Monsoon season

Well. Maybe not quite, but it really hasn't stopped raining ALL day, and during my cycle home (5 minutes!) I got thoroughly drenched. Here is a photo from last weekend in Ticino, depicting MUCH better weather.

I am currently scanning (in the laser set-up) the eye of a fly. It felt a bit wrong cutting off the head of this little thing and mounting it on double sided tape, like some sort of micro-hunting trophy. A bit gross indeed, but the diffraction patterns are really interesting and I am hoping that the reconstruction tomorrow will produce somthing nice. The back of this particular fly was a nice shiney green, so I thought to try removing that too, but my specimen was a bit fresh so some guts came out, yuk. The eye will be awesome if it works. The diffraction patterns from my test scan really looked nice...maybe I can show you one soon.

The experiments are light sensitive so have to take place in the dark. Until now we've been darkening the room, but it doesn't actually darken it completely. The CCD (the camera) is incredibly sensitive, so this affects the images somewhat. Today, however, we've revolutionised the setup! We got a hold of some thick black material to cover the optical table. It's now light tight and we're getting the best counts we've ever had - and an added bonus, people can actually enter the lab while an experiment is taking place. Good news for my colleagues who need to rinse out their coffee cups in the sink that is situated in the lab. When I've had experiments on they've gone to use the sink in another lab which uses nasty chemicals. At least the worst they can encounter from my samples is a bit of computer chip or dead fly. Yummy.

My revision is essentially underway. For those of you that don't know, I will be making a flying visit to Aberdeen next week for an exam in Quantum physics. Quantum = quite interesting, but exam = gross. I've been spending time revising the basic things that make life (physics) a lot easier if they are known well... things that are taught in basic maths courses, but that I haven't really done for a long time. Seeing as I've been learning lots of new things all summer, I think my mind is in a good state to take it on and maybe even understand it. And, this week I am really able to focus on revising, learning and on making scans of interesting samples...! If the weather stays rubbish I will probably feel good about it too.

Am pretty sure I don't want to leave Switzerland... but at the same time am pretty sure I want to get uni over and done with... less than a year to go! And, woah, I'm going to be 22 in less than 4 weeks.

Spreekt u Engels?

On Sunday evening I returned from a four-day camping weekend which I can only describe as wonderful! The 1st August was a national holiday in Switzerland so using one of my holiday days gave me a nice holiday weekend! I've already uploaded a new album, "Camping #3". I also put a couple of pictures into the Day Trips album, as I visited Basel last weekend and went to the Swiss national circus! The sharp-eyed amongst you may notice another new album.. just a sweet little thing.

I continue to worry about the rate at which time is passing - for the same reasons as before: exam looming; make a discovery and write about it. Hmmm. Blasted website remains offline... Apart from these things, life is very good! I really can't complain. I shouldn't be put off by a bit of looming hard work, either. But... I enjoy holidaying.

The camping began on Wednesday after work. We had a long and quite tiring drive down to Acquarossa, a small town in the Italian area of Switzerland. Setting up the tent in the dark as it began to rain was not the highlight of the trip, I can assure you. But we really did have a wonderful time and I'm not quite sure where to start... but I can tell you about the cars I noticed! Amongst the majority of Swiss cars (expected) were a surprising number of Dutch drivers (and by the by, there are many Dutch families camping in Switzerland too), and occasionally German, French and Italian. I was pleased on the return journey when we spotted a GB number plate! The only British car I have seen all summer! It was almost a Union Jack moment... but I refrained from pulling the non-existant flag from my bag and waving it manically ;)

Actually, the thing about making a discovery and writing about it might not be so difficult, because yesterday work looked up immensely. I am developing what would appear to be a very good method to study the surface of tin foil. You never know when you might want to do that! Of course, I am kidding... this is the early stages of research and I am just trying out various materials to see which produce good results. Tin foil is exceptional. I am actually really pleased with the results I've been getting - after several failed reconstructions, I finally got a really nice result. This is the first time this stuff has ever been done, in the world, ever... cool, no? These reconstructions take time, by the way. A scan takes on average three hours and the reconstruction (in Matlab) takes another three. and if several reconstructions in a row produce nonsense, it gets a bit depressing.. so to get a really nice result makes it all worthwhile. Oh, the area I am scanning that takes all this time? A whole square one and a half millimeters...

I wonder what the world will think if I come back to Switzerland in a year? (TCW...and TWT...?) :)

Reflective Geometry

My mobile phone currently thinks I am in Germany... interesting.

I'm not sure if I've shared information on my method of transport to work. I live in a tiny village, Villigen, about a 20 minute walk from PSI. By velo the commute is a happy 5 minutes. PSI have a "user office" where they loan bicycles for a maximum of two weeks, so I was delighted when my boss and his wife offered me the use of his wife's bike for the duration of my stay. They have a brand new baby so she's not going to be doing much cycling... Anyway, I was certain upon receiving said bike that it was a kamikaze bike: One brake, on the front wheel. Now I don't know about you, but I was not aware that some bicycles had a braking method operated by cycling backwards. One snapped (and repaired, thank you Bennie) front brake and more practice at this new method of braking later, and I am doing quite well. Cycling is a very popular passtime in Switzerand. My means to an end is quite enjoyable, although I do miss my own bike which has gears and all things nice... if I had my own bike I'd be more inclined to cycle beyond work and the supermarket.

I am quite pleased with my achievements at work this week. I have changed the laser set-up to fit the new "reflective" test-mode. Which essentially means that instead of all the components being in a straight line ("transmission mode"), they are layed out in a triangular formation, so the laser beam can hit the sample at an angle then reflect onto the course of the CCD (camera/detector which captures the diffraction patterns - ie. the sample images). If I hadn't been on my own all week I'd have achieved more, but since it's just been me and it's all new to me, I am quite pleased. I am slightly worried by the fact that I've only a few weeks left in which to make some major discovery and write a report about it.. and the exam looms ever closer. The website is a pain in the backside because I wanted to finish it three weeks ago and I still haven't. Readers, I will force you to follow the link to the website when I finally put it up.

Photos are now organised, hallelujah.. no more scrolling through the previous month to get to new pictures!

Long working weeks and active weekends!

There are a few reasons for the lack of updation! The primary one is that I've had no internet at my flat for the past few days and thus haven't been able to upload photos etc. Sitting in front of a computer all day at work also doesn't help me want to boot up the old laptop when I get home...

Well, last weekend was spent in Bern with IAESTE. It was really good, the weather not so much but it didn't mar the experience. I'm glad to have seen the capital city (so small and quiet!) without a sea of football fans all over it. We began the weekend with a 30-odd km rafting expedition from Thun to Bern, which was hard work but good fun. We all got soaked to the skin, mainly because it poured down on us! Following this hunger-inducing trip we had a meal of Raclette and the rest of the weekend was taken up with sightseeing. I took a photo of a park that had more bins in it than I've ever seen in my life... maybe it was art??

Work through the week was slightly unsatisfying in that all the scans and reconstructions I carried out did not work. That's the thing about research though I suppose. It doesn't always work. I went to a couple of interesting talks on Friday and was much surprised that one of the guest speakers got his undergraduate degree at Aberdeen. He then went on the Cambridge and now is a boss type at Argonne National Laboratories, Chicago... I have different aspirations, but I still was really surprised that he went to little old Aberdeen!

I took a much needed shopping trip to Baden last week. I'm not a fan of shopping but I am pleased to report that I had a very successful trip and got everything I needed: I majorly needed flip flops and a rainjacket.

This week I am all on my own at work, left pretty much to my own devices while my entire team attend a conference in Zurich. Ah, by the way, you should check out - Super-Resolution X-ray Microscopy unveils the buried secrets of the nanoworld - This is what the team I am working with have recently had some success in. But yes, this week I am left to tweak the laser setup (tricky) and just work away generally. I think I should definitely get the website finished this week! I hope someone out there appreciates it...

PSI doesn't seem so busy at the moment - many people must be on holiday. I tend to forget that the majority of people go on holiday in the summer, because uni finishes quite early and after a week's break or so, I am working for the summer. Not that I mind though, not when work's like my current job and in an area where I can really live life to the full in the evenings and at weekends!

This past weekend I had another amazing camping experience. We had originally intended to travel towards the Italian-speaking part of the country, towards Pontresina, but with the weather forecast less than we hoped for, we didn't venture so far. Instead we went back to the mountains around Lucerne, this time staying at a campsite right on the edge of Lake Lucerne. I found the views breathtaking. I love the green of the mountains against the blue of the sky. We took a really nice, relatively demanding 5 hour hike up to an altitude of 1800m. Following that, some kayaking in the lake ensued! It is not the easiest sport, but it felt great and I marvelled at swimming in a beautiful valley after a hard day of activity. Jason, who is like the kayaking master, taught us the basics. It was a thoroughly good weekend. For this coming weekend there is nothing too much planned - perhaps a day trip to hike, and maybe a visit to Basel. We don't want to spend too much money because the following weekend Bennie and I will take a 4-day weekend and go camping, maybe even into France or Italy. I'm looking forward to it :)

I shall upload photos - from the barbecue that has been, from gatherings, Bern and camping. I'm considering making them all a bit more organised.. but I guess you'll see if they are or not when you get there ;)

I will leave you with the sights and sounds of the Swiss mountains. I moved a bit fast towards the end of the film, but it should give you some sort of idea as to the atmosphere!

Microscopy, Camping, Driving!

Dear readers, I haven't forgotten about you. Needless to say, things have been busy and I've not had an opportunity for proper updation until now.

Last weekend was happily spent camping in the Vierwaldstättersee region, near Lucerne. I have uploaded many photos of the incredible views, although none of the pictures really do the experience justice. We hiked to Rigi, not the tallest point but a nice hike nonetheless. Almost 5,500 ft. It was a very hot day, so much sweating ensued. Also, I sunburnt the backs of my legs for the first time ever. It would appear that I am not invincible. Camping was a lot of fun, and it was my first ever actual camping site experience! I really enjoyed it, the atmosphere was fantastic. I have been camping before, but it's been a while. I look forward to the next time.

Since we were so near to Lucerne (or Luzern as it is in German), we took a trip there to see the city, and completely unexpectedly we arrived in the midst of the Jodlefest!! I totally forgot yodeling was a Swiss thing. There were hundreds of people dressed in their special traditional clothes and walking through the city we came across Alp Horn players and table-fulls of people breaking into song. I'll upload a video of said song-breaking to Flickr. I'm afraid you'll just have to scroll through the pages of photos to see the new ones.

Upon returning to Villigen, work this week began slowly. I felt I had no knowledge of the new stuff I have been learning about and was truly bummed out. This lasted just two or three days though, and I am now back on form and definitely know more than I did! Every day as I ask more questions and learn more I get more and more excited about the work. It's fantastic, and the website I mentioned is well underway. This week I took pictures of mystery cells with a light microscope, and said cells were undergoing x-ray diffraction scanning when I left work on Friday. Also, I learned about magnetosomes...! We tried to take some light microscope pictures of them too, but they are pretty small. These bacteria have magnetic crystals inside them and align themselves with the magnetic poles. Cool creatures, I thought. The idea behind taking light microscope pictures by the way, is to see if we can find the cells and if the specimens are good enough candidates for x-ray microscopy.

I have now been to an IAESTE meeting in Zurich.. almost! On Thursday I went with two friends to meet some fellow IAESTE students, and together we would go to the main meeting - but it didn't appear to be on as the meeting bar was closed for a private function. Still, the small group that we had went elsewhere for a beer (Miller... I think I dislike American beer), and it was great to meet some more people. I have signed myself up for the IAESTE weekend away to Bern next weekend, and on Thursday there's a barbecue in Zurich.

Friday evening (yesterday) was actually spent in Zurich too. This last picture was taken in Zurich. Bennie and I went to have some dinner and to see if we could find the Caliente festival. We decided not to find it after all, but enjoyed the cool evening by the river nonetheless. Today has been relaxing, much needed. We planned a "quick morning trip" to Germany to do some food shopping, but didn't actually go until lunchtime. After that I had a spontaneous driving lesson around the carpark of PSI :-D I am not so bad... but still not roadworthy. Unlike Marie who has passed her driving test!! :)

I haven't many fun anecdotes to share, but now at least you have updation. Oh, by accident I discovered that I can upload videos to Flickr (where all my photos are) so you can find some of the sights and sounds in the album now too! I am still in the process of uploading so check back soon.

Germany = cheaper

Since the last post a full weekend plus some has passed! I have been to Germany and back (for a food shopping trip) and within Switzerland I've been to Baden (twice) where I did a little sightseeing with Bennie and enjoyed a celebratory evening with my colleagues.

I'm thinking of making a website that will be a self-contained introduction to the physics I'm working on. I'm aware it won't interest everyone, but that way at least it won't (hopefully) put what readers I do have off reading my blog. It'll be helpful for me to write it and even if I feel it should have an audience of 5000 rather than the 5 I am more likely to get (if that!), well it might be worth it. It'll be better to make a whole website dedicated to it really, because there's way too much information to fit into blog pots in a coherent fashion. (Aaahhahaha, coherent!!!) A couple of extra clicks on your part, but what price to keep the internet tidy, hmmm?

The SLS has been having a few problems recently. Not massive problems, but little incidents nonetheless. We think it could just be because the weather is now so hot. At some point last night the SLS ran out of liquid nitrogen so we lost the monochromator halfway through a scan. It's above 30C every day right now. Inside the SLS is kept at a constant temperature so it's nice to sit at the beamline all day in a cool 23-odd degrees, then of course when you leave the building and take a gasp of air that's ten degrees warmer you forget how hot it's been and start getting sticky again.

Germany was exciting! We only went across the border to do some cheap food shopping, but still, I found it a bit of a novelty to be in Switzerland one minute and Germany the next. Didn't even have to show my passport. There is a checkpoint for cars, and the control officers only check randomly or if they're suspicious of you I guess. There are limits on how much fresh meat, alcohol, dairy etc you can take across the border, so we were calculating our purchaii carefully! With one gram more than our designated meat quota (which probably wouldn't have been a problem anyway), the control officer just waved us past, taking a look at the bumper as we passed. We had to laugh when we got back.. you see, some friends played a prank a few days ago, flouring the car in good spirits. Only, the bumper wasn't cleaned too well and there was this powdery residue all over the back in the cracks of the lights surrounding the number plate (Dutch, no less). What the control man must've thought, hehehe...!

Saturday - Baden. I uploaded some photos, after a really hot, sticky hike. We visited an old castle ruin, there were some really nice views. Later that day I was in Baden again (after a shower!) as I was invited to dinner with my work colleagues to celebrate a recent acceptance of a publication and a birthday. It was a really nice gesture and I had a super evening with lovely people and great food - especially the homemade traditional Canadian maple syrup profiterolls!

Sunday - another hot, sticky hike. Well worth it though. I'm enjoying all the activity here! After enjoying the wind at the top of the hill and a pretty nice view of Villigen (even spotting the Alps in the distance), there was a great gathering of friends in the forest for a barbecue by the river. It was a humid afternoon so I enjoyed stepping up to the dry heat of the fire then back again to cool off every so often. Again, I uploaded photos of the day. A couple of people enjoyed the water - I just dipped my legs in. Maybe after ten more hiking trips I'll consider getting into a swimming costume. Unless it gets much hotter, in which case I'll just jump in as is!

Pictures of Physics

I quickly uploaded some anticipated photos of taken from the beamline - follow the link as usual. There are quite a few and with not much explanation as to what everything is, sorry about that. I've not really got time at the moment. I am preparing the physics lesson though!! I have reached the end of the blue section in my notebook...

I've been finding out a bit more about what else happens at PSI - beyond what I am part of I mean - I've friends who work on the Proton Therapy side of things, and I was in that building today taking a look at the neutron beam. Neutron beams are pretty crazy, and the equipment is much bigger than the X-ray stuff I've become used to at the SLS. I felt a bit odd walking past bins marked radioactive waste.. but they have this machine that scans you before you leave the building and I was surely "nicht kontaminiert", phew.

Short post today - I am working pretty hard here - and it doesn't go unnoticed which is nice. Evenings and weekends are non-worky, so I think I have a pretty good balance!

I love physics....