weird sort of title eh? Well those are very much the two things that are on my mind these days. It's honestly time for spring - i need, want warmth, and sunshine.... and we *did* have a week of absolute gorgeous blue skies! after getting CRAZY hail last weekend... followed by madness rain, mixed with hail this weekend. At least we're helping to fill the water reservoirs I suppose...
As for digesta retention times (DRTs) - well i needed to know those, so I could calculate the consumption rates of my green turtles scooting around in my National park in Hawaii. It became quite the crazy affair, as I did find a paper that gave me intake rates, however to make it relevant in the context of my model, I needed to have individual turtles' weights from which the DRTs were derived... which weren't listed... so I sought out to calculate those... 'nyways, needless to say, proves to show, when you think something is going to take you about 1 day, it often ends up being about 2! Then again, I did get info for my reef fish groups relatively easily, so let's hope that when I now move on to invertebrates (e.g., urchins and crustaceans) it won't be too much of a nightmare. Fingers crossed. I am dreading having to think about how to convert algal cover into estimates of biomass, especially given how different algae can be: short and stout, long and spindly, long and tufty; like hair really!...
...but it's good, my head is into work these days. Thought a lot about comments my supervisor gave me on my second chapter, and that's pretty much wrapped up for good now :o) - at least 'til I hear back from the journal.
The highlight of my past two weeks were performances at the Vancouver Symphony as part of the Beethoven festival. On the 28th I went to see Lang Lang - it was incredible. Even more so because I was accompanied by my lovely friend Leigh, and we truly had a wonderful time.
Then this past Friday I had the incredible fortune of experiencing a performance by the great Anne Sophie Mutter - there are hardly words to describe what it felt like to see her play: transporting, raw, touching your soul in soft yet powerful ways. She just is absolutely formidable - playing some notes so quietly, yet so distinctly; other parts with such incredible vigour. All infused with so much passion and grace. Unforgettable.
...hmm, still dreaming!
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