U316 Blog ~ The Environmental Web

Goodbye! Hello!

2005-06-14T16:32:00.000+01:00

This will be the last post I will post on here (I think!) - I've moved lock, stock and barrel (I think!) to my own server, so that I will have more control (I think!). The fact that I keep forgetting my password etc, has nothing to do with it!

My blog URL is http://www.braininajamjar.co.uk/blog.html

When is a bird not a bird?

2005-06-07T22:13:00.000+01:00

When it's not in the same 10 sq km square as a woodlouse or a dragonfly. Apparently. I've lost it .... but I've sent in TMA03, complete with the Project Plan (with a million links), the regression on the biodiversity data (where I lost it, it seems - cos I thought that a bird was a bird ...) and the sweet BAP fiction.

AND I've done TMA04 - it is the biggest load of twaddle on climate modelling, but will have to do. I am not imagining that I'll get very good marks on either, but at least they're DONE and I can (perhaps) enjoy my holiday (if only I could stop twitching cos of the STRESS and the seemingly constant slumping in front of this PC!)

Oh, and I got 82% for TMA02, so that's good! :) I've translated "How Green Is Your Latte?" into HTML and put it on here.

Where the heck did the font edit disappear to on here?

I am a dragonfly .....

2005-05-15T21:40:00.000+01:00

.... A gem of the air - flying around without a care ...

But where??

We went to Stover again this evening (after buying a wedding hat in Torquay), but, although we walked completely around the lake and studied virtually every clump of reeds, there was no sign of any dragon or damselflies today. I suppose it was just too cold. We did see heaps of squirrels and water rats, but they don't count!! OK, just the birdies to finish off and that's that exercise over with (until the data stats stuff).

I needed desperately to get out of the house this weekend (yesterday we spent the afternoon at the Marine Aquarium), because I am in danger of cracking up with the hotspot/percentage area debate.

Now I'm off to microwave some chips, cos I'm starving.

The 14 days of Biodiversity

2005-05-11T19:30:00.000+01:00

7 Porcello scabers
2 Philoscia muscorum
Many Passer domesticus
and 5 Pyrrhosoma nymphula!!

(or 5 large red damselflies!)

It was a glorious morning, so we drove out to Stover Country Park and did the first count. I didn't think there'd be any to count, as it was extremely cold. But there they were, at the far side of the lake!! Probably there were heaps more, but they were very difficult to spot.

And yesterday I counted the woodlice in the garden (with the help of the hub, because of the spiders ...) and the bird counting is ongoing. It's interesting. It'll be especially interesting when we get all the database results down and can do our regression analysis!!

Apart from that, there's the hotspot/GAP stuff .... I don't want to talk about it. Sometimes I don't know why on earth I'm doing this course. But, must plod on ...

DEATH to the Wizard!

2005-04-24T11:33:00.000+01:00

He is pure evil!

I've just spent 3 solid days, staring the beast in the face. He is angst; Beelzebub; a running sore!! When he's not satisfied with frustrating you to death by making you wait eternity before he will present you with the page you need - he will then torment you by suddenly making you 'sign in' again - and when you have, he'll strip you of any remaining sanity by announcing that 'you must not bookmark this page' - like you had, or wanted to, or even knew you could! Grrrrhhhhh!!

But question 1 of TMA02 is now completed. Phew. The online tutor group conference was busy. And it was complicated. And I was near tears at times because I didn't understand the phraseology. But we eventually arrived at a consensus list of criteria to be used to evaluate our chosen website for sustainability. And then followed the trip into hell with the wizard! But we are done.

That I got 82% for TMA01 has given me renewed confidence. But there is a second tutor group conference to attend before the 2nd TMA02 question can be done, and I will be happy when this second block is over and we start on the Climate Change.

I can't believe I just said that!!

Kyoto? What's Kyoto, Ma'am??

2005-03-25T18:55:00.000Z

After Cyprus, came the USA!! We had a roleplay and I volunteered to be the representative for the US (it was either that or risk being randomised and becoming Japan). Great fun! Or I think it was!! 2 hours of incessant questionning, but we stood tall!

"George chose me because of my unflappability"!!

Anyway, after that, it was time to settle down to get that TMA01 sorted. There was stuff on the AOSIS meeting to do, a fair bit on Antarctica's climate, including several graphs - and another question on the Antarctic Treaty, which was especially tricky. But I've sent it, and am looking forward to its return, as then I'll know whether or not I'm on the right track, for sure as heck I really am not at all sure ....

Now it's on with the biodiversity block. But (guess what) we can't go too far as there is another tutor group discussion which needs to be done before we can continue!! We do have the 2nd TMA though - and that one includes a website on sustainability, which promises to be more enjoyable than the Vostok graphs!

We Have Concensus!

2005-03-07T16:23:00.000Z

No sooner had the Antarctica activities actually been posted - when, surprise, surprise - the AOSIS meeting started! What a week!! Trundling through virtual happy hours and coffee-breaks with squabbling over little things, like Bush and whether or not volcanoes were influenced by the climate - we got there in the end! The final 'survey' closed at 10:00pm Saturday evening - and screams of delight issued forth with general concensus on all demands! Now there just remains the little task of writing it all up for the TMA ..... But we have a sourvenir webpage on here!! Actually it was more interesting than I thought it could be - and much was learnt!

I'm Cyprus

2005-02-11T10:44:00.000Z

Aw, I wanted palm trees and white beaches! Never mind. Or I wouldn't mind, *quite so much* if it weren't for the fact that Cyprus produces 100% of its electricity from fossil fuels; how on Earth am I going to argue for other countries to cut back on emissions?! Anyway, group discussions on this are coming up next week (I think). Meanwhile, I'm kind of twiddling my thumbs. I've finished the first block reading - but can't do the Antarctica activities, because they haven't been done yet ......

Opening Time

2005-01-27T19:03:00.000Z

The conferences and the student website are now open. But we cannot get going really, yet. It's all a bit frustrating (to say the least) as the course is a VERY slow starter. We have until the beginning of April to finish the first block (TMA01 cut off date, 6th April) - and I'm halfway through the book already! But we can't do anything much until we have our island designated to us - and that ain't going to be for weeks! And then, of course, it all comes thick and fast!!

Geological yearnings

2005-01-25T11:43:00.000Z

Been hanging around for so long waiting for this course to start, that my mind is drifting towards next year! I'm yearning to do SXG390 - the geohazards project. They say it should be your last course, which makes sense as you should have a fair bit of knowledge behind you (which I don't) to be able to complete it. I'd do S369 first - but they don't have a presentation of that next year, due to cut-backs. So I might chance it. Volcanoes. Yellowstone and that big caldera? Mount St Helens? Well, we would have to make a field trip, surely??

Hectic!

2005-01-20T20:29:00.000Z

It's been a busy couple of days with this and that - though little to do with U316. But I had the go ahead from Glenn to say that my project topic was 'on course'. So I did a survey. I had over 50 responses in no time - and then the thing packed up on me and I had to PAY to see my results and to allow more results. But it's done. And it will be very helpful. Although I shall never make a 'proper' environmentalist, that's for sure - though why would I want to really? I'm happy to be a rock-hugger.

Safari-ed out

2005-01-17T22:01:00.000Z

I've been working, for a lot of the day, on the Safari stuff, which wouldn't have been so bad had the links worked and I hadn't had to change the address line manually every time I wanted to move onto the next page ... But it's done. And it was a chore. But I had better get used to web work.

I also had an introductory email from my tutor, Glenn. I have broached the subject of the 'project topic' with him (already!) and, once cleared (if it's cleared) I can bring it out into the open!

One of the activites today, involved the creation of a new ecosystem, which I created by planting seeds on the towel we use to stop the rain making an awful racket on the metal table in the garden.

Only kidding! But the 'towelecosystem' does exist - it is ALIVE!

Been on the Hoe

2005-01-16T17:53:00.000Z

It is decidedly a dump. And it's such a pity, because the setting is simply divine. The Americans/French - or even Exeter, would have all that concrete bulldozed (or dynamited) and replaced by trees, plants and terraced walks down the clifftop, towards the sea - it would be magic. But it's a dump and likely to remain so. I took a pic of Smeaton's Tower though - quite effective, looking directly at the Sun!

I had to go out to buy stationery bits (bought GOLD paperclips!) - and storage media so that I can transfer my U316 bits between PC and laptop. I am NOT looking forward to all the computer work on this course - and, so far today, I've been avoiding continuing with the Safari stuff. (If, by some miracle, the A174 materials arrive tomorrow, I can continue to avoid it for a lot longer ... )

I managed to figure out how to get 'links' over on the side there, so I feel more at home now. But I still think it's Monday.

Explanation for last posting

2005-01-16T10:14:00.000Z

I can't seem to be able to get this darned thing to publish in my website - oh well, stuck with that search thing up there. I also had to change the time zone - but I don't even think that that has worked - so this is, in fact, another 'tester' to check to see if it did.

It really didn't bode well for the day, when I woke up, got up, got dressed - and thought it was Monday.

Trying again

2005-01-16T09:54:00.000Z

TESTING!!

Decided to blog it

2005-01-16T09:49:00.000Z

Decided to blog it, or the U316 pages will be TOO ridiculously long. So, I will put activities onto there and comments onto here. I can't guarantee that this'll work - cos last time I tried to blog (using my website as the gathering point), I failed miserably (that's computer know how for you!).Anyway, I have embarked upon a 5 hours mission with Safari, to do some activities or other. This'll teach me to try to spend a perfectly good weekend 'getting started'. Actually, I have NO intentions of spending 5 hours on finding out how to evaluate information found on the web. I might do a couple hours - we'll see.