Science Demands Your Vote!

Please go to the Science for a succesul Ireland website, watch the three videos and vote for the one you think is best. Personally I think this is video B and I'm not at all biased by the fact that Suzanne is my friend...

A warning update!

Contrary to my most recent post I would now advise that the book 'The Phd Process' be read ONLY before starting a phd. Under no circumstances should this book be read during a particular tough part of one's phd adventure. Unless you wish to be filled with dread, depression and self-loathing. Consider yourselves warned.

Recently Read Pop-Sci (Math)

'Mathematics: A very short introduction' by Timothy Gowers
'Letters to a young mathematician' by Ian Stewart
'A mathematician's apology' by G.H. Hardy with foreword by J.P. Snow (brilliant!)
Currently reading the 'further reading' sections of these books.

Also reading 'The Ph.D. Process: A student's guide to Graduate school in the sciences'. Heavily lab-science based but still has some interesting and noteworthy ideas. Everyone should read this before they graduate if they're even considering a postgraduate degree in the sciences.

Serenity Characters :)

Your results:
You are Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic)

Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 100% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 85% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 85% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 65% River (Stowaway) 60% Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 55% Wash (Ship Pilot) 50% Inara Serra (Companion) 40% Alliance 40% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 20% A Reaver (Cannibal) 20%

You are good at fixing things. You are usually cheerful. You appreciate being treated with delicacy and specialness.

Click here to take the "Which Serenity character am I?" quiz...

Joss Whedon strikes again.

Please take 30 mins of your day to enjoy the delights of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. You will then find yourself inexorably impatient for the next act. For your convenience there is currently Act I and Act II provided.

Subtraction

Subtraction

A cute little comic from one of may favourites.

Frustration

It looks like most of the work I've been doing for the past while on weights over Frobenius rings has already been done/published by someone else in a series of 3 papers. He went about it a different way and the three papers overlap heavily, it's hard telling which order they were written in, so hopefully the alternate approach will still be worth something. Probably not. It's difficult even figuring out exactly what he has proved and where it leaves me.

A beautiful picture I wanted to share

http://lensphotoblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/evening-drama.html

Amazing landscape!

Fire of Heaven

The Fire of Heaven Trilogy by Russell Kirkpatrick consists of:

• Across the Face of the World (2005)
• In the Earth Abides the Flame (2005)
• The Right Hand of God (2006)

Personally I found them very enjoyable, although the final book wasn't quite as engaging perhaps as the first two. A highly addictive series, prepare to be reading through the night. A truely epic tale and many elements were left to the reader to decide: characters' motivation for actions and the consequences of certain events being the primary of these. I felt the ending was a little rushed with many strings left untied. Perhaps this was intentional. All in all it's a great read and will be staying on my shelf to read again and lend to others.