Bragging Rights Archive II

Dates represent date of archiving - it's just easier that way.

VWXYNot? Comment(s) of the week:

Apr 03 2009: Mrs CH for "Ah yes, I've heard of this thing they call "running""

and Silver Fox for "I think the inclusion of cheese definitely qualifies the entire package for breakfast status. Possibly the Fail people didn't have a sense of imagination, or maybe they simply prefer cereal with their beer in the morning!"

Apr 10th 2009: I wanted to include every comment on this thread, but Ruchi, erm, disagreed. (I believe her exact words were "The WHOLE THREAD?! F**king bulls**t. What is this, comment of the week grade inflation?"). So I'll just do a selection. If your comment didn't make the cut, please take it up with Ruchi!

Ruchi for "Tea!!!! I had five cups today. I am also wide awake at 3:30 am commenting on blog posts. But I can't prove causality, so I don't have to stop drinking so much tea. Right?!! Right?!!!"
MadHatter for "No, no, no, no, no! No milk in tea! No sugar in tea! And no fucking condensed milk in tea! Thou shalt not sully thy pristine cup of tea with base and impure substances! (Unless it's bubble tea, in which case the more boba the better.) [end hysterics]"

Cromercrox for "I know someone who was killed by too much tea without milk or sugar - very suddenly. He was minding his own business on the sidewalk when a full tea urn fell on him from a great height."

and SilverFox for "If concerned about excessive heat, move to a higher elevation where water boils at a significantly lower temperature. That's what I did, long before this study came out. Prescient of me, eh?"

Meanwhile, on other threads: Chall for "A very tidy and quiet child scares me since they most likely will plot something very bad inside their little head."

and Lisbeth for "are you saying that I don't need to find an actual baby but can just go and smell the baby powder in the supermarket?"

Apr 17 2009: Hermitage for "C'mon, you KNOW some halfwits are still going to wander over and ask you to preform secretarial duties under the pretense that PhD stands for Professional Help Desk."

and Mad Hatter for "This is why you need a second sign that says "Cath [redacted] PhD, Not The Fucking Secretary" that you can pull out when the first one fails to deter the halfwits".

Apr 24 2009: Massimo for "My heartfelt congratulations for making it to the playoffs. The concurrent demise of my beloved Oilers, and the ensuing firing of their coach (which incidentally takes care of the embarrassing situation with your Macbook) has made me decide that the Canucks are now the team which I hope to see win the Stanley Cup"

and Amanda for "to alleviate your wondering a 9 year old boy will climb onto the roof of a house-- without a ladder-- to get at chocolate (as my brother has proven). So, I think a little swamp wouldn't stand in their way!"

May 1 2009: Dr J for "non-alcoholic beer, there is nothing about those words together that looks right. like de-caff coffee, I just don't see the point."

and Ricardipus for "You know, if homeopathy worked, you wouldn't have to even open the bottle. Just drink a glass of lake/ocean/river/tap water - it should contain the memory of molecules of every medication ever used.There, cold sorted. ;)"

May 8 2009: Kyrsten for "I called someone a "Customer Wrangler" the other day when they had a particularly distressing set of emails where no one was listening to what each other were saying, and now they want it on their business card."

and Hermitage for "Haha, now I'm going to imagine you herding grants on the long trail from PI's office to the NIH, eating slop beans at night and wearing a bandana around your mouth during the day to keep the bullshit out."

May 15 2009: Eva for "I do find it stressful that every time I go to Holland I spend all my time visiting people. I never have a proper vacation. There are always appointments to be made. Fun appointments, but still, there's a whole *schedule*. I just want to sit around and do nothing."

and Chall for "I do miss the whole "vacation and not running around meeting people" but I guess that is part of my punishment for moving away?!!?"

May 22 2009: Mermaid for "Well, the best part of being an Auntie is the supply of 'unnecessary' fun substances (to a point, of course). I may have to come over with some organic catnip soon :)."

Bob O'Hara for "Oh, congratulations! Does this mean you have less than a month to find a doomed hockey team to follow?"

and Ambivalent Academic for "Holy crap! Glad you got it sorted. I would have subsequently punished whoever sent that email and kicked off you panic death spiral though."

May 29 2009: Microbiologist XX for "Ahhhh the life of a cat. I won't know that kind of joy until I'm in a nursing home. ;)"

and Hermitage for "This is why I stick with dogs. Cats are so condescending ! I want unending, slavish, devotion, not judginess!"

June 5 2009: Silver Fox for "It seems like most jobs will have something to miss, although one may not know what that is until moving on to the next job."

Barn Owl for "I usually swim laps without wearing my contact lenses (though I can manage lenses + goggles for outdoor distance swims), and under those circumstances I don't see well enough to determine whether there are creepy underwater guys in nearby lanes. When I was in grad school, a few friends warned me that there was a creepy exhibitionist dude who frequented the university pool, and who would pull down his Speedo to expose himself when women swam by. I can't say whether I would have noticed this, being so nearsighted while swimming laps. My friends thought this was rather funny ... the guy would have been wasting his genitalia display energies on me."

and Mermaid for "I went to swim training last night and our group was delayed by 15 minutes. Normally I would be annoyed, but the group that was still training was the men's national swim team. Not only were they amazing swimmers (they had wakes coming off of them...like on a speedboat!), but there was an entire pool full of men that looked like this:

Imagine, if you will, a triathlon club left speechless - both male and female. We tried not to creepy about it, but we couldn't help staring at them. Wow."

June 12 2009: Lisbeth for "That defense for the right to drink tea at your desk at any given time clearly shows why you are allowed to hold two citizenships :)"

Prof-Like Substance for "Congrats, but I hope they told you ahead of time that all new citizens have to wear a mullet for 6 months. It's all aboot hazing the new folks."

and Microbiologist XX for "Lancelot and I would not have gotten on well in HS at all. I would have thought he was an immature jerk whose grades were not good enough and he would have thought I was a dork. Thank goodness we met after undergrad. ;)"

June 19 2009: Professor in Training for "As to Tom Jones - I loved the original Prince version and don't mind TJ's version but watching him run his hands down his body makes my skin crawl ... it's probably got something to do with the fact that my mother told my sister and I several years ago that she "would be happy for Tom Jones to park his slippers under her bed anytime." Eeeeeewwww. We never told our dad about that conversation :)"

Bob O'Hara for "Um. In Glasgow the "skirts" weren't for cross-dressers."

Chall for "It's ok that you win against Norway since you will lose against Sweden ;)"

and ScientistMother for "I would congratulate you but I'm too jealous. I will most likely be studying for comps and unable to enjoy the moment. SCREW YOU ALL!"

June 26 2009: (everyone mentioned below gets to call me Cathy once, and then we'll put the whole thing to rest for good!)

Ruchie for "I don't really understand why this is so difficult for people. The most annoying is email. Like, when I sign an email Ruchi, I really hate it when I get an email response back that says, "Hi Ruchie."

It's like ... my name is spelled RIGHT THERE in the BLOODY email you are responding to. How do you not SEE that?!"

Moose for "At least you have never been told "What? Mah-see-moh? Oh, no, that's too difficult for me, I'll call you Moose, how's that..."... "Yes, and I'll call you Dick, how's that ?" (Savannah, GA, circa 1988)".

Diana for "I can't figure out the whole extra syllable thing not being obvious either. Just call me Diana and see the response you get. It is a whole different name! My best response from one man who insisted that the name was the same was for me to call Robert "Roberta". See, it IS different!"

Eve for "I often get e-mail and regular mail addressed to "Eve". I don't know who that is, but the bank even let me cash her cheque once so it's fine by me.

People also always pronounce my name wrong. You probably do, too. It's okay - there are 3 ways to pronounce it and mine is the least common in English. It sounds like the English name Ava, or, as someone once pointed out "Oh, like 'Eva Braun'!" Lovely".

and Sci Bear for "My first name is very common but people automatically assume I WANT a shortened version. This is completely incorrect. Every person I've met who goes by the shortened version of my super common name has been a ditz."

July 03 2009: Thomas Joseph for "She looks bored. Sort of how I looked when I was dragged to see Moulin Rouge by my wife."

and Mermaid for "Unfortunately MJ made a mockery of himself over the last few years. The person we all danced to has been gone a long, long time."

July 10 2009: Unbalanced Reaction for "With just one passport and no iPhone, I suddenly feel very tech-deficient!"

and Lisbeth for "Since we're also the ones 'on the move', I'm not bothered by friends moving around - only if they move to very-cool-place-I-would-like-to-visit and then manage to move away from it again before I have the time/money to visit!!"

July 17 2009: Bob for "Ah, I see. You get to play mum, and some sleep at night.

Well done!"

and Massimo for "You are aware of the type of comments from friends and relatives to which you are exposing yourself by publishing these pictures, aren't you ?"

July 24 2009: Massimo for "So, here is my question: do you mention the iPhone to me "regularly", "often", or both ?"

and Chall for "I'm so going soon. I mean, not only too meet up and see you and see Vancouver again but seriously; I need a trip to MEC."

July 31 2009: DuWayne Brayton for "Oh shit!!!! Ya'll think you're clear because you didn't fall out of a sailboat????"

Hermitage for "Boo, falling out of a sailboat is ELISTIST! I demand a good, common, hard-working AMERICAN metric be used...such as anyone who's had a Big Mac."

and Microbiologist XX for "I got so distracted by the fact that I had fallen out of a sailboat that I forgot to leave my comment."

(This exchange looked so funny out of context that I just had to include it!)

August 7 2009: EcoGeoFemme for "The problem with miracles is that it makes you question all the times when there isn't a miracle."

and Nina for "I wear pretty normal clothes actually (at least in my opinion), but among my colleagues red shoes are regarded very exotic ..."

August 14 2009: Hermitage for "I will not be conned by your Vancouver trickery! I know the minute I got there it would start raining immediately and constantly for days. Kind of like how it snowed when I went to visit Seattle in late spring/early summer. It's all a scam!"

and Mermaid for "Is it sad that I love Pet Peeve Tuesday? I look forward to it every week. [...] It is NOT COOL to stand outside with your wailing child at 3am so you don't wake your husband up. We have our windows open and our master bedroom is right above where you are standing. Why should the father be able to sleep when we can't? (You know you have a lousy strata when your neighbours admit this)."

August 21 2009: Amanda for "I most certainly agree about baseball being something you do once every 2-3 years. I've also found that, since I turned 21, that the game has drastically improved :-)"

Microbiologist XX for "Watch baseball on TV...you might as well watch someone mow a lawn on TV. (I feel the same way about golf) For me to enjoy baseball, I must attending the game, get a little drunk, eat a hot dog and/or pretzel and heckle the apposing team or my Dad's favorite player. Come to think of it, that's how I enjoy hockey...just add in a few more drinks."

and Thomas Joseph for "Baseball is America's sport, and when I say America, I mean that in the most elitist way possible ... The UNITED STATES of America. It's our sport! We don't expect you non-Americans to understand it, care about it, pay attention to it, play it'

Aug 28 2009: Bob O'H for "What are you trying to say about what Mr. E Man gets up to in his spare time?"

and EcoGeoFemme for "ooh, ooh, tell us which national stereotypes you think have the most factual basis!!"

Sep 4 2009: Viv (Knutty Knitter) for "Mammograms aren't that bad - it was better than the pap thing anyhow :) Of course hanging by one breast off a large immovable object isn't exactly comfortable! Ok so I'm vertically challenged and so was the machine. It couldn't get down any further and the stool wouldn't go up any higher. I swear I'm taking my own stool next time in about a month....."

Professor in Training for "And for the record, my male GP is "boringly normal" and married which was perfect for pap and breast exams. Musculoskeletal exams on the other hand are infinitely better if performed by a Hot Doc who's not at all creepy and very, very easy on the eyes."

Nina for "I never understood why men would want to become a doctor for "women things" other than some weird and sick interest ... Perhaps if he would look less like a retired playboy it wouldn't be so bad, but he has this perpetual artificial suntan and perfectly styled white hairs ... yuck."

and Mad Hatter for "Oh, and my doctor is very good-looking. Married with children, but definitely hot. I agree hot is better than creepy or gross, but it is a little weird."

Sep 11 2009: Nina for "I think it is not fair of them to ask for French, when Quebecois is a whole different language... I took Science-French with 3 Canadian girls and they spoke something more similar to arabic"

and Prof-like Substance for "I'm pretty sure Dunkin Donuts is moving in the bucket direction. They have an extra large coffee that comes with a Sherpa to carry it. And I love the fact that the British invented Canada. Don't you mean "asked Canada to grow up, get a job and stop living off its parents" in 1931?"

Sep 18 2009: Professor In Training for "While we all professed to hate the uniforms, they made life easier for those of us that were significantly less affluent than our peers and who couldn't afford to buy the latest fashions (in retrospect, probably a good thing given that I was at school in the 70's and 80's)."

and Bob O'H for "one of the previous heads went on a campaign against (IIRC) ties. Of course, that meant that the students rebelled and put their effort into stranger tie styles. But that was what he wanted: they didn't notice that the rest of their uniform was boringly standard. And no doubt everyone got some enjoyment from the little contest."

Sep 25 2009: Infinite Science for "I saw this and thought WEREWOLF! with a non-symmetrical face! and Chipmunk cheeks!!"

and Chall for "sports bar showing hockey here? haha, there was one - after I did some oogling and pulling the top a bit lower and biting my lip (almost serious here)."


Post(s) of the Week:

Apr 03 2009: Steffi Suhr for "No Sir, she is not a bullshit artist"

and ScientistMother for "Running is like science OR why I need an iPhone"

Apr 10 2009: Prof-like Substance for Ecological Succession of PANs

and Noah Gray for "Research highlights from Dr. Obvious: Depressed kids have experienced more depressing events"

Apr 17 2009: Ian Brooks for "The challenge... as I see it"

and Peter Mc (from the Beagle Project) for "What is the difference between HMS Beagle and RMS Titanic?"

Apr 24 2009: Toaster Sunshine for "Cost of Science"

and Viktor Poór for "Localization Patterns"

May 1 2009: Eric Michael Johnson for "And now for something completely different"

and Heather Etchevers for "Offensive in thought and deed"

May 8 2009: Arlenna for "The Fate Game II"

and Beth Snow for "You can do *anything* you want?"

May 15 2009: Massimo for "Search committee double speak"

and Wayfarer Scientista for "One dead bear & a blueberry pie"

May 22 2009: Silver Fox for "Hummingbird moth"

and ScienceGirl for "Monday Anecdote: Mr. Officer"

May 29 2009: Professor in Training for "Go read this"

and Ruchi for "Living car-free should not be challenging"

June 5 2009: Uphilldowndale for "The things we do for love"

and Caryn Shechtman for "A discussion of the placebo-nocebo effect"

June 12 2009: Bob O'Hara for "Publicity and outreach done wrong"

and The Digital Cuttlefish for "Of penguins, and people, and the end of the world as we know it"

June 19 2009: Jeanne Sather for "What to say when a friend has cancer"

and Nina for "An eye-opener"

June 26 2009: Toaster Sunshine for "On male emotions"

and Comrade PhysioProf for "Basic fucking research"

July 03 2009: Trisha Saha for "They're just made of a different DNA"

and Vanessa Woods for "Bonobo release - Lomela"

July 10 2009: Stephen Curry for "Picture perfect?"

Prof-Like Substance for "Actual conversation: real estate"

and GrrlScientist for "In memory of Michael Jackson: a moonwalking bird"

July 17 2009: Toaster Sunshine for "A proposal"

and PZ Myers for "Stephen Harper, call me!"

July 24 2009: Henry Gee for "Rocks, Crocs and the missing link"

Ambivalent Academic for "Lying motherfucker"

and DuWayne Brayton for "Ooh!!! Those Damned Canucks are Getting Rather Uppity!!!!"

July 31 2009: The Digital Cuttlefish for "Church vs virus: who will blink?"

Brian Clegg for "A website name to wind up the French"

and Massimo for "iPhone and me" (He caved!!!!!).

August 7 2009: White Coat (@Emails From Crazy People) for "Damn Dams"

and Hypoglycemiagirl for "Rowr!"

August 14 2009: Steffi Suhr for "Look closer"

and Makita for "Permission to make a mess"

August 21 2009: Dr. J for "Republican right - get your filthy toxin spewing tanks off the NHS's lawn"

and Vanessa Woods for "Hard at work in the jungle"

August 28 2009: David Basanta for "Evolutionary constraints and hindering tumour progression"

Heather Etchevers for "Your body, my self"

and Ruchi for "Clearing up some confusion"

September 4th 2009: Ambivalent Academic for "Raise the drawbridge!"

Chall for "Not today"

and (I couldn't resist!), Mad Hatter for "First meeting with an old friend"

September 11th 2009: Eva Amsen for "Distant friends"

and Chall (2nd week in a row!) for "Broken angry record"

September 18th 2009: Anna Kushnir for "You can take the dork out of the lab, but you can't take the lab out of the dork"

and Alyssa Gilbert for "That's cool - but who cares?"

September 25th 2009: Stephen Curry for "Flags of our daughters"

and Microbiologist XX for "Things that sound better than Nickelback"