Month: October 2019

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KitKats: Canada vs USA

One of the things we brought back from our trip to Edmonton a few weeks ago was a variety box of Halloween candy: Aero, Coffee Crisp, Smarties, and KitKats.

Naturally, we got some US KitKats to compare with the Canadian KitKats. These are the mini Halloween sized candy bars, not the full size bars.

US KitKats (top) vs Canadian KitKats (bottom)

In Canada, KitKats are a Nestle product while in the US, they’re a Hershey product manufactured under license from Nestle. Size differences aside, they’re also a little bit different on the inside.

KitKat cross-section. Left: Canadian KitKat. Right: US KitKat

First thing that’s noticeable is that the layer (chocolate?) between the wafers is darker and more distinct in the Canadian KitKat. It’s hard to tell there’s anything between the wafer layers of the US KitKat, but it turns out the inter-wafer stuff just a different colour.

Between the wafers. Left: Canadian KitKat. Right: US KitKat.

Taste-wise, the Candian KitKat seems a little crisper, and a bit more chocolatey than the US KitKat. If I was doing a taste test, I’d choose the Canadian KitKat.

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Mah gimpy foot followup

First, everybody thought maybe the lump on the side of my big toe left over from the sprain might be gout, or pseudo-gout. After a course of medication without any change, my doctor referred me to rheumatology. The rheumatology PA I saw was dubious about it being gout-related, especially since there wasn’t the usual pain associated with gout. Possibly some residual slow-healing damage from the sprain.

After a second follow-up appointment with the PA, I got some additional x-rays of the toe to check for anything like a stress fracture that might not have been seen with the foot x-rays.

Right toe AP
Right toe AP
Right toe Obl
Right toe Obl
Right toe lateral
Right toe lateral

Nothing obvious to my eyes, and they look pretty similar to the foot x-rays done back in July. Lump on the side of my right toe appears to be just soft-tissue related.

Looks like I just keep an eye on it now and see if it eventually heals up.

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PhD Candidate!

After doing my qualifier presentation back in May, I discovered there was another step before I could become a PhD Candidate.

The proposal presentation is supposed to demonstrate to the committee that my research is going on the right track and I’m actually capable of doing the work. Mine took the form of an NIH format grant proposal and a presentation to my committee.

Today I gave my presentation, and my committee saw fit to pass me, so now I can call myself a PhD Candidate!

This is good…I think.

Now the rest of the work begins.