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Alabastor_Twob
Yesterday I was in Belfast for what is currently the only concert I've been to. I went to see The Who for their Hits 50! tour. It was really good, especially since we had some fairly good seats for it.
I was with my dad, because next week he'll be moving to Australia for at least a year, although quite possibly longer, so it might be the last time I see him for a while. Since I'd never been to a concert before I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I quite liked it. If I had to describe it in one word though that would be 'loud'.
Belfast itself was also pretty interesting. It's the first time I've been to Northern Ireland, and it's odd. The landscape and the people are obviously Irish, but it's weird because how English the architecture and infrastructure seem. As well as that, you can really see how much of a divide there is between the Protestants/Unionists and the Republicans/Catholics. I don't think I've seen so many Irish Tricolours or Union Jacks in my life. I'll have to upload some photos of it when I get home.
Belfast itself was also pretty interesting. It's the first time I've been to Northern Ireland, and it's odd. The landscape and the people are obviously Irish, but it's weird because how English the architecture and infrastructure seem. As well as that, you can really see how much of a divide there is between the Protestants/Unionists and the Republicans/Catholics. I don't think I've seen so many Irish Tricolours or Union Jacks in my life. I'll have to upload some photos of it when I get home.
Fairly long journal incoming:
For the past three days I've been doing what is probably the most interesting part of my university course. We've been at the airport, and an instrumented aircraft from Cranfield University has been taking us up and performing various manoeuvres to demonstrate aircraft handling.
The class was split into two groups, so one group would go up and fly for an hour, we'd change over and the second group would fly for an hour, then there would be an hour for us to make calculations using the values we recorded from the aircraft instruments. There would also be a lecture at the beginning and end of each flight type.
There were four types of flights, in order to demonstrate different things. Since the mass distribution of the aircraft was important for some of the calculations, we had our weights recorded and then our seating was assigned. Thanks to this I had the best seat on the plane for all of the flights:
Not only could I see the readouts on the screens we had, but I could also read the pilot's instruments, which was very interesting.
The second flight was certainly the most interesting in terms of content. In the first part we had to take down numbers while the aircraft was turning. As it went on the turn got tighter and tighter, until by then end it was pulling around 2 Gs of acceleration, and it was banked by about 60 degrees.
As well as this, they demonstrated the plane's stall warning and avoidance systems. They went up to about 7000ft and then flew slower and slower, with the plane being pitched up so it wouldn't lose altitude. It was pretty scary to hear the warning systems in the cockpit going apeshit while the pilots ignored it and continued to pitch up. The stall warning system causes an alarm to sound in the cockpit, and the stick to shake, both of which were very audible from the cabin. The stall preventation system uses a hydraulic ram to push the stick forward. However it does so suddenly and very forcefully, so it feels like the plane has suddenly dropped by a huge amount. I tried looking it up on YouTube, but since none of the videos have the camera pointed out of the windows it just looks like everyone is freaking out for no reason.
The fourth flight was also interesting, as on that day they were apparently filming a documentary about the airport. Since they wanted some footage of what we were doing, I was given a camera to hold and film while the plane started spiralling. Basically I had to point the camera out the window, or out the front from behind the pilots, and the footage would have been similar enough to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWo-sryzQiQ
You can see the cameraman here filming students boarding the plane:
Unfortunately since I was holding their camera I wasn't able to do any filming for myself, so I’ll have to wait until the documentary is broadcast before I can see the footage.
I did however get this photograph of the tip of the Cliffs of Moher:
For the past three days I've been doing what is probably the most interesting part of my university course. We've been at the airport, and an instrumented aircraft from Cranfield University has been taking us up and performing various manoeuvres to demonstrate aircraft handling.
There were four types of flights, in order to demonstrate different things. Since the mass distribution of the aircraft was important for some of the calculations, we had our weights recorded and then our seating was assigned. Thanks to this I had the best seat on the plane for all of the flights:
The second flight was certainly the most interesting in terms of content. In the first part we had to take down numbers while the aircraft was turning. As it went on the turn got tighter and tighter, until by then end it was pulling around 2 Gs of acceleration, and it was banked by about 60 degrees.
As well as this, they demonstrated the plane's stall warning and avoidance systems. They went up to about 7000ft and then flew slower and slower, with the plane being pitched up so it wouldn't lose altitude. It was pretty scary to hear the warning systems in the cockpit going apeshit while the pilots ignored it and continued to pitch up. The stall warning system causes an alarm to sound in the cockpit, and the stick to shake, both of which were very audible from the cabin. The stall preventation system uses a hydraulic ram to push the stick forward. However it does so suddenly and very forcefully, so it feels like the plane has suddenly dropped by a huge amount. I tried looking it up on YouTube, but since none of the videos have the camera pointed out of the windows it just looks like everyone is freaking out for no reason.
The fourth flight was also interesting, as on that day they were apparently filming a documentary about the airport. Since they wanted some footage of what we were doing, I was given a camera to hold and film while the plane started spiralling. Basically I had to point the camera out the window, or out the front from behind the pilots, and the footage would have been similar enough to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWo-sryzQiQ
You can see the cameraman here filming students boarding the plane:
I did however get this photograph of the tip of the Cliffs of Moher:
I have a new little friend:
She doesn't have a name yet. Unfortunately my family don't seem enthusiastic about my idea to call her Reginald.
I was thinking the other day about how Super Sleuths was pretty fun, so I decided to have my own go at it. I have taken one of the Golden Rufees out of my profile, and hidden it somewhere. If you can find it, you can have it for your own, because as we all know imaginary currencies are actually incredibly valuable irl.
This will probably be fairly short because of reasons.
This will probably be fairly short because of reasons.
Today, about two and a half hours ago my dog Fred was put down.
He was 11 years old. He had a number of benign tumours, particularly a football sized one in front of his left back leg. We had already decided that he would be put down once they started to affect his quality of life. Normally he wasn't a very active dog anyway, so he didn't seem to mind them.
While I wasn't at home to see it apparently he had deteriorated rapidly over the weekend, and when I got back he couldn't walk and was having trouble breathing. I was with him for about an hour before the vet arrived. That photo was taken when the vet had just pulled into the driveway.
It was especially difficult for me because there have been a number of times, when dealing with depression, that I felt that Fred was the only true friend I had. He was always happy to see me, and I was always happy to see him, right up until the end.
Goodbye Fred, I will miss you.
He was 11 years old. He had a number of benign tumours, particularly a football sized one in front of his left back leg. We had already decided that he would be put down once they started to affect his quality of life. Normally he wasn't a very active dog anyway, so he didn't seem to mind them.
While I wasn't at home to see it apparently he had deteriorated rapidly over the weekend, and when I got back he couldn't walk and was having trouble breathing. I was with him for about an hour before the vet arrived. That photo was taken when the vet had just pulled into the driveway.
It was especially difficult for me because there have been a number of times, when dealing with depression, that I felt that Fred was the only true friend I had. He was always happy to see me, and I was always happy to see him, right up until the end.
Goodbye Fred, I will miss you.
Well, today I got dental braces installed, something that probably should have happened earlier given that I'm 22 years old.
There are also two protrusions that have been added to the backs of my upper incisors, which prevent me from closing my mouth all the way, so I can't chew and will not be able to until the structure of my mouth is corrected.
I will probably be having a lot of soup for the next 18 months.
There are also two protrusions that have been added to the backs of my upper incisors, which prevent me from closing my mouth all the way, so I can't chew and will not be able to until the structure of my mouth is corrected.
I will probably be having a lot of soup for the next 18 months.
wat
I'm going to assume that this is because of lighting related tutorials and forum threads that I may have posted in.
I did a stupid thing and bet all my money on a horse with 50 to 1 odds.
I won though so that's alright:
So I guess technically I'm a billionaire now.
Celebratory party is at my place, I'll buy you all jetpacks so you can attend.
I won though so that's alright:
I'm quite happy.
As I've mentioned before, I've been having some problems with my laptop where it crashes every few hours, which I've been unable to fix.
However since I need a functioning computer for the CAD aspects of my university course, they bought me a computer that I can use until I finish.
It's the same specifications as the one on the left on that page except it has a 250GB HDD.
I was surprised to learn that the only restrictions on use are that I have to give it back after I finish, and Windows Update stops working if I haven't connected to the university network in three months, but apart from that I have free reign.
This will certainly be a fairly big help, as I would almost certainly have ended up lagging behind on the CAD module - not so much the theory and practice, as I certainly have experience with that, but the coursework.
Not to mention, now that I have a laptop that can access the internet again I will be able to keep up with what's going on better.
As I've mentioned before, I've been having some problems with my laptop where it crashes every few hours, which I've been unable to fix.
However since I need a functioning computer for the CAD aspects of my university course, they bought me a computer that I can use until I finish.
It's the same specifications as the one on the left on that page except it has a 250GB HDD.
I was surprised to learn that the only restrictions on use are that I have to give it back after I finish, and Windows Update stops working if I haven't connected to the university network in three months, but apart from that I have free reign.
This will certainly be a fairly big help, as I would almost certainly have ended up lagging behind on the CAD module - not so much the theory and practice, as I certainly have experience with that, but the coursework.
Not to mention, now that I have a laptop that can access the internet again I will be able to keep up with what's going on better.
I went to an airshow in Dublin today. It's late so I will put more up about it tomorrow but one of my girlfriend's friends was piloting this.
[Edit]
It was a fairly interesting day, although the traffic was a lot worse than we had anticipated, causing us to be late. We were within five hundred metres of the bus stop for about half an hour, but since we weren't at the stop we couldn't get off. Combined with the buses and trucks next to us on the road, we couldn't actually see any of the planes on the bus.
Other than that though, it was good. The majority of the planes didn't do anything other than just fly past, but there were a few different types.
Probably the one that I was most interested in seeing was the B-17 Flying Fortress, but there were also a few older small jet planes.
There were also a few airliners, including an A380, although since I have already flown on one of those I wasn't as excited to see it as I might have been.
Since I was on the bus I think I missed the C130, although it could sometimes be hard to tell which type of planes they were so I may have actually seen it.
The planes, combined with the fact that I managed to get a few rarely-seen-in-Ireland chocolate bars means that the day was quite good.
It was a fairly interesting day, although the traffic was a lot worse than we had anticipated, causing us to be late. We were within five hundred metres of the bus stop for about half an hour, but since we weren't at the stop we couldn't get off. Combined with the buses and trucks next to us on the road, we couldn't actually see any of the planes on the bus.
Other than that though, it was good. The majority of the planes didn't do anything other than just fly past, but there were a few different types.
Probably the one that I was most interested in seeing was the B-17 Flying Fortress, but there were also a few older small jet planes.
There were also a few airliners, including an A380, although since I have already flown on one of those I wasn't as excited to see it as I might have been.
Since I was on the bus I think I missed the C130, although it could sometimes be hard to tell which type of planes they were so I may have actually seen it.
The planes, combined with the fact that I managed to get a few rarely-seen-in-Ireland chocolate bars means that the day was quite good.
I went to see Sean Lock yesterday with my dad and brothers. It was quite good, but the only picture I have available to me is this wonderfully high quality image. I linked it instead of making it visible on the off chance that anyone else on TWHL is going to that tour. As he said during the show, the whole impact of that costume is that you're not expecting it, so if everyone heard about it beforehand nobody would laugh.
Since there wasn't any supporting act, Sean Lock's actual act was about twice as long as Frankie Boyle's was, as both shows were about two hours.
Afterwards, my cheeks were pretty sore from laughing, which is about the only possible reason I could think of to not go if you get the chance.
Aside from the act, the theatre itself was pretty cool. It had an old fashioned look, and while that photo doesn't seem to show it, being there made it seem that it was actually taller than it was wide. We were on the second row of the top balcony, and it was steep enough that we had a pretty good view of the stage.
Since there wasn't any supporting act, Sean Lock's actual act was about twice as long as Frankie Boyle's was, as both shows were about two hours.
Afterwards, my cheeks were pretty sore from laughing, which is about the only possible reason I could think of to not go if you get the chance.
Aside from the act, the theatre itself was pretty cool. It had an old fashioned look, and while that photo doesn't seem to show it, being there made it seem that it was actually taller than it was wide. We were on the second row of the top balcony, and it was steep enough that we had a pretty good view of the stage.
I just made myself a little pinhole monacle out of a copper pipe.
Basically you put the large hole to your eye and look at stuff through the small hole. It's surprisingly effective, while my left eye is quite short sighted I can read 2 inch high lettering at about 7 metres using this. It lets you focus on things fairly well at any distance, however it is limited by the fact that the small aperture only lets in a small amount of light, so it doesn't work well in dim light.
I got the idea when my friend forgot his glasses the other day which prevented him from taking notes in a lecture, so I kerjiggered a monacle together out of a piece of paper. I thought I might try making a more permanent one.
I sanded it a bit to shine it up, although unfortunately there are marks on one end from the vice.
I also haven't got round to making a remote ignition system for the pulse-jet engine from my last journal, as I have yet to get some long enough wires. Maybe in the next few weeks I will.
I got the idea when my friend forgot his glasses the other day which prevented him from taking notes in a lecture, so I kerjiggered a monacle together out of a piece of paper. I thought I might try making a more permanent one.
I sanded it a bit to shine it up, although unfortunately there are marks on one end from the vice.
I also haven't got round to making a remote ignition system for the pulse-jet engine from my last journal, as I have yet to get some long enough wires. Maybe in the next few weeks I will.
I saw a satellite in the sky just now. I was in the car and saw that the sky was extremely clear (not a visible cloud in the sky, which is unusual), and the moon and stars bright. One of those nights where you can see quite well by the moonlight, which normally only happens on a full moon, so I'd stood out to look at the stars. Anyway, one of them was moving, faster than a low flying jet would seem to go, but there was no sound, and no flashing lights, so it must have been a satellite.
In other news, I built a simple version of a Valveless Pulse Jet Engine, which is basically just a jar with a hole drilled in the lid. At the moment it's kind of dangerous to use, as they apparently explode on occasion, and to use it I have to fill it with fuel and hold a lighter to the hole in the top. I am working on an electric ignition system though, so I should put a picture or a video up when I do. And perhaps I might even build a fuel feed some day and turn it into something other than a useless novelty.
In other news, I built a simple version of a Valveless Pulse Jet Engine, which is basically just a jar with a hole drilled in the lid. At the moment it's kind of dangerous to use, as they apparently explode on occasion, and to use it I have to fill it with fuel and hold a lighter to the hole in the top. I am working on an electric ignition system though, so I should put a picture or a video up when I do. And perhaps I might even build a fuel feed some day and turn it into something other than a useless novelty.
Last night I went to see Frankie Boyle with my girlfriend. The opening act was Canadian Craig Campbell, who had a rather funny act about how Canada relates to Ireland, finishing with a long, in-depth story about the time when he masturbated in a tent on the side of a mountain in Alaska. Turned out the fit, young mountaineering couple he heard having loud sex elsewhere in the camp was actually a man dying of a heart attack.
Frankie Boyle himself was absolutely hilarious, although since pretty much every joke was NSFD*, I won't repeat any here.
I had bought tickets to see him in Belfast in October about 5-6 months ago, but my girlfriend found out he was doing a gig in Galway (which is a hell of a lot closer), we decided to get tickets to that. We had to pay around €70 for them, but that worked out to be cheaper than it would have been to go to Belfast and stay in a hotel.
I didn't realise at the time that the show was on the 8th, which is my dad's birthday. Had I realised at the time I would have bought him tickets too, as he likes Frankie Boyle, but by the time we realised they were sold out. I would have given him my ticket, but given the content of the jokes it would be awkward for my girlfriend.
Perhaps if he ever does another tour I can get him tickets for that.
*Not Safe For Dimbark
Frankie Boyle himself was absolutely hilarious, although since pretty much every joke was NSFD*, I won't repeat any here.
I had bought tickets to see him in Belfast in October about 5-6 months ago, but my girlfriend found out he was doing a gig in Galway (which is a hell of a lot closer), we decided to get tickets to that. We had to pay around €70 for them, but that worked out to be cheaper than it would have been to go to Belfast and stay in a hotel.
I didn't realise at the time that the show was on the 8th, which is my dad's birthday. Had I realised at the time I would have bought him tickets too, as he likes Frankie Boyle, but by the time we realised they were sold out. I would have given him my ticket, but given the content of the jokes it would be awkward for my girlfriend.
Perhaps if he ever does another tour I can get him tickets for that.
*Not Safe For Dimbark