To rise again...
It's been too long once more since last I wrote an entry in here. I would like to say I have grown mighty since then, but I don't have the cape to back up that statement.
I can't keep track of what's happened since I last checked in. I can however guarantee it was horrendously busy and at times very stressful. This is a hallmark of my life now. I seem to remember spending a frantic weekend attempting to become SAILORR, the legendary sailor I made up in my head. Incidentally, SAILORR is only correctly spelt in capital letters. I have a feeling it'd be a nightmare to explain that to mailing companies. Well anyway, it did not go according to plan. I succeeded only in frightening Ocean Scientists by lurking outside their building and then becoming (allegedly) the first person to be... unwell on a pleasure boat trip. Hmm. At least whilst doing so I managed to get a picture of the first Ocean Science department in the world:
That's not their current building. If it was, they'd have bigger problems to become frightened about than a beardy wannabe sailor with a cheap Lidl harmonica. I don't think I'm fully thwarted as of yet though. It's been some 20 years since I last tried anti-seasickness medication, and I'm optimistically willing to believe that things have come a long way in that time. Back in the day I might as well have been swallowing pills of compressed blackboard chalk for all the good it did me. In fact I remember one syrup tasting so disgusting that it immediately induced the precise response it was supposed to guard against. If things really are looking up in the weekend sailor's medicine chest, I may yet achieve the dream.
I am also pleased to report that I seem to have (at least temporarily) regained by ability to want wives. That's a great relief. I couldn't imagine a me who doesn't want a wife, but there I was for quite a time. The great breakthrough came yesterday when I was watching a video with Japanese pop stars. They were dressed not in the usual manner, but in a highly wifely way. Oh how wife-like they appeared to me. I could imagine myself trudging back from a tiring day of work with one of them waiting at the door looking like that, beaming as she tells me the wonderful news that I am to be a father. What a dream, a wife beyond imagination.
I've also come full circle in another way. I'm beginning to remember how much I love research, how regardless of what subject it involves, I've always loved the process of discovery and then explaining what I found out be means of a technical document such as a journal article. These memories were rekindled after the software I developed for my Master's dissertation was presented at a Computer Science conference in Vienna. I was originally slated to present it myself, but because of various pressures and doubts someone else ended up presenting it on my behalf. Nevertheless, apparently it went down well, and the assembled academics didn't tear it to pieces. In fact I've received no death threats as a result. I consider this a great success. At the same time, the man who did present it in my stead thinks I should use this success as a springboard to go on to a PhD. He's quite insistent that it would be a very good thing. He's an extremely accomplished man, I can't help but give his words weight. In addition, I can't deny my own desire. It's true that I turned down a PhD because I wanted to experience the world of production code. I can't say I regret my decision, even in six short months I've learned a staggering amount about software development. Yet despite settling into the corporate lifestyle, I know that only research can satisfy me. I can delay it if I want to, but I know that sooner or later it's going to win out. I've been pointed at a couple of PhDs in Bergen, Norway. Only time will tell if I can suppress my desires for the time being or if I will take a giant leap once more.
I can't keep track of what's happened since I last checked in. I can however guarantee it was horrendously busy and at times very stressful. This is a hallmark of my life now. I seem to remember spending a frantic weekend attempting to become SAILORR, the legendary sailor I made up in my head. Incidentally, SAILORR is only correctly spelt in capital letters. I have a feeling it'd be a nightmare to explain that to mailing companies. Well anyway, it did not go according to plan. I succeeded only in frightening Ocean Scientists by lurking outside their building and then becoming (allegedly) the first person to be... unwell on a pleasure boat trip. Hmm. At least whilst doing so I managed to get a picture of the first Ocean Science department in the world:
That's not their current building. If it was, they'd have bigger problems to become frightened about than a beardy wannabe sailor with a cheap Lidl harmonica. I don't think I'm fully thwarted as of yet though. It's been some 20 years since I last tried anti-seasickness medication, and I'm optimistically willing to believe that things have come a long way in that time. Back in the day I might as well have been swallowing pills of compressed blackboard chalk for all the good it did me. In fact I remember one syrup tasting so disgusting that it immediately induced the precise response it was supposed to guard against. If things really are looking up in the weekend sailor's medicine chest, I may yet achieve the dream.
I am also pleased to report that I seem to have (at least temporarily) regained by ability to want wives. That's a great relief. I couldn't imagine a me who doesn't want a wife, but there I was for quite a time. The great breakthrough came yesterday when I was watching a video with Japanese pop stars. They were dressed not in the usual manner, but in a highly wifely way. Oh how wife-like they appeared to me. I could imagine myself trudging back from a tiring day of work with one of them waiting at the door looking like that, beaming as she tells me the wonderful news that I am to be a father. What a dream, a wife beyond imagination.
I've also come full circle in another way. I'm beginning to remember how much I love research, how regardless of what subject it involves, I've always loved the process of discovery and then explaining what I found out be means of a technical document such as a journal article. These memories were rekindled after the software I developed for my Master's dissertation was presented at a Computer Science conference in Vienna. I was originally slated to present it myself, but because of various pressures and doubts someone else ended up presenting it on my behalf. Nevertheless, apparently it went down well, and the assembled academics didn't tear it to pieces. In fact I've received no death threats as a result. I consider this a great success. At the same time, the man who did present it in my stead thinks I should use this success as a springboard to go on to a PhD. He's quite insistent that it would be a very good thing. He's an extremely accomplished man, I can't help but give his words weight. In addition, I can't deny my own desire. It's true that I turned down a PhD because I wanted to experience the world of production code. I can't say I regret my decision, even in six short months I've learned a staggering amount about software development. Yet despite settling into the corporate lifestyle, I know that only research can satisfy me. I can delay it if I want to, but I know that sooner or later it's going to win out. I've been pointed at a couple of PhDs in Bergen, Norway. Only time will tell if I can suppress my desires for the time being or if I will take a giant leap once more.