Writing a scientific paper

What would you expect to be doing if you attend a workshop called 'Writing a scientific paper'? To write! Wrong. Yesterday's workshop with forementioned title comprised solely of ..... (drum roll): reading! Yes. Where I hoped to get tips on how to write, preferably through doing some practical exercises, the main thing was to read other people's articles. And analyse them, concluding most of them are not that good. Which is basically what you spend half to all your time on already as a postgrad researcher. So what's the point? The highlight of my attendance was the person I was sitting next to, who happened to be the officer in charge of the Bureau of Meteorology. Since my beloved is a sucker for the weather (ABC's weatherman Mark Harmody is his hero), I boldly asked if there were possibilities to come and have a look around. To which my neighbour answered 'yeah, sure, give me a call'. When I told the beloved that the weatherman gets all his info from this very bureau, he couldn't sleep last night from excitement. Think a little follow-up email today will be smart. :-)