The Tiniest Computer Mice Ever

So - we finally got our new laptops at work after 3 months of hassles with Dell. The next job was to get some mice. The best bet seemed to be these - mice with retractable usb cords so we wouldn't have to deal with masses of cable when we moved out laptops around. When they arrived, it was hard to believe they aren't actually toys.


The first photo shows one of them in the palm of my hand - you have to grip them between thumb and ring finger and unsurprisingly, can't rest your palm on them.
What is surprising is how easy they are to use - we got used to them within 5 minutes and the response and scroll wheel is very acurate. Of course, the one we ordered for our supervisor was denounced as being "too small" for him - but when you compare these mice to a regular sized one (see right) I think we can accept that they aren't for everyone.


The best bit is that they come with their own tiny carry case that is no biger than 10x6cm and which contains a sub pocket for the usb connector - very cute and certainly draw cries of awwwwww from most of the group. The extending cable had us foxed until we actually read the instructions (!) Hopefully they'll last us a good while...

Busy day - but hardly any work

Wow - it's been a pretty hectic day. Got up early and went for breakfast (this only happens on Wednesdays). After that I went to help stock the bar then got a shower and headed down to work for 90 minutes before a group meeting (where someone presents their work). This was followed by a power walk back up the hill to meet the rest of the SSC (Senior Server Committee) to go over to Grey College for a manual handling course. I'm sorry to say it was 90 minutes of tedium and pointlessness - everyone already knew how to life boxes and we didn't even learn anything about the barrels that we needed the training for - I managed to get a couple of pictures of our trainer, Paul Zeland, giving some pointers and the tediousness of watching everyone lift a crate or empty cardboard box (!) in turn...

After this it was straight back to Trevs for a cocktail making course - but the rep only talked about his own brands so we got the product history of Jack Daniels, Southern Comfort, Bacardi and Bombay Sapphire. All the cocktails were pretty good but they all involved just a spirit and mixer.

Next was the rush to dinner before a long SSC meeting based around the problem of how to pay for taxis when we don't have access to any petty cash followed immediately by an MCR meeting where I found out just how badly the refurb was put together in the final mad dash...

Treat for the Night

Tonight, whilst we were out at Tesco, we happened across this individual sporting a pink striped shirt, trainers and a very naughty all-denim suit. Needles to say we pursued him and I managed to get this snap as he reached for some Tesco Value brand lemonade. Perhaps it loses something in the photo, but I'm sure you can imagine just how special an all-denim suit would look in the flesh...

Freshers' Week Over For Another Year

Well the time has come for the students to buckle down and do some work. This year's freshers' week has been a very successful one. I worked the bar as senior on both the first and second nights and we took well over £1000 each night - and that's with no 3^rd years and a lot less freshers than previous years. Thursday saw us take over £1700 - almost unheard of on a non-ball night.

It's always weird to wonder if freshers' week is as good as it gets during your time at uni: you have a great time, but don't really know what's going on. Strangely, at the completely opposite end of the scale is Graduands' week. If the first week in Durham is great, surely your last one (with all the friends you've made since those first few nights) should be even better. Graduands' dinner sets it up well - a late licence at the bar and landing parties that go on until morning, but somehow, without fail it just falls away. The arrival of parents and sad news that is friends leaving without a chance to say goodbye always make Graduands' week a very quiet affair.

Of course - it's even worse for postgrads - we just slip away one by one at during September.

Anyone Can Play Guitar? Not as Well as This Guy

Those of you who play guitar will surely have heard of Yngwie Malmsteen. In addition to his crazy name he is one of the best technical guitarists in the world. This is a video of a guitarist playing along to the Malmsteen song Far Byond the Sun. To say he's rather good is an understatement...

First Class Virgin

I meant to post this last week, but didn't think to take my phone's usb cable with me... Virgin Trains normally offer upgrades to 1st class on weekend services for £15. I decided that for once I'd splash out and see what 1st class was all about. As I boarded the fabled "Coach A" of the voyager I was confronted straight away with two members of staff sitting around chatting (one of whom was in my seat) and four transport police were around a table. The 2x2 layout of the regular coaches (two seats each side of the train) was replaced by a 1x2 arrangement. Sitting down I found a small creased welcome card that informed me that I could get some complementary food and drink, but as it was a weekend I would have to go and get it myself(!). A quick wander through the squalor of the "regular" coaches and I was at the buffet car. Excitedly I pushed my 1st class ticket in front of the server with images of cooked breakfast (unlikely as it was nearl 2pm) or some big sandwiches. What I got was a little underwhelming consisting of a small carton of orange juice, mini Kit-Kat, mini slice of fruit cake, mini (can you spot a theme?) bag of pretzels, two crackers and soft cheese (but no knife) and a bag of fairly minging dried fruits.


After finishing this meagre offering I sat back, not really noticing any improvement in the quality or comfort of the seat. There was something nagging at me though and once I got off at Birmingham New Street and pushed may way past the now familiar groups of Aisan youths in puffa jackets I realised what it was - it was exclusive: I didn't have to worry about kids screaming or running up and down the carriage; didn't have to fret about letting people in and out of seats as they frequented the buffet car for more overpriced food; and not even a hint of worrying that some heft bloke with bad B.O. would sit next to me. I could simply enjoy my journey in peace.

If the £15 had been for both ways then it would have definitely been worthwhile - if only to hear the staff members bitching about collegues, but as it is I can't say that I'll be upgrading again without good cause.

Will the Refurb be Finished in Time?

In case you didn't know, Trevs has been undergoing a massive refurb over the summer. This has meant the noise of contractors, their vehicles and no access to any facilities for the whole 3 months. So great was the time pressure that postgraduates and finalists were turfed out of their rooms for graduation week at the end of last term. As time passed the hardy and of resident postgrads began to hear rumours that despite doing one less block than planned, the refit was behind schedule.

By the start of July, there entire grund floor of college had no floorboards (as we found when we went exploring).

As september came around, news came that the builders would be working longer hours and then weekends in order to finish. Inside, college looked like a disaster area.


Now the builders are furiously working 24 hours a day to get the work finished. As of yesterday, most of the rooms were finished, but the landings and amenities were still nowhere near ready. The new postgrads are already here and the freshers will start arriving on Saturday. The worry now is what is the quality of the job going to be after they have rushed - we all remember the new windows that were put in 18 months ago that leaked straight away...

Nintendo's Revolution

After taking a near 10-year gap from games consoles, I finally relented and bought a cheap Gamecube about 19 months ago. By sticking to the principle of not paying more than £15 for a game I've slowly built up a collection of excellent games. Now though, the big 3 companies are about to launch new models. At the recent E3 show they were unveiled one by one.

First up was Microsoft's Xbox360. Aggressively pushing for a pre Christmas launch may yet backfire as several key launch games have now been postponed. The console itself offers more power but most of that will go on HD graphics which will be the buzzword for the next few years.

Second up was Sony, who showed off the prototype for the PS3. Sony have gone on record as saying that the PS3 will be expensive. Given that they're including a BluRay drive with the console bears this out. The launch for this one will probably be Easter in Japan but we may not see it here until 2007.

Finally was a press conference from Nintendo. The revolution was only shown in model form - specifications were not ready and there was no sign of the controller. Critics mulled over how this was thrown together just to keep up with the competition. The response came last week with the release of details about the controller...

The biggest thing to happen to controllers in the previous 15 years had been the N64's analogue stick. Together with games such as GoldenEye and Mario64 this controller forced Sega and Sony to rerelease their own pads to try to compete. The revolution controller, at first glance, looks nothing more than a remote control with a few buttons on it. Memories of "interactive systems" such as the CD-i flash before your eyes. After reading a few lines of the description though, you calm down...The sensor rests under your TV - this can read signals from the "remote" about the orientation of the device in space. Move the controller right and the sensor knows, move it closer to the screen and it knows, twist it round...well you get the picture. Extra peripherals can plug into it (I've posted a picture with a mini joystick).

Imagine first-person game where you move with the joystick and can look around simply by moving the controller around; a dark game where the controller acts as a torch and you choose where to shine it; A driving game where the controller becomes a steering wheel or even a bat/racket for sports games. Have a look at this link for more info. My interest has been captured now. So much so that I'm probably going to pick one of these machines up as soon as they launch.

There's a nice article on gamepad history over at 1up.

Lesbians against Bush?

I've just found this very funny video of yet another G. W. Bush gaffe. In case you don't know OBGYN stand for obstetrics & gynacology - an area trainee doctors can specialise in. The news anchor's response is very Spinal Tap esque (I'm thinking the Stone Henge scene) - how he manages to keep a straight face is amazing.

My Final Year Beckons and I'm Finally Ready

Although I'm still technically a 2nd year PhD student - the two 3rd years are in final preparations before they leave. The new intake of freshers is nearly here and will inevitably look unbelievably young (This lot weren't born until '86/'87). I never though I'd be ready to leave this place (Trevelyan College) but I guess that since I'm going to be just about the oldest student still here it's finally time to move on. Trevs is a big conveyor belt. Every year that arrives ends up just like every other year: they arrive as optimistic naive freshers, friendly to everyone in their year. Then they move on to living out and become set in groups of friends and after the first few weeks stop comming into college. They then arrive back in college for their 3rd year in the same groups as always: The footballers tend to hang around together and get drunk, there's the group of popular 3rd year girls, the goon 3rd years who study all the time, the 4th year lingusts who band together and the 4th year scientists who are invariably grumpy. Every year likes to believe they are contributing something new to college, and certainly there are some characters that stand out, most so far all the years below me have followed this pattern.

Although I never considered it, the longer I've stayed, the more I've wished I made more of my ealry time here. I was awarded college half colours, but most of the stuff I've done has been since the graduation of most of my friends in 2002 forced me to move in new social circles.

All that's left is to make the most of my last year whilst doing a lot of work and look forward to August when my beautiful girlfriend Angharad (hopefully) returns from her year away in Japan.