Aug 16 2011
If it’s daylight look around you, at everything illuminated by the sun. If it’s during the night look out at the starlight, filtering down from so far away. If you’re indoors look at the light bulbs and monitor screens as they pour light out into the room. Now for a moment think about light, …
Mar 14 2011
Between October 2005 and April 2009 I ran 3119 miles. This is an average of about 17 miles each week, with a maximum of 54.6 and a minimum of zero. I know this because I am not just a geek but a thorough geek. Every time I ran I would record the distance and …
Aug 30 2010
So I’m off to Nepal in a few days. The excitement has been building ever since I got my tickets. I’ve never been to that corner of the world before. Having read a fair bit about Nepal now, I know it’s going to be like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Sure going to France or …
Jul 07 2010
The most surprising number I’ve seen in mathematics is deeply connected with the notions of randomness and dimensionality. The first two numbers in the series that lead to this number are: 1, 1. So far so easy, one is a pretty straightforward number. To begin, I’ll reveal where these two ones come from. Imagine a …
Jun 22 2010
I woke up before my Alarm sounded, about 4:50am. Despite the very warm day ahead, it was quite cold in the early morning. I managed to get myself a cup of tea and a granola bar for my breakfast. Doesn’t seem like much but I knew my stomach would be unhappy during the swim if …
Apr 24 2010
The final publication of my PhD was accepted into Nature Physics and was also selected as the front cover article. My contribution to this publication was in setting up and running the experiment alongside optimising the experiment parameters and processing the data. In a nutshell, the result of the paper is the first demonstration of …
Nov 03 2009
Just came across this whilst looking through some old photos. It’s an image from my undergraduate project. It was made using a Spatial Light Modulator – a device which is essentially a programmable hologram. By using a computer I could make laser light reflecting from it form whatever shapes I wanted. As you can see …
Aug 06 2007
Through various parties pulling out, the team that eventually took part was “Norfolk & Chance”, consisting of Anne, David and myself. Another great weekend this year (with weather to match). Norfolk & Chance made their way around the entire course in 11 hours. We covered most of Edinburgh and some of the Pentlands with kayaking, …
Apr 28 2007
So… the marathon was a disaster. I was unfortunate enough to pick up a mild knee injury two weeks before the big day. It looked bleak until I went for a few sports massages to loosen things up. On the day my knee was feeling fine(ish) but I was very worried. Standing next to the …
Aug 07 2006
Okay, more racing related material – surprised? On Saturday 15th June Mark, Shona and myself embarked on the prologue of the Rat Race – a three hour run around the streets of Edinburgh dotted with ‘challenges’ – wheelchair rugby, racing bikes with no brakes, carrying sand-bags up chutes etc. We sprinted to the finish line …
