Some days just seem to have been created purely for spending the early evening sitting outside with a beer. But sitting by the open balcony window with a coke and a packet of minstrels will do.

Email from John goes - (paraphrased) "you should get a third dataset using Rob and Ton's PDA." Sounds like a bright plan: the PDA is already set up and for little effort I will get an extra dataset so when I make judgements regarding the accuracy of other method I'll be better placed. Or will I? In reality, it is unlikely to immediately produce the picture perfect results we expect, nothing does; in reality, all methods have some inaccuracy associated with them, I'll be no wiser regarding my third dataset as I am about my first two.

I suppose what I am concerned about is my lack of time for all this. I'm on a scary tight, tight schedule to finish PhD in time and this includes 2 weeks (of which I am half way through one) to finish off some data processing and sorting on this chapter. I simply don't have the time to spend the time properly learning about the method, understanding how it works and its errors and limitations. I am very wary of running in, getting some data that I don't really understand or am able to wisely interpret. I am particularly wary since this is really the problem I already have with one of my original two datasets. I am not up to speed on laser diffraction methods in the way I really need to be. To PDAs to the list of things I am talking about but am not really qualified to do so is a daunting task.

However. (There's always a however.) One thing I knew I shouldn't do was just dismiss the idea entirely without some prelimiary investigations. I was unsure whether to collect the data or not as I knew really what sort of black hole I was creating for myself by doing so. Once data's created it can't be uncreated and I'm not sure it's scientifically ethical to ignore it - even if you knew the original experiment was hastily and ignorantly carried out. Nonetheless, preliminary investigations led to obtaining data quite rapidly; Rob and Ton had a window of opportunity while they waited for something so it was kindof now or never. So I have the data.