Going away
Just a quick note to say that I’m on holiday in Wales for a week so no updates! But I have had an interesting week what with my ex-landlord trying to charge us for marks on the carpet that weren’t there when we left and my car being broken into! Anyway those stories will have to wait.
PS - This means that I can’t play weewar either - damnit!
1 out of 10 podiums just doesn’t happen!
The GP yesterday was one of those that many drivers will want to forget but for Lewis Hamilton it was just not his day. It reminded me of a couple of years ago where the same type of thing happened to Micheal Schumacher. He drove a fantastic race and ended up finishing ninth.
However Lewis did make some mistakes with the tyres and running off the track - with Jenson off in the same gravel trap I was thinking that the race would be pretty boring now as the Ferraris were looking like they were a match for anyone but the weather had other plans. Apparently Kimi would have stopped no matter the weather but without that last rain storm Massa would have won the race. I think that it will do Hamilton some good, has anyone else noticed the touch of arrogence that has crept into his demeanour? I know that it’s what we should expect from a guy that has been told he’s the best for some years but he seems to be losing the characteristic English sportsmans attitude, perhaps he’s just jesting but I have to say that it did make me think when he spoke about learning the other way when you don’t have to go up to the podium.
It was a good race in the end with lots of excitement all the way through and it’s a shame that JB spun out so early, it’s these type of conditions that he usually punches well about his weight in. Also Antony Davidson who went very well in the Super Aguri, DC also managed to get some points but I bet Webber’s podium will stick in his throat - especially after it was the teams cock up in qualifying.
Good Hunting
Fuzzy Rule base…
While I’m trying to avoid playing weewar I’ve been attempting to work the last two challenges of my research - agent negotitation over groups and a small fuzzy system to calculate the groupings (plus a search method to compare against).
It seems like each of these things is quite a difficult thing to master as there is lots of research pulling the methodology in both directions - particuarly the negotitation. Should it be voting based or persuasion based - I’m leaning towards persuasion.
I’ve also put up my second paper that’s been accepted in the proceedings of IE07 - it deals with another part of my research! I’m pretty sure that my brain will explode before I finish but I finally feel like I’m getting somewhere! Whoever said that doing a PhD was more an endurance task than a quest for knowledge was 100% correct! And to Vicky I say - be ready for the long slog…
Good Hunting
Damn adsl modem
I find it hard to live without the internet at home, especially when I’m trying to do work as google holds all of the answers for any programming issue. So when my cable modem started playing up the other day and getting very very hot I though, ah I’ll phone bt and get a new one - not so.
Apparently they just give you the modem and once it’s out of warrenty thats it, tough. So I’ve ordered one from dabs and it should be here post haste but in the mean time we’re offline - (I’m at uni writing this - I couldn’t spend the whole day without the internet!). Whenever there is a break in the internet service it just reminds me how cut off I feel and how stupid that is. Pre 96 I hadn’t even used the internet, how do we become so dependant upon it so quickly. I’m sure I’m not the only one. It’s also hard to live with dial-up which I suppose I can set up at home, although it hardly seems worth it.
What would life be like without the pervasive nature of the internet - or more correctly the world-wide-web - the internet could exist and be of little use to anyone. How would we bank? How would we communicate… I know that the answers are in the past but it does seem kinda strange that ten years ago there were only a few people with the internet and a 33k modem was the absolute cutting edge of technology how far we have come.
None of this fixes my modem which buzzes when I plug it in.
Good Hunting
Not getting around to it
It seems that the list of things I have to do gets longer and longer and I just never get around to posting any of the things I think about anymore rather when I get the time it’s just a journal type entry. That’s not really what I was going to use this for as my life’s not really that interesting unless you’re into Sensor Networks and Negotiation Protocols which I’m guessing isn’t a forte of the readership! So here’s a round up of some things that I wanted to post but never really gave justice to.
GP Pictures
The first few laps of Silverstone
On friday the weather was not so good.
Could it change?
The drivers parade…
The James and Nat Legacy… (It was the only thing they left behind!)
New Sofas
On Friday our new sofas arrived and while at first I was a bit dubious as to wether we really needed them, a quick trip to ikea has polished off any lingering doubts as along with a new rug and some ‘natural’ coloured things they look really good and they are comfy too.
Jon’s Birthday
Last night we were back in Colchester for Jon’s birthday, it seemed like a good time was had by all even Jon who’d had a few too many sakis by the time we arrived. Roland was told to be quiet in the pub which was a bit harsh - Roland was being his usual self but he wasn’t being rude or anything… I think the smoking area saved him.
The Smoking Ban
It was weird to go out last night and sit in an uncrowded pub with people clambering all over themselves to get outside - are that many people that desperate? It would seem so.
Tommy
Is fine. He survived the GP weekend by being fed by a variety of people and seemed to actually enjoy it, well I bet he got spoiled while my parents looked after him!
Gardening
Too much to do for the size of our garden! Did the people before us not do anything!
Work
I’m saying nothing apart from the fact my to do list covers an entire A3 Deskpad in reasonably small writing.
Good Hunting