Duckmobile v2.0

End Of The Line :: All Change

2006-11-01T16:59:00.000Z

For those who actually view this (rather poor excuse for a) blog, you may be interested to know that I have been hard at work designing a new blog site. I will be blogging again shortly! I will be on a different server (located in my lounge) to give me more flexibility with regards to what I can put on my site. It is still under construction, but you can view the few blog articles I have put on there, as long as you bear in mind, it's still nowehere near complete. Building a complete blog system it turns out, actually involves a lot more work than I thought. Anyhow, it shall not be long before I have my very own site, on my very own server. So I guess you want the URL? hadders.mine.nu

This site will no longer be updated... probably...

Mattoid

2006-07-11T19:35:00.000Z

Quite a lot has happened since I last blogged! Well quite a lot, considering just how little else happened before this week. Firstly let me talk a little about my experiences of Goodwood Festival Of Speed.

Although, some might call the time we left early, after a demanding exam period it felt relatively normal to be out of the house by half past 8! The journey down to Goodwood was eventful. One wrong turning turned into one of the best wrong turnings in human history as we managed to trip over, what is in essence, one of the best roads around to drive. Now of course I wasn't driving but that didn't exactly stop me from enjoying it. It also made me remember I forgot the email I was supposed to bring to collect the tickets, but fear not, one driving license and one credit card allowed me to collect the tickets anyway!

The first thing you encounter is the car park. One those 3 days it has to be the most expensive car park (in terms of overall value of cars) in the world. Purely ridiculous. Seriously. Anyway... The festival starts off with the Formula 1 Paddock. It was nice to see some old favourites (Damon Hill's 1994 Williams for example) and some of the newer chassis' (BAR for example). At this point I was a little disappointed to only see 5 teams there, but it turned out that the Renault team were sat in front of Goodwood House. Back to them in a moment.

After the Formula 1 cars comes the sports cars of history. In this group were plenty of record breakers (in their day). The Audi R10 from Le Mans was impressive, as were the Jaguar E and D types to mention but a couple. It was in this paddock that the wonderful aroma of Castrol R can be smelled (Racing Oil). A truly wonderful smell it is too! As we left these paddocks and headed towards the main House, we could hear Renault firing up their 2006 Formula 1 car. Normally this would be just slightly special. As it happens, it's a little better than that. It took a moment to work it out, but after a few seconds it dawned on me that by revving the engine to specific revs they were playing the National Anthem. The noise was incredible and I am near certain that it is the coolest thing I have ever heard. Later in the day they managed the French National Anthem as well. Now they were just showing off.

And so on to the Supercar Paddock. Let's face it. I paid £22 to see one car while I was there, and I had already justified the ticket price at the Renault stand. Nevertheless, this did not detract from the awesomeness of seeing the Bugatti Veyron in the flesh. What a car it is too. It is even nicer in person than in pictures or on video. It truly is the greatest supercar ever built (although Jon would probably argue for the XJ220). That said it was surrounded by some terrific competition. Not that any of it really comes close, but worthy of mention include: Pagani Zonda, McLaren Mercedes SLR, Ascari KZ1 and the Maybach monster (purely for its ridiculous size).

The final paddock, at least for me, held less interest than previous locations, but it was still impressive. Let me put this into perspective. Arguably the most beautiful car ever made, and as it happens right now the most expensive to boot, is the Ferrari 250 GTO. The last one to go at Auction went for an 8 figure sum. To see one of these cars (seeing as only 39 were produced) is incredible, but to see 2 parked next to each other is just superb.

From here it was a visit track-side to watch some of the cars we had already seen go up the hill. It was so nice just to listen to them! Highlights include, the Audi R10, for its pure lack of noise (incredible for a racing car, but that's Diesel for you!), The Renault Formula 1 car for its ambitious doughnuts, and the Bugatti Veyron... Just because... After this we were off to visit the car stands. I managed to sit in quite a variety of cars, from the ridiculous (the pink Nissan Micra C+C) through the Audi RS4 (major disappointment), BMW Z4M (too small... and no I'm not too big!), Toyota Aego (surprisingly impressive for such a cheap car), Mercedes E63 AMG (a ridiculously over powered saloon) to my personal highlight the Mercedes SL500.

Going round the stands occupied us for a while. The artwork is truly incredible, but after spending so much time looking at it last year, it interested me less this year. We finally met up at the cricket pitch with the magnificent sand sculptures showing the progression of thoroughbred race cars. And that was it. We went to the pub. We eat some food. We went to bed. And that was Goodwood. A fantastic day out for even the mild car enthusiast and even for those with less of an interest (read Rachel, who I am so impressed with how she managed to put up with it all!).

Since then, an uninspiring weekend and more job hunting. This time however, Monday was to be a decisive day. I had an interview for a Shell STEP position at a company based just the other side of Farnham. Basically they are looking for someone to rebuild their corporate website. Now when I say corporate, one has to bear in mind that there is just 6 employees. This does not stop them from selling software to Multinational Conglomerates. Well since the interview yesterday they offered me the job this morning, and ever since I have been over the moon! I now have something to occupy me over the summer months.

I have also been to the cinema. Now I know what you're thinking. Hadley going to the cinema? Well it is true. I actually went ahead and paid to see a film! And it can only be one film can't it! Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. All I will say is: watch it. It is an amazing film and a worthy sequel to the original film.

Well... If you have been bothered to read all of that, I applaud you. Look forward to updates by the weekend on how my new job is going (I start on Thursday). Ciao for now.

Umquhile

2006-07-05T18:32:00.000Z

So it has been a while. I'm home now (or at least back in Guildford). My exam results were not too bad. I passed! That's all that matters right now. I can easily acheive a Desmond next year, and a 2:1 is not off the cards, although it will be a lot of work! I ended up with 48 overall for the year, and I failed two of modules but was given the pass anyway.

Well hasn't it been hot. Very, very hot. My bedroom is a nice cool 29 degrees right now. This is the coolest it has been since I got back on Saturday. Realistically though, the heat here is just too much for me. 34 degrees in the shade is not what I would typically call comfortable.

Guildford is still the same. Full of ponces. It's a shame really, as location wise, this is such a nice place to be. I seem to be struggling with finding a job for now though! I have signed up with no less than 8 agencies. Currently it seems I have a job for 3 days next week. I get to input data into excel for £7 an hour. Thrilling stuff eh! I did manage to earn £60 for 2 and a half hours work this afternoon. I love charging people £20 an hour for my expertise. I may have another job lined up, but I have yet to hear back from that. £10-12 an hour for PC Support doesn't sound too bad to me!

Next up comes Goodwood Festival Of Speed this Friday. I shall give a report on that over the weekend I would imagine. Ciao for now.

Folderol

2006-06-27T23:44:00.000Z

OK, so first off let me apologise for being a little inebriated. Well, my exam results are due tomorrow at 3pm (or should I say today looking at the clock). Tomorrow is a day of milling about until the "hour of the doomed". I shall no doubt at some point inform all of you of the results. Predictions would include 3 module retakes. Ne'er mind.

Not a lot has happened since Sunday. I have been watching some more of season 7 of west wing. Particularly good, but then could you expect less from an award winning series?

Well I shall keep it brief. When I am a little more sober, I shall update with more. For now, I shall leave you with the thought that the new Muse album does seem to grow on me. A little. Don't get me wrong, it is still nothing on earlier works, but then that is a tough target to acheive.

Anyway, enough of the drunken ranting...

Ataraxy

2006-06-24T22:46:00.000Z

This week I have mostly been doing... hangovers. In a similar to way to Toby, let me sum up the week in short; I played golf (twice!) and won (twice!!!), I watched football, I completed Half Life 2 Episode 1 (somewhat anticlimactic), I got very drunk, I got baked, I watched the last of Family Guy season 4, I watched the film "The Wild" (Madagascar is better), I went to the beach and got sunburnt, I complained about my sunburn (wimp I know), I got very drunk (see the theme here), I had to console a friend (and did so badly), I wondered just how the hell I was going to get a job for summer, I listened to the new Muse album (although exciting as the prospect sounds listening to it before release, I was unfortunately unimpressed with this album).

I only have one week left in Exeter now, so I shall more than likely not make many appearances on here before I head back to the 'ford. I have a lot of friends who have now finished their degrees and I won't likely see a lot of them again, so there will be much fun to be had. Apologies for my english, but I seem to have taken out the left hand side of my brain by sheer alcoholicism.

I sign out now. I hope everyone is having a jolly old time (those that read my blog anyway... wow, it must come to like 3 max!).

Tatterdemalion

2006-06-18T09:10:00.000Z

OK, so it's been a week since the last blog, but it has been a busy old week! Of course it started with two exams, my last two to be exact, which both went extremely well. Which is nice. Since then, I have spent a ludicrous amount of cash, mostly on drinking. The hangovers have been unforgiving, and my body feels like a train wreck at the moment. I'll have to shape up for tonight's party!

If I was honest, although it has been a week, and I have been celebrating in style, there is very little to report. I've done nothing during the days, and going out every night, although, I have been to the beach once (thoroughly burnt).

My summer is looking pretty difficult. I have no job as of yet and it seems that Shell Step was merely a dream as there are simply no placements available! It will have to be a visit to the local Job Centre when I return to my home town.

Right, well, for now, I shall leave you.

Incalescence

2006-06-11T19:57:00.000Z

Pretty warm eh? I've been getting really toasty myself, but thankfully due to the wind-tunnel like properties of our street, our house has an unique ability of keeping itself relatively cool. Mind you, I suppose it does depend on your definition of cool. Currently 27 Degrees in my room.

Yesterday's exam was a bit of a joke. That would make it the third exam in a row that I'm almost certain will require retakes come September. Never mind. There isn't a lot I can do about it now. Thank God I only have the two exams left now. My penultimate test tomorrow, on Microprocessors, is looking like it will be easy, which would make a very welcome change to the last three. Then I have only Software Engineering to complete on Tuesday afternoon before...

Lash...

Stupid amounts of consumption will occur and I will more than likely have the hangover from Hell on Wednesday, but it will be so worth it!

I'm in not such a bad mood considering just how badly this exam period has gone. I guess having the right people around you and enough distraction to keep you entertained without being overly damaging. A good example of this would be my good friend Lars turning 23 yesterday. Bless him. It'll be the zimmer frame next. Anyway. Back to what I was saying. I was around his place last night for a classic British Summer BBQ. They have a decent sized garden, but that is not the magical element. Oh no. The sofa. The outdoor sofa. Although it felt somewhat surreal sitting on a sofa in a garden looking up at clear blue skies, listening to some low-key music with a bunch of good people, it was an amazing feeling. When I buy my first house, I shall make sure I acquire myself an extremely old tired sofa for the garden. Trust me, it is so worth it.

Well, I ought really get on with revision for tomorrow (although it is open note, and not too tough having looked at past papers). I shall leave you in peace.

Atrabilious

2006-06-07T10:47:00.000Z

Well, yesterday's exam was terrible. Truly awful. As in failed the module bad. But never mind. Not much I can do about it now, and at least I am not the only one in that boat. Pretty much all of my course mates are in the same boat. Anyway. This is just quick message really. I have to get on with revision for tomorrow's exam now.

I shall leave you with the greatest Flash animation since "Xiao Xiao" and "The End Of The World":

Animator Vs. Animation

Sciolist

2006-06-05T21:45:00.000Z

Now two exams are out of the way. Both of them have gone reasonably well, and the modules look to be wrapped up nicely. At last I can say goodbye to Web Programming and Management. However, a dark day lies ahead. I find it somewhat coincidental that the hardest exam of my degree falls on that day with the date 6/6/6. Smooth. To put this all into some sort of perspective, this module will more than likely not get passed in this set of exams. However, I am hoping that I can acquire myself the ability to retake this module come September. I then need to learn all about Communication Systems over summer. Fair game really. Should have worked harder earlier in the year for this one. After tomorrow, only four exams left!

In other news, there is little news. My keyboard has gone tits up, but that's about the extent of it. Feeling rather down right now, due to the (lack of) looking forward to tomorrow. However, I really cannot wait until next Tuesday. Nearly everyone I know has now finished their exams, and I am not even half way yet. This sucks.

I have also been looking more closely at potential replacements to Duckmobile v2.0 actually. I'm in three minds at the moment. Audi A4, VW Passat or... and you will more than likely brand me as a heathen, but VW Golf GTi. The only issue with the latter, is insurance. Not cheap. But potentially affordable. All I have to do is come up with the cash for the car! The former cars actually work out cheaper to insure than my current car which would always be handy!

Well that's about it for now.

Haplology

2006-05-31T17:57:00.000Z

Well at least that's today's random word of the day out of the way!

I have come to the conclusion that sticking with education, at least for the time being is the sensible approach. The long and short of it is that if I fail the year again, I will go out to work! Mind you, I should be able to get through the year, so maybe another year here we come.

I haven't actually done an awful lot over the last few days. Mostly revision and the watching of random episodes of TV programs. An X-Files here, a West Wing there, and a whole block of My Name Is Earl. All enjoyable! Also started to play SiN Episode 1 in the spare time that I do have. So far so good, reasonably impressive, though not Earth-shattering.

I have to say, it's now annoying me more than before. Everyone else finishes their exams nye on a week before I finish. That's some key lash time being ommited. Incredibly frustrating. I really cannot wait until my exams are over and I can just spend a fortnight doing absolutely whatever I want without worrying about work etc.

Elsewhere in life: My heart goes to those in Java; my mind goes to the Jetwash; I would quite like for these bites on my stomach to go after 6 days; I would also like for my left leg to work again (don't ask); I would also like to hear some new music.

Kelevra

2006-05-27T21:04:00.000Z

My last day at PC World (at least for the time being) was just way too much effort. Demonstrated by the fact that I am tired. Very tired. Never mind! Have spent the last few days in a combination of revision and boredom. I have found myself questioning what I am doing in life on more than one occasion over the last few days, primarily with the view to my degree. This thing that seems to be causing me most of my problems, and giving me no solutions. Nevertheless, I ought really at least try and get through my exams at the very least, all 7 of the bastards.

On another note... I am seriously running dry of free space. Have spent some time setting up a downloading system running on my machine which has now left me with more films than I know what to do with. This, however, is not my primary concern. This lack of space has left me with no qualifying to watch. This frustrates me. A bit...

Anyhow, I shall leave the ramble here. I have not had a great week, in fact, to the extent where this is one week which could easily not have happened in memory. It was that boring. Seriously. One can wish only for a more enjoyable coming week.

Banana Terracotta Pie

2006-05-24T16:37:00.000Z

OK, so I'm still finding excuses to be doing anything but revision. So far today I have mostly been doing... well... nothing so far. With my first exam in just a week and a half, there is still much to do.

Excuse the title, by the way, as I was listening to System Of A Down before writing this. Let's face it, their lyrics don't always come to mean much sense. In fact, that is something I have done today. Annoy the neighbours. The music has been loud and on random. There is however one disadvantage to this; when something seriously embarrassing comes on. Most would say that I should simply remove the crap from the music collection, but that's far too much effort!

So... MacBook... Is it a good idea? I'm so stupidly close to buying one. They're so pretty! OK, I'm snapping out of the girly phase of the day. But on a more serious note, I can and would make bloody good use of it. That and I'd be cool... well... as cool as a geek can get. OK scrap that entire idea of "cool".

Elsewhere in the news: Facebook is still dominating most of my free time; missed another deadline (not so important, but nevertheless another one); Tidied my room (no... seriously, this is a rare occurance and definately news-worthy); Still wondering which team to bet on this coming weekend at the Monaco GP; Still want a new car.

I shall leave it at that I think. No idea what I want to accomplish with this blog yet, so for now, it's going to be inately random. So there... :)

So I Suppose I Ought To Explain

2006-05-22T19:45:00.000Z

Duckmobile... Well for those that don't know me, duckmobile was the nick-name of my first car. Initially because of the number plate (DUC), this was given even more credit when three rubber ducks were applied to the dashboard. Well, I am in my second car now: Duckmobile v2.0 :: Ducks Gone Haywire (DGH). I suppose when I get my third car the blog shall be re-invented in accordance.

There you go... An explanation for the name. That is all for now. I will more than likely update this on rare occasions with current news and events in the life of an exeter student.

Taking The Dive

2006-05-22T19:22:00.000Z

So... As the title suggests really. I went ahead and got myself a blog. Let's face it, no self confessed geek doesn't. I'm going to leave the introduction brief so I shall reveal all when I've had time to customise the blog's appearance. Stay tuned!