nickbailey.co.uk :: photo blogger

Thanks Tesco, thesco.

2011-10-30T16:29:00.001Z

Price drop fail

The Lord Shineth Over Tesco

2011-09-22T19:03:00.001Z

Trangia 25-6 HA

2011-08-20T19:02:00.000Z

I am exceedingly pleased with my new trangia, it is simply awesome and a stunning addition to my kit. I've only got the multi fuel burner at present running off meths, so it smells a bit like out old garden train set, but the design, efficiency and beauty are just excellent. Why is not everything desired with such love and attention to detail.

An English Summer

2011-08-18T12:19:00.000Z

Spot the University of Southampton Logo

2011-07-18T13:32:00.000Z

After a £500,000 redesign, does it really stand out as they said it would?

First sunflower of the season

2011-07-07T15:50:00.001Z

Chilworth Rhododendrons

2011-05-16T13:37:00.000Z

Loadsofdendrons looking splendiferous here in Chilworth

Oh How Exceptionally Cute

2011-04-28T05:03:00.000Z

So this is why people have children - to dress them up in super cute outfits. This is also where Monsoon and others make a heap of money. But damn they're cute though.

Fwd: Thanks for visiting the Genius Bar.

2011-03-09T13:32:00.001Z

Could this get any more racially diverse correct? All thats missing is an albino dwarf.

How did we do?

Married

2011-02-28T13:39:00.001Z

These are our wedding rings taken the day before our UK wedding in Cheltenham.

, ,

Image Identification

2011-02-28T13:35:00.001Z

My wife is reading this book. I glanced at it and asked her if it mentioned where the photo on the front cover was taken. She searched and found no reference (Korean books don't tend to label every photo), I said it reminded me of Chang Gyeong Palace in Seoul and So opened my laptop and found in Picasa a photo I had taken of the exact same piece of wall in Jongmyo Temple (37.575 N 126.993 E). We compared them and could match each stone exactly. I was pretty impressed with my identification skills, now if only there was a way in which I could use these skills.

Stitched photo of the exact same bit of wall.

HD Sunglasses from JML - what bollocks

2011-02-27T13:34:00.000Z

"The high definition quality and colour is amazing". WTF?

Joanna Trollope

2011-01-10T16:30:00.000Z

Clearly this book is brilliant

PS3 LoveFilm - Utterly Useless

2011-01-09T14:52:00.003Z

Stupidity on the PS3
Anyone who's updated their PS3 recently will have noticed, perhaps with excitement, their film menu now has a 'Love Film' application. "Sweet!" you might exclaim, but that will be short lived as their application is utterly pathetic.

First fail: there is no option to have an account that only allows streaming through your PS3 so you have to pay for a DVD by post even though that is frankly pointless when you have a PS3 capable of streaming the very film you wait two days to receive and might be scratched when you get it. Sure you get the extras on a DVD, but really is that worth the hassle?

Second fail: the cheapest account (£5.99) gives you 2 hours of streaming time. At the 120th minute Love Film tell me your streaming JUST STOPS. Seeing as most films these days seem to be over 2 hours this must be as frustrating as hell. And considering how poorly the application seems to be put together I doubt you will be alerted beforehand that the film you've chosen will not be watchable. Why would they not make it so that you can get only one film streamed in it's entirety and no more - clearly this 2 hour is ment to represent this.

Third fail: the application itself advertises the £8.16 account as the cheapest account and makes no mention of the £5.99 option. It's only if you're willing to pay £9.99 can you get unlimited viewing.

Forth fail (and this is just not acceptable): you can't quit the application. Seriously, you can't. Pressing the PS3 button - the method used for quitting ALL playstation applications does nothing. Actually, no, it does something - it shows a red warning saying "that operation is not allowed"! WTF? I wrote straight to LoveFilm to ask what has gone wrong and they confirmed that you can't quit the application. The only way to quit is to hold down the PS3 button for five seconds which essentially brings up the PS3 equivalent to Ctrl-Alt-Delete to force quit the application. What utter stupidity, I just can't believe the shocking lack of any though put into this program.

Utter idiocracy.

Igloo

2010-12-31T20:09:00.001Z

Awesome.

Easter Already

2010-12-31T13:04:00.001Z

Tesco is always ahead of the game.

British Rail + Leaves = Problems

2010-12-16T13:14:00.000Z

Clearly our railway companies just can't cope with autumn. This photo from Southampton Central station shows leaves clogging up the drain pipes.

Christmas Flames

2010-12-15T23:45:00.000Z

I love candles, especially when they burn right to the bottom and you use old used match sticks as new wicks in a flaming molten mess.

Tuition Fees

2010-12-10T00:35:00.003Z

Damn this makes me angry. Today the coalition government voted to raise tuition fees to £9,000 a year. That equals £27,000 for a three year corse. But then degrees have been so de-valued by the idots who though to push 50% of students to university that only 4 year Masters courses will count, so make that £36,000. That is one shit load of debt to start your working life with, and that's not counting inflation, it could be perhaps up to twice this in 20 years time. This will affect my future children. How dare they?

Ask yourselves this: how many of the MP's voting today started out their career with this level of debt? None. Most will of course have passed throguh and been given money by the then government (like my Brother did four years before me). Two faced lying sly ...

So my children are going to have to spend £36,000 to get a worthwhile degree, or else come out with 30 years worth of debt. And that 36k doesn't the include living expenses on top of that = £6k per anum if living exceedingly frugally. So that's another 24k making the grand total £60,000. SIXTY THOUSAND POUNDS! And that's just one child, what if Su and I have more than one????? Fuck me.

I voted lib dem at the general election. When they joined the conservatives I though 'well at least they get to have some influence'. Now I just feel disgusted. Not only have the ruling generation stolen all the houses and made it damn near impossible to get on the property ladder, then they cause this horrendous global recession, now they destroy my future childrens prospect of living life debt-free. At least they've done a lot of work cleaning all the industrial revolution soot from all the buildings in England. Thanks.

[09-12-2010]

Late autumn iris

2010-11-20T15:56:00.000Z

Just came across this hidden in a garden on Shaftesbury Avenue as I pottered into Portswood to do some saturday afternoon shopping.

Duty Free? 'Cheap-Free' more like

2010-11-14T03:50:00.000Z

What is the point of duty free shopping when you can find things cheaper on Amazon in your own country? Unless you are a smoker or drinker there really is no point. I'd have thought with the coming of smart phones and the ability to check prices online that they would have changed (here in Seoul Incheon airport they provide excellent wireless for free). But no. I've just come across some cameras, one for 100 dollars more than online and another, 'on special offer!', reduced to the same as Amazon. And that's Amazon in my own country, free delivery and a valid warranty.

Even cosmetics are not the excellent value they seem. This Davidoff aftershave i snapped on the way out was available from Boots Online for £17.

For the folically challenged

2010-10-31T11:08:00.000Z

Seriously, this is a place to have your hair surgically replaced.

Happy Halloween...day?

2010-10-31T04:59:00.001Z

I saw this display in a super market this afternoon after church.

Silly Asiana

2010-10-27T09:06:00.001Z

Their website is frankly useless. Here, on the overly complicated customer check-in service they want to know my date of birth and the date when I'm expected to expire!

Good morning world

2010-10-16T07:27:00.001Z

We don't half live in a beautiful world. There is so much to be thankful for and to enjoy. This morning I took the advantage of having accidentally woken up early to welcome the new day and thank God for it all.

Cosmos looking stunning

2010-10-16T07:23:00.002Z

Picasa Name Tagging

2010-07-12T12:49:00.001Z

Why oh why is the Nickname field mandatory in Picasa?? It makes no sense whatsoever as it is not mandatory in any other Google product, or mac product, or windows product, or indeed in life!

What is particularly annoying is Picasa's insistence on auto filling the nickname tag with the first part of someone's title. When the contact's name is Dr Arnold Mcstupid, as it auto fills the nickname field with 'Dr'. What the...

what an offer!

2009-12-28T12:58:00.006Z

Half price Pringles? Too good to be true? Yep, take a look in the bottom corner...

Special offers brought to you by our beloved motorway
services.

2008-11-13T01:17:00.001Z

BBC Oceans

I've been hearing about the new BBC series on the oceans for the past few weeks as it's taken center stage on www.soton.ac.uk. Tonight was the first episode. Sadly I was not that impressed. It seemed so poorly put together with very little actually said and much of the content tenuous at least - why did they investigate a wreck to learn about Asian slavery when the ship had been sunk deliberately to form an artificial reef?

It was dumbing down at it's worst. Not a BBC Bristol classic and not a good showcase for Southampton as a leading research institute. Bring back Attenborough.

BBC Advertising - Ahh!

2008-07-16T01:12:00.002Z

So now I see. As I am now outside the UK I have to suffer the BBC with advertising. They have adverts that those of you in the UK won't be able to see as you pay your licence fee (you do now, don't you?) and so that 'entitles' you to watch the BBC advert-free.

This FAQ explains it.

BBC's Own No Advertising Policy

2008-07-16T00:38:00.003Z

For your information.

Adverts on the BBC - link.

The BBC is Dead. Long Live the BBC

2008-07-15T23:48:00.003Z

That is it, the BBC as it was is finished. No longer is it the unique broadcasting service which is paid directly by us, the viewers. Oh no. Now it is run on advertising.

This morning, sitting in my youth hostel in Seoul, Korea, I logged onto the BBC and saw a link to a new Hydrogen Powered Car. I clicked the link and found the video clip. Then to my horror below the video window I saw a little box with a link to Facebook in it, and the ghastly words ADVERTISEMENT emblazoned above it.

Then to my further shock and horror as the video played (without sound as I had it in mute) I became aware that I was not watching a film about a hydrogen car at all but rather an advert about a new Nokia phone.

I guess this was bound to happen. Advertising is the new currency as Google has shown, but I surley wasn't ready to see it on the beeb.

BBC RIP 16 July 2008

Nick

Do we get to stop paying the licence fee now?

bbc, advertising, nick bailey

Barefoot on the BBC

2008-06-27T15:07:00.004Z

On Wednesday I was interviewed by Indy Almroth-Wright from BBC Hampshire about my barefooting life. After a rather fun interview she showed me round Broadcasting House in Southampton (which was quite exciting) and then we went for a little wonder outside (both shoeless) to take some photos.

Her article is now online for your reading pleasure:
Nick Bailey - BBC Hampshire Barefoot Interview

Myself and Blackberry rabbit
photo credit: Kim Suyeon

barefoot, bbc, hampshire

Vegetarian Fish & Chips

2008-04-04T15:57:00.002Z

Last Friday I tried an experiment. Having recently discovered that the International Food store in Portswood sells vegetarian fish (see title link), I decided to take some along to the best chipshop in Southampton, the Seven Seas on Burgess Road to see if they would fry it
for me. Sure enough they did (at no cost) and so I enjoyed, for the first time in over
ten years, fish and chips. Damn tasty!

'fish'

'fish' and chips

fish&chips, seven seas

Oxford Over Easter

2008-03-31T00:47:00.003Z

On Easter Saturday Suyeon and I went to Oxford with my parents. Here are a couple of photos.

Lincoln College (where Wesley stayed)

Outside Kings College

The beautiful Suyeon outside Kings

Me at the Bridge of Sighs. Ahhh...

Oxford, Oxford University, Easter

Some Arty Blossom Shots

2008-03-06T12:14:00.002Z

Here are a few Photoshop art filtered photos I took of the early blossom coming out in Southampton over the past few weeks.

southampton, photoshop, blossom

Bunny Dating

2008-01-28T03:27:00.000Z

This photo of Barney (boy, back) and Blackberry (girl, front) was taken today on their second 'date'. We'd let them run free together in the garden just after sunset yesterday in a chaperoned sense with four of us observing and ready to jump in if required. It was an... interesting sight, with Barney definitly quite keen on Blackberry, if a little keen on the wrong end. Still, no fighting happened so all was good.

Today I let them roam free all day as I was going to be gardening. It was lovely to have them bounding round together and occasionally helping me with some gardening. Lots of positions were experimented with (I'm told by Dr Christelle) and by the evening they were much calmer and relaxed around each other.

Bunny Love

, ,

Gathering Hazel Nuts

2008-01-17T18:29:00.000Z

After dropping François off at Heathrow I though I'd take a little break on the way home when I saw brown signs to some country park. Of course only when I reached the entrance did I find that the park is only open from March to October, but I parked up never the less and went for a wonder where I could.

While kicking my way through the leaf litter up an avenue of trees I noticed something hidden in the leaves. Closer inspection revealed a beautiful golden hazel nut. On crouching down and a little rifling through the leaves I came across more, loads in fact. So I filled a pocket and went on my way most enlightened by being a little more in touch with my Mesolithic ancestors.

Now how to cook the...

One of the Hazel trees with nuts scattered around

Hazel nuts galore!

Animal scratch marks on a trunk

After a soaking and a little lightening, the cloud passed.

And up sprang a brilliant rainbow

[Photos shot on my Motorola SLVR - not a top camera phone as you can tell]
hazel nuts, gathering, wild food

Do you B(ar)ack Obama?

2008-01-09T17:33:00.000Z

The question that I think is on every self respecting American's lips is:

Hay Obama, will you bomb Osama?

[and many other such placard slogans: "Obama's Our Osama Bomba" etc]

vs.

Obama, Osama, 2008 Elections

Pre-Birthday Conflagration

2007-12-30T18:57:00.000Z

With some garden waste I'd retrieved from a house up the road (with permission), Luke and I had a little conflagration as a bit of winter warmth. There was an old chair that was to be scrapped which we burnt (difficult to tell which would create the worst pollution - burning or landfill). Strangely we managed to crated a second flame phoenix in the fire (the first phoenix is visible here).

Flames licking up the seat

The second phoenix (perhaps more of a pigeon)

fire, phoenix, conflagration

Britol to Bath Walk

2007-11-29T14:44:00.000Z

Here are some photos taken on the walk from Bristol to Bath with my Brother and his girlfriend a couple of weekends back. 16 miles in total - a good long walk.

Most of the autumn leaves had fallen

Some swans that came for a little attention and bread

Chris and Chu on the riverside path

A fantastic 60's esq factory on the outskirts of Bath

Bath Cathedral maked the end of our journey

Bath, Bristol, walking

New Forest Autumn with Mum

2007-11-02T16:34:00.000Z

Mum came down to visit me yesterday which was simply lovely. Apart from spoiling me with lots of little gifts, we went for a walk and meal in the New Forest. We drove along Boldrewood Ornamental Drive which was simply stunning and went for a walk around one of the parking spots doing a little bit of arty photography.

Some beautiful colours, though not all turned yet

Lovely woody openings with leaf litter carpeting the ground

Mum walking through the leaf litter

Sunset came along and enhanced all the colours

As we climbed a bank the setting sun streaked through the trees

We both enjoyed capturing the pink sunset sky

And after all that we went to the Green Dragon pub for dinner.

New Forest, Hampshire, autumn photography

Nick's Pumpkin Parade

2007-10-11T10:43:00.000Z

For the first time this year I've experimented with growing squashes. From the various squashes I ate last year I collected the seeds and germinated them. Only about 10% seemed viable and after and head start on my windowsill I transplanted them out into the vegetable patch. I wasn't quite prepared for the extent to which they would spread - the longest vine was about 5 meters and meant that the pumpkins ended up growing on my new lawn.

It's been exciting watching these things grow and I've still got a few left on the various vines. I've also recently found some baby butternut squashes have begun to develop. More to come...

My pumpkin fleet

The largest is quite a size and weight

Green pumpkins are turning orange

A gaggle of squashes

Barney our free range garden rabbit

gardening, pumpkins, orange

Picasa on my Mac

2007-09-29T23:49:00.000Z

Die iPhoto, die!

Today I finally deleted iPhoto from my Macbook Pro. My Mac is now free, set free from the horrid photo hell that was iPhoto.

What brought this on?

Because I now have Picasa on my mac.

You who the what now?

YES I can successfully run Google's gloriously free and super fantastic Picasa on my mac. I'll post a photo as proof shortly as well as details on how I achieved this feat.

Wondrous.

picasa, picasa2, google, google picasa, mac, macbook pro

F***ing Big Spider

2007-09-29T00:56:00.000Z

Big! I mean really big. I don't think I've seen such a massive spider. Hopefully from this iCam photo you can grasp just how big this sucker is. Released to the wild safely I and confirm.

One big spider

One big spider in a pint glass

Day Out with Mum

2007-09-17T20:47:00.000Z

07-08-09

Some rather cool cedar cones

My Mum
:)

Landed in the Capital

2007-09-09T01:44:00.000Z

Sitting in my 8th floor State Plaza Hotel room in downtown Washington DC things are pretty good. I flew in this afternoon from London Heathrow with United Airlines flight 919 on a Boeing 777. A very acceptable flight - my first time in a triple 7, I was staggered by the sense of space. Spiderman 3 was on the playlist which I'd not seen (and missed the middle as I nodded off) and my vegetarian meal was superb: a truly good curry.

ToP Advice: when booking a flight with meal options go for 'Indian Vegetarian'. For a start the veggie meals are better, having been specially prepared, but this was the best I've tasted. There was rice with two dishes - one aloo dahl and the other a vegetable curry. There was also a little naan bread, but not the highlight.

Our flight landed an hour early, so we made it to the hotel in good time. After a little rest and a great shower (which has a blissful 'massage' setting) John and I headed out to a diner for a burger + chips dinner. A good meal with nice veggie burger, but I was staggered by the salt content - they weren't even trying to hide the saltiness.

A little wonder round the streets and chatting to a few passers by and we were back at the hotel. Tomorrow I'm going to head to Mount Vernon Methodist Church to say hello to some of the friends I made when I was here back in March. But perhaps I might squeeze in another shower before bed...

Chilling in my hotel room

Washington DC, conference, Southampton University

Greenbelt 2007

2007-09-05T12:40:00.000Z

Just a couple of shots from Greenbelt this year. I took my camera but wasn't feeling massively inspired on Monday to be taking shots, which was a shame as I wanted to practice shooting people. Here is some of the cool graffiti that people were drawing on some purpose built walls around the racecourse.

Graffiti appeared around the site

Cooler people than I were doing the graffiti

greenbelt2007, Greenbelt,

Southampton Odeon Urinals

2007-08-03T16:44:00.000Z

I was amused by this poster that I came across in the Odeon's toilet down in Ocean Village, Southampton. Having a camera phone came in handy. I'm sure it's completely innocent, but it struck me as just a little creepy.

Take a closer look...

No, above the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang logo...

Alvin the Childcatcher - Really? Is that legal?

Odeon, Mayflower, Southampton

Southampton Common

2007-07-30T00:47:00.001Z

As my migrane eased this evening I decided to take a wonder round the common as the weather was actually warm and sunny! It was glorious. I wondered through some of the wooded bits letting my feet enjoy the grass and mud. I made friends with a family of dogs and then helped a little girl who fell off her bike find her parents. It was really most pleasant and gave me a much needed uplifting feeling. The sort that make you feel alright with the world. This photo (taken with my phone) I now have as my phone wall paper.

The Ornamental Pond

Southampton, Southampton Common, walking

On Air: Australia

2007-07-24T20:05:00.000Z

Word does seem to get round the internet and just now I'm being interviewed live on air by ABC WA for their breakfast show. Perhaps you tuned in or happened to be listening and heard me speaking. Well, thanks for listening and I hope what I said was interesting. If you want to ask any more questions then feel free.

This photo was taken during the interview:

ABC WA, asteroid research, asteroid impact, Southampton University

The One Show - Wednesday 25th July

2007-07-23T21:53:00.000Z

You might want to watch the One Show on Wednesday evening @ 7 on BBC1 - I think they might have taken notice of my email. Will they quote me? Here's the preemptive blurb:

Lucy Siegle watches our waste - and tries to put a stop to the nation's unhealthy and overindulgent use of packaging.

The One Show, rubbish, consumerism

Learning Dutch

2007-07-20T11:38:00.000Z

Thanks to Kink FM, which I've been listening to on iTunes, I now know that the Dutch for 'www' is vayvayvay which is much quicker to say. I might adopt this.

iTunes, internet radio, Kink FM

New Waitrose Coffee

2007-07-18T22:14:00.000Z

Finally after years of waiting I have finally come across the ultimate in coffee - Fair Trade decaffeinated coffee beans!!

I'm fairly unsurprised that it was Waitrose that has made the first bold step here, being the most ethical of the super markets, but I'm a little sad that it's not from the Cafe Direct range.

I've not tried it yet (I'll get to that tomorrow) but it's advertised as being "fruity, smooth and slightly nutty" strength guide 3. The source country is Peru so the carbon footprint is still significant, but it's organic and soil association certificated.

Waitrose Decaff Fair Trade Coffee

Waitrose, Fair Trade, coffee beans

My Email to the One Show

2007-07-17T19:06:00.000Z

I was quite concerned by your report on rat infestations. The report was hardly balanced and left the (less competent) viewer with the suggestion that leaving food out for birds and composting should be avoided. Surly this is not responsible reporting.

The report gave no evidence for how 'bad' rats really are to back up the premise of the report. Could this be because they arn't actually that dangerous?

The final point about rubbish made me think of a suggestion for your show to investigate. The report mentioned that leaving rubbish in bags on the floor rather than in a wheelie bin is generally not a good move (no shit sherlock). The point was made that with fortnightly collection this action with excess rubbish is almost expected if not required - but quite why this is I think highlights a deeper issue.

I live in a student house of four people. Living separate consumer lives you might expect our rubbish to reflect that with four individual meals cooked etc. But no. Instead we produce less than one bin-liner of rubbish a week (I've been keeping notes).

So what's the real problem here? Easy. The amount of rubbish being purchased by consumers - buy more fresh products (i.e. prepare cook your own food) and lo and behold you don't generate much waste. What you guys need to investigate is the sheer amount of rubbish that companies get away with packaging their products in and then somehow make attractive to the less discerning consumer. I'd like to see the myth that pre-prepared food (like ready meals) are a) tasty, b) cheap and c) 'proper food', dispelled.

On a related note I think it would be worth investigating the rules being put in place (possibly my shops) regarding how shops display products. In the case of the sandwich industry I believe the problem is that produces are under pressure to actually over-package their products for the reason of making it easy for super market operators to stock shelves.

the one show, ready meals, rats

The One Show: Rats

2007-07-17T18:43:00.000Z

I was quite concerned by the One Show report on rat infestations. The reporting style was overly dramatic and one sided, not giving a balanced report but instead appealing to the popular public misconception that rats are somehow evil. Frankly I felt that the report was dumbing down at it's worst. The people who seemed to be being targeted are just those to respond to such dramatic statements without a second thought to the reality of the situation. The report essentially made the suggestion that hanging out food for birds and making compost was a bad idea and bound to invite rats into your garden.

The final point being made was about the dangers of leaving rubbish out. In Southampton we do have weekly rubbish collection but I'd love to see this reduced. I live in a student house with four people living essentially separate consumer lives yet we produce less than one bin-liner of rubbish each week. Wheelie bins can contain at least three bin-liners so what could be the problem?

Of course the problem is the lack of consideration given by consumers to the amount of rubbish they purchase. I fear this is a problem of education - the less educated the less likely you are to be thinking about the rubbish you purchase. And the rubbish is of course everywhere. Companies have been allowed to be unregulated in their packaging for far too long (a problem not helped by the popular lie that individual wrapping is best).

the one show, rats, rubbish

Google Earth Update

2007-07-01T21:11:00.000Z

There is a new Google Earth version available for download. It seems to solve a number of problems for my Mac including some serious crash issues with 4.0.

One of the best updates that I've noticed is the fact that the focus for UK users now starts in the UK. Non of that pointless scrabble to stop the auto zooming into the US when it launches. The UK is now officially in some patch of open moorland just north of Skipton.

Here is the exact location for your information

Good to know where you are
53°59'60.00"N 1°59'60.00"W

Google Earth, The UK, Mac

Behind the Screens

2007-07-01T19:41:00.000Z

I enjoyed reading this while Stumbling Upon on Firefox. It's all about why geeks are worth dating.

I particularly like point 14, not the bit about spelling abilities - some of us are dyslexic geeks (or rather 'greeks') - but about being "able to tell the difference between the toilet and the floor." Exactly. Enough said.

BBC Three: Sex... with Mum and Dad

2007-06-30T00:12:00.000Z

I just watched the second episohttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifde of this series - brilliant. I've seen the program before, but this was particulary touching. Two families that had both lost their Mum leaving the Dad struggling to communicate with their sexually active child.

The dad and daughter family did some generally good work and progressed from a family at war to a family in love. It was pleasing to see the progress made in just a week. But the other family was something special.

Phil Francis is gay and his dad couldn't accept it meaning that they had lived separate lives in the same house. Over the course of the program we saw the dad learning to accept his sons sexuality, and most importantly, breaking down his previous understanding that it was somehow his fault. Their special task was to take a trip to the Lake District (a special place to me), and while up the mountain* (looked like Castle Crag) hey talked about their lack of physical contact and then about the loss of mum. It was emotional for both of them, and quite special, but it left me wanting to scream at the TV telling them to HUG! They didn't! Crazy, but I pray by now they will have done. But the change was remarkable. Love had and acceptance reigned.

*Yes, it did seem a little staged, but then again it's a TV program so it's bound to be in some respects.

BBC Three, Sex... with Mum and Dad, Maria Schopman

Comedy Change

2007-06-21T22:23:00.000Z

While in Portswood Hardware this afternoon I purchased a bow saw and lopper to aid my tree felling activities over the weekend (weather permitting). As I was leaving I thought I'd ask about rat measures and they suggested some bait to use outside and gave directions on the beast measures. After a little deliberation as to whether it is right to kill the rat (a subject for a later post) I went for it.

The price was £7.49

Noting I had nine pence in coins and thinking I'd be helpful I gave the kid on the desk eight pounds and my nine pence change (a five, a tuppence and two pennies).

The slightly confused expression on the kids face said it all as he handed me back the correct change - sixty pence, only not as a 50p and 10p as I was expecting, but rather a 50p, a penny and the nine pence change I'd just given him.

So close. Gave me something to smile about on my way home.

Chaplaincy Post Exam BBQ

2007-06-21T01:28:00.000Z

What an evening! And what a success. I was a little worried that nobody would turn up or that I'd not have enough food, or perhaps far too much food. But as it turned out the whole thing turned out beautifully.

There were people from Cathsoc, SCM, CU and Jsoc, possibly the Postgrad Fellowship, but sadly none from CCF or KCF. I should think there were 40 people over the evening and nearly all the food was eaten (I got the roll to meat ratio pretty damn fine) and loads of people hun around for ages after the cooking finished.

The BBQ itself was exciting and I'm enjoying the sweet smell of wood smoke on my hands as I type. It was a half oil drum BBQ and I took a fire-from-scratch approach (ie no fire sticks or fluids) much to the bemusement/confusion of others as there were the auto-light fire bags available. By the time my fire work was done the heat was quite awesome and the cooking splendid. I love making a good fire. I'm damn good at fire.

So the evening was jolly good fun and it was lovely to have such an ecumenical gathering and the Chaplaincy so populated. As people began to dissipate we turned up the music and got some dancing underway.

Eventually it was just a hard core SCM nugget left and we danced to music till half 1 this morning. And I'm not just talking the slightly embarrassing dad-at-your-sisters-wedding type of dance. Oh no, we went from modern interpretative dance right round to traditional ballet, all set to a rather eclectic mix of modern pop.

Thoroughly enjoyable :o)

Tree Felling for Dummies

2007-06-20T15:43:00.000Z

I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK, I sleep all night and work all day... so the Pythons go. Well yesterday the boys of the Kitchener Community decided that they'd give it a go - how hard could felling a tree really be?

The girls were all out celebrating having finished the last exams of their Medical degrees, and were most probably a little drunk by then - what could possibly go wrong?

Well as it turned out, nothing went wrong. After having an impromptu chat with out neighbour at the end of the garden (who was concerned we were going to chop down the holly tree she uses as Christmas decorations) we set to work with our axe chopping down one of the dead trees. Actually that's not quite right - I sent to work and actually begun chopping into a living tree that happened to be intertwined with the dead target meaning we took out two trunks rather than one.

After clearing the way to the trunk and having a little go with the axe, I decided to shimmy up one of the other holly trees to take a look. Turns out there are 7 trees all growing together just behind our decking area (where Bertha stands). At the top I jumped from treetop to treetop, and after a quick photocall from a slighly concerned Ben, I set to work sawing the top of one of the trees.

Down it went pretty quickly, so I decided to go for the bigger trunk of another tree. That required quite some careful sawing with my Leatherman to get through and to fall in the right direction (it was too heavy to hold once cut). I finished off by taking of a few more branches to round off the overall shape of the tree before shimming down one of the remaining trees in the dark.

What fun, and only a little saw wound to speak of the evening. Well, that and the massive pile of holly branches that now scatter the garden.

These are the holly trees at the back of the garden

And this is me up the holly trees - awesome view up there

Kitchener Community, tree felling, tree climbing

Shoebox Bakery

2007-06-18T15:13:00.000Z

Luke mentioned over the weekend how he likes to get bread from the Shoebox Bakery on Portswood high street. While in Portswood this afternoon posting a card and picking up some fruit I decided to stop in the Shoebox and take a look. I'm not always one for pastries, nor really bread that much.

The Three Cooks next to Woolworths has shut down and I'm fairly certain the culprit is the new Greggs that opened on the other side of Woolworths. Greggs is funky, looks all clean and modern so easily attracts trade. Being a recognised chain also must help in soaking up sporadic trade. So it's no wonder that the Three Cooks recently shut up shop. This is a sad thing. Another example of the small and mostly inconsequential, but none the less sharp and pointy, end of capitalism where uniqueness, identity and independence is left wanting in the tide of commerce and 'value'.

So it was partly in the spirit of supporting the little guy that I stepped into the Shoebox. How glad I was to do so. And there were lots of others doing the same thing as me, but they were different than the typical shopping drones that hover round supermarkets for their monthly all-in-one municipal shop. These people were chatty, happy and excited to be in a little independent personal bakery with lots of exciting looking treats on display to choose from. What's more is the willingness of the owner to help. I wanted three jam doughnuts, but only two were left so she went to squert jam into a ring doughnut for me :). I was also tempted by the iced buns, but I prefer them with fresh cream down the middle, and again she went off and made that for me. I felt special and valued. It was great.

So get yourself down to the Shoebox bakery and enjoy buying bread and buns the real way.

A New Potato - Start of the Good Life

2007-06-08T11:44:00.000Z

A second case of new life this week: earlier today I unearthed the first potato from my vegetable patch. It's only a tiddler (that word is one of my Nana's) but should be tasty. I'll boil it for lunch with a sprig of mint (also from the garden).

My first new potato - only a tiddler

The potato flower, same family as tomatoes*

* ahh! Look how similar the word 'potato' and 'tomato' are - same family plant, same family of name. And for some reason I want to spell both with an extra 'e': potatoe/tomatoe.

new potato, good life, kitchener community

Life and Death

2007-06-07T11:25:00.000Z

My rabbit, Willow, died yesterday. After being attacked by a rat on Sunday night and surviving an anesthetic operation at the vet to assess the damage (though nothing could be done) I had to make the decision to have her put to sleep as overnight fly lava had hatched under her skin. Her chances of survival would have been minimal at best and the discomfort would have been tremendous.

But it was no easy decision. I wanted to fight for her and was looking forward to having her home and giving her intensive care. I was also not prepared to have to sign a euthanasia consent form. And even after the injection she didn't give up the fight for life quickly, which made me feel worse. My friend Cheryl accompanied me to the vet and even came in the room as Willow was put down, which was a great strength.

It was a different type of death from Roo, my previous rabbit who died February last year. Hers was a sudden shocking moment, while Willow slipped away. But in both cases I was privileged to be there.

And so it hurts; the pain of death is never easy. But never does it make me not want to love again. The joyful reward of rescuing a scared timid creature and encouraging them to become loving happy pets is worth the pain of loss.

Grief is the final chapter in life, and for me one of the most important. The fact that humans (and other animals) have this sense of love and loss is a beautiful thing. I'd go so far as to say it is one of God's gifts. And strangely I celebrate the process of grief - it provides time to be sad, time to remember and be thankful for the good and ask forgiveness for the bad, time to complete the journey of that relationship. For me it is a precious thing.

As for new life - I planted out the seedlings that have been germinating on my windowsill.

Willow looking cute on my bed

Seedling new life

Seedlings on My Windowsill

2007-06-06T09:08:00.000Z

I do so love germinating seeds. It's so very satisfying to pop inert objects into the ground and then watch as they unfurl and point to the sun. New life.

, ,

Rainy Days and Mondays

2007-05-30T11:34:00.000Z

It's rainy and I'm working at home. Not the greatest of combinations. So I got out my camera and took a couple of shots with my macro lens. A macro lens makes everything better.

The dying remains of some flowers my Mum gave me

The house opposite through the rain on my window

Yet more vegetables preparing to germinate on my windowsill.

Loose Rabbit

2007-05-16T10:52:00.000Z

I've got two rabbits living with me at University. It's a real pleasure to be able to have pets and I especially like rabbits - cute, lovable and just a little dim. My girl (Willow) lives in a hutch with run and the little chap (Barney) in a small hutch next to it. As I don't like to keep him cooped up (and as I've not yet had her spayed) I let him roam the garden in the day when I'm home. The great thing is that, as he fancies Willow he is quite content to simply lie about next to her and not run of.

There's a rabbit loose aboot this hoose.

Mega Seaweed

2007-05-15T09:45:00.000Z

Miso soup is good. Miso soup tends to come with little bits of seaweed chopped up into it. It depends on the make as to how much and what quality you get. I'm usually quite excited by a small inch-square piece. But recently a friend's Mum brought me some seaweed back from Singapore, and this stuff is big, I mean really big. After soaking it expands to a completely ludicrous size and I then add it directly to a sachet of instant miso soup for some seriously souped-up seaweed. Nice.

Now that's what I call seaweed

seaweed, miso soup, vegetarian

My Rabbts

2007-05-13T00:29:00.000Z

Here are a couple of photos of my little bunnies taken today. Cheryl helped me wash Barney in the afternoon and then gave him a full grooming. He doesn't entirely like the process but is very patient. Willow on the other hand was just being generally cute and loveable trying to win James over.

Barney having a rub down

Willow in the hands of James

Deep Sea Fishing

2007-05-06T16:48:00.000Z

Yes I am a vegetarian but today some friends on the Isle of Wight took me deep sea fishing. First we went out to a shallow sand bank or something and caught mackrel then went to some deep water to try for bigger fish which nobody managed to catch.

I caught nothing during the whole trip, but this was mostly my fault. In the mackrel grounds everyone was dropping a line with 4 hooks on and almost imediatly pulling out three or four mackrel. These were then tossed into a basket after being removed from the line (not always easy it seemed).

At first I wasn't prepaired to join in. I don't do killing much. But as I considered the situation I decided that if I could just catch one fish I could then hold it as it died and then eat it later. I wasn't really comfortable with the whole tossing copious amounts into a basket.

Unfortunately just as I was ready to try this and ask for a line with just the one hook (I really didn't want to risk killing 4 of the little chaps) we were told to raise our lines and we moved on for the bigger fish. For these we used bait and a single hook so for the full 3ish hours I did try and catch something as I was prepaired to kill and eat the one. But nothing took. So I came away empty.

Actually this makes me feel good. I tried and lost. It was a risk and I spent energy and came away with nothing (I could have gathered far more vegetables with that energy). But I do feel anoyed that I didn't give it a go with the mackrel just to see if I could have coped with it dying in me hands (though the experience of Roo, my rabbit, dying in my arms last year I used as preparation). It would have then been an interesting experience cooking and eating it.

Next time.

Chaplaincy Wireless

2007-04-17T17:29:00.000Z

Simon Stevens (Yellow) benieth the new wi-fi unit

southampton university, chaplaincy, wireless

The Chaplaincy is Wireless

2007-04-16T15:59:00.000Z

Horah! The Southampton University Chaplaincy is now wireless :)

Here we are, three of us with laptops (Alex, Rob and myself) sitting in the Chaplaincy with our laptops enjoying the delights of the internet in a new setting. Sad I know. But bring your laptops along to the Chaplaincy (just along from the big Jubilee swimming pool towards Portswood) and enjoy the Chaplaincy internet cafe - "Cheaper than Lattes, Closer than Home"

Alex and Helen

Rob and Andy

Simon (Yellow) Stevens

university of southampton, soton, chaplaincy

Extraction of a Heat Exchanger

2007-04-15T23:07:00.000Z

We in the Kitchener Community had a fantastic weekend with old friends joining us for a couple of days of garden enjoyment. I'll post later about the actual gardening we did, but here I just wanted to share one of the most exciting finds of the weekend.

We were discussing how to turn our hobo stove into a hot water heater for our outdoor bath when Hallam (Rachel's now fiancee !!) mentioned that hot water tanks have heat exchangers. At which point James stepped over to take a look at the hot water tank we have lying around the side. Sure enough inside was a perfect coil of copper tubing - perfect for the stove (in fact it was what we had thought of making). After a little extraction exercise it was free, and a thing of beauty it is too. Now we just need to work out how to fix it in the oil drum.

James and Luke cut a window in the tank to have a look

Then set about freeing the coil from it's housing

Exposed it sat lurking inside like some eroded rib cage

Ben standing victorious with the coil. Result.

heat exchanger, plumbing, hot water

Photovoltaics

2007-04-09T16:43:00.000Z

Our groovey blue photovoltaic crystals.

Blogging on the Roof

2007-04-09T16:14:00.000Z

Over the Easter weekend Chris and I have been helping install my parents new solar water heating panels. We already have a nice shiney set of photovoltaics (the true electricity-producing 'solar panels') which produce about 5 kWh in the summer, but in a further attempt to reduce our carbon footprint (and enchance my step fathers PhD research) we've invested in these new panels to generate all the hotwater needed in summer to remove the need for burning the boiler (which itself generates electricity).

On Good Friday we raised the panel onto the roof and then today have been preparing the piping to connect it into the water tank. Before it's conected the panel is kept under cover (hence the brown cardboard) to prevent it over heating while it's dry. When it's connected up with water flowing it will be generating hot water whenever the sun is out as there is a tiny solar powered pump to drive the system - how neat.

Our panels are pretty damn cool and are made by Solar Twin. Check out their website and why not pick yourself out a panel for your house.

Peter and our eco-roof (photovoltaics behind and solar water heater infront).

The water heating panel up close.

Me blogging on the roof. I've also slept on this roof.

solar panels, photovoltaics, solar water heating panels, Solar Twin

Good Friday Sunrise

2007-04-08T23:04:00.000Z

Following my Tesco adventure I was quiter excited to find the sun begin to rise a little after 5 am as I passed Swindon. I'm not usually a big one for sunrises, I've never been that impressed when sunsets are so accessible and impressive. But this one blew me away. For about 10 minutes there was this stiking band of deep red on the horizon and eventually it burst into deep oranges and yellows. It was so striking that I had to stop at a petrol station and stand watching it for a quater of an hour or so. It was splendid and the break gave me a good oppertunity to reflect and pray. Glorious.

Sunrise on Good Friday

Good Friday, sunrise, Easter

4 am in Tesco

2007-04-08T22:26:00.000Z

So it was a tad late (well, early on Friday morning) when I eventually set off home for Cheltenham after having spent a lovely day with my good friend. I decided it would be a handy move to stop at Tesco at Winchester to get some essentials, like my Easter eggs, and check that I was awake and safe enough to drive. I also found that my iPod hadn't synced my friends album I'd copied for the journey. So I popped my MacBook Pro in my trolly and connected the iPod up. Of course the idea of opening up my Photo Booth camera was obvious and so here is a little log of my Tesco adventure. I did take some video which I'll see if I can upload to YouTube.

Goodbye as you enter Tesco

Shoppers are replaced by re-stocking trolleys

A little procrastination before the real task of shopping

Tesco do a good line in Fair Trade coffee, but I wasn't after this

I needed Timotei...

tishews (if only they were spelt sensibly)...

some sweets (american hard gums)...

drugs for my headaches...

and I found Quarn on offer @ 2 for £3

But what I'd really come for was Easter Eggs (yes I appreciate the lack of forward planning)

I picked up a Fair Trade egg

and a 3 for £3 offer * on Cadbury's (though they only had flake)

Then took it all to the rather lonely checkout man who suspected I was slightly odd seeing as how I was wondering round the store at 4am with a Laptop in my trolley taking photos and not wearing any shoes.

* as it turned out both my Mum and Brother had also got the same offer so we all swapped Cadbury eggs.

easter, tesco, 4am

Mahusive Phahesis

2007-04-02T16:51:00.000Z

Today it all began. This is the beggining of the end. Today I opened TeXnicCenter and created my thesis document and wrote a few lines in it. I hear that writing the first line in any document is the most difficult so with that done the rest will be a breese, surly.

It will be alright won't it?

, , It has begun

Kitchener Commuity in the Garden

2007-03-31T16:54:00.000Z

Nick Bailey

Ben Wakelin and Hannah Watson

Luke Blunden

kitchener community, Southampton, garden

Vegetable Patch Extension

2007-03-29T09:36:00.000Z

Here are a couple of shots of the newly extended vegetable patch in the Kitchener Community garden. I've moved the compost bin into a sunnier corner, made a square path out of the paving slabs from the front, spaced out the spinach and just last night planted the special potatoes that my step father got me. I'm rather pleased with the ridge and furrow system I have them in, sure it looks a little like a mass pet burial, but hopefully it will give good results from this carbohydrate staple.

My newly extended vegetable patch

My new hoe and th potato ridge-and-furrow system.

Kitchener Community, gardening, potatoes, Southampton

Nick Bailey's Asteroid Research

2007-03-27T23:47:00.000Z

If you ever wanted to know what my research was actually about you can now read a New Scientist article online about it. Follow the link above.

asteroid, asteroid+impact, neo impactor, University of Southampton

Evening in the Kitchener Community Garden

2007-03-26T15:57:00.000Z

Surreal, I know, but I did indeed enjoy a bath in the Kitchener Community garden late yesterday evening. In celebration of the extra hour's light and with James Ayrton gracing us with his presence, we decided to light up the hobo stove. During the day Luke and Ben had made some excellent progress on the stove adding a chimney and plating off the old top hole. We then ground down the top surface to remove the paint and gave it a good clean to prepare the cooking surface.

As it got dark we fired her up with lots of wood that Luke had broken up. As it warmed I oiled the top surface and built up the wok-like patina. I then got a couple of eggs, some sliced courgettes and tomatoes as well as some bread and fried it all up with some oil on the stove. It tasted awesome - the stove works!

We played around for some hours and tried to construct a rudimentary heat exchanger out of some old copper piping in order to fill our garden bath. Unfortunately we only succeeded in raising the temperature from outside-tab-cold to tepid warm. Not bad, but not that great either. So with a couple of buckets of hot water from inside I was ready to have a bath in the garden (wearing swimming shorts of course). I tell you it was a strangely satisfying experience. I've longed to have a bath in my house for three years and finally my wish came true. Not only that, but I enjoyed it at eye level with the daffodils. Wonderful :)

The newly chimneyed hobo stove

Me in our garden bath

Right at daffodil level

garden bath, fire, hobo stove

Drinking in the USA

2007-03-14T02:23:00.000Z

I tried and mostly failed to find anywhere to get a drink while out in Washington. At first I thought I'd go to a supermarket and find something nice to watch a film with. No such luck - the supermarkets just don't appear to have a beer/wine section. I did end up coming across a wine store which was pretty mahusive, and picked up a rather rough vin rouge.

I also hoped, seeing as how I was working and staying in the midst of the George Washington University that I would pop along to their equivalent of the Union Bar. I didn't so much want to go for the actual drink but with the hope of meeting and getting to know some real students. But no such luck again. Of course with the alcohol limit being 21 there is simply little need to have a bar in the uni as it could only serve the postgrads - crazy!

So I eventually found a bar in Chinatown that served a wide range of beers (real beers, not the nats piss that they usually try to pass a beer) from around the world. I tried their darkest offering which was from Michigan and very tasty, quite thick and hard work but well worth it. Sadly while I was sitting at the bar exactly nobody talked to me as they all had more interesting friends to chat with. I had much more luck with the homeless and random people commenting on my shoelessness.

American beer, Washington DC, shoelessness

Washington Wireless - Juice Zone

2007-03-09T18:53:00.000Z

I've found a wireless zone in Washington DC. 1900 I Street NW it's called Jice Zone and has a quite mesmerising array of fresh smoothies. Awesome.

Really?! This was a surprise to find I can tell you

Juice Zone, wireless Washington DC, Washington DC

A Snowy Wonder Round Washington DC

2007-03-09T18:26:00.000Z

These shots were taken on Wednesday after my rather horrendous conference experience (previous post). It had snowed all day and the city looked pretty beautiful.

The last remnants of prohibition (not really)

Standing in the (drained) National Monument reflecting pool

On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

The Washington Monument

America likes it's flag, and I quite like that

Last Minute Planetary Defence

2007-03-08T04:08:00.000Z

So the conference today was a bit of an experience. Preferably one not to repeat again. Quite frankly it near enough put me off continuing in my field of research.

I arrived for breakfast with a pretty bad headache and the organiser asked if I'd be able to expand my poster presentation (2 minutes) up to a full 20 minute + 10 mins of questions job. Like I could refuse. Knowing it's all for the good of my research I agreed and then proceeded to spend the whole morning sessions writing an entirely new presentation. All the talks today were totally related to my work and I could really have done with giving it my full attention. Throughout this my headache didn't abate and rather got worse. In fact I know realise it was a migraine as I threw up in the toilet three times before lunch (one of which I didn't quite make it to the basin). Unlike a standard sickness this didn't make me feel any better so after finishing the slides (not having eaten any lunch) I found a sofa outside the conference room to take a nap in waking up just before I was due onstage.

By now I was feeling more stable and not sick but the head was nicely pounding. With a few prayers sent ahead I got onto the platform and begun, actually feeling quite clear while I was up there. I also felt I spoke reasonable clearly with only a few problems of not knowing what was on the slides (as I'd hardly seen them myself). Having not prepared anything I wasn't clear enough in introducing the actual results, so when I got to them I was immediately interrupted with a question from the floor. Then another. And I think there might have been a third. They pointed out that my results were void as the object I had simulated impacting should never have made it through the atmosphere (according to the research presented earlier in the day). This helped enormously as you can expect. But I think I answered their questions and continued onto the rest of the results and reached the end of the 20 minutes (surprisingly - I was expecting to fall short).

Then the questions started. Quite frankly I can't remember what was said but the first question was valid and all the others simply laid into me tearing my research to pieces. By the time I escaped the podium I was just about in tears and spent the next hour holding them back and hoping nobody would come and talk to me as that would have tipped me over the edge - especially if anyone had offered me any encouragement.

So that was all a bit shit and as I said it's totally destroyed any interest in me continuing in this research. I'd take a years postdoc if offered but only as a filler.

The ironic thing is that the final talk (and some other points made previously) highlighted how damn old the people in this field are and how they need to attract new people. The final presented said something to the effect that it's too insular and very hard for newbies to break through and present their work. I agreed and would quite definitely favour moving to the world of climate change as that is something I care far more deeply about.

So tomorrow I'll have to show my face again (though i might have a shave - I think this was one of my biggest mistakes, I should have shaved before to make myself look younger and less knowledgeable) and see if I can extract the wreckage of my research and dignity from the feasted remains. I'll also try hard not to get angry at one of the old gits who was quite horrid today.

Planetary Defence Conference 2007, asteroid impact, Washington DC

nickbailey the US and A

2007-03-06T03:22:00.000Z

Here I am, in the good old United States for a conference this week concerning planetary defence. Yes. Panic not, the potential fate of humanity is resting in the George Washington University and I'm here to add my 10 cents later this week. No pressure of anything.

I have many things to write about here concerning America in all its... its... well, America-ish-ness. To be quite frank there is quite a lot here that gives me the willies, mostly due to the massive control that the government seems to manage to exert over the people. It smacks more than a little of China.

But for now I'll just leave you with a little excerpt from the Visa Waiver green form that must be filled in before entering the country. After filling in details about who you are and where they can hunt you down if required they try and catch out the real hard nosed baddies by some particularly cunning Yes/No questions. Question 'B' concludes:

"Are you seeking entry to engage in criminal or immoral activities."

Yes. Woops! I mean no!

Old Friends and a Monastic Weekend

2007-03-01T15:57:00.000Z

I've spent a glorious barefoot weekend visiting friends and making a pilgrimage to Worth Abbey for a weekend retreat.

The weekend begun at about 2pm on the platform of Southampton Central where I removed my sandals and packed them deep into my rucksack hoping not to remove them again. I boarded the 2:20 train to London (which I just managed to catch despite the horrors of the Southampton bus network trying to thwart me) and got out my MacBook and began working on my conference poster for next week. My battery lasted exactly the whole journey with the 8 minute warning just as we pulled into Victoria.

It was then 5 pm as I strolled barefoot through the station, making an oddly loud noise on the cool paving slabs. It was rush hour and the number of people all around was quite uplifting in an odd sort of way. In fact in exactly the opposite way to the crowds in West Quay. People here seem to flow better, knowing where they are going and actually using their brains (is that to harsh on the general Southampton populace?).

I picked up some supplies in a local supermarket and then caught the underground to South Kensington to take a look in the V&A Museum at the advice of my good friend Hannah Hawksley. It's free and open late on Fridays - bonus - and had a very interesting display of Chinese artefacts, some of which show the most stunningly intricate craft work. The V&A seemed to be barefoot friendly :)

I then took the tube right across central London to Stratford where a friend from my teaching trip in China, Chin Hwa, now lives and works. Chin had made a grand dinner with black bean tofu and a peanut veggie dish which was all very tasty. Another of my good friends from Hong Kong, Queenie, joined. It was simply lovely to catch up as it had been two years since we'd seen each other (actually in Hong Kong). I was also able to fix the odd light bulb and door handle crisis.

Queenie and I then took the tube back and I got off at Victoria. I must say that the underground was also very barefoot friendly. My Prague metro experience was good and London was as good - very little rubbish on the floor to worry about and nice long escalators to run up :)

My train got into Worth Station at about 1 and from there, after a brief key loss panic, I made my way to the abbey. Thankfully the majority of the road surfaces were in good repair, and only the last stretch really hurt. The warm-ish rain helped stave off the cold. When I reached the abbey I found I'd miss heard the accommodation key code and so settled down to sleep on the floor of the main abbey, which is really beautiful at night with only the alter floodlit.

The rest of the weekend retreat was simply beautiful. The monks were as loving as ever and gave good direction for my thoughts and prayers. I made one exploration down to the quite garden through quite a muddy field which was very pleasing. I also managed to finally find time to quieten my inner monologue and actually contemplate things. I also strengthened some good friendships and thoroughly enjoyed the company. I also encouraged a friend who had got her shoes soaked to take off her socks as well and go barefooted - and she loved it, which was quite exciting for me too :)

So a very blessed weekend sharing with old and new friends and with the Lord. Good. Very good.

Actually taken last year, but it's not changed much.

Worth Abbey, The Monastery, pilgrimage

3:42 - Time for Coffee and Soup

2007-02-15T03:43:00.000Z

Work is going well this evening. Time still seems to be pottering by at a rate, but I'm getting words down onto paper. I've only had an hours sleep in the past 43 hours, which is kind of strange. I can feel the stress in my brain, and tension in my neck but I'm not really that tired. I remember the last time I did this in my fourth year GDP project - on the third day my body gave up being tired and simply started aching instead.

I've certainly noticed my mood change. While I'm still quite jovial and bright, my general background mood is much more depressed than yesterday evening. I'm still happy to bound up the corridor (still can only make it in 13 leaps) but somehow my hope and excitement for tomorrow is faded. It's almost as if the future has been closed off and I'm left here now, mostly content, but somewhat suspicious about tomorrow.

As my brother used to tag: "the light at the end of the tunnel has now been switched off".

Pint of coffee and a miso soup

sleep deprivation, PhD Research, miso soup

Up All Night - 6

2007-02-14T08:38:00.000Z

Well it's now tomorrow (or is that yesterday?) and I'm still here. I've got results. I've got results choped up into a spreadsheet. I've got spreadsheets somewhat organised. All I have left to do is write the paper. Easy.

Since sunrise the building has become populated again. First the cleaning staff, then the real keenies and now more normal folks who simply like to get in early. I did have a little hours nap on my desk, so I'm feeling refreshed and ready to go.

Up All Night - 5

2007-02-14T04:23:00.000Z

Time really does seem to be escaping me. I'm stuck into doing data manipulation so that I can find out what my results are actually telling me. Then I need to tell my paper what the results have told me. Maybe a beer will oil the cogs...

A very nice ale

Up All Night - 4

2007-02-14T02:24:00.001Z

Did it in 13 leaps that time.

Up All Night - 3

2007-02-14T01:52:00.000Z

Security arrives at last. 1:48 am this nice security guard called James (at lease I think it was James, it was a beige-yellow name at least*) stopped by to check my Out of Hours form was in order. Therefore I am now authorised to be here all night. It's getting late (or is that early?) surprisingly quickly. It's 2 am already and I've not really got much started yet. (No, it's not too much blogging - time just flies when having fun)

*turns out it was Steve - a more yellow name than I was expecting

Halt! Who goes there?

Southampton University, PhD Research, Security Guards

Up All Night - 2

2007-02-14T01:03:00.000Z

Bloody hell. I did actually find yet another bug in my simulation which was acting as a memory leak. That is now fixed but I'm going to be working on slightly more coarse data due to time limitations. I'm currently building my second data set for comparison.

In the last hour I've mostly been fiddling in order to get my iSight built in webcam to work as a video camera so that I can hopefully take you on a little stroll of the building later in the night. I've also drunk a pint of crysantemum tea. Not much to report really. Though oddly enough security have not come past yet (usually they seem to turn up at about 12:30).

Asteroid simulations running

Southampton University, SES, PhD Research

Up All Night - 1

2007-02-13T23:54:00.000Z

So the night begins. It's now gone 11. Yikes, it's just gone 12. Where has that last hour gone?!?

You join me tonight as I proceed to work throuhg the night writing my paper for an upcoming conference. Today I finally made the breakthrough which allows me to generate the results for said paper. Meaning I can now get on an actually write the results and conclusion (the into and methodology are done).

But quite frankly that's of no interest to you. No. Me neither for that metter. No, what will be more interesting and really cook your noodle, is what will happen over the course of the next 7-10 hours. What will I learn, what crazy things can I find to do in this building in the wee small hours. Can I find any other friends to make? I'll try and blog each hour with a photo if I can.

For one thing I've already found that my office is 16 leaps from the toilet - can I beat this target?

The story begins

Who needs LSD when you have an imagination like mine?

late night engineering, Southampton University, asteroid impact research

My Precious

2007-02-13T22:13:00.001Z

Many moons have I waited for this day. I remember seeing the rush of people buying the Fellowship DVD's when they first came out all those years ago. But I waited. Then I looked on at amused their dismayed faces when, just before the second film was released, the Fellowship extended edition box came out and they had to buy that. But I waited. Still further, as the Two Towers DVD appeared and went, I waited. And sure enough out came the exvended edition and yet again these poor hapless souls forked out for that too. By this time I was sure there would be an extended edition boxed set and so still I waited. The third film, third DVD and third extended edition came to pass, and still I bided my time. Then, finally the boxed set was released!

But at 60 odd quid I though it best to wait a little while longer. For a few months it harboured, festered almost, in my Amazon wish list, untill one day, as I loged in to my shopping basket I was presented with a notice saying that the boxed set had dropped in price by £7.

And so here I am, master of delayed gratification, finally with the boxed set sitting on my desk. It is a many splendid thing and I look forward to delving into it's depths (though I've caught glimpses here and there of the various bits (yet never actually seen The Return extended edition).

My geek status has been achieved.

Lord of the Rings, LOTR extended edition box set

Coding Late at Night

2007-02-08T22:25:00.000Z

A little ale to help the late night coding run smoothly. They talk of beer goggles and the beer scooter - well I'm trialing the beer coder.

Shhh!

black sheep, real ale, coding

2007-02-08T16:01:00.000Z

Finally I felt the urge to try some arty photography. I've not done any for so long now, but desiring to play with my spark stick (used for lighting fires) rather than go to bed, I took these shots.

Colours muted slightly - I love the bounce captured.

Some sparks burst apart giving the secondary rays.

Here I struck the sparks above the lene to let them rain down.

Navigation

2007-01-25T15:17:00.000Z

There is little I like better than getting out in the vast expanse of outside (preferable somewhere remote) with a map and compass and going for a walk. I love the challenge of the weather and survival; I get a thrill out of seeing nature and landscapes as they once were, untamed; and I love the sense of achievement following a successful day of navigating.

I tried to take this shot to capture that sense of excitement from navigation while walking in Wales over New Year.

navigation, Mid Wales, photography