Saturday, 30 October 2010
One more thing...
I've recently starting learning CSS and Javascript. I taught myself HTML a while back but I got very rusty and I wanted to expand my knowledge with new things as well. I say this mostly as a warning: I will be attempting to customise my blog (tastefully, of course) and you should expect parts of it to appear butchered for quite some time until I get it right. Let's hope I am a fast learner.
The rest of me...
Hello again!
I'm writing a second post straight after the first for two reasons. Firstly, something tells me that the second post could be the hardest to write and if I get it out of the way, I'm more likely to come back and continue to blog. Secondly, I realised that I have inherently assumed that anyone who reads this knows the ins and outs of my life, and seeing as this is potentially not the case, I would like to fill in some details.
I am engaged to a lovely girl named Laura. I wanted to mention her first and foremost, not because she's going to read this, but because she really is the light in my life and the person that makes me happiest. She is the perfect balance for my character - she stops me getting too serious and wrapped up in work and study, and gets my butt in gear when I need to get up and do something like go shopping, or prepare for an upcoming event, or just do my share of the chores. I love her and I hate to think what I would be like without her (probably stuck in some dark room somewhere, hunched over a desk with just a pen and paper for company!). We're getting married in just over half a year and I'm really excited about this - I always thought I would get married a little later in life, but I can't tell you how delighted I am with how this has worked out.
I enjoy playing music. I play guitar when I can find the time, and love it. I can play the piano and the violin as well, and although I like each of these in their own way, the guitar is my weapon of choice. I really like classic rock - it has an inexplicable effect on me that I can only describe as the blood pumping in my veins - and I have more recently begun to love some more indie and punky styles of music. Laura introduced me to Yellowcard recently, and although I don't know many of their songs, this is the sort of music that I really like. There are other bands that I like - Feeder is one of them - and I can only describe these as "balanced" bands, not cringy or cheesy or embarassing like some of the older music I listen to, but but witty and pacy and energetic, and of course with better vocal lines (at least, that's my opinion). I will always love a good Metallica or Iron Maiden solo, and sometimes there's nothing better than rocking out to an AC/DC riff on twice the volume that the neighbours appreciate, but I am finding more room in my heart for the bands of today as well as yesterday (of course, in Metallica's case, they really fit into both categories but their first five albums are by far the best!).
I also like sport but this is starting to sound too much like an overly-detailed CV, so I won't bore you with this bit. Suffice to say that I have played a lot of tennis in my time, but I really really really LOVE a good game of footy and would be up for a basketball match any day.
I think that is enough information for now. I can't think of a good way to sign off so I will just say this: good night and I hope you enjoy the extra hour!
I'm writing a second post straight after the first for two reasons. Firstly, something tells me that the second post could be the hardest to write and if I get it out of the way, I'm more likely to come back and continue to blog. Secondly, I realised that I have inherently assumed that anyone who reads this knows the ins and outs of my life, and seeing as this is potentially not the case, I would like to fill in some details.
I am engaged to a lovely girl named Laura. I wanted to mention her first and foremost, not because she's going to read this, but because she really is the light in my life and the person that makes me happiest. She is the perfect balance for my character - she stops me getting too serious and wrapped up in work and study, and gets my butt in gear when I need to get up and do something like go shopping, or prepare for an upcoming event, or just do my share of the chores. I love her and I hate to think what I would be like without her (probably stuck in some dark room somewhere, hunched over a desk with just a pen and paper for company!). We're getting married in just over half a year and I'm really excited about this - I always thought I would get married a little later in life, but I can't tell you how delighted I am with how this has worked out.
I enjoy playing music. I play guitar when I can find the time, and love it. I can play the piano and the violin as well, and although I like each of these in their own way, the guitar is my weapon of choice. I really like classic rock - it has an inexplicable effect on me that I can only describe as the blood pumping in my veins - and I have more recently begun to love some more indie and punky styles of music. Laura introduced me to Yellowcard recently, and although I don't know many of their songs, this is the sort of music that I really like. There are other bands that I like - Feeder is one of them - and I can only describe these as "balanced" bands, not cringy or cheesy or embarassing like some of the older music I listen to, but but witty and pacy and energetic, and of course with better vocal lines (at least, that's my opinion). I will always love a good Metallica or Iron Maiden solo, and sometimes there's nothing better than rocking out to an AC/DC riff on twice the volume that the neighbours appreciate, but I am finding more room in my heart for the bands of today as well as yesterday (of course, in Metallica's case, they really fit into both categories but their first five albums are by far the best!).
I also like sport but this is starting to sound too much like an overly-detailed CV, so I won't bore you with this bit. Suffice to say that I have played a lot of tennis in my time, but I really really really LOVE a good game of footy and would be up for a basketball match any day.
I think that is enough information for now. I can't think of a good way to sign off so I will just say this: good night and I hope you enjoy the extra hour!
Humble beginnings
Hello!
I've been surprised lately by how many of my friends keep a blog - whether it's a low-key (or even secret) one, or a large-scale widely publicised affair that gets splashed across my Facebook news feed from time to time. This, along with the desire to express things about myself that I may not otherwise find ways to do so, is the driving force that has led me to start writing a blog of my own. I am writing this mostly for my own benefit, but I hope that those people who are close to me and are willing to take the time to read what I have to say will get to know me a little better too.
In this, my first blog post, I would like to explain why I have chosen "Blogarithms" as my blog's title. (I can't tell whether this is a good or a bad title; if it turns out to be more awful than I thought I may have to change it!) I wanted a title that reflects who I am and how I feel about blogging. I love to study maths and physical sciences - I'm fascinated by our world and our universe, and I could spend my life just learning about them - and of course, most people will have heard the word "logarithm" and at least vaguely connected it with these subjects, even if it means very little to them in technical terms. I have always found study and academia to be my arena, something I find comes fairly naturally and something that I enjoy, and so it is a large part of my identity. Blogging, on the other hand, is about communication and about people, and these are things that I sometimes struggle to understand (I know that sounds rather autistic; as far as I know, I am not autistic!) - I find it hard to write things like blogs and journals, and even harder to find the motivation to update them regularly. I am attempting something that I find challenging and at times, uncomfortable. "Blogarithms" represents my attempt to move out of my comfort zone of maths and physics and into the uncomfortable position of having to write down something that is not equations and formulae.
I find it midly ironic that for most people, the comfort zones would be reversed - writing and communicating no problem at all, whilst the thought of handling logarithms and equations would be enough to send them running. Perhaps this is what made the title appeal to me the most.
I would like to finish this post by pointing out that although I have claimed to find communication and people difficult topics, I mean this in the sense that given the choice, I would rather fill my head with mathematical puzzles than interpersonal ones. Think of it as an escapism, something that helps me to relax and clear my head. This does not mean that I can't handle people when I need to, nor that I am unable to write clearly and concisely when necessary (granted, this blog post isn't the best example of conciseness, but who's going to complain?). I have to hope that if a potential employer were to stumble upon this blog and identify myself as the author, they would understand the context in which this is meant!
That's all, for now. If I don't check back in a couple of days and write something new then I give you (the World Wide Web in general) permission to hunt me down and demand another blog post. (Or if you prefer, you can just tell me to shut up.)
This really is the last thing I'm going to say: the clocks go back tonight and I'm really thankful as I've managed to stay up pretty late, as usual, and I could really use an extra hour's sleep. Or alternatively, an extra hour on my laptop. No prizes for guessing which it will be!
I've been surprised lately by how many of my friends keep a blog - whether it's a low-key (or even secret) one, or a large-scale widely publicised affair that gets splashed across my Facebook news feed from time to time. This, along with the desire to express things about myself that I may not otherwise find ways to do so, is the driving force that has led me to start writing a blog of my own. I am writing this mostly for my own benefit, but I hope that those people who are close to me and are willing to take the time to read what I have to say will get to know me a little better too.
In this, my first blog post, I would like to explain why I have chosen "Blogarithms" as my blog's title. (I can't tell whether this is a good or a bad title; if it turns out to be more awful than I thought I may have to change it!) I wanted a title that reflects who I am and how I feel about blogging. I love to study maths and physical sciences - I'm fascinated by our world and our universe, and I could spend my life just learning about them - and of course, most people will have heard the word "logarithm" and at least vaguely connected it with these subjects, even if it means very little to them in technical terms. I have always found study and academia to be my arena, something I find comes fairly naturally and something that I enjoy, and so it is a large part of my identity. Blogging, on the other hand, is about communication and about people, and these are things that I sometimes struggle to understand (I know that sounds rather autistic; as far as I know, I am not autistic!) - I find it hard to write things like blogs and journals, and even harder to find the motivation to update them regularly. I am attempting something that I find challenging and at times, uncomfortable. "Blogarithms" represents my attempt to move out of my comfort zone of maths and physics and into the uncomfortable position of having to write down something that is not equations and formulae.
I find it midly ironic that for most people, the comfort zones would be reversed - writing and communicating no problem at all, whilst the thought of handling logarithms and equations would be enough to send them running. Perhaps this is what made the title appeal to me the most.
I would like to finish this post by pointing out that although I have claimed to find communication and people difficult topics, I mean this in the sense that given the choice, I would rather fill my head with mathematical puzzles than interpersonal ones. Think of it as an escapism, something that helps me to relax and clear my head. This does not mean that I can't handle people when I need to, nor that I am unable to write clearly and concisely when necessary (granted, this blog post isn't the best example of conciseness, but who's going to complain?). I have to hope that if a potential employer were to stumble upon this blog and identify myself as the author, they would understand the context in which this is meant!
That's all, for now. If I don't check back in a couple of days and write something new then I give you (the World Wide Web in general) permission to hunt me down and demand another blog post. (Or if you prefer, you can just tell me to shut up.)
This really is the last thing I'm going to say: the clocks go back tonight and I'm really thankful as I've managed to stay up pretty late, as usual, and I could really use an extra hour's sleep. Or alternatively, an extra hour on my laptop. No prizes for guessing which it will be!
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