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Aug. 13th, 2008 @ 08:59 am Fear and Loathing in Zürich
So ... sitting in www.swx.com <http://www.swx.com/> ... gah ... 5 meetings yesterday and they wonder why I've not done much,  but hey.   Anyone know how to double the performance of a an application in Solaris (single threaded!) and have it all work still? Nope? Thought not ... So, instead we're going to turn things off randomly until it does what we need it too. In other news, it has finally stopped raining, but sadly it looks like this trend will change tomorrow. Hopefully sunny for the weekend!
pads!
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Mar. 28th, 2008 @ 07:57 pm *slump*
Current Location: Newark Airport, NJ
Current Mood: tiredtired
Current Music: irrelevant babbling ...
Tags: , , ,
So, another week is ending, and I'm sitting in Newark airport, making use of a verizon dongle, killing time for the flight that will whisk me away to somewhere close to home (though not quite close enough). It's been a very quick and a very long week in pretty much equal measure.

I've been out in New York with work installing and testing our latest and greatest product -- the Wombat Data Fabric on a customer site. Its' been good, I've learned a lot, surprised myself in many ways in so far as how much I know, and how comfortable I am on site. I just wish I had more time to decompress from moment to moment. Still... soon onto the plane where I can kick back and sleep for a while ... hmm ... sleep. I never adjusted to whatever timezone NYC is on... I'd wake regularly at 5:30/6am and I'd be in bed by 10:30 most nights ... Right now, I'd love my bed. I guess I'll have to wait 24 hours.

NYC is a good place. I liked it. I loved the way it reminded me so accurately of Sim City ... these shear canyons, those at the bottom living in perpetual twilight, except when the rotation of the earth provided brief glimpses of the sun. I loved the moment when you made your way above the roof line and looked out and saw these spiky buildings jostling for space between each other... those that can stick their head above seeming to grow higher each moment. It's really quite cool. :)

But, as ever, I want my home, I want my bed, I want to talk to my friends and be able to play my guitar, cook in my kitchen with my knives. It'll be good to come home. I don't think I've ever been disappointed to get there.

p.
pads!
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Mar. 4th, 2008 @ 09:24 pm Long awated update ...
Current Location: Home.
Current Music: *whirrrr*
Tags: , ,
No really ..

Since starting work back in October last year, I've found the amount I have to talk about declining and declining further again. I now seem completely unaware of msot things that are happening around me as I split my time almost exclusively between work, and Claire. This isn't a bad thing, it's just a hell of a change. Having said that, I'm not complaining at all.

Work itself is an odd thing ... long hours (50+ a week is not uncommon, and feels like it may get more common. Looks like I'll be off to NYC sometime at the end of the month, start of next for more fun and frolics, so we'll see what happens with that. Still, may be a fun trip ... lets hope I get on better than Chicago ... or at least, make more use of the time there outside working hours.

The downside of working lots is that I spent a lot of time sitting on my back side and not getting much if any exercise. A solution has presented itself ... or at least, an opertunity I guess ... Claire is running a leg of the marathon this year and so I've decided I may as well go out and try and run with her while she's training. I'm a fool. Still. Anyway, running has never been my favourite activities, especially since in recent times I've found myself suffering horrible shinsplints while running. Thankfully, a kind friend of mine (my brother-in-law's best man etc ...) works at a running shoppe (that's him in the goggles .. poor man) and said I should come and talk to him about it ... So, he stuck me on a treadmill, and told me to run. Had a nosey and found me a pair of shoes that would help with it. A quick burn up the street this evening (and much wheezing later) and it seems to make some sort of difference.. Still, why do trainers have to be so fugly? *sigh*



Still ... every little helps, right? Expect the next update sometime in the future.
pads!
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Dec. 8th, 2007 @ 04:09 pm Trust me ...
Well, it's all over bar the wibbling now. I had my viva yesterday morning, and managed to get through, minor corrections aside. It's hard to believe it's all over.. Not that it really changes much in the grand scheme of things - I still have to get up on monday morning and go to work (which I'm really enjoying at the moment!) - but it's nice to know I don't have to worry about it, bar the corrections. The viva went well, lasting a little over 2.5 hours, though frankly it seemed in places like it lasted something like ten minutes. *boggle*

Life is good at the moment, people are good, and really, I can't complain much. aside from about the weather. ;)

*curls up, sleeps*

p.
pads!
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Sep. 19th, 2007 @ 08:51 pm ... and relax?
Current Location: Chez Huggie, England
Current Mood: tiredtired
Tags: , ,
Well, the end is near, it's all over bar the shouting and such. Yes kids, I have submitted my albatross, the thesis is away and I'm trying not to think about the viva, whenever it may be. 43653 words, 197 pages, and three years later I have submitted something which can be described as tome-like. thick, heavy, and probably not that useful to everyone ... We'll see what thosethat have been selected to examine it think when they get through with it ... we can but hope that they think it's /grand/ and there's not much else ot say. Sadly, I doubt that's the case but meah. :)

In other news, I've just had my soon-to-be-brother-in-law's stag do at the weekend (photos here, and we had a lovely couple of days boating about the erne), and now I'm in England. I'll be back next week!

*slump*

and now, I'm going to sleep. Yes. that's a fine idea.

much love,

p.
pads!
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Aug. 21st, 2007 @ 12:59 pm rambling incoherencies
Current Location: ECIT, BT3
Current Mood: blahblah
Current Music: the sound of silence ... no really
Tags: , , ,
So many things have happened in the intervening while. Wesley, my mum's eldest brother, died three weeks ago. I've had a couple of job interviews and thankfully a couple of job offers in return and have accepted one -- so I shall be starting work with Wombat here in Belfast in the middle of October. I've made a new friend (*waves to the person in question if they end up reading this*), I've bounced, I've cried, I've been up and I've been down. It is, as you may have guessed, been Interesting Times. Please, that's enough of that for now ...

At the moment I'm trying to tidy up my thesis and pull it together into some sensible form. Or at least, sensible enough that my examiners don't laugh me out of the room when the Viva comes. Still, that's some way away. I submit my thesis in 3 weeks, 3 days, 4 hours, 26 mins & 15 seconds at time of writing and in my current mood I just want to up and leave for a few days ... it may work ... it may clear my head... but frankly I'd lose what little momentum I have ... push on through? Yeah, probably ... *heave*. Still, if anyone wants to run away for a day or two, I'm open to suggestions.

On a more pressing note, there is that of what to fill the month between submission and starting work. I have one date where I have to be somewhere -- My sister's wedding on the 5th of October, where I'll be taking photos ... eep.

Oh yes.. Photos. I have my camera back. whee. and I've a big flash for it. wheee more. (and *bounce*, clearly)

( photos and stuff below the cut ... )

As ever, more photos in the usual place

hum
pads!
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Jun. 26th, 2007 @ 09:16 am *gah*
Current Location: BT3, Belfast, UK
Current Mood: annoyedannoyed
Tags: , ,
'lo all.

This is a rant. I apologise in advance. I came in this morning to find that admin have decreed that they will no longer allow us free milk for our tea and coffee. They claim (paraphrased) "You've got a fridge, use it." ... Well, yes: grand. If I was drinking a pint of milk a day for the three cups of tea, then this would be fine. Sadly I'm not. Now you'll have the 50 or 60 or so people filling up a fridge with milk. Forgetting it's there and it falling by the wayside. Seriously, have things got to the stage here where stretching to a couple of litres of milk a day is outside the budget?! :/

On top of this I get in to find that for some fucking reason I cannot SSH out of this godforsaken computer. I'm fairly certain it's something to do with Symantec Firewall, but apparently turning it off is much too dangerous to be left to us mere mortals. *GAH!*

I think I'll work from home for the next while. Or just head to Cavan. *sigh*

In other news, i'll finally get my DSLR back this week. Hurrah! And in two weeks I'll have my 50mm F1.4 prime and big flash to play with.

Oh, and we were at the beach at the weekend. It went well enough given the weather, but sadly that did put a dampener on things. And I've realised I shall never own a dog. Ever. Cats are infinitely superior in all possible ways.



p.

ps. work is, however, at least moving in the right direction. Thank gawd for small mercies.
pads!
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Mar. 8th, 2007 @ 09:19 am There and Back Again.
Current Location: Belfast, UK
Current Mood: stressedstressed
Tags: ,
Ah well, I've been off, galavanting through the wilds of the west coast. I've encountered marauding hoards of Amish peoples, ate many Tasty Burgers, walked through beaches, been trained through snow capped mountains, fallen asleep on coaches, trains, planes, couches, beds, seats; stressed above far off (yet altogether too close work); consumed a strange variety of local beverages; seen many lovely, wonderful and interesting people. I had a very good time all in all. But I am happy to be home. Even if it is 6 months of stress ahead.

Many thanks to everyone that put me up, drove me around, pointed out where I needed to go. Especially the delectable [info]nostalgie and the Livgard clan (singling out Dag for driving me about the greater Vancouver area).

While I had a lovely time, I found myself realising that I'm not really well disposed to random travelling on my own. So if anyone out there feels like joining me on future journeying then make themselves known. As ever, photils can be found here but my selected favourites are beneath ( the cut )
pads!
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Feb. 4th, 2007 @ 12:12 pm North America and hopefully not bust.
Current Mood: nervousnervous
Tags: , , ,
It's been a while since I last posted but hey, better late than never, eh?

This is just to let you all know of my plans for my coming trip across to North America:


  • Depart Belfast 17th February 13:45, Arriving in SFO 16:35 (Local Time). Bus down to Monterey for ISFPGA 2007. Leaving on the 22nd

  • Take Train up to Vancouver, BC. Due to arrive there at 12:35am on the 24th, (so about 28 hours later... eeep!) Stay with the ever lovely [info]nostalgie.
    </lj>

  • Return to San Francisco on the 1st March, on the 13:01 Air Canada flight.

  • Stay in SF until the 3rd, where I head back to Belfast (once again via london) on BA 286. Arriving in Befast at 16:55 on BD 88.



Mostly this is just to let people know where I am, but it's also intended to see if people that read this may be in the area and want to meet up for a while. Or just say "LOOK! GO THERE! FOR IT IS TEH W1N!!£*(_&" and such.

I'd post some news, but I'm not entirely sure there is any to post. :$

p.

pads!
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Nov. 25th, 2006 @ 09:37 pm Life
It's been a very long time since I last blogged here. Much has happened, and yet really, there has been very little different going on. The hightlights have been:

  1. The arrival of Albert.
  2. A trip to Noodles' Stag Do.
and not much else.

Most it's been PhD work.  Some has been quite successful, yet I still feel like I'm just fighting my way along.   PhDs are odd things.  Often the work isn't that difficult. The work isn't the hardest part of a PhD;  not at all.  That, my friends, is motivation.  Or lack of it.  Because there's no one to measure yourself against, you're sitting going ... "eeep". quite a lot.  Yes,  the supervisors are there to keep you going. I am lucky enough to have two that I get on very well with,  whom are capable, pleasent, caring and good to work for.   I'll go into a meeting, nervous about my work,  and come out relaxed.  This lasts for about a day and then I go "FUCK!" and wonder what on earth I'm supposed to be doing. 

Repeat.

Hmm...  PhDs,   great things, very good ways to spend three years if your funding is up to scratch.  But remember,  you're your own worst enemy during them,  and sadly you'll be very good at it too.

toodles.

p.


pads!
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