Blog Archives: November, 2004
Dinner with the Dean
Joanna, Colin, and I at the MathSoc Charity Ball A few weeks ago I got roped into attending the MathSoc Charity Ball with a few other alumni. And then I got roped into bidding on a dinner for four with the Dean of Mathematics. We ended up winning and, well, at least the money went to charity. (Next year’s motto: Charity Ball 2005: Now with 100% less Stebila!) Tonight we went for dinner at a local steakhouse. I ordered the second most expensive item on the menu: surf and turf (lobster and filet mignon). And of course we had to have dessert. Sure, I’ve had my protein and fat intake for the year, but it was worth it. Now it’s back to Kraft Dinner and Kool-Aid.
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Oxford Coincidences
Cue the It’s a Small World, complete with dancing animatronic children and a boat ride:
Coincidence number 1: My housemate Jason has a friend visiting from England; they went to Oxford together. Last week this girl ran into my former Oxford housemate Caroline.
Coincidence number 2: We all went for drinks last night at a local pub, and another girl from England who is doing a degree in statistics joined us. She did the same program that I did at Oxford a year before me, had the same supervisor as me, and is now doing her PhD here.
Coincidence number 3: There is no coincidence number 3. But 2 out of 3 ain’t bad!
In unrelated matters, I’ve finished last week’s “too much work” mode and have moved into “on top of all my work” mode. Two days ago I finished one assignment that wasn’t due for another week and a half. I’ve balanced my check book, gotten lots of pictures from my European trip with Glenn labeled (soon to be posted!), and finally hung pictures on the wall in my room. Douglas 1, Life 0.
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Panoramas
Blenheim Palace and the Great Avenue If you’re looking to kill a few minutes, check out this site: World Wide Panorama 2004, a collection of panoramic images from around the world taken over the summer solstice in 2004. Many Canadian readers (and even some Seattle readers!) will be familiar with this shot of the Rideau Canal, but not so many may recognize Blenheim Palace, a stately home just a few miles from Oxford; I biked there a year and a week ago and thought it was quite beautiful. My pictures, however, don’t quite hold up to the beautiful panoramic shots. Guess I’ll have to get some more camera gear!
Another interesting set of panoramas is the collection from the Danish Royal Wedding this past summer. It’s the closest that people like you and I (well, you, at least; I’m expecting to get an invitation to the next major ball thrown by the Queen) will get to grand ceremonies like this.
And if you haven’t killed enough time yet, then you can browse for a few more hours at Fullscreen QTVR, which features panoramas from Switzerland, Rome, London, Paris, and even some places I haven’t been too. Yet.
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Loads of work
Wow, it seems like the school work just doesn’t end. I don’t remember having to do so much work during my undergrad; maybe I’m getting dumber. It would certainly be in line with recent studies. Last week I had two assignments due — enumeration and quantum mechanics. And this week I have another assignment (cryptography) and a midterm (quantum mechanics). But after Thursday I don’t have anything to do for a while. Maybe I can actually do some research then. Or collapse from fatigue. One of the two.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been going over to 110 to watch episodes of the now-cancelled show Firefly. 100 readers will know this, but for those that aren’t, and who like watching good (but slightly odd) television shows, you might be interested in Firefly. It was created by Joss Whedon, the same guy that created Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it’s best described as a space western. The central characters are criminals who pull odd jobs around the outer edges of the galaxy; everyone carries a revolver, and there are random guitar twangs in the soundtrack. Available on DVD, and probably showing on the Space channel every once in a while. There’ll be a movie in theatres next year, so you might as well start getting ready!
