Protest / Campaign - lost marks - lost team members

4th Post
Howdy All - well that is the week over - Started with Java this morning - was up nice and early and in for 09h00 - bought a coffee on the way @ Roland Butter as they have a special at the moment - Made Java and had hoped that Ian would spend some time with me also Christian was coming in so we could work on AI together . . . Mostly uneventful - hung around for a while changing code tinkering and fine tuning and I was rewarded eventually - not before Christian had already showed up - to start work on AI - I had to tell him I was not available, yet. Lab was empty to start with . . .when I arrived it was only Colin & Rory . . .and had I not stopped for coffee - we would have arrived at the same time.

Well, received the dreaded AI exam on web at about 10h30 - but couldn't look at it until after Colin had had a look at my work was roughly 11h05 - it was everything I had feared and some - had to leave whole sections out as I did not know what they wanted - I can't hope for more than about 40% and as for the exam which is still - I reserve judgement - but it will still take a major amount of work - before I am able to say I am on top of it . . . . .

3rd Post - Thursday
Well I had decided t go into Uni this morning as I needed to get my Java material as I had made changes but not replicated my work to my home PC - such that I was now running different versions of this new Practical . . . .never a good idea - always somehow get things mixed up or confused . . . so even although I had no classes needed to go in.

Was up bright and early and the idea was get into the gym before 09h00 - all went according to plan was a wee bit late but still on target . . . got down to the gym only to see 'Closed for staff training - sorry for any inconvenience -reopen @ 10h00' - I could have screamed - anyway no problem - I thought I'll just shift everything around - I'll go to uni first - now my monthly ticket expired during the week - so I had to buy a ticket before boarding the train . . . So they announced the train was arriving when I started buying a ticket by machine - do you think I could conclude my transaction in time to catch that train - You guessed 'No' I was still getting my change when the train was already pulling out of the station . . . I could have screamed - it was onyl later that I realised I had spent more than I should have as I had bought a standard ticket instead of the cheap day return???? So it was not a good start to the day - it got better - it could hardly go down now could it . . . .lol. Got into uni and downloaded my Java material - Mission accomplished - left went to gym and spent the rest of the day studying . . . I have to admit I am now in a panic as there is literally just so much to do - we break up for 2 weeks for tomorrow 30 March - but in the week we come back I have my Java project to hand in; eCommerce presentation to make; A research paper on handheld and mobile browsers to both write up and present; as well as rounding of Designing Usable Systems . . .so lots to do and not much time to do it in. I plan to take a break and holiday and then climb back in with a vengenace . . .hope it works - we are so close to finishing with this next round - on the home street so to speak.

2nd Post
All photo's - went up Arthur's Seat - Edinburgh Holyrood park - above is the logo for our eCommerce idea - and lovely building which I'd buy at the drop of a hat is Pollock Residence - part of university of Edinburgh . . . Oh correct me if I'm wrong . . lol

Wow - the week has kicked off with a bang - had an eCommerce group meeting - guess what? Not a soul turned up? I have some problems here - methinkest - need to get the work done as marks are group marks - Nicole sick (although rumour has it she has gone on holiday) Murv had some other work; Ratna - not sure where he was - Pelagia never turned up . . . a waste of time . . . - I wasn't there last week because Iw as sick so wanted to make sure what we had to do for the next class - Lesley asked us to present and I nearly died - other group presented and there presentation was excellent - so we really have tons of work to do just to catch up. (designed the logo above) . . . . Now Sonia - who has been missing for the last 9 weeks of the course suddenly turned up - and she is in our group - the more the merrier . . .tra la la la la . . .lol.

Maria lectured up a storm - pity I was falling asleep - she was telling us what is happening research wise at Strathclyde - looks like they are world leaders in the Planning arena - with a number of publications under the belt . . . its actually good to know that your studying with some of the best in this area . . . as I say I was falling asleep though, I am afraid - Maria may fall asleep when she marks my exam paper . . .lol - hope not - although I received the fright of my life when I saw the exam paper on line - which is this weeks practical - we are to complete it and hand it in for marks - I thought I had a cunning plan - work on it during the week and then hand in on Friday - only to hear there will be a different paper on Friday - damn - just when you thought you had it covered.

Designing User systems was interesting - David who was supposed to hand in on Friday - asked for an extension - as he was not finished yet - Nicole handed her portion in - even although David said to keep it back until his was finished - Nicole & I took one look at each other and we said we'd hand that portion in so long - just as well because it turns out David never got round to handing anything in - with the result that we lost 50% of the marks before we even started this week - when I asked if we could hand in still - I was told for feedback but not for marks . . . so myself and Murv (as previously stated Nicole not around) - were not impressed - I have completed the documents that should have been handed in, this evening and will forward it in anyway. Murv built a very fancy prototype of our project using an emulator - which allows you to manipulate a mobile phone on the PC as if it were a fully operational mobile phone and show how our program would work - we have even downloaded it and it works fine on various mobile phones - not mine though because I am with Orange - it won't allow me to just download a file - it needs an authenticated file which tells it what the file is and what it does before it will allow its installation on my phone an added layer of security - Murv says it is a good thing . . ..
Emulator works like this - have a look at link mini Opera . . . so Murv is a clever lad . . .

Seems like may be off tomorrow and Thursday and then Friday last day before a 2 week break - Yippeee! thereafter it will be 2 weeks of classes and then EXAMS . . . Judi & I are booked up for a short break in week in Rome after the exams end of May . . .another Yipppeee! but lots of hard work in between . . everything to be handed in after Easter break so not all holidays I can assure you.

1st Post
Just spent a lovely weekend with Judi in Edinburgh and after having tried the bus - which is soooo much cheaper I still prefer the train - half the time and a lot more comfortable and convenient - not dependant on traffic etc., - whoosh and your there - yes that's whoosh . . .Ok, here's the thing though - I can go online and buy a bus ticket return for £3.50 . . . . just have to let them know exactly which bus your going to use - fair enough only so many budget tickets . . . .the train however is £9.20 yes £9.20 a single and £9.30 yep 10p more for a return - except that I can't buy a return - because its only valid for same day return - personally (these are off-peak times) I don't think £9.30 for a return is unreasonable but I never return on the same day so I have to buy 2 singles = £18.40 . . .now this does my head in because I feel it is a rip-off . . .So what I now do is I always buy a return and give the return portion away to someone when I arrive on the other side . . . . I keep a careful eye on Scotrail staff - I don't ask for anything in return although on Friday last week the guy insisted I take £2 as he was only going to Linlithgow it would have cost him £4 one way . . . .

When I came home on Sunday I waited ages or someone to come along so I could give them the ticket - eventually gave up and left the return part on the machine that you have to buy your ticket from - when I was almost at the other end of the station saw someone rushing towards machine - saw him stop in front of it - glance down - pick the ticket up - look around - then looked at ticket again and walked off towards barrier - he hesitantly inserted the ticket and was probably both relieved and pleased and he was on his way. Mission accomplished.

I intend doing this every time I travel . . . . for the extra 10p someone else saves £9 - that's a bargain . . . I explain to people why I am doing it - and say that if they give me 10p I am not out of pocket - but I don't really want anything.



This week from "What the world knows about South Africa online journal"

Q: Can you give me some information about Koala Bear racing in South Africa? (USA)

A: Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific. A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe which does not... oh forget it. Sure, the Koala Bear racing is every Tuesday night in Hillbrow. Come naked.

Q: Which direction is north in South Africa? (USA)

A: Face south and then turn 90 degrees. Contact us when you get there and we'll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into South Africa? (UK)

A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

Trident - Baby chute - flu

I am sure you can see why I miss Cape Town at times - picture taken from Blaauwberg looking across Table Bay . . .

Post 1

It may make perfect sense to you - but I could not believe this story the first time I read it in the Metro - but I have since ascertained - as this story belows shows that it is true - unwanted baby chute - I have a picture of these chutes throughout the city like postboxes . . on every street corner - exaggerated no doubt, I know - but this is what it conjured up in my mind . . .
Article: as it appeared in the Boston Herald - just happened to be the first source . . .
He may not qualify for the Guinness Book of Records, but that didn’t stop this drunken German from trying to pass as a baby.

A British Web site reports that Heinrich Mueller, 28, was arrested after imbibing one too many mood-altering beverages and climbing into an emergency drop box for unwanted babies.
The drop-off boxes offer a safe, no-questions-asked policy. Hundreds of babies have been deposited in the boxes set up across Germany and Austria since the program began five years ago.

Once inside the box, the inebriated Mueller slid down a chute, landing in a hospital’s emergency incubator.

The fall triggered alarms among staff that another unwanted newborn had been dropped off. But when workers went to check on the noise, they found Mueller smoking a cigarette. He subsequently passed out as staff worked out how to pry him free.

Post 2:
Well its been a bit of a strange week for me - Sunday I felt myself coming down with something - felt like a temperature coming on - Judi had really spoilt me the weekend - hardly had to think of something and it was there . . . lol - Anyway Sunday was Mothers day and picked up my Mum & sister and we went to wagamama which I can thoroughly recommend - it was something new and different for my Mum and I think - no matter how old you are that is what we all enjoy (he says with a smile on his face knowing full well not everyone would like that - some are more set int heir ways and resist change of any sort - but hey it takes all types does it not - and don't think I am turning my nose up at them - they would probably do the same to me)

By Monday I was not feeling at all well and the flu was starting to bite - I was sore all over - in Afrikaans they have a great word for it 'kleinsierig' - direct translation is little sore - and that is how my whole body felt - and getting up that hill was an effort at uni - by the time I got home I was exhausted and I had my evening class as well . . . I had a sleep and then trucked off to my evening class which given my state was a mission . . .by later that evening I knew that tomorrow i.e. me going to uni was not going to happen - I was now feeling really really sorry for myself - having slept in the afternoon had difficulty getting to sleep and it was closer to 02h00 before I managed to get to sleep - woke up early but felt absolutely terrible - got up at about 08h55 phoned Nicole in my group told her I wasn't going to make it and went straight back to sleep - Ratna sent me a message and asked where I was - sent emails to all my classes apologising that I was not able to attend . . . . Tuesdays is 09h00 through to 16h00 - so its my longest day and there was just no way I could make it - I dozed on and off the whole day - went down and made an appointment with doctor for 14h40 - went to bank / post office etc., - dozed again - back to doctor - and in between found the TV episodes of Heroes online - which I thoroughly enjoyed - all 18 episodes (TV Links ) - there are a host of other programs and even some films (you should try it Margaret) and it helped me make it through my flu - I can tell you - I really enjoyed it. Can't wait for episode 19.

So that's been my week really - recuperating from flu - doctor prescribed an antibiotic and it seems to be helping a lot . . .

What's on for the rest of the week well tomorrow is Friday so I'll be off to Edinburgh @ Judi's - that will be after my Java practical and Artificial Intelligence classes . . .

Going to a New Zealand expo over the weekend - all about working there - what jobs are on offer etc., - Hey, remember what I said about new experiences . . . I'll keep you posted . .

Post 3:
Trident is not something I agree with £70 Bn for a nuclear deterrent - who are we going to nuke?? A street in Birmingham or one in Manchester ??? Someone I know said that its glorified job creation scheme - people who are working in Trident program probably just see it as a means of earning a living. I just think there are better ways to spend this type of money . .

Trident Q&A - Why?
Is this the end of the Trident debate?

more to follow

This week from "What the rest of the world knows about South Africa online journal . . ."

Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? (USA)
A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is. oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Hillbrow, straight after the Koala Bear races. Come naked.

Q: Do you have perfume in South Africa? (France)
A: No, WE don't stink.

Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in

A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.

St Patrick's - Joan Rivers - Weekend - Mat's birthday

Photo's all City Chambers and George Square - apart from Graeme my nephew who has just returned to South Africa . .

Here I am its about 01h00 - Sunday morning - my Birthday, yesterday, St Patrick's day is now a thing of the past - however today is the first day of the rest of my life and / or 1st day in my personal New Year. What did I do / get up to I hear you asking? Well very little actually . . . rushed out to the bank this morning and then Marks & Spencer's as well as ASDA - funnily enough bumped into Isabel with Laura & Brian bought in enough supplies for a week and just chilled the whole day - Judi spoilt and pampered me the whole day - I was watching the Six Nations rugby (Bizarrely France won - some brilliant tries though) - and she was milling around and wouldn't let me do anything - partially watched all 3 games - read the newspaper and just hung out - had some snacks and a very interesting bottle of wine - a South African wine from Wellington - just outside Cape Town - it was lovely a very unusual taste actually . . .
Diemersfontein its actually a coffee / chocolate pinotage and something about it attracted me to it - so I was very pleased when it proved to be such an interesting flavour . . .unusual as well . . . .

Judi showered me with gifts - with the main one being a ring - Which has a celtic design - still getting used to it as I don't have any jewellery - I like it.

My Birthday had kicked off on Friday after uni - 12h00 we finished off with Lord Lithy - him wishing me and all after lecturing all about UML and telling us how important it was - so important that he never actually showed it to us but spoke about it . . . anyway myself, David, Andy, Rory, Philip, Catherine, Johnny, Shagaan, Russel, Idong, Mathias all met up at the Old Printworks and had a few drinks . . .turned into a pleasant afternoon - from there we went to Campus bar (supposedly because they are cheaper . . . I wasn't convinced - I was finding it difficult to buy anyone anything as everyone insisted its my birthday they want to buy me something - unlike South Africa where everything works the other way round - i.e. your birthday you buy everyone a drink and treat them - it took me years to get my head around that but now back to normal . . .lol - I bought a couple of platters of food and I think most people enjoyed themselves - I don't think we've been doing enough of this . . . maybe something that becomes more regular in future . . . bearing in mind our semester is about to a) have an easter break end of March for 2 weeks & b) finishes end of April - two events that probably need celebrating . . . (I invited most of the faculty staff - secretaries right through to Maria head of Dept. - needless to say none came - but I invited them anyway . .

SO how did the week go? Well Monday was AI and I had skipped Wednesday last week so had some catching up to do . . . basically worked on Designing User Systems as we had to make a final decision on Research Papers which we have to present - our group choice turned out to be Handheld and Mobile Internet browsers . . . my part of this will be comparing which browsers there are and how effective they are for mobiles and handheld devices . . Anyway AI - never done any prep work and we are now into our last 4 lectures - enjoyed Monday and Wednesday was the best AI lecture I have attended - somehow things just made sense and I was able to make what I thought were very explanatory notes . . .the proof of this will be where I go back to the notes and use them in conjunction with the slides and see whether they still makes sense or whether they are disjointed - time will tell . . .practical was running various planning tools and seeing how long / how many steps were involved - not sure I completely understand the difference between them all - took printouts fr later reference . . .and skipped my second practical session which I usually fit in because of going for a pint on Friday.

E-commerce - we are up and running and looks very much like our e-commerce product is going to be software which you download (a theoretical business) which allows -video-on-demand; music; and then a selection of live sports programs as well . . a lot of potential and we are going to develop this idea over the next 5 weeks and then eventually present to independent venture capitalists . . .- should be interesting - Ratna approached me and requested that he be part of my team - then asked Pelugia, Murvin, - Nicole sat down at our table and then Pelugia invited Untzizu to join us but she has subsequently decided she is not taking that course . . . so were back to 5. Tuesday's is now quite a long day - start at 09h00 E-commerce; AI for me @ 12h00 then DUS @ 14h00 so were lucky to finish by 16h00 . . .

I spent most of Monday & Wednesday afternoon in the library - doing research seeing if I could find any articles on our topic on Internet browsers and then accessing some books as well . . .

We got together as an E-commerce group on Thursday morning to discuss suggestions and that is basically where our software idea came from . . . met for about an hour prior to Software Construction - where Lord Lithy told us what he wanted to do but wasn't going to do it because he still had to write it but had received a phone call and hence was unable to do so - so today's lecture which was going to be tomorrows would be done now and then today's would become tomorrow's etc., . . . .

Thursday night was really busy first writing up what we had decided from our E-commerce meeting and then working on our DUS prototyping submission for Friday after which it was Java all the way - we are looking at Binary search engines - which are far more efficient for searching material - managed to source a very good book on this material - which explains it well and has some very good examples of how it works including some code - I was able to borrow some of it - which is applicable and in fact it goes way beyond what we need at the moment . Colin sat with me for a short while and we had a look at the code and said I was not to bother with anything other than the bear minimum for the time being . . . still a lot of work - this assignment will count 80% towards the final mark - I have to get my report right as I have fallen horribly short on this point - more focus needed . . .

Earlier in the week I had decided to try to approach the Information Retrieval marks from another angle - I know Monica (our lecturer) now stays in Switzerland - but I thought I'd send her an email asking her how she was and if there was any chance of us getting our marks . . .now I was in the admin office on Friday (last week) kicking up an absolute storm about the fact that we had been promised our marks ages ago and still nothing had materialised . . . well Monica came straight back shocked as she said the marks should have been released a month ago - date on the letters we finally received on Thursday was dated about a month ago??? So who is fooling who here . . . I got 78% so I was quite chuffed.

Last Friday was at Old Printworks were quite a few of us went for a beer to celebrate Mathias' birthday . . . which was most enjoyable . . . David myself & Chris sat around for a while just having a good chat - don't get enough time when your attending classes as its a quick hello and a brief goodbye . . . . then off to Judi's for the weekend.

Monday night went to the King's theatre to see Joan Rivers - she was everything I expected - foul mouthed and insulted everyone / every age group / etc., - told women to get out there and grab everything they can get - applauded Heather McCartney etc., - as I said everything I expected - I enjoyed the evening .






This week's 'From what people know about South Africa' . . . .

Q: Can you tell me the regions in South Africa where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy)

A: Yes, gay nightclubs.

Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in South Africa? (France)

A: Only at Christmas.

Q. Are there killer bees in South Africa? (Germany)

A: Not yet, but for you, we'll import them.

Dundee - More to Life - delay

Photo's -
All from Dundee trip - Megabus front window - Arran @ Old Trafford - Dundee sky - David, Mathias, Amanda, Antonio - Lei Wei, David, Amanda, Mathias - last photo was quite funny guy on the side was getting the winners of the entrepeneurial competition in place and they all thought I was the photographer as I kept taking photos . . . whereas that was the photographer amongst them.

Post 1:
My theme for the is week is “More to Life” or Life is more than XYZ –

Wow with that as a lead in I may have built up certain expectations – I read a couple of things this week which I found really interesting

1) The ‘Meaning of life’ - can be found in the freedom of a jazz band. All the musicians know the tune / song but then go on to do whatever they want to do – any band will include a solo spot – when the melody is finished – everyone on the band is highly satisfied – most of the people listening are happy although they don’t really know why other than that the emotional response has been a satisfying one.

2) Progress has freed us up – supposedly giving us more free time than we previously experienced. Is this true? What about the amount of time spent on mobile / Internet / email / etc., Seems as if progress hast actually decreased the amount of actual free time we have.

3) The mass genocides that took place in Germany – the blind and autistic etc., people that were first sterilised and then at a later stage euthinised – these were the first examples, which were ignored, of a policy which had been imported from the states – eugenics.

SO what am I really on about? Cant quite put my finger on it can’t quite my finger on it. All about balance – and not just seeing life from one perspective. Take this blog for example it was initially all about my uni life / experience but it has somehow managed to transform itself – it is still predominantly abut that however things have changed – I have changed as have circumstances – plus lets face it we are never just one thing in life – we always fulfil multiple roles in life, at any one time, father; son; friend; lover; partner etc., - changing from one role to the other at any one time.

I just think, that at the end of the day everything is about balance - and when we have too much of one and forget about others – we are missing a certain part of ourselves.

Plan to take some photos this week with the mobile phone – started with my mobile – and then had Wednesday in Dundee that I took a few photos at as well . . . so those are the photos basically.

I am also considering writing whenever it catches my fancy – will still keep it to one posting but it may be made up of multiple parts to it . . . and have been contributed at different times . . .

Post 2:
Judi seems to have hurt her back – complaining bitterly about my futon as it is really hard and has almost no give in it at all. May have to invest in a new bed – I’ll go and have a look down Dumbarton Road – see if I can pick anything up.

Post 3:
Wednesday 6 March Scottish
Met 07h15 and had a Megabus take us to Dundee – I had to use my mobile the night before to check what time the 1st train from Dumbarton was – to see whether I could make the bus from uni – it turned out that it was 06h25 – which was the only train I could catch – managed to get up in time and made it in plenty of time. As I walked up the street to the bus there was some furious waving from the front of the bus – turned out to be Mathias and Antonio - +/- 70 other students turned out as well. We set off at about 07h30 – Amanda turned up and plonked herself down next to David, brave girl, and ended up spending the rest of the day with myself and the rest of the guys – she turned out to be a pleasant conversationalist and she, Mathias and I sorted out the worlds problems well we discussed a whole load of things. David had a hip flask and he was hitting it not long after leaving uni – not surprisingly it wasn’t long before he was fast asleep and he ended up sleeping most of the way.
I realised I had not seen much of Mathias this semester as we have different subjects apart from Software Construction – have seen even less of Antonio as we don’t have any shared subjects.

Roughly 2000 students from across Scotland but also some from Wales & Northern Ireland. Kicked off with a bacon buttie (roll) & some coffee.

(1) BJ Cunningham: Brand Evolution – Death Cigarettes unambiguously marketed cigarettes which carried a ‘enjoy them but be aware they will kill you’ – Marketed from Luxemborg but sold here in the UK the deal lasted for about 6 months before Customs and Excise stepped in and closed him down – even although he had the law on his side. It ended up going all the way to European High Court which although agreeing with him ruled against him – as they claimed that the law had never been intended to be used like this it had never been designed to function in this manner.

How had he started – went to uni then went to the states and bought a Carmen Ghia – coming through customs the official had asked ‘how much did you pay for it?’ and had then gone on to offer him double that amount – he didn’t think twice and sold it – went back to the states and bought 2 Carmen Ghia’s – cut a long story short ended up making a mint until they changed the tax law overnight – and ended up with a £800 000+ overdraft – phoned his dad as any son would – his dad asked him how much in the red he was – and he told him – there was a deathly silence – and his dad told him – ‘your on your own now son’ and that was when he came up with Death cigarette’s – which incidently Barclays gave him a loan for . . .

(2) Second speaker – Mick Jackson – passion and bold gave an inspiring speech which centred on you believing in yourself. He has 4 photo’s on his PC – which inspire him to succeed. He pulled out a punch and told us how he markets stationary to large corporate companies – who have to buy this type of equipment – RBS spends more than £25m per annum on this and he gives them an option which allows them to contribute towards charity but receive something tangible in return . . .like the punch.
(3) Jacqueline Gold – Ann Summers CEO – sorry she did not impress me – 3m vibrators sold in the UK . . .An interesting story but somehow she was less credible to me than the other two speakers who came across as true off the wall entrepreneurs . . . . her parting comment – size really does matter – Now I’m not sure if you she was speaking from a distribution point of view – i.e. the more branches you have the better or whether or perhaps she was being more direct.
Lunch – quick tour guide (that’s me) to Groucho’s – 2nd hand CD store – didn’t have any Eddi Reader – which is what I was looking for.

(4) David Sibbald - The Summerian Foundation & Johari Fashion Show - Kenya – didn’t enjoy – fashion show component was good but found the rest a little too self patronising.

(5) Tom Ilube - Egg – Garlik and everything else was a breath of fresh air again . . .
(6) Vicky Featherstone - National Theatre of Scotland interesting challenge and we had some poetry which provided some light relief
(7) Alistair Campbell – who was the headline attraction. I was interested to hear that both his parents are from Scotland and that he considered himself to be a Scot – has played the bagpipes since he was 7 and even busked around parts of Europe at one stage – His history was interesting to me – to inform and give me some background into who he was but him as a speaker I was not impressed. SO in the end I was mildly disappointed.


What did I take away from the whole experience:
a) Really life is all about yourself – What do you really want to do? Do you know? If you do – get on with it and do it – nothing else counts or matters – forget about chasing money – it is all about self realisation and when you realise that things will fall into place.

Friday
Mathias birthday on Friday - went for a few beers at Print Works . . . myself Chris, & David hung around and had a good blether . . . well its my Birthday this Saturday - so it will be back at the Print Works this Friday . . .

Last post:
Well apologies for late posting - somehow things never quite worked out best of intention and all . . . . As I have said may try to post more frequently - but having said that held up - its Wednesday evening of the following week now.

This weeks Extract from: What the rest of the world Knows about South Africa:
Q: Are there supermarkets in Cape Town and is milk available all year round? (Germany)

A: No, we are a peaceful civilisation of vegan hunter-gatherers. Milk is illegal

Q: Please send a list of all doctors in South Africa who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA)

A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca, which is where YOU come from. All South African snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets. Good examples of snakes as pets are mambas (both green and black), rinkhals and municipal workers.

Philip K's Java Lunar adventures-kinda not!

Howdy - just a quick word on the eclectic mix of photo's book covers etc., - Lunar eclipse and some Philip K Dick photo's - yes that is his gravestone and no it does not say here lies a dick - although a quick glance gives one that impression, perhaps - the rest was all about Artificial Intelligence and picked up my text book image and a range of other odds and ends . . .


Lunar eclipse on 3 March

just an advance warning! Who knows what may happen . . . lol - photo courtesy of NASA - see link above - all the technical jargon - just hope for clear skies.

Other thing of interest in the interim - today 2 March is the day 25 years ago that the switched off Philip K Dick's life support system - a prolific science fiction author - whom I have not read enough of - a very interesting and paranoia person - seemed to be able to see far beyond his own time - died a pauper - and yet wrote some of best sci-fi seldom surpassed even today.

What else - will pick up as per normal later today - being punished for something - so will have plenty of time tonight to write blog . . . lol

Must mention all hell breaking loose in Barrwoodhill - communications / music system / someone seems to have zapped my flat - everything that can go wrong is going wrong - at the moment my cd player is playing up - telephone gave up on Wednesday evening - I left my mobile on train - it cuts out every 15 minutes or so . . . so roll on the lunar eclipse maybe it will be back to normal after that . . .lol

Well I am suddenly quite taken with writing as in pen to paper - sitting in Queen Street station now awaiting my train home - so I thought I'll use the time and write my blog - which I am now typing up . . . I think this writing thing has something to do with problems (logic problems) that I have been forced to use pen and paper to solve - I actually have a white board and I need to buy some marker pens because it would probably work just as well if not better as you can stand back and look at it and see if it makes sense - so this new found like, in my opinion, is somehow linked to this . . . so I am capturing my thoughts as I go along (which is shorthand for I'm making this up as I go along). Anyway uni week has now finished - I was assessed on my Java practical this morning - (I think I described it for you last week) - Bottom line spent most of last night worrying / trying to work out how to sort a LinkedList - only to discover that I was looking at the wrong sort algorithm - I was doing a BubbleSort instead of a MergeSort - how did that happen - I think it may have something to do with me paying scant regard to the specs . . .and basically doing my own thing . . . lol. SO I arrived frustrated at the lab this morning - coffee in hand complaining bitterly that I couldn't get this damn thing to work - cut a long story short - Chris, God bless him, helped me sort it - I had the other 80% running and had tested it and it was working fine - it should be Colin (my Java instructor) and I had spent almost 2 hours the day before going through everything - changing / testing / changing again etc., - just to ensure all the methods were actually working - he didn't write it all - he left me during the course of the day and I sorted out a few things and we carried on again. The thing about Colin (a Natural teacher - they are far and few between - ask me that is my line of business) he writes / thinks code at your level - and also is flexible / knowledgeable to adjust to your understanding. For example I had written my LinkedList code with a header and also used a tail and then added a addTail() method - which really means anything you add will to the end (tail) of your list - So if your input is 1, 2, 3 - the order the programme will print it out for you is 1,2, 3 - Amazing (I can hear you say - a 1 year course to teach him this!) but the difference is if you add to the beginning of the list every time - and you then printed it out you would get 3, 2, 1 . . . . . make sense. Now here is the code - to do exactly that i.e. add everything to the end of the list . . . . which is easy enough - basically whatever your input, create a new Node (which will store whatever it is you put in) and just bung it in at the back of the list . . all we have to be careful of is an initial state where the List is empty . . . as head pointer would then point to the single element this new Node tail

public void addTail(Object o)
{
Node n = new Node(o,null);
if (isEmpty())
{
head = n;
tail = n;
}
else
{
tail.setNext(n);
tail = n;
}
elementCount++;
}

When it came to our assessment - guy came to me - straight after Chris (whom I was sitting next to and asked if I was ready - remember at this stage my mergeSort method had not been written . . . so I am like "Erm - not yet" - so he moved on . . . & Chris and I finished off
code - which from memory is something like this:
public void mergeSort (List input, List one, List two)
{
List sortTemp1 = new JLinkList;
List sortTemp2 = new JLinkList;

if(input.listSize() <= 0) { return input; } if (sortTemp1.listSize() <=0) { return sortTemp2;
}
if(sortTemp2.listSize() <=0) { return sortTemp1;
}
merge(mergeSort()(sortTemp1, sortTemp2);
return returnList;
}


I'll check - not sure about the last statement - but that is it I think. Anyway about 15 minutes later I beckoned the assessor across - he got me to explain how that method worked asked me to demonstrate - and explain some other choices and then deducted a point because mergeSort did not have an explanation - so it did stick out a bit - he said it looked as if it was something that had just quickly been added on - in all fairness I explained that I had been working on the incorrect algorithm and that I had just added it that morning. Noting happens by accident - I had been working furiously away the day before and he had come up to me and asked me how it was going - I actually didn't recognise him and wondered if he thought I was part of some other lab then it dawned on me who he was and that he had been referring to the Java . . . so we had a brief chat and he asked me why I was using an enumerator an a couple of other questions and made a few suggestions then he was off . . . I saw him looking for the enumerator and checking some of what he had seen the day before - most of which was either gone or streamlined - so let me tell you nothing happens by accident - there are no coincidences.

Lord Linlithgow raved on as usual - on both Thursday and Friday - he had originally meant to finish today (Friday 2 March) - if he carries on like this he will be lecturing deep into June sometime (classes officially finish end of April) - although many may finish prior to Easter - leaving students with assignments and them some time to recuperate after another semester and before all the marking and paperwork starts again. He really does ramble on at times - a very nice chap - he always has a few boxes of transparencies - and they must be in the correct order - he is meticulous about this - albeit (my fav word at moment) we are being given a mixture of 2nd and 3rd year plus some original material . . . so it might be a slide from this box followed by 1 from that box and then another from the box over there - so you can imagine an administrative nightmare but Lord Lithy is up for it - it looks to me as if they each have their own special backing sheet as well as many a lecture has ground to a halt as he sorts out one box or another or realises that the slide that he needs is not in any of the three boxes that he has with him and he runs off to fetch box number 4 . . . which naturally adds to his dilemma . . .lol. He actually had some overlays i.e. pictures on 3 different slides which you put up and then the story develops with each new slide - kind of like animation - quite impressive really compared to plain hand written text on a slide - nay revolutionary I say - if only he got the full slide on the screen - the projector too far away from the screen so about 75% is now on the screen (I got their early and moved the table) but it most annoying when you cant see what is being referred to . . .

We were given the topics for our BIG Java project - Lord Lithy was at lengths to tell us there are 3 we can choose from and then shared 5 with us - but I think that was a misunderstanding - I am interested in the Spell checker - it will work with the practical we have just finished and should work if I understand the concept similar to your mobile phone predictive text in that the programme should recognise any word but also allow you to add words to the dictionary . . . seems interesting and initial problem will be creating the dictionary.

We never had anything to hand in for DUS (Designing Usable Systems) . . . but we have double to hand in next week - 4 separate things to be handed in and we are how many in team - right so that should be 1 thing each . . . My chances of doing a research paper on M-Learning now seems remote as we have suddenly changed how the topics are allocated - it was going to be each individuals choose what they want to do and then groups would be formed around choices . . .whereas now all of a sudden it is all about the existing groups deciding amongst themselves what they want to do - we each have a vote and we are 4 members - Murv already expressed an interest in web browsing on mobile devices which leaves David & Nicole - Nicole said she had made a choice and I lost count of how many times David asked her - eight times at least but she was saying nothing ???? so I don't know what that means but as I say looks remote chance now. I need to look at the other topics to see (as Michelle suggested) whether or not I ma able to stretch things to include M-Learning just
within a different context.

Beginning to realise how much work this DUS subject is - every week (barring this week) something to hand in - you have to keep a scrap book as well - plus rate / mark the people in your own group every week. Your research paper - at least 4 pages and a 15 minute lecture / presentation. Then 2 exams - 1 covering the theoretical aspects the text book and 1 covering the research topics.

AI - Artificial Intelligence kicked off with us moving on to the third topic - Planning - all about for example a robot; rooms and boxes - the robot having to perhaps move boxes around and stack them somewhere . . . It comes complete with its own language / syntax i.e.
(at ?r ?b1) which would tell you the robot was at box 1 - of course r and b1 - have to be defined so that everyone knows what each variable stands for . . .

What we have is whole lot of variables - a set of truths then a set of goals. Your job is to list a sequence of actions which will allow you to achieve your goal - each action may change your existing set of conditions / environment.
Domain
(:types object room robot)
?b1 ?b2 ?b3 - boxes;
?Rm1 ?Rm2 ?Rm3 ?Rm4 - rooms
?d1 ?d2 - doors
?r - robot

Goal - get all the boxes stacked in the following sequence ?b1 ?b3 ?b2 in Rm1

You now have to work out what actions you need to take to achieve you goal

Early days but I think you'll get the idea - and can quite easily get very involved.

"...an artificial intelligence system was placed on board to plan and execute spacecraft activities. In contrast to remote control, this sophisticated set of computer programs acts as an agent of the operations team on board the remote spacecraft. Rather than have humans do the detailed planning necessary to carry out desired tasks, remote agent will formulate its own plans, using high level goals provided by the operations team....Remote agent, like the other high-risk technologies that have now been tested on DS1, promises to make space exploration of the future more productive and more exciting while staying within NASA's limited budget."

- from NASA's site about Remote Agents

Otherwise seems to have been a hell of a long week - Judi busy until tomorrow morning - so can't come over until about 12h00 - so not seeing each other until Sat afternoon - and staying overnight. I have been over to her place from a Friday and then left straight for uni on a Monday morning from her place - not really practical for Judi to do something like that - would be nice though . . ah well there's a thought.

A feast of rugby over the weekend - Scotland Vs Italy - which should logically have given only one result - still can't quite get over it - a couple of freak interceptions saw Italy leading by 24 points to 0 in the first 10 minutes. Scotland left themselves with the Italian alps to climb and whose knows them better than the Italians - they defended the high ground well and the rest is history. This after the highs for Scotland of beating both England and France . . . lost to Italy (apologies to all Italians out there). Ireland thoroughly outplayed England and will be rue last weeks results where they had France (who beat Wales on Saturday) in the bag and then in injury time allowed them to snatch victory . . . so looks like France will win the 6 nations - so far unbeaten.

Graeme, my nephew, returned to South Africa on Tuesday - we hit Nando's @ X-treme on Sunday night a chicken eating frenzy ensued - had a few Brazilian beers and a relatively good night was had by all . . .he was out mostly for my Mum's 80th - He did not particularly like the Scottish way of life and I think even although he has enjoyed his stay with his mother I think he will be glad to get back. He took some of Arran's shirts and ties back for him. Speaking of which now that I am full-time student I qualify for rebate on my council tax and you do not pay any if you live alone. SO with Arran off back to South Africa I thought - fine time for me to sort this out - sent Council a letter with a copy of Arran's ticket - would they not right back an tell me they want the following documents:
1) A copy of Arran's lease agreement in South
2) a copy of his visa
3) proof that his bank statements are being posted / sent to South Africa

they were also kind enough to point out that they would not consider my application until such time as they were in receipt of all the above documents. Strange that when I wrote to them that he had arrived they immediately adjusted my council tax - nothing needed - no documentary proof . . . .lol

Stop Press! - Dumbarton enters the 21st century - we now have a Marks & Spencer's down at the local shopping centre - albeit (there's that word again) - a smaller version . . . Oh watch out Oh Judi'est one - what culinary delights might I be conjuring up now . . . the mind boggles . . . . not to mention the waist-line . . . lol.

Anyway that was my last week - how was yours . . . . .?
PS - From What the rest of the World Knows about South Africa - forum

Q: Will I be able to speek English most places I go? (USA)

A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first.

Q: I was in South Africa in 1969, and I want to contact the girl I dated while I was staying in Hillbrow. Can you help? (USA)

A: Yes, and you will still have to pay her by the hour.