After a week of dismal weather and tiring winds that sap all of the enjoyment out of cycling, not to mention dozens of niggling problems at the lab and a whole host of other things, things have finally started to improve here in Oxford. Yesterday I found out that I’ll be going to a vision science conference in Florida at the end of April, fully paid by the Wellcome Trust, bless their generous souls, and today I received a bunch of books and CDs from Amazon, including The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and Perdido Street Station. This weekend is looking gratifyingly relaxing and I have managed to sort out a lot of background irritations as well.