Chris's Scotland Diary

2009-03-26T17:12:00.001Z

I sometimes wonder about atheist and the fact that their mechanical universe just doesn't exist.

2009-03-03T22:55:00.002Z

I sometimes look at the titles of other Humanities scholar's work, for instance, "A Semiotic Analysis of the Short Stories of Leonid Andreev" by Stephen Hutchings (see here) and I wonder where it all went wrong. I wonder why some people's titles are just grander than mine, "The Literary Career of Fíthal". It always gives the impression that they do more important work than I do.

2009-03-01T17:19:00.000Z

Academics is a writing business. I suck at writing. Therefore, I should have stayed away from Academia. That is all.

2008-12-27T23:14:00.002Z

My birthday was rather exciting. I was having a small gathering of friends when a friend who was arriving told me that there was a fire in the stairwell. So, thinking "WTF?" I buzzed her in and took a look down the staircase to see an actual fire. So, I called the fire brigade and everyone got out of the flat. As it was a small fire, we were able to go past it on the way out the door. So, the fire brigade showed up and took care of the fire (thanks!). The police also came and we talked to them for a bit and gave details. I am just happy that it was something minor and everyone was safe. I do not understand the motivation for starting a fire in someone's stair well. I hope the police catch them and soon before they try it again.

2008-12-19T22:52:00.002Z

My absolute favorite Indian restaurant in Edinburgh has burned to the ground in the middle of Old Town. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooo! The article says that there were no injuries. I can only hope that the family who owns it will pull through this exceptionally trying time.

2008-12-17T17:03:00.002Z

Well, I finally broke down and signed up for Facebook. Within a few minutes, I was inundated by friends sending me stuff and I was completely overwhelmed because I was just trying to figure out the interface. After a couple of days, I have settled in and everything has calmed down. However, I still feel like I have joined the Borg Hive-Mind except everyone is being silly.

Otherwise, the holidays are upon us. I helped a friend put up a tree at their place and had some more mulled wine at the Edinburgh Christmas Market. It has not snowed yet and probably will not but now that I do not have to drive everywhere, I want to see snow and I would love to get some pictures of Edinburgh in the snow like in some of the old photographs that I have seen.

2008-12-13T11:49:00.002Z

How does a 300+ year old bank bite the dust so quickly?

2008-12-12T15:12:00.002Z

I have just re-submitted my thesis to the college office. Then I went over to the Celtic Library to look at it one more time and lo and behold there was a sentence that I had forgotten to take out (it was in the chapter twice, once in the text and once in the notes to the edition). Anyway, I had to run across the square and score it out with a black pen. What FUN! Anyway, knowing my luck. I will fail. I already feel like I had failed and the failure to come will only confirm the fact.

2008-12-04T19:23:00.001Z

You know, I should have come to the UK in the 19th Century.

2008-12-02T08:58:00.001Z

The BBC weather applet on their website is forecasting heavy snow for Thursday. It has been freezing for days now (-6C two days ago). I have a feeling that this is going to be wild winter in Scotland this year.

2008-11-22T12:16:00.001Z

On my way home from seeing the new James Bond film, I discovered that it was snowing. It does not usually snow this time of year in Edinburgh. In fact, it has not snowed very much at all while I have been here. However, this year seems to be different. If it snows enough, I will get some pictures and put them on flickr.

2008-11-16T00:32:00.002Z

I was thinking that I should put something more substantial on this blog. Sorry that I have been out of place. The corrections on my PhD were taking a good portion of my time.

Anyway, last Saturday a friend of mine gave me a call and said that she needed to go to Stranraer in Aryshire. I had never been out there so I said that I would. She does translation for the government and they had asked her to go out there. In any case, it takes quite some time to get there by car via the motorways. We left at 7am and made our way out of Edinburgh then through Glasgow. We had to make a pitstop so we stopped at Kilmarnok. While I was making my own pitstop, she got a phone call that said that they did not need her services, which left us in Kilmarnok with nothing to do. So we pulled out the Rough Guide to Scotland. When looking up Kilmarnok, it said that it was a "shabby industrial town" with not much to do. I have to say after seeing the town myself, it is a very nice wee town and in no way "shabby" or particularly "industrial".

In any case, we decided that we would drive across Lanarkshire and the Borders back to Edinburgh. We had meant to stop in Lanark but we basically missed it as it is the size of a postage stamp. It was a great drive, however. The hills were beautiful in their fall colors and the road wound its way across the countryside. I would highly recommend taking the A roads across there if you ever have the chance. I had meant to take photos while I was in Ayrshire but I did not get the chance.

It was an enjoyable morning. I hope to get out that way again sometime.

2008-11-11T12:42:00.002Z

This is why I hate modern art. "Big spatial concerns" my ass. The man was an idiot.

2008-11-06T14:05:00.000Z

Your thought for the day: "America was invented by Europe".

2008-11-04T21:13:00.002Z

Do you want to know why I vote? I vote because when I was a kid, my mom would take me with her to vote at the local volunteer fire station. In there I was given a ballot to vote on the mayor of sesame street. When I was done, it was put in the box with my mother's vote, just like everyone else then I was given a cookie. I vote FOR THAT COOKIE. Mmmmmm...cookie.

2008-11-03T23:20:00.002Z

I do not generally put up IM conversation logs on here but I thought this was funny and fairly universal.

me: I have an ad that says "WIN A GREEN CARD TODAY!!!"

my brother: nice, you should get one just in case you lose your citizenship here.

me: and how would that happen?

my brother: you know, misplace it, lock it in the car, something like that..Lose it down the sink drain, flush it down the toilet, or maybe even drink it by accident..

And that folks is your ex-pat joke of the day.

2008-11-01T10:56:00.000Z

Yes it really is that bloody cold out.

2008-10-25T11:42:00.003+01:00

What I am about to write is based purely on my own opinion. Take it as such as it may or may not be based on actual reality. If you do not agree with me, good for you.

I have had a long running argument concerning the effectiveness of academic conferences with two friends of mine. Since my master's degree year, avoided academic conferences and I have, in the end, eschewed almost all academic gatherings of any sort. I have a variety of motives for this (I cannot call them reasons because there is no rationality behind them). In my discussions with my friends, I have almost always stuck to the line that because you cannot cite a conversation at a conference in a printed paper (strictly, you can but you should not be allowed to do so as there is now way to validate the statement) and as printed papers are the gold standard of academic employment, conferences do nothing for you in any sense. Another motive is the fact that they are "networking events" where you attempt to interact with potential employers so you can tilt any potential interview with them in your favor. Well, I have a very bad habit of saying the exact wrong thing at the exact wrong time. Thus, it would not be in my best interest to destroy my chances at employment by opening my mouth before I have had a long time to think about how I will approach the person. Last, but not least, is the fact that they are often used as excuses to run up expense accounts at universities and get a free vacation in some exotic location where you never actually attend the conference anyway because you are on the beach or doing tourist stuff.

While those three explanations have served me fairly well in the past. I have deeply thought about why it is that I avoid academic conferences and why I have dedicated such effort to avoiding them. I think I have finally understood it. To wit, I have absolutely no confidence in any thing that I might have to say in regards to my field of study. You would think that after finishing or even starting an advanced degree that I would feel that I have something to contribute to my chosen field. However, in my case, the exact opposite is true. For every year that I have spent in my field, I feel decreasing confidence in my abilities in it. In addition, I have the distinct sense that this decreasing confidence is what impaired my PhD in its written form (a topic to which I will return in a later post).

The next logical question ask is why have I lost confidence in my field of study? The answer to this lies in my confidence in my profession, computer programming. The fundamental difference is the absolute fact that if you do something in computer programming, you can prove the fact by showing the code. If I say: "I wrote a program that does something", I can prove the fact by running the program and showing the code. The exact opposite is true in my field. In my field, if I say: "I have proved something", someone will read my paper and then argue with me over it. There is no standard of proof. In the end, you cannot prove anything at all because someone will always have a different opinion.

There are a few subsidiary points that reinforce my view. First, I have had a number of poor experiences at academic conferences. This tilts my view. I do not want to go where I am unwelcome and unwanted. On the other hand, my points of contact with the academic side of computer programming at my university have been universally positive and instructive. Second, the first time I attempted to present something about my field at my university, I was attacked straight away. Talking to the person after the fact, they said that it was "what will happen at conferences" and, in fact, a short time later, I saw that in person. You cannot force yourself to do something in which you have had multiple poor experiences. Also, I cannot tolerate some of the thuggish behavior that I have witnessed at academic conferences.

To conclude, I have no confidence in my knowledge of my subject which leads me to feel that I have nothing of value to contribute to it. This lack of confidence causes me to avoid interaction with others in my field and thus I do not go to academic conferences and gatherings. Thuggish behavior, unwelcoming people, and my more positive interactions in other fields of endeavor cause me to wonder if I went into the wrong discipline and also avoid interaction with others in my own field.

2008-10-22T10:08:00.001+01:00

Wow, the pound is now 1.62 dollars. I have not seen it this low in a long time. Although, it is not as low as the 1.42 dollars that I had seen when I was here in 2001.

2008-10-19T11:41:00.002+01:00

Well, the economy in the UK is now set for deflation according to the Daily Telegraph. This could be between two and three percent in the Retail Price Index. Now, there is one good thing about this. At least the price of a pint of Guinness will be below three quid. Although, I have the feeling that beer prices like petrol prices will take their time to fall rather than rushing to rise.

2008-10-13T21:48:00.001+01:00

There is one thing I would like to say about the government buying the banks. I will never ever see a dividend check for my "investment". The abstract "taxpayer" will but I personally never will. I want one even if it takes more to cut the check than the amount on it. At least then, I will have something for my "purchase".

2008-10-12T23:34:00.003+01:00

According to the Times of London, the Royal Bank of Scotland and, my bank, Halifax Bank of Scotland will be bought by the UK Government come Monday morning. I have this rather affable, friendly teller that I talk to about stuff while I am doing my transactions and I will have to ask him how it feels to be a civil servant now (I first teased him about the Lloyd TSB take-over so this should be a blast).

Otherwise, not much news to report. My paperwork for my PhD was supposed to have been dealt with on the 7th and I am now just waiting to hear about that. I had more corrects this weekend but I am done with those now and I am just waiting for more. I am becoming more and more worried if I will make the deadline for the December graduation. I will keep you all posted.

2008-10-10T20:06:00.000+01:00

We NEED FDR.

2008-10-09T16:18:00.003+01:00

Here is an American woman commenting on British (read English) drinking habits (read problem). I have to say that I am often called pejorative names because I can't drink all that much nor do I drink to complete insensibility (although, I have on occasion). I do have a question though: is it really a problem? They have been doing this since before my parents lived in the UK (they have more than a few stories to tell. Mostly, about swimming in the North Sea at night). Most Europeans have a very similar attitude towards drinking. As I come from the States, I can sometimes get uncomfortable with it and triply so with the drunk freshmen outside my window at night. However, they seem to function and in any case, Franklin once said, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

2008-10-07T15:55:00.003+01:00

Iceland's banks are going bust and I have a friend over there just now. She emailed me to say that she is starting to stock up on food in case something more dire happens. The country does not have enough foreign currency to buy food so supermarkets are bare. It is looking particularly bad. I wish her all the best for the future.

Anyway, I have found an interesting gold and silver dealer on the net. They are called Gold Money. What makes them so appealing is that you can buy gold and silver by the gram and they store it in your name in either London or Zürich. Also, they are insured by Lloyd's of London, which means they are very safe. You can actually take possession of your gold or silver if you ask but they only deal in 400 oz gold bars or 1000 oz silver bars (those are London Bullion Merchant standard bars). There is also a slight management fee (1% for silver per year) but this is negligible than having to pay to have them stored yourself. One last thing is that you can buy the gold or silver for nearly spot price which takes away the premium that you can end up paying for smaller bars or coin.

Yeah, I know, I am insane but I am seriously considering diversifying into this. I doubt that I will ever have enough to have the bars delivered but it gives you the satisfaction of knowing that your savings will never be completely worthless.

2008-10-05T16:48:00.002+01:00

With the economy in such a state these days, there is what the Times of London calls the flight to safety so where are Britons putting their cash? They are putting it in premium bonds. What are those, you say? Well, the National Lottery only started in the 1990's in the UK. So, how did Britons do one of the things they love to do, namely gamble? Well, you can gamble on the ponies (my mother did when she lived here) but you can also buy Premium Bonds. These bonds do not give a yield but they give you the chance in a monthly lottery based on your bond number. You can win between £50 and £1,000,000. Now, the current odds of winning is 1:22,000 so basically you get something like, according to the Times, 3.8 percent.

I find this one of the most bizarre ways of running a lottery. However, it has proved so popular that, according to the wikipedia article above, one-third of people in the UK own some (you have to have 100 after that you can buy them ten at a time). I was talking to my flatmate about it and he was telling me that Premium Bonds are given as gifts like at births and stuff. In any case, still very strange.

So, while I was looking into Premium Bonds to find out more about them, I discovered that the UK government actually runs a bank. Now, in the States you can buy Savings Bonds from the US Treasury at Treasury Direct but in the UK you can get a bunch of different banking options at National Savings and Investments. I had talked about the Savings Bonds scheme to a bunch of people here but no one knew what I was talking about. One of the pit falls of living here is that all the financial language is similar but completely different at the same time. So, now that my bank is one of the "walking dead", I am seriously considering moving some of my money to the National Savings and Investments (the good thing about it is that it is 100% backed by the government).

One last note before I let you go. If you want to read some about the credit crunch in the UK from someone over here, you can read UK Bubble Blog but I should warn you that sometimes it seems like the author is hyperventilating a bit (but like I can talk, given my earlier rantings about going to gold).

2008-10-04T20:05:00.002+01:00

Did you know that my home state of Washington has a giant salamander that, when threatened, barks like a dog? No, neither did I. For other strange creatures of the Pacific Northwest, see the Geoduck.

2008-10-03T20:33:00.004+01:00

They passed the $700 billion bill to nowhere. I wonder if we will see hyperinflation or deflation. My flatmate keeps saying "life will go on" but I just wonder how painful that life is going to be. I have a mass of student loan debt that needs to be paid off so this is rather important.

Update: and after they passed the bill to nowhere, the Dow tanks by 156.51 points. Way to go Congress!!!

2008-09-30T11:40:00.002+01:00

Let me tell you something about economics: just because it can be counted does not mean that it is mathematics.

2008-09-29T20:24:00.002+01:00

I guess Peggy cannot go to the pub in the Scottish Borders anymore. Or, as Fark puts it, "It's not news; it's the BBC!"

2008-09-29T16:41:00.002+01:00

Well, there has been some kind of screw up with the paperwork for my PhD. A friend of mine who did his viva after mine got his corrections letter from the post-graduate committee on Friday. I decided to wait to see if mine was just lost in the post. After the post arrived without it this morning, I went over to the post-grad office to see what was up. Of course, the person who I needed to see was not there so I left my email address for her to get back to me. She did, which I was surprised at, and I got some bad news. It seems that there was some question with my paperwork for my examination which they had to get clarification about. They just received the clarification today so I am scheduled for the next meeting on October 7. This probably means that I will not be graduating in December. I do not know that for certain yet but I will find out tomorrow afternoon. Given the complete meltdown that begun with my viva, I am not confident that I will even get my PhD at this point. I sent an email to my supervisor with the response from the post-grad office and I will see what he says. I will let everyone know if something goes horribly wrong (given the way things have been going for me lately, that is a distinct possibility).

2008-09-28T15:07:00.003+01:00

Well, I finally wrote to my Senators about my displeasure over the finanical meltdown. Other than just whining I also gave five specific things that need to be done in the States for the future:

Ban all derivatives.
Ban Credit Default Swaps and Collateralized Debt Obligation.
Create a "Financial Security Authority" which will approve any and all new "innovative" financial products with an eye towards the systemic risk of the new product.
Ban leverage for any bank over 10 to 1. The new "Financial Security Authority" will have to approve any bank for leverage over 5 to 1.
A return to the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933.

I think that a bunch of people will need to go to jail also as a warning to Wall St. about the consequences of failure.

2008-09-25T15:09:00.003+01:00

Ah, yes, living in a nation of just over five million (a million less than the state that I come from) means that sometimes the newspapers need to dig for stories and when they do not have any, they write about Missy, the kamikaze kitten.

2008-09-24T21:24:00.002+01:00

I have had my current posts about buying gold rather than give it to those people, if you can call them such, in Wall St., cranky and one of my flatmates called me a "fearmonger", which in British English is a pretty serious charge. I will admit to being cranky, but when you government wants a $700 Billion dollar blank check, I think you can be a little cranky. Now, a fearmonger I am not but I am plenty afraid of what is going on in government and in the market. I oppose a $700 BILLON dollar bailout for those who made bad loans. On the other hand, if we do not do anything, it would be very bad. The problem, and it is a problem for most things in our lives, is striking the correct balance between punishing those who made bad loans and helping to support those who accepted those loans. There will be pain on both sides as the coming deflation (or will it be hyperinflation?) beats some people into the ground.

On the other hand, I would still recommend having some gold and silver coin in a safe deposit box or in a safe location. It is basically a hedge against something going really really wrong. I will probably be doing that but I am waiting to see what happens in the gold and silver markets. In the next couple of weeks, we should know if there will be a bailout and if it will work or not. The reaction of the markets will be interesting.

In any case, these are very uncertain times and I can only hope that it will be ok but my nature does not really allow me to ever thing everything is alright.

2008-09-21T16:33:00.004+01:00

As many of you have already figured out by now, the American economy has now gone down the toilet. I am, as many are, very angry about this and I am now extremely distrustful of the entire banking system. It seems that they, the bankers, are always engineering ways of parting us from our cash in more and more frightening and obvious ways while the politicians and "bank regulators" hush us to sleep with their crafty lies. I have completely lost trust in the current financial system.

As a consequence of this, I am very much thinking about starting to buy gold and silver coins. Some of my friends and family have warned me not to do this or have said that "there is nothing to worry about; the FDIC will fix it". However, buying precious metals are the only way of taking your wealth out of the system where those grubby little liars cannot get at it. Gold and silver, while they fluctuate, never actually use their value. In the case of a complete collapse of the system, you can still trade it for goods and services. One of my main objectives in doing this is to take my economic ball and go home. I am sick and tired of their outright lies and their twisting of the truth such that they (the bankers and politicians) always get richer and we (the common person) always get poorer.

I encourage everyone to do this. If done on a massive scale, this will force them to negotiate with the common man in a fair and equitable way. Basically, to entice us back into their system, they would have to make massive concessions in the way that banking and investing is done such that we are enriched by it rather than bankers and their political cronies.

I think, in a way, this is caused by too many years playing D&D where everything is denominated in gold, silver, and copper pieces and too many Old Irish tales where almost everything is traded either in livestock or gold and silver. So, yeah, I might loose my shirt, as my brother recently told me but I can with this make a statement about how much I trust the bankers and their economic theory tripe.

2008-09-21T12:39:00.003+01:00

The Bank of Scotland (my bank) nearly went under on Tuesday and was sold to Lloyds TSB, which is an English bank, for a pittance. Here is an eloquent eulogy for the only bank in Scotland that was founded by the pre-1707 Scottish Parliament. I am now in the market for a new UK bank. Suggestions are welcome in the comments.

2008-08-30T12:47:00.001+01:00

I regret ever having done my Ph.D. That is all.

2008-08-16T00:57:00.002+01:00

As I think I have mentioned before but needs to be restated, Nils Olav, a resident penguin of Edinburgh Zoo, was knighted by the King of Norway today.

2008-07-30T04:49:00.003+01:00

I passed my defense and I will obtain my PhD. However, there were so many mechanical mistakes in the thesis itself even after two other people had looked at it that they gave me 12 months to correct it in. This is rather a hard wake-up call as to whether I really want to continue in scholarship. At this point in time, I am very seriously considering a career change back to the IT industry whence I came. I have, in my own eyes, failed in my attempt and no sugar coating will help make it any better than what it is. I turned in a very flawed piece of work and I deserved what I received in return. I have always said that writing was my weakest area and I never tried to cover up the fact. Now, it has seriously bitten me and I do not think that I will be able to make it better in the future. There are far better scholars than myself in my own department who will be able to do justice to Early Irish literature and I will commend it to them to do so. I will finish what I started and obtain my ultimate prize but I will go no farther.

Some have already accused me of having my ego bruised and that I am running away from it. While I am sure that this is a part of what is occurring, my thesis was flawed at such a basic level that most of the defense was my external examiner going point by point through the problems. When this happens, there comes a time when one must face the fact that, no matter how good your arguments may be, the execution was so poor that it does not rise to the level of the thing you are attempting to achieve.

I started this with such hope that I could achieve what I wished. As the saying goes, however, if I cannot be an example to others, I serve as a warning to them. A scholar's life is not for everyone and I think, after this experience, certainly not for me.

2008-07-20T15:42:00.003+01:00

The final hurdle has come. My thesis defense is set for the 29th of July at 4:30 pm BST. I have re-read my thesis and spotted some typos and I am pretty well convinced that I am the suckiest writer to ever gracelessly cross the path of the English language but here we are. The last station before I get off this crazy ride. I can only hope that I can find an academic job soon. My best bet right now is the Informatics Department here. It is either that or go back to private industry for a few years while I apply elsewhere.

Otherwise, I am just working on my preparations for my defense and waiting.

2008-07-12T12:06:00.002+01:00

I learned a couple of things on Friday afternoon and evening. First, a friend of mine plays competition croquet. Yes, you read that correctly, competition croquet. There is a croquet center on the west side of the meadows to which I had never paid very much attention until yesterday. Now, there are two forms of the game. Croquet Golf, which is pretty easy to play and, while different that what you might play in the states, pretty much action oriented. Then there is Association Croquet, which is a mind frying version and takes hours to play. For instance, I played the Golf version first then decided to play the Association game. Some other people decided to play the Golf version and while we were still on our second hoop, they had finished three games of Golf. It was an enjoyable evening by all, however and I might take up the Golf version of the game.

I have taken a couple of things in about the English and their games while learning croquet and cricket. They are complicated and slow games which take hours and hours to play (in the case of cricket, days). Probably because the idea is (as explained by a friend of mine while we were at the croquet club) to have as much Pimms as possible and sit out in the sun doing not much of anything. A quote: "Damn! It's my turn again, old chap!?"

After the croquet, we decided to have a pint at Cloisters which is a pub nearby then to a nearby Indian restaurant. In this restaurant, we found a large number of men at a table and one of them in a dress looking very uncomfortable. This is when I found out that it was a stag night and the guy in the dress was getting married. Now, I have never run into this particular tradition and honestly it seems a bit silly to me but that is probably the point. In any case, we had a long discussion of this particular tradition and what it really boils down to is making the groom as uncomfortable as possible then getting him (and everyone else) roaring drunk.

Otherwise, a good night all around.

2008-07-06T18:18:00.002+01:00

Well, my thesis defense is now set for the 29th of July. I have no word on what the time on that day will be just yet but probably in the morning sometime. I would rather get it over with as quickly as possible on the day.

Anyway, I did not get the job in Ireland like I wanted, which means that I will be in Scotland for the foreseeable future. I do not see myself returning to the US anytime soon. I have created a life for myself here in Edinburgh and I want to stay close to where I see the action happening. My degree is about the people of the Western edge of Europe and I would like to stay as close as possible to them. This is also in part a political decision as well. As much as I like the current presidential candidate, I have lost confidence in the American system of government and the direction that America is taking in the world. Also, I feel, in many ways, more comfortable here than I ever did in the US. I will probably go back as I have a few personal things to which I need to attend but otherwise I see my future here in Scotland or, in more general terms, Western Europe.

2008-07-06T11:53:00.003+01:00

And he inexplicably returns! I have just confirmed that the date for my oral defense of my PhD thesis (known in the UK as the 'viva') is scheduled for the 29th of July so not many days now. My journey is almost over.

2008-05-18T18:16:00.002+01:00

I know it has almost been a month since I last wrote here and I am sure that most people who did read this blog are probably long gone. Well, the reason that I have been away so long is that not much is going on really. I took the part-time job and waited for my viva. That has changed a bit now, I have an invitation to interview at an University in Ireland. So, in two weeks time I will be in Ireland again to do another interview.

Other than that, again, my life is pretty dull at the moment.

2008-04-20T13:40:00.003+01:00

Not much going on. My part-time IT job seems to be going well. I have a report to give to the database group on Thursday. I am hoping to make my arrangement with informatics permanent or at least semi-permanent depending on what happens with this other job in Ireland. It is nice to have options.

2008-04-10T15:50:00.002+01:00

Well, after turning in my thesis, my life has kind of gone upside down, which is why I have not written here for a while. The day that I turned in my thesis, I ended up having a project with the school of informatics at my university with a few new interesting perks. A few days later, I have a part-time IT job so I am splitting my time between the two. I thought I was going to have a nice quiet wait until my viva (defense) but nope. I now have multiple projects and stuff going on. I have also applied for another position in Ireland which I hope to get this time. Anyway, my life has seemed to gain pace after turning in my thesis. I still have the viva to go but everything is looking fairly positive these days.

2008-04-03T11:05:00.002+01:00

I would like to announce that I have printed, bound, and delivered my PhD Thesis to my University. I have learned much about early Ireland, modern Scotland, and myself during this time. The reason that the blog was left fallow is because I was awaiting the final corrects to my thesis and I did not want to say anything on there that I might later regret. Anyway, today is a good day. I am going down to the pub later after everyone is done with work to celebrate this fine achievement.

2008-03-24T00:26:00.003Z

Just what you need. A drunken Scotsman with his trousers around his ankles on a plane.

2008-03-17T00:20:00.002Z

I am sorry to have left this until now. I did not get the job in Dublin as I had hoped. However, there is another job near Dublin that has opened up and I will apply for that one so I might end up going back to Ireland for another interview.

2008-03-12T18:31:00.003Z

I remember being in the London Underground on one of the hottest days of the year a few years ago (it was hellish). I just found a blog post about what they are doing about it.

2008-03-10T22:21:00.003Z

I want to talk about some very geeky things today. A couple of days ago someone, without whom I would not be in Edinburgh, died, Gary Gygax. Without D&D, I would never have been exposed to the amount of mythology which would help me become interested in history in general. I will make a bold statement that there are many, many PhD's in ancient and medieval history who played D&D (and many who still do) without which we would not have this coming generation of scholars. Role-playing allowed me to explore these worlds and become interested in them in a way that allowed me to cultivate the sometimes dry secondary literature. For all those who would scoff at D&D, it has done more to make ancient and medieval literatures, histories, and cultures accessible than any other means.

Anyway, I am getting deliciously close to finishing my PhD. I am hoping to turn it in at the end of the week. We have set the external and internal examiners so everything should be set. I am hoping for a November graduation. I will probably send around invites for everyone in the next couple of months.

2008-02-28T16:59:00.000Z

Sorry, I returned from Dublin the other night. I have just not updated this page. I think the interview went really well but we will see if I get the job or not.

2008-02-23T18:36:00.002Z

Well, I leave for Dublin tomorrow afternoon for my interview at a prestigious institution in Ireland. I am a bit nervous about it but even if I don't get the job, I will probably come out of it alright. So, my blog will be a bit more dead than usual until Wednesday. See you all then!

2008-02-20T20:52:00.001Z

The story of my life.

2008-02-19T12:20:00.002Z

Well, once I got off the train from Lancaster yesterday, I had a meeting with my professor about my conclusions. Well, I have not seen this much red in many many years. He essentially re-wrote parts of it as I ended up shooting myself in the foot and undermining the conclusions that I came to in the thesis. So, I have an up-hill battle to finish my PhD by the end of the month and I have that important job interview in Dublin next week as well. Well, no rest for the wicked.

2008-02-18T14:00:00.001Z

I just got back from Lancaster a couple of hours ago. More later.

2008-02-15T10:15:00.003Z

I am off to Lancaster this morning and I will be gone all weekend. Thus, no blog updates until I return. I would like to say that I have an exciting job interview in Dublin coming up and I have turned in my "intention to submit" last friday so everything seems to be back on track.

2008-02-10T23:20:00.000Z

This man kicked ass.

2008-02-09T22:03:00.000Z

I am sorry that I have not been inspired to write lately. Things have happened but I have just had no real want to put them down. The most important thing is that I have turned in my "intention to submit" my thesis after much wrangling of my supervisor. I am happy that it is in but now the clock is ticking. I spent much of the day in my office working on the last bits that my second supervisor had for me. I am also waiting on my primary supervisor to get some final corrections for my introduction and my conclusion. He thinks that they are the most important parts of the thesis.

I also had a fellow PhD student with whom I learned Old Irish to look at my thesis (the second chapter to be specific). We spent three and a half hours talking about it on Friday. Well, I came away from that meeting feeling as if I had completely missed the boat on understanding the literature and basically failed in my Ph.D. Although, I would not be as far as I am if my professor did not think the thesis was worth-while. Anyway, I am reconsidering my career path at this point in time. There is still time to go back to IT.

Also in the news dump today, my professor wants the top person in my field to look at my thesis. I quote and cite this person more than anyone else in my thesis. It is bit daunting. I have heard that the person is nice so it should be alright but they are an exacting scholar. We will see on that score.

2008-01-31T16:14:00.000Z

Another reason why I live in Europe.

2008-01-31T08:52:00.000Z

While the references are all British, I think James MacMillan is definitely on to something here. I remember taking classes at Seattle University and being described as a "conservative" historian, which is probably why I fit in so well in Celtic Studies (a conservative field if there ever was one). The problems that I have especially with radical leftism is the fact that much of it is predicated on the assumption (not only of revolution for its own sake as MacMillan describes) that reality is not real. This is very true of literature and literary studies today. The theory has so far divorced itself from reality (ever tried listening to a post-modern literary theorist speak or, more like, fail to speak?) that it has become difficult not either to laugh or to cry. A child who wraps themselves in poly-syllables and rarely used words to have a pretend tea party. You either get confused (most people) or you are so startled by the reality of the situation that you are struck dumb (i.e. "conservative" or more likely thinking people). This does not mean that espouse the politics of those who call themselves "conservatives", especially in the United States today, but it does mean that I admire more readily those who take reality seriously (and the reality of the poor and the oppressed even more so).

2008-01-29T14:56:00.000Z

I’m like a ninja when it comes to pissing in public. I could only wish that people in Edinburgh were more like that. With the number of times that I have seen people relieving themselves in public on the streets of Edinburgh, I have become a bit immune to the idea. Before I moved here, however, I had never seen someone relieve themselves in public in a city. Now, doing it in the woods behind a tree is completely different idea but definitely not in public in the city.

2008-01-25T18:05:00.000Z

Sorry for the late updating. Not much going on right now as my abstract is taking longer than I had anticipated. I am going out to a friend's place for Burns Supper. This should be interesting because there will be a bunch of Americans plus one Scotsman at an Irish woman's flat. A truly international Burns Night.

2008-01-19T21:09:00.000Z

Useful? What's that?

2008-01-16T12:21:00.000Z

I am bored of my PhD. It is becoming increasingly difficult for me to stare at the same page over and over again. I know I took time off over December but still. It took me less time to get bored of it this time than any other time. I wrote my abstract and sent it to my professor. He has not gotten back to me yet about it. I have another project in the wings but I just cannot get the enthusiasm to get it started. Maybe I need to break out of my normal routine and get out of the flat for a while.

2008-01-12T20:57:00.000Z

Not much to report here. My flatmates are in Liverpool seeing grandparents. One of my flatmates' sister came by to pick up some stuff so that means more stuff out of the flat. I was supposed to see a gig tonight in Leith but that got cancelled at the last minute. So, it is me and the TV tonight. Anyway, I am still working on my abstract and I should have it done next week. I am going to show it to my professor before I send it off anyway.

2008-01-07T20:54:00.000Z

I think I am going to talk about how the UK is richer than the USA. Yep, it is official. Honestly, though, from my experience, the UK has always had a better quality of life than the USA. While having a larger per capita GDP than the US is good, it will not last forever nor are there indications that it will last for very long. However, given quality of life and being just plain richer, it is very very nice. One of the things that I have noticed living here most of all is the fact that things do not just change as quickly as the US or, at least, my part of it. It always seemed that change was all around me; pressing like a wet blanket on top of me. Here, it is much more focused and much more managed change. This does cause from time to time some frustration as things just do not move very fast but you get more used to it and life evens out in the long run.

Otherwise, I am working on my abstract for my thesis and I hope to have it done by the end of the week. After that, I will turn in my "intention to submit" and hopefully have a meeting with my professor and second supervisor. I will make the corrects that they ask of me and then I will submit formally for the finally process. I should be done a few months after that (time for the internal and external to read and evaluate it). After that, I have no clue. Probably looking for a job at that point. I do have a lead on one in Ireland but we will see. Otherwise, back to the abstract.

2008-01-04T16:21:00.000Z

I just helped a friend of mine move out of her flat and back to the states with her fiance. The only problem with this is that she had a flat absolutely full of stuff and tried to do her move over the Christmas period. Yesterday, I helped move 38 boxes of stuff into my flat which are then going to be sent back to the states. I am in lots and lots of pain today and my flat is now a disaster area. As you can probably tell, organization was not my friend's strong suit in this whole affair. This was made up by the fact that I was taken out for another curry (whoo!) and drinks. So, all in all, it was a good trade.

Anyway, other than major muscle pain. The new year goes apace. I started a draft of my abstract and I am starting to fill out the paperwork to finish my PhD. I am still waiting on my supervisors to get back to me but that is expected. I would doubt that I would get back any corrections before the middle of the month or so. Hopefully, I will have the abstract done and my "intention to submit" paperwork in before then.

2008-01-01T15:33:00.000Z

Happy New Year everyone! I was supposed to go to a New Year party but there was some problems with the tickets but everything turned out right in the end as we decided to stay at a friend's flat who had a great view of Calton Hill where one of the sets of fireworks were set off. I then swung around to Doctor's pub to see my flatmates who were working (and paid double time) there and I ended up seeing my friend who is leaving for the States soon. So, all around a good evening even if it did not go as planned.

2007-12-26T23:21:00.000Z

I hope your Christmas was a good one. I did not do much until the evening when I went out to a friend's house as usual for Christmas bites and some drinks. I had a great time with everyone there and it was a blast as usual. Today, I went over to a friend's to help her pack to go back to the states. Other than that, another quiet day on the home front. Tomorrow is my birthday so I might go to a movie but mostly I am going to take it easy. After my wonderful birthday last year, it seems rather appropriate to have a quiet one this year. I have dinner plans with a bunch of people on the 30th with a bunch of friends which will make up for the quiet day.

2007-12-23T15:37:00.000Z

I have a program which reminds me to write on my blog every so often. The problem is that there is not much going on right now. Most of the UK is celebrating Christmas. I always get asked if I am going home for Christmas and I know that many Americans do indeed go home this time of year. I always chose to stay. This confuses many people but, honestly, it is too expensive to travel this time of year and I hate 19 hour flights (this includes layovers and going through security and customs). By the time I get home, I am in no mood to deal with anything. On the other hand, if I stay here, I save money and the hassle. This is especially important since I am on basically a fixed income and I have to watch everything that I spend. This coming year I may also be finishing my PhD and moving away so I will need money to do that as well.

Anyway, my flatmates are all gone either on vacation (one is in Cuba with her family) or home. This makes it very quiet in the flat these days. Not exactly a bunch of stuff going on. I am going to meet a friend for pints this evening at Bell's.

2007-12-18T15:48:00.000Z

There are just some days. In my room, I have an energy saving light blub which is supposed to last six years. I think I got it about six months ago or so. Anyway, I was sitting at my computer and the light just turns off. So, I expect my computer to go down with it but it stays on. This is a bit weird. I go over to the switch and turn the power off then back on again, thinking that it might be a faulty switch. When I turned it back on, I heard a "pop" sound and it flashed. That means that it just burned out. So I got my tall flatmate to take it out after turning off the switch. I took the blub (which is just three loops of glass) into the kitchen to arrange things before I went to the store to buy a new one. I put it on the kitchen table then went to say something to my flatmate and heard a loud "bang". It has rolled off the table and smashed on the floor. Now, the problem with this is that those energy saving light bulbs use mercury gas to work. So, I had to put on gloves to pick it up and now we are not sure how much mercury is in the air. We opened the window to air it out but there is not much to be done about it now.

I went out after that and bought a new energy saving light bulb. This time with a glass exterior (they cost a bit more but give out a better tinted light). We will see if the other lights in the flat start to go out as well, which will tell me if this was just a one time occurrence or if something else is wrong.

2007-12-15T09:00:00.000Z

I have finally broken down and begun thinking about getting an iPod or something similar. I can get an iPod Nano for about £70 and it should work for most of my needs (although, I have some files in an odd format but I can do the conversion pretty easily). This is because my CD player has finally died and I can only listen to radio on it. Then again, BBC radio is very good but I still get annoyed by DJ's and I cannot just pick the songs that I want to hear. Anyway, I will let you know what I choose.

On the work front, I got a bit bored so, with a six page reading list, I picked something off of it and now I am reading it. I am hoping that, while I am waiting for my thesis to be read, I will have some time to knock off a few more books from the list. Otherwise, things go apace.

2007-12-10T11:17:00.000Z

I went to the Panto last night. I decided to go because it was possibly the last time I would get the chance to go. We went to the one at King's Theatre. It was good but they left out some of the formula and the love interest story was non-obvious which is against forumla (usually, the love interest story is completely obvious). Other than that, it was a completely enjoyable and the jokes were a bit more adult than usual but that was alright as well.

Otherwise, I am working on a couple of projects for friends in LaTeX, now that I have the time.

2007-12-06T22:18:00.000Z

Well, I have a couple of news items. First, we have finally put in the final carpets in the living room, which makes it more livable. We moved the furinature and now it is fantastic. There are a couple of things that we need to do but it now feels like a complete flat.

The second is far more important. I had a meeting with my professor and he recommended that I turn in my thesis for one final check and then I will submit it. I finished up my last footnote today and I sent it in this morning. I might send it out to my outside examiners in January if everything goes exactly to plan and I get all the changes done quickly. Wooo me!

Now I have to start thinking about what I am going to do after my thesis. I know that I have an exceptionally particular disicipline but my professor and I have a few ideas about that. I will talk more about it later. Now to celebrate!

2007-12-03T09:35:00.000Z

I went to the German Christmas Market again this year with a friend of mine. The great thing about the Christmas market is that you end up running into lots and lots of people that you know. And in due course, we ran into friends of mine and decided to go to the Barony Pub to watch live music (and ran into more people that I know). Anyway, I had a great night even if it was a bit expensive.

Otherwise, not much going on. I have a meeting with my professor tomorrow and we are going to assess the situation. I am really hoping to have it done by the end of March as I am starting to burn out on it.

2007-11-29T23:36:00.000Z

Well, I got my passport back yesterday. My visa was renewed until April 2009. Just as my professor wanted. I am still very grateful that the Home Office has graciously allowed me to stay where I want to be right now. Otherwise, I have taken to watching too much telly right now. I need to stop and get back to work.

2007-11-25T22:09:00.000Z

Not terribly much going on right now which is why the site has been a bit boring lately. I am still tracking down the footnotes. However, we did finally get the new gas fire place in the living room which is very very nice on these cold nights. We have pretty much migrated into the living room now because we have some reason to be in there. Now, we can get the leak in the ceiling fixed and get the carpets put in but I am not sure that we are going to have the chance before the holidays. Especially, when both by flatmates have large deadlines for their courses in the near future.

I am hoping to have all the footnotes filled by the beginning of the holidays, which means that my annual Christmas gift to my supervisors (some new version of my PhD) will continue undaunted.

2007-11-18T23:52:00.000Z

As most of my friends are now working or are very involved in their schooling, we decided to have thanksgiving early this year. So, last night I went over to a friend's place and we had a thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of Americans. One of these I had already met at the principle's dinner a few weeks ago so it was a bit surreal. Another friend is in the brewing and distilling course at a local university and he brought an entire keg of home-made beer, which was excellent.

As it was traditional to have football on thanksgiving, we got regular updates on the Scotland vs. Italy game, which Scotland lost on a last moment header goal by Italy. It may have not been big guys wearing thirty pounds worth of padding to play Rugby but it was close enough for our tastes. Otherwise, it was your pretty normal thanksgiving. I hope everyone in the States can handle the security this year.

2007-11-13T14:56:00.000Z

I have shifted gears now and I am filling in footnotes (again). I am sure that you are all aware now about how I write stuff then fill in the references later. I know this is bad practice but I always worry that I will interrupt my flow of thought and that I will lose it so I just put in a place-marker and move on. This, of course, causes me to have to return to the place and insert the footnotes later, which is tedious and slightly boring even if it is necessary.

Otherwise, I am doing alright and moving along. I have almost finished putting the finishing touches on the first three Chapter's worth of footnotes, which is faster than I had expected it.

2007-11-10T20:39:00.000Z

Well, I gave a talk today to the Scottish Place Name Society at Heriot-Watt University which is outside Edinburgh. I think the talk went alright. My friend went first to describe the nature of the project that I have been working on generally for a while. Then I talked about the theoretics of databases and the design concept of third normal form in a database. I then showed them some of what I have done both in a web page form and in raw SQL. I think it went over alright. I am not sure that I presented it in the best way though.

Also, my Scottish friend just got her higher qualification in library science so after I got done with my talk, I had to run across town to catch her at her party, which was great. We are all very proud of her. Otherwise, I hope to have a quiet day tomorrow and then back to the thesis.

2007-11-07T20:32:00.000Z

I am sure many of you have heard about this from the Seattle PI. You should read it before moving on to what I have to say. Now, moving to a foreign country is a soul-opening experience. You are completely vulnerable as you have no clue what is going on when you touch ground in your new home. You can be taken advantage of in these circumstances. I am not defending what she may or may not have done but I can see her getting swept off her feet by an Italian man and getting in way over her head. Even I have been in some strange situations while in Edinburgh. I now have a support system of great friends and this now insulates me from being vulnerable like she might have been. When I went to Germany and Switzerland, I was lucky to have friends who were locals, had strong English, and I knew very well from Edinburgh.

I can only hope that the truth will come out and justice served. I feel very badly for both the victim, Meredith Kercher, who is from Coulsdon, South London and studied at the University of Leeds and Amanda Knox, who now faces a possible lengthy prison sentence.

2007-11-05T15:00:00.000Z

Well, I went to the official opening concert of the Carrying Stream Festival and it was a cracking night. Great music, both traditional Scottish and American blues. I never knew until I moved to Edinburgh how much the Scots really enjoyed American Blues music. It was a pleasant surprise and I learned more about the Blues here in Scotland than I ever did in the States. I went with a friend of mine and we had a very good time listening to all the great music. Unfortunately, it was a memorial concert for Ian MacKintosh who was a Scottish Folk musician. I had never heard of him but he must have been a great person and musician for everyone to have great things to say about him and his family.

Otherwise, my weekend was quiet. I went on a walk with a friend and then we watched the Sunday football match at the pub. Now I am back to work on my thesis (editing and inserting missing references mostly). I will probably throw it over to my supervisors soon for some feedback.

2007-11-01T19:45:00.000Z

Well, I decided to go to the Halloween parade in Edinburgh's Old Town last night with a couple of friends. It was fun with the weird and the freaky. They marched down from the Castle to Parliament Square which is just next to St. Giles cathedral where they had a stage set up and we had some fun watching the pagan version of a passion play with fire. It was fun except for the Christian protesters who had to be kill-joys. I was rather annoyed with them because honestly do you go to someone else's religious place/festival and protest them? No, it is silly. But they were there anyway. The nice thing is that the cops pretty much stuck with them and left the rest of us alone to watch the festivities in peace.

I ended up using the Duke of Buccleuch Statue to prop myself (because I am short) up so I could see the show because the square tilts down a bit and the stage was not far enough up for me to see. After a while, my knees started to hurt because I was at an odd angle and I could not get my knees to be straight so that they were slightly bent for more than an hour. Otherwise, it was a very enjoyable event.

My friends and I wanted to grab a pint but all the pubs were packed so we had to give up after a while. So I went home and had a quiet evening after that.

2007-10-29T15:16:00.000Z

Well, today I tried to get back into the swing of writing my thesis. I think I did a pretty good job. I put in a few hours in the actual writing process and I have a modern irish class tonight so I think I will work on that. It is a bit difficult getting back to work after all that has happened in the last week. I hope tomorrow will be a more productive day.

2007-10-18T19:09:00.000+01:00

My grandmother passed away at 11:30 pm PST, October 18, 2007, peacefully in her sleep.

2007-10-16T11:53:00.001+01:00

There are days when I do not want to tell people in Scotland about where I am from.

2007-10-13T14:57:00.000+01:00

Remember when I told you about the world's worst poet? Well, there is a new book that takes him for the main character in a very surreal story.

2007-10-08T19:17:00.000+01:00

Well, I have finally broken the 90,000 word barrier. It is kind of like breaking the sound barrier as now any extra words are just gravy up to 100,000. I have to admit that editing will have the exact word count fluctuating around 90,000 for a while yet. I am just about done writing my very last section before full editing begins. I can only hope that it will go smoothly from here on out.

Otherwise, the current postal strike is bringing me down. I lost my debit card last week and I have been waiting for the new card to arrive ever since. The money in my change box is starting to go low and I need to get more cash soon. I could get money from the bank but without my debit card, I have to bring two forms of ID (nicely my friends have offered to give me some until I get access again but I do not want to do that until I am truly desperate). That makes it a pain in the ass to get money so I have just waited. I may be forced to get money soon.

2007-10-05T18:55:00.000+01:00

Well, I have started to write the last section of my PhD. At this point, I have 88,243 words. A friend of mine who just finished her PhD said that she had about 90,000 so I am in very good shape. I have also started working on the index for the thesis. I was told that it was not mandatory but I think it will give me a nice touch. As a side benefit, it is showing me where I have misspelled (or more to the point spelled properly in two different ways) words so I am having fun sorting that out and choosing one spelling.

I taught a class on "web resources" this week. Mostly, I just stood by the projector and showed people different websites and showed them how I used them. Not much there to explain really but everyone thought I did a good job so I must have. You would be amazed at how many people do not know what they can do with their computers or what is available to them on the web. Although, I do spend a bit too much time here.

Otherwise, not much else happening really. I lost my debit card last week so I do not have access to cash which makes it a bit difficult to do anything since I need two forms of ID to get cash. Oh the fun.

2007-09-29T15:44:00.000+01:00

I am sorry that I have not written in so long. With all the change in my life in the last few weeks, it has been difficult to sit down and write here. Things have settled down and my place is a bit more secure for the moment. My work schedule is still a bit bumpy. Some days are really good and others I get nothing done. I am hoping that as with things settling in my personal life, my professional life will also settled.

In any case, I went to the pub last night. The first time since my flatmate left. I thought I would have a quiet pint then go back to my flat. However, that is not always the way it works. I ended up seeing a friend that I had not seen in ages so we had to discuss his time in Berlin. Then one of his friend and his girlfriend came by for a point so I had to talk to them. Interesting, she got a degree in Journalism but managed pubs instead. Then another friend from Australia dropped in and I got a first hand description of Australian cities and what they are like from Perth to Brisbane. With a few personal stories chucked in as well. It was a great night. Hopefully, I will have a few more before I have to leave.

2007-09-20T15:43:00.000+01:00

Well, things have yet to return to normal. I have a few outstanding bills that need to get paid but the university has my money right now. So, I am a bit stressed out which means that I have not wanted to write here for a while. Classes just started so my new flatmates are running to classes and stuff. I am still writing on my PhD.

Otherwise, I need to get my visa updated which means that I need to start thinking about a submission date. I suggested the Ides of March but we are still discussing it. Good thing my visa is not up until December.

2007-09-12T15:33:00.000+01:00

Well, I put my long term flatmate on the plane back to the States this morning. It was a rather sad day as she is now going to a university in the States. It will take me a while to get used to being without her in my life.

2007-09-08T21:57:00.000+01:00

The carpets were installed two days ago and I finally arranged my room. The network is not completely sorted just yet. The living room is finally beginning to look like a living room (that is without almost all the flat stuffed into it). The new carpets are great but we now have to take our shoes off when going into the flat. Not so much of a bother but still takes some getting used to. Otherwise, I am still alive and trying to get my previous flatmate packed up and ready to leave on Wednesday. Hopefully, a normal schedule will descend upon me soon.

2007-09-02T13:01:00.001+01:00

I got my computer up and running on a temporary basis until we can sort out the router and network configuration in the flat. The place is still a mess but we sorted the kitchen and we are working on my room but, as new carpets are being put in, I cannot get too comfortable until they are installed. So everything in my room is "temporary" until my old flatmate leaves for the States and the carpet is installed.

Otherwise, I am still in some measure of pain from all the moving. I am hoping that we can relax soon.

2007-08-31T18:24:00.000+01:00

Well, I feel like hell but I have moved into my new flat. There are two flats worth of stuff here but we will get that sorted soon. My entire body, however, will take more than a few ibuprofen to forgive me for the punishment that I put it through the last three days. I am going to take the next few days to recover. Anyway, I am alive if not entirely well.

2007-08-22T22:29:00.000+01:00

Things are starting to get a bit tense around here as my flatmate is busily working on finishing her dissertation and we are preparing to move flat next week. Good thing is that we have moved a bunch of stuff already and we should be in a good position to move another portion this coming weekend.

The move itself is a bit surreal. I have lived in this flat for more than three years now and it is only now that I realize what I am going to miss about it. One of the great benefits was the fact that it was newly renovated when we moved in. We have tried to keep it that way and I think we have done a good job of it. One thing that I will not miss is the Stairs of Doom. Otherwise, I am basically moving into someone else's space and that is always a hard thing to do as it disrupts both their life and your life in the process.

On the other hand, I know the people who I am moving in with and I have lived with them before so it will not be that bad. I will miss this flat though. It has been a good flat even if the kitchen is so small only two people can fit in it and only one of them can work. But it is on to the future, which I hope is going to be brighter than the past. Hopefully, one of these project that I am proposing to my professor will pan out and I will have gainful employment so that I can pay off the massive amount of debt that I have accumulated while I have lived here.

2007-08-19T11:06:00.000+01:00

My Irish friend come through from Glasgow again yesterday to take in some of the festival because it only has one week left. Anyway, he came around my flat about six o'clock and we decided that we should grab some food because the show (CA$H in CHRIST!) was at nine and I thought it was just over near Hill Place which is not far from my flat. In any case, we ended up going to about seven different places to eat before finding a spot far down on Nicolson Street. It would seem that the tourists have a certain length that they will go down certain streets and you just need to out distance them.

Once we had eaten we ran down to Hill Place, with my thought that Hill Street would not be far behind. So, we get there and I cannot find Hill Street but I know there is a arts venue just around the corner so we stop there with the throngs of other people. I see an open door with no one there so I poke my head it to ask someone. This rather attractive girl comes up and in the best normal, flat, completely uninflected American accent asks if we are there for a certain show. I say no but do you know where Hill Street is. Come to find out she is from Texas and has no clue (and no Texas accent to boot).

So, we find a taxi and discover that Hill Street is in the New Town which is very far away and we only have ten minutes before the show starts. We run to Nicolson Street and hail a taxi. We tell him where we are going but he has no clue where that is and drops us off at the Mound (which is about half way there). So, I decide well screw that and we go to the bar at that venue. The lesson here is that never assume that one street that similarly named to another in Edinburgh are anywhere near each other.

2007-08-14T15:46:00.000+01:00

I went to a folk, husband and wife, duo, Whimsical Tricycle, which interestingly enough was the same people who put on the free show yesterday for my Irish friend and I. I ended up taking someone else because my flatmate and my Irish friend were both busy today. Anyway, the wife, who plays violin, was excellent and had an engaging style. The husband, who plays guitar and sings, was funny in the lead up to each song but there were problems with the sound as it was hard to hear the lyrics. My friend was not as impressed as I was but I thought it would be worth paying for.

2007-08-13T21:41:00.000+01:00

I know that my absence from blogging for a while without notice might seem a little odd coming, as it does, in the middle of the largest arts festival in the world. However, I am beginning to wonder about my reasons for blogging and the fact that, honestly, I do not have anything of much interest to say about Scotland anymore. I think it comes from the fact that I have been here so long now that those things that might seem interesting or odd are now just apart of my daily life. I mean I called some woman a "wee wifie" just the other day. So, really my interaction with Scotland has now come to the point that things that may be interesting slide by because it does not peak my interest any more. In any case, I am still thinking about what would be interesting to put up here but there is an arts festival going on so I might as well talk about that.

For the first week of the festival, I was not very interested. I was just not in the mood to do it. The flyer people descended on Bristo Square and I was getting handed "festival bunk" left and right. Other than the fantastic burger stand next to Teviot, I was just not interested. That changed on Sunday when my Irish friend who is living in Glasgow came to Edinburgh to take in some of the festival.

After picking up tickets for various shows, We went to see Not in My Name! - The Trial of Niccolo Machiavelli, which is a one man show about the life and career of Niccolo Machiavelli. The premise is that he is brought forward in time from his death bed to see how his work is regarded. In the end, he detests his legacy which has nothing to do with his actual life's work. The anti-American screed at the end, while not mentioning America by name, was a bit disappointing but I know where the sentiment comes from even if I cannot wholly agree with it. Doing a one person show, as I have said before, is extremely hard work and I comment the actor for pulling it off so convincingly.

After this, we went to the bar to have a drink before figuring out what to do next. Well, we were just in time to see a free show in the bar by some Australians. It was a farce about a Marixist take-over of the Festival Fringe with some marixist theory and the fringe thrown in for a good laugh. We ended up staying for another drink (the whole point of paying these people to entertain us in the bar). Otherwise, it was a farce with almost no props and no shame. Just how I like my live entertainment.

The next show was the The Tommy Sheridan Chat Show (if you do not know who Tommy Sheridan is look here). They had a tanning bed lights on stage which just made me sweat the entire time I was in there. They were running a bit late so his opening monologue was cut a bit short but that was alright. He had a few guests who were very funny (including his wife who was more funny than he was). The first was an African-American stand-up comedian who was very interesting to hear talk about seeing the real working class Scotland. His second guest I had seen on TV the previous day a friend's place. On the TV, he was very quiet and demure (it was a football show) but here he was going a mile a minute and was fantastically funny. His third guest was his wife who could give as good as she takes.

Today, I went to a show called Yellow Hands who are from Germany. They make musical instruments out of just about anything. I did not know that you could make guitars out of so many things (a chair guitar, a wheelbarrow bass, etc., etc.). They played a bunch of old favorites and things that you would recognize rather than their own composition which is good when you are trying to introduce yourself to the crowd. Otherwise, it was a fantastic and funny show.

I am going to another show tomorrow with a friend. I will try to tell you how it goes.