Degree

Those that know me may know I'm doing a degree online with the University of Liverpool. This is made up of 8 eight week modules for 15 points each and one dissertation worth 60 points, the dissertation being allowed 8 months to work on. I started in February 2003 and must finish in February 2006. So time is now a little tight. Over the next two weeks I'm going to be even more busy as I'm now booked on two modules simultaneously. Luckily if I start mucking up the second I can drop it up to 2 weeks in.

So far I've done Computer Structures, Databases, Programming the Internet & Computer Communications & Networking. At the moment I'm studying Operating Systems. Next is Security Engineering. Don''t ask me, I don't have much of a clue what it is either - and since I keep breaking my university login I can't get to the synopsis. Or my grades. Which so far have been B (very good), not that that means anything where a degree goes. I think, I don't know, this is my first degree. Be gentle :)

The dissertation is the thing that worries me most. I have no idea about it at all.

Parking

An online 'game' for parking

Attachments


One really annoying thing I've had with my PDA since I got it is the email application. This seemed to offer a solution, but it didn't work for me. Another annoyance is why, when you do want to attach a file (which you can't attach anyway) is that the add dialog defaults to all files in all folders and you can't change or cancel it. With an SD card with thousands of files on, this can take some time.

Wire

Today I spent 3 hours trying to find out why a network cable in the office didn't work only to find out there are 2 cables numbered the same. So I had been testing an unconnected bit of wire. I even considered building my own cable tester, but lacked the parts. this would have been silly as I already posess one.

So the lesson today? Don't lose count when you are labelling wires.

Cat5

For those who don't know how to make a Category 5 cable, here's a useful tutorial. Also, a small cable tester too. Sadly I have a need for one now and I don't have the parts. I'kk have to get mine from home.

Eggplant

As I got some lamb mince a week or so ago, I decided to make mousaka. Got some aubergines from t'shop and did it. I didn't use eggs though. Taken me just over an hour to prepare and wash up. It's cooking.. It'll be ready about quarter to five. Then after possibly sampling some have to run out, literally, to go karting.

Cooking didn't help my tinnitus any, but it sure did take my mind of things for a while. I do like cooking, it's surprising how much satisfaction I get from creating something. I can't remember the last thing I cooked like this - I have a tendency to over estimate so this current 'batch' should feed about 6. Perhaps 8 with a good salad.

Lunch

Tesco sushi sucks blue frogs. The rice is dry and the ginger almost tasteless (I usually don't eat the ginger as I don't like it). Now I remember why I don't generally eat shop sushi - perhaps I've been spoiled by having it so fresh it's practically still quivering. The salmon still had skin on it too. The rice seems to have been cooked into blocks you could make houses from.

2/10, and that's only for the fact of it's nutritional value, otherwise it would be 1.

iPod

I still think about getting one of these, though with a suitably large SD card my iPAQ would do the same thing mostly, admittedly with less storage and battery time. Seeing as I currently own four 256Mb SD cards and two 512Mb SD Cards I have a few options.

iPods are allegedly pretty tough, though not nearly as tough as SD cards, or the other card formats for that matter. (The link is to an Acrobat PDF).

After vising my dentist and he removed the 2nd wisdom tooth I had lunch with a friend in Liverpool Street at the S & M Cafe. It's not what you'd be thinking - it's Sausage and Mash. The portions are a little small but the food good quality. The Wild Boar sausages are really good. The Apple Crumble was good also - I'm pretty sure it was hand made, though you never can be certain.

I almost forgot - had a great dinner on Friday at The Gaucho Grill in South Kensington. Much food, wine and merriment.

It's that time of year again - time for the dentist. I can't put it off this year as one wisdom tooth has decided it wishes to exit in small pieces.

I hate dentists. Now I've found one I'm happy with the only problem is he's so darn expensive. I'll be looking at a paltry £1,000 pounds minimum for 3 extractions, 1 crown and numerous fillings redone, plus a couple of cleanings. It's way past time I sorted things out though.

Zyxel have seen fit to make their last three firmware releases for the 650HHW31 router upgradable by the console only.

Queue a day where I spend 4 hours trying to figure out why I can't get the sodding thing into debug mode to upload it, to be stuck by a serial flow control problem, It's been over 4 years since I've even had to consider flow control. Bah.

Still doesn't allow Trillian to log into Yahoo, though, as Mark is also using Yahoo.