My famous friend

OK so Anna’s not famous yet, but she will be: her first novel got a great review in Publishers Weekly this week!

Today’s lab meeting

Looks like Zoom everything is now the new normal… (top L to bottom L clockwise: Aileen, me, Lindsey, Jess, Michelle and Melanie, with Andrea not able to make it today).

Working at home with pets

Pets (and the climate) are beneficiaries of this pandemic: a silver lining in the gloom! And here’s a cute article on the subject featuring colleague Candace Croney: https://ag.purdue.edu/stories/managing-your-fur-workers-supporting-your-pets-while-working-from-home/

Here too are some wise words from Lee Niel: https://www.guelphtoday.com/coronavirus-covid-19-local-news/consider-how-self-quarantine-is-affecting-your-pets-says-animal-behaviour-expert-2191115

Don’t make me put ‘going outside’ in your grading scheme!!

The progressive lockdowns and fear of infection (though honestly, who wouldn’t want it NOW, before the peak?) are having strange effects on all of us. Both me and Jonathan have found ourselves irrationally unwilling to drive near other cars, as though viruses leap between vehicles; I find myself not wanting to actually touch credit card readers when I tap (I hover rather than actually tapping, as though the machine is toxic); and undergraduate project student Ben found himself just not going outside for days on end.

This brought out my bossy streak, since there is nothing like seeing the birds, squirrels and plants preparing for spring as though all were normal. And after I threatened to actually put “going outside” in his grading scheme, Ben made a bid for freedom (seen here with friend Emma), getting a healing dose of trees, sun and geese. Repeat daily is my advice.

 

 

Zebra Fish ‘Chamber of Love’ pilots

Jaqui managed to get two trials of her mate choice tests in before we closed down research in the zebra fish lab: not enough data to run analyses obviously, but still a great way to learn how we can run things better when we get back going again. Below, a female  seems to like what she sees…

And online message of the week

Crazy idea conjured up during our 100% Webex lab meeting today … but as we all get cabin fever it may start appealing!

Text of the week

From my friend Andrea, being reassuring about one of my current bizarre but interesting stress symptoms (barely salivating for over a week):

My sympathetic system certainly is impressive!