'Blackwash at Maorifield' - All Blacks march on to RWC final ?

Eureka - at last . . .

My Tevion Internet Radio is finally working - my security code X76F 5G78 etc., is written as such so that it easier to decipher instead of all 26 numbers and letters being right nest to each other - so once I had worked this out it connected straight away - no problems - I have subsequently updated the software and we are tuning in as we speak. I am able to access 7545 radio stations from anywhere in the world - you are able to search by country or genre - which ever you like - it is also possible to create a profile on Reciva Radio Portal - and then choose a small sub set of the 7000+ stations - lets face it you don't want to have to listen too or scroll through 600+ stations tog et to the one you want - do you? Yes obviously it might be fun some of the time but in most instances I think you'll want to just tune in and listen to some predefined stations . . . .you see my Internet radio is actually connecting to the Reciva web site.

I am currently listening to 95.5 a Costa Rican Jazz radio station . . . I have listened to Radio Sonder Grense an Afrikaans radio staion - which alerted me to the fact that Gert Vlok Nel has released a DVD and bonus track CD - which I ordered shortly thereafter as well . . . (this was prior to getting it to work and it has given me some problems - recognises the station can only presume a problem with the radio station . . . .) It lists 36 stations for New Zealand starting with 95bFM and ends with ZM . . . . lol

All for now folks . . . time for sleep . . .

Vancouver

One of my favourite photo's that I took - see link at the bottom to view album.

Well as if the Lake District was not enough my Mum and I flew out to Vancouver to on 14 September . . . with Zoom airlines - a good deal . . . left Glasgow Renfrew @ 15h05 and arrived in Vancouver @ 16h30 the same day - flying West - 8 hours difference between us so it was roughly which was roughly 00h30 local time - so what did that make it about a 9 hour flight - it was all systems go on board the flight - 3 films dinner and a snack just before landing - wait might have been 4 films can't remember - didn't watch them was involved in 2 scrabble games . . . lol.

No great schedule ended up doing the following:
Day 1 - got lost ended up taking trolley tour of Vancouver well worth it as an overall orientation . . .
Day 2 - Indian Arm cruise
Day 3 - Granville Island & - Raincity Grill
Day 4 - Gastown
Day 5 - Chinatown & Grouse Mountain
Day 6 - Whistler
Day 7 - walk around Sylvia hotel area - where we stayed

My overall impressions - loved it - once again weather was, on the whole fantastic - we went up Grouse Mountain on a day when you couldn't see a cloud in the sky - it had rained the day before . . . could not have picked a better day . . . cruise day was a bit overcast - but it was quite warm most of the time . . .

A very diverse society - everything has to be bilingual - clothes labels even have to have S/P small & petite . . . Vancouver has 40% of the population which is Chinese . Took us a day to work out local transport system - there was a bus terminus close to our hotel could take either a No. 5 or No. 6 to get downtown - fare was $2.25 and covered you within 1 zone for 1 and a half hours - you could use bus, train or water bus in that time . . . difficult to judge but was comparable to local fares but obviously more integrated . . . something that is lacking here. Bus drivers were very helpful and in most cases were my tour guides in the city i.e. how to get from A to B - they often suggested alternative busses or routes for us -and my Mum who is getting on now appreciated not having to walk further than we had to . . . Food in supermarkets seemed slightly more expensive - but too be honest don't know my way around . . . alcohol similar or slightly cheaper a bottle of Dewar's just over $20.

But when your on holiday whose counting . . .lol.

English Bay was really lovely and was a popular gathering spot for watching the sun set . . .every evening. It also very close to Stanley Park a major recreational area in Vancouver.

Met the mystical Victor randomly on Thursday evening in the street . . .lol - then we went for breakfast the next morning a busy coffee shop - there were only two seats vacant - next to someone we had met the night before . . . yes Victor - strange how the world works - so the question is had we not met him the night before would we have in any event met him the next day????

Some links suggest, in passing by Victor: (thanks Victor)
The Calcium Bomb
Nexus Magazine

A very populous city - in some ways something like Hong Kong I imagine - all the high rises - spread over quite a large area . . . . making for very high density living . . . they are lucky to be surrounded by water and of course the park . . .

So once again here I am waxing lyrically about a place that I obviously hardly know but somehow made quite an impression on me in a rather short space of time . . . Vancouver photo's - enjoy

The Lake District

Well as you know I have finished and handed in my dissertation on Thursday 6 September, 2007 . . . so effectively finished my MSc . . . Judi in her wisdom and as a treat whisked me off to the Lake District on Friday . . . actually I slept over at her place on Thursday and after a lazy start to the day we hit the motor way . . . roughly 3 hours later we arrived late afternoon in Ambleside and what a lovely place it was and what amazing weather we had . . . . stayed at a lovely little B&B - walked around sampled some of the beer - ate at a Thai restaurant - had an argument made up - went for a cruise and generally Judi spoiled me. I've never been there before and what a lovely surprise it was both from just getting away but also how lovely it was down there . . . . well I can wax on and write a whole story - which is what I normally ddo however every picture tells a story . . . I will let them speak for them self . . .
The Lake District in pictures . . .

The Dancing Man

This kind of sums up how I feel - no words needed after finishing (I am assuming successfully) my Masters course and dissertation . . . . . lol

Dissertation Completed!

My dissertation:
A Comparative Analysis of Teaching Environments for Java Programming.

An extract . . . . .

Abstract:

The aim of this report is to investigate some of the most popular pedagogical and development environments and to determine how successful they are in assisting novice programmers in learning Java programming and object-oriented principles. A set of criteria will be drawn from reviewed literature as well as careful consideration of the challenges facing novices. This report will document the literature, the criteria and summarise the findings of the evaluation.

This dissertation starts by considering computer programming and its role within Computer Science. It gives an overview of how programming has been taught and covers the various approaches and research in this area. The report then focuses specifically on how pedagogical environments have developed over the years. The dissertation then looks at a set of pedagogical environments and evaluates each of them against set criteria drawn from literature and research. This evaluation is undertaken against a background of two things. Firstly, acceptance that learning to program is a difficult task. Secondly, the nuances and principles of object oriented programming need to be conveyed to students. These factors ultimately determine the influence and contribution that each of the pedagogical environments might make in assisting novice programmers successfully master both Java programming and object oriented principles.

Key Findings:
Alice is an outstanding pedagogical environment, well suited to introduce novices to object oriented (OO) principles.
BlueJ excels in removing some of the complexity of the syntax of Java programming, allowing simple interaction with classes and successfully introduces OO principles.
DrJava is a useful lightweight development environment and one of its advantages is that it can be used as a plug-in to simplify the Eclipse environment.
Jeliot is outstanding in its ability to automatically animate Java programs without any additional input. It also has a useful pedagogical tool that can automatically generate questions about the code that is being animated.
jGRASP is both a pedagogical as well as a development environment which has many features including, UML and animation viewers, to assist novices.
Eclipse is easily the most professional development environment evaluated.


“We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.”

Marcel Proust.
http://www.quotationspage.com

Acknowledgements To:

Murray Wood, my supervisor, for constant guidance and encouragement as well as football banter.
Judi for her forbearance, understanding and words of encouragement, ‘Work hard.’
My Parents (Tom & Nancy) – without whom – let’s face it - I wouldn’t be here.
www.Somafm.com for keeping me sane and introducing me to some amazing new music.

Handed in Thursday 6 September, 2007. Hard to believe that I started both this course and this Blog 1 year ago . . . . how time has flown.

I Hit Strathclyde running - My 1st Blog entry

South Africa Vs Scotland - Wow!

Left for Murrayfield - Judi had offered to come and pick me up as that way I would loose minimum time for studies - so she drove over from Edinburgh - passing Murrayfield along the way and came and picked me up - we drove back and were there in plenty of time - I am the most laid back person but I really don't like rushing - I like to be laid back and being in plenty of time allows me to do this. Well we had no sooner hit the A82 when the one windscreen wiper came flying off - pulled over to the side of the road and stuck it back on - Mr Fixit - on our way again - a sign No! . . . parked the car and I had my Springboks beanie on - no sooner out the car than I was roped in to a tug of war . . . we lost . . .

There was almost a carnival atmosphere in the air . . . they had lots of caravans selling beer - but they were all mobbed anyway after queueing for ages managed to get 2 beers - Judi had disappeared into another queue that looked shorter - but she was still standing there by the time I had been served . . . mostly South African supporters drinking and making merry - good banter and lots of Afrikaans being spoken - I almost felt at home . . .

Anyway with about 15 minutes to spare we took our seats just in time to see the teams come out and warm up a little and then time for the national anthems - I told Judi to listen to the SA anthem as it has 3 languages - starts off in Xhosa Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika; then Afrikaans followed by English - I said to listen to the volume - that will be when the Afrikaans kicks in and true enough the Xhosa was there but by word when it went into "Uit die blou van onse hemel . . .
Die Stem . . . the wave of sound just crashed over us - I was singing along anyway . . . . Then it was time for all of us Scots to (I'm getting a bit confused here - which cap do I have on now) to out sing the Springbok fans - sort of an unofficial match in itself . . . something both the Welsh and Irish excel at as well . . . we don't mind when they lose anyway . . . . so we launched ourselves into O Flower of Scotland, . . . and if I am honest I saw a few Springbok fans helping us out - perhaps returning the favour . . . who won I would have to say Die Stem - but as that is not the whole anthem Flower of Scotland took it.



As a warm up game for South Africa it probably did not feature too highly - after Scotland's outstanding performance against Ireland which they won 31 - 21 - I have to say I expected much more from Scotland. Give them their due they started off well and it was all Scotland for the first 20 minutes roughly - Scotland basically stayed in South Africa's half and it looked it could turn into a very interesting game - however I have to say I found the Scots very 1 dimensional - always trying the same thing and given the score line - you can see it just didn't work - at all - Scotland scored first with a penalty kick and were off to a good start we thought. However from Scotland's point of view that was as good as it got . . . . South Africa on the other hand after a very shaky first 15 minutes (your wondering hmmm Scots played well for 20 mins but Boks only played badly for 15 maths don't add up) well that was how it went and then the tide turned and it was all South Africa and it soon became a case of how much they were going to beat Scotland by . . . I found myself drifting during the game listening to snippets of Afrikaans being spoken - re-connecting in a way with the natural friendliness of the Afrikaner - who can be an incredibly social animal especially when his team and country are walking away with the game - yes there was some arrogance from some of the younger Springbok supporters - which at times bordered on taunting but on the whole as it normally is with rugby in this fine nation it was good light hearted banter - I say this because the same can not be said for a football game anywhere in the UK - Arran and I went to Hampden to watch Scotland and USA - wow you basically get hemmed in one area and that's it you sit down - and watch the game - except the whole Tartan Army (Scotland's fanatical football supporters) they stand for the whole game and sit down at half time - but they are on their feet again immediately there is any hint of the ball being kicked again. That was an experience . . .anyway back tot he rugger.

Second half I am afraid to say was boring - no points were added the whole of the second half - we had to start a Mexican wave . . . . I think the Springbok coach said right how can we get the most out of the 2nd half - I know we'll let Scotland attack and we'll see whether we can just prevent them from scoring . . . which they did - Scotland did mount a few useful attacks but it never came to anything - why run into 4 Springbok players?? Is your name Moses??? Scotland did it time and time again - not once did it pay off - what happened to a little chip over the back-line and run onto the ball - remember they have to turn and chase - you just run onto it . . . but no we will run through the Springbok defence - duh! No I don't think so boys, you'll need to be a bit more creative than that . . . . What was the final score Scot 3 - South Africa 27.

We sat around afterwards had a beer and a hot dog - just basking in the sun - turned into a lovely day actually a braai (barbecue would have been great) anyway hit the road and we decided to just get a take-away and I had decided it made sense to go and order a pizza - go to ASDA and then come back for the pizza well that was the plan . . . (sinister music plays quietly in the background) - ordered pizza - back in the car - car wouldn't start - Judi member of AA - phoned them to come out to assist us. Round about this time I noticed I didn't know where my phone was - turned out I lost it ???? or it was stolen off me - who knows -bottom line its gone - used Judi's line to report it stolen - that was that - when I reported it to the police my reference number is mck280807 - that shows me just how organised they are . . . NOT!

We waited about 45 minutes - luckily we had our pizza's before they came out - it was the battery - need a new battery - they started it we drove it up to my place parked it on hill (it is Barrwoodhill after all) and I drove down to Asda to get some supplies . . . - next morning car would not start - a quick push down hill and got it going - before we left I suggested we go to Halford's and have a new battery fitted - you see there was almost no petrol left in the car plus what would Judi do to get to work tomorrow etc., - anyway done that and walked across to carphone warehouse to get a new sim card and I ended up buying a cheap pay as you go phone - so I would be contactable again.

And that was the weekend . . . . Wow! - Bring them on I have been heard to say what with my experiences the previous weekend and this now . . . I'm beginning to think - perhaps it was unwise to say so . . . . I could tell you tale of the £160 and how it was there but not there - and because it wasn't there the problems it caused . . . even although it was there . . . .lol

Cya
Andrew