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Living in Southampton, Page 4

Intellectual Bad-Ass

I'm off on a first aid course tomorrow for my Jiu-Jitsu club. Should be interesting and I have done some basic DR. ABC before (though it's probably more like DRY. ABRCDEZ... now). Also teaching freshers (and 4th-years) some Jitsu which is giving me the opportunity to practice my ability to explain things in plain English and to demonstrate that I'm an intellectual bad-ass. Some good news: I've been offered a gig up in my hometown of Bristol. Continue reading →

First Blog

As this is my first blog, I would like to keep it short and interesting rather than oversized and boring. At some point a few months ago, I found myself digging within this student blog trying to get some answers, trying to understand what was coming, trying to be prepared; and I have to say that it was very helpful, especially because I got the answers I was looking for. Continue reading →

Reintroduction

This entry is a brief reintroduction for people who have not read my blog before and an indication to its future direction. At this point, I'm a mature student - comes with being ten years senior to most of my fellow students - studying Computer Science, and this will be my third year at the University of Southampton. I've worked in the IT industry as a developer for several years prior to my re-entry into study. Continue reading →

Royal Academy of Engineering

I wrote back in April about an award I received from the Royal Academy of Engineering. Two weeks ago, just before the start of Freshers' Week, I got to make use of this for the first time with a weekend conference in Birmingham where I got the chance to meet the other winners from top engineering departments across the country and attend a series of personal development workshops. Continue reading →

IT Innovation

As you may have read I've done a summer internship at IT Innovation. At first I did some user interface design work, followed by some business process modelling, and finally, some Twitter research! I researched how to rank users based on their influence rather than using a trivial method such as looking at the amount of followers they have. Continue reading →

Fourth Year…

So here I am at the start of four years in Southampton. And the first week and a half have been more eventful than I could have thought. Living in halls is a great experience, and the best part is being completely self-sufficient. Before coming here I had never done my own washing (Mum’s job), cooked for myself properly (Mum’s job), or had to think about money so much (also Mum’s job). Continue reading →

University Eve

University Eve I write on the eve of another university year. Freshers week has passed and was an opportunity to get back to see friends after the summer period. Even in the age of IM and Facebook, going down the pub reigns supreme. In amongst the relaxed air of relative freedom, I detect a more sombre mood as the experience of the second's year graft has sunk in, with the majority expecting a repeat performance to maintain their marks. Continue reading →

Innovation strikes back

Innovation strikes back People who have read this blog may recall that I spent last summer at the IT Innovation Centre. For those unfamiliar, IT Innovation is a company which is owned by the University Of Southampton and develops ideas generated at ECS with partners from industry. My original intention this summer had been to put my feet up and relax. Continue reading →

Decisions, decisions…

Decisions, decisions ... I'm a big fan of flexibility. Being asked to make a rushed decision is not something that I welcome. My landlord will no doubt be asking in late November as to whether we want to renew our house contract or start showing some over-eager freshers around to take our place. Note to freshers: leave it to after exams in February; the people in the houses will be more friendly and the houses aren't going anywhere. Continue reading →

We’re Back!

Trust me, if I had thought a year back that I would be writing this then my past self would have wanted to stab my future self, but in spite of myself I have to say – I really missed Southampton. After a break of almost 4 months, it’s amazingly amazing to be back. Right now, I have given up the comforts of living in a university hall and have taken up the challenge to dwell in a nice antique house. I am calling it antique because it really is. Continue reading →