This is very cool. Volunteer contributors used satellite imagery, which was made available especially, to create detailed maps of Haiti which the aid workers used to help find their way.
Recently in Everything Else Category
2009 was an awful lot better than 2008 for me, for many reasons. 2008 had a lot of negative things of various types, but I won't go into detail about those. 2009 began with my falling into what could possibly be described as my dream job (particle accelerators and computers!), the completion of my PhD thesis and passing of the subsequent examination before being whisked off my feet by the beginning of an international adventure. I suspect the adventure will be ongoing for the rest of my life. When I moved out of my last long-term accommodation in Cambridge back in May, I knew that things would never be the same again.
I won't go into more detail than that, because his journal has become more about technical things and "productive" aspects of my life rather than personal wibbling. Along which lines, I hope to soon be able (/allowed) to post details of the exciting science I've been doing...
Due to popular demand, I've enabled comments and trackbacks here. Please don't all spam me at once... :)
I brought some UK-style multiblock extension leads over from the UK, and replaced the plugs with continental European plugs bought for €0.99 shortly after I arrived here.
There are no words which adequately describe how superior the resulting devices are compared to those one-piece plastic adaptor things you buy at the airport.
There are no words which adequately describe how superior the resulting devices are compared to those one-piece plastic adaptor things you buy at the airport.
... like I'm in a different country. Not in the same way that it does (or did, previously) when I visited other countries. Maybe it's because almost everything at work is done in English, or maybe it's because I've had such a long time to get used to the idea before coming. Or maybe it's because things aren't actually that much different over here from what I'm used to.
So, writing up my PhD thesis took a little longer than expected, as did organising the viva. But last week I passed said viva, and tomorrow I'll be getting on a plane to Hamburg with no immediate plans to return other than for visits.
It feels less scary, right now, than it sounds.
(This is my excuse for the reduced number of exciting Mesa commits and blog posts recently, of course. I need to grow some more brain cells after using my current stock up last week...)
It feels less scary, right now, than it sounds.
(This is my excuse for the reduced number of exciting Mesa commits and blog posts recently, of course. I need to grow some more brain cells after using my current stock up last week...)
I've recently discovered the Mutopia Project, which is about producing Free (mostly Creative Commons) sheet music, mostly typeset using the LilyPond software, which I've also only just discovered.
One of my favourites is the 16th Fugue from Das Wohltemperierte Clavier (The Well-Tempered Piano) by Bach. One of the first sounds I ever heard coming out of a computer was this, played by a program called Maestro using a fairly hideously synthesised sound effect on an Acorn A3000 in about 1990.
There is also the Passacaglia, which the attentive reader of this site will recognise. Not that there are any.
It almost makes me want to take up music again (playing it, that is). But on my own terms, rather than following a strict grading scheme. It's the difference between doing something because you want to, and doing it because your teacher told you to.
One of my favourites is the 16th Fugue from Das Wohltemperierte Clavier (The Well-Tempered Piano) by Bach. One of the first sounds I ever heard coming out of a computer was this, played by a program called Maestro using a fairly hideously synthesised sound effect on an Acorn A3000 in about 1990.
There is also the Passacaglia, which the attentive reader of this site will recognise. Not that there are any.
It almost makes me want to take up music again (playing it, that is). But on my own terms, rather than following a strict grading scheme. It's the difference between doing something because you want to, and doing it because your teacher told you to.
Thanks to the release of a second batch of tickets since the first lot sold out, I was able to see Mew at the ICA in London this week. In short: most fun I've had at a concert since about 2003. Great music, high audio quality - powerful but without the metallic overtones which seem to be far too familiar, and a great atmosphere.
Use those liquid washing tablet things, rather than powder, when washing your "Washable Suit". Otherwise, the powder crystallises to give a white, dusty appearance that's hard to get rid of.
I imagine that's what you want for more normal clothes, so that the fluorescence stuff can work, but it's definitely not what you want for a suit...
I imagine that's what you want for more normal clothes, so that the fluorescence stuff can work, but it's definitely not what you want for a suit...
I'm back at my parents' home for a week or so. I wonder if I can call it "home" any more, but it's certainly nice to be somewhere with a proper bed with decent back support, and hills and that kind of thing. Between thesis and crappy college beds, I don't think I've slept really well for quite a long time...
Damnit, I missed out on tickets for Mew in London. :(
Damnit, I missed out on tickets for Mew in London. :(
