Lovely Day

At last it feels like summer is returning to aber, spent this morning finishing off an outline dissertation to hand to my supervisor, however I didn't really get as much done as i wanted to.

Spent this afternoon sat on the grass outside the library using the wireless access point, so thanks to these guys i can acutally do some useful work while away from my computer enjoying the nice weather.

Thursday

Well, today was, as the blog title, and Indeed the date below will confirm, Thursday. Now I think It was Lowey who first said that Thursdays always seem to be crap, and I can honestly say that this year has been no exception... my timetable sucks, as I have a two hour lecture with a one hour gap in the middle, meaning that that's three hours out of my day for just 100 minutes of content, and to be honest, it's quiet possibly the most boring content i've experienced in a while.

Again, motivation is low, but Its aproaching the end of term where there are going to be less distractions, meaning I should get some bloody work done.

I'm trying to look to the future and sort myself out some sort of work or a postgrad option, to be honest I really don't have time to sort this out, but it looks like if i want to go to an open day I really need to sort myself out and make some enquiries.

In other (good) news, this afternoon the AUT council elected to accept the pay offer, and the Industrial action previously mentioned that was causing results not to be released will be coming to an end. My tutor, who happens to be the head of the exam board for the deparment said this afternoon that this means that the examination board that was delayed will in fact be held tommorrow, meaning that the results should be confirmed soon. I'm also reasonably confident that this means that graduation and other dependant events this year will not be affected/delayed... *moot celebration*

Quiet Reflection

Well, It's now 0230, the depressing classical music stream is playing, and I appear to have done next to no useful work today. And shit, I forgot to do my washing like I was going to do also.. Also I've not put that job application in that I was going to either... Hmm.

On the up side, I've had my hair cut and taken a few photos (see yesterday's blog). However, that is by no stretch of the imagination the 2000 words of dissertation I wanted to have written by today, as my supervisor needs some sort of draft by next tuesday at the latest to mark I really need to get my skates on...

I'd be alright if I didn't have to live and do this degree at the same time... I think I need a nice french maid/slave type to do all the chores for me and rub my back while I code/document... I'll get my coat....

Aber Sunsets

On the way back from my lecture, once again, the Aber coastline produced a wonderful sunset, unfortunately, I wasn't carrying my camera. So I went home, grabbed it and went back to the main road which looks down onto the bay. Unfortunately I missed the best of it, but I quite enjoyed producing another few nice images.


Larger resolution available on request

What I have noticed is that putting content on the web is still a chore, really I could do with some automated one click process that lets me decide what sizes I want the source converted to and then puts the resized versions on the web, and then provides me links to paste etc. Computers are here to automate processess afterall.

One thing I've also promised myself is that after I've finished all my university work I will put my photo album on the web. This will be a huge task, but worth it in the long run I think, in the first and second years I did experiment with gallery on a local network, but the server I had it hosted on was very slow so had problems resizing images.

In other news, not a particularly productive day, and I didn't end up going for a run. Now I have to sort myself out some dinner!

Go Me

I appear to have learned regular expressions, how to do them in Java, and how to create MD5 hashes, all in one evening. Go me.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

Last night as I was formulating plans to make an official complaint about the situation due to the AUT action (mainly as a measure to cover my own arse in case things get difficult legally at a later stage), and just as I was mulling this i came accross this article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3524752.stm

This is really encouraging, as its the first time there has been any news at all of progress with regard to the situation, so I'm going to hold off and see how that pans out.

In other news, results wern't too bad... got an average of 68% (marks are unmoderated as the exam boards cannot yet meet due to AUT action)

Progress... At last

I've spent most of this afternoon and evening sorting out the final intricacies of my project, and I reckon I'm more or less back on track, as the documentation is also coming along... Tomorrow I have lots of gaps inbetween lectures so the plan is to sit in the library and type up as much as I can as my tutor will be wanting a draft of some sort to have a look at before the start of the holidays, eep!

Going to do a bit more of what I enjoy tomorrow - Research :) More specifically the history of mobile code usage, and how popular websites have taken on more of it in the last 4 years, which should be a bit of a change from the drudgery of coding java and documentation.

Really got to get back into the habit of keeping fit, I've really just vegetated for the last two weeks :/

Got cooked for for the first time in ages, nice fresh chilli thanks to Nermal. Had a really strange dream last night too, went to bed early (midnight) as I was completely shattered from a few days of not particularly good sleep... Woke up at 2am after dreaming the following things, but I'm not quite sure how they are related:

• Abercrombie and fitch, the US Clothing type store - Random...


• Some random UK shopping centre - possibly related to the Trafford centre in Manchester... from what I remember the Abercrombie was on the top floor of this shopping centre, and for some reason no-one could get there


• The song Poor Leno by Royksopp

Yeah, it's all a bit random, why I woke up with that song in my head (it still is) and wierd thoughts about shopping centres is anybody's guess, I blame the chilli. Come to think of it, I could do with some new t-shirts, and I bloody hate clothes shopping, especially in completely-lacking-shops Aber.

Didn't really do much else, got up early due to 9am practical, and then 1200 lecture on the other campus, sat through two hours of management speak, and then went home. Oh yes, and it was the careers fair (seemed a bit pants this year) got my CV checked out by the CV clinic they were running, I was quite pleased when the only suggestion they could make was that I changed "Page 1" to "Page 1 of 2" at the bottom, clearly I have 31337 CV sk1llz0rz.

Now to fall asleep trying to get my head around a wierd Object Orientation puzzle I have got myself into.

Projects Project

GET YOUR UNIVERSITY DIPLOMA

There are no required tests, classes, books, or interviews!

Get a Bachelors, Masters, MBA, and Doctorate (PhD) diploma!

Receive the benefits and admiration that comes with a diploma!

No one is turned down!

Call Today 1-248-927-0446 (7 days a week)

Confidentiality assured!

That sounds strangely aluring at this stage... might even get here quicker than my real degree!

Hmm

Starting to lose patience with the final year project, although in principle it's a great idea, I think i bit off a bit more than i can chew with regard what is possible for a CS390 project!

Found a good site, a bit like the online version of tarrant on TV: www.kontraband.com

Anyway, hoping for a productive day tommorrow, so I'm going to get some kip.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH

Well, it's been an interesting few days, I'm currently again avoiding work, which I've been mostly doing all weekend... This isn't good as my major project is due 7 weeks today, and I think I have a week of solid coding left to do (that's assuming i manage to code 9am-10pm each day, without any procrasitination or further work, then after that I have the acutal write-up to compile, proof read, correct, print and bind! Oh yes, and the other major java assignment which I am yet to fully understand.

Well, anyway, popped to PJM bar tonight for a pint with a couple of coursemates who live in the village, which was good to get out of the house at least once today :/

Oh yes, and last monday I ordered an el-cheapo Laser printer after umming and arring about it for months, realised on friday that it hadn't arrived (1-3) day delivery and sent them (dabs) an email complaining, and got one back this morning saying that it couldn't be sent due to a "picking error" (I.e they couldn't find it) so re-ordered today and it is hopefully going to be with me tommorrow... all being well... then I can print out my DILS assignment.

Right, now to be vaguely productive before bed.

JudgeBurt

Thursday night was Euphoria at the arts centre, with a whole group of DJs and headlining Judge Jules... As a dance fan I really couldn't miss this and I'd been looking forward to it for over a month.

Most people had to finish their professional issues assignment, so the day was a bit mooted with most people having to make an effort to finish that on time ready for a friday morning handin.

Went down town about 8 and met up with a few compsci's for a few pints beforehand, ended up not leaving 'spoons and went straight up to the arts centre. When we got out of the taxi immediately I could hear the music and realised this wasn't a cheese zone :)

The arts centre scrubbed up quite well as a club actually, I was worried beforehand that they would only have the small downstairs bar, but they had set up a bottle bar in the robing area of the great hall.

The music was great, the genera atmosphere of people there to have a good time and enjoy the music was great, and after a few of the cheap vodka redbulls ended up dancing for the best part of four hours.

Highlights of the evening include a glowstick breaking in my mouth, which was unpleasant (which I'm currently awaiting a w@w picturemessage of, orange take their time processing those things) and standing infront of a massive speaker tower and only just gaining my hearing back 20 hours later :o)

Anyway, good venue, good atmosphere and good music all add up to a splendid night, all that remains is to find out when they are back in aber!

arrgh

Hmm, well that was strange....

You know those "recursive dreams" where you dream that you wake up and do your whole morning routine, and thus wake up with a start late for your appointment/whatever?

Well, I've woken up from a doubly recursive dream - *headfuck*

Basically, in the dream, I dreampt my dream morning routine, and woke up at 0910 for my 0900 'dream practical', I then jumped out of bed and attempted to drive to my 'dream practical' which for some reason was in some eastern country, so I had to drive there, park on an industrial estate, where there was one of those annoying outward bound types [who i shall rant about at another time] who took a register and told me that I had 2 minutes to get to the hotel... I then then ran accross the (huge) industrial estate, then over the road to this 'europhotel' they had for this 'practical' [maybe a bit of a flashback to the old days of corporate hospitality there?] where they then bloody served breakfast and luxury coffee after waiting for me, meaning that by the time I arrived (0950) I had to leave for my real world appointment at 1030 in half an hour.

I just woke up, at 0715 with a start, in plenty of time for my "real" practical.

Weird or what?? *sup coffee* *munch pop-tart* - not exactly the luxury breakfast!

Bah

Tonight I'm having another one of those pensive evenings I tend to get every so often, usually when things are looming...
Was quite productive earlier, producing a few new classes for the major project, and solving a few issues, but it occured to me that I've only just really got to the end of the base proxy implementation (which I've since realised I could have used another product and modified it to my needs much more quickly) so i've got a long way to go, aswell as the mountains of documentation, which I shall start in ernest next week regardless of progress with the coding, as that's where all the marks are.

Another thing that's annoying is I have 14 taught hours a week (lectures and practicals), all spread out into one hour sessions, which really affects my productivity as it takes me an hour of coding to really get into it, ok it's nothing compared to a full time job, but having to "context switch" that often just doesn't fit in with the way I work most effectively.

Things seem a bit strange this year, again, people have changed, location has changed (now back in halls) and it's all a bit odd, just talked to the parents, and they've had the house valued and are looking for other houses, luckily not far away from where they are at the moment, but going back home to a different house this summer would probably fuck with my head.

Anwyay, back to the grindstone, got a 9am practical, based mainly on how $lecturer invented $antique_wan_technology. Urrgh.

Note to self

Must do an online photo album - went to strata florida this week and took photos of the church/abbey/whatever ruins all covered in snow