Annette feels a need to bang her head against a wall.

At some point late during today's experiments, I started thinking about how these pendant-drop measurements actually work. I realised that there is no way the interfacial tension could actually be measured without entering values of density. So I checked in the manual and (hidden within its depths) I discovered that sure enough, entering density values is a crucial part of the calibration process. Say it with me: "Ohhhhh nooooo!"

The good news? We don't need to repeat the actual experiments. Raquel and I saved the data files (we're not just pretty faces), so we can open them using the analysis software and recalibrate using the correct density values.

The bad news? I don't have windows on this machine, and it is windows only software: meaning I will still probably have to go and sit in the lab to redo the analysis. All 129 files of data collected over the last two days.

Although this whole reanalysis procedure will be a pain, I don't really mind. My results weren't making whole lotta sense, which is what made me wonder about the procedure in the first place. Hopefully now the numbers will fit in with the rest of the data I have collected during my PhD. Certainly the one file I did recalibrate (to test that it works) gave a value for interfacial tension far closer to what my experiments in Perth have predicted.

To cheer me up as I left the lab this evening, when I went outside it was snowing. And not the piffly little efforts that Blacksburg has presented me with so far. It had been snowing most of the afternoon, so when I went outside everything (apart from roads and pathways) was blanketed in white. Very pretty. The photos aren't brilliant because I have a cheapo camera and it was dark, but I think they show it well enough.

Finally, American TV has brought me joy once more. This evening it came in the form of Colbert's summary of one of their anti-terrorism shows. I bet you all remember the "Be alert but not alarmed" campaign. If I remember correctly, one of the suspicious activities is taking photos of particular structures or particular places. Well, it seems security types in the US are far more vigilant when it comes to capturing photographers. Colbert's summary of a particular episode of an antiterrorism show:
1) Amtrak (train company) announces photography competition
2) Man takes photos of Amtrak trains
3) Man is arrested for taking photos of Amtrak trains

Trust me, it was much funnier with the build up and the presentation on the Colbert Report.