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tcpipWhilst in New Zealand I received the rather sad news that ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
devilgirly had passed away. This rather amazing woman had been a good friend for the better part of twenty years or so. She attended our civil union, and a few years ago we spent Christmas lunch together. Back in the day she'd been a model of some note (alternative and retro), worked in the fashion industry and had some pretty fine music connections as well. Yet she also had an infectious good spirit, a genuine concern for others, and a very strong sense of social justice and fairness. Whilst often not always in the best health, it is still quite a shock to have a friend a good decade and younger than one's self suddenly pass on. Her funeral yesterday was dignified, often sad, and often joyous, and also an opportunity to meet up with some old friends. The chapel was full to standing room only (rather like a rock concert, I mused), and the wake was truly celebratory. I feel very deeply for her partner Dave who has spent a happy eleven years in her company, and of course her parents. I spent some time with her mother at the wake, and I could certainly see where she got her sparkling intellect and passion from. In the several days prior I had slowly worked my way through her old livejournal entries, reliving some memories old, good, and true.
I have completed and submitted the draft for my dissertation, the final piece of assessment for a Master of Science in Information Systems. There are still a few tables to fill in, some minor edits to complete, several hundred words to take out (unsurprisingly, I wrote over the limit), but I have until Saturday to finish all that, and it's not particularly onerous. Even most of the fiddly bits of formatting are in place, which always strikes me as the most useless part of any formal study. Almost on cue, today I also received a formal offer for casual work as a tutor in the computer science department at the very place where I work on a full-time basis. Bureaucracies can be downright weird like that; I must follow up on whether this is additional virtual paperwork is actually necessary. Also as time has a sense of humour, I am also giving HPC classes for the next three days; thirty researchers per day, five hours per workshop, ranging from the basics of the Linux command-line, to HPC job submission, and then the hairy, but the super-powerful world of regular expressions.
On the flight over from New Zealand, I watched most of the Good Omens TV series, which was only released in May last year, which is remarkably up-to-date for me. Last night I finished off the rest of the series, and I must say I rather liked it. Obviously, David Tennant makes for a fine demon as Crowley, but Michael Sheen's performance of as the angel Aziraphale is increasingly charming. Overall, the series remained quite true to the novel's plot and was visually quite briliant. The plot rolled along at a perfect pace, and the characterisation but all actors (even the dog) was quite delightful. I can't help but think the mistaken petition to cancel the show only enhanced its reputation. Anyway, I have a side history with this story - I purchased and read the paperback in the early 1990s, and have it signed by Terry Pratchett. Despite a couple of near opportunities, I don't yet have Neil Gaiman's signature to complement it. Hopefully, I should resolve that someday soon - before The Apocalypse.
devilgirly had passed away. This rather amazing woman had been a good friend for the better part of twenty years or so. She attended our civil union, and a few years ago we spent Christmas lunch together. Back in the day she'd been a model of some note (alternative and retro), worked in the fashion industry and had some pretty fine music connections as well. Yet she also had an infectious good spirit, a genuine concern for others, and a very strong sense of social justice and fairness. Whilst often not always in the best health, it is still quite a shock to have a friend a good decade and younger than one's self suddenly pass on. Her funeral yesterday was dignified, often sad, and often joyous, and also an opportunity to meet up with some old friends. The chapel was full to standing room only (rather like a rock concert, I mused), and the wake was truly celebratory. I feel very deeply for her partner Dave who has spent a happy eleven years in her company, and of course her parents. I spent some time with her mother at the wake, and I could certainly see where she got her sparkling intellect and passion from. In the several days prior I had slowly worked my way through her old livejournal entries, reliving some memories old, good, and true.I have completed and submitted the draft for my dissertation, the final piece of assessment for a Master of Science in Information Systems. There are still a few tables to fill in, some minor edits to complete, several hundred words to take out (unsurprisingly, I wrote over the limit), but I have until Saturday to finish all that, and it's not particularly onerous. Even most of the fiddly bits of formatting are in place, which always strikes me as the most useless part of any formal study. Almost on cue, today I also received a formal offer for casual work as a tutor in the computer science department at the very place where I work on a full-time basis. Bureaucracies can be downright weird like that; I must follow up on whether this is additional virtual paperwork is actually necessary. Also as time has a sense of humour, I am also giving HPC classes for the next three days; thirty researchers per day, five hours per workshop, ranging from the basics of the Linux command-line, to HPC job submission, and then the hairy, but the super-powerful world of regular expressions.
On the flight over from New Zealand, I watched most of the Good Omens TV series, which was only released in May last year, which is remarkably up-to-date for me. Last night I finished off the rest of the series, and I must say I rather liked it. Obviously, David Tennant makes for a fine demon as Crowley, but Michael Sheen's performance of as the angel Aziraphale is increasingly charming. Overall, the series remained quite true to the novel's plot and was visually quite briliant. The plot rolled along at a perfect pace, and the characterisation but all actors (even the dog) was quite delightful. I can't help but think the mistaken petition to cancel the show only enhanced its reputation. Anyway, I have a side history with this story - I purchased and read the paperback in the early 1990s, and have it signed by Terry Pratchett. Despite a couple of near opportunities, I don't yet have Neil Gaiman's signature to complement it. Hopefully, I should resolve that someday soon - before The Apocalypse.
