Five To Live By

The New Year Will Hold New Starts

El Beardo — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:47:18 +0000

Well it’s the new year and it’s the final ever semester that I will be at lectures. Not sure if that’s entirely exciting or not but it does mean that by July I will no longer by a student. Yay? The semester is well under way. Lots going on and so much work to get done. Just submitted my first four of eight assignments and it won’t be long before the other four are due. I’m now in week 6. Only 4 more weeks max of teaching.

This semester has been a struggle. Lots of things have happened to me emotionally, and, at the moment, I’m not exactly sure where my head is at. It’s really not what I need on top of Uni work, and all the handovers and outside projects I’m involved in. Sometimes it’s all too much and others it’s great. Each day is a new experience – and each day swings with how I feel. I’m putting my best face on it, but at the moment I’ve just had enough of everything and I can’t wait for it all to be over.

So what’s happened? Well first our family dog, Morgan, was put down after a tumour was discovered entangled around several of his internal organs. While I haven’t been around my home to notice he is not there, it is still sinking in and he was just 5. He will be sorely missed. Next big news is that I decided to split up with Sarah. After several arguments, and a chat I felt it was best that we went our separate ways, the reason being that we both needed to focus on our final semester. She has a school placement that she needs to focus on, and I have all my university work to focus on. I did it for both of us and in the long run I hope that we can remain friends, and I really hope she understands that I didn’t do this just for me, I did it with her in mind. I want her to excel in what she does, and I felt this was best. My dad also had a health scare after waking up and not being able to move. His legs had seized up but I’m pleased to say he is mobile and much better now. No doubt he will be joining me for rounds of golf over the summer (whether he likes it or not). I’ve also had a spate of bronchitis and my shoulder injury has been reoccuring and affecting my daily activities. I’ve undergone physiotherapy for it and hope to have it sorted. It seems intent of keeping me out of playing for the University Rugby team – but I hope to play once for the thirds before the year is out.

I’ve taken on two new websites, which hopefully I can blast out in a couple of days. EUPS (PoleSoc) and EUHS (HistorySoc) both have me working with them on enabling and providing a sustainable easy to use web presence. In addition to this I will also be staying on as a consultant for a year with Edinburgh University Rugby Club. It’s been a pleasure working with Michael Johnson, and as he steps up to the Club Captain position, he will still be onboard and a point of contact.

Final year project is going well, and given a few tweaks is set for beta testing soon. I have begun placing some of Philip Wadler’s papers up (with his permission) as an example. This is in the hope of bringing in more experienced users of LaTeX in order to try out the collaborative system. The system will also (hopefully) be tested by third year System Design Project students who are working in teams. They need to be able to collaborate on group reports, and hopefully my system will allow them to do this.

Not much more to say really, other than just day to day activity, which you can follow me on twitter with (@ElBeardo)

Until next time,

Peace out,

El Beardo

When did it become December?

El Beardo — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:24:42 +0000

So yeh as the title reads, I’m shocked that we’ve landed in the last month of 2009. I just finished my final ever winter semester at Edinburgh Uni (well my last as an undergrad at least). It’s scary how fast these four year have just flown by. And yet at times it feels like I haven’t grown up that much at all. I guess it’s the social side that has kept me ticking over. My thanks go out to all the amazing and diverse people I’ve met here. It’s thanks to you being there that has really helped me through everything, and helped me, in essence, discover myself. I am thankful for every single one of you that has touch my life in some way.

Ok I’m going to stop pouring my heart out – I still have another semester of hard work ahead. So this semester – how did it go? Pretty well, I think. Coursework grade is hopefully going to remain at a level that I need it to be at for exams, and hopefully the efforts I have gone to for my project will pay dividends considering I’m so close to completing it – just 3 major pieces to complete I believe, testing and then a 40 page write up. Things so far have gone generally swimmingly although they have been stressful and arduous at times.

Now that the semester is over I can unwind (but only a tad), and I head home today – in 6 or so hours. It’s a final late night of the year from my perspective – but if I sleep now I’ll miss my flight, so I’m setting about all the small little admin tasks that I haven’t done all semester, and be ready in the mind set to work on other projects for when I arrive home. I can’t iterate how much I’m looking forward to going home right now. It feels like a year has passed since I was last there and although I’m going to be missing several of my Uni friends and my two flat mates, the relaxation period is greatly needed and seeing the family is always special.

You might have noticed that I have changed my blog design, added some social media to the right hand side bar too – my twitter, flickr and delicious streams are all there so have a browse. Hope to be linking this to my website soon too and finally bringing all/most of my life goings on into one place.

Hopefully I’ll be able to keep you updated with happenings over the festive period. I have a feeling I’ll have some special news (although maybe not that exciting – so don’t get your hopes up!) over it.

Peace,

El Beardo

The Build Up

El Beardo — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:06:08 +0000

So within days of starting UG4 I have a ton of work piled on and I guess I should be doing that rather than writing this post. Just had a very brief with my Project Supervisor, Professor Wadler. Had to reschedule for this afternoon as a research paper deadline is at 11am in a different time-zone, so he is busy doing that. That gives me a little time to formalize the research I’ve been doing for the project on his behalf.

First lecture of UG4 and the lecturer handed out a massive assignment. 15 pages on the technological aspects of the convergence within the Telecommunications industry. It’s going OK now and the new emerging standards sound fantastic although having to read several different papers of many different protocols and then explain them in a way someone only familiar with how IP works is pretty hard. I have so much to write and I think that will eat up my weekend. All the other assignments are starting to come out so looks like my late nights are here once again. I feel like an old man at times with all this work, lack of sleep and everything.

On the personal front, I have another website project I’m involved in developing. The history society will have a nice simple website, hopefully by the end of the semester. Once the functionality is in place I’ll start theming and it will be another website for the portfolio – which means I HAVE to get around to building my own website. So so busy!

Peace,

El Beardo

Once more into the Breach

El Beardo — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:25:30 +0000

Well fourth (and final) year of Uni has begun and is already causing stress and havoc. Although I’m only in Mondays and Thursdays the work is already piling up. This semester I’m doing Computer Networks (CN), Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Text Technologies (TTS) and Distributed Systems (DS), all very very interesting topics but some aren’t taught too too well and I feel that a lot of reading writing and motivation will ensue just to get to grips with the subjects. As I mentioned the work is already piling up – CN have already given me one assignment, a 15 page essay on “The impact of all-IP networks on convergence in the Telecommunications industry” which I haven’t a clue where to start. Shall have to motor on with it tomorrow.

My 4th Year Honours Project has changed completely after my original project got patched/fixed and now isn’t an issue – at least I had a kind of clue what to do with that one. My new project entails linking a Wiki like wikipedia where anyone can edit and tracks changes to an article with a LaTeX document. Pretty cool stuff but I have no idea really where to begin (again). I’m starting by researching implementations of Open Source Wikis for my meeting in just under 2 weeks time. I best get moving and any suggestions/pointers would be greatly appreciated.

I always feel, now that the stress of work is coming in thick and fast, ‘I wish I had so much more time to do the things I want to do’ – just like everyone. I did have the summer yet I was lazy and some of the stuff I wanted to do and get done just didn’t come about. I spent a lot of time on the EURFC website, which I think looks fantastic although I have several tweaks and a few looming implementations to do. They seem to be very pleased with the look, feel and the features that should hopefully allow them to function more effectively this year. Hopefully my new flat mates – Simon and Robert – will also motivate me to pushing forward with my other projects, although time is a big problem.

This year I am living with Robert and Simon. Simon is originally from Belgium but lives Stateside and is doing the exact same course as me, all be it with a slight variation in courses. Same year as me and has the same Professor commandeering his Project. So hopefully we will be able to discuss things and throw ideas around easily.

Robert is now a masters graduate having completed his dissertation in late August. He decided to hang around and get a job over here as he’s originally from Canada. He also studied what we did, and should be able to give us pointers along the way.

Sarah, my girlfriend, is commuting from Perth to University this year and next semester has a placement probably in Perth so it makes sense for her not to get a flat. She’s going to be semi-moving in with me for part of the week. Sunday night till Thursday night is most likely as she works back at home on a Saturday. It suits me as I get to see her and we get to experience what it will be like living with each other. The plan at the moment when I finish is to stay in Scotland for a year and live with/near Sarah as she has to work on her PGCE to be able to teach PE in the UK. After that who knows…in the long run I want to jump ship and move to the US but that could be a few years yet. Need to start looking at where I want to go. NY, NC, CO or CA are all suitable for me I think and most of them I have friends in so I can always ask a favor and help out in return. We shall see.

Anyway this year is the main focus for now! I’ll try and keep you all updated with how it is.

Peace

El Beardo

Tales, Memories and the Past Year

El Beardo — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 14:39:52 +0000

Firstly, apologies for virtually never writing my blog this year. I’ve been meaning to for a few months now and been very very busy. Uni work to start with then packing up my old flat and moving stuff out and then Holidaying and doing web work on EURFC’s new website (coming very very soon!).

Well, where to start? 2009 has been fantastic to me so far, but ever so busy. Academically I am now finished with University for a third year and have just one left. I passed all my courses this semester and managed to average a mid 2.1 but I’m hoping to put in a lot more effort next year and plough through everything and try and pull it up to a first. It will take A LOT of doing but I’m hopeful.
I think the most successful was the SDP course for me, although it wasn’t my best mark, it was great fun. I learnt so much and although we didn’t win overall we won the teamship award and we also were recently informed that we won the Freescale Prize for Best SDP Robot – amazing! I’m absolutely chuffed.

As I previously mentioned I have also moved out of my old flat. Many reasons for that, but I won’t go into them. This next academic year I’ll be living with 2 course mates, Simon and Robert, I think it’s going to be a good laugh and I’m really looking forward to it. Robert has just graduated/is just about to graduate with his Masters degree and Simon is in the same year as me doing exactly the same thing.

2009 has also been a fantastic year so far, personally. I’ve already been to America for the second time in less than a year, and it looks like I could well be off again next year with any luck. I toured Colorado and spent time with my godparents where I got a small practice on the private driving range at Red Sky Ranch Golf Club. I toured the mountains and the gorgeous scenery and spent a bit of time with old friends Avy and Veronique. I then travelled to New York where i was lucky enough to see the last day of the US Open Golf. I saw Tiger tee off as well as Mickelson, Westwood, Duval and the rest. It was fantastic. Absolutely stunning. I also got to play while I was there at The Hamlet – a semi private course. Didn’t do fantastically, but I did have a few good shots and showed signs that I could improve. Played 3 fantastic shots on the Par 5 17th to grab a boogey. On the way home I got upgraded to Business class and it was amazing! I never want to fly economy again (disappointing because I will). Champagne, wine, lounge before boarding, free massage, the works. It is was blissful, and with a full length bed to compliment it, I even managed to get a couple of hours kip. Flying and taking off backwards is a very very weird feeling though.

Also I started a relationship with an amazing girl. Sarah and myself have now been together coming up to 4 months officially but we’ve been seeing each other since Janurary. I love her to bits and I haven’t been so happy in my life. She’s a wonder to be around and goes to the same University as me and studies Physical Education, so she keeps me on my toes most of the time.

The summer is going well, websites and projects are generally coming along nicely. I have a lot of reading to do though and I really need to get my head down and start looking at what to do with my Honors Project for next year. Need to get a superb mark in that and I hope I make make the system I’m implementing very robust. Sarah has visited me and gone home already and I’m looking forward to seeing her again soon. Really miss her to bits. I’m so lucky to have met her.

I’ll try and keep a bit more up to date with the blog in the weeks to come. Until then, Peace.

Short Holidays and Long Hours

El Beardo — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:16:16 +0000

Well it’s that time of the year. I have finally gotten around to posting a new Post on my blog, everyone is getting cheery, and yes all my work for 2008 is completed and turned in for assessment.

Yes I am home at last but only for a week which kinda bums out all in all, but I am back in Edinburgh for a fantastic New Years Celebration with the Kendalls, Bene (our German Guest) and a Gay (Richard – Not actually a Homosexual….yet!!). As Dublin last year delivered, this year promises to be just as epic, and I can’t believe that so many of my University friends will be around to hang out with my Home friends. It will be extremely messy, full of alcohol, beer and partying!!

I’ve finished all my work for university for 2008! Thank god! It’s been a highly stressful last few months, and I really feel as if I have been thrown in the deep end this year, although I’m sure everyone else feels exactly the same. I still haven’t had many results back unfortunately, which I personally think is disgraceful. We get given 2-3 weeks to do these projects of which only 30 – 40 people max do the course. Surely it doesn’t take 4 weeks to mark all of them, it is ridiculous. Not really looking forward to second semester but I guess we shall see how it goes. I really need to get on top of everything from day one.

Will update again in 2009! Bring on the New Year!

No Time For Relaxation

El Beardo — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:16:14 +0000

Well with week from hell number two out of the way it’s anything but relaxation for me. I successfully handed in everything in on time although I’m skeptical of how well I have performed in each of the tasks. COMN was below par, as was Database Systems, so I’m going to have to work hard at the exams for those to go up to the level I really want to achieve. For SEOC (Software Engineering with Objects and Components) I felt the team and myself did the best we could given how much we had to do. I’m hoping we get a similar score to our last assignment hand in. Computer Design has been going well and I’m confident of a good result back from that course as well as my essay for operating systems that should generally fill in all the requirements. Hopefully I will come out with a high grade that I will have to keep up for the exams.

I received my Individual Practical Part 1 mark back on Friday morning, and I was very pleased – 78% is very good, but I must keep it going for this second part due in just over 2 weeks time. There is no rest for the wicked and so I’m going to start ploughing through it first thing tomorrow morning. Other than that everything else has eased off now that I only have one more thing to do and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I can relax a little. Can’t afford to relax too much though as this project will soon be due. It’s nice to be a little stress free now.

Peace,

El Beardo

Just In

El Beardo — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:59:31 +0000

Well haven’t got much to report since my last post, but another two assignments came out this past week. Operating Systems mark was superb and dead on despite there being many issues with the Incompitent Lecturer (that’s my opinion) and the way the Coursework was specified. These sentiments will be echoed in my questionaires and reports to the ITO about the course. I had my feedback session earlier where I was actually marked on what I had written code wise and I demonstrated exactly where everything was and how I had done it. In the end I dropped 3 Marks for not checking the Arguments existed when passed (aka I wasn’t catching an exception). 86/89 isn’t bad at all and should be rounded up to the nice 97%. I also got Computer Communications and Networks back a few days previous. I’m quite disappointed with the Mark as I only managed to obtain a 64% (6% off a first). I thought I had done a lot better but the mark scheme was correct and my idiocy in not testing something after a last minute change was, in the end my downfall. I’m going to make it up for the next coursework – I’m determined. I really like the course and the work that goes with it, and that result really let me down. If i’m going to take Cisco Certification I need to be doing a lot better. I’m starting to email the TA (Teaching Assistant) more often about issues and exactly what is required of me in the next Coursework. I’m quite far with it and I’m hoping to get some ideas of numbers back in regards to expected results in the tests we are running.

Almost forgot. I also got back my second lab report for Computer Design (the third lab assignment) back, and at the moment I’ve dropped 2 Marks over the 3 Labs (58/60), which is fantastic. I’m really pleased about that. The exams are going to be hard and so I’ll start writing material over Christmas and after new year.

I haven’t a clue when I’ll get back to building the 4 Websites I need to do. I really need to get on board with it all and start so I think that’s going to be a job for the airports and evening over The Christmas break. With any luck I can get something set up for History Soc, get the rest of Looby-Lou finished and up (awaiting images still), and sort out my personal projects site on my Server – Thor. I recently have been experimenting with Thor and have started to learn the ins and outs of Apache2 (more or less) – Maybe not such a good thing as I have so much University work that I should be getting on with, but its a welcome break from it all.

I’m really looking forward to next week, god knows why I have 5 Deadlines, but my parents are coming up and I am really looking forward to seeing them again. After that week I have 3 weeks in which to create an insane project – a mix of Limewire and iTunes that I’m dubbing limeTunes on top of the chord protocol. Sounds fun but insanely hard and its worth a huge 75% of my entire course. I’m going to have to use every single trick I know in Java to get this all to work, and I hope at the end that I will have an awesome example of my best work that I can show off to people at home. Term finishes on the 19th and my best bud is coming across from his placement West of Glasgow to fly home with me, that should be nice.

I’ll try and keep everything updated – but probably after next week (Week from Hell Numero Deux!)

Peace,

El Beardo

The One Thing We’re Good At Will Destroy Us

El Beardo — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:07:42 +0000

Well a couple of months have passed since my last update and there really isn’t too much to report.

University has just finished it’s 8th week of teaching and light is starting to form at the end of the tunnel. It’s at this point every year it starts to get really busy – I have a total of 5 Assignments to hand in by the end of November and I’ve barely got cracking, having submitted another 5 in the last two weeks! It has been a ridiculous semester and I never thought I’d be asking myself if it’s worth it anymore? Everyone I’m doing the course with is in the same position so I can’t really complain, yet I feel so alone through it all. I’m starting to realise that this is the way the University filters out the people who can’t handle so much pressure. I swear my Blood Pressure is so high that I shouldn’t clinically be conscious and it can’t be good for my health. I’ve ordered a BP unit that will be up by the end of the month so that I can keep tabs on myself. I’m very worried that this Degree is going to be the death of me, but now that I have nothing I guess that I have nothing to lose even if that is the outcome.

I’ve been trying to keep in contact with everyone back home for moral support but I know they are just as busy and my chat is exactly the best considering I spend all day every day in front of a Computer trying to program/debug things.

On the flip side of the coin, the Parents are coming up at the end of the month and hopefully my Godparents too, really looking forward to that. My mate might follow them up just afterwards which would be nice but at the moment that seems doubtful. The next friendly home face I’ll see for sure will be on the 19th December when my best friend makes the journey home from The Carngorns, via Edinburgh home for Christmas. He’s staying overnight before we both fly (different flights to different airports ironically) home.

On top of this my return to LI, New York is in the planning process and my hope is to sort out dates and flights when I see my parents at the end of the month. Really looking forward to hopefully spending a longer period of time out there and learning many many new things.

I can’t really chat much about anything other than university work as that’s all I’ve really been doing. I have received 3 Pieces of work back and thus far I have 88% for Databases Coursework, 100% for Computer Design Lab Practicals, and 69% for Software Engineering with Objects and Components. I’m due another two back imminently and another two soon as well. Hopefully they will keep up this standard and then it will be all about my performance in the April/May exams. If I come out with a high 2.1 or even a first I will be extremely happy but I have a lot of work to do before then!

I’ll try and write again when I have some free time but have no idea when that will be.

Google and Golf

El Beardo — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:51:23 +0000

Well so much for writing on my blog every week. Recently that has not gone to plan at all!!
Since my last post I have sat my exam retake and fingers crossed I have passed it this time around. It seemed to go a lot better than last time, but I guess I’ll find out when results are released. Things in general are going well and are finally starting to come together.
In just over two weeks I’ll be flying back up to Scotland to begin my 3^rd and until then I have many things to finish up. My aim is to finish my personal website, although that seems increasing unlikely, so I’ll probably read up on various aspects of Web Design.
I need to start collecting material for another website that is currently in development and see how far that will take me – at the moment it’s looking quite good and I’ve managed to incorporate Lightbox2 (thank you Nick for showing me the script). Just need to add some images, adjust layouts and add some of Google’s tools in and it should be ready to go live.
Golf is coming along well. Hopefully picking up some clubs sometime this week, as I’ve seen a set that I like, just need the practice now and at the moment that consists of the Adventure Golf at Stokes Bay – hardly practice but my putting seems better.