out. It was State of Origin last night (not that that means much to anyone), and my team won, so it was a great night

Welcome to the club's 4th meeting. I apologise once again for the late posting. The meeting will also be posted in the Prison Break forum (Topic: Prison Break reminds me of an episode of Dumbest Criminals).

Buisness from Previous Meeting

Thank you ma_liky and mscraftee for being seconders for the last meeting

Our last meeting was held on Wentworth's birthday. Thanks Ana for the topic post in the Prison Break forum for Went

There was also a minute's silence held for the rumoured loss of Went's tattoo's from Prison Break. May the tattoos live on in our Club's logo.

June Man of the Month: Johnny Depp

Thank you to ma_liky for the following pics

Thanks to mscraftee for the following pics

Nominations for the July Man of the Month began. Looks like Amaury Nolasco is the winner!

Meeting ended 18th June 2008

Can I have some seconders please?

General Business

July Man of the Month: Amaury Nolasco

Official members

anablu

anbis82

ma_liky

mscraftee

murf1121147

Brittanym1411

tursiopsseries

All new members are welcome to join

Unoffical "Man of the Month" Members

May: Wentworth Miller

June: Johnny Depp

July: Amaury Nolasco

Nominations are welcome for the August Man of the Month

I'll nominate Milo Ventimiglia for the August Man of the Month

What is the purpose of my life?

Okay don't worry too much, that's the first line of a poem I've written for one of my novels.

Anyway, I thought for this blog I'll do some reflecting. Tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of my maternal grandfather's death. (I would have posted this blog tomorrow, but I have a few others in the making) I never got to know my dad's parents because they died years before I was born, so when Pa died it was a huge loss.

He died from throat cancer, and because of his death, I have sworn to never, ever touch a cigarette and I absolutely loathe them. Although Pa did smoke, he'd given up years before he developed the cancer.

10 years is almost half my life, and so much has happened in 10 years, both good and bad. So I thought I'd do a snippet of the events important (to me at least ) that have happened over the last 10 years

Last half of 1998:

Papua New Guinea experienced a tsunami - I remember my school raising money to help out

The search engine Google begins

Prime Minister John Howard is re-elected for a second term (Australia)

In the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race six sailors die in extremely treacherous conditions

1999:

International Year of the Older Person

The Columbine High School Massacre occurs - that was horrible (R.I.P.)

Australian Cricket team win the world cup

I finished Year 7

2000:

The new Millenium began (although the third millenium officially begins in 2001)

The Olympics were hosted in Sydney, Australia

George W. Bush becomes President of the US

2001:

Sir Donald Bradman dies (famous cricketer) (R.I.P).

Tony Blair becomes UK Prime Minister

September 11 happens (I remember waking up and seeing it on the TV) (R.I.P.)

John Howard is re-elected for a third term (Australia)

2002:

Year of the Outback (Australia)

Lleyton Hewitt wins Wimbledon (first Australian to do so since Pat Cash in 1987)

A Bali nightclub is bombed, with many victims Australian (R.I.P)

2003:

International Year of Freshwater

The Columbian Space Shuttle disaster occurs (R.I.P)

Australian Cricket team win the world cup

Brisbane Lions win their third successive premiership (AFL )

2004:

My tenth cousin on my mother's side is born

The Olympics are held in Athens, Greece

John Howard is elected to be Prime Minister for Australia for a fourth term

I finished Year 12

One of the biggest earthquakes occurs, causing a massive tsunami, hundreds of thousands of people missing or dead

2005:

Year of the Volunteer

Pope John Paul II dies

Hurrican Katrina hits New Orleans, with devastating affects

Makybe Diva wins the Melbourne Cup for the thrid consecutive year (horseracing Australia )

2006:

Tropical Cyclone Larry hits Queensland, Australia (wiped out most of the banana crop )

Steve Irwin dies after being speared by a stingray

Brisbane Broncos with the NRL premiership ( )

Saddam Hussein is hanged for crimes against humanity

2007:

Year of the Dolphin ( )

Australian Cricket team win the World Cup (I love my cricket)

APEC summit is hosted in Sydney

Queensland Maroons win the State of Origin for the second consecutive year ( )

Kevin Rudd wins and becomes Australia's new Prime Minister

Joined tv.com

2008:

Massive cyclone hits Burma, thousands killed and reported missing

Massive earthquake hits China, thousands of people killed, injured and left homeless

Jane McGrath, an ambassador for the fight against breast cancer, dies

Crude oil hits record prices

Okay, I could have included a lot, lot more, there were so many natural disasters as well as deaths of famous people, and sporting events, but there's way too many events to put them all in a blog. When I think about it, so many things have happened in ten years, both good and bad. I'm sorry if this blog is a bit Australian-centred I hope you all have a good week.

R.I.P Pa (Ronald Henry Matthews)

Okay, I haven't posted a new blog for over a week, and I came across this article on the web.

Man pulls own tooth after 'long wait'

A NSW man has pulled out his own rotten tooth after waiting years for public dental treatment.

Jeff Miners said he extracted his own molar tooth about four weeks ago, after he had languished on a series of public dental waiting lists since 2001.

Despite having a mouthful of rotten teeth, the 58-year-old from Bega in southern NSW has gone without treatment except for a single filling in 2005.

"Through inaction, I had to start taking action myself," Mr Miners told reporters in Sydney.

"I kept working on it to loosen it, the cavity was so big I could fit my forefinger into it, and I just pulled it out."

Now Mr Miners has just one intact tooth and 13 more rotten and cracked stubs of teeth in need of extraction.

He said they had rotted because of a "chemical imbalance" in his mouth, a side-effect of the combination of drugs he is prescribed to combat a heart problem and other health issues.

Mr Miners said he also had to take painkillers, which made him feel "like a zombie", to deal with the pain from his damaged mouth and inflamed gums.

"And every day and night I'm waking up and I'm just sucking poison, and there are putrid smells. It is sickening," he said.

"I've had one filling done in a tooth, back in 2005, and that's in a seven-year wait."

The NSW opposition says the delays in Mr Miners' treatment in the public dental system are partly caused by the need to have extra emergency medical services on hand in case of heart-related complications.

But opposition health spokesman Jillian Skinner said no one in Mr Miners' situation should have had to wait for seven years.

"I think this is scandalous. Jeff is one of 160,000 people waiting for public dental care in this state and (Health Minister) Reba Meagher does absolutely nothing," Ms Skinner told reporters on Wednesday.

The NSW government's $120 million budget allocation to public dental services was the "lowest per capita of any state in Australia", she said.

NSW Premier Morris Iemma said the Greater Southern Area Health Service had contacted Mr Miners and would "continue to work with him to ensure that he receives the care that he requires".

Ms Meagher also released a statement late Wednesday saying Mr Miners' case would be treated as a matter of urgency.

"I understand Mr Miners has a range of other medical conditions that have complicated his ability to receive dental care," Ms Meagher said.

"However, I am assured he will receive appropriate treatment as soon as possible."

After reading that article, it made me realise just how lucky I've been. Mum has always taken me to the dentist roughly every six months and we have private health cover. However, there are so many people suffering out there, and the public waiting lists in Australia for all types of surgery are just getting longer and longer. I really hope this type of situation can be fixed up real soon.

Hope you all have a great day I'll leave you with a quote from one of the books' written by one of my favourite authors.

"Friendship is the greatest gift one can give to another"

-Brian Jacques