vivdunstan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-14 12:55 am
vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-14 12:55 amEntry tags:
Dame Ursula
We’re very proud that Martin’s PhD supervisor, Ursula Martin, has been upgraded from a CBE to a DBE in the King’s Birthday Honours. Ursula was an excellent supervisor for Martin, patient and encouraging. She was also a huge help to me, both as an undergraduate computer science student at St Andrews - having a female CS Prof in the early 1990s was gobsmacking for me - but also after I had to drop out of my CS PhD, and more recently.
Thoroughly deserved, and especially good to see given that some of her achievements as a female groundbreaker in CS have at times been overlooked by male colleagues.
Thoroughly deserved, and especially good to see given that some of her achievements as a female groundbreaker in CS have at times been overlooked by male colleagues.
kevin_standlee (kevin_standlee) wrote2025-06-13 02:23 pm
kevin_standlee) wrote2025-06-13 02:23 pm
Something Fishy
There is a fish and chips food truck that visits Fernley around once a month. For some reason, I typically get notifications of them coming here after they've already moved on to a different city. This time, I knew they would be here today, stopping at Big R Ranch & Home. As it happens, I needed to go there anyway. The water pump on the swamp cooler has stopped pumping. I think there's just been too much hard water build-up in it. Also, the pads into which the water is pumped have too much build-up in them. It's easier to just replace the pump and pads than to try and clean them. So I went over to Big R, bought the swamp cooler parts, and went outside to get some fish.
( On The Hook )
It was pretty good fish.
( On The Hook )
It was pretty good fish.
purplecat (purplecat) wrote2025-06-13 06:47 pm
purplecat) wrote2025-06-13 06:47 pmEntry tags:
Fossil Friday
A Plateosaurus skeleton. Image stolen from The Great Dinosaur Discoveries by Darren Naish.
vivdunstan (vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-13 06:20 pm
vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-13 06:20 pmEntry tags:
Eye test
We were in Broughty Ferry today. Aced my latest eye test. A little bit more short sighted, so going to get new glasses this time. But, best of all, still no glaucoma or cataracts, despite 28 years of permanent daily steroids. So very relieved. Called into the uni library to return a book and pick up another. Then home. We have fresh strawberries from Balhungie Berry Farm in Monifieth, spotted and nabbed from the Love Your Planet shop in Broughty Ferry. Where we also bought a bag of Sacred Grounds coffee beans, a new variety for me to try. Also sat outside a local cafe/deli, drinking chilled milkshakes. So good. But, yes, eyes good.
vivdunstan (vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-12 09:28 pm
vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-12 09:28 pmEntry tags:
Current listening: Doctor Who - Gallery of Ghouls
Onto another Fourth Doctor audio. So much about this one gives me joy. And what a guest cast.
( spoilers re some dialogue )
We're going into Broughty Ferry for my eye test tomorrow, and will be taking tons of Big Finish audios to Oxfams. Which is why I've been trying to get through some more of my backlog this week.
( spoilers re some dialogue )
We're going into Broughty Ferry for my eye test tomorrow, and will be taking tons of Big Finish audios to Oxfams. Which is why I've been trying to get through some more of my backlog this week.
purplecat (purplecat) wrote2025-06-12 08:15 pm
purplecat) wrote2025-06-12 08:15 pmEntry tags:
Rani Icons
Some icons of The Rani which have been languishing on my hard drive since there was only one of her. I guess I need to make some more...
Snaggin is free. Credit is appreciated. Comments are loved.
Snaggin is free. Credit is appreciated. Comments are loved.
kevin_standlee (kevin_standlee) wrote2025-06-12 09:44 am
kevin_standlee) wrote2025-06-12 09:44 am
Entry tags:
Mooned
As Kayla headed out for breakfast this morning, she snapped a photo of the "Strawberry Moon," which if I'm reading right is about the largest the Moon will appear in our sky for a long time.
( Moon Over Fernley )
The camera phone is of course not very good for taking this sort of picture.
LiveJournal continues to show a 403 Forbidden error.
( Moon Over Fernley )
The camera phone is of course not very good for taking this sort of picture.
LiveJournal continues to show a 403 Forbidden error.
vivdunstan (vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-12 12:02 pm
vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-12 12:02 pmEntry tags:
Sherlock Holmes reread: The Naval Treaty
Nearing the end of Memoirs and on to this tale of a stolen secret treaty ... ( spoilers )
kevin_standlee (kevin_standlee) wrote2025-06-11 06:56 pm
kevin_standlee) wrote2025-06-11 06:56 pm
Some Sleep is Good
Another 3 AM start today. Things went okay, but by the time we got to Noon PT, I was done. I laid down and slept for several hours before being awakened by yet another phone spammer. Because of the nonprofit corporations on whose boards I sit, I'm targeted by sales calls that assume that all corporations have millions and millions of dollars to spend, and have a difficult time contemplating all-volunteer organizations with no employees and no reason to spend vast sums of money on their services. After all, isn't it illegal to not make a profit?
Anyway, I hope to get caught up on sleep tonight and put in an ordinary work day tomorrow.
I'd cross-post this to my LiveJournal, but I'm getting 403 errors trying to open LJ.
Anyway, I hope to get caught up on sleep tonight and put in an ordinary work day tomorrow.
I'd cross-post this to my LiveJournal, but I'm getting 403 errors trying to open LJ.
vivdunstan (vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-11 09:11 pm
vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-11 09:11 pmEntry tags:
Current listening: Doctor Who - The Darkness of Glass
Another one featuring Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor and Louise Jameson's Leela. I laughed a lot at one early bit. Leela: "What is the name of this wet world Doctor?" The Doctor: "Well it's called Britain. Great Britain actually. But I think wet world is rather more apt."
kevin_standlee (kevin_standlee) wrote2025-06-10 06:09 pm
kevin_standlee) wrote2025-06-10 06:09 pmEntry tags:
Yet Another Early Day
As I mentioned, I get another 3 AM wake-up call tomorrow due to needing to be at work on the Day Jobbe due to the person in India for whom I'm the backup being on PTO. Oh, well, I hope I can knock off work no later than Noon tomorrow. And on the bright side, it should be cooler at 3 AM and I can open the front door (we do have a screen door) and get more cross-ventilation through the house.
Not helping my rest was having to work late today, and also I was expecting a call that never came. I wish the people who were holding me in place had at least dropped me a note telling me that they didn't need me this afternoon after all.
Not helping my rest was having to work late today, and also I was expecting a call that never came. I wish the people who were holding me in place had at least dropped me a note telling me that they didn't need me this afternoon after all.
vivdunstan (vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-10 09:38 pm
vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-10 09:38 pmEntry tags:
Current listening: Doctor Who - The Cloisters of Terror
Continuing to catch up on my gargantuan Big Finish Doctor Who audio backlog.
This one is rather fun, and includes Liz Shaw's Mum as a quasi companion.
This one is rather fun, and includes Liz Shaw's Mum as a quasi companion.
purplecat (purplecat) wrote2025-06-10 05:54 pm
purplecat) wrote2025-06-10 05:54 pmEntry tags:
Costume Bracket: Round 4, Post 1
Two Doctor Who companion outfits for your delectation and delight! Outfits selected by a mixture of ones I, personally, like; lists on the internet; and a certain random element.
( Outfits below the Cut )
Vote for your favourite of these costumes. Use whatever criteria you please - most practical, most outrageously spacey, most of its decade!
Voting will remain open for at least a week, possibly longer!
Costume Bracket Masterlist
Images are a mixture of my own screencaps, screencaps from Lost in Time Graphics, PCJ's Whoniverse Gallery, and random Google searches.
( Outfits below the Cut )
Vote for your favourite of these costumes. Use whatever criteria you please - most practical, most outrageously spacey, most of its decade!
Voting will remain open for at least a week, possibly longer!
Costume Bracket Masterlist
Images are a mixture of my own screencaps, screencaps from Lost in Time Graphics, PCJ's Whoniverse Gallery, and random Google searches.
vivdunstan (vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-10 05:23 pm
vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-10 05:23 pmEntry tags:
Historical squiggles
Staring again briefly at the testament(*) of an ancestor who died in 1591. And very grateful for colour manipulation options to make it more readable. Two pics - part of the original, and part of the colour adjusted version. It's still lots of 16th century squiggles, but at least they are clearer 16th century squiggles!
* sort of equivalent to English probate records. It includes legal matters relating to the estate, and debts. And may include a will if there was one. Also occasionally a detailed inventory of personal possessions.
* sort of equivalent to English probate records. It includes legal matters relating to the estate, and debts. And may include a will if there was one. Also occasionally a detailed inventory of personal possessions.
kevin_standlee (kevin_standlee) wrote2025-06-08 05:21 pm
kevin_standlee) wrote2025-06-08 05:21 pm
Entry tags:
Too Darn Hot
It's just as well that I have to start work Monday morning at just after 3 AM PT due to some technical issues that I need to supervise for the Day Jobbe, because it's apt to be tolerably cool then and I should then be able to bail out by Noon or so.
Kayla went out to breakfast this morning at 6:30 AM and did some errands, getting back home by about 9 AM before the full heat of the day hit. Then we spent the next few hours working on Westercon site selection issues. I am in overall charge of the two Westercon Business functions for BayCon 2025/Westercon 77, while Martin Pyne is chair of the Business Meeting and Kayla Allen is head of Site Selection. I expect that Kayla will have something more to write about this on Monday.
I think it peaked at 36°C, which, being just below body temperature, is where things are getting dangerous. The swamp cooler can help, but it's still not much fun.
Now to see if I can get to sleep in this afternoon heat, as my bedroom is on the west side of the house so gets the afternoon sun. I keep a piece of insulation in the window to try and keep it dark and to reduce the amount of heat. I also fill the tank on the swamp cooler and point it into the bedroom when I go to bed under these conditions. Then, after sundown (I hate daylight savings time) and when things have cooled somewhat, if I wake up (likely), I can open the windows and get some cross-ventilation going.
Kayla went out to breakfast this morning at 6:30 AM and did some errands, getting back home by about 9 AM before the full heat of the day hit. Then we spent the next few hours working on Westercon site selection issues. I am in overall charge of the two Westercon Business functions for BayCon 2025/Westercon 77, while Martin Pyne is chair of the Business Meeting and Kayla Allen is head of Site Selection. I expect that Kayla will have something more to write about this on Monday.
I think it peaked at 36°C, which, being just below body temperature, is where things are getting dangerous. The swamp cooler can help, but it's still not much fun.
Now to see if I can get to sleep in this afternoon heat, as my bedroom is on the west side of the house so gets the afternoon sun. I keep a piece of insulation in the window to try and keep it dark and to reduce the amount of heat. I also fill the tank on the swamp cooler and point it into the bedroom when I go to bed under these conditions. Then, after sundown (I hate daylight savings time) and when things have cooled somewhat, if I wake up (likely), I can open the windows and get some cross-ventilation going.
vivdunstan (vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-08 09:40 pm
vivdunstan) wrote2025-06-08 09:40 pmOnto the 1990s ...
Continuing typing up notes for my next blog post, about fave/rec books, one published for each year of my life. Have now typed up the 1990s book choice notes. Over halfway! Words added tonight include "stuffed tiger", Orcadian, "Potato" and Eurythmics. Semi cryptic clues, or maybe not very!
I'm amused that more history books are creeping into my list now, though it's still a relatively small number. And also noting that I seem to have a decent number of Saltire Scottish Book of the Year winners on my list.
I'm amused that more history books are creeping into my list now, though it's still a relatively small number. And also noting that I seem to have a decent number of Saltire Scottish Book of the Year winners on my list.