Dumbarton Rd; Chair; Bed; Travel; Dissertation;

Well it was the week of toothache . . . eventually managed to get a emergency appointment . . and really felt that I was butchered . . . last Wed 14h05 walked in - first question was which tooth was giving you the problem - a logical question - I didn't have a definitive answer - so we took an x-ray and then he blew air in amongst my teeth - well the very first one it was OUCH! that's him - he then told me there was nothing wrong with my crown - I'm like OK - and then he told me I had had root treatment on my crown - do we see a pattern here . . I told him I had had extensive root canal work on my crown . . . so he had to take a filling out to get a look at what was going on but first he gave me about 4 injections - felt way too much - I was still shaking when I left and you know how you feel your face is all swollen well mine was . . . he took out my filling and then drilled some of the tooth away and put in a new filling - now all my other teeth feel quite smooth - this one feels like a gravel road if you know what I mean - feels very rough - almost like it was an emergency appointment - wait a minute - it was - Hmmm maybe - but I'm not convinced - I must say he kept up a running commentary - apart from that he had a couple of aerial pictures on the ceiling so at least I had something to look at - I think they should have flat screen TV's flat on the ceiling - but hey! What do I know . . lol - Anyway I have another appointment on Wed - with both my dentist and oral hygienist . .

So what have I been up to - well had to use some whisky again as local anaesthetic again - damn that is me run out now - seeing as I don''t pay for medicine at moment - you think I could go to off-lic and get a bottle for medicinal purposes - No??? Hmmm.

T'otherwise been a quiet week really - Judi was on week's leave - still suffering with yon eye infection apart from that she just had a lazy week - hanging out with the boys - taking the boys to the airport - lol . . . 2 sons left the country - No, they're coming back . . . .

Me watching a bit The Wire still - finished Harry Potter - a bit drawn out really and didn't think the 19 years later part was necessary . . . I think your own imagination is better in that regard - perhaps she done because she had made that decision that there would be no more 'arry Potter's??? Not sure.

Still in limbo with PhD - had preliminary discussions with paisley and I am very excited about undertaking the studentship - Games-based learning is something I think I could really get into . . .looking forward to starting . . . but need to complete my dissertation first . . . how is it going your thinking - still loads to do - more or less finalised criteria and thus far worked through all the tutorials for each environment - now need to move over to evaluating each one against the rest of the criteria. I have a number of programs and want to introduce faults into the programs and see how each environment deals with it - error messages it generates whilst writing it and then debugging and how that works - still on schedule but time is running out . . . next 2 weeks crucial.

Friday night went through to my Mum and we had a good couple of drinks not been seeing much of her lately - work; travel; Edinburgh; etc., - anyway good catch up and a good blether - we hit Dumbarton Road all the charity shops working our way along - Maureen my sister came along and she was looking for toys for her 2 grandchildren coming out soon - me just looking - cut a long story short my Mum getting on in years has been struggling to get up / out of chairs recently and we had told her (Maureen and I) she needs one of yon lazy boys - why not? One of the chairs with remote - where you can stretch out but it also tips forward to throw you out - no well help you out of the chair. So we spy ed one - well Maureen did and I led the charge and my Mum bought it - then on the way out a bed caught my eye and it was one of yon electric beds - so you can sit up to read etc., and she bought that as well . . . shop assistants were calling her the Bionic woman before she left - one guy said all you need is a power cut now . . . lol - so that was Saturday and as you know today Sunday has been a bit miserable - but I don't really mind as it fine for me when I am working as it is somehow easier when it is cold wet and overcast - it is murder sometimes when it is lovely weather and you are stuck inside typing away trying to be creative with words when it would be nice to be strolling along the waterfront or somewhere in the sun . . . .lol

Another snippet of information - might be off to New York next month . . . still need to do my research - flight prices / accommodation etc.,

Photo's - Czech Republic: Prague - Lenin Marx Engels photo by Radim Beznoska - the three liars - celebrating independence from Russian domination. Monthly wages in Zimbabwe - money but its worthless . . . just Germany after world war 2 . . . USS Enterprise sailing through the Suez canal - show of force for Iran's benefit - photo Be Curtis; Zapiro - infant mortality rates in South Africa - swept under the carpet; Bush & Brown meet for the fist time - Rowson

Read all about it:

• Removable permanent tattoo's - Contradiction in terms


• kids sentenced to life in prison - yep America


• Listening to Sum 41


• Watching: Spider cat


• Watching: Cat Hello!

Iraq wins; Toothache; Judi's Birthday; Barcelona; Dissertation

So the fairy tale finish to the Asian Cup would have been for Iraq to have won and what happened . . . . they won . . .Good Luck & Congratulations to them! More celebratory pictures

The awesome waves are surfing in Cape Town . . . pictures of Iraq celebration & Cape Town courtesy of Guardian - cartoons of Le Tour - Zapiro from Mail & Guardian South Africa.


OK so where are we since last week - well the first thing that springs to mind . . .can't think why is this toothache I have at the moment . . . . I have a dentist and the oral hygienist appointment for next week - but I had had toothache off and on and decided to get an emergency appointment as well . . . . seeing as I am unemployed student at the moment - it is free - thank goodness - well went in this afternoon and
his first question is right which tooth is it? I'm like right don't worry step aside I know exactly which tooth it is I placed this dye on it last time it was aching . . . . i.e. I don't have a clue - Monday night - it was so bad I couldn't even concentrate - could hardly speak to Judi - was in so much pain - all I can say is thank the Lord for whiskey - as I used that as a local anaesthetic and it eventually worked - - - Yes, before I passed out . . . lol . . . well - I could not specify exactly which tooth he worked on the one that reacted to air being blown on it . . . . now I have so much toothache I'm not sure we addressed the correct tooth . . . thank goodness I kept my appointment for next week Wednesday - hopefully we can sort out these teeth because -there is only so much whiskey a man should have to drink for medicinal purposes - seeing as I only had Malt whiskey that is what I used . . . . . It is funny - when your healthy and fine you don't spare a thought and when something is wrong - how it changes your life - how unpleasant things can be . . . you don't realise what it is to be healthy - you just take it for granted and something as simple as toothache - shows you - how helpless / what a difference it makes when you are healthy . . .



Well last Saturday went through to Judi's - we had the Barcelona vs Hearts game on Saturday - I had worked at Loch Lomond Folk Festival as a steward on the Friday and had said I wasn't coming through until Saturday - I am a glorified parking attendant really - tell people where they can and can't park - where caravans can go etc., - actually beginning to get to know some of the characters involved - Wilma & Campbell; Andy; etc., as well as some of the guests that turn up regularly every year - people recognised me I recognised them - for some it was their 4th or 5th year for me it was my 4th year in a row . . . and I intend being back there next year . . . .

I had my right hand side mirror removed from my car Friday evening - the other one had been trashed a number of months ago - this time it was almost professionally removed almost as if to order . . . .???? I was on the phone to Judi on Friday evening and I said to her - " the natives are restless tonight, I don't think I'll even put my head up and peer at them over the top of the couch, they might just put another brick through the front window. . . ." - little did I know they were removing my side mirror as we spoke . . . my car is know un-roadworthy and I could be fined in its current situation . . . my Mum is very keen for me to move out of this area . . .

On to Barcelona / Hearts game - 'not worth expanding upon' . . . . I really think of Barcelona as one of the teams in European football . . . and players like Ronaldinho; Eto; Messi; Thuram; Guti etc., have always meant so much to me . . . so I was more than excited to see them play . . . the opposition in this game meant nothing to me . . .there were many Hearts supporters there - the first half was the highlight as the second half had so many changes - we did get to see Henry - and he made a good goal by laying off the ball . . . but the level of football 2nd half was not as good as the first half . . . I enjoyed the experience . . .


It was Judi's Birthday on Sunday - I had already taken her to Rome on her Birthday but sent her some flowers for the actual day . . . . in the evening it had been decided that we would go for dinner and if any of the boys wanted to come along they were more than welcome . . . turned out all four of her sons; Andy; Pete; Mike & Tom all came along and Naz, Mike's girlfriend, came along as well . . . Now between you & I - I had never met Tom yet - and there was some issues there (not from my side) - so I was more than curious as to how it might go . . . . nothing to worry about - it all went fine - met Tom we shook hands and that was about it . . . . . we had a very pleasant evening . . .it was special for Juid as she has not seen all 4 her boys together for quite some time - so she was pleased and ended up footing the bill - so the boys were pleased . . . .lol.


So what's up? I am still plodding away with my dissertation. Hence the BlueJ welcome screen . . . one of the IDEs I am looking at . . . what with toothache and all - been a bit difficult to get going sometimes . . . but still more or less on target - need to cut down and precise my work more . . .


I have receive another PhD rejection slip which I don't think I mentioned - Loubourgh Uni - that leaves 2 - Paisley with whom I had the interview last week and Glamorgan - whom I haven't heard from at all, yet . . . If Paisley is successful - I have decided to move to within walking distance from the uni as this is a 3 year commitment . . .I will probably have to go private for this . . . but location is important here.

So they say lightning never strikes in the same place twice ???

Morally abhorrent - but the UK Govt. knew about these renditions - who is fooling who ???

Lastly - if you remember my link to 'The Wire' TV series - courtesy of the Guardian - I've been watching and really enjoying some of the rest of the episodes - using Bit Torrent - downloading the episodes and watching them . . . . then it turned out it was in a format I did not have a player for MCV - needed to download a player as well - very impressed with the quality though - downloads very slow though . . . . but hey! when you dealing with a busy man . . . not a problem. Main sources torrentspy.com and of course other sites like . . . . www.mininova.com

All for now folks . . . .

London in pictures; Travel; Exhausted; Sam & Hud; Floridita; Regent's Park

Oops - late addition - check this out The Wire - full pilot episode - very good - well worth watching - starts on FX channel - which I ain't got . . . ! anyway hope you enjoy. (you have to click on the here word in the write up - could have made it a bit more obvious - I think!

Photo's - me: Judi & I; Regent's Garden splendour of colour - link to full album at the bottom of this blog post; a couple of cartoons Steve Bell showing Brown with cannabis story; Blair & Bush as well as kids Zapiro from Mail & Guardian; Water Babies and scary frog supposed to be an enjoy your weekend grin . . .



Well the great London extravaganza is over - Judi attended her seminar on fertility - Sam & Hud moved into there new home in Ealing - and I kinda hung out a bit - have to admit a wee bit behind on my personal schedule although I believe I will make it up still.

So where did it all start - last Friday basically - left here about 14h00 drove down the station left my car there and caught the train into Glasgow - then caught a bus to Buchanan street bus station (I wasn't really in a hurry) - well bus was empty between Queen street & Central and then we somehow managed to pick up half of Scotland . . . or so it seemed - there was no room for any more luggage and I think every seat was occupied on the bus - I had a kid next to me, about 14 or so - asked me if I was just coming back from my holidays - explained I was off to London - he told me half his family lived there - didn't press him on that - his Mom was with him - could have been his sister - he had a dog on his lap that was panting the whole time - it was too hot to even say hello . . . an Asian chap with about 6 kids - a lot of elderly women another family - as I say it was loaded . . I got off - had to dig my suitcase out from underneath all the baggage . . Caught the 15h30 Citylink from Buchanan street - was quite empty really - turned out to be an express of sorts (not via Bellshill) anyway an uneventful journey - I did read The Big Issue and an interesting article - which I would have to say I agree with says Blair's other legacy - is Housing or should we say the lack thereof and the soaring prices . . . Now I am no economist but if I am selling something and it is a one of a kind it becomes priceless - with houses there are so few and an incredibly high demand the result is that people are prepared to pay over the odds for it . . . the question is why are there so few houses - is this natural has it just happened or has it been manipulated and controlled to the point that people are making much more than they should . . . I pity first time buyers out there it is a veritable minefield and parents are having to put up with the pleasure of their siblings company longer than they had planned or in some instances hoped . . . Simple answer build more houses and lots of them - The States went through a very similar cycle - they kept on building there was no end to the demand - build them and we will come policy - well guess what it has turned the corner and now they have in excess of 1.5m homes that they can't sell . . .don't worry we'll never see that here - but I do think the market will correct itself - so what am I saying - another 3 years before we see anything happening - that's how long it would take to start building and get the houses on the market etc., - cash in while you can . . . of course I could be wrong - will prices fall . . . hmm now there's an interesting one - they could and they might - that all depends on what comes on the market and where . . .most larger cities are build up by about as much as they can be so you won't suddenly see 200 000 house come on the London housing market - so it won't make a major impact on their house prices - but I do agree with the article Blair has more than Iraq to answer for . . .

So there I was on the Citylink bus reading my Blair article - something about him just grates me - anyway enough of him . . . Arrived at Waverley to catch the bus for Edinburgh airport - and pray why am I leaving from Edinburgh as we have our own airport - somewhat scarred by a 4x4 - well this was because it was easier for Judi - we went to Rome from Prestwick - OK Ryan air don't fly from Edinburgh - Hey were going to South Africa in march next year from Glasgow - so only seemed fair - caught 17h30 bus - is anyone reading this . . . lol - or thereabouts and we had ages to wait as our flight was only 20h40 - when we arrived they wouldn't even take our luggage - shooed us away - told us to come back later . . . . - anyway found an amazing bottle of whisky whilst doing my rounds - Glenmorangie - 100% proof - very special as a house warming present - cost a fortune - money doesn't matter in these instances - I think she was suitably impressed . . . eventually arrived in London about 22h30 - had to then make our way to the tube - had to change at Leicester Square -could have gone straight had I known Russell Square was actually closer than Euston -oh well arrived @ Tavistock at about 00h15 or thereabouts - I had a fancy new suitcase - cost me £9.99 - I should have known - turned out to be rubbish - to be fair I had a hell of a lot in it - but if anything should have been more stable not less in my mind??? - anyway it had a hole in it before we even arrived at the hotel . . .

Next day up early-ish - down for breakfast - for some or other reason we were both very thirsty - rushed for the juice and ugh - not only was it warm - it tasted watered down as well . . . ugh! - I was not impressed - expected something nice and cold - what a shocker. Food - OK - service bad; I was nearly knocked of my feet by a waiter who just carried on walking ???? - it had its pluses - main one being location - it was really in a great location - Judi could just walk to her seminar - we could also easily walk to Covent Garden; Soho; King's Cross; Piccadily Circus etc., so that is really its main feature - next time I'll book into Holiday Inn - you know what you are going to get - Tavistock was just a bit jaded - clean enough - fine in that respect. We had a corner room - overlooking the square - I could not sleep properly - with all the traffic - 24 hours a day - also seemed to be a main route for ambulance; fire brigade; police and anything else with a siren - would wake up in the middle of the night - with loud wailing noises from whatever was passing . . . it was very hot which meant I had window open which made it worse . . . vicious circle.

Anyway - took a quick walk to see where Royal College of Physicians was - near Regent's Park - Park Square East - and we were pleasantly surprised that we were only 10 minutes away - spent the day in Regent's Park - went through to Soho afterwards then for dinner that evening - Floridita - 100 Wardour Street - Floridita, the amazing new addition to London's restaurant scene. Floridita is all about passion for life… authentic charm… authentic exhilaration… authentic Cuba!

With a live Cuban band every evening, Floridita is the number one live entertainment restaurant and bar in the heart of the capitals West end. I must say it was fantastic - food was great - we managed to get a special Sam is a member of a club called Top Table - ended up costing us an arm and a leg - I had to go the full hog and have a cigar afterwards . . . which made me a little ill for a while - but not as ill as some people . . .lol - a great evening was had by all.

Next day went through to Sam & Hud's new place and hung out with them - Judi joined us later we just sat outside and had a few drinks and pizza . . . Judi was exhausted - so was Sam . . .

Monday - I studied - and in the early evening Sam joined us we all went to Nando's - which Sam paid for then back to the hotel and a fairly early evening . . .

Tuesday I started coming down with something - not sure what - I was exhausted - felt unwell on plane - slightly nauseous - pains all over - short of breathe - which has carried on for most of the week . . . straight to bed when we got back to Judi's place . . . up early - caught Citylink - slept most of the way when I got home I was exhausted and slept most of the rest of the day . . . its only today Friday that I have started to come right again - having said that woke up yesterday Thursday and could hardly walk - when I went to sleep my ankle was fine - woke up could hardly walk on it . . . .???? This evening I have toothache - I have been forced to have a glass of whiskey . . . medicinal purposes, I assure you . . lol - Oh well that is more or less my week - been struggling to do my uni work - kicked in OK today but it has been a struggle concentrating . . . what do you think of this RockYou photo collage - not sure I like it so much any more . . . only two links to share with you - firstly I am including one of the photo's of he water babies form last week and now let's see - Oh yes Swan upping - another side of life again . . . and then something else I came across which includes an amazing first photo colour-wise - anyway you be the judge . . . International News Photo's

Webshots Regent's Park album

Would the week be complete without a link to Harry Potter of course . . link courtesy of Hafsa who sent it to me . . . thanks - waiting for my copy of the book to be delivered on the morrow . . .

PhD Apps; Dissertation; Dinner; Geordie's Myre;

Pictures - most of them Harvie Nichols - shop windows - and if you look carefully they are self-portraits as well. Connor decided my mop of hair was the place to be and sat on / made himself comfortable for a wee while - until mike left the kitchen and took Connor with him - otherwise he might still be on my head. Firth of the Forth in the background.

Well the last bit of my title comes from an old song - an old folk song - I don't know it - can't really recall it but these words have been going round my head the last day or two . . .something about mucking about in Geordie's mire (just a bit of poetic licence in the title . . .) - what does it mean - not sure - I don't know - well now your probably baffled . . . . ???? Don't ask me I'm only the piano player so to speak . . .

Last week was a funny week - I was still struggling to find my feet - my topic for the dissertation had been allocated and I had decided enough 'faffing around' - I voted for it i.e. my first choice - I was lucky enough to be allocated the topic - loads of people were given there 2nd and even 3rd choice - or that's what they are saying - so who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth - where have I heard that line before . . . lol - so I decided to knuckle down and run with it . . . .

I started by reading the book Writing your Dissertation written by Derek Swetnam that I had bought and found it to be a useful introduction to getting started. Plenty of useful tips and pointers / things to guard against and watch out for. Armed with this I was able to draw up a projected plan with rough guides as to when I should hopefully have finished various sections of my work - so I have a number of milestones and I will have to try and stick to them - my first milestone should be towards the end of next week . . . I foresee a lot of hard work between now and then . . .

I have set up my first official meeting with my supervisor and will discuss focus and structure with him on Tuesday - this will become a weekly event - to ensure that I stay on track.

I have sent off an number of applications now for my PhD
1) University College Dublin - OJAX++
2) Loughborough University near Leicester - Health Care tracking
3) Glamorgan University (near Cardiff) - Computing Education & Learning
4) Paisley University - Games-Based Learning
and await feedback. Its a big step - it will be a lot of work - I believe if I don't do it now I will never get round to doing it . . . so I am highly motivated to continue studying now that I have started . . .

Judi had some things on the weekend so never saw her - Sunday morning though she phoned me and invited me over for dinner - which I accepted - she had cleared the kitchen and she & I had a lovely candlelit evening - the boys drifted in and out once or twice but basically we were left to our own devices and it was quite a change - we are usually left to our own devices - it was just nice and I was made to feel very special . . . a lovely evening.

Monday night my computer drop-inn class and I found out that Alan has a doctorate - which was quite amazing - we have spoken about football once or twice but never really connected - he obviously has a passion for football and come to think of it seemed to have extensive knowledge of Rome - just shows you how prejudicial we are some times and now when he told me he has a doctorate I suddenly saw him in another light - I immediately respected him academically and for the first time perhaps saw Alan the person as opposed to Alan the person who checks up on me as to whether my time-sheets are up to date and my class register has been filled in etc., . . . a lesson there I think.

So not the most exciting week . . . and most of my weeks from now on will be head down and hard work . . . all necessary to get me where I need to be - if only our results would come out now - interested to see how my software construction went . . . more Java . . . not to mention Artificial Intelligencia . . lol

Nearly forgot went for my O2 interview with the agency Randstadt - turned out to be a bit of a waste of time - they phoned me and interviewed me telephonically on Monday afternoon and by the time I got to them 14h30 on Wednesday all - yes all the positions had been filled ????? They are now talking about end of July beginning of August before they will take anyone on again ????
Anyway I had time to kill before the interview and went into Borders as the interview was in Buchanan Street anyway - I even had a suit and tie on - wow first time in ages . . . didn't even wear one for my Mum's birthday . . . anyway went for coffee at Borders and on the way a book jumped off the rack at me the Secret by Rhonda Byrne well to cut a long story short - you probably will go to the web site (link) but it is all about your thoughts creating your own destiny and to prove it all after the interview I was telling Judi about the book and I was telling her about its all about thinking it and it will manifest itself and low and behold what happened - in the middle of Buchanan Street - I found £5 - amazing don't you think - you be the judge of that.

So long folks!

Blackness; A week of deadlines - DUS; MedioPlus; Java;

Well its another week and as promised here are a few Blackness photo's - OK technically they were not taken this week - don't tell anyone though . . . went for a walk with Mandy, Zack (our canine friend - a wee bit overweight - so he needed the walk - I can't talk) Judi & I - was a lovely neck of the woods - don't know it so it was a novel experience for me. Photo's: above me the famous Blackness Castle; Blackness the village & Marina; Judi after the walk; lovely colour from the flowers; looking out across to the Forth Road & Railway bridge; a tree trunk in the woods; Blackness Castle through the trees (as seen from the other side); my walk mates leading the way (me & my camera - continually stopping to click here and there) - A solitary tree that caught our eye.


Well its another week behind me - the end of the semester fast approaches - its been a hard week - 1 research paper - 2 presentations & 1 practical assignment with detailed report - I thought the report was a formality with the focus being on the code - but then I reread the spec - guess what it says a brief description of your program 10 pages I nearly died . . .on the spot . . .so bottom-line I never got the program to work - I think I was close - I know your saying a miss is as good as a mile . . .but I'm getting ahead of myself - that all happened on Friday - lets get back to last weekend . . .
Well Judi and I had discussed things and decided, realistically I had far too much work for us to see each other last weekend - she would end up feeling guilty and God forbid I didn't make any of my deadlines . . . a treacherous slope and easy to say its fine I'll manage . . . in retrospect as much as I didn't like it it was the correct decision - there is just no way I would ahve been able to cope - I worked last week solid - I was off the whole week - went in once for a meeting and that was it . . .

Anyway this week kicked off with AI on Monday - it was revision class and shhh! but some of it is actually making sense - I think if I now took the course again it would all fall into place - sadly that will not happen and my exam is on May 2nd - next weekend is looking more and more like another weekend where Judi & I will only see each other briefly . . . . Monday afternoon met with my e-Commerce team mates - they all showed up this time and I was able to share with them what my vision was and the presentation . . . all in prep for our initial presentaion for Tuesday . . . I nearly fainted when Murvin told me he had not started his DUS research papaer which had to be handed in the next day . . .I told him I had been working on it solid for a week and the formatting alone had taken me 1/2 a day - so I wished him good luck.

Tuesday morning - after a long night preparing the said research paper for hand-in was the launch of MedioPlus - our e-Commerce online music / tv / film / sporting & corporate and special events company - presentation was not flawless - but went down well . . . basically need some more work - everyone presented and all involved - meeting Monday next week to finalise material for hand in on Tuesday and sort out presentation . . . . Afternoon went well - was a wee bit nervous and at last minute PowerPoint played up on Mac . . .some of the slides images went a weird blue colour instead of white . . . . Murvin did not make it and by Friday was still working on it and had not handed in . . . we were given a mark out of 18 for research paper & out of 7 for presentation . . . Murvin did not do either so must have lost the 7 marks already . . .Oh well each to their own . . .

I was totally exhausted and knew I still had to finish my prgramming and write my report for Friday moring hand-in . . . couldn't work Tuesday evening - I contacted Murv and asked if he would help me on Thursday with program - he agreed and it was Wednesady evening before I was able to start report - to cut a long story short finished report Friday morning 10h30 and handed in - as I was saying code does not work but most of it is there - justhope what is there and my report pull me through.


Wednesday was just AI and Peter turned up with model answers - which sometimes left me more confused . . . that's AI for you - I did ask manay a question and received many an answer - sometimes when you don't know enough you can't ask meaningful questions . . .

Anyway - next week - have e-Commerce final presntation and hand-in portfolio which documents each week and how idea developed . . . Friday - presentation for Research Methodology + Essay and inbetween study for AI exam - hope to answer an old AI exam paper and hand it in for marking . . .

That was the week that was my life . . . - Judi here for the weekend - thank goodness . . . . lol - I missed her. . . .

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.

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.