Ods World

This Year

2008-12-01T03:45:00.000-08:00

Wow - 2008 is almost over! The year has flown so quickly by, it's astonishing. I had a few plans of things I wanted to do during 2008. For the most part, these were professional ones - or at least my concrete plans were anyway. It's rather hard to make specific plans for the more vague life-improvement ones.

I spent quite a bit of time this year sorting my self out career-wise: completing my Chartered Engineer application (finally. What a tedious task!), finishing the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (which turned out to be a very comfortable way to move from academia to industry), getting involved in the IET. In that respect I feel pretty comfortable now - and I'm very happy in this job. The mix of academic and practical work, with a bit of project management and software development, it's enough variety to keep me entertained and enough substance to let me feel like I'm being challenged.

Since 2008 was my getting-my-career-going year, I think I need some more personal New Years Resolutions this year. Of course there is the wish to lose a few pounds - but I've become resigned to the fact that I have the terrible combination of loving food and being awfully lazy. So, I've chosen a few resolutions I might actually keep!

1. Get some hobbies. I mean this in the most social sense - my hobbies right now are limited to those I can do whilst sitting on my rear end in my own home.
2. Get new clothes. You wouldn't think this would be a 'resolution' I would have to make. I honestly detest shopping, it's not a pleasant experience for me, I want to get in there - purchase - and go home. Browsing and perusing are not strong points for me. This then leads to the same thing every day - me yelling 'I have no clothes!!' as I stare into my empty (disclaimer: this is probably imagined) wardrobe.
3. Get a routine. I am incredibly impulsive - I will do whatever takes my fancy, whenever I want. This has led to me getting less sleep than I need, starting things I don't finish....
Much like that sentence :)

Three is a good number. Biblical. Doable!

Not Socially Optimal

2008-02-12T15:40:00.001-08:00

I'm sure I've put this lil comic on here before, but I do love it terribly. I think this may have been one of the first ones from xkcd.com that I read, but I've pretty much read every single one since. I would estimate about 30% of them go somewhat over my head (unfortunately my geekiness stops at the engineering side of programming), but for the most part I think its hilarity is pretty much univeral.

This week, I am in Newcastle on a training course. The topic: Optimisation. So far, it appears to be something I really genuinely love - I'd like to see if I can get some work in the area (particular optimisation for process control) to see how I go. It's got that just-right ratio of engineering:maths that keeps me interested. Each day this week is 11 hours of the course (lectures, labs) and this is absolutely solidly packed with material. It's been quite a while since I concentrated for this long to this extent (this stuff is pretty rigorously explored). I'd forgotten how much I loved university..

*little tear*

My oh My

2008-02-01T05:36:00.000-08:00

Haven't I been away a long time!

Many things have happened since I last blogged -

*pause*

No, actually for the most part, anything that has happened in the last few months has been related to things unpleasant to a normal human being, such as activated sludge (a mixture of raw sewage, bacterial flocs and lil ole me ankle deep in the darn stuff).

I'm sure it sounds neither exciting nor interesting to you, but it has been quite a bit of fun for someone as odd as my self.

I found out recently, I have tiny feet (I mean tinier than I even thought!), especially in safety boots. I don't know why I'm particularly surprised by this. I suppose I thought I'd look all butchy and engineer-like in these things, but it actually amplifies how not-male I am. Sigh.

On the topic of my gender, the people at this particular plant (at which I am wearing these shoes) have obviously been raised to believe 'women are always right'. They're polite, quick to help and are constantly apologising for their tendency to swear at a frequency I've never before seen. Even more unusual is the fact that they actually listen to what I say and (astoundingly) don't just ignore the little-woman-telling-them-what-to-do. I've not really experienced this before (engineers aren't really known for being open to change, particularly in the form of female engineers), so it's very refreshing!

In other aesthetic news, my hair is vastly longer than it has been for years. And I'm also paler than I have been for many many moons - which I thought was impossible, but apparently not.

There was a while there where I looked like my skin was pretty much entirely white, but with a little hint of blue. I've now increased back up to a yellow-ish white, I hope to get that to tinge-of-pink perhaps this summer. I can only assume it's the lack of natural light has done this to me.

I'm sure there are many resolutions I should make - perhaps actually getting fresh air (not the air with sewer vapours in it) and sunlight would help. I'd imagine that seeing the countryside now and again would also have it's benefits.

The hair growth has been down to a few reasons, but mostly it's that I couldn't be arsed. I loved my hair up short but it was way way too much hassle and I ain't a beauty-regime type of gal.

*****************************

Dear god,

Please stop making it snow on top of me when I'm standing ankle deep in human waste. Also, I prefer not to be terrified on the M6 with high winds battering my tiny tiny Ford Ka, if you don't mind.

Marie.

*****************************

I just looked out the window and saw a group of people struggling against gale force winds, with hailstones hitting them in the face. And I laughed. Because I'm cruel. I'm sure I won't be laughing however when I'm trying to get home tonight. Karma will probably make sure some birds also make my car even dirtier than it already is.

I have been mostly laughing at this today:

Offset Schmoffset

2007-07-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

There's been a lot of talk (and a fair amount of it just a whole load of nonsense) about global warming, carbon emissions and so forth. I won't get into a debate about it here, I don't know enough to do so!

However, anything that reduces my impact on my surroundings is, to me, a good thing. I do believe in the notion that humans are rather destructive by nature, so I like when a good idea comes along to compensate for that.

http://www.terrapass.com/

Terrapass. So you've reduced your household waste, saved by reducing domestic energy usage, recycled, composted but you just don't want to get rid of that nice car you have, and you can't avoid the plane journeys. Well, the idea behind Terrapass is this: you fund research into renewable and green energy sources/reduction of carbon emissions/etcetera, with an amount of money proportional to the size of your personal carbon footprint. If you're greener, you don't need to help as much. If you're a big dirty capitalist energy wasting person like me, you pay more.

Nice idea.
Pity I don't have the money ;)

2007-07-10T03:16:00.000-07:00

Speech Accent Archive http://accent.gmu.edu/index.php

This is a lovely little site giving you access to examples of various accents from around the world. The same paragraph is read out by each person and so it allows you to compare speakers. They give a little bit of information on the background of the speaker (geographically, linguistically, etcetera).

Why indeed I would be interested in this is a matter for a debate (probably between the little people in my head), but it grabbed my attention this morning.

Dr. Kylie

2007-07-03T02:35:00.000-07:00

My two favourite things: Doctor Who and Kylie. In one place. Could it be?

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,2117159,00.html

Apparently it can be! What a wonderfully amazing idea! I *heart* Russell T. Davies for making Doctor Who just that bit more gay (who thought that was even possible, considering we already have Captain Jack!)

How Things Change

2007-06-28T02:59:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

I've just returned from my graduation last Monday and am finally starting to feel the effects of the completion of my university education. I was quite schocked to find that a considerable weight had been lifted from me, and not only that but a feeling of genuine contentment.

That is it, I feel free - no more panic about the looming thesis deadlines and the even more terrifying viva, none of that backstabbing that invariably accompanies competitive research environments. Were I back at the start of the PhD however, with the knowledge of how difficult it was, would I do it again?

Absolutely. The difficulty of the PhD, the stress of the bullying situation I was in, the financial issues, all of them together can't outweigh that feeling of acheivement that the experience gave me. I am by nature a very lazy person and will, if at all possible, avoid work - procrastination has become an art form for me. So I believe I have the right to feel proud - I have worked very hard for something I really wanted. It went against all my tendencies and urges to commit to something to that extent. I am very glad I did, I truly do love my work.

For those of you who still have no clue whatsoever what it is I actually work on, here's a quick explanation in the form of an everyday task:

You're in the shower, the waters a bit on the cold side, so you decide to turn it up. Round goes the dial, but you're still thinking it's a bit cold, so you turn it further..
OUCH! Too hot. You forgot that it takes some time for the hotter water to reach you.
Quickly, you turn it down, making it a bit too cold, though not too far off, so you turn the dial much less.
After a few little turns back and forth you get that *just right* temperature.
OWWWWWWWWW....*&*$"£&($...what the %^&$ was that!?!
Someone flushed the toilet ;)

This little story basically boils (harhar) down to this system:

The process (the shower) to be considered
The variable (the temperature) to be controlled
The variable (the dial) to be manipulated
The disturbance (the loo flushing)
The controller (here this is you!)

Now, say for example, you'd prefer this system to be like this:

You don't want to boil the skin off yourself
You want to set a temperature for the water, not have to find that temperature yourself
You want to make sure that the shower isn't affected by some div flushin the loo

This is where automatic control comes in. Automatic (a lil electronic chip, a few valves, etcetera) as opposed manual (you!). It can allow you to specify what you want (temperature in degrees Celsius for example), what you want to avoid (scalding water because of a change in water pressure for example) and how quickly or slowly you want to do it.

The simple answer would be a system of changes made that are similar to those of your own (i.e. move up to a temperature, realise it's too high and move back down, etcetera until you reach your target).

The better answer would be to know the system (for example, the range of temperature, or the delay of the delivery of hotter water) and be able to predict what you need to do..

And this is where I am - Predictive Control!

Good Afternoon

2007-06-20T03:30:00.000-07:00

...and welcome to the wonderful world of Od.

I've been keen to find new tv shows to watch, having recently viewed Series 1 and 2 (i.e. all) of Life on Mars. Surprisingly good, with a satisfying story arc, it's the best BBC sci-fi programme since the (new) Doctor Who series. It couldn't have lasted for more than 2 series, I think in fact it was struggling to fill those, but I'll miss it now. It was the first time in a long time that a series dealt with time-travel (ish) and a weekly-mystery without seeming too Quantum Leap or Time Cop about it. [Am I way too geeky for liking Time Cop - The Series? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118492/ The main character was far more likeable than the meaty VanDamme]

So, in an attempt to become as ridiculously addicted to another series I've rented/will rent:

1. Dead Like Me - a refreshingly funny take on the after-life. A world populated by (grim) 'Reapers' whose job it is to make the passage from this life to the next as painless as possible.

2. Weeds - I've missed out on this so far. Several friends have pointed this out as a very 'Od' series, so I'll give it a whirl.

3. South of Nowhere - crappy teen aftershowspecial-esque series about teenage lesbians. I'm currently watching it a) for the cuteness - nowt as adorable as lil lesbians finding themselves and b) for a particular cute character (who thankfully is a 22 yr old actor and makes me feel less guilty for admirin her)

4. Lost - I have to get back into this. It's ridiculously difficult to follow things on the actual tv (as opposed to dvd boxsets) when you lead a fairly busy life. So I'll be downloading/buying the recent series of this soon.

5. Doctor Who - I was an avid viewer of DW during the Rose years (my irishness restricted me from viewing any thing previous to that). Beginning this recently hectic schedule in my life has unfortunately meant I haven't followed the recent series and its new assistant. Note to self: buy old DW boxsets and educate self.

6. BSG 3: BSG series 1 and 2 were amazing (new series I mean), they have a special place in my heart. BSG 3 is on my to-do list (as is Starbuck, heh heh)

7. Charmed - oh i know, Spelling productions are ridiculously bad. But I appear to have a soft spot for them (as I recently discovered when I could name the other Spelling series that various bit actors in Charmed episodes were in. Why is that information in my head?) - currently watching Series 1 (again, many years later), will be buying each season as I can afford it.

So, it appears I'm slowly but surely building up a vast and scarily-nerdy DVD collection. Shall I sign over my soul now?

Sense of Play

2007-05-30T02:45:00.000-07:00

Every so often something catches my eye that makes me gasp slightly. It doesn't happen very often, we're all so jaded these days - the newest, best, coolest thing holds my attention for little more than a few seconds. There's something about this particular new thing ('new' in a bit of a stretch of the word, the research for this has being going on for quite a while). Microsoft has produced a version of this, but this video shows research by New York University. It's basically a surface that you can interact with - it uses the movements of the human hand upon it's display surface as opposed to the seperate method of the monitor and the mouse. An advanced touch screen application if you will. I won't describe it too much, because...well...the clip says it all!

I thought it was pretty darn cool.

The Age of 'Tube

2007-05-18T06:35:00.000-07:00

For a long time, I'd forgotten about this cute little video to the song Flowers, by Emilie Simon. It was quite a few years ago that I saw this (I would hazard a guess at 3 or 4 years ago?)

It's just tiny and sweet, and warms my heart a little. I had forgotten about it, until a song with similar lyrics made me think of it. Hence the title of this post, the Age of 'Tube: I would have been somewhat annoyed had I not been able to find this little song on the internet (be it Youtube or any other of the many many video hosting websites). There used to be a time, before Google (*gasp* that is hard to imagine..) or any of the less useful search engines that existed before it, when we didn't just have information immediately at our fingertips.

My life pretty much entirely revolves around the internet. I talk to my family, on Skype, I buy most of my belongings off various websites, I keep in contact with friends, organise things in my social life. My work involves a lot of internet based research. Even in my down-time, I spend a lot of it either on the internet, or using something I have purchased or downloaded from it. Most of my friends I have met through the internet, including my partner. Even the most basic things, being out of the closet, doing a PhD, working in the job I am now, these are all things that I did or found using the internet. I can't even begin to contemplate a life without it, or where my life would have been had I not used it.

Roflcat

2007-05-16T03:37:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't seen this website, I recommend it. Pictures of cats in silly situations, with captions. It's a simple concept, and pretty immature, but I find it hilarious.

http://www.roflcat.com

It's hard to pick a personal favourite, although currently the 'aggressive cat is aggressive, defensive cat is defensive' is my most quoted caption.

Ireland – Eurovision 2007 "archipelagic bicycles"

2007-05-14T03:28:00.000-07:00

A superbly awful contribution, the Irish entry for the Eurovision this year. Together, the horrid combination of a dreadful-looking woman who couldn’t hold a note, a tacky twee wailing ‘Oirish’ melody and lyrics that sounded like something a 12 year old would write – these gave us the most embarrassing act we’ve ever put forward to the competition.

Surprised as I am that anyone managed to pip the United Kingdom to the losing post, I’m glad we came last – the whole Irish act just made my skin crawl with sheer shame. I honestly wish we’d stop sending people to the competition, so that I could be safe in the knowledge that I wouldn’t have to feel the mortification of a repeat of Saturday’s performance.

The shame for my country somewhat masked the utter horror that was the remainder of the contestants – perhaps I’m missing something, or perhaps it’s even a cultural difference. The winning entry, Serbia, was a bit odd. I’m not entirely sure what exactly people voted for, the entry was dull and forgetful – and the singer not pleasing to the eye, though she made up for this in pure commitment to the song, she sure was feeling it!

It may be that the Eurovision is no longer something that suits the Western European countries – I just didn’t ‘get’ it this year. It baffled me in the way that a lot of Eastern European friends baffle me – I think something is being lost in translation. A pity – as this was one thing I’ve really loved to watch, over the years.

World of Warcraft

2007-05-10T03:12:00.000-07:00

There was this thing once I used to have, it was called a 'social life' - and then World of Warcraft (WoW) arrived in my life, and all was changed..

My WoW alter ego is called "Caer". Now this in itself is confusing: Caer, in Irish mythology, was the daughter of a Prince of Connaught, every other Samhain (Halloween) she would change into a swan, and remain so for a year, becoming human at Samhain again. Legend has it that her lover had to identify her from a large group of swans and when he did, they flew away together both as swans. (Pretty isn't it).

So my Caer is female, right? Wrong, I just thought it was a pretty name - my character is actually a male, and looks strangely like Antonio Banderas:
http://armory.wow-europe.com/?#character-sheet.xml?r=Eonar&n=Caer

I'm currently a level 46 Human Rogue, meaning I'm sneaky and vicious. I'm disappointingly low level (the max is level 70) due to the annoying requirement that I sleep, eat and work.

The problem with WoW is simple: it's hard to tell if it's a game or a virtual reality. It has all the aspects of a good game, with the added benefits of the social interactions with other players. Many of my friends IRL (in real life) also play Warcraft - and this is where it's main attractiveness lies - this game consumes you by giving you entertainment, social contact and also a common ground with other geeks. It's the Dungeons and Dragons of this online generation (though, before anyone gets angry, WoW is a vastly simpler and more mainstream game than D&D).

My issue with is this 'IRL' stuff - it's such a vast game, it tempts you into playing it at all available opportunities, and that gets in the way of that pesky thing that is your actual life. I've seen friends spend hours, days, weeks and more on this game - and it does beg the question, where does 'real life' end and the game begin, is it a virtual version of your own social life, if you have a social network, of people with common interests and goals? Personally, the temptation of it has somehow actually repulsed me from getting too far into this game - I just can't feel comfortable with something that removes me from reality to that extent.

With the recent onslaught of such entertainment, Second Life being a prime example, it seems like this may become more widespread than just a 'geek' phenomenon...it does make you stop and think..

In the beginning..

2007-05-10T02:43:00.000-07:00

In the beginning Od created the blog and the settings. Now the blog was formless and empty, the words were missing, and the hand of Od was hovering over the keyboard..

Enough paraphrasing of that bestseller, and on to the actual blogging :)

Hello! I am pleased to announce the arrival of my very own blog, I'm sure people have been anxiously waiting for this momentous occasion. On the other hand, it's fully possible that I may never have a single reader, in which case, this is my diary.

I have little or no idea of what this blog will relate to, but I've a sketchy idea of what it won't be describing: my workplace, my family or my relationship with my partner. I'm sure bits and pieces will come up regarding these topics, but on the whole I will be trying to avoid concentrating on them specifically. I suppose this is where my ability to talk vaguely will be tested.

My hopes for this blog are to perhaps in the long term end up finding some blogpals - hopefully entirely random ones, perhaps maybe some old pals, who knows. I'm of the mind that you can never have too many friends - I see myself as having varied personalities within myself, all of which need their buddies..

I've added a few links to the bottom of the blog, some favourite webcomics that I hope you enjoy

-

Od