Post results

So, after the weekend in Manchester and having watched lady E run the race for life we have returned to Nottingham. So we only have a day or two now until I go off on Doug’s stag weekend and after that its a week in Sherringham on the Norfolk coast with JC and company. Which should be a nice relaxing break from the running around that has been accustomed in previous months. As soon as we get back from that lady E has some work experience to see if she wants to teach and then its practically graduation, which means leaving Nottingham.

Something that I hadn’t really thought about much that. I mean, I’d always kinda been looking forward to it because I couldn’t wait to get away from this place and the bureaucracy and other crap that has come with this place over the years. But now it’s becoming a little more real I guess. That and I think lady E is getting more upset by the day about the thought of me buggering off, her perhaps moving back with the parentals. And I guess that hasn’t bothered me until recently because I haven’t been thinking about it, and possibly because I think I’m starting to realise that I might actually miss her. Shock horror, I know, me, showing some emotion. Tough I know.

But, in other, slightly more positive news. I’ve had some good news come through, the news boss to be has contacted me saying that he has found some funds that will allow me to start work 6 weeks early. Meaning that I can be paid for the summer and I’ll have something to do through late August and September. Which is great cos it means that I’ll have some money coming in and I wont have to trawl the streets looking for a summer job. Granted that will perhaps mean that my summer plans will be a bit more restricted but it also means that I wont be going out of my mind with boredom.

And then that leaves us with the one last bit of news, aside from my gran sending me £50 for passing university (which she really shouldn’t all things considered). My exam transcripts and thus mark breakdown for all my modules were released yesterday. My research project was a very strong 2:1, but upsettingly my two cancer modules scraped past with only just 50% each which considering the time I spent revising, the days in the library, the purchasing of 2 specialist textbooks (at £60 a pop) doesn’t quite seem worth it. Which means that overall my average for the year was 60.1%, taking my complete degree average to 60.5%. Which I’ve gotta say is less than I hoped for but at the end of the day, I was not borderline, and the history books will only show me getting a 2:1, even if it was only by half a percent. And let’s face it I worked pretty damn hard for it. So all at once, I’m greatly relieved and disappointed at the same time. Relieved for the 2:1 and no viva, but disappointed that that 60.5 wasn’t a 65. But ca la vie. It’s all I needed and it’s all I need to carry on.

Older post

Nearly there

Newer post

Alton Towers

What distinguishes you from other developers?

I've built data pipelines across 3 continents at petabyte scales, for over 15 years. But the data doesn't matter if we don't solve the human problems first - an AI solution that nobody uses is worthless.

Are the robots going to kill us all?

Not any time soon. At least not in the way that you've got imagined thanks to the Terminator movies. Sure somebody with a DARPA grant is always going to strap a knife/gun/flamethrower on the side of a robot - but just like in Dr.Who - right now, that robot will struggle to even get out of the room, let alone up some stairs.

But AI is going to steal my job, right?

A year ago, the whole world was convinced that AI was going to steal their job. Now, the reality is that most people are thinking 'I wish this POC at work would go a bit faster to scan these PDFs'.

When am I going to get my self-driving car?

Humans are complicated. If we invented driving today - there's NO WAY IN HELL we'd let humans do it. They get distracted. They text their friends. They drink. They make mistakes. But the reality is, all of our streets, cities (and even legal systems) have been built around these limitations. It would be surprisingly easy to build self-driving cars if there were no humans on the road. But today no one wants to take liability. If a self-driving company kills someone, who's responsible? The manufacturer? The insurance company? The software developer?