In The Middle of the Night (Middle of the Night), I Go Writing This Damn Talk...

[anarchist_nomad]

Friday night. Just got back from the opening of the Oxford University Astronomy Weekend. Lots of familiar faces that remember me from last year. In just over twelve hours, I present my lecture for this year -- Recent Developments in Cosmic Rays.

The talk, which I estimate will be able forty slides, is just over half written. Oi! It is going to be a long night[*].

I am supposed to be a reasonably smart guy. You would think that, after all these years, I would know how to not stay up until stupid o'clock in the morning the night before giving a talk.

Ironically, last year I was nervous because I had never delivered a lecture to this sort of audience before, nor had I delivered a talk of any type at Oxford. This year I am nervous because last year went so amazingly well... and I find myself wondering if I can live up to my own example.

Ah, well. Time to press on. Last year, I finished writing by about two o'clock in the morning and managed to get five hours of sleep. Let's see if I can do the same tonight[**]...

ETA: Nearly one thirty in the morning now. Thirty-five slides down. Probably about six more to go. I won't be finished by two -- that much is certain. Still, I am also starting to feel good about this lecture, which is a very nice feeling. Also, I still have one more energy drink in reserve.

EFTA: Ten minutes to three now. Forty slides down. Three to go, I think. cheshcat has been wonderful -- she fixed me a snack (cheese, humous, and crackers[***]) and surprised me by buying five energy drinks when I only requested two. So I still have three left in reserve. She has been taking terrific care of me. It makes me think fondly of when I was an undergraduate, fourteen years ago, and she would take similarly good care of me when I was up all night writing a paper -- then edit the paper when I was finished! With any luck, I will be done in an hour or so and get get four hours to sleep. The talk itself is either turning out better than I expected... or I am too tired to tell the difference. I think it is the former, though...

ESFTA: Four thirty in the morning. Finished. Forty-three slides. Whee! Time to sleep. Should be able to get nearly four hours if I wake up in time to listen to the talk before mine; five and a half if I do not. We shall see. All I need is rest (or caffeine) to get me through this and I should be alright. It is a good lecture.

---

[*] As I type this, my darling cheshcat is taking a stroll to the corner store to pick me up a couple of cans of energy drink. I am loved.

[**] Any comments that you can make, gentle readers, would be greatly appreciated. Especially those of you in the States who are likely still awake. I may not have time to respond to them tonight, but they will bring a smile to my face as they break the monotony. If you truly have no idea what to say, just sing me songs of cheese.

[***] As we all know, cheese is love!

Comments

[tawneypup.livejournal.com]

Think of rays, think of them fondly,
While you write your talk,
Remember that science is fun now,
And don't get writer's block!

When it's done you'll have to do your talk,
then you'll relax and can be free
And when you find that moment,
spare a thought for me.

(to the tune of "Think of Me" from Phantom, of course)

*hugs* Good luck, honey! You're going to be great! I have faith in you!

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

(to the tune of "Think of Me" from Phantom, of course)

Of course! (Indeed, I am mildly worried that you thought you needed to tell me that!)

What an fantastic song to work by, Sweetheart! Thank you! You have brought many smiles (and several minutes of procrastination) into my evening! Awesome!

*big smiles*

You are awesome, and I love you! And you shall indeed be getting some of my spare thoughts come mid-day tomorrow! *grin*

[tawneypup.livejournal.com]

Of course! (Indeed, I am mildly worried that you thought you needed to tell me that!)

I figured I didn't need to but just in case your brain was in physics mode and not musical mode I thought I'd help ya out.

*smiles* Yay for smiles! Down with procrastination! You should be thinking about cosmic rays, right?

Can you hear those cosmic rays?
Winging their way from outer space,
they are the entergetic particles our atmosphere modulates!
When the heavy nuclei interact strong with earthly gas,
there's a shower about to start and the muons come!

Ummm...yeah. Please excuse the non-physics person's lame attempt at physics songs. All I know about cosmic rays I learned from wikipedia. Heh.

*kissssssssssssssssssss*

Q.T. - Can you hear them?