I have just managed to get LaTeX Editor working on my computer. Previously, it had been installed, but the built in document viewer wouldn’t work.
I’m really looking forward to learning it… I, for one, am fed up of Microsoft Office when it comes to lab reports. LaTeX makes much more sense to me. I’m hoping it will become a bit like HTML and CSS to me. It seems like a good idea that a document is produced mathematically. WYSIWYG editors tend to frustrate me in Web Design. I’m sure in the future it’ll be just the same for documents.
One of my favourite features about TeX is the fact the formatting is so much more flexible, and yet intuitive. You can put an Umlaut on an x (There must be a reason why you’d want to), and instead of typing alt+0252 (particularly frustrating on a laptop) every time you want to type a ü, you just type:

\"{u}

You’d never get anything that powerful in Word, and it’s not at all counter-intuitive either (not for me, anyway, but then I prefer the wordpress HTML editor to the WYSIWYG one.
Other features include, but are by no means limited to:

1. Automatic numbering of sections and equations
2. Built in equation tools
3. PDF Export
4. Built in templates which allow editing of different types of documents (and not those pointless templates you get in word)

The Inner Life of the Cell

The Inner Life of the Cell: Explanation Video

I say I invented this combination, but I’m sure it’s been done before.

Start with two small pans, and a mixing bowl…

1. In Pan no.1…

   Melt:
   125g chopped dark chocolate (about a cup)
   4 fl oz. cream (1/2 a cup)
   2 Tbsp syrup of any kind
   Knob of butter

   Stir frequently until smooth.

2. In Pan no.2…

   Melt:
   Two knobs of butter

   Take off heat and mix the butter with crushed digestives (1/3 – 1/2 a pack should do it)

3. In the mixing bowl…

   Beat together:
   3/4 packet of Philadelphia Cheese
   1/4 pint double cream (whipped)
   Sugar to taste (I just poured it in til it tasted right, I can’t remember exactly how to make cheesecake)

4. To Prepare…

   Cool cream cheese mixture and crushed digestives in the fridge (can be mixed together, layered, whatever you like).
   Slice bananas over the top.

5. To Serve…

   Divide equally into 4 mugs and pour sauce over the top of each portion. Eat with teaspoons, forks, knives and chopsticks (that’s the Imperial way)

I call it Imperial Mess, since it is to Banoffee Pie what Eton Mess is to Pavalova. It does work, try it. You will have gathered that proportions are very loose, and that it is tremendously unhealthy

Hanliensian

Well, you tell me what you think it means.
In other notes, my Maths lecturer has an identical beard to Slavoj Žižek. I spent a few weeks thinking, “He looks… familiar… somehow.” Then I realised.
My teachers are famous for having clearly recognisable beards, so this is nothing new.

Think of 15 albums, CDs, LPs (if you’re over 40) that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life. Dug into your soul. Music that brought you to life when you heard it. Royally affected you, kicked you in the wazoo, put body in your hair, is what I mean. Then when you finish, IF YOU ARE INCLINED, tag a limited smattering of appropriate others, including moi. Or maybe you’ve already done something like it, in which case, thanks, I thought it was cool! Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill. Get the idea now? Good. Tag, you’re it! (HT: Alastair)
In no particular order:

1. Go — The Newsboys
   At the time I first listened to this, I was really enjoying being a Christian, and the Newsboys expressed that for me.
2. For Emma, Forever Ago — Bon Iver
   For some reason, Alastair saw fit to put this album on my computer while he was working on it. I only discovered when I got back to university. I reckon deep down he wants me to kill myself. I hated this album when I first listened to it, but now I’ve listened to every song on it more than 11 times, it’s really growing on me. It does have a kind of numbing effect on your perception of the world though.
3. The Joshua Tree — U2
   This song has been played in my house since the late 90s. If I listen to it, it reminds me of just about anything, but Ireland in particular (even though I’m pretty sure I never listened to it in when I lived in Ireland).
4. Cotton-Eye Joe — Rednex
   I can still remember how crazy I was about this song at 4 years old. When Alastair’s friend Senan used to come to our house, I was most concerned about whether or not he had brought this album with him.
5. Elephant — The White Stripes
   I listen to most music because it happens to be played by my brothers, this is the first album that felt like it was really mine (even though I’m pretty sure Alastair introduced me to it).
6. Challengers — The New Stenographers
   I like a lot of the New Stenographers’ music, but the amount of songs that Neko Case leads on this album makes it for me.
7. Rush of Blood to the Head — Coldplay
   When Mark left for university, he left his depressing music behind. Since I did not have a CD collection of my own, this was what I listened to. Constantly. For a whole term. Bad? Ohhhh… You don’t know.
8. The Messiah — Handel
   Not strictly an album, but this may have got me through a year of OCD. I would listen to this at night when I couldn’t sleep.
9. The Notorious Beard Brothers — The Beards
   I bought this album from Ally, thinking it was the one with ‘Mr. Spaceman’ on it. Unfortunately, I found out soon after it wasn’t.
10. Old Friends — Simon and Garfunkel
    Full Flyte and Old Friends got me through a lot of computer gaming time. Yes, it’s strange to listen to ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ and play Colin McRae Rally, but I was a strange kid. Still am, really.
11. Rockin’ the Suburbs — Ben Folds
    Reminds me of Alastair, particularly the time I visited him in St. Andrews (which was brilliant).
12. Einaudi’s I Giorni on Smooth Classics Do Not Disturb — Classic FM
    It’s not an album, but this song makes me feel like I’ve wasted my life. It particularly reminds me of those piano lessons. I hated piano lessons on account of them requiring serious consistent effort in contrast my being able to do most of school without trying.
13. Pet Sounds — The Beach Boys
    She was my first girlfriend, and we were going to get married. This album pretty much summed it up for me.
14. Songs for Christmas — Sufjan Stevens
    In a perfect world, this would be the definitive Christmas album. Unfortunately, not many people stick to Sufjan Stevens’ definition.
15. Final Fantasy VII Soundtrack — Nobuo Uematsu
    Well…

There are far more I can think of now I’ve done it. I could go on and talk about how I love the Buena Vista Social Club for the feeling of open space and freedom that I get from their music; and how I love War and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb by U2 for some of their simple but honest Christian themes. I could talk about much more too, but the constraints of the meme have caused me to stop.

Wikipedia
That’s over $2,500 for every man, woman and child in the United States, and about $115 for everyone in the World. I don’t have a clue about politics, but that seems fairly significant.

So says Alastair. Well, I can quantitatively prove it:
27/09/06: My Nerd Score was 38
Today it’s 62.


I’d feel proud, but I know I’d be more of a nerd if I could do that stress analysis work…
I’m also more of a computer geek, with a score of 59.

1. Where is your cell phone? Pocket
2. Your significant other? Illusive
3. Your hair? Einstein
4. Your mother? Joy
5. Your father? Multitasking
6. Your favourite? Cake
7. Your dream last night? Muddled
8. Your favourite drink? Absinthe
9. What room you are in? 101
10. Your hobby? Schadenfreude
11. Your fear? Insanity
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Germany
13. Where were you last night? Doldrums
14. Something that you aren’t? Expeditious
15. Muffins? Complicated
16. Wish list item? Perseverance
17. Where you grew up? Ireland
18. Last thing you did? Church
19. What are you wearing? Garments
20. Your TV? Historic
21. Your pets? Corgi
22. Friends? Inexplicable
23. Your life? Bumbling
24. Your mood? Default
25. Missing someone? Sometimes
26. Car? One-wheeled
27. Something you’re not wearing? Sporran
28. Your favourite store? Bookshop
29. Your favourite colour? Red
30. When is the last time you laughed? Mirror
31. Last time you cried? Bambi
32. Who will resend this? You?
33. One place that I go to over and over? Facebook
34. One person who emails me regularly? Careers
35. My favourite place to eat? Thainese

I’m taking a brief break from clearing my web server of viruses to inform you of Leo Naylor’s music. Leo is a long time friend of mine, and has put half of a song he is writing for his girlfriend on myspace. The song is called ‘Sternklar‘ and I recommend you listen to it. I was personally very impressed. Often I listen to friends’ music and I say something like ‘That’s not my kind of music’, but I genuinely like the sound of this.

Ubiquity gives you the feeling of being a linux nerd and knowing all the terminal commands while in firefox. It’s very intuitive, try it out. I am temporarily considered installing linux again due to seeing Pedro Martins’ computer and realising how cool linux can be in terms of the availability of functions etc., and how well it caters for people doing degrees such as mine.
Of course, the simple fact is that no-one chooses operating systems/computers primarily because they want to have better equipment ‘for their degree’, they just think something is cool and go with that. It FreeBSD was the best tool to study Mechanical Engineering, it would still be the case that no-one would use it.
Also, I have some proprietary software now, and moving over to Linux seems like a waste of all that. Dual boot just wastes time (not because of slow boot times, but because you always end up with a ‘work’ OS and a ‘play’ OS). You know when you’re wasting your time.