Friday 25 January 2013

Day 50: Seed funding...


Day 50 (24 Jan) Began the day with a brief but spectacular sunrise which quickly turned to grey and wet. Much-needed rain of course but never fun knowing there is a drive to work ahead. 

Seedy, at 6.12am
Still, the lorikeets this morning reminded me that I hadn't left seed out for a couple of days. I try not to be too habitual with the seeding, I wouldn't want them to become dependent. Nonetheless out I went and there at 6.12am I was leaving the seed for the birds. Of course, as an academic, 'seed' can have quite different connotations and I knew today was one of those days where I would have to think about funding and grants...to get us started on a project we are supposed to apply for 'seed funding'. I always think of my lorikeets, they have much more success than I do. (Perhaps I ought to squawk at sunrise.)

Rain, we've not seen this
wet stuff for a while
The rain continues to fall, it started this morning and has kept going. It's due to rain right through to next week. The floods of two years ago remain uppermost in people's minds so the return trip from the SunCoast to Brisbane in this sort of weather can lead to a touch of anxiety when driving on the highway. Two years ago driving *to* work, we were about the second-last car to get up the highway before the river flooded and cut the road. I ended up staying up the Coast for four days...

However, got into work and discussions with colleagues about...yep, funding, ensued. 'Seed funding'. In recent years, I've paid for my own research by-and-large. In the end, it is easier than  spending too much time seeking too little money to undertake extra work for which there is generally not enough time. 

The freddo jar, a different perspective,
at 6.12pm
Not surprisingly, at 6.12pm was still in the office, still at the computer so had to think of another angle really, just to keep the images interesting. I did happen to be looking at the pile of work on the other table...my weekend work. I also noticed that the lolly jar is running low again. In an earlier post, I mentioned that I am keeper of the freddos... and this is the freddo jar, just with a variation at the moment: freddos melt in the heat. They are there for colleagues really, not me, some days are like that...

Our politicians and wannabe politicians continued to grab the headlines and commentary today. Debate ensued about the pros and cons of the prime minister's 'intervention' or 'captain's choice' approach to selecting Nova Perris as a candidate for a Northern Territory senate seat. Meanwhile, over at Katter's Australian Party, a candidate was, by the end of the day either suspended or disendorsed by the party for comments made about gay teachers. Our politics...our society...? It seems we still have quite a bit of work to do. 

I need to make another research trip to Canberra soon...some seed funding might be nice but perhaps I'd be better of grabbing the lorikeets' leftovers, as long as I'm not left feeling just plain seedy. 

********

We've reached Day 50 of this venture...6.12 each day times two, so far. Tomorrow, I'll have a bit of a pause and reflection on what patterns we can discern so far...









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