Poppets

Gotta love 'em. Only 35p a pack at Mildert shop, which means that you can buy 3 for just a mere pounds, plus the few coppers rattling around your clothing/purse. I use purse, because it is my experience that the former will apply for most guys, or is it just me who always has currency in every pocket?

The wonderful thing about poppets is the unfunny 'memories' they have on the sides of the packet. eg. 'It took me 6 goes to win Trevor...He only lasted 3 days' with a picture of a hook a duck on the front, and '...or a Goldfish' written on the side. You know what, NO I DON'T REMEMBER THAT!!! GUESS WHY, BECAUSE IT NEVER HAPPENED TO ME! I mean if they are going to go down the nostalgic route, they may as well go for things that commonly happen like 'remember that day it rained' or 'remember that time you ate something' Now there's memories that everyone is likely to have! Or even, 'Remember that time you read the poppets packet which reminded you of the time you read that poppets packet which reminded you of..... etc etc' Now at least that would provide the philosophers something to chew on.

Then again i suppose they could just give you something extra to chew on by cutting down on advertising and popping a few more poppets into each box, because as much as i like the rattle-it does mean it's half empty. Ahh the woes of this world

No One Sleeps...

No One Sleeps
Even You, O Princess,
In Your Cold Room,
Watch The Stars,
That Tremble With Love
And With Hope.
But My Secret Is Hidden Within Me,
My Name No One Shall Know, No, No,
On Your Mouth I Will Speak It
When The Light Shines,
And My Kiss Will Dissolve The Silence
That Makes You Mine.
Vanish, O Night!
Set, Stars!
Set, Stars!
At Daybreak, I Shall Conquer!
I Shall Conquer!
I Shall Conquer!

Electron Blue

I can't remember if I've blogged about this before. It's all about a coloured light which is a drug, and it's called Electron Blue. I was just trying to post the song on my audio blog but i've forgotten the password. However in looking for it, I came across some emails sent between me and Katherine around the 30th April 2003!! Eeek very old! It's funny reading back at emails i sent 4 years ago.

Anyways, here's some lyrics.

You're on your ear, the ocean's near
The light has started to fade
Your high is timed, you found the climb
It's hard to focus on more than what's in front of you
Electron Blue
Adventure rings with a page and
When it dawns on you,
It singes blue
Your buzz beginning to wane.

Adventure has laid its claim on you
It's all you want to do.
You
You know where to run
You run Electron Blue.

And who am I?
I'm just a guy
I've got a story like everyone
But in your eyes
You looked surprised
And didn't know where to run
I looked to her
She's found the cure
Her future's already begun

Tomorrow's gaining speed on you
It's all you want to do
You
You know where to run
You run Electron Blue
You
You know where to run
You run electron blue

So bide your time
You'll feel the climb
Your high it builds like a lightning storm
It sings like pearls
You know that girl
And no one is any the wiser
So as if on cue.....
Electron Blue

Tomorrow's gaining speed on you
It's all you want to do
You
You know where to run
You run, Electron Blue
You
You know where to run
You run, Electron Blue
You
You know where to run
You run, Electron Blue

Everybody's Kung Fu Fighting

Except for those who aren't. Including me. In fact I am doing nothing. I have done nothing all morning! After a busy week and a half i thought i'd have a lie in! What with Ball and weekend away, meetings, work, 9am lectures and such like, it's actually quite a while since my last lie in!
Unfortunately I do still have lots of work to do, in particular, maths homework and a lot of Antarctica reading for tomorrow, a presentation for Tuesday, and then a research proposal and a write-up for the end of term. Yes I know, it's nothing compared to the mountain of work most 3rd students have right now, but it's still occupying a lot of my time!

It's crazy that there's already less than 3 weeks of term left!! Eeeek. It must be time to start playing the Christmas songs soon! Anyways, I'm gonna dash! I'll try and actually write something interesting tomorrow!

In Flanders Fields

'They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.'

What does it mean to remember them? What is Remembrance Day actually about?

First off let me say, that I fully support the act of remembering those who have died in war, especially the huge numbers who died during the two world wars.

However, I think it is important for us to be clear about what we are actually remembering. Some people might say we are remembering all those who gave their lives for what they believed in, a greater cause than themselves. They died for their country, for freedom. I think this approach is a little dangerous, as many people have died for something they believe in, and yet, quite rightly, many of those are not celebrated. Many freedom fighters have come and gone, fighting for countries, religions, rights, freedom and 'the greater good'. Some of these have been heroes, and others villains, so I do not think dying out of conviction for the cause is enough to warrant ‘remembrance’. I am sure that many suicide bombers have blown themselves up with equal conviction.

So, conviction aside, perhaps it is the cause that matters. In reality what was the cause? Clearly in the Second World War, there was a point, a clear enemy that needed to be defeated, but what about WW1? Is there any explanation other than the reality that thousands of lives were wasted over a causeless war waged by the rulers and fought by the civilians? As Sartre said, 'When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die'.

A word people often use around such emotional times as Remembrance Day is ‘moving’. I suggest that Remembrance Day, and indeed every time we remember the people who have died in war, we should be moved. ‘Moved’ is not an instantaneous reaction or two minutes of tears. ‘Moved’ is dynamic. If we are moved, then what are we moved to?

90 years on from the ‘Great’ War, have we been moved by the events that led to the deaths of thousands of civilians? Have we learnt any lessons from these tragedies? Have we been moved into action to try and prevent further tragedies?

No. Instead Remembrance Day has become a cheap plug for our foreign policy and an excuse for the country to sink into detrimental Nationalism. As we remember the dead, there are others dying all over the world due directly to the choices of our country. Whether in Afghanistan and Iraq where our selfish ambition has led countries to the brink of civil war, or Darfur, Burma and Zimbabwe where our selfish apathy and inaction has led to the breakdown of the very rights we fought to protect 60 years ago. I name but a few. There are many more places around the world, where either directly, or more indirectly (through arms deals and political agendas), we are going against the very things our veterans supposedly fought for.

If there is one thing that Remembrance Day should be about, it is about remembering the tragedy of human selfishness, and the virtue of human selflessness; and in everything we do, honouring the memory of those who have in the past have died in war, by seeking to ensure that as few names as possible are added to that list.

' Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.'

Christmas Shopping!

With Bonfire Night over, and Halloween all but a distant memory (being a week ago! lol) it's next stop Christmas. So close the curtains light the fire and wrap up warm, sipping at cups of warm cocoa. Well ok maybe not just yet! Besides we don't even have a fire.

It is only 48 days til Christmas! And with 8 major presents to buy over the Christmas period, that only gives me 6 days to think of and buy each one. Eeek! Factor in lots of minor presents at a lower importance level, that leaves me with approximately 4.83 days per major present! Which, taking into account four days postage for internet presents being sent, and assuming that half will be bought from the internet, leaves me 2.83 days per present!!

However, given that for 5 of the 7 weeks left, I only have 2 days available to shop, that factors the time down to 1.415 days per present. Assuming the trip into town to be a round trip, my effective time is 2.415/(2*pi) which takes it to roughly 0.225 days per present, which equates to 5hrs and 24 minutes effective shopping time.

In addition, the majority of my Christmas shopping will be done accompanied by Rachel. Unfortunately, any time spent shopping with her results in a split between her buying presents and me buying presents, and (being kind to Rachel!!) I shall set that at a 1:1 ration, lowering my present time to 2hrs and 42 mins per present.

Finally the overall time T is a function of 5 variables, l, c, t, f and q which relate to the time spent reading the Christmas list, time spent consulting with other family members about who's got what, time spent thinking of ideas, time spent finding the product and time spent queuing in the shop respectively. The equation is roughly shown below.

Assuming the majority of my shopping will be done for my family, it is possible to compute the variables above.

l within our family takes a value somewhere in the region of 0.5
c is related to the number of people in the family, and is usually roughly (n-1).0.166
f can be taken as 1.
q takes either the value 0 if bought online, or the average for Harrogate shops, which is roughly 0.2. I will assume as before that half the presents will be bought online, giving an average q of 0.1

Substituting these into the equation gives an available thinking time (t) of 1hr and 25mins. I'd better get started!

A glooming peace this morning with it brings

Here follows the second blog of this latest stint. With a suitably gloomy title. You can tell the seasons are changing in Britain when you wake up to a chilly morning, blowing a gale and you've had sun and rain by midday! And so autumn begins its long dark descent down into the depths of winter, and with it, the sun drops lower in the sky turning orange as it glides along the chimney tops.

It is of course Bonfire night (hoorah!) where we all celebrate the death of a man, executed for trying to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Perhaps one of the earliest Terror threats to the capital? I wonder how the event was used to promote the agenda of the Government at that time?Hrmm. Anyways all November 5th makes me think of these days is V for Vendetta. And that made me think about Hugo Weaving which is a cool name, and how he just sounds like Elrond the whole time! Elrond got me thinking about Lord of the Rings and quicker than you can say ' my precious' I was thinking about the Council of Elrond, and how much Frodo annoys me. Keeping on that train of thought i tried to think of a film i liked him in, and dismissing Deep Impact i settled for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind which is a good film, but not really because of him.

Anyways, as one thought follows another, I considered the other actors in that film, in particular Kate Winslet, which of course led me to think about Titanic, arguably her most famous film. Then i was reminded about how annoying Leonardo DiCaprio is! (Close to James Blunt) However I also considered the fact that loads of people say how good he is in a couple of films, and i contemplated the fact that Romeo and Juliet is a good film despite him being in it. I particularly like the closing lines at the very end. And so i thought to myself, why not name a blog after it, and spend most of the blog explaining it!

Under duress!

Yes I'm back. By unpopular demand. I have been persuaded to blog slightly more regularly. I'm afraid this is not accompanied by any scene change or new layout, or even flurry of news. But i will try and blog at least once a week! For my loyal reader! lol. Emphasis on singular.

So quick sum up....back at durham...POS awesome...lectures hard...room tidy!...life's good. That'll do for now! Bedtime, then out of the house from 9:30 am til 10pm, oh the joys of packed lunch AND tea!

Nice speaking to you again!

In your head

For the first time in quite a while, I shared my bed with a couple of guests the night before last. In fact, have I ever shared my bed before? Well yes is the answer, and everytime it has been with something small, fluffy and cuddly. The last two nights I have been sleeping with the affectionately named 'Strawberry' and Sweety. Seeing as Katherine is away, I have been put in charge of looking after her most treasured cuddly toys, and considering the amount of TLC they are used to, leaving them in a cupboard is not enough. Sure there was a bit of a fight over the covers, and yes, it was a bit of a squeeze, but in the end it all worked out fine.

I decided to test the sound on this pc yesterday by playing a song. Unfortunately i picked the most catchy song ever written which has been going round and round and round my head for over a day now! Garrrr, it's quite teeny-boppy-emo so you'll probably enjoy it!

Have a listen (and a watch)
http://www.pcplanets.com/videos-17752-Zombie.shtml

True Love

Read this: http://www.teamhoyt.com/
And watch this:

Just to make sure I don't go a full month

without blogging.

I have been very busy of late. Mostly planning for the 24-7 prayer event we're running at the moment. Hence I have not blogged for ages. So to tell you about my last month, i wrote a poem.

There was once a family from 'gate
Not one of whom was called Kate,
They went to the lakes,
Ate copious numbers of cakes,
And all put on a little weight.

Now one of this family 6-strong,
Had a girlfriend who tagged along,
When all of the others went home,
They stayed on for a bit of a roam,
and walked nearly as far as Hong Kong

Well ok, maybe not quite that far,
But they did venture to Wastwat-arr
There they did eat, drink and hike,
including great Scafell Pike,
Before driving home in Her car.

Now before this great tale had begun,
There was a long weekend of great fun,
This time Tim was the 'guest',
As they set off on a quest,
To Filey to sit in the sun.

Other places were visited too,
Including a theme park that's also a zoo,
Not forgetting Beamish,
where if your squeamish,
the dentist's definitely not for you.

Once home, two weeks gone now,
i kept myself busy somehow
letters and phonecalls galore,
emails, meetings and more
not even a single row!

And so as the rhyme gets worse,
I leave you with this final verse,
Tata, good day,
I'll be on my way,
As 'What a waste of time' you curse.

Summer Days

Nearly a month since I last blogged-so what's new? Well I've gained a sister-in-law! Apart from that, very little is new.

So instead of wittering on about my life, i'll hand over this space to a good friend of mine.

Trapped

don't undress my love
you might find a mannequin:
don't undress the mannequin
you might find
my love.

Charles Bukowski

The Ending to Harry Potter!!!

Right, heres the news. Joanne is having a few problems finishing the book, and so came to me for a few ideas. I've narrowed it down to 3 possible endings, so here goes. Maybe if you could just vote on your favourite and i'll let her know what you guys think before the weekend.
Cheers

Ending 1...

‘…Harry glanced behind him; Snape and Voldemort were catching up. He kept running as fast as he could, pushing his way through the busy London rush hour crowd. He got to a small alleyway between two office blocks, and ran inside, and hid behind a green wheelie bin. He sat and watched all the muggles going by, completely oblivious to what was going on around them. After a few minutes, he figured he must have lost them. He got up, but at that moment there was a flash and two black figures appeared in front of him. Snape and Voldemort both raised there wands at him, ‘So, it ends here Harry’, Voldemort snarled. ‘Cruciatus’ he yelled, and Harry was filled with an immense pain. It was like every muscle in his body was shrieking at him in agony. He howled in pain, as the noise and pain inside his head grew louder…there was a ringing…a loud ringing in his ear…BANG. Barry Rotter smacked his alarm clock and it promptly stopped. Barry sat up, still trying to catch his breath. The alarm clock said 7.25am Monday 16^th September. With a huge sigh of relief, Barry realised there was no such thing as Voldemort, Hogwarts, not even Ron or Hermione. He smiled to himself as he examined his scar-free forehead-it had all been a dream.’

Ending 2...

‘Harry reached into his pocket desperately trying to find his wand. He fumbled around, where was it, it was always inside his left pocket. Then he remembered, in the carriage, he had taken his wand out of his pocket as it was poking him in the side. With a despairing sigh he looked up at Voldemort who was now approaching him down the long flight of stairs. On either side of the staircase, a black empty chasm lay waiting. In one last desperate effort, he ran at Voldemort and tried to wrestle him to the ground. Just as he reached Voldemort, with a flash of his wand, he disappeared, and Harry went flying off the side of the staircase into the black abyss. Reappearing on the small platform on which Ginny was stood, Voldemort turned to her with an evil smile on his face. Ginny was still staring at the blackness, which had engulfed Harry. It was over, all her worst fears had been realised. There was no hope. She sunk to the ground in tears, as Voldemort lifted his wand and the last thing she heard as she closed her eyes was ‘Avada Kedavra’’

Ending 3...

‘ Voldemort spoke in a cold crisp voice ‘You heard the prophecy, none can live while the other survives…Let’s see who wins, between the Dark Lord, and the young boy, Harry Potter!’ All the death eaters stood around, sniggered and whispered to each other. Neville, Ginny and Ron stood behind Harry tembling. Harry stepped forward, and held his wand up, pointing it at Voldemort. Before he could utter a spell, Voldemort took out his wand and shouted ‘Avada Kedavra’ A bolt of light seemed to emit from the wand and hit Harry right in the chest, he fell to the ground and did not move again. ‘Nooooooooo’ Ginny yelled, as Harry’s body slumped to the ground. Voldemort cackled ‘That’s it children, shows over, now it’s your turn’. ‘Not so fast’ yelled Neville as he stepped forward and brandished his wand. Voldemort looked incredulously at Neville ‘What do you think you can do against the Dark Lord’. Neville shouted ‘Avada Kedavra’ and Voldemort collapsed in a heap. Dying on the ground, he whispered ‘But…Harry…the prophecy’ Neville replied ‘That’s where you were wrong. The prophecy was about me. As you know, I too was born on the same day, and I too, have parents who 3 times escaped Voldemort.’ ‘But what about the scar?’ Ginny said, looking puzzled. She continued ‘The scar was where Voldemort marked Harry, and the prophecy mentions it. Where’s your scar?’. Neville turned and grinned at her, and with a twinkle in his eye replied ‘That…I will have to show you later!'

Altitude Sickness

Or maybe it was just the drink...

Last night i spent the evening in the highest inn in the UK. Tan Hill Inn stands 1732ft above sea level, and holds the Guinness World Record for being the highest licensed pub in the UK. Interestingly, the owner of the pub also holds a Guinness World Record for having the loudest scream ever recorded-about 130 decibels i believe.

Anyways, as my good friend Matthew Porter is getting married this Saturday, it was his stag thingy, so we went up yesterday, spent the evening in the pub then went for a long walk today. Twas good fun. Quality food, quality ale and quality service-and nice comfy beds! There was hardly anybody staying there, so after our meal at about 9ish we went through the the lounge area that had guitars, banjos, a drum, and....an accordion!!! So we sat around playing over a few pints-my best contribution was coming in on every D chord on the accordion, as it was the only chord I could cope with. Ooh then the bar man bought down a harmonica, so that was fun.

Then once we were all sick of our talentless noise we moved back through to the bar, and chatted to the lonely Bar man (Andy). We stayed chatting in the bar 'til about 1.30, (Last orders and licensing laws don't mean much that far from civilisation). We even pulled our own pints (Very exciting!). Then in the morning we had cooked breakfast and left.

Am back home now, feeling very low (altitude-wise). Now I have to go and plan the next phase of my social life-oh the trials of popularity.

Back Home

I am now...all be it a little later than expected, home. Ahhh it's good to be home, however the prospect of 3 months here doing very little does not excite me much, so I'm off to try and find a job! Here's how bored I got last night.

201-Can you hear the screaming?

It has come to my attention that I have now passed the 200 mark-In fact this is blog no. 201. This being significant because it is the number of the room directly above room 101, where it is virtually impossible to sleep at night because of all the screaming from the people below. The same would apply for room 102, were there not a stairwell between 101 and 102.

Anyway, on this momentous occasion, just a few friendly facts and figures to add to the enjoyment of this wonderful moment.

Did you know...
1) This blog has been going for just over 1 1/2 years. In that time, the Earth has orbited the sun roughly 9.453 times
2) The title of this blog has never begun with U. Furthermore if you put all the first letters together, they spell the opening section of a very well known book.
3) To date, 354 different people have read this blog, that's more than one every 2 days!
4) Every single blog has been written whilst wiggling my toes
5) Each blog has been as utterly ridiculous as this one! (With a few exceptions!)

Right, must go and do a bit of nothing before I become too busy

Security

Nothing can ever be safe. There is nowhere we can run or hide, nothing we can do to ultimately ensure safety. When I was a child, I thought that when I was older, I’d just live in a house with huge lasers and sensors to find and kill any spiders or other bugs that came into the house; that way I’d be fine! I’d be safe from the things I didn’t like. The sad truth is that we can never achieve safety. How many films involve people trying to run to safety but being followed or pursued? Today I watched the Bodyguard, which is kind of along those lines; others include Bourne Identity and loads more I have forgotten the names of (one with Harrison Ford springs to mind…). Anyway the point is that I think one of the scariest things in life is that no matter what we do, we can never be truly safe.

All the money in the world can’t prevent tragedy. Having millions of bodyguards doesn’t make you invincible. How is it possible to have security when nothing can be safe? Simple. By not placing our security in such things. Why place security, value and worth in things which we could lose tomorrow? It’s really easy to feel secure because of friends, relationships, possessions, money, abilities, self-image, and perhaps it’s even easier to feel insecure about all of the above. Ultimately these things are all expendable and could disappear at any minute, as could we.

I want to be like Horatio Spafford (great name!). He was a Chicago Lawyer in the 1860s. In 1870 his only son died at the age of four from scarlet fever. In 1871, all of his investments and life savings were destroyed during the Great Chicago Fire. In 1873, the family planned a holiday in Europe. Horatio was delayed by some business, so his wife and four daughters set off first, to be joined later by Horatio. On November 22^nd 1873, the ship carrying the five women crashed and sank, killing 226 people, including his four daughters. When his wife reached England, she sent this telegram ‘SAVED ALONE, WHAT SHOULD I DO?’. As soon as was possible, Horatio boarded a ship to sail to England to be with his wife. As the ship passed the spot where the shipwreck had occurred, he wrote this song-‘It is Well with My Soul’

I wonder, if I too went through what the Spafford family did, would I be able to sing, let alone write that song. I wonder what it actually means to find security in something outside of the known. Is there a way we can have a security that can never be taken away?

I think the answer is yes.

Summertime!

Ahhh, I love the feeling of having accomplished nothing all day! I have had that fantastic feeling for 3 days now. With exams all done, it's time to kick up my feet and enjoy 3 weeks of frisbee, sitting outside, eating, drinking, sleeping and not much more! The weather has actually been sunny too, which is a rareity in these parts.

Ditt is also up, though Andy couldn't make it (Be here next week Andy or suffer!!!). Well I'd love to stay and chat, but i have to go and do absolutely nothing.

The last 10 days

Argh 10 days since I last blogged-not good. I do have half an excuse. The past week and a bit have been fairly hectic, with exams and revision and other commitments, and the next few days are no exception. One exam to go though, then nothing for 3 weeks! Yippee!

I am very much looking forward to being able to chill out and relax for 3 weeks, read some books, do some exciting stuff, and tidy my room of course! And the excitment starts this Friday! Ditt, and Planet of Sound, Friday evening, and then on Saturday, Andy...yes ANDY is coming up to stay!!! It's nearly a year since I last saw him, crazy. So yes, exciting times ahead, as for now, well today I am litter-picking from 1-4, then helping out at a youth cafe from 7-10 which should be good, but it does mean I have to get my head down and work this morning. Roll on Thursday!

Ciao

Garrr

Forms and exams are not my friends.

Let's take them one at a time. Forms. Somewhere in the middle of somewhere there is somewhere where someone somehow decides how to write forms. If anyone knows the whereabouts of that person, please tell me, or shoot them yourself. I think i have a fairly good idea how to find them though. I have a sneaky suspicion that If i browsed the Yellow Pages under 'Incompetent Businesses', somewhere between the Wembley contractors and the Postal Service i would find 'Incompetent Recruitment'. Never heard of them? I'm surprised, they tend to find staff regularly for the FA, ECB and NPower call centres amongst many others.

Anyway one of their main recruitment drives is the employing of totally and utterly useless and braindead people (If they can even be called that) to write forms. Now there seems to be a relationship between the importance and the incompetence. Usually if it is of little importance, there is only minor incompetence, and any that is present is of little consequence. However given the big forms, such as Student Loan forms, the incompetence is greatly increased. Examples? Well, firstly the fact that you have to fill one out every single year. Secondly, providing the most ambiguous questions ever written with answers that do not cover every possibility. Then there is the issue of not sending you to section 5, but not not sending you to question 5-shall i go?Shall i not? Arrghh!

Then I try and post the form. Now up until recently the postal service managed to contain its apparent incompetence by producing a fairly simple guidance system-no more I tell you. Between trying to work out whether the paper was 320 or 330mm long, guessing the weight?!? and working out how i wanted to send it, I somehow managed to ascertain that unless it was shaped like a origami swan, and between 32.5 and 34.3 grams it should cost me roughly 43p, provided of course it was under 5mm thick, and brown. Great-I'll just get my stamps-no wait...My stamps don't have the price on them-USEFUL-veeerrrry useful. So i stuck two on for good measure-licked, sticked and hoped like mad it'll get there.

And now onto my next topic exams. Not much to moan about here. But while I'm on a roll, the Dairylea award for cow of the month goes to the girl who stuck her hand up and moaned that her table was a little wonky-get over it! Every table in the place is wonky! Anyways, more a berating of myself here. I am going through a spell of no motivation at all. It'd better change soon or I'll be somewhere hanging around Desmond's arse in a few weeks (2:2 for those who haven't met Oli)

Ah well off to bed now. Long day tomorrow-well actually pretty much the same length as today...ahhh the predictability of life hey.

And so it begins...

1 years work

   £3000 of tuition
      3 terms
         1200 hours of work (?!?)
            15 lecturers
               and now
            6 exams
         16 hours
      32 questions
   2/9 of a degree
1 more year gone

Latest Building Project

You may be excited about the new buildings at the Science Site, but here's something to really get you going! Due to very kind donations, we are on target to complete the new toilet roll bouncy ball/powerball?!? chute before the end of term. Surveyors have carried out detailed measurements, and now resources are being collected. Currently there are 23 tubes, each 5 toilet rolls long, however with an estimated 43 tubes required there is still a long way to go. If supply continues at the current rate, building work should be completed within 8 weeks, however a few laxitives here and there, and possibly generous donations from other residences should see us to the target-however do not get complacent! Keep going to the toilet! The chute will stretch from number 5 to number 1 Cross View Terrace. Below is an artists impression of what part of the new development will look like
.

Creeping towards exams

The dawn of exams approaches. The dark night of laziness and apathy is fading away as the sun of the exam period peeps over the horizon. It's time to wake up and start work! And like any morning, I don't really want to. It's not that I don't like exams, I can see their use, I just lack enthusiasm for them at times! I have spent the last week revising and regretting I wasn't.

It's crazy, how can anyone do enough revision? I guess the answer is that no one can. However long you spend on work, you could always work longer. So how long should I spend revising? I guess it's all a matter of rationality and perspective. I am here to work, to get a degree and so it would be wasteful of me not to use my time here studying hard and trying hard in all I do. But at the end of the day, there is more to life. Even if i fail every single module, it's not ACTUALLY the end of the world.

' If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same'

Of things real and imaginary

You may, if you are an avid reader of this blog (rules out the majority!) , have noticed that I often start Titles with 'Of'. I thought i ought to explain myself. The reason is that I am taking inspiration from The Silmarillian (Or however it is spelt). I know this may sound like an oxymoron, and it is true that 'Of' was the grand sum of inspiration or in fact anything I got from the book.

Anyway, this blog is dedicated to things that exist, and things that don't. A narrow topic I'm sure you'll agree.

Let's start with imaginary things. Numbers. 'i' in fact. At which point most of you are going 'huh?'. But yes, imaginary numbers are whizzing through my brain at the moment, and I am desperately trying to revise Complex Analysis which I HATE. Garr silly numbers that don't actually exist.

On the brighter side of non-existence, my Battrick team are having an extraordinary run of form which has seem them gain promotion and do well in the early stages of the 20-20 cup! hurrah! (I'm not sad). This means for the first time ever, next season Pigeons XI will be in a higher division than Thid Floor Ponderers.

Ok this one is a weak link. We watched a film tonight, called 'American Splendor' which was about a guy who had a comic based on him (which he wrote). It was a weird film where nothing much happened but it was amazing! Loved it! So there's the seamless link between real and imaginary, and very like a mirror, in which a real picture is reflected, here, having studied the reflection, we now study the image.

Cricket World Cup Final yesterday. Dismal weather ended a dismal tournament with Australia just edging it (especially Gilchrist). It is the most long and drawn out and unnecessarily stupid tournament in the history of the entire Universe, and I include Canada in that!! Everyone in the ICC should be sacked just for letting it take place! In other sport, Man Utd creep towards the finish line in style (yippee!), am looking forward to Wednesday.

Real maths!!! Arrrggghhh. There is something about applied maths I just don't get. It's Ok in theory but start making it real, and applied and it becomes very difficult. Unfortunately, this together with the opening statement means it is going to be a bleak few weeks.

Which leads me very nicely onto the final and very real fact that is exams! Yurk. I'd better kick my arse into gear soon or I will not do very splendidly. Library tomorrow!

The Wall

Arrgghh so long without a post. Right first, A quick update-Back in Durham, term just started, should be revising, am happy. There you go.

I have become increasingly aware recently of 'The Wall'. It's kinda like 'The Man', but more bricky and less human. So what exactly is a wall? Well for a definition, I turn to the world of football. 'A wall is a line of people who stand in a row, to try and stop the ball from reaching the goal'. Well ok the wall IS human here, but bear with me. Basically YOU are the ball, the goal is...the goal, and the wall is the wall.

And like any decent wall, this wall is graffitied. 'What does it say' I hear you cry in desperation. Well it says 'I would *insert personal goal here* but *insert personal wall here*'. So basically the wall is apathy, the wall is reserve, the wall is comfort the wall is self-centredness, the wall is what drags us down and keeps us from being what we want to be.

For example, in revision for exams, in trying to help others, in the search for some kind of meaning, in trying to become better people, in trying to achieve anything in fact! It sets up a conflict in our minds. We want to, but we don't ACTUALLY want to. We would, but we can't.

So how can the wall be broken. Well, like any wall, it can crumble, and by spending years running into it, kicking it, chiselling away at it, it can be broken. Or we can ask someone bigger than it to lift us over.

Hehehe

Yesterday went too soon

I have now spent 20 years in this place. Wow, when i look around, i wonder how i made it this far! I can't help thinking that anyone who makes it this far, must have a fairly good chance of finishing life Ok. I have no knowledge of what's to come, but i doubt there will be many decades as frantic or as difficult as the teens, (and the preteens for the pernickity ones). It seems that most of lifes lessons have been learnt in these ten years. I don't pretend to have reached anything near full maturity, and someone please kick me if that happens anytime while I am still alive! However i think the teens are a big thorny hedge that everyone must be dragged through backwards to get to the other side.

It is also a mini milestone, because I have now spent almost exactly half my life up North. This depresses me slightly, as I mourn my lost accent. The vast rolling hills of urban wasteland, the paradise of urban heat island, the glorious mountains of concrete are no more a part of my life. Of course this is really just a comparison between town and city, however for me it seperates life dan saerf from life uhp ear. Not that i have loooads of happy memories from London. Infact most of the significant things in my life happened up here, and most within the last few years! lol

So yesterday did not go too soon really, just sounded like a nice nostalgic name, albeit nicked from a song.

Easter Existentialism

'Existence precedes essence'

It's a popular concept in modern philosophical thinking-The idea that we ourselves create a meaning within our own lives which does not extend beyond those boundaries. Life is nothing except the subjective point and meaning that we give it ourselves. Once this cornerstone has been laid, it is natural that other such ideas such as truth, meaning, purpose, reality and God tend to go down the drain. How does this idea of subjectivity actually reflect the 'reality' we perceive?

C.S Lewis writes that that 'You can't go on seeing through things forever. The whole point in seeing through something is to see something through it...If you see through everything then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To see through all things is to not see'. He uses the example of a window looking out onto a garden. In other words subjectivity can only truly exist within the framework of objectivity. I wonder what the bank manager would say if i went down and tried to argue that the debt i have is all subjective, and so from my perspective there is no debt. What would a husband say to a bride who claimed when they said 'I do' it was a subjective statement? The very nature of the world we live in, is one of objectivity. This does not mean that subjectivity cannot exit, but it does mean that we cannot try to deny the existence of objective reality.

And if there is an objective reality, is it then outrageous to claim that there is an objective truth? For if objectivity exists then it is possible for ideas such as purpose, meaning, truth, reality and God to exist outside of our person. It is possible that there could be a God, who created this universe and everything in it. It is possible that there could be a right and a wrong, an ultimate truth. It is possible that we could be part of an amazing creation that reflects an amazing creator.

In the Bible, God refers to himself as 'Yahweh'. This means 'I am'. He is that he is. This is not a fluffy subjective term, this is a reality, an existence, a truth. The Bible goes onto claim that as God's creation, made with a specific purpose, we have all turned away from him, and live in a world with little purpose, and little meaning. Sound familiar? It then claims that Jesus, the Son of God came to Earth to die, as a real person so that we might find purpose again, that we might have a living real relationshp with the God that created us. It's a big claim,it's a massive claim but one i would argue is very much worth investigating.

Happy Easter!

STOP THE TRAFFIK

I went to see 'Amazing Grace' the film last night. It's a brilliant film, and I recommend that everyone go see it, at least once. The acting is of a very good standard, the music is great, the cinematography is good, the story is well told. However none of the reasons above are what make the film good. The film is so powerful, because it is a real story. It is the accurate portrayal of one man's fight for what he believed was right. This isn't some blown up heroic story of a wild revolutionary, it is a story of how one man, with an amazing passion, used his position, and everything he had, to try and change the world. Of course it wasn't just him, there were plenty of equally committed people, but William Wilberforce particularly gave his whole life to the cause.

This can sound a bit cheesy, sickly sweet, but it's really not. If William Wilberforce had been apathetic, I wonder how much longer slavery would have continued. If William Wilberforce had sighed and despairingly said 'Well, its awful, but what can you do', I wonder if the movement would have ever taken off in the way it did. It didn't happen to begin with, there was massive opposition, but finally after years and years of campaigning he got the bill passed in Parliament.
Finally slavery was abolished, throughout the British Empire.

I wonder if I would have had that courage. I wonder if I would have had the guts, and the determination to see it through. Its easy in hindsight to think sometimes, that had I been faced with such injustice, with such inequality, then I would have also acted in a similar way.

Well here is the slap round the face. The same injustice DOES exist today. There are over 2.4 million people worldwide in slavery as a result of human trafficking. This includes forced labour as well as prostitution. There are over 4000 trafficked sex workers in the UK currently, although the exact figures are unknown. There are more slaves in the world today than there were 200 years ago when slavery was abolished. 12,000 children have been trafficked into the Ivory Coast to work on cocoa farms. Nearly half the world's chocolate is made using cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast. So next time you eat chocolate, enjoy!

So are we a people driven by whatever we believe, to act and make a real difference in our world? Or will we let apathy seep in, and water down our conscience?

1 Year, 3 seasons...

Ok, if you are not aware of how sad a loser I am, and would rather be kept in the dark look away now!

A year ago today, a good old friend of mine (Andy) introduced me to a website, that has changed my life forever. A year ago today I took over struggling Division V team Pigeons XI. Lingering at the bottom of the table they faced iminent relegation. Long faces filled the pavillion, morale was down, and the performances reflected that. And now a year on, it is a different team altogether. Only two players remain from the original line up, captain Ron Keane, and wicket keeping maestro Danny Lonergan. Alongside these two stalwarts for the team, are 9 young individuals all under 20, with a promising career ahead of them. Having finished 7th in the first season, the next two seasons brought 3rd and 2nd place finishes respectively, and now as I speak Pigeons XI are fighting for promotion at the end of this season, top on equal points with Nuig CC. The stadium has been vastly expanded, the team completely reshuffled, the sponsors are happy and it would appear that Pigeons XI have a very bright future ahead! So who knows what might have happened by this time next year? lol

It's been a quiet few days!

Of this and that

Is it bad that I am now procrastinating from procrastinating? I came to write a blog, to stop myself from working, but then could not think of anything to write about, so went on Wikipedia instead! It is a sorry state indeed. However my sightseeing trip to Wikipedia did serve a purpose. It helped me concoct this blog. Therefore this blog is going to be about two words, that are in many ways synonymous...well ok, maybe they aren't but that word is cool enough to warrant use without need. My first word is water.

Did you know that it is World Day for Water today? Well now you do! Not something that crosses our minds very often. Well make it cross back and forth for today at least. It is in many ways i think a sign of our general attitude. We take it for granted so much, whereas in some parts of the world a whole day might be taken up in pursuit of enough water to keep a family alive. As cliched as it is, it is true that many people worldwide have to walk for miles just to get clean water. And yet here we are, wasting it by the gallon!

My second word is communism. (Today's featured article was about the 'Fourth International')
Now many people are of the opinion that I am a communist in disguise. So I want to offer this rebuttal (another fantastic word probably used out of place). The problem is that we have two systems really, capitalism and communism. Neither are very good. Capitalism, because it is by nature wrong, and Communism because it is by nature impossible. For me to believe in Capitalism would be equivalent to saying 'Yes I love evil' and for me to support communism would be to say 'I think human flight is a viable low emissions travel option'. Now i realise that many would argue that Communism can exist, however i believe that human nature defies that.

So where does that leave me? There is no point investing in something that is never going to work, so I am not a communist, instead perhaps 'conscience capitalist with communist ideals'. How's that? As someone once said, let's start from the imperfect, and work towards the perfect!!

Oh and by the way, at some people's request I spent hours slaving away yesterday bringing you original audio versions of 'Springtime again' and other such poems. See www.pigeonboy.podbean.com

Springtime again!

That was the title of one of my first ever poems written at school. Needless to say i have since been subjected to much mockery relating to that poem! I thought it was good!

And so I am back in Harrogate! Back in the land of 'do-nothing', where wireless and tea rule my day. Though things are slightly different this time round. I'm a changed man! If only because nextdoors wireless network has now been secured! Not that I rely too heavily on their wireless, but our wireless gets switched off at 11 each night, so no more late nighters for me!
So what have I been up to in this last week since i blogged. Well truth be told-nothing. That is part of the reason I have not blogged-my mind has been devoid of things to write about!

The weather has been typically British, varying between bright sunshine that stifles the room with heat, and snow blizzards which bring with them icy blasts. Who knows, maybe rain later today...
I shall go now and try and make something of the day before it is too late

Hasta luego

I hope this helps

There are some things in life which make you cry or scream. There are other things which make you roar with laughter. There are things which change your life, moments of great intensity. There are times when you feel you cannot go on. There are times when you feel you cannot stop.

Then there are times of very little significance, at which you just have to sit back and giggle at the world around us. let this be one of those times! Hehehe

Wind down

A week left of what has in many ways been a frantic term, and in many other ways been a fairly quiet term. It's odd to once again be preparing to go home for another 5 weeks. After which we will be in exams season once more. Oh what fun!

I must apologise (once again) for a lack of blogging. However I will use the excuse of essay deadline week! And blogger not orking yesterday. he last week has been good, getting rid of two essays, and seeing Ditt again and going to planet etc. The next week promises to be a fairly relaxed one. So finally I must consider tidying my room! Ahhhhh

Be who you wanna be, B-A-R-B-I-E

One of my favourite pastimes these days is watching early morning T.V far later than I should be, and hence having to run to lectures to get there on time. It's fantastic seeing all the different TV shows. Whether it is Thomas and Friends, the incredible Sailor Sid, the ever oinking Pepper Pig or even the rather depressing Titch, it keeps us entertained for half an hour every day! Unfortunately because it happens to be on Channe 5, there are adverts.

The adverts are the same everyday. One hair product, lego, some fighting things, and a whole variety of Barbie things. From skating barbies to flying barbies, through Amish Barbie and Muslim Barbie (with full length veil). What really made me laugh was the slogan 'Be who you want to be'. That slogan for a barbie doll!?!? A doll which if it existed in real life would have died beacuse her legs are too long for her waist or something (I read about it once a long time ago). So here we have the image of conformity, the epitome of stereotypes and unfortunately what many people aim for as the ideal image, with a slogan implying individuality and self expression.

Well this week I have decided to be myself and to just forget what other people might think ( As anyone who has seen me will know). I don't write this looking for praise or applauding myself. I do this instead for two reasons. Firstly to help reassure myself that it is ok for me to be me! And secondly to encourage everyone to be exactly who you want to be. In the end, doesn't matter what anyone else thinks!

Stokes' Theorem

This my friends is Stokes' Theroem. And quite frankly its great. That is, if you understand it. You see no matter how much i think about, how much it means to me, there isn't really much point in me posting it. Why? Because there will be two types of readers. Firstly there are the ones who know what it means. Mathematicians and physicists will look at it and with a knowing smile understand it completely. But they already knew it, it is useless reading something that you already know-what's the point. There would be no point in me standing up in front of a maths class and explaining Stokes' Theorem to them, or even recommending they read this blog-It's old news, barely worth the read.

The second kind of readers are those who have no idea what I am on about. But if that is the case then this will not help them either. You can't understand it just from this formula. It would require someone to come and find me afterwards and ask me to explain it. If anything it would just cause confusion. So what is my point?

The only remaining justification for me posting this riddle of an equation is self-expression. However I might as well just go and write it on a piece of paper rather than writing it up here and causing confusion.

Oh dear

A whole week since I last blogged. Not very impressive at all. Though i will mention that it is not entirely my fault. I have written several blogs which were simply not good enough! Taj will identify with suh writings. So I have resorted to writing one just because I haven't written one for ages, and to let everyone know what has been going on recently i guess!

Was away for the weekend in sunny Whitby which was grrreeeatt! While I was there I went to see a play which was fantastic. One of the issues the play covered was people trafficking. Rather than watse time reading further musings and mumblings from me, go to http://www.stopthetraffik.org/ and read about something very important that actually matters.

You mean I actually got it right?!?

I am swelling in pride at the moment, momentarily. Then I shall return to my usual state of general incompetence as I slog away at my essay. But I wont forget this moment. Moments like this don't come very often. Actually the moment I refer to occured a few hours ago at approximately 2.30ish. It was in a maths tutorial, with a legend of a tutor. Following his little intro, everyone was working on a question, or just putting on a thoughtful face so that the tutor wouldn't ask a question. In fact that is my tactic most tutorials. Sit there with a puzzled face. It's an art though. You have to look puzzled enough that they wont ask you to go through it, yet not puzzled enough to look as though you need any help. I find that if you moderately tax the brain with a problem such as what to have for lunch, whilst staring intently and flicking through your notes, the desired effect is reached.

Anyway on this one occasion I was wandering through the wilderness of mathematical madness when I stumbled upon rare jungle gold. Just like that, out of the dark and dusty cobweb filled corners of my mind came a flash of inspiration. And BANG there was the answer. I was so shocked I had to ask the affectionately named 'Maths Richard' sat next to me to check the answer. Answer checked ,I tentatively put up my hand. The very intelligence of some of the people in the room, and the fact that no one else had the answer yet, put more then a dram of caution in my mind. The tutor came over, peered at the scruffy paper, and with a voiceof bewilderment only matched by the amazement inside me, he declared that 'yes...that's right...that's perfect, exactly right'. His response should indicate that it is not often I that comes up with the answer first. Taj was in disbelief (As he knows that it is very rare for me to actually work in tutorials), however here I stand, basking in the fact that I was right.

I don't mean to sound arsey or arrogant. I think everyone would admit that when you are right, it is an amazing feeling, especially as for most people it doesn't happen very often, so yeah, just thought I'd share that feeling with y'all!

The Library

I come to you direct from the computer room on the ground floor of the library! One of the most mysterious places on Earth (And one of the most daunting!)

These last few days have been fairly exciting. We got a house on Monday, yesterday I went to see the Merchant of Venice...erm, well ok that consitutes an exciting few days for me!

Also had Valentines Day of course. Though I feel that day has had enough press already so I wont bother delving into it, and ripping it to shreds.

Well I don't really have anything else to ponder upon at this time, so I shall leave you with some words to ponder upon yourselves.

'I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what' Harper Lee (TKAM)

Who attached lead to my eyelids?

For some reason I have had difficulty staying awake today. So I am going to give up and go to bed. Tomorrow we have all the fun of househunting! Oh yay. I am looking forward to getting a house-just not to looking for one. Not that i can't see one. There are lots around in Durham, of manhy different shapes and sizes. You see househunting is not like real hunting. The houses won't run away, they won't suddenly jump into a bush or hide or something. However it comes with problems of its own. I would like to propose three difficulties that explain why househunting never caught on whilst foxhunting did.

Firstly, imagine this. You are on a poncy foxhunt, and you are following a fox. The dogs are inches away, gnashing away (the friendly creatures they are) and then suddenly the moment before you get the fox Lord Snooty and his gang come charging through the bush to your left, snatch the fox and are gone within seconds leaving you with little more than a mouthful of dirt. Yes...the 'just missed it' when the contract has just been signed.

So a little later you catch a glimpse of another fox sitting on the floor of the wood. Great, you think. Its silky fur reflects the sun. It is truly majestic! You lick your lips and head off in mad pursuit of the fox. However as you get near, it spots you, turns around and legs it off in the other direction at what can only be described as a supersonic speed. With one last surge you continue the chase, and having forced him to the edge of a cliff, surrounded, surely victory must be yours. To your amazement the fox unfurls its wings and flies off the cliff, landing safely on a ledge a few 100 metres away. Yes this is those targets which are just impossible to get. The ones that are far too good, or out of range...

Tired, but still determined you head back into the forest. You spot a small rater scruffy figure in the distance which you think must be a fox. At last! Something that you might actually be able to catch! Off on the chase again...tearing through the wood. Closer, and closer and closer, until YES, you finally have it. But wait...you pick up the damp, sodden half dead mess before you and to your dismay realise that it is a large rat you have been chasing. The oh so unmistakable piles of rubbish that look so tempting to begin with, until you realise the damp makes the rooms like a rainforest, and that the bathroom has no toilet.

So there you go! And so as you blow your horn and set off househunting, remember those three perilous situations! Good luck and happy hunting!

Thought for the Day: 'It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well'
Rene Descartes

No cirques please, we're British!

This week has been a good week. I have spent a fair amount of it staring at maps, measuring maps and then collating data on cirques. For those who have not had the misfortune of being around me this week and do not know what a cirque is, a cirque is a small glacier, or rather a hole left by one, perched on the side and at the head of valleys. They also form the main part of my summative project this term.

SNOOOOOOOOW! Yes although it has been patchy, we have still been snowed on this week-which is very exciting. Perhaps at this point i should share my analogy which got me strange looks last week. Every morning i think about the day ahead as a field of untouched snow. Perfectly flat and covered, undisturbed. And everyday I run, dance prance and generally fall across the field. An then at the end of the day, i look back across the field, and there is a massive trail of mess and destruction behind me! But as long as I don't make too much of a mess, and provided i do get to the other side of the field, then that's ok! lol.

Thought for the Day: "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important." C.S. Lewis

The ever flexible John O'Shea

He started off his Manchester United career as a left back. Since then he has played centre back, right back, central midfield, left wing, even upfront as a striker for part of a game. Then yesterday came his biggest moment yet, playing in goal for 10 minutes at the end of the game againt 'Spurs.

This leaves right wing as the only position he has yet to play in!

Check out the video-i know it is long, but there are some great moments. Notably his punch from the free kick, and him denying Robbie Keane, 1 on 1 right near the end. Ahhh fantastic!

If you get a bit bored in the middle just try and work out what the commentators are saying!

I doubt it

Doubt-Possibly everyones favourite word. It's a strange thing doubt. Its strange how more often than not, it's difficult to see why people doubt themselves. From the outside it can be difficult to comprehend. That's because I don't think people doubt what they cannot do, but rather what they can. In general most people know what they can't do, so don't do it, or do it with no expectation. Doubt implies a given expectation that will not be lived up to. So why do we doubt?

Firstly i think we all think we are crap. No matter how well we may do at something, no matter how many times people may tell us, often we think we are rubbish. Whether it be academic, or to do with our personality, our likeability or whatever, we fail to see what others do.

In some ways this is a good way to be. It saves us from arrogance and self importance, from pride and a self belief which sets us up to fail. However it has its downsides too. Through merely believing our own opinion of ourselves, we miss out on part of who we really are. We can end up getting quite down at not living up to our own expectations or by comparing our view of ourselves, to our view of other people.

Secondly, i think it is due to the uncertainty we face. At every step there are thing which we have not done before, challenges which we have not previously encountered. These provide a perfect opportunity to question our ability. It is true, that until we try something we can't be sure that we are capable of it, but that's not necessarily a reason to believe that we are incapable.

I think the answer lies in those besides ourselves. Whereas we may have a very negative view, friends offer a far more realistic view of ourselves. That may include some healthy skepticism however will probably also offer a far less doubtful view of us, and our abilities. So next time you want to doubt yourself-go listen to a friend!

Garrr blutak is really annoying. Why does it stick to everything within a 20cm radius of it, including pens, rulers, tables, paper etc, but then the minute you stick it to a wall, it falls off!!

Children

I was lucky enough to be able to spend the evening with two wonderful children this evening, and so this blog is really 'why we should all be like children'. This may come as a surprise to some. I have in the past pointed out to people, that we must grow up. Despite the wonders of childhood, adult life presents a much more complex situation where we must act differently from children, however I aim to suggest a few characteristics maybe we should adopt from children.

Firstly there attitude. One of excitememt, and anticipation. The smallest things excite them and they always are wanting to know more. They want to meet new people, to tell others about themselves and to find out about other people. There are very few people more interested with everyday life than children. Children are often less reserved. They will have hopes, and dreams and get easily excited, but of course they will also sometimes get more upset as a result. However I think there is a lot to be said for taking the risk. I mean you have to be up high to fall. Too often adults would rather go for the middle ground. Adopt realism or pessimism, which aren't inherently bad things. Sure you never get the fall, but likewise you never get the view from the top. Children also have a very generous attitude. Within 2 or 3hrs I was given a picture, drawn for me, and a pencil! Ok it doesn't seem much, but what a sacrifice and loving gift to give to someone she had only just met.

Trust is another big 'un. Kind of linked with the last point. Often adults are too skeptical-Trust no one rather than trust everyone. And once again it is probably wise not to trust everyone as we may los a lot. However children are far more trusting. And once again, there are negative consequences. However i think it would be far better if every now and then we stuck our neck out, risked being let down and trusted those around us a little bit more.

Honesty. Now there's a difficult one. Now i will preface this one by saying that I more than see the need for tact within conversation, and being honest does not necessarily mean that just because you think something-you tell everyone! I have come to appreciate honesty and bluntness within my friends. Ok, it may hurt when they tell you something you don't want to hear. It might be difficult to swallow your pride and accept that maybe they are right. It's like when children say things they 'shouldn't say' in public. Children don't care-they tell it as it is. I think it's far better to be honest, and to have an honest friend rather than to have one who will not put you right when you are wrong, who will not tell you when you are out of order.

So there you go-a brief insight as to why I think we should all be slightly more like children

Thought for the Day: Be childlike not childish

Long time no post

I would like to apolgise for my appaulling efforts recently with the blog. Having been away last weekend, I have been consistently fairly busy and so have fallen very behind. The unfortunate truth is that I still don't have anything to write! Maybe tomorrow....

The marvel that is 'Refresh' Tea!

My head is twice the size it usually is, and twice as heavy, my eyelids are heavier than usual and i have a slightly spaced-out air about me. Unfortunately 3hrs sleep is not enough for Tim to function correctly. It's not that I haven't done it before. But it is the beginning of term so I'm not really back into the sleepless pattern . I woke up this morning, dazed and feeling horrible. A shower and some breakfast later things weren't much better. I felt dead! I went to my 9am which was a nightmare, i felt awful the whole way through, like my body was telling me I should still be asleep. Then after that lecture i struggled home, sorry to the chemistry cafe (the two are almost synonymous now!). Hrmm good word, probably completely out of context but you know what I mean.

I crawled to the counter, and heaved my heavy frame up to ask for a tea, through half-shut eyes. However rather than the usual choice I went for a 'refresh' tea. This is a mint tea, which i have had a few times before. From the first sniff, to the final sip (I decided not to chew the teabag this time) it was magical! In that 30mins, a party started inside my head! It was as though I woke up there and then. My shoulders lifted, my eyes opened, the sun shone and it was day! And I looked around and saw that it was good! That small cup kept me awake and energetic for the whole afternoon, however now I am beginning to lag again. Maybe I should buy some.

I will go now and try and get a first class ticket on the first train leaving reality. I need sleep.

Guess its just another fruitless friday

I chose the title, mainly because its not monday, and i doubt very much it will be manic. That and i wanted a more interesting title than 'Back In durham' which I fear I have used previously.

So anyway the basic jist is that I am now back in Durham. Yay! Good news is that the house is still here, and intact, and what's more I now have heat in my room! Wahoo! At last I can be warm (Though in truth I like the cold, and I'm sure it is only a matter of time before my cold heart cools the room with an icy chill) So yes, here I am, getting ready for the beginning of another manic term, which naturally begins on a monday! It's kinda like the quiet before the storm. Life is at half speed, everyone is having long lie-ins and doing nothing all day, while they can then BANG, as of Monday everything steps up a gear or two and the madness begins. Ahh I can't wait!

Thought for the Day: All women become like their mothers, that's their tragedy. No man does, and that's his. (Importance of Being Earnest)

I am still here!

And I will update properly as soon as I can think of something worth saying!

Procrastination

Ahhh work! Gotta love it! I find it very difficult to sit down and do work. So far I have mainly been doing maths, perhaps because it is easier to do than geography. My living hero is a mathemetician, Marcus Du Sautoy, a professor of maths at Oxford, this year he did the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. One of which was on codes and featured the Baudot code, in which each letter/character consists of a combination of 5 zeros or ones (11011 or 00011). An interesting fact about this code is that it was used on Coldplays latest album X & Y, although they actually got the code wrong so it says X9Y on the front instead! Inside the back cover, written in Baudot is 'Make Trade Fair'.

Fair is an interesting word. I wonder whether it is objective or subjective. The immediate answer would be objective, and yet I wonder if there are some situations in which equality and justice are purely subjective. What is justice? A film that deals very nicely with the idea of justice and mercy is the Merchant of Venice. I purchased the DVD after Christmas for a mere £2.97. Well worth watching-a real bargain. I'll tell you what isn't a bargain though-Univeristy! Please student loan where are you? I am in need of some money! Well I suppose actually I may as well get used to debt seeing as it's going to be with me until I finally leave University and go get a real job. At this rate I might not even graduate unless I do some work.

MMVII (I already had that name before I read Taj's blog!)

My thoughts on entering my 21st calender year on this planet...

There are many things I have done that I regret, and there are many things I have not done which I wish I had. There are things I have which I wish I didn't and things I don't have, which I wish I did. There are things I wish I'd said, and things I wish I hadn't said. The list goes on.

All in all, I think I have a decision to make. Not a decision to be made once a year every year and then forgotten once the hangover has receded and the firework smoke has blown away. Instead a decision that I make every day, every minute, every second. Either I can live in the past, or I can live in the present or I can live in the future.

The problem with living in the past is that we never move on. We clutch at things gone by and cling to things, desperate to avoid change, and to hold on to what we have. We do not change, or ever get over anything, and as a result, our whole life is determined by our past.

The prolem with living in the present is that there is no perspective. There is a philosophy these days of 'Seize the moment' and 'If it feels good it must be ok'. However if we live only in the prsent, then our actions and motives will not outlast that moment. It is a very self centred and myopic viewpoint that bears no thought for what is yet to come.

The problem with living in the future is that the future is not definite. Well, at least most of it...We may have dreams, ideas and aspirations, but to live in wait for them is to miss out on the here and now. It can be easy to always be looking forward to a future event...'I just can't wait to...' but then often when we get there, we can start looking for something else. The glitch is that our idea of the future can be extreme- eiher rosey or thorny! It lacks the reality that comes from it actually coming to pass.

I think that you need an equal measure of past, present and future. The past cannot be ignored and forgotten, the present will have consequences and the future will only arrive via a journey through the present. (That is timewise-I am NOT reffering to having to journey through a large gift)

I don't usually make open New Years Resolutions but I feel this one is general enough to be aired! Last year was amazing and I wont forget it. This year I want to be better to my friends and those close to me, learn from my mistakes, do loads of new stuff (list to follow) try and get rid of the horrible parts of me and live my life with an eternal perspective. Not that I am going to achieve that all, or that I have, but that I will try. I can't fail-merely achieve to different degrees!

Happy New Year!