Tuesday, 29 November 2005

Slow, grinding progress


Which is often the most useful kind. 'Cos it means I'm concentrating on what I'm doing.

Well, as I've said before, there are two times of year I dread at work. One is the end of the financial year, the other is the end of the calendar year. Why the second one is so important, I don't know, but it must be some sort of psychological deadline which everyone suddently sets themselves. Granted, the New Year is a great time to make resolutions, and I always hope the next year will be even better than the one before... BUT, how many people will stick to those resolutions, eh? I know the gym had cleared out a heck of a lot by March, so why bother trying to stick to the end-of-year mentalness??

Ach, I'm being melodramatic. In fairness, there's just a lot of stuff I agreed to do ages ago. But the real pressure is coming from the Rolling ("Russell") Grant which looms, if not large, then loomingly! We're supposed to be churning a few more articles out so that it can go in the hallowed book that is our RG application. Hence, I need to crack on with data analysis (which I actually like, it being The Science and all), but yet somehow do everything else that everyone else "needs" me to do before Christmas. Was it a blunder agreeing to be on the Social Club committee?

Anyway, I'm sitting here waiting for a load of images to be co-aligned in time, but it's taking a while. However, I have now got a rather nice data-gap and GOES monitor running underneath my movies, which I'll probably use a lot in the future. When I thought about it, there was no need for messy looping to get the delays -- just a case of shifting and subtracting the array from itself... Yadda yadda....

I'll get me white coat.

Or maybe not. The 'puter is still cranking away.

In other news LS has cancelled this week's Drunk Wednesday. Which I'm secretly quite relieved about. Got to go to somewhere in Essex (don't think I've ever been to Essex) on Thursday night, to give a talk to amateurs (that's not a condescension, by the way), and it's... sort of.... not really ready at all. Got loads of PPT files off of Dr Green, so I just need to work out what the feck I'm going to say about solar magnetism. I've got a few props to break things up, at least...

Help!

Sunday, 27 November 2005

Christmas Flights Booked!

There we are... the mothership, bless her, offered to book my flights for me.

Think she was worried I wasn't coming home for Christmas.

Phonecall was a bit frosty. Hmmmm....

Sunday Petulance

Rubbish

I'm bored, but penniless. I'm also well over the hangover induced by Lord Simon visiting lastnight, replete with bottle of JD. Hence, the answer is to phone people and catch up. Except that my sister's phone goes straight to voicemail, Neilo's on the tear in the Dubai, and Aussie Adrian has fecked off to Oz. Some housemate he turned out to be! ;o)

Why doesn't the world revolve around me? WHY??

Currently weighing up the pros and cons of hitting the hay early. However, I didn't get out of bed til 11:00, so maybe I'll just have to watch Little Britain and Man Stroke Woman (which was a heck of a lot better than I thought it was going to be — think it's the actors -- Nathan Barley and that bloke off of Spaced).

Right, tea-time. Maybe spinach and ricotta will help...

Friday, 25 November 2005

The Old Class




Well, it's a sad day.

Neilo leaves behind Drive, and with it Mr M, Emlyn/Omlyn and Laura.

Recently re-christened "one of the ones who doesn't speak", it feels like he and Mr M have been working together for an age. Still remember when they were doing Early Death™... As well the dubious privelege of sitting in on the odd show or the tail end of an after-show meeting.

So, as a member of the Old Class, he doesn't need my good wishes, but he's getting them anyway.

Best of luck on the next project, Ted. I know you'll make a great success of it. All your colleagues think very highly of you.

The bluffery continues!</CBS>


Eh?



</MG>

Thursday, 24 November 2005

R

After a very enjoyable meal out with some really good friends in the old Moloko tonight, I had to head immediately home. �20 was all I had fer the night. I'm really bored of being broke.

Rant ends.