Author Archives: eb1v07
life is a Funny Thing
April 15, 2010
Life is a funny thing. It can chew you up, spit you out, occasionally steal your hairbrush, but what makes you really want to shake your fist in its general direction is when you realise that, quite against your wishes, it has set itself to fast forward. Since when was it allowed to be April [...]
Posted in Living in Southampton, Project Work, University of Southampton Life Tagged deadlines, events, LaTEx, learning to drive, life Leave a comment
Holiday at last!
December 10, 2009
Holiday at last. Well, almost. I’m back at my parents’ house a little early this year to help out with a radio play my dad is staging. The fact that I just said “staging” should be raising a few eyebrows. My dad is trying to recreate all the fun/insanity of watching a radio play being [...]
Posted in Living in Southampton, University of Southampton Life Tagged christmas, holiday, Nativity, new year, Parents Leave a comment
Writing a Novel You Will Need a Rack of Swords
November 21, 2009
Someone, somewhere is trying to kill me. I am quite convinced of this fact, to the point of installing a rack of swords next to my bed (more on that later) and chanting prayers to minor gods as I moved between lectures. Unfortunately, I suspect all this effort may well be in vain, as the [...]
Posted in Living in Southampton, University of Southampton Life Tagged competition, novel writing, support work Leave a comment
The Corkboard is filled with Random Bits of Paper
November 6, 2009
On the wall above my desk, is a large cork-board. One half of this currently has on it a random jumble of bits of paper including my lecture timetable, a map of the university, the passcode for my wireless internet, and a picture of Prince William on a motorbike cut out of the Metro. The [...]
Posted in Living in Southampton, University of Southampton Life Tagged computer graphics, corkboard, Gordon Brown, Lectures, Programming Leave a comment
Individual Projects – Its Love/Hate
October 18, 2009
Well, two weeks gone and I’ve decided that individual projects require a “Love/Hate” relationship. Reasons to hate them are many and varied. To start with there are Gannt charts. They’re a little like brussel sprouts: good for you, but that doesn’t stop them leaving a foul taste in your mouth. Although, in the case of [...]
Posted in Project Work Tagged gantt charts, individual project, Library, ogranisation, Research Leave a comment
Back Again
September 1, 2009
A month of summer to go, and I’m back in Southampton. My time away has been eventful (in parts), but there’s something irreplaceable about walking down Portswood Road in my trampling-the-unworthy boots and just thinking, “I’m back”. Said beloved boots have been a little neglected while I’ve been away. Much of my summer has been [...]
Posted in Living in Southampton, Project Work, University of Southampton Life Tagged Croatia, Dubrovnik, Enthusiasm, Return, Summer, Third Year, Travelling Leave a comment
Group Revision
June 1, 2009
At last, the end is in sight. Three exams have been beaten back, leaving just maths skulking in the corner, hissing menacingly. Come Tuesday, one of us will be a gibbering wreck. For now, I’ve got two more days to sharpen my lance and work out what in the name of engineering is up with [...]
Posted in Exams Tagged Exam, Library, Mature Leave a comment
Computer Systems Engineering Lab Partner
May 16, 2009
“Oh yes,” says my lab partner, taking his hand slowly off the dials of our laser-powered-communications-testy-ma-thing. “I am the MASTER of fine adjustments!” It had sort of got to that point. You can only spend so long meticulously observing “laser safety” before the insanity starts to creep in. It didn’t help that we were all [...]
Posted in Electronics and Computer Science, Project Work, Software Engineering, University of Southampton Life Tagged Algorithm, Computer Science, Laser, Third Year Leave a comment
Writing My Own C# Game
April 2, 2009
I’m typing this on my netbook, surrounded by piles of a teenage boy’s laundry. Next to me, someone is fighting off a combination of head-grabbing aliens and gas-mask wearing policemen (courtesy of Microsoft’s Xbox360) while, somewhere in the distance, a King Charles spaniel snuffles around looking for a free meal. I must be home for [...]
Posted in Electronics and Computer Science, Project Work, Software Engineering Tagged C#, computer games, Programming, project work Leave a comment
There are Lies, Damn-Lies and Statistics, Or Maybe Not
March 12, 2009
Some people say there are lies, damn-lies and statistics. My computer systems lecturer disagrees. He says there are lies, damn-lies, statistics and benchmarks. After nearly a week spent slowly disappearing under a mountain of chips, wire and code, I’ve thought up a new one: There are lies, damn-lies, statistics, benchmarks and things-you-wrote-in-your-design-project-plan. The following explanation [...]
Posted in Project Work, Uncategorized, University of Southampton Life Tagged computer systems, ECS, project work, statistics Leave a comment