Homeses!

Um yeah. It took me a while to get home.

My fault entirely: I went to visit Paddy so I only got home on Tuesday evening. The first week and a bit I was with Paddy. Or more precisely, on an SU (Scripture Union) camp. Was... interesting. Not going to talk too much about it though.

Other events? Went climbing with the Freers last weekend. Was all misty and cold. And my climbing was not particularly up to scratch. Need to get onto rock proper before Rory Lowther. (Is a climbing comp first weekend in February.)

Other than that, been reading a lot, almost finished DNAngel as well. Going to start on Ergo Proxy next, sounds really awesome. Holidays and free time for the w00t!

Actually saw my cousin yesterday. Dunno how long it's been but anyway. He's the sound engineer for a band/group named Ghapi. Was nice to see him for a bit.

Um... Not much else really. Kay is nagging for me to get up to Lake Kariba for New Year but we don't got imali. So that's a no go. Which is a real pity. But I can't go and that's the end of it. I'd rather not think about the fact that I'm only going to see her in February, but that's the way the wafer crumbles.

Chiqua is coming home today, was gallivanting up in Jozi for a while with Craig. Not quite sure what's happening there, but I daresay I'll find out. All else fails, tickling won't.

We are going to have a braai today. Red meat.... Um yeah... Res meat is not the greatest. To put it mildly.

Markles is in the Netherlands but is back on the 1st of January. He has got some stuffses for me so I need to see him soon after he gets back.

Anyway, I have to get back to some serious loafing and see how and when and if I can visit Evol, Tally and Zo. Will keep posting at infrequent intervals.

Post 40 and quota death....

My exams have gone well so far. I don't think I've made any monumental stuff-ups at any rate. We shall see.

Last one is later today (Maths 1E1 which I'm feeling fairly ready for) then I need to pack and get ready to leave. Least I get an afternoon with Kay. *does uber-happy dance*

As it is now, not much to say, except that this year has been totally fantastic, I've met so many cool people (some as warped as myself :D ) and just generally had a blast.

On the downside, I didn't do as well as I had hoped, but anyway, it's in the past, all I can do is try harder I guess.

On a side note, I've been going to Goju-Ryu sessions recently, just to do something. And I must say it's a great deal of fun. Even (attempted to) follow a few kata in today's session. I'm definitely doing it next year, as well as continuing to climb.

Anyway, not much else to say, I've been cooped up in my room attempting to study for a while. Hope it pays off.

Now to burn my quota and head home!

*vanishes in cloud of pixel dust*

List of Top 50 Cool Bookses

Stolen from Warpeddragon.

This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy novels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club. Bold the ones you've read, strike-out the ones you hated, put a hash after those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov # (I wants it....)
3. Dune, Frank Herbert *
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke *
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick **
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury #
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov (I think I have it somewhere....)
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett *
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams **
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick (also on my list)
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke (Didn't like the sequels)
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven (Attempting to track down the sequels)
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut # (Busy with it ;))
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein * (Better than the movie, without effort)
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks #
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer

Lazee dazes....

OK. So I had 17 days.

I've treated myself to a week off.

That's right Splat-fans: a week off. I have done the following work this last week:

Zip.
Zero.
Niks.
Nada.
Nothing.

Needless to say, it's been most pleasant.

Last week was OK. 4 exams, but still. I think Chem went OK. Physics prac was good. Geology I don't think I wrote enough, but then again, their mark allocation was a bit funny... We will see. Some more time to study would of been nice too. Physics theory, despite not really having enough time to study for, was OK. I think I did reasonably well.

I haven't really done much of anything this week. Read a fair amount, played computer games. Would have lived at the wall if it was accessible. Talking of climbing: I might be getting new shoes. At least, I'm going to see, Mike has organised/heard about some Mad Rock Locos going for R200, which is pretty darn cheap. So I might get a pair and stash them away for future use.

Plans for the next couple weeks: Start studying again tomorrow. Pack. Get photos for a passport done. Write the exams (Comp Sci and Maths). Head back to KZN. But probably not home for a while.

Anyway, like I said, not much has been going on. Been taking it very easy of late.

I've seen quite a lot of Kay too, which is a bonus. *does happy dance*

Time to go do some more serious procrastination now. ;)

*Aston vanishes into ceiling*

2/7. 3 tomorrow.

Yes, it is an arb title. Allow me to elaborate:

Two of my seven exams are past history. One of them (Chemistry) with any luck, forever. *permits self random happy dance on ceiling*
I think I passed, at least: I put an answer down for everything except biological building blocks, which bored me to tears and was apparently a difficult section anyway. Not that I was able to do anything in it, so I certainly thought so.

The other was the Geology practical (a week ago), which I have succeeded in not totally screwing up almost half of it, so we'll see how I do. My class mark was 70% which is good, especially since I didn't work that hard at it. *permits self second happy dance on ceiling*

Ahem.
What else...?

I have a grand total of FOUR exams this week. Che 102 theory today, Phy 102 Prac tomorrow, Glg 102 Theory on Friday and Phy 102 Theory (ouch) on Saturday.
I then have a seventeen day gap. I mean, that's longer than the September holiday was. *rolls eyes* Malicious bloody timetable computer.

Wonder if I can get to East London or something for a few days. Would love to go to Sunrise on Sea. Pity granny moved to eShowe in a way. *sighs* Oh wells.

Right! Work time.

*Aston vanishes to do some werkses*

Update time....

Happy Hallowe'en!
w00t! Over studying. Need to update this thing....

Apologies for the long break. Had other stuff. So this will be a reasonably long post. Pull up a bollard and have noodle.

First up: Birthdays: Brad's and Evol's.

Brad's was last week Saturday (blimey it's been a long time...). So Brad is turning 19. He calls us up and invites us for PIZZA! On him! w00t of note....
After that we decide that we are going for a walk. It's about 21:00 already (I think), but we go to the bot gardens. Strolled along the paths, Evol and I apparently on a sugar high (lies I tell you! Lies!) then decided to go up to the Monument. Sat around there for a while.
Then Brad mentioned this rock. The "BA Rock". So we went looking. Turns out it's right next to the highway away from Grahamstown. Climbed on top and just lay there, looking at the stars for a while (which were pretty good away from town [less light pollution]).
By then it was close to 02:00 so we traipsed back. Leslie was very sweet and walked Tally all the way up the hill, even though there were three of us to escort her. Poor guy. And he lives about as far down the hill as possible.

Next up: Evol's birthday. Was on the very last day of lectures that Evol was turning 19. So we went out to Spur for supper. Crumbed mushrooms.... Nyum-nyum.
After that, and solving some of the world's problems, we moved over to the Old Gaol. Which is an old gaol, now reformed to become a B+B. Kay met us there. :D Yay!
Heehee. Brad was pulling his moves on this girl, who seemed rather nice. Turns out she's a masters Fine Arts student. About as far from 1st year BSc with maths and physics as you can get.... Oh wells. They seem to get on OK and he's been to a party with her so we'll see....
Then on Saturday I skipped bouldering at Alicedale, rather reluctantly (I was looking forward to it) to go to Evol's surprise party, all machinated by the Zo herself, involving an awesome chocolate cake, tons of food, and a kidnapping to get him there.
See, she got Mark, Brad and me to come down early. Then she phones Evol (who is doing maths) and invites him for ice-cream. On her. As he gets near to Allen Gray, we jump out at him (not from behind, none of us want broken limbs) and tie a scarf around his eyes. We then lead him all over the place, including through the GLT, picking him up every now and again in an attempt to confuse him.
When we got to the bot gardens, everybody got in front of him and I untied the scarf. As it fell from his eyes, everybody yelled "SURPRISE!".
As they say in the papers, "a good time was had by all".

That night we had one hell of a thunderstorm. Stu's room got soaked, luckily the hail (!) missed his laptop. I got rained on sitting about 1.5m away from the open window. One thunder crack was so loud it set off a car alarm. It was pretty cool actually. Which caused another problem I'll mention further down. (Also water related....)

What else of note... Kay and I have been going steady for 3 months on the 25. Right before Zoe and Graham's 5 month mark (26) and Tally and Leslie's 1 month mark (I think 27...). Which is all rather freaky.... Actually can't believe it's been three months. Oh wells, they were good.

On Friday I had this drinks thing at the Geology Department. Trying to convince everyone to continue with Geology 2. I'd already made up my mind. I'm doing it. Met James (honours geology student and one of the demonstrators) at the Old Gaol later and he was telling me how he has three companies after him already with jobs. I'll take it to second year at least. Will see what happens after then. It's a possible major, along with comp sci.

I've been studying this week. Had my geology prac exam today. We'll see, but I think I did OK. Next up: chem. Blegh. So over it. All I need (and want) is a pass to be frank. Got this nasty clump: 7, 8, 10 and 11 November. Not gonna be pretty.

I'm feeling reasonably confident about geology, less so about physics (but I'll get there) and totally bummed about chem. Really should have paid more attention in lectures. 20/20 hindsight I guess.

Oh wells.

Heehee. Just had Remy and Sarah come knocking for trick or treat. Had to turn them away empty-handed. I gots no treat. :( Wonder if I can dress up as myself and get some chocolate from someone.... Probably not.

Oh yes, I might be getting up to Jo'berg in December. 10 to the 17. Hope so, Tally said she might be able to organise for me to stay with her or something at Sun City. Failing that, Evol said he has some floor space I can borrow. If that also fails, I think we'll stay in Pretoria or something. I want to get to a Hinis restuarant at least once though....

On a less entertaining sidenote: we have no water. To whit:
"The University and parts of town have no water. On investigation it has been told to me that the power lines feeding the Waainek pump station are down. Municipal electricians are trying to establish the fault and effect repairs as soon as possible. We are placing water tankers around the campus to assist with toilet flushing. I have asked the Municipality to assist in this regard, however the schools also need assistance. I apologise for this inconvenience and will keep you informed of progress."

No sign of anything yet.... Gonna be ugly in a couple days if they don't get something going. [crosses fingers]

Anyway, long post, but a great deal seems to have happened.
*Aston returns to bookses*

Filk, Milkshakes and Tests

Hehe. First of all, I've been burning my quota on Filk. It's a strange genre where almost anything goes, but often has a space or fantasy theme. Of course that's a very general definition. I'll happily talk more to them as wants to know. [smile]

Meantime, try Random Factors to see some of what's available at pretty reasonable prices. (hint at mother: I'm looking into prices to ship to SA, already sent two e-mails....)
That's not everything by any means though, there is far more if you are willing to look around. Of course it's easier in the US where you can get to SF Cons....

I did pass that maths test. :) Got a decent 67% for it too. Got three tests this week though. Meh. Physics on Friday, Comp Sci and Geology on Wednesday and then a Geology prac test next week Tuesday, and Chem multiple guess next week Friday. So over tests. The exams are almost here. Why do we have to write them??

Went and had milkshakes with Kay at the Red Cafe' today. Was really cool. Also saw Lucky Number Sleven over the weekend. Stupid name, but really awesome movie.

Went to Thornies again, this time with Dale and Aiden. Had an interesting moment while traversing: looked down and saw a bolt about half a meter below my feet. Wasn't very high though. As an aside, the place was flooded. The normal puddle is totally covered over.... Can still climb though.

Otherwise, life continues as per normal.

[Aston vanishes behind cloud of ink]

Baen's Universe and other stories.

Woohoo! Just finished my maths test, went ok I think. Even if Graham didn't share his potion of intelligence with me. (Meanie!) Will have to see though.

The main reason I'm posting this is to promote Jim Baen's Universe, an online SF/Fan magazine that comes out every two months. I've attempted to ram a few stories down various friend's throats, but I thought I might as well do this too, and help the cause.

THE LINK TO CLICK!!!

If you are at Rhodes, it is possible to use their subscription to read it (contact me and I'll tell you how), if not, you'll have to wait till they introduce lower subscription rates for foreign countries, unless you can get PayPal to work.

They publish a wide variety of stuff: SF and Fantasy by established authors, a few serial stories (The Fish Stories are absolutely brilliant), a few factual articles (usually pertaining to space or science) and a column on DRM (Digital Rights Management) [for the record, they are against it].

All in all it's well worth checking out. They also pay the authors and artists well above the normal going rate so it's worth supporting them for that.

Anyway, I need to get back to my Comp Sci.

Have lovely [insert time till next post here] lifeforms, anthropomorphic manifestations or AIs.

[Aston vanishes in cloud of pixels]

The Splash Diaries

The events I am about to relate all took place in a small university town named Grahamstown in the ten days between my last letter and this one.

I seem to be posting less. I guess it's because nothing is really happening. Meh.

Monday afternoon was good: Graham, Zoe, Kay and myself went on a sort of double date. I say sort of because it was just an excuse to have some fun. Most of it at Zo's expense funnily enough....
Graham and I were almost forcibly thrown out of the Red Cafe' by Zoe. Kay wasn't impressed either. Philistines. Don't appreciate wordplay.

Incidentally, Red Cafe' make some really nice dessert shakes: Bar One, Oreo or Peppermint Crisp. *shudders in delight*

In other news, I've made it onto the RUMC commitee for next year! Very chuffed, Dale is also on the comm and also chuffed by it. I also got the award for dedication to climbing. Yay! I was the only person to have attended 100% of the internal league fixtures so am rather stoked. Speaking of climbing, I have Montagu pics....

---

o Dale sitting on the ledge we had lunch on while climbingAnother Day in Paradise. That was one awesome day: 7 pitches (individual climbs after the other) and 165m high. Was just so.... woohoo!

---

---

o One of the few pictures I have of me climbing. This was on one of our "warm-ups" to Another Day in Paradise, and was at Sloth Crag. (The name of the route eludes me) Photo credit to Dale Morris.

---

I had a geology field trip last weekend. It was fun, but I'd rather have stayed in Grahamstown. Caught up on sleep or something. Plus I wouldn't have the write-up to do. Workload is pretty hectic: three write-ups (two Geo, one Physics) due on Thursday and Friday respectively, Physics test on Friday, tut due tomorrow, Maths test next week Tuesday, normal CS prac due next Wednesday and of course the usual heap of pracs every afternoon. Work. Blegh. Gets in the way of having fun.
Meanwhile, lectures continue apace. Chem is still really boring, CS is interesting, Maths goes well, Geology is pretty cool (this stratigraphy stuff is fun) and Physics, well that hasn't gone so well recently. Managed to get 42% despite getting all eight multiple guess questions (worth 48%) wrong, so I'm pleased at that at least.

Somewhere in there I need to put together an entry for the programming competetion. Gonna try and make a binary display clock. Just need to figure out how.... Got some ideas though.

I really can't wait to have only three subjects next year. Going to be so lovely. Will still be a boatload of work, but I'll have more time to procrastinate doing it. So maybe more regular blog updates....

Completely unrelated, I'm going to try move into Piet Retief next year, since all the CB gang seem to want to move. Place won't really be the same without them so I'd rather move somewhere where I know some of the people a bit better than I do those in here.

What else is going on in Splatland? Not really much. I'm still breathing, still making puns, still having the weekly arb sessions on Thursday before maths (the whole bunch of us have a common free which is cool). Means I get another chelsea bun from the blockhouse.

Maybe I should change this blog's name to "The Splash Diaries". What do you think loyal readers? I say this because it's been raining for the last two days. The only reason I'd like to move off the hill is so that I don't have to walk in the rain as much.

I've recently discovered a band called Tunng. Really, really weird, but very cool music. Sort of folk music with electric synths in it. Try get hold of some.

Hope you like the new look by the way.

Aston out.

Ack!

Argh! Argh! I say again: Argh!

I have four tests in a week already. This time next week I will have written four tests. Painful, especially on top of tuts and pracs. Can't wait to be able to drop a couple subjects. Been thinking, I might take geology to second year, along with comp sci 2 next year while I finish MAT 1E2.
Cockamany way to set up a degree but anyway....

Holiday was good at least. Led a 21 (onsight flash *does happy dance* [means I did it without falling, but with some advice]). Dale and I also did a 165m high route. Seven pitches. That was a totally awesome day. Have a pic or two from then that I need to get from Mike and post here.
Was just a brilliant vac. Going to take a break from serious climbing for a while though, I have a suspicion that I'm going to bugger up my wrist soon.

What else is going on...?

Not much really. It's back to the daily grind of lectures and pracs. Might get to the beach on Sunday, which will be nice.

Kay seems to be feeling better. She went home in the holiday, which seems to have done some good.

Anyways, I'm sure many of you will agree, I need my beauty sleep and plenty of it *meaningful glance at Chiqua*, so I'm going to hit my lovely clean sheets now.

Aston out.

Holiday and Post 30!

Woohoo!!! Flee at rast! No more work for a week.

I'm going to Montagu! *skips around room for a minute*

*calms down* Ahem. Not too much has happened. Or rather stuff has happened but I've been too sleep deprived to write it down.

Let's see....

Mark almost fainted at the Old Gaol. Think it was the Amarula reacting with a Degoran he had taken that morning. Still not really certain though....

I passed a maths test! Woohoo!!! That's actually great news it means I can maybe get into 1E2.... hehe.

I think I placed reasonably well in the internal league. Not sure but I think I finished in the top 10 so I'm pleased.

Geology is still cool, chem is still boring the pants off me, comp sci has become a lot more comprehensible now that we have a new lecturer, physics is still the shiznizz.

Res is so empty right now. Feels really weird.... Tristan's left, Stuart has moved into digs for the vac, Geoff left this afternoon, Zoe this morning, Graham this evening, Mark, Joe and Marceleno all leave early tomorrow. Kay is still here and will be for the whole vac. Feel sorry for her. Can't find enough space in my luggage unfortunately. And to cap that off, she's sick. Hope she gets better really soon.

As for myself loyal readers, I leave tomorrow morning at 05h00. Far too early for a student, especially me. Actually, what the blazes am I still doing up? It's too late for me to think coherently enough to answer that question.

Term Summary:
Was a pretty good term: I found a girl crazy enough to like me (a future Fort England case I believe), my climbing has improved, my marks are still decent and I actually managed to find the time to finish a novel somewhere along the line....

So all in all, despite not actually knowing where all my time has gone, this term was great.

I am so keen for this holiday: a week's worth of climbing. I think I'll need another holiday after that.... Must see what I can organise....

*Aston vanishes in cloud of sparkly lights and chalk dust*

One of *those* days....

Ever had one of those days where nothing seems to go right? And ever written a test on one of those days?

At least today wasn't one of those.... *evil chuckle*

Wrote three tests today. That's right, count 'em. In order:

1. Geology (DAWNIE) was OK. Went a bit blank on the structural side of it but I should still pass.
2. Computer Science was also OK. Despite not really being sure what's going on with Java, I still seem to have gotte similar answers to the others, so I think I passed that one too.
3. MATHS *cue wailing and gnashing of teeth* Hopefully passed. Answered a lot more than in the past at east. Need to work on optimisation though, I bombed on that section a bit.

So, of three tests, I'm happy about two and think I did better than I have done in the past in the third. So it's all good.

Montagu saga: seems that we have lost all our official transport, since they need the busses on the days we need them for all the people to get to the airport and back. So we need to make a plan there. Means we might go on the train, or get a bus, or use private cars.

Dale and I practised multipitches on the climbing wall the other day. We did three pitches on a 10m high wall. Rather sad really.... Even more sad, thereare no holds on the wall for this reason:

There's a big comp on Saturday. Might take part, but with some of the best climbers in SA expected to show up, I doubt I'll place. Will have to see since Dave has said "there's a charge of R20 for entering the comp - this is to ensure that we don't get random poor people climbing :) Actually I think most of it goes to charity - basically we rob the poor to give to the poor-er :) Anyway, to cut a long story short the registration is gonna happen from 9 to 10 at the wall on Saturday... Oh ya, there's a R500009803.27 entry fee if your name is Martin."

Wonderful no? Puts me out of the running a bit. But I think I'm definitely getting better with my climbing, I managed a 100 point haul yesterday, my first. The routes were a bit easier though I think.

What else is there...? Lectures continue apace. Two more tests to go. Then vac. Woohoo!! Climbing!

Gonna miss Kay though. And all the other people. Gonna be so stuffed when I get back, I'll need a real holiday.

Ah well, physics tut calls....

Aston, out.

Hall Ball

Had our hall ball last night. Was lots of fun.

Pics:

Ashley-Kate and I.
Dale is evil. I'm sure of it....
The CB guys before the ball. (left to right) Tristan, Stuart, Joe, Geoff, me.
Geoff did take the hat off before the dance though. As usual I'm the odd one out. In fact, of the males at the ball, only one other didn't have a black jacket. Nice to be unique ne?

Not much else has been happening really. Just the usual grind: lectures, pracs etc.

Hope to get to Montague for the vac though. Climbing the whole holiday. *does tentative happy dance*

Anyway, I got works to be doings.

Aston out.

Woohoo!

I got high this last weekend! Major fun. *does happy dance*

To be a bit more serious and come off of my high, I went climbing this weekend. I managed to miss out on the whole Trivarsity malarky. Apparently we won, which I gather means that Rhodents drank more per capita than the other varsities (Nelson Mandela Metroploitan University and Fort Hare for the record). Well done guys (and gals).

*evil chuckle*

To get back to something that vaguely interests me (heehee), the climbing was fun: vertical tilted strata so it got interesting depending on which side of the rock you were on. Lead most of the climbs I did at least, which I am pleased with. I'm getting better.

I almost got benighted. *shudder* That was not cool. I was cleaning a route and it got a bit dark a bit faster than I had hoped. Needed a torch to get back to the campsite, luckily only about 20 meters away.
Then yesterday, we got chased off an interesting looking climb by a bee hive: Kev stuck his head around the corner and almost into it. We waited a bit but they weren't calming down so we abandoned three draws and admitted defeat.

On the way back a tire went flat. (Not fun.) Then we had to get the spare off the bus. (Even more not fun.) Got back a little late.

And the library has a subscription to Baens Universe! *does happy dance at the thought of short SF that I can read in a few minutes*

Anyway, I have to go. Life awaits....

Aston out.

Update time!

I haven't been giving the blogs the attenton they deserve recently. Been rather busy.

Anyway, Tri-varsity is coming up this weekend. So I'm getting out of here. Drunk students all over, too much noise.
Not my scene. So, I'm going climbing. Which will be waay more fun. And I have the whole of Friday afternoon off to do what needs to be done which is unusual.
I just hope that nothing like last year happens, apparently there were a few rapes.
Which is one of the most sick and twisted things you can do in my opinion. (That's a whole 'nother rant...)

What else has happened...?

There was a special Neko showing on Sunday in collaboration with Amnesty International to commemorate the 61st (I think) anniversay of the first nuclear weapon to be used in anger.
(Today is the anniversary of the second if memory serves.)
They showed a movie called "Grave of the Firefies".
Whoah. It was something. t's one of those movies that just its you throught sheer emotion, rather than violence and gore. If you think war is OK, watch this.
If you still think war is OK after seeing it, retire from the human race please.

I'm not getting much sleep recently, work and other stuff is keeping me up way too late. I'll have to do more when I have time, rather than letting stuff slide till evening.
Anyway, lectures go OK. Geology is really cool at the moment, so is physics and comp sci. Maths is soo much slower than when Mr Shepard was lecturing. Guess it's for the best. Chemistry I'm getting really bored with.

It's so annoying: I have never read less fiction in my lafe than I have here at Rhodes. I need to make time to read what I want to. I'll do some this evening actually. At least 1/2 an hour every day if I can manage it. Should be able to get something done in that time.

Anyway, I'd better get going, I have lectures to attend.

*Aston vanishes in flash of light

Update again!

Sorry to all the avid readers of the exciting life of Splat_Aston that this has taken so long, I've just been really busy.

I've had to drop MAT 1 due to a horrendous mark. No I'm doing MAT 1E which is the same work taken over two years. Means I need to take an extra year to finish my degree.

Oh well, there are worse places to be stuck.

Since getting here, I haven't been out much, but I did go climbing on Saturday: was totally great.
Need to do that more often.

I'm also going to see, I have been told (when I asked) that if I want to, I can get some weekend work at the physics department. It sounds tedious (correcting maximum and minimum values on ionosonde readings) but I'll get something for it, and hopefully a foot in the door. Will just need to balance time carefully.

Not too much else to say, except it's good to be back.
I've missed people here. It's really gotten to be a second home.

Apart from being short on sleep, life is very good.

Aston, out.

Something happened....

w00t!!!!one11!!!

I actually did something today. Admittedly not anything really productive, but something different:
Went to the beach.

That meant heading down to Scottburgh (about 2 hours away for them as don't know) to meet him. Had an awesome time in the waves.

Waiting for sunburn now....

Unfortunately I didn't get any photos, so you can't actually see what happened, but it was fun.
Plus one of my parental units (my mom) got to meet one of my Rhodent friends so it was good.

Anyway, I need to get some sleep, work tonight was hectic. Not much to show for it though. Grrrr....
More if something else happens, I'm hoping Mark can come visit some time at least.

Hmm....

It's not that my time has been limited, it's just that I've really done nothing.

And I mean that: I have been watching anime and poiing with little of anything else. But, on the plus side: I is getting to Durban on Friday to meet Tristan. So hopefully I'll be able to say a bit more then.

But, rest assured loyal readers (such as there are), your favourite Splat is still alive and breathing!

(So far)

Incidentally, try doing a search for paper planes on Google. Lots of fun actually....

Home!

Wow.

That took long enough.... The bus was late so I only left Grahamstown at about 11am. Instead of 9am. Wonderful start. Furthermore, we somehow managed to lose a grand total of three hours on the trip.

I got here (eShowe, for them as don't know) at half-past-two in the morning yesterday. On the bright side, I'm home.

It's good to be back, seen many of my old friends, went back to work tonight and remembered how much fun it is for me. Luckily we were busy. It was hectic, but I enjoyed it.

Now to continue making a dent in my anime list, unfortunately, I've forgotten Evangelion in my trunk, so that's a no go. Hellsing will have to do. I like it though, it's pretty cool. Lots of red though. Hehe. Guess vampires do that.

Anyway, I will be updating this, but less often. Have good day.
*Aston disappears in flash of light*

Goodbye to G-town

Well, I am out of here tomorrow morning. Intend to blow my internet cap first though (or at least make a serious dent in it)....


Another day of doing very little: packed up my room this morning, doubtless forgetting stuff, and then, after lunch: arb time!

1. went to go buy some munchies for the bus (jelly babies. mmmm)
2. trekked to FNB after the ATM swallowed Tris' card
3. waited around near the Arch for Jade and Jody.
4. went for milkshakes at Mad Hatters, which were awesome!
5. arbed around on St Peter's Lawn till 5

So it was a good day. I've unbooked supper so I am going down the hill to get an Olde's Burger. It deserves the capital letters by the way: they are really cool.

But that is for later, first, I need to say goodbye to Joe and take a shower.

My stuff is now locked in the boxroom, for better or ill. Hope I haven't forgotten anything too important. My room looks so empty without the clutter.... Will vacumn before I leave tomorrow.

Bus is going to be soo boring. Least I borrowed a book from Jody (I've finished all of mine) so I can keep partially awake. But knowing myself, I'll sleep a great deal of the way. Unless I meet someone I know. In which case I'll talk their ear off.

Then home! This time tomorrow, well, I'll still be on the bus but you get the idea.


To everyone reading this:
*listens to echoes of empty auditorium*
Have an awesome holiday, see you next term.

This will be updated, but not as often. Feel free to leave a comment to tell me what you are planning.

This is mine: extension cord, laptop, anime, music, e-books. (fill in the blanks :D )
Hope to go climbing with the Freers, depending on their plans.
Mark: I'll see you around!

Aston, over and out for semester 1!

Finished! (and post 20)

Wrote my last exam today(technically yesterday...)! I is now free!
The exuberance is not only because I'm finished, I think I did pretty well today. But we shall see. Doubtless I've made some stupid mistakes.

Free to sit in the garden and read e-books and watch anime. Yay!
Need to organise an extension cord.

I leave tomorrow. A lovely 12 hour bus trip. With another hour and a half after that. And the laptop only has a 2 hour battery life. Big whoop.

Will have to get a proper book instead. Or just sleep. I think I may do that.

Talking of books, Jim Baen, the owner of Baen Books has had a stroke. I'm hoping that he comes out of it alright: he's really trying to get good books out. And he has a very progressive e-book policy.

On that sadder note, I is outta here. I need some sleep before I tackle the ground-zero that is my room.

Yay!

I feel much better.

Tris, Geoff, Joe and I went to go play squash. So now, although I'm tired, I'm a lot less frustrated.

Tristan just did another poi show, just for Geoff and I. He got the chain wrap right. It's funny, because he can't do it with practice poi. Strange.

So, although I'm still dubious about the maths, I'm feeling way better. And I've made peace with the person I annoyed (will just have to watch my big mouth in future). *does happy dance*

Now to physics.
Yay!

What a wonderful day....

Not.

I think I did OK in the maths test but am not sure. Will have to wait and see.
My fears about intergration were fully justified but I think the limits and differentiation went alright.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, I managed to offend someone I would much rather be friends with.

All in all, a lovely day.
Going to play squash this evening so hopefully I can get some aggression out.

I need to do something physical again, but running is not going to be it.
Squash is good, climbing would be better but that's a no-go. Pity.

One more exam to go though! Monday evening all shall be right with the world. I hope.
That's if I manage to get through the weekend without alienating anyone else.
*curses big mouth

Baa! Baa!

Feel pity for the poor little Martin lamb.

Having to walk unprotected into a lair of vicious derivatives, integrals and functions early tomorrow.

See? I at least know what's going to slaughter me.... But that's no real comfort.

Maths tends to lurk: it hides and I'm fine. The day before the paper, I freak. I feel I know nothing. And that isn't an over-exagerration. Much. I feel I know less than any έ such that έ>0 .
Ack! Get out of my mind!

All I'm looking for (and wanting) is a pass. We shall see what the morrow brings.
Death and suffering and mass gnashing of teeth I expect.

And mutter: I couldn't sleep, so that's what I'm doing up so late.

I found something to make me feel better: Maths jokes 1, Maths jokes 2 and Maths jokes 3. Now some of these will be duplicates, but that's how mathematicians work it seems.

Anyway, I'm feeling a bit more relaxed. I'm just hoping I do OK tomorrow.
As long as I can get into the second semester and still be in MAT 1, I'm happy.

-_- zzzzzzzzzz

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That isn't overkill either.
I write maths in less than 24 hours.

On the plus side I managed to get this working in a break just now....

Now for lunch then back to the panicing....
Does anyone know of a nice tall building with spikes at its base?

2 to go!

Another one bites the dust!
Ah... Queen. Brilliant stuff.

I'm in a really good mood: EAR 101 went ok. Rowntree's essay topics were bad but the rest went fine. I think. We'll see.

2 papers to go.
Saturday (Maths. *looks for long rope)
Monday (Physics. *searches for fireworks)
Then home on Wednesday!

If anyone wants to bomb the plane I'm one, they are out of luck: I'm taking the bus.

Anyway, going to go wish Stuart goodbye, he's leaving tomorrow and then back to the books.

The final countdown....

This time next week I'll be at home!
I'll miss the people here, but I need a break.

Holiday plans: Get an extension cord and sit in the garden (so that itchy blister can't moan I don't get any sun...) and either watch anime or read e-books.

I hope to visit Paddy too but I'll have to see when/if that happens.

The final part of the countdown?
Maths on Saturday at 8:30.

I want to CLIMB! But the wall is closed.
And look at it:

It be soo beautiful.... I can't wait to climb again....
Now I'm scaring myself. I need a girlfriend.

Now: poi till lunch then write EAR 101 theory paper at 14:00.
*dashes off

Fun website....

You may (or may not) know that I like SF a great deal.
The other day, I stumbled upon a simply lovely site: Project Rho
This is a site that includes (among other things) a guide to how to go about building an "atomic rocket". It's actually a fairly well researched bit.
Strongly suggest that anyone with a vague interest in space travel should have a look at it.

I've also found a new language I want to learn: lojban. Should be amusing....

MApSoc the other day was fun: afterwards we went out to see Tristan poi again. No photos unfortunately. :*(
Then a bunch of us just arbed around in the carpark outside Kimberley Hall for an hour or so. Lots of fun.

Anyway, I must be off: the maths book is calling to me again.
Of course I can't actually reach it, but I can get as close as I please....
It's evil I tell you. It's invading my MIND!
*runs away

Eish....

Well I had a wonderfully unproductive Saturday.
Which isn't overly good....

Played squash from 2 till just after three then wlked to P 'n P to get something to drink, then started trekking up and ran into some people so we stopped to talk. That meant we got back up the hill in time for supper.

Anyway....
I had a good day. Need to do some more maths after this though.

Unfortunately, I have no sound on my computer. I haven't got the foggiest idea why. It's really annoying because I've got more flexibility over what plays on the computer.
I will survive though.

Now to work, there's a MApSoc meeting tonight I think....

ProcSoc News

It's amazing really.

Around exam time all those little things become very important:
Cleaning your room, visiting friends to help clean theirs....
Vacumning the floor, cleaning the basin, sorting socks by colour....
Deciding which shirt to wear on which day for the next couple weeks, making sure they fit....
Fixing a broken ruler/protractor, buying pencils....
Deciding to have a cup of tea, realising you have no biscuits so going to but some more....
Washing both sides of your windows, choosing which pen to write your notes in....

Really unusual.
Everyone seems to be affected by this strange malaise. Must be a bug going around.

Just a thought....

The wonders of language....

Got an SMS from my mom.
Seems amusing that my language with a cellphone is better than hers. Guess predictive text helps somewhat.

It's actually quite interesting how language changes. To that end, I would suggest a visit here: World Wide Words
A very interesting site run by one of the gentelemen doing research for the Oxford English Dictionary.

My sister got a gold for her ballet thingy. Which means I am pleased too.

Anyway, pizza awaits!
*attempts to dash off on surface rendered fritionless by drool

Maths is Evil: Proof Found

I've found proof that Maths is evil.
See the hand?

*returns to studies

Another one bites the dust.....

Wrote exam no.2 today: Physics Practical Paper.

Went alright I think. I know I stuffed up a couple questions and ran out of time on a couple more but the rest went ok. I think.

Have to wait and see....

Good news:
Lucy made a hand for me....
Going to take it home in the vac and gore it up and then find somewhere on the climbing wall to put it next term.... Should give a few people a fright. *evil grin*

Anyway, time to hit the books again, there's another exam tomorrow and some right evil person has decided I need to write it first thing in the morning....
8:30 am. Least I have the afternoon to myself.
*sighs*

More Fire!!!

Hello again....
It's a bit late so this is going to be fast. Just a pic or two of Tris poiing that I promised....




Doing a funky looking buzzsaw while leaning backwards.
(He doesn't like his "beard" any way....)









Got no real idea what this is, just looks so cool.





I can tell you that there are a couple corkscrews in there at least....

One more thing that may or may not be rather amusing: The Physical Laws of Anime

Got another exam tomorrow.
Pfooie.

Splat is gone.
*big flash of light*

Fire!!!

Just had to say that. Tristan decided to poi tonight, so a group of us trooped down to Kimberley Hall.

Ok, so trooped is a bit strong. We walked the about 60m to Kimberley Hall and Tristan did some pretty good poi. We did have to wait for the Greyhound bus to leave though.

After the show, a car rocks up with people looking for the bus.... Typical, isn't it? (That's another story for when I want a good rant....)
Anyway, I invited them to come watch, since Tris was going to do another show.

Turns out that these guys also poi. They were fan-bloody-tastic. I'm not saying they put Tris to shame but they were really very good.

Adrian took some pics so I'll do another pics spread (like with the Spur night) at some stage soon. If I get the photos off him that is....

Anyway, back to the books.
Ciao from Splat Aston

Spur pics....

Got a couple photos from last night....

Me eating pudding. This photo was taken by Geoff.
Him and Tris were going nuts with the camera.
Darn camera freaks...


















v The camera freak no. 1: Mr. Geoff Wakefield.













Stuart (left) and Joe (middle) being ignored by me for some reason.













v El Tristano: totally nuts but an interesting guy.... (camera freak no. 2)


















If I haven't said it before, I'm saying it now. This was an awesome evening.
Good food and some really great company.

Just gotten back from watching Back to the Future III. A very groovy movie....
Definitely try watch the trilogy: they are great. Quite funny too.

Gotta get some sheet time, so the Splat is outta here....

Fun night....

To make up for missing any sort of celebration last night (Friday), a whole bunch of us went down to Spur for supper.

It was fun, especially a half-drunk Nick waxing lyrical about the pros and cons of dagga, whether or not religion is worth anything and whether its better than science or not.

Most thought provoking comment was this one about dagga:

Don't smoke dagga if you aren't happy with your life.

Makes sense I guess: if you aren't happy and the weed makes you feel better, then you'll want to smoke more to feel better. If you're happy, then you won't need to feel happier due to dagga and so won't want to try again if you don't want to.

Worth thinking about? Maybe. I still am against it but it was amusing to see some very good points made in favour of it.

Conversation in general was interesting, even if Tris keeps teasing me about being from eShowe....

Finished off with a movie in Tristan's room. Need to do some maths later today.

Anime now though, then sleepies.

1 down, 7 to go!

Wrote my first exam today. Earth Science practical paper.

Should have passed without too much trouble. But I'm hesitant to say anything concrete.
Need to do some work for the next one so I'm heading out to print some practicals out.

7 to go!
Life is good....

Can't wait to go home though. Miss people. I will hopefully get som photos on here at some stage so you can see the crazy building I live in and my crazy-ish self as well.

Shouldn't crack too many monitors....

Cheers for now!

Last lectures....

I can hear a fire alarm. Nasty subwardens somewhere....

Especially on the last day of lectures!
*does happy dance*

I fail to see why people don't go to lectures: I know people who haven't attended a single lecture in some subjects. How they intend to pass is beyond me....

I'm fairly pleased with myself: I've only missed two maths lectures, and now three comp sci ones. I am skipping the compsci ones on purpose, the maths were involuntary.
This new compsci section is sooo boring. Almost as bad as the intro to info sys we had earlier, but even less interesting to me...

I had a look at the timetable checker, I can do philosphy 2 next year. I might go to some of the lectures at least.
Gotta get there first and that means I need to do some work: first exam is tomorrow.

ON A SATURDAY!
That means I can't go out tonight....
*grrrrr*

We're (bunch of friends) going to Spur tomorrow night though so all is well in Splatland.

Anyway, I'd better get to some lectures. Don't feel like missing them.
Cheers.

A new power is rising....

That would crack up one of my friends at least.

This is the first post to my shiny new blog.
Background info:
Name: 'Aston' Martin Bentley
Age: 19 and 10 days.
Place: Rhodes University, Grahamstown

I am currently reading a BSc degree at Rhodes University. Subjects are: Maths, Physics, Comp Sci, Earth Science and Chemistry.
Workload>Martin's Brain Capacity

Not too much to say, except that I write my first exam on Saturday. Earth Science practical.

This will likely not be too interesting to most, but I hope to have a couple gems in here at some stage....