One year on and the latest variant of SARS-CoV-2 spreading like wildfire, and OPIG found itself meeting virtually, again…
Perhaps the highlight of OPIGmas is the Secret Santa gift exchange (although some might beg to differ: in meat-space “beer” pong might compete for pole position). Alas, no crypto-currency was gifted this year…
Continue readingJust like any other bioinformatician, I spend a lot of time every day in front of my computer and I am under no false pretence that my posture is anywhere near ideal. To counteract this, I have taken up the flying trapeze for some exercise and since classes run at ten participants, we decided that some other OPIGlets should try their hands at the circus arts on a fine summer evening!
The 1st of July was the day that the OPIGlets went kayaking!
Brennan very kindly offered to guide a kayaking session from the Oxford University Canoeing and Kayaking Club (OUCKC). There was great uptake from the group, with 10 members joining for a paddle.
The first task was to find a kayak long enough for Jack’s legs. Once he managed to wedge himself in to the largest kayak available, we moved onto being pushed down the ramp one by one, hoping that this would not lead to an immediate capsize.
Continue readingThe start of Michaelmas Term means some new faces on our Zoom screens and lots of things for our new group members to get used to. To help them settle in quickly I thought I’d put together an updated edition of the 10 Commandments of OPIG, tailored towards our new reality.
Continue readingLast Tuesday marked two exciting milestones for me in OPIG! Not only had I been looking forward to group socials since the beginning of lockdown, but I’d never met anyone other than Charlotte in person since starting in the group in April. As such, the annual cycling pub trip was an apt introduction to several OPIG members (who are now exempt from the game I play by myself during weekly Zoom group meetings: “Guess how tall this person is in real life!”) and a chance to interact with people other than my housemates!
Continue readingTuesday afternoon normally heralds Group Meeting, the precious hour of the week where we gather on Zoom to hear about recently published papers, dissect each other’s research and, most importantly, bicker about appropriate usage of the servers. Knowing that Fergus B was on holiday this week and that a Group Meeting devoid of SLURM-inspired ranting would have felt strangely empty, it was instead decided that now was the time for the first in-person group social since the lockdown began in March.
We have two cats at home, one of which habitually roams around the neighbourhood. This prompted my mother to have concerns about animals and specifically pets as carriers of the virus so I thought I’d read up a bit on this.
Continue readingCome rain or shine, every summer we leave our desks and journey across Oxford’s finer drinking establishments. This year’s Le Tour de Farce was held on 11 June [1]. The trip is traditionally done by bike; however, as long as you have a helmet and lights, anything goes. To emphasise this point, Charlotte jokingly suggested rollerblades were also welcome.
Continue readingAs of last week, many members of OPIG have custom mugs. Each comes with an illustration of its owner’s favourite protein, as well as, the OPIG logo. There is an additional `unofficial’ OPIG logo on the backstamp (the outside bottom).
Continue readingLast week, a sizeable flock of OPIGlets went to ISMB in Basel. Also last week, a storm and a radar tower problem over London Gatwick (LGW) and London Heathrow (LHR) led to four of those OPIGlets being stranded in Switzerland. This is a (somewhat accurate) timeline of their ordeal:
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