I got into work yesterday, to discover that someone had tidied my desk. They had shuffled paper into piles, moved some bits of paper around and generally tidied it up. It's kinda creepy - why would someone do this? My list of suspects (in no particular order ( Read more... )

I just got this message from the computer services at York:

If you are leaving the University at the end of the summer term, your ( Read more... )

I like croissants, typically with margarine, and ideally flakey and crisp. Unfortunately, a flakey croissant is difficult to butter, since the flakes usually come off with the marge. Yesterday my girlfriend solved this problem in a very ingeneous way - you apply spread to the bottom of the croissant. This is pure genius.

I have just been to visit various family members in Harrogate, with my sister. A common theme I got while there was that they think I am rich. Of course, having not had any income for the last year, this is a bit of an exaggeration. My sister was shocked to see that my TV was not a wide-screen brand-new plasma TV (as she had been told), but in fact ( Read more... )

I'm just finishing off the first draft of my thesis. It's nearly all there, but will require many revisions. The one thing I'm having difficulty on is my acknowledgements ( Read more... )

Just a random musing:

Worthless: Lacking worth; of no use or value. (=0)

Worth less: Less worth than something else. (

I just tried to send a text message on my mobile phone using the percent character (%). Turns out, on my phone at least, I can't insert a percent - although I can insert a Yen, a copyright symbol, a registered trademark, a degree symbol and an enter symbol. Why not a percent? Is this just my phone, or are text messages restricted to exclude the ( Read more... )

Drastic times call for drastic measures. I intend to finish my thesis. This isn't something I've contemplated doing with much seriousness to date, but now I am getting towards the end(TM). As such, I have enacted a number of changes ( Read more... )

I've been working hard on writing two papers for ICFP, and on Wednesday at 9pm I submitted them both. For the last month, I've been working very hard, flipping between 2 different topics. On the last day, I probably flipped between the papers about 20 times, correcting one of them while discussing the other with my supervisor. Getting drafts etc ( Read more... )

A package recently arrived at my house, addressed to my girl friend, which was too large to fit through the letter box. So the package was returned to the central sorting office in York, near the train station, where it could be picked up. The little form you get when you are out advises that you will need ID in the name of the person the package ( Read more... )