Happy birthday to me (ish)

Well, as Jason pointed out in the previous comments, my birthday is on Friday. Thanks to Serena and Gareth for the birthday wishes. I came into this world at 9.40pm, September 1st, 1973 (Fussy Virgo, that's me). I thought I'd mention it today instead as I am midway into the "Great House Move" and my internet access is spotty at best. I'm in the office at the moment, to get a little work done between trips, but all I've managed to do is sort my inbox. My broadband is being moved my Kingston Communications (takes up to six days??) so no real internet connection for a while. I'll be in Huddersfield tomorrow - as my flat will still be a tip - but it anybody would like to have a drink in my honour at 9.40pm, knock yourself out. I can guarantee that I'll be having a drink at the same time. Let's get that dopamine flowing!!

Dopamine: "Dopamine appeared very early in the course of evolution and is involved in many functions that are essential for survival of the organism, such as motricity, attentiveness, motivation, learning, and memorization. But most of all, dopamine is a key element in identifying natural rewards for the organism. These natural stimuli such as food and water cause individuals to engage in approach behaviours. Dopamine is also involved in unconscious memorization of signs associated with these rewards."

Appropriate approach behaviour: reach for wine bottle. Bottoms up. ;-)

Unsung Landmarks

The BBC (website magazine) is having a vote on Britain's unsung landmarks. The final eight are here.

"What's an unsung landmark?: For every classic, tourist-friendly landmark, such as the London Eye, Big Ben, Liverpool's Liver Building, Stonehenge or Edinburgh Castle, there are dozens of lesser-known but equally loved notable buildings and structures across the UK. But rarely, if ever, do these figure in tourist brochures or Richard Curtis films - their fan base tends to be among locals, rather than foreign travellers or out-of-towners."

So, on behalf of Hullonians everywhere - yep, Hullonians is the proper word even though I still stress that I'm from York - I urge you to go to the site and vote for the Humber Bridge. (Number 8). I pass it every week on my way to/from Sally's and it's striking thing to see.

Thundercats are... crap.

Whoa! After finding a link on an unrelated site, I came across news of this travesty. A true horror story for all Thundercats fans of yore. Still, the good news is that the page lets you play the original credits in a video file. Ah, memories. :-)

IKEA

As some of you will know, I'm moving house next Tuesday. Well, collecting the keys at least. Since I'm going up in the world, I'm moving away from the world of the partially-furnished student hovel to a fashionable - unfurnished - Avenues pad [The Avenues being the snazzy part of Hull near all the good restaurants and the ice-cool, too-expensive-for-students bars]. So, short of furniture, it was off to Ikea (Leeds) yesterday. Now it's a good hour drive for us (my flatmate Dave and myself), but I still wasn't expecting to set off at 1.30pm and not get home until 9.45pm at night. It's bloody huge, utterly soul-destroying and with most things I wanted being out of stock. Still I bought a wardrobe (and a new not-IKEA bed in Hull this morning). Overall, I'd put my first shopping experience of IKEA - note, I've been before but not buying - in the negative. As Dave said "We can buy great big pictures of Audrey Hepburn for our living room walls, but no chairs to sit on". (And no, we didn't buy any pictures of Audrey Hepburn). :-)

British Industry

Something in the paper again today about the decline of British (Manufacturing) Industry. Did you know that there are 10,000 shipbuilders in the country, along with 9,000 building and cilvil engeering technicians and over 209,000 software professionals?? Seems like a lot to me - but come to think of it, I'm sure that most of you reading this are software professionals!! :-)

"Christ - it's my Father!"

Well, it looks like Jason is running out of steam on his Blog - though I'm sure he won't mind me saying so. However, never let it me said that I'll run out of random rubbish to entertain/bore you with. Plenty more left here. ;-)

As it turns out, when I was born, my Mum thought I was the spitting image of her. About an hour later, she'd decided that I looked more like my father. And some time after that, when Dad had come from work, he rushed in, saw the very young me for the first time and uttered the immortal phrase "Christ - it's my father!" I went back to York Tuesday/Wednesday for a quick break and being at home reminded me of this. I was just struck by the idea that when it comes to faces, different people are struck by and notice different things in the same face at different times, dependent on a whole host of other factors. Might be the psychologist in me, but I think it's all very interesting.

Plus, I get to say "Gestalt". ;-)

Fantasy Football

Oh, and on something entirely unrelated - probably for the best as it's not going to be a cheery sort of day (see below) - I've joined the Daily Mail fantasy football league. Which is free. If you fancy your chances against my "Caffeine Addicts" team this season, try:

http://fantasyleague.mailonline.co.uk/

There's money to be won (£50,000 in fact).

Terror Threat

Looks like MI5 have stopped another terror attack, and if the BBC has got the right details (as of 9am) it looks like a grand total of ten (TEN!) planes were in danger. For some reason, this is spurring me into a rant. I can grasp/understand us being in Afganistan, even if British soldiers are outnumbered and under-equipped for the task (and as such dying, possibly needlessly, due to overstretch); as the Taliban were major sponsors of terrorism, kept Bin laden safe, and were growing opium out of their eyeballs. (Out of interest, what is the stance of Sharia law on class A drugs??) But Iraq? We should never have been there. (I've always said so). There were never any weapons so I don't understand the reasons behind the invasion - and anyone can surely see that it is simply a running sore that is inflaming Arab and Muslim opinion against the West. The only justification was that Saddam was "bad", a pointless arguement as no-one can convince me that more people were dying daily under his regime than are dying daily now. He was bad - and mad - but he kept a secular lid on things and that's what Realpolitik is all about. Less of the white hat, black hat crap. And as a direct result of Iraq (and our slavish toeing of the US line over the Israeli/Lebanon crisis), we might as well paint a great big target on every British Airways flight and London landmark.

Ooooh, I'm furious.

Large Institutions

Thanks to my "promotion", I'm now a module manager. What this has meant is that I need to get access to some of the interactive computer stuff - namely "Blackboard" - and this requires passwords and what-not. The departmental IT guy sent me to the Computer Centre who, in turn, sent me to e-learning. Now, campus is pretty big. In fact, the University is the largest employer in Hull - a city of 300,000 people - and even pointed to the right building, it took ages to find it this morning. No-one knew where their office was and when I found it, I was stunned to have stumbled into the worst-signposted, most cunningly-hidden offices I've seen in my life so far. And then, as things would have it, I should have been told by the Computer Centre to send them an e-mail. So I was quickly pushed back out the door again with an e-mail address to write to once I got back to the office. Two hours later - no reply. Tsk!

Anybody else out there work in a big, big company?? (Or institution).

New job

Oh, and I had a job interview on Monday. Didn't mention it as didn't want to jinx it... Anyhow, I've finally escaped those four-month contracts. I am now offically a "Lecturer" here at Hull (rather than Teaching Assistant) with a hoist up the pay scale, modules to manage and my very own office - no more sharing. A two-year contract. I'm really chuffed!!

Never say I don't respond to my comments! ;-)

Ok, Ok, I admit it. This is just an opportunity to prove that not all photos of me are bad (see comments section to previous post). This was taken last weekend when fresh from Reading Sally and I hit Scarborough - and rode along the sea front on an open top - rip-off(!) - bus.

Reading and back - the evidence

Just to repeat myself... I'm back. ;-)



Seriously though, this Blog was born about the time of the last PsyPAG conference. I was reading through the abstracts and noticed some research on the "Glass Cliff" phenomenon and lo, this Blog was born. To celebrate that fact, a gratuitously pointless photograph of me in Reading...

Tuesday is Yorkshire day.

It is, it really is. Check this out.

You know, on t'internet. ;-)