Sunday, February 26, 2006
The Man Who Sold The World
I feel good tonight. My final year project is getting nearer and nearer to completion. Still a couple of things to do over the next few days but it is almost 'playable'. Considering i took an entire week out it still appears on track. The transfer system is the only thing that stands in my way =/
Still big yay for Sigur Ros, but also David Bowie, Nirvana, Zero 7, Bon Jovi, Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, UNKLE and Fun Lovin' Criminals for the past few days. Quite a mix really =)
I watched the program on E=MC2 yesterday. It wasn't so much a documentry, more a reenactment of how it was discovered. Very clever people were involved. You might've seen it, i think it was on over summer. Well i thought it was good, i seem to be into my science atm for some reason.
I presumed people already knew what Dante's Inferno was, but people have asked me about it. Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet who was around at the begining of the 14th century. He wrote an epic poem called The Divine Comedy, which was split into the three parts of Inferno (Hell), Purgatory and Paradise (Heaven). It's very famous. The first part, Inferno, is considered the best and is by far the most well known. It's used as reference in many books and films (Se7en is a good example). Dante was a Christian.
Basically, Dante himself becomes lost in a dense forest and is saved by a poet, who Dante admired in real life, Virgil (he's dead). Virgil has to guide Dante through Hell in order to escape the place he's ended up. Hell is split into 9 circles: Limbo, The Lustful, The Gluttonous, Misers, The Wrathful, Heretics, The Violent (Murderers, Suicides, Blasphemers/Sodomites), The Fraudulent (Seducers, Flatterers, Simoniancs, Magicians/Fortune Tellers, Barrators, Hypocrites, Thieves, Counsellors of Fraud, Sowers of Discord, Falsifiers) and The Treacherous (Betrayers of Family, Country, Guests, Benefactors). These circles form a cone shape, leading down to Lucifer.
He generally speaks to someone at every level and learns of their story and mentions who he sees down there (a lot of names, from the world and from myth).
I thought i'd just give you an insight there. Sod it I'll tell you how it starts.
Inferno I, 1-9
Halfway along our journey to life's end
I found myself astray in a dark wood
Where the right way was nowhere to be found.
How hard a thing it is to express the horror
Of that wild wood, so difficult, so dense!
Even to think of it renews my terror.
It is so bitter death is scarcely more.
But to convey what goodness I discovered,
I shall tell everything that I saw there.
Peace x
Friday, February 24, 2006
Just Like Heaven
Another fairly busy week gone by. Feeling slightly tired and drained. I haven't done any of my final year project in the last 7 days as i've been preoccupied with other modules, but i'll be turning it back round for the next 7 days.
My Ongoing Assesment mark for my project (A) was confirmed. "Dave has put in a consistently high standard of work in the development of his fantasy football league application. This somewhat ambitious project is well on schedule." =)
Not a lot of news to report this week. I've been finding the love of the beautiful Sigur Ros once more, it's been helping me sleep and just enjoying quiet moments of reflection and appreciation.
I've also been reading Dante's Inferno in my spare time, which has been great. It's fast moving and interesting all the time and it's easy to pick up and just read a chapter. It can be a difficult read at times though, with all the references to people and events i've not heard of, but the translation (J G Nichols) also has notes and it reads really well. Apparently, in Hell, Magicians, Fortune-Tellers and Hypocrites are all below Murderers and Suicides.
This evening I downloaded and watched a Horizon episode on the guy who solved Fermat's Last Theorem (which i admit i never really understood fully before today). It was pretty inspiring, it was his dream to solve the problem since when he was 10 (also he looked just like Napoleon Dynamite, which kinda paints a picture of him) and it took him 7 solid years locked away in his attic, but the emotion he showed recalling all the events, especially when he finally did it, was quite moving. Respect to the guy, he was really humble and was just wanting to achieve his dream, and he's rightly gone down in history for his achievment.
In a nutshell, the theorem was:
(x^n)+(y^n)!=(z^n) For n > 2
But the problem comes about trying to prove that for whole number values of x,y,z,n. If it looks similar to you that's because it's Pythagoras' Theorem for n=2. The documentry hardly went into any details of the actual maths, but it's a very hard problem - it involved very cool areas such as elliptic curves and modular forms =)
I suppose there are few who have read this and not been bored so i apologise, it just interested me. Math is interesting =P
I'll leave you with a nice picture by William Blake, Whirlwind of Lovers (Illustration to Dante's Inferno) 
Friday, February 17, 2006
Losing My Religion
To me, this really is a song i cannot get bored of. That seems to be a very rare thing, even with bands I really love. I'm so glad i was able to see it live, i wouldn't imagine having the opportunity again.
I've finished a big part of my Final Year Project: Administration. I can now add matches and add/edit/delete both Players and Clubs. In past experiences it's the admin section of a site that causes the most tears. It may even be ready for testing in a couple of weeks and would appreciate anyone willing to give it a go and give me some feedback as it's a very important part of the project. Just let me know if you can =)
I've spent the last week with my super amazing gf which has been really good. It's helped reduce stress levels and i'm feeling a lot better now, must've been just what i needed =)
Six weeks 'till Easter. This is definately Uni make or break time now. it's seems such a small amount of time to decide the outcome of these 4 years in Middlesbrough. I'll be glad to leave M'bro, but at the same time i know i'll miss this student lifestyle - i'll probably only be a student this once.
Anyways, have a watch of this. I was reading the Radiohead Blog and Thom Yorke found it while looking for a drum machine =)
Drum Machine
Peace x
Monday, February 06, 2006
Around The Fur
This is a bit of a forced post really. I've not posted anoything in 2 weeks, but haven't felt inspired to do so at all. I've still not really been sleeping that well. It's not helped by the fact i have so much work to do, the more i do of my Final Year Project the bigger it seems to get. My noraml lectures are starting again this week so i'll just see how it goes.
The Super Bowl was last night, i enjoyed watching it. The Rolling Stones played in the half time show and they rocked =)
I watched Boogie Nights the other night. It was a really good film i thought, it was pretty funny but got a bit Requiem for a Dream like near the end (only with a happy ending). It's definatly worth a watch. (Added male incentive: it's about pron)
fin.
Still big yay for Sigur Ros, but also David Bowie, Nirvana, Zero 7, Bon Jovi, Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, UNKLE and Fun Lovin' Criminals for the past few days. Quite a mix really =)
I watched the program on E=MC2 yesterday. It wasn't so much a documentry, more a reenactment of how it was discovered. Very clever people were involved. You might've seen it, i think it was on over summer. Well i thought it was good, i seem to be into my science atm for some reason.
I presumed people already knew what Dante's Inferno was, but people have asked me about it. Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet who was around at the begining of the 14th century. He wrote an epic poem called The Divine Comedy, which was split into the three parts of Inferno (Hell), Purgatory and Paradise (Heaven). It's very famous. The first part, Inferno, is considered the best and is by far the most well known. It's used as reference in many books and films (Se7en is a good example). Dante was a Christian.
Basically, Dante himself becomes lost in a dense forest and is saved by a poet, who Dante admired in real life, Virgil (he's dead). Virgil has to guide Dante through Hell in order to escape the place he's ended up. Hell is split into 9 circles: Limbo, The Lustful, The Gluttonous, Misers, The Wrathful, Heretics, The Violent (Murderers, Suicides, Blasphemers/Sodomites), The Fraudulent (Seducers, Flatterers, Simoniancs, Magicians/Fortune Tellers, Barrators, Hypocrites, Thieves, Counsellors of Fraud, Sowers of Discord, Falsifiers) and The Treacherous (Betrayers of Family, Country, Guests, Benefactors). These circles form a cone shape, leading down to Lucifer.
He generally speaks to someone at every level and learns of their story and mentions who he sees down there (a lot of names, from the world and from myth).
I thought i'd just give you an insight there. Sod it I'll tell you how it starts.
Inferno I, 1-9
Halfway along our journey to life's end
I found myself astray in a dark wood
Where the right way was nowhere to be found.How hard a thing it is to express the horror
Of that wild wood, so difficult, so dense!
Even to think of it renews my terror.It is so bitter death is scarcely more.
But to convey what goodness I discovered,
I shall tell everything that I saw there.
Peace x
Just Like Heaven
Another fairly busy week gone by. Feeling slightly tired and drained. I haven't done any of my final year project in the last 7 days as i've been preoccupied with other modules, but i'll be turning it back round for the next 7 days.
My Ongoing Assesment mark for my project (A) was confirmed. "Dave has put in a consistently high standard of work in the development of his fantasy football league application. This somewhat ambitious project is well on schedule." =)
Not a lot of news to report this week. I've been finding the love of the beautiful Sigur Ros once more, it's been helping me sleep and just enjoying quiet moments of reflection and appreciation.
I've also been reading Dante's Inferno in my spare time, which has been great. It's fast moving and interesting all the time and it's easy to pick up and just read a chapter. It can be a difficult read at times though, with all the references to people and events i've not heard of, but the translation (J G Nichols) also has notes and it reads really well. Apparently, in Hell, Magicians, Fortune-Tellers and Hypocrites are all below Murderers and Suicides.
This evening I downloaded and watched a Horizon episode on the guy who solved Fermat's Last Theorem (which i admit i never really understood fully before today). It was pretty inspiring, it was his dream to solve the problem since when he was 10 (also he looked just like Napoleon Dynamite, which kinda paints a picture of him) and it took him 7 solid years locked away in his attic, but the emotion he showed recalling all the events, especially when he finally did it, was quite moving. Respect to the guy, he was really humble and was just wanting to achieve his dream, and he's rightly gone down in history for his achievment.
In a nutshell, the theorem was:
(x^n)+(y^n)!=(z^n) For n > 2
But the problem comes about trying to prove that for whole number values of x,y,z,n. If it looks similar to you that's because it's Pythagoras' Theorem for n=2. The documentry hardly went into any details of the actual maths, but it's a very hard problem - it involved very cool areas such as elliptic curves and modular forms =)
I suppose there are few who have read this and not been bored so i apologise, it just interested me. Math is interesting =P
I'll leave you with a nice picture by William Blake, Whirlwind of Lovers (Illustration to Dante's Inferno)
My Ongoing Assesment mark for my project (A) was confirmed. "Dave has put in a consistently high standard of work in the development of his fantasy football league application. This somewhat ambitious project is well on schedule." =)
Not a lot of news to report this week. I've been finding the love of the beautiful Sigur Ros once more, it's been helping me sleep and just enjoying quiet moments of reflection and appreciation.
I've also been reading Dante's Inferno in my spare time, which has been great. It's fast moving and interesting all the time and it's easy to pick up and just read a chapter. It can be a difficult read at times though, with all the references to people and events i've not heard of, but the translation (J G Nichols) also has notes and it reads really well. Apparently, in Hell, Magicians, Fortune-Tellers and Hypocrites are all below Murderers and Suicides.
This evening I downloaded and watched a Horizon episode on the guy who solved Fermat's Last Theorem (which i admit i never really understood fully before today). It was pretty inspiring, it was his dream to solve the problem since when he was 10 (also he looked just like Napoleon Dynamite, which kinda paints a picture of him) and it took him 7 solid years locked away in his attic, but the emotion he showed recalling all the events, especially when he finally did it, was quite moving. Respect to the guy, he was really humble and was just wanting to achieve his dream, and he's rightly gone down in history for his achievment.
In a nutshell, the theorem was:
But the problem comes about trying to prove that for whole number values of x,y,z,n. If it looks similar to you that's because it's Pythagoras' Theorem for n=2. The documentry hardly went into any details of the actual maths, but it's a very hard problem - it involved very cool areas such as elliptic curves and modular forms =)
I suppose there are few who have read this and not been bored so i apologise, it just interested me. Math is interesting =P
I'll leave you with a nice picture by William Blake, Whirlwind of Lovers (Illustration to Dante's Inferno)
Friday, February 17, 2006
Losing My Religion
To me, this really is a song i cannot get bored of. That seems to be a very rare thing, even with bands I really love. I'm so glad i was able to see it live, i wouldn't imagine having the opportunity again.
I've finished a big part of my Final Year Project: Administration. I can now add matches and add/edit/delete both Players and Clubs. In past experiences it's the admin section of a site that causes the most tears. It may even be ready for testing in a couple of weeks and would appreciate anyone willing to give it a go and give me some feedback as it's a very important part of the project. Just let me know if you can =)
I've spent the last week with my super amazing gf which has been really good. It's helped reduce stress levels and i'm feeling a lot better now, must've been just what i needed =)
Six weeks 'till Easter. This is definately Uni make or break time now. it's seems such a small amount of time to decide the outcome of these 4 years in Middlesbrough. I'll be glad to leave M'bro, but at the same time i know i'll miss this student lifestyle - i'll probably only be a student this once.
Anyways, have a watch of this. I was reading the Radiohead Blog and Thom Yorke found it while looking for a drum machine =)
Drum Machine
Peace x
Monday, February 06, 2006
Around The Fur
This is a bit of a forced post really. I've not posted anoything in 2 weeks, but haven't felt inspired to do so at all. I've still not really been sleeping that well. It's not helped by the fact i have so much work to do, the more i do of my Final Year Project the bigger it seems to get. My noraml lectures are starting again this week so i'll just see how it goes.
The Super Bowl was last night, i enjoyed watching it. The Rolling Stones played in the half time show and they rocked =)
I watched Boogie Nights the other night. It was a really good film i thought, it was pretty funny but got a bit Requiem for a Dream like near the end (only with a happy ending). It's definatly worth a watch. (Added male incentive: it's about pron)
fin.
I've finished a big part of my Final Year Project: Administration. I can now add matches and add/edit/delete both Players and Clubs. In past experiences it's the admin section of a site that causes the most tears. It may even be ready for testing in a couple of weeks and would appreciate anyone willing to give it a go and give me some feedback as it's a very important part of the project. Just let me know if you can =)
I've spent the last week with my super amazing gf which has been really good. It's helped reduce stress levels and i'm feeling a lot better now, must've been just what i needed =)
Six weeks 'till Easter. This is definately Uni make or break time now. it's seems such a small amount of time to decide the outcome of these 4 years in Middlesbrough. I'll be glad to leave M'bro, but at the same time i know i'll miss this student lifestyle - i'll probably only be a student this once.
Anyways, have a watch of this. I was reading the Radiohead Blog and Thom Yorke found it while looking for a drum machine =)
Drum MachinePeace x
Around The Fur
This is a bit of a forced post really. I've not posted anoything in 2 weeks, but haven't felt inspired to do so at all. I've still not really been sleeping that well. It's not helped by the fact i have so much work to do, the more i do of my Final Year Project the bigger it seems to get. My noraml lectures are starting again this week so i'll just see how it goes.
The Super Bowl was last night, i enjoyed watching it. The Rolling Stones played in the half time show and they rocked =)
I watched Boogie Nights the other night. It was a really good film i thought, it was pretty funny but got a bit Requiem for a Dream like near the end (only with a happy ending). It's definatly worth a watch. (Added male incentive: it's about pron)
fin.
The Super Bowl was last night, i enjoyed watching it. The Rolling Stones played in the half time show and they rocked =)
I watched Boogie Nights the other night. It was a really good film i thought, it was pretty funny but got a bit Requiem for a Dream like near the end (only with a happy ending). It's definatly worth a watch. (Added male incentive: it's about pron)
fin.