January 2006 Archives

Frosty

The beach was frosty this morning, and the tide was high and the sun low.

The view from Jack's bedroom window is of frozen fields and woods this morning. And rising houses.

I'll Do It Tomorrow

In addition to that previous entry, I thought I'd mention that I finally got round to filing my tax return this evening (for year ending April 05). Just one day before the deadline. Sheesh. Every year I say I'm going to do this thing in April. It doesn't even take that long to submit online. It's finding the paperwork that's the pain. Fingers crossed that the servers are set to run under heavy load today and tomorrow, because I'm guessing that I'm not the only one filing at the last minute.

Work avoidance techniques

I went to see Blue C the other day. He's not all powered up yet, but he's all set up in a nice big room. He's our new IBM supercomputer at Swansea University, by the way.

Yes, OK, it's Sunday evening and I'm blogging because I'm procrastinating. I'm preparing my teaching for tomorrow morning (the anatomy of the pharynx) and I'm finding just about anything else I can do to avoid it.

Doing your homework on a Sunday evening doesn't get easier just because you get older.

Updates

Just to update you all, that thing the other day went fine (they always do, and I didn't hack up on anyone important), Cheltenham lost 2-0 to Newcastle (and made an awful lot of money in the process), and all of my computers are currently working. Kinda.

P-p-p-powerbook

Read the prank to catch out this eBay scammer.

Link.

Click click

I've almost got my home theatre PC back up & running after some major problems developed in the last week. Like it wouldn't start up. And it wouldn't play any media files. Which would be important for a multimedia PC.

So without going into details, lets just say I spent much time repairing XP & reinstalling drivers & software. Very dull, very frustrating. But now it all works. And it works well. I can't get the thing to crash, no matter how nasty I am to it. The picture from DVDs is great, all my music from iTunes is available in a slick interface, & all my TV shows play beautifully.

Now the sound has started to drop out occaisionally. Oh God. Its random. I check & recheck all the settings & driver versions I can. I observe & record CPU & RAM load to try and spot changes with the drops. I check XP's automated stuff. I defrag (because I can't think of anything else). I give up. Time for a coffee.

When I return to the room & switch the light on, Norah Jones' Come Away With Me loses sound for a beat. You know what? Whenever I switch a light on the sound drops out. Oh crap. This is just the atypical bloody thing that happens when building PCs. Bizarrely, the increased load (on a separate ring!) when switching a light on affects the sound output of my PC.

Why do I put myself through this?

Cheltenham Town vs Newcastle United

It's probably the most famous game Cheltenham Town will ever play, round 4 of the 2005-6 FA Cup against giants Newcastle United. It's great to read on the BBC Sport page, "Souness wary of Cheltenham", but not quite as nice to be regarded as "a potential banana skin". But hey, it's true. It should be a fun game, but unfortunately, I'll be taping it as we're out for the day. Go the Robins!

The police might be a little happier, as a big horse racing meet up at the race course today has been cancelled because of frozen turf.

BBC link.

Coff

Today, I ha' bin mostly coffin' up phlegm. Hack hack.

Note the time elapsed between Jack's birthday party and family illness (Kim's the same).

Timing

Today I have to do a very easy thing, but it has to be done well. The Head of Department has asked me to give a 5 minute tour of the Anatomy department to some visiting bigwigs - some people who are important to us and our funding. Easy peasy. No problem. Except that I woke up this morning with a sore throat and a head cold. I don't sound too good, and my brain is working even more slowly than normal. Forget those super impressive TV adverts that clear away the flu for a big event. They don't sell those on campus. Atchoo.

And this tie isn't helping. Fingers crossed.

Frozen

It was so cold this morning that my beard froze cycling to work. By the end of the Clyne Valley path the rear mech on my bike had frozen too, so I couldn't change gear until I gave it a bang. The sun was very welcome when I reached the bay - a beautiful morning. It's going to take until lunch-time to warm my legs up.

Middle left in this image is the Mumbles.

Jack's 3rd Birthday

Jack was 3 today, and he had a party in our new house. He had 10ish friends around, running around like looneys, plus parents. It was great that so many of his friends from Cardiff came all the way to see us, and Jack was chuffed to get to play with them all. So we're knackered now, and here are some photos.

The cake baker.

Speech!

Happy birthday to you!

Dusk at Caswell Bay

We went to Caswell last night, and took a few snaps.

Blogging Away

One of the nicest things about this blog (and admittedly one of its aims) is how friends and family from around the world follow what I'm up to, particularly when I'm traveling. When I got back from the US this week, almost everyone I spoke to knew what I'd been up to and where I had been. They had enjoyed the photos, and wondered if the PhD student had turned up. Great!

This blog is basically just a more interactive, easily updateable version of the old homepage style website I used to have. Nowadays I can upload photos, text and video from virtually any internet-capable device I happen to have on me, wherever I am. I don't need to email a ton of people, or worry about missing people out, because I can just say, "I'm going away, keep an eye on my blog". Interestingly, while I've been away two friends have started up their own blogs:

nowork
Gumby

If you know these two, then you'll probably want to add these links to your bookmarks. This blogging thing is just getting wider and wider, and with the advent of Apple's iLife 6 and it's iWeb feature, it's just going to get bigger. iWeb is absolutely revolutionary, and I suggest you go watch Steve Jobs' recent MacWorld speech to see what I'm talking about. I'm going to have to get my Mum a Mac...

Nick has used iWeb in his above blog, and I think I'll be using it soon to update and revamp Jack's website, to make it easier (and more appealing) for me to update semi-occasionally.

Last Few NY Pics

The Apple Store in NY. Here's the demo area, with great big comfy cinema style seats and a nice man at the front explaining to us all the good things about various bits of Mac software. This is a free, daily service, and is very useful. Why aren't all shops like this? The other clever part (pun intended) is the genius bar, which is hosted by several members of staff particularly knowledgeable about Macs, who solve your problems for free. I guess this indicates that Apple Macs aren't truly foolproof.

Star Wars figures in the FAO Schwarz toy store in NY on 5th Avenue. The two "sales assistants" were zooming around on articulated skateboards, attacking each other with light sabers with perfect sound effects. I didn't fancy the idea of trying to get one of those through airport security. I wonder when Jack will really get into Star Wars. He has watched pretty much all of the films (of course) and recognises the main characters...

Central Park in the snow. The third best time to see it, after "Central Park in the Autumn" and "Central Park in the Spring".

Found

Yes, the PhD student turned up. But his luggage didn't. Oops. His plane got delayed at LAX so he missed our planned flight. He only got back to Swansea about an hour later than me though.

Still no sign of his stuff.

Lost a PhD student

I've landed back in the UK, but without Gareth. He was supposed to meet me at JFK, but didn't make the flight. British Airways won't tell me if he's on another flight, so I'm waiting at Heathrow terminal 4 arrivals & using the web to trace possible airline problems. My coach leaves in an hour.

Last Day in NYC

It's my last day in the US and in NYC, so what am I doing? Yep, shopping. There are some cracking electronics bargains to be had, and it's good to see that J & R are even bigger than they were before the destruction of the twin towers. J & R is a huge, multi-shop store in the World Trade Centre neighbourhood. It now stretches along the whole block.

It snowed last night & the pavements are just sheets of ice now. I'll slip & slide my way uptown to find gifts for Kim & Jack. It's good to be back in NY, but I'm looking forward to going home.

American Museum of Natural History

Yeah, yeah, dinosaurs. But where are the jawless fish? Where are the tetrapods? In fact, the American Museum of Natural History has a fantastic looping display on the top floor, taking you through 250 million years of vertebrate evolutionary history. As an anatomist there was plenty of detail available to keep me happy, and likewise all the kids there were engrossed and entertained, so it's a great exhibit for all. There is so much information available that you could visit over and over again.

Yeah, OK, so here's another big dinosaur. To be honest I was far more interested in the earlier species and mammalian evolution, but hey, you've got to see the Tyrannosaurus Rex, right?

The marine life exhibit was also excellent, with a huge whale dominating the room. Seaworld was probably a bit more fun, but they didn't have a giant squid being eaten by a sperm whale.

The Darwin exhibit cost extra to visit, but it turned out to be well worth it. It was very informative, teaching you about both the man and the science. Thank God not all America has gone completely bonkers over evolutionary theory and intelligent design (pun intended). If you're seriously considering intelligent design as an alternative to basic scientific evolutionary principles, you really need to spend several hours in this museum (or similar museums) and attempt to refute all of the available evidence.

NYC

Mmmmm, great dumplings cooked in front of you. Tasty. *edited 17-01-06*

Woot! Subway.

NY WiFi

Crikey - look at the number of wireless networks visible from a typical Manhattan location! A few more than you see in Swansea!

Night in San Diego

Just a couple of night-time snaps from the other evening. I'm in New York today, so expect some pics from the Natural History Museum later.

San Diego to NY

I'm on a 5 hour flight across the diagonal of the USA, on the first part of my journey home. I love how flying home is shorter than flying away. The winds blow to carry me home. I left Gareth, the PhD student that works with me & who I went to the conference with back in San Diego. He's off up the coast to Los Angeles today, before meeting me at JFK airport on Sunday. It's a shame that my main science buddy Jo couldn't come, but she's very pregnant right now. While I've been away another medicine lecturer has given birth, 10 days early: congratulations Claire & family!

So I'm leaving the sun for colder, proper winter cities. I'm going to be reminded very soon that it really is January. Temperature & weather conditions in Swansea & New York are very similar at the moment.

So anyway, the conference was very useful for the two of us. The PhD student with an engineering background learnt a lot about joints, surgeons & scientists. I caught up with the latest info & developed a long list of ideas to convert into grant applications. And we presented a poster, so we contributed. For Swansea University & the School of Medicine it was hopefully the first of many associations with the sphere of joint disease & cartilage repair. As it were.

I get the weekend off now, so I plan to enjoy myself & relax a bit. I have plenty of fun things to do in Manhattan for the next couple of days. I haven't managed to contact all the people that I wanted to see, but luckily I did get hold of a couple. The city that never sleeps. Swapping time zones should actually help me in that regard.

The Goldie Lookin' Chain are playing on my iPod & reminding me of home. Kinda. Holy cow, I've got some Tom Jones on here somewhere. Damn, I'm really getting through some batteries on these long flights - laptop, PDA, iPod. I'm going to have to charge up in the airport just to find Molly's address.

More Zoo Pics

Here are some more pics - just snapshots taken by me or Gareth at San Diego's Zoo.

San Diego Zoo

We went to the zoo today! San Diego zoo in Balboa Park has a wide range of species in a very nicely constructed location. The larger animals had plenty of places to hide in though, so some were sleeping in the shade, out of site. We probably saw most of them though. The bears were hidden, but they and the big cats came out to see us later in the day. It was just about doable in 5 hours.

There's a panda webcam, among others, here.

Back off to New York tomorrow, to see my friend Molly. Then back to London on Sunday.

Henry's Pub

We avoided Henry's Pub initially because it sounded too English. Last night it was swinging (no, really it was: they had a swing and oldie rock band playing called Tommy Price and the Stilettos) and the locals obviously love the weekly swing night because the dancing was superb, with boys swinging their girls all around the dancefloor at high speeds. This band is very, very talented. Loud fun in the Gaslamp Quarter.

Unfortunately it meant we got back to the hotel late, and only managed 5 hours sleep before getting up for the conference at 7am. Starting work at 7.30am sucks - I'm glad it was only for 3 days. Very much worth it though.

Busy Day in California

Of course the ICRS is going on in San Diego, but also today Steve Jobs kicked off the Macworld Conference in San Francisco with a whole bunch of new toys for us to go out and buy. I won't ramble on about it - you'll be able to find a ton of info at www.apple.com and elsewhere on the web. Wow, I'm watching his speech via the webcast and I'm very impressed with all the updates and new goodies. Suffice to say, I'll be dusting off my camcorder when I get home and ordering iLife 06. I wish I could buy my mum and dad a Mac - it'd be so much more useful for them.

The ICRS has been giving some good science today. Lots of good info. I'm off to run around and check out the remaining posters before they go down tomorrow.

ICRS 2006

Cartilage. What interesting problems it poses... A long day today, with the occasional interesting presentation or poster. It's very clinically oriented, but becomes more sciencey by Wednesday. It's already been fairly stimulating though.

ICRS Registration

We just registered for the ICRS meeting, and picked up the pack of bumf. There's a letter in here from the Governor of the State of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, greeting us to the Golden State, and applauding us for getting together to promote the development of blah blah blah. That's excellent - I love that. This thing's going on my pin board.

San Diego SeaWorld

We visited today, and it was superb. Just getting to see dolphins and killer whales pretty much made all the travelling worthwhile. This, and the large range of other animals at the park really made me appreciate why my brother and sister enjoy diving so much. Excellent fun. I took a few snaps.

Don't worry, no shark today has a jaw this size. These are the jaws of a prehistoric megalodon.

Penguins! The guy cleaning the inside of the glass looked bloody cold. Why are penguins so comical?

Nobody can get enough of the dolphins!

4 killed on a cycling club run

Four cyclists from Rhyl Cycling Club have been killed in an accident involving a car on the A547 in North Wales. By all accounts, the car was not speeding, but lost control on a patch of ice on a bend and spun into a group of 11 riders, including children.

Full story on the BBC's website.

I'm certain that all cyclists in Wales and the UK (including myself) will be extending their condolences to the families and the club in the coming days and weeks. This is an absolutely tragic accident, that could have happened to any of us.

San Diego Marriott

It's great to finally get to the hotel, and a nice hotel it is too. We're on the 21st floor in the right hand tower. Posh, eh? There's a great discounted rate for rooms here during this conference that we managed to get because we booked quick.

American Airlines lost my bag at JFK, so it didn't make it to San Diego with me. I went shopping (Banana Republic, no less!) to get some clean clothes to change into after having a much deserved shower. It has taken us something daft like 38 hours to get from Swansea to here, so you can imagine that getting cleaned up felt pretty good. I got a few bits to tide me over, not having much faith that my bag would turn up today, but it did. Via Los Angeles.

The sun of San Diego is very rewarding. It's warm, clean, quiet and pleasant here. It'll be time for some beers and food soon, and hopefully we'll stay awake.

Manhattan Photos

OK, so here are some photos from our half-day trip to New York. I couldn't lug my Nikon around, so these are just from a little Canon. We did surprisingly well, ticking off several tourist spots, and my memory performed much better than I thought it would. Spot the locations:

I've been up the Empire State Building a number of times, but this time dusk was falling and the light was superb. I didn't have the kit to take real advantage of it though. The view over the Hudson River and New Jersey.

The view South looks quite different now. We walked around the World Trade Centre Memorial site later on, when dark. Strange feelings.

Gareth's looking for Macy's. Clue: look down.

I always have to take people to Brooklyn Bridge. It's a great viewpoint, and it's free! Everyone loves that classic skyline view.

A bit of NYC

We flew into JFK airport, and have a 15 hour stopover while we wait for our American Airlines flight to San Diego. So what do you do? Obvious: give Gareth a whistlestop tour of Manhattan. We visited Time Square, went up the Empire State Building, walked across Central Park, shopped on 5th Avenue, walked through Grand Central Station, walked the Broooklyn Bridge, and saw City Hall, using one taxi and the subway. I'm pretty wired right now from the large number of Starbucks we've been visiting to try and keep awake. Right now it's 9.53pm (Eastern standard time) and our flight doesn't leave until 6.30am. We were up at 2.40am (GMT), and I daren't do the maths unless I find out that I shouldn't be awake and keel over. Far better I dose up on hot brown sugary stimulants. We'll go back to the airport when we're too tired to walk any more, and grab an hour or two kip somewhere uncomfortable.

Here are some more pics - I'll post more when I can pull them off the camera's memory card.

Dozing on the plane.

Grand Central Station.

Subway riding.

BA to NY

I'm on the plane to New York, after a long coach ride to Heathrow (one of the down-sides to living further away in Swansea). Now we're in the air I can catch up with some email, podcasts (Pete Tong & the Dawn and Drew Show) and of course blogging. I'm flying BA today, and it's pretty comfortable. I'm torn between trying to sleep before a mammoth 15 hour changeover at JFK & watching the provided entertainment. I'm using some new folding Sennheiser headphones I got for Christmas (thanks mum & dad!) for all this. I hope the battery in my ageing iPod lasts more than a couple of hours, but I doubt that it will.

Aha, I smell food coming around already.

We'll get a taxi to Manhattan for half a day. What shall we see? Gareth hasn't been before, so I reckon we should try and get to Times Square, the Empire State Building, & maybe the Brooklyn Bridge & Central park if we're quick & use the subway effectively. It could be fun!

Getting on the plane.

Do you see the circular rainbow? How come you always seem to sit next to the wing? Is it because I never fly business or 1st class?

Grumpiness Revisited

Back to work today. Oh joy. The shit's hitting the fan already.

Making the usual, "Happy New Year. How was your Christmas?" wishes/questions has revealed that most people felt similarly about their Christmas breaks. They're not just grumpy because they're back to work, but it seems also because of the type of holiday you get over Christmas. I'm thinking that it is indeed an age thing. Or a Swansea thing. The latter seems less likely though.

Christmas was more fun when you were 6.

I'm off to San Diego on Friday for work. Maybe sunshine will make me happy. Sunshine and science. I'm going to miss Kim and Jack. It's worse when you've spent all your time together on holiday and then you go away.

By the way - I have something special to look forward to: my sister's getting married! They announced it over New Year, and she's getting married to a really good guy. Yeay!

2005 Google Searches

Google had billions of search queries in 2005. Do you wonder which were the most common? Investigate them here.

Jack in the box

Jack in yet another box.

Beardy

I need to groom myself before returning to work (this was a couple of days ago though).