One interesting aspect of moving countries is that you get to see how things are arranged in these countries, at various levels. When I moved from The Netherlands to Germany, I didn’t expect things to be so different. I grew up a couple of kilometres from the border. I married a German woman. What couldContinue reading “Where did they put *insert anything*”
Monthly Archives: May 2021
Teaching ecology in China
As part of my teaching, I offer so-called ‘projects’ to students that are interested in the work I do. Projects are basically semester-long student projects that can be part of longer-term research, or can be something tailor-made for the students. The idea is that students get to think about a subject, formulate hypotheses or researchContinue reading “Teaching ecology in China”
Sleepery slopes
As I wrote yesterday, we were on the fence about whether we should stay out with our new campervan or we should drive home and stay there in the Ammergauer Alpen. Upon seeing many camper travelers park their homes in random places, we thought that we could give it a try. In fact, we foundContinue reading “Sleepery slopes”
Should I stay or should I go?
A couple of weeks ago we bought a campervan. This had been a lifelong dream of ours, and we have spent the last three or four years looking around, dreaming about what one day could be possible for us. Over the past two years we had figured out what would be great for us, especiallyContinue reading “Should I stay or should I go?”
Talking gibberish
I think the age my son is at now may be the most fun phase in his development. (Admittedly, I have said this about many phases) He’s 22 months old, and he seems to be learning so much. It really is unbelievable to see how many new things he picks up every day. He wasContinue reading “Talking gibberish”
Sign here
One important aspect of the scientific process is the assessment of the overall quality of manuscripts by fellow experts in the field, a procedure commonly known as peer review. Peer review can in many cases greatly improve the quality of the product. Reviewers can point out potential flaws in thinking, suggest potential analytical improvements, suggestContinue reading “Sign here”
I won!
Aren’t kids the weirdest things? Over the past couple of days our son has developed the new habit of starting a huge battle the very moment he sees his bed. We take turns in bringing him to bed, and today was my turn. He was the sweetest boy this whole afternoon, followed by an asparagusContinue reading “I won!”
I still get nervous about it
Remember the post I wrote about our little Tansy plants – the ones that I prepared for an upcoming field experiment that will be the core project of the new PhD candidate in our team, Lina. While she’s arranging practical matters for the field work, today I finalized the experimental design for that experiment. TheContinue reading “I still get nervous about it”
Germany you should – a series (part x+1)
Outside my building, which is located all the way at the edge of campus, and literally is the last building in urban Freising, a new road is being built. They’ve been building this thing since I arrived here, now more than one and a half years ago. The situation I think was as follows. TheContinue reading “Germany you should – a series (part x+1)”
Nothing is ever good enough
There are only a couple of options that I have considered suitable for myself to spend my time doing to make a living. The first one being running my own business, the second being writing. However, thus far I have mostly stuck with the third option, the one of becoming a scientist. Since I wasContinue reading “Nothing is ever good enough”
Robin Heinen 