Dave had handed in a 60 page document on 'Time series Models' a week ago. He was now sitting with his supervisor discussing it.
The conversation was quite long, with little in the way of good comments.
Dave had written
"... any stationary process, under certain conditions,..."
His supervisor spent half an hour or more explaining to him that this did not make sense. It was completely stupid and missed the point entirely. How can it be "any" if it has to have "conditions", it should be "a" not "any".
To add to this, Dave had consistantly writen things like
"...would not..."
This really seemed to get under his supervisors skin. "Would not" is such a weak statement. It spits in the face of hundreds of years worth of statistical research. It should be "does not".
Dave doubted he was really cut out to be an academic. He just didn't care about such petty little things. Having said that, he would not leave here until they called him 'Doc' and he was all the more determined to succeed.
After an hour and a half of verbal abuse, made all the worse because his supervisor kept apologising which ensured Dave that he was probably holding back, Dave felt pretty good.
Despite everything he had been told, this paper had a LOT less comments scribbled over it than his last one so Dave was happy to be headed in the right direction.
Either that, or his supervisor's pen had run out...
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
July 2006
On the 5th of July, Jean became yet another year older. Now 24 it would not be long before she would be collecting a pension. Since Dave's money was all Jean's anyway, an expensive present seemed somewhat daft. Dave, therefore, opted for the sentimental touch. An A3 sized picture of Jean lovingly penciled in and an extended addition of his blog. She seemed happy.
July 6th saw Anya becoming one year old, although the party wouldn't be till Saturday. Becoming one was a very serious matter. With great age comes great responsibilities and Anya felt she needed a few days to adjust to the new pressures of life before she would be ready to face the world. Jean, meanwhile, was putting her best foot forward and attending an interview at RNIB (Royal National Institution of the Blind).
July 7th Jean recieved first contact from RNIB asking her to come in and provide a little further information. Dave assured her this was probably a good sign, despite them assuring her she was not yet guaranted anything.
July 8th, Anya finally had to face her public as the vast majority of both her parents families were pouring into her little house. Stylish as ever, she decided to be fashionably late and slept for the early part of her party before coming down and kicking off the fun. She was very quickly buried under a mountain of gifts.
July 10th and Jean recieved a phone call from RNIB. It was not good news. IT WAS GREAT NEWS!!! She got the job!!! Life is good. Dave went out after work with her to celebrate with a very quick drink. Shell also tagged along claiming it was her birthday.
July 14th Jean went down to RNIB to tie up the lose ends and discovered she would be starting July 31st.
July 15th the happy couple went partying to celebrate once more at Aline's. Drink, music and a handful of friends with belated birthday presents for both Dave and Jean made for a very agreeable night. Shell tagged along again, this time claiming that the party was not only for her birthday but that this was her house. Some people.
After several very hot and uncomfortably sweaty days, July 24th saw the happy couple happy once again whilst celebrating being a couple. It had been one year since their little party in China which offically declared them united. It had been a lovely little wedding.
July 25th saw two boys and two girls wearing very little getting physical and wet together. After swimming, Aline and Macca came home with Dave and Jean and enjoyed a very delightful meal cooked by a very delightful Mrs Dave and the housepet.
As the end of July approached, with Jean all set to start her dream job, it was shaping up to be a very nice little month.
July 6th saw Anya becoming one year old, although the party wouldn't be till Saturday. Becoming one was a very serious matter. With great age comes great responsibilities and Anya felt she needed a few days to adjust to the new pressures of life before she would be ready to face the world. Jean, meanwhile, was putting her best foot forward and attending an interview at RNIB (Royal National Institution of the Blind).
July 7th Jean recieved first contact from RNIB asking her to come in and provide a little further information. Dave assured her this was probably a good sign, despite them assuring her she was not yet guaranted anything.
July 8th, Anya finally had to face her public as the vast majority of both her parents families were pouring into her little house. Stylish as ever, she decided to be fashionably late and slept for the early part of her party before coming down and kicking off the fun. She was very quickly buried under a mountain of gifts.
July 10th and Jean recieved a phone call from RNIB. It was not good news. IT WAS GREAT NEWS!!! She got the job!!! Life is good. Dave went out after work with her to celebrate with a very quick drink. Shell also tagged along claiming it was her birthday.
July 14th Jean went down to RNIB to tie up the lose ends and discovered she would be starting July 31st.
July 15th the happy couple went partying to celebrate once more at Aline's. Drink, music and a handful of friends with belated birthday presents for both Dave and Jean made for a very agreeable night. Shell tagged along again, this time claiming that the party was not only for her birthday but that this was her house. Some people.
After several very hot and uncomfortably sweaty days, July 24th saw the happy couple happy once again whilst celebrating being a couple. It had been one year since their little party in China which offically declared them united. It had been a lovely little wedding.
July 25th saw two boys and two girls wearing very little getting physical and wet together. After swimming, Aline and Macca came home with Dave and Jean and enjoyed a very delightful meal cooked by a very delightful Mrs Dave and the housepet.
As the end of July approached, with Jean all set to start her dream job, it was shaping up to be a very nice little month.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
34 things to do before your 10.
Randomly surfing the net, Dave bumped accross an interesting article entitled "33 things kids should do before they're 10". As he glanced over the list, he wondered how many his niece Emma would have done, how many his niece Anya will do and how many he himself had gotten round to...
1. Roll on your side down a grassy bank
2. Make a mud pie
3. Make your own modelling dough mixture
4. Collect frogspawn
5. Make perfume from flower petals
6. Grow cress on a windowsill
7. Make a papier mâché mask
8. Build a sandcastle
9. Climb a tree
10. Make a den in the garden
11. Make a painting using your hands and feet
12. Organise your own teddy bears' picnic
13. Have your face painted
14. Play with a friend in the sand
15. Make some bread
16. Make snow angels
17. Create a clay sculpture
18. Take part in a scavenger hunt
19. Camp out in the garden
20. Bake a cake
21. Feed a farm animal
22. Pick some strawberries
23. Play pooh sticks
24. Recognise five different bird species
25. Find some worms
26. Ride a bike through a muddy puddle
27. Make and fly a kite
28. Plant a tree
29. Build a nest out of grass and twigs
30. Find ten different leaves in the park
31. Grow vegetables
32. Make breakfast in bed for your parents
33. Make a mini assault course in your garden/the park
He was imediately struck by a question. What on earth did "23. Play pooh sticks" mean?
Some research later, well after all he was doing a PhD, he discovered "pooh sticks" was a game invented by Whinnie the Pooh, where people drop sticks in the water under a bridge and see whose stick comes out the other side of the bridge first.
Thinking back to his own childhood, he remembered something that surely every child should experience that had been neglected in this list.
He remembered very fondly sitting with his mother as she read to him and his brother. Something so simple, yet unforgettable and unmissable. He therefore amended his list.
34. Learn to read with your parents.
1. Roll on your side down a grassy bank
2. Make a mud pie
3. Make your own modelling dough mixture
4. Collect frogspawn
5. Make perfume from flower petals
6. Grow cress on a windowsill
7. Make a papier mâché mask
8. Build a sandcastle
9. Climb a tree
10. Make a den in the garden
11. Make a painting using your hands and feet
12. Organise your own teddy bears' picnic
13. Have your face painted
14. Play with a friend in the sand
15. Make some bread
16. Make snow angels
17. Create a clay sculpture
18. Take part in a scavenger hunt
19. Camp out in the garden
20. Bake a cake
21. Feed a farm animal
22. Pick some strawberries
23. Play pooh sticks
24. Recognise five different bird species
25. Find some worms
26. Ride a bike through a muddy puddle
27. Make and fly a kite
28. Plant a tree
29. Build a nest out of grass and twigs
30. Find ten different leaves in the park
31. Grow vegetables
32. Make breakfast in bed for your parents
33. Make a mini assault course in your garden/the park
He was imediately struck by a question. What on earth did "23. Play pooh sticks" mean?
Some research later, well after all he was doing a PhD, he discovered "pooh sticks" was a game invented by Whinnie the Pooh, where people drop sticks in the water under a bridge and see whose stick comes out the other side of the bridge first.
Thinking back to his own childhood, he remembered something that surely every child should experience that had been neglected in this list.
He remembered very fondly sitting with his mother as she read to him and his brother. Something so simple, yet unforgettable and unmissable. He therefore amended his list.
34. Learn to read with your parents.
Geneva
Having finally arrived in Geneva, after four days of travel the magical Swiss pass finally lost it's powers and expired. It was then that Dave read a leaflet about the Swiss pass. Apparently it could also give free access to most of the museums they had paid to see. Huh.
Four days of travel, little sleep and sorching temperatures finally took it's toll on the group and they examined the Geneva museums half-heartedly. It was time to eat.
They found a nice restaurant near the Geneva main station and got stuck in. The food was nice, from what Dave could remember of his very large salad, but the truly rememberable experience was the company.
No of cause Dave wasn't thinking of the Trio stuffing there faces along side of him. He'd seen them 24/4. No, he was mesmorised by the univited little guests.
Small birds snuck into the restaurant and, when Jean had gone to the toilet, now sat pearched on Jean's plate finishing her left-overs. It was an unbelievably adorable sight.
After the food and a short mid-day nap for the Trio whilst Dave read quitely, they set off to take advantage of one of Geneva's highlights.
Free Bike rental.
A 50 francs returnable deposit ( just over 20 pounds) and some ID was all that was required and then 3 hours of Bicycle fun. Dave hadn't rode a bike for several years. He was slightly worried he was about to make a complete prat out of himself.
Thankfully it's true, you never forget.
Riding around the Geneva lake, with the sun shining and a cool breeze was a wonderful end to a wonderful journey.
Switzerland should certainly be on everyone's to do list.
Thank you Lin Yin.
Four days of travel, little sleep and sorching temperatures finally took it's toll on the group and they examined the Geneva museums half-heartedly. It was time to eat.
They found a nice restaurant near the Geneva main station and got stuck in. The food was nice, from what Dave could remember of his very large salad, but the truly rememberable experience was the company.
No of cause Dave wasn't thinking of the Trio stuffing there faces along side of him. He'd seen them 24/4. No, he was mesmorised by the univited little guests.
Small birds snuck into the restaurant and, when Jean had gone to the toilet, now sat pearched on Jean's plate finishing her left-overs. It was an unbelievably adorable sight.
After the food and a short mid-day nap for the Trio whilst Dave read quitely, they set off to take advantage of one of Geneva's highlights.
Free Bike rental.
A 50 francs returnable deposit ( just over 20 pounds) and some ID was all that was required and then 3 hours of Bicycle fun. Dave hadn't rode a bike for several years. He was slightly worried he was about to make a complete prat out of himself.
Thankfully it's true, you never forget.
Riding around the Geneva lake, with the sun shining and a cool breeze was a wonderful end to a wonderful journey.
Switzerland should certainly be on everyone's to do list.
Thank you Lin Yin.
Bern
BEARS!!! Real live cuddly, sitting, standing, walking talking bears!! Well, not talking, but still. Bern had a bears. Three times as many bears as there had been pandas in the chinese panda park! All three of them were very cute. Though they kinda looked a little sad.
In a small theatre next door to the bears, Dave discovered that Bern took it's name from the bears that used to run wild in the forrest which was were Bern now stands, along with other interesting facts. So these bears were in fact the rightful owners of Bern and had been locked up for a crime they didn't commit. Dave quickly had images of a Prison Break.
Another notable creature that used to live in Bern was Einstein. Dave visited the very flat were the stupid genius lived and heard all about his life story. Unfortunately, Einstein wasn't home.
Einstein was a failure. He flunked out of school and was refused entry into several universities. Originally German, he quit his nationality to become Swiss. The Swiss didn't want him and he spent five years without nationality.
Funny how big trees can grow from small acorns.
It was a nice place to visit.
Just outside Einstein's flat was the grand clock tower. Every tourist in the city had been told that something would happen when the clock struck the hour. A crowd had quickly gathered.
5 minutes to and some little people spun round for 3 seconds.
3 minutes to and a little bird flapped it's wings once and squarked.
On the hour the people spun, the bird squarked and a man hit a bell.
The whole crowd was left with a sense of 'is that it?' Have you ever stood watching a clock for almost 10 minutes?
South of the clock lay several museums. The gun museum was of particular interest to Dave. Not because he had any interest what so ever in guns, but because of the guy who worked there and showed them around.
This guy, like the guy from the clock-museum of Zurich, genuinely loved his job. Dave was once again left with a pang of jealously and hoped one day he too would find his dream.
Overall Bern was wonderful and Dave felt very sorry to leave it. Especially because their next stop would be there last...
In a small theatre next door to the bears, Dave discovered that Bern took it's name from the bears that used to run wild in the forrest which was were Bern now stands, along with other interesting facts. So these bears were in fact the rightful owners of Bern and had been locked up for a crime they didn't commit. Dave quickly had images of a Prison Break.
Another notable creature that used to live in Bern was Einstein. Dave visited the very flat were the stupid genius lived and heard all about his life story. Unfortunately, Einstein wasn't home.
Einstein was a failure. He flunked out of school and was refused entry into several universities. Originally German, he quit his nationality to become Swiss. The Swiss didn't want him and he spent five years without nationality.
Funny how big trees can grow from small acorns.
It was a nice place to visit.
Just outside Einstein's flat was the grand clock tower. Every tourist in the city had been told that something would happen when the clock struck the hour. A crowd had quickly gathered.
5 minutes to and some little people spun round for 3 seconds.
3 minutes to and a little bird flapped it's wings once and squarked.
On the hour the people spun, the bird squarked and a man hit a bell.
The whole crowd was left with a sense of 'is that it?' Have you ever stood watching a clock for almost 10 minutes?
South of the clock lay several museums. The gun museum was of particular interest to Dave. Not because he had any interest what so ever in guns, but because of the guy who worked there and showed them around.
This guy, like the guy from the clock-museum of Zurich, genuinely loved his job. Dave was once again left with a pang of jealously and hoped one day he too would find his dream.
Overall Bern was wonderful and Dave felt very sorry to leave it. Especially because their next stop would be there last...
Monday, July 10, 2006
Interlaken
After another train ride filled with Ba Shi Fen fun, the quartet checked in at Interlaken, the home of the highest mountain in Europe.
The magical power of the Swiss pass seemed to faulter at certain altitudes and only a 50% discount was available for the trip to the Top of Europe. After the discount, this came to 78.50 francs per person (around 35 pounds). Later, looking down on the clouds, Dave decided it was worth it.
The Top had plenty to see and do.
Dave was having a snow fight whilst England was having it's annual heat-wave-week it likes to call summer. The view was blinding. The lack of clouds allowed the sun her true majesticity, the purest snow-white snow reflected this brilliance some more. Sun-glasses would have been advisable. Having no sun-glasses to hand Dave stayed outside just long enough to finish the battle, create new life in the form of a snowman and watch a new death as Jean booted it's little head across the horizon.
Back inside the quartet ventured into the frosty realms of The Ice Palace, a building made purely from Ice, walls, floors and all. Scattered around the Palace lay ice sculptures of various shapes and sizes. Dave's study of "Narnia" told him these all used to be living creatures. He was therefore very thankful the giant mouse was no longer walking around.
There were also restaurants, shops and skiing available, though the quartet lacked the time. Instead they lazily sat at the uppermost point of the lookout station in awe. Dave wondered how much effort must have gone into creating this building. What did people say to the man when he first suggested the idea?
"See that mountain, the big one? I'm gonna build a shopping centre up there."
Dreams can come true.
After sending out postcards to various corners of the world the quartet returned back down the mountain side, watching out for mountain goats and cows with bells.
Where ever they were going next, how could Lin Yin possibly 'top' that?
The magical power of the Swiss pass seemed to faulter at certain altitudes and only a 50% discount was available for the trip to the Top of Europe. After the discount, this came to 78.50 francs per person (around 35 pounds). Later, looking down on the clouds, Dave decided it was worth it.
The Top had plenty to see and do.
Dave was having a snow fight whilst England was having it's annual heat-wave-week it likes to call summer. The view was blinding. The lack of clouds allowed the sun her true majesticity, the purest snow-white snow reflected this brilliance some more. Sun-glasses would have been advisable. Having no sun-glasses to hand Dave stayed outside just long enough to finish the battle, create new life in the form of a snowman and watch a new death as Jean booted it's little head across the horizon.
Back inside the quartet ventured into the frosty realms of The Ice Palace, a building made purely from Ice, walls, floors and all. Scattered around the Palace lay ice sculptures of various shapes and sizes. Dave's study of "Narnia" told him these all used to be living creatures. He was therefore very thankful the giant mouse was no longer walking around.
There were also restaurants, shops and skiing available, though the quartet lacked the time. Instead they lazily sat at the uppermost point of the lookout station in awe. Dave wondered how much effort must have gone into creating this building. What did people say to the man when he first suggested the idea?
"See that mountain, the big one? I'm gonna build a shopping centre up there."
Dreams can come true.
After sending out postcards to various corners of the world the quartet returned back down the mountain side, watching out for mountain goats and cows with bells.
Where ever they were going next, how could Lin Yin possibly 'top' that?
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Zurich
Dave and Jean where going to the far away magical kingdom of Switzerland, with two fairy people, Bian Ce and Lin Ying. Bian Ce was the couple's new pet, who lived with them now in their spare room. Lin Ying was the All knowing Sage who had the great book of knowledge of all things Swiss. It was she who had booked all flights and hotels in the four cities they would stay and she who told them of all places of interest and of the great Swiss Pass which would allow them free transport on trains, buses and boats.
Dave was enormously grateful.
Day one, after an embrassingly small plane ride, compared to the the China adventures Dave was now used to, and a train journey filled with Ba Shi Fan fun, the group arrived at Zurich.
Within moments of taking control of the map, Dave had succeeded in getting them hopelessly lost. An hour later however, it was Dave who came to the rescue and ultimately found the Hotel. It would be this second fact that Dave would focus on.
The Hotel was nice enough, with free Bread, Milk and Porn (both on the TV and in the form of the girl across the street striping in front of an open window).
Zurich had many similar features to back home. As with Liverpool town centre, shops such as H&M, Lush and the mighty McDonalds filled every street corner. There were also obvious differences, for example Zurich had trams, whilst Liverpool had tramps.
Under the guidance of the great Lin Ying, the group found their way to see the national Museum, filled with all sorts of wonderous things, including an unlabelled cup which Dave therefore naturally assumed must be the Holy Grail.
They continued there journey south, and found there way, eventually, to the pretty cool, though slightly small, Bayer's Clock Musuem. It was shoved in the basement of a watch shop and therefore not so easy to spot. They had walked past it twice.
The shop was filled with all kinds of neat little clocks and watchs great and small. The man in charge clearly loved his work and spoke with a passion about every item on display. Dave couldn't help wishing he had a job he loved that much.
Two boat rides, a tram trip and a brief shopping spree later and the group finally headed to the station and said a fond farewell to their new home.
What wonderous place would Lin Ying have in store for them next?
Dave was enormously grateful.
Day one, after an embrassingly small plane ride, compared to the the China adventures Dave was now used to, and a train journey filled with Ba Shi Fan fun, the group arrived at Zurich.
Within moments of taking control of the map, Dave had succeeded in getting them hopelessly lost. An hour later however, it was Dave who came to the rescue and ultimately found the Hotel. It would be this second fact that Dave would focus on.
The Hotel was nice enough, with free Bread, Milk and Porn (both on the TV and in the form of the girl across the street striping in front of an open window).
Zurich had many similar features to back home. As with Liverpool town centre, shops such as H&M, Lush and the mighty McDonalds filled every street corner. There were also obvious differences, for example Zurich had trams, whilst Liverpool had tramps.
Under the guidance of the great Lin Ying, the group found their way to see the national Museum, filled with all sorts of wonderous things, including an unlabelled cup which Dave therefore naturally assumed must be the Holy Grail.
They continued there journey south, and found there way, eventually, to the pretty cool, though slightly small, Bayer's Clock Musuem. It was shoved in the basement of a watch shop and therefore not so easy to spot. They had walked past it twice.
The shop was filled with all kinds of neat little clocks and watchs great and small. The man in charge clearly loved his work and spoke with a passion about every item on display. Dave couldn't help wishing he had a job he loved that much.
Two boat rides, a tram trip and a brief shopping spree later and the group finally headed to the station and said a fond farewell to their new home.
What wonderous place would Lin Ying have in store for them next?
Father's Day 2006
A war had broken out. A war of Art. Alan and Peter battled constantly for the crown of best Natsios Artist.
The term war may be slightly too strong. More of a fisticuffs, which Peter was only vaguely aware of and Alan found only slight irritation over and no one else cared. Never the less, Dave had decided this Father's day he would enter the battleground fully armed. He had produced an A3 picture of himself with his daddy and needed only a frame.
Alan and Jean joined him on his quest to find an A3 frame and all three failed miserably.
Oh well. They then contiuned on to see the Father.
On the bus ride, they met with there ever present stalker Khany. Jean sat to chat with him, whilst the Natsios brothers sat further back.
All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Alan said,"You spit that again and I'm going to shove that down your throat."
Dave was completely confused, until a teenager two seats back stood up angerily waving a straw saying, "Your gonna shove this down me throat r ya?"
Dave had not even noticed the spitting and Alan was already shorting it. He looked at the kid with an almost bored expression and said simply, "If you spit it again, yes."
The kid stared at him some more. Dave wondered what he was thinking. Although Alan was not actually all that tall, most of his friends found him so damn scary they would usually guess his height at around 8ft. How big did he look to this 2ft punk who was considering 'starting something'? Clearly big enough, since he sat back down and shut up.
Dave was impressed.
On arrival at the Fathers, Dave was surprised to learn that people were surprised he could draw. How the heck could his own mum not know he could draw?!?!
The picture was liked, despite being frameless and they all lived happily ever after...
..for the rest of the day.
The term war may be slightly too strong. More of a fisticuffs, which Peter was only vaguely aware of and Alan found only slight irritation over and no one else cared. Never the less, Dave had decided this Father's day he would enter the battleground fully armed. He had produced an A3 picture of himself with his daddy and needed only a frame.
Alan and Jean joined him on his quest to find an A3 frame and all three failed miserably.
Oh well. They then contiuned on to see the Father.
On the bus ride, they met with there ever present stalker Khany. Jean sat to chat with him, whilst the Natsios brothers sat further back.
All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Alan said,"You spit that again and I'm going to shove that down your throat."
Dave was completely confused, until a teenager two seats back stood up angerily waving a straw saying, "Your gonna shove this down me throat r ya?"
Dave had not even noticed the spitting and Alan was already shorting it. He looked at the kid with an almost bored expression and said simply, "If you spit it again, yes."
The kid stared at him some more. Dave wondered what he was thinking. Although Alan was not actually all that tall, most of his friends found him so damn scary they would usually guess his height at around 8ft. How big did he look to this 2ft punk who was considering 'starting something'? Clearly big enough, since he sat back down and shut up.
Dave was impressed.
On arrival at the Fathers, Dave was surprised to learn that people were surprised he could draw. How the heck could his own mum not know he could draw?!?!
The picture was liked, despite being frameless and they all lived happily ever after...
..for the rest of the day.
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