In a similar vein to the “I have a house” posting I made a couple of days ago I now make one concerning my new car. With my move to Swindon imminent it was deemed necessary to ensure I could get to work and get around once I was there hence the appearance of the Volkswagen Golf 1.9 SDI.

Its a good little car and being a diesel will do a good mileage to the gallon which is always useful in these troubled times of high fuel prices and environmental mayhem. As with the house I provide one photo below the post but will be sure to upload some more photos to my gallery in the not too distant future.

My having a car is also an important milestone as it is the first car I have ever owned and probably is the most prominent marker of me moving from a student to a professional lifestyle. That being said the main use I can think of for a car right now (outside of getting to work of course) is to visit all my friends from student days. Its good to keep in touch after all.

The most important part of any relocation is getting a good house in a nice location and I’m happy to say that I have succeeded in doing just this for my move to Swindon in September. Its a two bedroom house situated on a traditional terrace in the Old Town area of Swindon and has been nicely done out inside. It also retains many of its period features such as fireplaces and bay windows.

The location is also excellent; a short walk from both Old Town and New Town and within easy reach of main roads for travel to work and further afield at weekends. I’m very much looking forward to moving in and exploring the local area.

I’ve uploaded the only picture I have so far (of the kitchen) below. I will add more pictures to my new photo gallery when I have them.

Easter came early this year, more so in fact than in the 90 odd years easter that preceded it. Still it was the end of term and for that a short break was called for.

At the start of the vacation period I spent a few days in Middlesbrough with Heather where we spent time chilling out, going on day visits to local areas, practicing our cooking skills in the evening and solving a murder mystery puzzle (its amazing how engrossing they can be once you get started!). It was nice to really chill out for once and also properly enjoy days out and relaxed evenings which although we very much enjoy we hadn’t been able to do for quite a while due to work commitments.

Another thing that occupied some of our time while away was Heather’s Victorian dolls house that she is building from scratch. I spent a few hours with her helping to get the painting right, fix some of the hinges and ensure the house all fitted together. This is a really special project as it isn’t just a normal dolls house but one of considerable size. It has 10 rooms with an attic, basement and traditional frontage. It’s going to be fantastic when its finished. I don’t have a picture of it but I found one on the web to give you an idea of the kind of thing I’m talking about.

During the holiday I also got a chance to get my camera out and take a few shots of the places we visited. Most of these involved boats of some description but there were a few others, in particular some spectacular shots of stormy weather at Whitby. We climbed a lighthouse to get a better view and were nearly blown off. It was one of our best days out for a while.

After my break with Heather I spent some time with my family over the Easter weekend. I got to see my sister which, now she is at university, is a rare occurrence. We all went out for a meal together on Easter day which was a very nice affair. During the rest of my stay with my family I spent time fixing things around the house, relaxing, having the odd drink, and meeting up with James to catch up. When I wasn’t doing all that I chilled out on the computer throwing radiators at people.

Sadly all good things must come to an end and I had to return to Leeds to continue work on my project which is pretty much all I have been doing since. Still as I keep reassuring myself it will all be over soon and hopefully the standard will be good enough to clinch the mark I want.

Over the weekend I stayed with Heather and her family at their house in Middlesbrough. It was a special occasion for two reasons. Mainly because Heather’s sister Claire is soon to travel to Australia for the year and so was having a farewell party, but an added bonus of the weekend was that I got to meet the rest of Heather’s family who I had not yet had the fortune to meet.

All in all it was a very enjoyable weekend and while I now have a huge quantity of work to catch up on I had a great time and look forward to staying with Heather’s family again soon (hopefully during the Easter vacation).

This weekend has meant that I’ve now met all of Heather’s immediate family and she has met all of mine. Considering we’ve been going out for well over a year now, its taken quite a while!

I got my semester 1 exam results today and I was pleased with the outcome. I continue to do well in Leeds School of Computing and obtained a 1st average in the latest round of exams. Its suddenly become very plain to me how close I am to graduation and how very close I am to obtaining a first overall. It motivates me very much to think that I could be standing in the degree ceremony at the end of the year with a first grade piece of paper with my name on it.

While this is a great result, it was slightly tinged by a particularly poor grade in one of my modules. While this didn’t affect the average too much it did leave me the closest to the 1st grade boundary I have ever been and it woke me up to the idea that one single bad module grade in the next round of exams could tip the balance. While I don’t feel I could have done any better in the module it makes me more resolved than ever to work extra hard so I don’t risk letting slip what is nearly in my grasp.

Thats how it feels for me anyway, I haven’t blogged in quite a while. Initially this was due to revision and the resulting exams and then afterwards it was due to work on other things that had slipped as a result of revision and exams. Still, I now feel like I’m back on top of things, including my blog and will be posting more things in the coming days that I’ve been wanting to discuss for quite a while and just haven’t had the time for.

I woke up this morning to find the ground outside carpeted with white. I know its only snow but it does make everything look very beautiful and serene, especially as when I looked at it no one had walked on it. Heres hoping for more of the stuff later today so that us folks revising in the School of Computing can take a short break and go out and play snowballs.

So its the start of a new year, and already I’m hard at work and thinking many months ahead. Still, a new year is always an opportunity to look forward in a fresh and unbiased way, and realise that it is a year of as yet untapped opportunity rather than a year of missed chances. That is not of course to say I felt I missed chances in 2007, rather that you have no excuse for feeling blue when there is a whole year ahead of you to make a difference.

Unlike last year when I went to a jazz club with Heather, we spent new years eve at my house. It was actually a really nice thing to do as it gave us a chance to unwind, play a few card games and such, enjoy some good wine and reflect on the past year. We were also treated to a huge firework display when standing at the window on the top floor of our house at the stroke of midnight as because our house is atop a hill, we could see practically every firework display in Leeds. It was a spectacular show and went on for a good 20 minutes. You can’t beat enjoying a glass of champagne and watching fireworks while staying warm at the same time.

New years day was remarkably uneventful, mainly because we had a huge lie in and wasted a good 60% of the day. Still it was good to relax and breakfast in bed made it complete. We got some work done during the afternoon and then went out to the cinema in the evening to see I Am Legend. This was an excellent film but I shan’t bother reviewing it as Raby has done an excellent review on his blog, which most certainly does the film justice.

I’m looking forward to the opportunities that 2008 will bring and wish everyone who knows me a very happy and prosperous new year. I’d also like to reflect on the year gone by with some links to things I’ve done or accomplished, which, at the time, I decided to write about on my blog. Sadly there are many interesting things that I have remembered doing as I went through my past posts but realised that I didn’t have time to write about them. Still that can be something to improve upon in 2008.

• RouterTech reached its first major milestone that was attracting over 1000 users to the site. RouterTech continues to go from strength to strength.
• I received one of many coursework prizes for outstanding work in my modules. I continue to be both happy and pleased with my academic performance here at Leeds School of Computing.
• Jazz and Blues society became a reality and an instant success at the University of Leeds when we signed up over 100 members at the first opportunity
• I receive an excellent set of January exam results
• I write my first application using the facebook API
• I saw a spectacular lunar eclipse from right outside my house.
• I enjoyed a superb classical concert of Holst’s planets, my favorite suite of classical music. This was also Heather’s first classical concert and I was delighted to be able to take her along.
• My photography techniques improve and I have many images to show for it
• I read a book called Tuesdays with Morrie that I think changed my life
• RouterTech reached its 1 year birthday and remained as much a success as the day it started
• I achieve success in many pieces of work to tight deadlines
• I have a wonderful time at the computing ball
• My first WordPress plugin that I release to the public is a resounding success
• I land a summer internship, working with Microsoft technologies
• I achieve excellent summer exam results
• I enjoy a cracking summer holiday with much to report on the blog
• Jazz and Blues Leeds is successful yet again in recruiting huge numbers of new members at the freshers fair
• I took part in the IBM thinkpad challenge as part of a team of students from the School of Computing
• Jazz and Blues Leeds makes a huge success of its first major event in the union
• I make good inroads into my final year project and start a blog about it
• I run a successful Linux install fest in Leeds School of Computing
• I manage to smash my phone by accident but recover it using a wide array of technical methods
• I achieve the highest mark in the year for AI coursework
• I enjoy a pleasant family Christmas and remember to take some photos

After the end of term I had a short break from work as things had been a little hectic with all the coursework. As of today though I’m back to the grindstone and I’ll be working right up to my first exam in January with a large revision timetable. I have five exams in the new year and while this isn’t the most I’ve ever had at this time of year, its certainly not the smallest batch I’ve ever sat in one go.

My final year project project won’t be neglected though and I’ll be working on this throughout the festive period. I’ve setup remote working so I can access Matlab from home so hopefully I’ll have some interesting results to talk about by the new year.

If I can find time I hope to bring a few sites up to date, release a new version of Calendar, and hopefully open my new business site. The Jazz and Blues Leeds website may also get a look in although all of that is already a tall order for the festive period