I got up and went into Uni to sort out my exercise for Web Systems. I’d completed it but needed to submit it. The lecturer was not in so I looked around the labs. I found one with two 3rd years in it and found from them how to submit it. Because they helped me, I asked them if they needed any help with Java. After going through a good bit of it with one of them I left. I might run a Java crash course thing because apparently a lot of people would like me to.
After that I stopped by Wilkos to get some Duct Tape. It will be required for Halloween. I got back and used said Duct Tape to create some objects that will be used for Halloween. I will post pictures of these objects when I have pictures of them with my housemates.
Jon (from Wales) arrived a bit later, his train was delayed and there were problems with missing connections but he got here in the end and Lorna and Claire were very nice and cooked a meal for us. It was really nice and I really liked it, thank you very much Lorna and Claire. After helping to wash-up we went to the church where I setup my laptop and Jon got talking to the students that were there early.
The talk itself was on Halloween and Jon focused a lot on where the festival originated from and how that affects us. It was a very good service and looked at it from a different angle to the one on Sunday yet came to a similar conclusion (i.e. that we should try to use it to tell them about Christianity if possible). Jon managed to mock me a few times during the talk but that’s okay, I’ll probably get him back some time around Christmas when he’s relying on me to run the words at Church…
After the evening we went to the Pub and Jon came too. Jon must be the most informal speaker we’ve ever had and it was great. At the pub we talked a lot to Lawrence and Sarah until the conversation somehow moved onto “Why are you and Emma not going out?”. For those that are unaware, a lot of people at Church are asking Emma the same thing. I think it’s funny, a lot of people think it makes no sense but Huw seems to have gotten his head around it. I’ll just leave you with a quote of him talking about this issue.
Aside from the fact that I’d not want to inflict Teifion on anybody, they are worrying even as just friends. I would be scared if they started to go out.
I got left the house and it was a miserable day, so I assumed that Hannah would not be cycling. Sure enough, I get to the church crawl and Hannah did not bring her bike. BUT, she was not cycling because of rain, no, apparently it was my fault that she was not cycling. I quizzically asked what the problem was and apparently she was aching all over from the exercise yesterday. My response? Of all the stupid things you can do, going on a bike ride with Teifion must be one of them.
I raced Pete and Hannah to Eastney and thrashed them because there was a little too much traffic for their liking and Pete’s car isn’t quite as agile as a bike. The morning service was really good, Jon looked at the Gospel where Jesus is accused of driving out demons by the power of Beelzebub which is apparently a greek name for Satan, I always thought that Beelzebub being the prince of daemons would be the 2nd in command or something similar. I plan to ask Jon a little more about this.
After the service was a student lunch, several people had cooked a lasagna and it was all really really nice. We went around to the hackers and ate with the Hackers along with Andy and Cora who’d organised it all. Afterwards I showed Hannah the way back to James Watson, for some reason people have it in their heads that I have a problem walking people across town and that when I offer to walk them somewhere I don’t actually mean to offer that, I’m just being polite. I am trying to work out the best way to counter this terrible misconception but so far no idea presents itself.
I wrote some HTML for Anybody, aside from new buttons (which load a lot faster) I’ve also changed every instance of “Screencast” to “Video” because not everybody knows what a Screencast is but everybody will know what a Video is, if they don’t they’ll get to find out, it’ll be an adventure. I’ve also completed the first two pages of Season 2 and done a decent bit (almost all) of the third page for Season 2.
The evening service involved a guest speaker who talked about the work he’d been doing in Brighton. When I got back I had a chat with Lauren and Charlie who were unhappy with the state of the kitchen. After they’d de-stressed somewhat we all got very civil, understood each other’s points of view and moved onto deciding how to deal with Halloween.
Apparently the Fratton children are not quite as timid as the ones in Southsea and so we have a really really cunning plan involving Spatulas, Duck Tape, Water Bombs, a Reflective Jacket, a Bike Helmet, Shorts, Shouting, Gloves and the people that are rude. Charlie was just going to throw water bombs at them but my plan got her so excited she didn’t even hesitate to drop her plan and fully accept and embrace mine while we got talking about swords used by the Romans.
I got up today at about 1000. I’d told Hannah that I’d help her to choose a bike lock and also show her the way to Eastney while ensuring she didn’t crash into a car on the way. I also said that I’d do it today. Thus, I later arrived at her halls and she quickly learnt why the phrase “like riding a bike” is so true.
Hannah’s main problem was simply confidence which she now has lots of, mostly because I got her to cycle along the seafront as slowly as possible without falling off, then do the same with only one hand on the bike. After wobbling a little like that, she completely stopped wobbling normally. Lawrence when told this pointed out it might just be because she didn’t want me to tell her to cycle with one hand again, either way, I get results.
After leaving Hannah at her halls I went home, had a cup of tea in the company of Lawrence and then went over to Lorna’s where I had another cup of tea and a friendly chat about various things. Since Jon Thomas (Welsh pastor) is coming down on Monday, Lorna and Claire (Lorna’s housemate) have said they’ll cook a dinner for us, we just need to supply the pudding. I have no doubt that Jon will be quite happy with this arrangement.
After that I fixed Lorna’s internet connection. Allow me to explain one reason why Macs are generally nicer to use. On a Mac, when an unencrypted network you join automatically becomes encrypted the Mac will disconnect you and prompt you for a password. It will automatically work out the type of encryption used. On Lorna’s I had to open up the wireless control panel and then choose to edit that network. Then you had to click the “advanced” button and switch tabs until you found the one which allowed you to alter the encryption type where it presented you with 6 different types. You could then type in a password and save it.
After Lorna’s I then went over Colin’s to try to fix his rear brake. The cable that connected to the back break had rusted horribly. The rear brakes were sticking and I think they were just about moving but I’m not so sure. After fiddling with the wire itself (where it connects to the brakes) we heard something ping and the brakes ceased to respond. An hour later we’d taken apart the rear-brake handlebar-lever and then put it back in with the spring in the correct place. We then found that the cable was SO rusted that it would no longer move at all and thus his back breaks are no longer working, at least they no longer rub horribly on his wheel.
I then went home, did some programming and played some Flash Ninja.
I got up nice and early today for the VHDL lab, it went well and next week we’re having a mini-marking of our log books. Myself and Chris my lab partner are doing well (Victor said so himself) and should be okay. After the lecture I sorted out the Distributed Web Systems exercise I have to hand in by Monday midnight. I’d already written it all on my computer, but due to a different setup had to alter stuff on the Uni computers to get it to work. The good news comes in two parts.
- It now works
- I know what to do differently for next time
- I’m awesome
The AI lecture went well, it’s getting into a different type of maths and is starting to get into something less mathsy and more computery so it’s both getting harder yet more interesting. I went home after that and had lunch. Real Time systems went without comment and I didn’t go to the VHDL tutorial as we were told not to go unless we actually had a question, that way those with questions could get them answered.
Later that evening Ceryn arrived in Portsmouth (yay!). I had been told (by Ceryn) that she’d be dropped off by the bus at Portsmouth Harbour, so I waited there. I then got a phone-call telling me that it was actually Portsmouth and Southsea she was going to. Not a problem, I told her I’d be there in 2 minutes. I think it took me 3, it’s amazing how fast a bike is in rush-hour compared to the traffic 
Myself, Ceryn, Abi, India, Helen and Leanne went to Weatherspoons for dinner (Ceryn is leaving tomorrow morning) and both Ryo and Justin also turned up, I invited some freshers but only Hannah decided to come along. It was a nice meal (8oz Gammon Steak with Egg and Chips) and I enjoyed it. Funnier were some of the comments that I heard. I wrote them down in my VHDL log book seeing as I had nothing else to hand and I didn’t want to forget them this time.
- Ceryn said not to kiss any guys or ladies with stubble
- Ceryn also told me I was probably single for the following reasons (she didn’t explain them)
- I don’t have stubble
- I don’t have a tatoo saying “Jesus is my homeboy”
- I don’t have an eyebrow ring
- I don’t lean backwards enough
- I never have enough chocolate
- I should quote the pickup line from the Pure book (I’ll post it in a later blog)
- I am never myself enough (I thought this was the main reason I am single but hey, I’m not arguing with free advice)
- Helen tried to play footise with me, I probably won
- Helen said that she’d like to go out with someone who works at a chocolate factory
- Helen also said that if I had good muscles, I was welcome to sit around their house without my shirt on, India didn’t seem keen on this idea
Strangely enough I am ignoring most of this advice but I thought I would share it with you, maybe laughing at me all the time is getting a bit boring and you need someone else to laugh at, I really don’t know. After the meal I helped Hannah with her bike by attaching lights and then cycled home at a slow and leisurely pace.
I got up nice and early, went to get told how to be a course rep (I learnt a little, but most of it was not of use to me as a 3rd year rep). I then went to my Java lab where I found that the lab-plan was so similar to the assignment that Rinat didn’t mind me working on the assignment instead. I’ve gotten it all working on my computer but due to a slightly different setup on my computer I still have to port it over to the Uni computer, but I shouldn’t have a problem there.
I talked to Dr Hewitt a little more about my project and I apparently need to specify what resources I require from the uni. I was very happy to say that I required none, unless they wanted me to run it on a Uni computer in which case it only needed to run PHP5. The good news is that it won’t be a problem, the Network Manager said they already have a server running the latest version in addition to their normal one running PHP4.
I was sadly unable to attend my evening lectures as I was sneezing every 10 minutes and had to blow my nose twice as often. I felt that in the interests of both my ability to learn and the concentration of those in the rooms, I shouldn’t attend.
This Saturday I was going to be going to London to both visit my brother Coel and attend the Mac Expo. However, thetrainline.com both stuck busses on my route which made it really hard to sort out, then it wouldn’t let me simply collect my tickets from the station or print them at the station and would both charge me £6 to deliver them and wouldn’t let me deliver them anywhere but my house in Wales. I won’t be going to London.
Today I only had one lecture, it was on Distributed Web Systems, as far as I am concerned it’s mostly stuff I’ve done before but with Java programming added for fun! After the two hour lecture I talked to some classmates about the first exercise and then went home.
I did some stuff for HTML for Anybody, Hannah said that she’d had some rubbishy workshop on her course and they had to make a web page. Apparently HTML for Anybody proved useful, this is good and shows that it can’t be too badly written. I also did some Java work for the first exercise thing but got stuck so went over to Sam’s house where he explained how he’d gotten started, brought me up to the same level as himself then we both tried to figure out the next part but to no avail.
After coming back home I continued to let Emma make herself look a little silly. I should probably tell of how I met Emma…
I went to help at the Church youth group in Wales, saw Emma and thought “it’d be really funny to throw a bucket of water over her when she’s not looking”. Of course, it wasn’t more than 1/8th of a bucket but she got really annoyed, chased me, failed to catch me and got mocked. That’s the story, that is the whole story.
So, why is Emma making a big deal out of it? I’ve no idea why, but it does reinforce the point that I must be awesome.
It’s Wednesday morning, why did I not blog last night? Because I wanted to get to bed earlyish because I’d somehow gotten a cold. It’s a lot better this morning, I also didn’t need to awake at 0600 because someone (who may or may not be Becca) decided that they’d rather not follow through with their really good plan that I gave my full approval! I rarely give my full approval for the plans of my friends but this was the sort of thing I’d come up with (and indeed, in my first year, did), so I’m going to have to talk to them about this one.
The other reason I didn’t blog yesterday, I didn’t do an awful lot beside turn up to lectures (the VHDL one was really funny), go over to Huw’s to play Halo 3 and watch the 5th episode of Heroes (Series 2). I’m not going to reveal anything, Heroes 2 has as many mysteries as Heroes 1 and is just as well done, if not better. I do think some of them are easier to see through but that might just be because both myself and Huw have seen series 1.
So, what to write about? Well, I decided it was high time to continue putting off the “How similar are you to Teifion?” quiz and write the Cookie Theory, so, without (much) further ado, here it is.
The Cookie Theory
Way back in my first year, someone (Lorna) told me that I should get a Girlfriend. Deciding that it’d both make great blog material and might actually benefit me, I decided to humour her and thought about how best to go about this task. I came up with the following list of causes and effects.
- I deduced that if I talked to enough ladies, some of them would be friends with me.
- If I were friends with enough ladies, one might go out with me
- I would then have a Girlfriend
Logically and statistically this theory is pretty good, it’s not going to assure that I get a Girlfriend but it should improve it, I’ve no idea how to provide statistical proof of this but it makes sense and quite honestly, that’s enough for me.
So, to maximise the chance of getting a Girlfriend, I needed to maximise the number of ladies I talked to and, if possible, maximise the number of ladies that become friends with me. I needed a Catalyst. A Catalyst is a substance or object that speeds up a reaction, in this case it’d speed up meeting new ladies.
Of course, going to the pub and getting completely drunk didn’t even occur to me yet would probably have been highly effective. Instead, I came up with cookies. Think about it, (nearly) everybody likes cookies (if you don’t you’re probably not going to want to be friends with me anyway) and they’re a great ice-breaker. By giving out a cookie I both initiate conversation and also create a favorable impression.
Of course, I am still single so it’s probably not the most effective theory ever but it does go to show that logic and maths can be used to solve any problem.
Okay, it wasn’t a small child but it was a young lady who shall remain mostly nameless. She shall be identified only by the name “She” or “Her”. Of course, her full name is…. Oh no, I won’t copy Monty Python, that’d be unoriginal of me.
Anyway, this young lady that may or may not be Lorna said some amusing things at Ice Skating, since I’ve decided to be silly and immature I’m going to put them here rather than later in the blog as I normally do, I’ve decided not to adhere to the chronological order of things. But here’s the thing, I can’t remember what this lady said, I really can’t. Ooh, now I remember, she said that I’d probably confuse a lot of people, get on well with her parents and she found the Potato Theory really funny (and understood it). This lady may or may not be Huw (okay, he’s not a lady but it’s the hair, it really is).
Today I met up with Dr Hewitt and found that we’re not meant to start working on the project until the 2nd semester. I decided that trying to impress him with what I’d done so far would be a bad idea. He went through what he does in assigning the projects and some specifications. Suffice to say I am very eager to get started on the project and hope to exceed his expectations of what I can achieve, it’s just the sort of project I’m good at.
I had a lab this morning but it was quite short which allowed me to see Dr Hewitt earlier than expected so I got home earlier and had a nap, for some reason I was quite tired. Tonight I’m going to ensure a decent bed-time. Talking of bed-times, someone with an awesome sense of humour (who also didn’t want to be named for reasons that will become apparent) decided that their hall-mates were too loud. I suggested waking them up at the crack of dawn, it turns out they’ve already tried this, or would of if they’d been awake.
Long story short, I’m texting them on Wednesday morning at about 0600 or 0630 
Oh, Ice skating was nice, I enjoyed it and didn’t make a complete muppet of myself!
Okay, not really but I like to think I am and I figured that if I said it enough gullible people might believe it. I got up and didn’t go meet the freshers today, no, I was being helpful! I was running the sound at Eastney. I managed not to muck the whole thing up and it all worked quite nicely.
After the service we all went as per usual to the thatched house, and as is going to become the usual, I raced the cars there on my bike. It’s about a mile (I’ll have to measure it at some point). This week however it was cold and that meant I inhaled a lot of cold air which towards the end really didn’t help me feel good. I take comfort in the knowledge that both Pete and Sarah had to break the speed-limit to overtake me and were way behind me for most of the long and winding road.
Sadly this also meant I was coughing the whole time I was at the thatched so it didn’t help my enjoy my meal much, I might also have scared Hannah (the only fresher to come to the Thatched) as all the rest were quite used to me, she didn’t seem to be. Oh well, we’ve got ice skating tomorrow so plenty of oppertunities for me to make an idiot of myself then
This evening I did some more stuff on my project, I did some more stuff yesterday too and I’ve actually done a lot of getting it to work. Currently it simply follows a very plain and simple algorithm (that was a nightmare to actually code from scratch) that basically assigns the projects with only 1 student wanting them first, then moves up slowly. It then does a second pass and assigns out the projects to the students that’ll meerely Accept them.
This does mean that it currently doesn’t take into account the lecturers and doesn’t perform a clever trick I’ve decided upon of trying to re-allocate some already allocated students in an attempt at freeing up already chosen projects for other students. I’m seeing Dr Hewitt about the project tomorrow and finding out how he goes about solving the problem, I’ll be laughing if I’ve thought of the method he hadn’t (granted he’s not using a computer to solve the problem).
Friday, not a lot happened and I was really really tired so I didn’t stay up very late. Correction, I stayed up very late and was really really tired so lay in until 11 this morning
Today I thought a little more about my project, played some games because I had a mental block, thought some more, had a nap, went over to Lorna’s to take some pictures then came back and did a lot more thinking. Lorna has a new dress and wanted some pictures of her wearing it and apparently I was the best person for taking pictures, I put one of the pictures up. I think the dress is a really nice shade of lilac yet when under large amounts of light it looks almost silver, giving the impression it is actually more than one colour when different parts are lit differently.
Now, why is my project so interesting? Well, it’s because it’s so hard, it’s what is called an “NP Complete” problem. To use a similie, an NP Complete problem compared to a “Linear” or even “Exponential” problem is like a 1 ton stone compared with a rock the size of your hand. No, that’s not a joke and it’s not exaggerated.
A “Linear” problem is one that “grows” in a linear fashion. For example, we will say that to fill out a given form it takes 30 seconds, each new form we fill out adds 30 seconds to the completion time, we can use the following to define our problem in terms of time, T is time and N is number of forms to fill in.
Still with me? Good. Lets look at what an exponential problem is, an exponential one would be to say that each form we fill in also needs us to spend 2 seconds adding the bar code from every other form already filled out to this one. This means that on the 10th form we have to spend 18 seconds adding 9 bar-codes. This means that as we add forms, the time taken for each form increases. I’d write the mathematical equation but I can’t figure it out.
Now, an NP complete problem is one that grows in factorial time. An exponential is a number to the power of something, e.g. 63 = 6 * 6 * 6 = 216. However, a Factorial is multiplied by each of the numbers below it, 6! = 5 * 4 * 3 * 2 * 1 = 720.
So, what does this mean for me, the programmer that’s trying to solve the problem? It means that I can’t attempt to simply try every combination of results and see which is the best, that’d take too long, instead I need to make educated guesses and maybe even write an AI to solve the problem for me. I didn’t realise that it was actually an NP complete problem when I asked for the project but that’s no reason to back down now, it just means I have a really really hard project to do and can get a lot of marks for it. It’ll probably look really good on my CV or in an interview too