louise

1 major + 10 minors = FAIL

2009-01-05T17:41:18Z

:-(

Driving test tomorrow

2009-01-04T22:57:36Z

Wish me luck! I'll post the result when I get home in the evening...

New Laptop!

2008-12-29T17:46:22Z

Pretty laptop: Samsung R505 from Argos for £399 (reduced from £499)

www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5080733/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice,+PCs+and+phones%7C10198997/c_2/2%7Ccat_10198997%7CComputers+and+laptops%7C10199166.htm

AMD Turion RM-72 processor

3GB DDR2 RAM

15.4 inch screen

ATI HD 3470 graphics card with 256MB graphics memory

Comes with Windows Vista Premium installed

Weighs 2.7kg

The battery is charging downstairs. Don't want to wait :-)

Happy Birthday Footnotetoplato!

2008-06-19T21:53:19Z

What it says on the tin. May your days be filled with Americaland happiness :)

Wheee!!!

2008-05-19T11:03:53Z

To stay in Oxford - is there anything better?

On Friday, I emailed the DTC saying I couldn't accept their offer - a First was just too high and too much of a risk. They said - come speak to us on Monday.

So today I went to see a very nice woman who runs the Systems Biology DTC. She said that they absolutely wanted me, and that as far as she was concerned I was a first class student regardless of what I get in my exams. Since she runs the DTC that means that if I don't get a First then she will let me in. It's only verbal - she can't give me anything in writing saying they'll let me in even if I don't get a First, but I think it's enough - I just have to trust her.

I also asked her about the lab project, and she said that that it was absolutely not a problem if I didn't want to do a lab project and that actually because lab projects are more expensive it's usually more of a problem getting everyone who wants to work in a lab a lab project.

Whew. It's a lot off my mind, anyway. Now I just need to sit these little tests Oxford likes to torture us with :)

Just in time

2008-04-08T22:42:39Z

Happy Birthday elleblue!

Hope you had a good day :-)

Happy Birthday!

2007-10-05T22:35:00Z

Happy Birthday
foreverdirt !

May your day be full of squee :-)

Answers to "References you expect your nearest and dearest to get..."

2007-09-17T09:57:16Z

I've not been too well over the last couple of days. Before that I went to a wedding and then to a study group, which I will post about at some point if only to look back on in the future and remember that I have decided to do a PhD for good reasons, even if it will be difficult.

But first - the answers:

1. Beware of Greeks bearing an olive oil surplus
This comes from Yes Minister, and reflects the many wonderful exchanges in the show. I found the full exchange on wikiquote:

Jim Hacker: Sir Mark thinks there might be votes in it, and I do not intend to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Sir Humphrey: I put it to you, Minister, that you are looking a Trojan horse in the mouth.

Jim Hacker: You mean if we look closely at this gift horse, we'll find it's full of Trojans?

Bernard: Um, if you had looked the Trojan Horse in the mouth, Minister, you would have found Greeks inside. Well, the point is that it was the Greeks who gave the Trojan horse to the Trojans, so technically it wasn't a Trojan horse at all, it was a Greek horse. Hence the tag "Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes", which, you will recall, is usually and somewhat inaccurately translated as "beware of Greeks bearing gifts", or doubtless you would have recalled, had you not attended the LSE.

Jim Hacker: Yes, well I'm sure Greek tags are all very well in their way, but can we stick to the point?

Bernard: Sorry, sorry, Greek tags?

Jim Hacker: "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts." I suppose the EEC equivalent would be "Beware of Greeks bearing an olive oil surplus".

Sir Humphrey: Excellent, Minister.

Bernard: No, well, the point is, Minister, that just as the Trojan horse was in fact Greek, what you describe as a Greek tag is in fact Latin. It's obvious really: the Greeks would never suggest bewaring of themselves, if one can use such a participle, bewaring that is, and it's clearly Latin, not because 'timeo' ends in '-o', because the Greek first person also ends in '-o' - although actually there is a Greek word 'timēo', meaning 'I honour' - but the '-os' ending is a nominative singular termination of a second declension in Greek, and accusative plural in Latin, of course, although actually 'Danaos' is not only the Greek for 'Greek' it's also the Latin for 'Greek'. It's very interesting, really.
2. Oh my god. What can it be? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing?! Oh right, that would be me. Back to work.
Ahh Firefly, how I love thee... Anyone that has managed not to see this so far should go.... right now.... go on....
3. I'll kill you with my shoe.
This is of course from the West Wing (feel shame, e_pepys ). It's said by Mandy when the person she's advising does something very stupid - this is how she ends up in the west wing instead.

4. This must be Thursday, I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Hitchhiker's guide. Poor Arthur, never quite getting the hang of anything much.

5. I laugh in the face of danger! Then I hide until it goes away.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Said by Xander to try to convince Buffy to let him come slaying.

6. The truth might be out there, but the lies are inside your head.
Terry Pratchett. From Hogfather, in a footnote (I didn't remember exactly which book it was from, only that I liked the Terry Pratchett quote.

7. I know that there are people who do not love their fellow man, and I hate people like that!
There always has to be a Lehrer quote. This is when introducing National Brotherhood Week.

8. What do you want, you moon-faced assassin of joy?
From Babylon 5. This is said by Londo when woken up with a hangover by Vir.

9. I hate personal violence, especially when I'm the person.
I've been watching Blake's 7. This is said by the eternal coward - Villa.

10. Didn't that tape say there's no fish in your pond?
This is from Stargate SG1 and represents a repeating joke about O'Neill and fishing.

Well done to everyone who guessed the quotes. Particular congratulations to e_pepyswho got 7/10 and to foreverdirt who got 8/10 with the prompt on number 10 that she ought to get it.

References you expect your nearest and dearest to get...

2007-09-03T10:37:58Z

I finally succumb to the flowing tide of people (much later than everyone else but then I've never been one to move with the times...). You know the drill by now, I post 10 quotes (if I can find that many) from sources that I enjoy and you try to guess where they're from and respond with another quote from the same source. Please don't say explicitly where you think they're from because that spoils other people's hours of irritated "I do know it... don't tell me.. no really..."

1. Beware of Greeks bearing an olive oil surplus
2. Oh my god. What can it be? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing?! Oh right, that would be me. Back to work.
3. I'll kill you with my shoe.
4. This must be Thursday, I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
5. I laugh in the face of danger! Then I hide until it goes away.
6. The truth might be out there, but the lies are inside your head.
7. I know that there are people who do not love their fellow man, and I hate people like that!
8. What do you want, you moon-faced assassin of joy?
9. I hate personal violence, especially when I'm the person.
10. Didn't that tape say there's no fish in your pond?

Birthday update

2007-08-06T07:28:01Z

We will start at 6. Hurrah. :)

Birthday / Simpsons

2007-08-02T09:10:37Z

It's my birthday on monday (6th August) and in the usual spirit of preparedness I haven't gotten around to thinking about it until now. But I was thinking maybe having people round to the house and cooking food and then maybe playing games later. So the question is - who's up for that? I'll have to through people out at around 10.30 or 11 because of work the next day, but we can start about 5.30 or 6... RSVPs are good because then I know how much food to get.

The other thing is - the Simpson's film - anyone want to go? Maybe tomorrow evening? There's a showing at 8.30 at Magdalene Street and 9.15 at George Street. I assume we wouldn't have to book...

[EDIT] No presents, please - I've been so bad at getting other people presents this year that it would just make me feel terribly guilty..

Still dry

2007-07-26T13:51:35Z

Just been down to look at the house. Had to wade through a fair amount of water to get there, but the house itself is still dry and looks like it will be staying that way for the forseeable future..

Flood Update

2007-07-24T18:08:07Z

I went back to work today, but am still staying with my parents for the time being. My dad went to look at the house this morning and says it's still dry and although the waters have risen they are still well below the levels that would flood us. Toby also went round this afternoon and reports that the waters would have to rise another foot or so to be getting close. This is definitely good.

The anticipated peak was supposed to come last night and the Thames was supposed to burst its banks then. It didn't, but at about 4 this afternoon it burst its banks and started flooding homes on Osney Island. The new information is that the peak will come at about midday tomorrow. I think at this point it's extremely unlikely that I will be flooded, and with each delay in the peak, more water has gone by...

The Floods are Coming

2007-07-22T08:10:13Z

Last night as we ate dinner there came a knock on the door and when I opened it there was a policeman at the door. As I looked nervous (wondering what illegal thing I might have done...) he explained that the area was now on flood alert. Luckily OUSFG was coming round last night anyway so I recruited them in moving me to Higher Ground (ie. upstairs).

This morning the field and carpark at the end of my road is flooded. There's a sense of nervous anticipation in the street as we stand around in the brilliant sunshine and watch the waters rise. You can tell something is different about today, far more people around outside and far less cars on the Botley Road and we all hang around. Watching. Waiting. Hoping. And trying to connect, just a bit, with the people around us. This is somehow better if we face it together.

[Edit]
I've now been evacuated. Policemen came round and said that either we were going to get flooded or at least the surrounding area was going to get flooded and then they wouldn't be able to reach us with supplies etc. So, with a brief stopoff at Toby and Dette's I grabbed what I could and caught a bus back to my parents house. So I am safe. The waters when I left were still on the footpath next to the end of my street but rising. Hopefully it'll all be ok...

Exam Marks of woe :(

2007-07-06T09:10:24Z

So it seems that being happy about getting a 1st was rather premature. Having got my results back now it seems that the only reason I got a 1st was because I got good marks last year (~77% average) and this years marks only managed to take my weighted average down to 69.4% (they round everything up)

My mum keeps asking why I'm upset by this - after all I did get a 1st overall. This is true, and I am very relieved that this is the case, but this year none of my papers were 1st class, and one of them was only just in the 2.1s. And I worked so damn hard. And when they change the classification system to include the Strong Paper rule then I wouldn't have got a 1st cos I don't have any 1st class papers this year. I don't even think I deserve a 1st based on my results this year. And i didn't even realise that they might have gone that badly - I thought that the worst that was likely to happen was that I'd get high 2.1s on a few papers...

So what the fuck happened?!!

I think essentially the problem is that my memory is so crap that I've always had to work hard even for easy exams just to remember all the information. So come exams where I need to learn how to do questions as well, and I'm totally stuck.

Which isn't at all comforting for next year....

Meanwhile I'm working in the same office as my supervisor (he's gone out right now) and I can't look miserable.

Wheeee!!

2007-06-30T10:09:47Z

I got a 1st.

I'm a little bit pleased about that :-)

(and a little bit relieved too..)

Now I've just got to regain enough brain function to be able to go to work on Monday...

louisekdyson @ 2007-06-19T01:45:00

2007-06-19T00:49:18Z

A belated Happy Birthday to both osymandiasand footnotetoplato. :-)

I'm finished, I'm finished :D

2007-06-12T22:52:07Z

Hehe, I think the title says it all.

I've just had a fantastic day (well from 12.30ish onwards..) I came blinking into the light after my exam to find that lots of my dear friends had come to meet me, as well as my sister. It was so wonderful to see everyone, since I basically stopped coming to almost everything these past few weeks.

Then we went and sat in Balliol quad, and sent people to buy food. And buy food they did - a veritable feast, of all the things I'd stopped myself eating too much of during exams. So we sat in the sunshine and talked and I realised that I didn't have anything else I was supposed to be doing other than sitting with these fantastic people and bouncing my two purple balloons off each other.

Then the group broke up as people went in different directions and

freya_9offered to walk me home. As we were walking down George Street, however, we bumped into one of freya_9's friends, who then offered to buy me a drink. So I sat in the pub with my lemonade and talked to freya_9's friend, who, it turns out, is a mathematician. It's so good to talk about maths in a relaxed setting. Although I'm afraid that we bored freya_9 a bit, I think, so I'm sorry for that.

After a while, freya_9 had to go, so I walked home and had takeaway Dominoes pizza with my housemates and I've just come back from watching Firefly.

All in all, a good day.

And it's 11.50 and I don't have to go to bed.... Although actually I think I will cos I'm tired :-)

But I don't have to - it's my choice :-)

louisekdyson @ 2007-05-11T13:04:00

2007-05-11T12:11:38Z

Happy Birthday narahttbbs

Hope you have a good day, and that weather brightens up for you :)

Something very bad for revision....

2007-04-27T17:02:40Z

I've just discovered a really good quiz site: http://www.timtang.com/ttt/

Unfortunately this is a bad time of year for me to discover a good quiz site....

So I will be strong and not stay on it too long

But I am now on question 23 :)

Revision

2007-03-21T14:36:23Z

Has now been started. Done 7-and-a-bit sides of Fluid Dynamics (though of course the stuff at the beginning is easier). It's nice to know I'm on my way, though a little depressing to realise just how much more there is to do and how little time there is to do it in...

Spamalot!

2007-01-24T10:06:32Z

I went to see Spamalot yesterday :) It was very enjoyable - and very silly, as expected. I particularly like the many references (or rip-offs) to other shows and to previous Python material. As my sister said - you knew what was coming, you knew it was just ripping off the Python shows... but you didn't care :)

Merry Chistmas Everyone

2006-12-26T14:15:19Z

The title pretty much says it all :)

I hope everyone had a good day yesterday and ate many unhealthy things! I got a camera so now I can fight back against people who take pictures of me :)

louisekdyson @ 2006-12-02T12:06:00

2006-12-02T12:06:48Z

I don't know if anyone has posted about this already, but I've been having fun twitching at the comments at the bottom, made by people who clearly have no idea what they're talking about...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1960330,00.html

Anyway, I'm lying in bed and enjoying the joys of being on holiday and not having to get up and do lots of work, so I thought I'd finally actually post something to LJ. Hope everyone has a good holiday and a Happy Xmas :)

louisekdyson @ 2006-10-31T08:46:00

2006-10-31T08:52:17Z

Further to my post yesterday, I'm now feeling much better. I got an early night and hopefully I'm now ready to face the day again :)

Thankyou to everyone that wrote with sympathy - it's nice to know that people care :)