Chris Worfolk's Blog

Got back my GI31 coursework 2 marks today. They aren’t too pretty. While it isn’t the mess that my first coursework was (the coursework itself was OK I thought but the mark it got wasn’t), given how much time I invested in it and what standard I thought it reached I was disappointed with the mark. I got 69 and a half. Doesn’t sound too bad but then this is one of the good modules in terms of actually examining you on useful stuff (rather than BS modules like DB). Further more this kind of thing needs to pull my grade up. How can it pull my grade up when it isn’t even a first itself?

There gets to be a point where you just have to conclude, “I’m not just not putting the work in. I’m just too stupid.”

It now being past 8am I have admitted defeat with regards to servlets. I got mine compiling but it still wouldn’t run so I’ve included it in my source code submission for some kind of consideration however small that may be. All in all though this has been a joke of a coursework and while I will be making a separate blog post about it I feel the need to rant a bit here too. My mysterious error which plagued me for hour after hour just randomly started working at 2:30. I had gone on and coded further stuff by then but this essentially placed me back behind everyone else at 2:30am!

Anyway, we’re through it now, term is over! At least for me. Sort of. I still technically have TKD today but I doubt I will go even on the off chance I am awake. I also have to sort out a few meetings with people next week with regards to my FYP and such not to mention all the work I have to catch up on for things like my websites and of course there is always FYP and lots of revision for exams that need to rescue my spiraling grade.

All in all, this isn’t the joyous end of term I was hoping for.

• The University of Toronto Press publishes a journal named the Canadian Journal of Linguistics
• Journal papers require a needless amount of special formatting
• Weka isn’t a particularly useful tool
• Don’t be fooled into thinking because you’re taking a DB module, the software you will be using will support databases
• Don’t assume that because you are on a computing degree your modules will be anything to do with computing
• Don’t assume that because you are on a computing degree your assessment will be based on technical knowledge
• Don’t assume that because you are a third year computing student they won’t try and teach you how to use Google
• If a module leader explicitly tells you not to use CRISP-DM, don’t believe them
• Data mining happens, and I quote, “by magic”
• Data mining has no value and isn’t useful in language research
• Data mining has no value and isn’t useful, period

Last night saw my first TKD grading. It was slightly tiring to say the least lol. Lesson one, make sure you eat something that day. Luckily I had had breakfast but not everybody had. These people were easy to spot collapsed at the back of the hall. In the end I passed though with a less than perfect grade but it was a pass none of the less.

Earlier today A-Soc held a support rally for the British teacher Gillian Gibbons. We had quite a decent turn out in that people actually turned up which is always a victory :D. While we were only around for an hour we got quite a bit of interest and got someone new interested in the society so all in all it was a rather successful event. Go A-Soc!

Well you can’t have any. Because yesterday Colton Mill ran out :D. And somebody had to go chasing all the way over to Oakwood to get some. Fun times.

Before I start I’m going to state a few things. I’m going to say something that’s a bit out there, a bit controversial and a bit, at first glace, counter-intuitive. But never the less I am going to put the proposition forward.

Private profiles and turning Facebook into MySpace.

There, I said it. It seems crazy at first, after all the point of Facebook is that you are connecting with your existing real world connections and that it isn’t just an open directory of internet aliases.

But the fact is, this recurrent doom that people keep talking about has failed to materialise. They let Leeds Met onto Facebook, nothing really went wrong. They let the whole world onto Facebook, I’m not going to pretend I am pleased about that but it didn’t turn Facebook into MySpace. They added applications and yes they are very annoying, but you choose to list the people as friends that send you the application invites and you can say no. I do. It keeps my profile nice and clean, it’s still Facebook.

Private profiles however, I would argue are doing some damage. What I truely loved about Facebook was that each university had it’s own network and you could pretty much move freely around that network. You could see new people’s profiles, see what mutual friends you have in common, see the connections. Private profiles prevent you from doing this.

This hysteria about keeping your profile private is ruining the Facebook experience and turning Facebook into the jungle of uncommon ground and paranoia that is MySpace. It’s a slippery slope my friends, a slippery slope.

I love all-nighters. There is just something about spending all night in DEC-10 that is magical. I’m going to miss it next year though I have little doubt that whatever I end up doing will involve all night coding sessions.

Today being the GI31 deadline, myself, Kieran, Sarann, Nima and Will were in here all night working away. I submitted it an hour or so ago though I might go back for a little more work on it. I couldn’t focus earlier but I’m getting my vision back now lol. What I really want to do is sleep though. Having worked the weekend before last I then had Atheist Week, then the A-Soc Weekend Away then I was doing my FYP on Sunday and GI31 late-nighters all this week. All in all it’s really cut into my sleep.

After trying to get hold of my TKD gear for 2 months now due to a combination of either myself or Mr. Smith not being at training I finally got my gear today! It’s all very exciting though I almost missed it. I left training half an hour early due to the combination that a) I haven’t slept properly since before Atheist Week so am exhausted b) didn’t have any sparring gear and c) needed to get back to labs to finish my GI31 coursework but it turns out that Mr. Derrig turned up with my gear just after I’d left! Luckily he phoned me after training and being in DEC-10 I went down to pick it up. So, bring on the fun on Friday.

Told you, you couldn’t do London on a budget… :p

• Tickets and transport: £73.30
• Eating out: £42.03
• Snacks and drinks: £18.11
• Admission prices: £5.00
• books and presents: £31.47
• Misc costs: £1.40

Total cost for the weekend, £171.31.