Master of Arts

According to Campus Solutions, I am now ‘Paul Waring BSc (Hons) MA MIET MBCS’. Woo!

posted by Paul at 12:28am on Thursday 15th November 2007 | 5 Comments »

Dustiness

Research topic

After the confusion caused by last week’s meeting with my advisor, I didn’t really know where I was going with my research. Thankfully though, this week my two supervisors confirmed that what I had originally been thinking (i.e. detecting and linking events on the web, broadly speaking) was the right path to be heading down, so I am much happier about the direction of my research than I was this time last week. Alas, I’m tied up in a compulsory seminar series (which I have to write about so there is no escape, and no lunch is provided! grr) for three days this week, so the prospect of getting much research done is greatly diminished.

Stardust

A few of the old guard of the Megalomaniacs went to see Stardust on Wednesday. I’m not entirely sure what the plot of this film is, it’s as if someone has taken bits of generic fairy tales and combined them into one storyline. The rating (PG) was a bit odd too, given the amount of (often extremely obvious) sexual innuendo (described as ‘risque humor’ by IMDB). The whole thing reminded me of Robin Hood: Men in Tights, with dozens of cameos from famous people, many of whom had featured in Men in Tights. Overall though it was an extremely funny, if somewhat confusing, movie and definitely worth going to see.

Freelance work

I’m still getting offers of freelance work, probably about one enquiry every fortnight as a result of people finding my CV (which I need to update at some point) on my website. I’m being ultra-careful this year not to take too much on, but so far the work has just involved small amounts of website maintenance and the odd bit of consultancy, which is a good balance between staying grounded in academia whilst keeping a foot in the real world for when (if?) I eventually return to it. I don’t really have time to sort out my company at the moment though, so I will probably switch it to dormancy status until I need it.

Anyway, I still have a few things to get done tonight, so I should probably re-attach myself to the grindstone…

posted by Paul at 10:18pm on Sunday 28th October 2007 | 4 Comments »

The first hurdle

I think I’ve hit the first big hurdle in my PhD which has made me stumble somewhat. I had a meeting with my co-supervisor on Wednesday, we went through some ideas and I tried to explain the direction of things to him, and we both ended up with a clearer view of where I was heading. Then I had a meeting with my advisor on Friday, and ended up completely confused as to what was going on as we headed off in a completely different direction (in fact, this meeting is the first one where I’ve not either had a strict agenda to adhere to or sufficient knowledge of the subject to be able to ad-lib). So I now have even less idea of what I’m doing, compounded with a significant dent in my bubble of confidence grrr (if only these obstacles were like real hurdles—one of the few sports where I could actually come near the top of the class).

I’ve also discovered that a PhD really does take over your life in ways you don’t expect. I never stop thinking about it, and no matter how much work I do it doesn’t seem like I’m making much progress, although I have at least started to define what I mean by ‘an event’ (this is potentially rather important, depending on which way my research goes), which hardly anyone else who talks about this sort of thing bothers to do (I have only found one paper in which an event is properly defined, and even then the definition is lacking in one major area). I have to define a six month plan and prepare a presentation about my research in the next couple of weeks though, so I’d better get on with that.

posted by Paul at 8:16pm on Sunday 21st October 2007 | No Comments »

Games of varying silliness

Silly Games

Silly Games seemed to go down well last night, even though we started late and didn’t play as many of the games as we have done in previous years. New people outnumbered the elders for once though, which is always encouraging! I am mildly annoyed that my team’s record for Sticky Toffee was broken, but I put that down to complete apathy in pulling the other people apart. Several of the new people said they had fun though, and one guy specifically came over and asked if he could be kept up to date with what we were doing, so I guess that’s a result! Plus I was complimented on my cape on several occasions.

Databases seminar

This morning I had to get up at four o’clock to get to London for the UKUUG databases seminar, which has left me pretty shattered as I couldn’t get to sleep last night anyway. Despite Virgin Trains selling me the wrong ticket online (for some reason they wanted me to go via Chesterfield), I managed to get there and back without too much difficulty. All of the talks were interesting and from people who clearly knew what they were talking about, but at the same time they were really friendly and happy to chat with everyone (I hate it when speakers rush off straight after their presentation and don’t talk to people). I helped in the minor but apparently much appreciated capacity of ‘person who ensures that Powerpoint/OpenOffice slides work properly and display using the projector’, so I feel I made a contribution on the day. I think I’ll be writing something about the event in the newsletter as well, so that’s another (albeit minor and non-academic) publication to add to my list.

In other news, I got paid on the spot for my work on Monday, and I have four hours of lab demonstrating and training tomorrow, so I still feel slightly like a real person—and everyone who I have spoken to recently but haven’t seen for a while thinks I have a job anyway for some reason…

posted by Paul at 10:51pm on Tuesday 16th October 2007 | 2 Comments »

PhD progress

My PhD seems to be going really well at the moment, I’m starting to get to grips with my research topic and I’m heading in a definite direction with something specific to do now (first task is to define what I mean by ‘an event’, which is complicated in itself). I think I’ve settled into the role now, probably helped by the fact that I already know the department and a lot of the people in it, and I’ve already read and commented on a number of papers which may or may not be related to my research. My supervisor seems enthusiastic and has yet to say ‘you’re heading in completely the wrong direction’, and it sounds like my progress is at least at the same pace as, if not faster than, the other new students. I have to give a presentation introducing my research in four weeks, so I guess it’s just as well that things are moving along quickly otherwise I wouldn’t have much to say.

I’ve also started lab demonstrating, which is actually more fun than I thought it would be, though sometimes the undergraduates test my patience by not listening to instructions. The lab supervisor seemed to be impressed as well—towards the start she came over and said ‘you seem to know what you’re doing, can you run this section of the lab’, and I’ve also taken over making some of the announcements at the start of each session. Several of the undergraduates came over and said thanks at the end of the lab, so I guess I must be doing something right. The pay is good as well, and I even get paid for when I do training sessions!

So, everything seems to be going well at the moment, and I’ve even got some consultancy work and a free full-day seminar to look forward to next week. I have lots of papers to read this weekend though, so I should probably get back to the grindstone…

posted by Paul at 8:25pm on Friday 12th October 2007 | No Comments »

First week of PhD

It looks as if I’ve managed to survive the first week of my PhD—or technically MPhil as that’s what I’m registered for. Most of my time has been spent doing admin work (making sure I’m in the right groups on the network, arranging regular meetings etc.), but I now have my own desk in the Human Centred Web Lab and my name is on the door. I’ve also been selected to be a lab demonstrator, which is good as it means more experience for my CV, more networking with academic staff outside my research group and some extra money at what is usually a fairly good rate of pay.

I’m not entirely sure what my PhD will involve yet though, despite having a topic title of ‘Automatically Identifying Social Change’, but I have gone through a few initial ideas with my supervisor and I’ve started getting in touch with people and organisations which will hopefully be able to help. The Faculty is forcing me to go to a two day training exercise at the start of next week, but hopefully once that is over and done with I’ll be able to start making some serious progress on my research. Also, my flat should hopefully be available by Monday or Tuesday, so I will be back in Manchester and able to cut my commute down from 90-120 minutes down to a more reasonable 30-45 minutes.

Also, I know it’s a long time off (unless the School doesn’t accept my transfer report at the end of this year, in which case it might be much sooner!), but I have started to wonder about what I want to do once I’ve completed my research and—hopefully!—got my PhD. I do like working in academia as it’s a very pleasant and relaxed environment (RAE deadlines excepted), but I’m not entirely comfortable with the direction in which the University is heading at the moment (massive job and budget cuts in order to finance capital expenditure). The careers service keep touting themselves as a service for postgraduates as well as undergraduates, but I’ve never had much success in getting the information or help I need from them or the events they run.

In other news, I went to the UKUUG AGM on Wednesday and ended up being elected onto the council, followed by an interesting talk from Michael Meeks about Linux on the Desktop. We ended up going for a meal afterwards, which is always a good way to get to know people, although never again am I staying in an easyHotel as my room was absolutely freezing cold due to cold air being blasted down into it. I’m looking forward to getting more involved with the group, though apparently I have already made a ‘contribution’ by dragging down the average age of council members by a few years at least.

posted by Paul at 2:03pm on Saturday 29th September 2007 | 2 Comments »

Château pwaring

At last, despite the lacklustre response from estate agents I tried to arrange viewings with, I now have a flat to live in. I’m still waiting for all the paperwork to be sorted out by the letting agent, but hopefully I should be able to move in by this time next week—possibly sooner. The place I’m moving to is a small flat in Didsbury, with one bedroom (en-suite) and an open plan kitchen/living room. The kitchen is no more than a few years old, there’s laminate flooring throughout (I much prefer this to carpets, which get dusty and dirty) and the flat has been redecorated this year—in fact the painter was still there when I went to look round. It’s really lovely, with the only disadvantage being its distance from the University, but I am within five minutes walk of all the major bus routes so that isn’t too much of a problem.

One thing I have noticed during my flat hunting is the huge difference between student and graduate accommodation. It’s like being in a completely different world—no hideous 1960’s wallpaper and bathrooms, no cookers with five years worth of fat and grease build up, no manky fridges which only keep food cool for two days, and no damp kitchens (both of my student places suffered badly from the latter problem). I’m paying more than I was for my previous place, but it’s definitely worth it, I just wish I’d been able to afford somewhere this nice when I was an undergraduate. I can’t wait to move in!

posted by Paul at 10:05pm on Friday 21st September 2007 | 2 Comments »

Flat hunting

Due to not knowing where I’d be in September until a couple of weeks ago (I have bounced between the possibilities of Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester and ‘elsewhere generally’ in the last few months) I’ve still not found anywhere to live this year. I did have two viewings lined up for today, but the agency called me this morning to say that they don’t have the keys for the property—not really an encouraging sign—though thankfully they told me this before I’d set off into Manchester. I’m not entirely sure where I want to live—Didsbury is a pleasant area with good public transport, but it involves going through Fallowfield each morning which is not a pleasant experience. At the moment I’m looking at the city centre and have used a few websites to contact five or six letting agencies so hopefully I will be able to arrange some viewings for tomorrow and get things moving as quickly as possible.

Thankfully, the University has finally made me a proper written offer which I have accepted, and I’ve got them to push things forward so that I can actually register next week. Annoyingly I can’t register online from home because my offer is conditional on the award of Masters degree, and I won’t get official confirmation of whether I’ve passed the course or not until November/December. No doubt this will cause confusion at registration, as will the fact that my offer letter states that it is conditional on me getting an MSc, which will be rather difficult to prove.

Anyway, I feel much better about FoE stuff than I did earlier in the week, even if they have annoyed me immensely by pulling out of the current nuclear power consultation which the Government is running, after I’d started to write a response to it (as usual I discovered this via the Guardian rather than directly from FoE).

posted by Paul at 11:28am on Friday 14th September 2007 | No Comments »

Thoughts on my MA

I’ve finally handed in my dissertation, along with all the related paperwork, so my MA is effectively now complete—although apparently it will take until mid-November to get the results. It feels weird to have finished something which has occupied most of the last three months of my life, and to come to the end of a year spent doing something not related to computing for the first time since college. I wasn’t entirely sure what to do until I got my PhD offer, although I did have jobs in mind which I was going to apply for.

On the subject of my MA, although I’m not entirely sure about this, I think it was probably the right thing to have done. I could have gone straight into a job (I had one offer, and other places which I could have applied to, plus offers of freelance work), but I think I would have regretted passing up on the opportunity to do something different for a year. If nothing else, it was almost worth the effort just for the sheer amusement value of seeing the look of utter confusion on people’s faces when I explained what subject my first degree was in—though strangely enough, the reaction was always positive, which wasn’t what I had expected. Giving a paper was good fun, and I enjoyed writing the two assessed essays (yes, I’m weird, I like writing papers/essays) and leading discussions in the tutorials.

On the down side, I don’t think I really fitted in on my course, despite displaying as much enthusiasm as possible in the research training unit and the socials in the first semester. I enjoyed the tutorials and the Latin lessons, but outside of those I always felt rather isolated, which was annoying. The only exception to this was at conferences—I felt much more comfortable at these than I did in the research seminars, and I noticed that the Manchester lot would usually drift off in their own little group whilst I ended up with people from all over the place. Oh yes, and it would have been a much smoother ride had the University not screwed up my registration, my Latin classes, my deadlines and many other things, but I’m almost used to that now, and they would have found a way to be incompetent whatever course I was doing.

Overall, I’m not sure what the MA has done in terms of job prospects, which, regardless of how long I remain a student (anything from one to four years), I will have to face at some point. I think it broadens out my CV and makes me look more interesting than someone who has specialised in the same subject all the way through their education, but I’m not sure if it will be seen as a waste of time by some potential employers—although I probably wouldn’t want to work for someone with that attitude anyway.

Anyway, I’m off to the Friends of the Earth local groups conference at stupid o’clock tomorrow (it will probably take about five hours to get from Bury to Reading), and I really need to start packing, or at least check that I’ve got everything that I need. If anyone desperately needs to get in touch I will have my phone with me, otherwise I will catch up on emails, UA, LiveJournal etc. on Monday morning.

posted by Paul at 5:53pm on Thursday 6th September 2007 | No Comments »

PhD award

Upon checking my email when I got home this evening, I was amazed to find in my inbox something from the School of Computer Science telling me that I’ve been awarded a full Doctoral Training Award from the EPSRC for the PhD I applied for. Woo! Not only does the award cover fees and a maintenance grant, but I also get extra money each year for my previous ‘excellent academic achievement’ (apparently—their words, not mine!) and a recruitment bonus. I am so happy right now. (I haven’t received the formal letter in the post—that should come later this week, at which point I can accept the offer).

Also, I’ve discovered that Oxford didn’t find any suitable candidates for their DPhil, and now it’s a bit too late so they’ve had to put the start date back to January 2008 (presumably if they don’t allocate the money at some point they will lose it). I don’t want to be vindictive, but I do feel a bit of poetic justice in that Oxford rejected me because I wasn’t good enough academically (they specifically mentioned my 2:1 as being part of the reason) and didn’t have much experience of working independently (ignoring the 5+ years of freelancing listed on my CV), and now have no one, yet Manchester saw my application (which probably wasn’t as strong as the Oxford one) in completely the opposite way, and offered me a place.

The only downside is that I can’t apply for the MySociety job now, which looked so perfect, but I’ve been doing various bits of pieces for some projects there (though haven’t got round to offering it up yet as it turned out that someone was already working on one task and had nearly finished and the other things aren’t really ready to show yet) and hopefully I’ll be able to contribute some more stuff over time.

posted by Paul at 8:34pm on Wednesday 29th August 2007 | 4 Comments »