tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32345401997284964052024-03-19T04:03:11.378+00:00No, Thanks Mate!Things and stuff - a personal blogUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-11801854543774220572018-05-08T13:54:00.001+01:002018-05-08T13:54:14.716+01:00Grey catI used to live on a terrace that was frequently visited by a grey cat. We didn't think it belonged to anyone, as it was oddly skinny and hung around even in the rain.<br />
<br />
As it turned out, the cat belonged to someone a couple of streets away, who put up a message on our terrace's community noticeboard asking people to stop feeding him so he would come home. This resulted in a snarky response from one of the residents who was close to calling the RSPCA about the cat, as it didn't seem to have an owner.<br />
<br />
I don't know whether my neighbour continued feeding grey cat, but he visited lots more and seemed to enjoy posing for me.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/41254772934/in/datetaken-public/" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/41254772934/in/datetaken-public/" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/944/41254772934_95eabc4555.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Grey cat rolling around</i><br />
<br />
See more <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/" target="_blank">photos of cats (and things that aren't cats) at my Flickr page</a>.<i> </i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-63584583512865126752018-05-08T13:49:00.000+01:002018-05-08T14:30:05.823+01:00DublinHello!<br />
<br />
I went to Dublin a couple of years ago to visit my cousin, who was studying for a PhD there.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a data-context="true" data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/27731425045/in/datetaken-public/" title="Trinity College Library"><img alt="Trinity College Library" height="333" src="https://c6.staticflickr.com/8/7438/27731425045_9dfd9bc63c.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
<i>Trinity College Library</i><br />
<br />
<a data-context="true" data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/27118864154/in/datetaken-public/" title="Lion"><img alt="Lion" height="333" src="https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7456/27118864154_f019691345.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
<br />
<i>Lion door</i><br />
<br />
See the full <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/albums/72157668949143280" target="_blank">Dublin album on Flickr</a>.<i> </i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-29291073927752824872016-08-10T14:35:00.002+01:002016-08-10T14:36:20.865+01:00356 photo projectHello!<br />
<br />
After imploring my poor bashed-up phone to work properly for a few weeks, I finally gave in and bought a new one. I've moved away from Windows now and got an Android phone (partly because of Pokémon Go, partly because there are apps that I want to use that aren't available for Windows).<br />
<br />
Now that I've got my new phone, I can post to Instagram again. My last phone would just crash when I hit the button to throw my image at the internet, which scuppered my plan to start a 365 on my birthday last month.<br />
<br />
My definition of a 365 is taking a photo every day for the next year. The photo will document something from that day. I'll then post it on Instagram with a bit about what happened that day.<br />
<br />
You can check out <a href="https://www.instagram.com/missjith/" target="_blank">my 365 project at my Instagram page</a>.<br />
<br />
Here's a photo of a sleepy cat that didn't make it to Instagram (thanks old phone):<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ESS2iog-FSKV9J2pOcAr7TA43PNkMpeZvyMCR8fB0TJjsGaebsGWOUUvTHSoaGwldtuqzKELmaohcdLxWfOEUCkFUiqzSMeaPmgDXEy8thGwxxiPzG2WUBPNChHy-cwafiIQVgIqCCs/s1600/WP_20160801_15_03_10_Pro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ESS2iog-FSKV9J2pOcAr7TA43PNkMpeZvyMCR8fB0TJjsGaebsGWOUUvTHSoaGwldtuqzKELmaohcdLxWfOEUCkFUiqzSMeaPmgDXEy8thGwxxiPzG2WUBPNChHy-cwafiIQVgIqCCs/s320/WP_20160801_15_03_10_Pro.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-3275239554620771612016-06-17T17:47:00.004+01:002016-06-17T17:50:16.805+01:00Film photosHello!<br />
<br />
I have an old film camera that belonged to my dad. It's a Yashica that was purchased some time in the late 1980s. I've dabbled in film over the years, but ultimately always gone back to my SLR.<br />
<br />
I finally got a roll of film developed and couldn't remember what was on it. It turned out that the photos were from 2013 and 2014. Quite a lot of them were of the Gromit sculptures that were in Bristol in 2013.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a data-context="true" data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/27101057394/in/album-72157669754626256/" title="Gromit"><img alt="Gromit" height="333" src="https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7263/27101057394_dba01cc792.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
<br />
<i>Golden Gromit by Julie Vernon</i><br />
<br />
I particularly liked this one because it was shiny and I'm secretly a magpie!<br />
<br />
Look at <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/albums/72157669754626256" target="_blank">the full set of film photos on Flickr</a>.<br />
<br />
More recently we had sculptures of Shaun the Sheep around the city. The sculptures weren't just for fun though; they were auctioned off for the <a href="https://wallaceandgromitcharity.org/" target="_blank">Wallace & Gromit's Children's Charity</a> that raises money for sick children in the UK.<br />
<br />
Back to film: at the moment I've got a roll of black and white film in my camera, but I prefer using black and white in the winter when there are fewer pretty colours around. I might try taking some photos of the balloon fiesta with the film camera this year, as I now have piles of them in colour from my SLR. The perks of living high up with a great view of the skyline!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-29495774352650182712016-01-30T18:34:00.001+00:002016-06-17T17:50:37.265+01:00Small rabbitsHello!<br />
<br />
It's time for a story.<br />
<br />
A friend of mine (who designs the odd t-shirt or so, take a look at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lilsquiggletees/" target="_blank">Lilsquiggle Tees on Facebook</a> if you like t-shirts) owned two boy rabbits. The rabbits were called Twiglet and Oreo and they got on very well. VERY well.<br />
<br />
It then transpired that Twiglet was a lady rabbit, and possibly had the beginnings of smaller rabbits ensconced inside her. Soon enough, Twiglet and Oreo became the proud parents of many tiny rabbits.<br />
<br />
Naturally, we decided to take lots of photos of the kittens (yup, that is what baby rabbits are called). Here's a few from the set:<br />
<br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/24710883445/in/datetaken-public/" title="Rabbits in bowl"><img alt="Rabbits in bowl" height="333" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1475/24710883445_be76eb9951.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/24684675656/in/datetaken-public/" title="Rabbit"><img alt="Rabbit" height="333" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1715/24684675656_dd96423ba6.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
<br />
See the <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/albums/72157664061383576" target="_blank">full set of kitten bunnies on Flickr</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-80611519997745382412015-11-27T16:51:00.003+00:002016-05-14T14:08:52.590+01:00Jacobs Wells Community Hub websiteHello!<br />
<br />
I've been working on a volunteer basis with a local community group to help them set up a website. The <a href="http://jacobswellscommunityhub.com/" target="_blank">Jacobs Wells Community Hub (JWCH)</a> is aiming to get a community space in the Cliftonwood and Hotwells area of Bristol. They're also holding events for local people and generally trying to improve things in the area.<br />
<br />
They already had a Facebook page, which meant they could keep people up to date and share events quite easily, but they wanted a website, partly to meet accessibility needs. Some people in the community aren't Facebook users, while the small text and extra clutter around the Facebook page isn't helpful for people with poor eyesight.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PLhnz27F64nRDIcX0H70ApU2QrBi0Y-vjhVyKpNyFWEW6YoXIKNlt-0J8aJJh0r9GsR9PUHtT9SiBfFrcrP7HXYn6CJxs5zpozYNhT5z0z-St4QzmNiC7pn0PSvSfowzlCq4BuwxkpU/s1600/2015-11-27+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PLhnz27F64nRDIcX0H70ApU2QrBi0Y-vjhVyKpNyFWEW6YoXIKNlt-0J8aJJh0r9GsR9PUHtT9SiBfFrcrP7HXYn6CJxs5zpozYNhT5z0z-St4QzmNiC7pn0PSvSfowzlCq4BuwxkpU/s320/2015-11-27+%25281%2529.png" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Jacobs Wells Community Hub website</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As they wanted to update the website themselves with minutes from meetings and events, I decided to go with Wordpress. From their point of view it would be simple to use, while the wealth of support and plugins would be really ace for me as a developer!<br />
<br />
In my previous job at Bristol SU I set up <a href="http://www.lovewhereyoulivebristol.co.uk/" target="_blank">a website for the city's Love Where You Live campaign</a>, also using Wordpress. I used <a href="https://theme.wordpress.com/themes/pictorico/" target="_blank">the Pictorico theme</a> because it was very visual and the square boxy layout fit was in line previous Bristol SU projects.I showed this to JWCH and they liked the look of it, so we decided to use the same theme for their site.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvFkK7vSvQNCdhomy03R2LWwtcCB2BwweNCoeI53HXfCDjVcEQAArW43qhNk5oHHLfpKDXI5uAkHsyEQ0jb2YsTn9t8BfgLPQLLClF0DCj4e2_2oCyOBrY5jk-XAYluU_Ur6FoyUKFe0/s1600/2015-11-27.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvFkK7vSvQNCdhomy03R2LWwtcCB2BwweNCoeI53HXfCDjVcEQAArW43qhNk5oHHLfpKDXI5uAkHsyEQ0jb2YsTn9t8BfgLPQLLClF0DCj4e2_2oCyOBrY5jk-XAYluU_Ur6FoyUKFe0/s320/2015-11-27.png" width="203" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Love Where You Live Bristol website</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I did a bit of customisation as the original theme has some slidy effects that aren't the most user-friendly thing in the world. They also wanted the group's main aim to be quite prominent, so I had to make room for it in the header.<br />
<br />
Most of the tweaks I made were CSS based, but I had to fiddle about with some of the PHP as well. I've never learnt PHP and when I've used it before it's been with someone holding my hand, so I was little scared that I might break everything. The syntax isn't too awful when you're just dropping the odd statement into some HTML, so I managed to get it to do what I wanted.<br />
<br />
I've got a few little changes left to make to the site but it's pretty much complete now. Take a look at <a href="http://jacobswellscommunityhub.com/" target="_blank">the Jacobs Wells Community Hub site</a> and let me know what you think!<br />
<br />
It's been a nice change working on this. My day job no longer involves any coding at all, so I'm going to have to work on stuff in my own time so I don't get rusty. Next project will be rehauling this website. It doesn't look anything like what I want it to look like and the colours aren't very user-friendly. So stay tuned for that!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-47977098264089001572015-11-20T17:11:00.001+00:002016-06-17T17:50:55.450+01:00DigimakersHello,<br />
<br />
I've just uploaded another batch of <a href="http://www.digimakers.co.uk/" target="_blank">Digimakers</a> photos to Flickr. Digimakers is a series of workshops in Bristol to teach young people about cool things they can make and do with technology.<br />
<br />
I took these photos for <a href="http://www.missjith.com/robots-and-raspberry-pi/" target="_blank">my master's project about outreach in Computer Science</a>. You can read a bit <a href="http://blog.missjith.com/2015/02/digimakers-technology-outreach.html" target="_blank">more about Digimakers in my previous blog post about it</a>.<br />
<br />
Here's a couple of photo highlights:<br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/22756147757/in/album-72157660711678769/" title="Digimakers"><img alt="Digimakers" height="333" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/625/22756147757_2bf0426656.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
Etch-a-sketch<br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/23150375455/in/album-72157660711678769/" title="Digimakers"><img alt="Digimakers" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5626/23150375455_4d25d143a0.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
Raspberry Pi programming with Sonic Pi<br />
<br />
Take a look at <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/albums/72157660711678769" target="_blank">the full set of Digimakers photos on Flickr</a>. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-32607929436391128982015-11-08T15:43:00.000+00:002015-11-08T15:43:16.181+00:00Cats and foodHello,<br />
<br />
A long overdue update from me...tackling the photo backlog again.<br />
<br />
Last year I volunteered for BBC Radio 4 and photographed an event that was part of Bristol Food Connections. There were lots of happy people trying out tasty food in the beautiful spring weather:<br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/22847805646/in/album-72157660227910109/" title="Slow Food 5 April 2014"><img alt="Slow Food 5 April 2014" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5826/22847805646_d723785be7.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
<br />
You can look at <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/albums/72157660227910109" target="_blank">the full set of photos from Slow Food on Flickr</a>.<br />
<br />
I also met a couple of beautiful cats that day.<br />
<br />
One was relaxing in the sun:<br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/22455351277/in/datetaken-public/" title="Cat"><img alt="Cat" height="333" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/643/22455351277_576527d401.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
<br />
The other was very intrigued by something but I couldn't see what it was looking at:<br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/22685731470/in/datetaken-public/" title="Cat"><img alt="Cat" height="500" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/657/22685731470_e6b0bf56d0.jpg" width="333" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-30914339536498563022015-08-28T12:11:00.001+01:002015-08-28T12:12:15.300+01:00Life updateHello!<br />
<br />
Here is a Shaun sculpture, which is part of the <a href="http://shauninthecity.org.uk/" target="_blank">Shaun in the City</a> Bristol trail:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZy6AjqLUnaq1J99IYSM4YI2oiLr61R0SVPzZQO0r2u6fV87ZmVtJlCi7KQMSc_A22_kKBWApoY-L9n6F9xw_gjri1kYcJ7XMx8R_NbKrDOCUSBvQfhcOBai-qKUwSw9K2BJzSYOS660o/s1600/WP_20150803_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZy6AjqLUnaq1J99IYSM4YI2oiLr61R0SVPzZQO0r2u6fV87ZmVtJlCi7KQMSc_A22_kKBWApoY-L9n6F9xw_gjri1kYcJ7XMx8R_NbKrDOCUSBvQfhcOBai-qKUwSw9K2BJzSYOS660o/s640/WP_20150803_001.jpg" width="360" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
I'll update with more words soon, but here is an overview of what I've been up to over the last couple of months:<br />
<ul>
<li>Started a new job at <a href="http://bristol.gov.uk/" target="_blank">Bristol City Council</a> - mainly writing and editing content. I now know more about bins and parking than I have ever wanted or needed to know.</li>
<li>Did jury service, which involved lots of waiting around and reading, although I did get to sit on two cases.</li>
<li>Found lots of Shauns (the one above is just one of 70 in Bristol).</li>
<li>Began working on a <a href="http://jacobswellscommunityhub.com/" target="_blank">local community website</a> and learning more Wordpress (it's coming soon, hopefully will make it live this afternoon).</li>
</ul>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-89307176878162042702015-06-20T17:46:00.003+01:002015-06-20T17:47:15.765+01:00Residents' parking: Clifton traders march in protest<b>Traders from Clifton Village marched to City Hall in protest of the council’s <a href="http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/transport-and-streets/clifton-village-cv-residents-parking-scheme" target="_blank">proposed residents’ parking scheme</a>, which they believe will lead to the “death” of the village.</b><br />
<br />
Protestors are worried that the introduction of parking meters and time limits on parking will result in fewer people visiting the village, leading to Clifton losing its character. Alison Bracey from business group <a href="http://www.bidcliftonvillage.co.uk/" target="_blank">BID Clifton Village</a>, who organised the protest, said: “We don’t feel residents’ parking is going to benefit the businesses.<br />
<br />
“There’s a lot of businesses in the village that have a high number of employees. There’s actually no way that those staff can get to work. Some of those businesses have around 90 employees. If they can’t get their staff to work, then they can’t operate and that’s actually really scary.”<br />
<br />
Tony Golledge, owner of The Mall Newsagents, echoed these concerns:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/F-D4gP6M714" width="560"></iframe><br />
<h4>
Ferguson responds</h4>
Mayor George Ferguson has been responding to queries about the scheme on Twitter:<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Good question <a href="https://twitter.com/missionverdana">@missionverdana</a> It's fear of change. General experience is that residents parking schemes improve place & increase turnover.<br />
<br />
— George Ferguson (@GeorgeFergusonx) <a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeFergusonx/statuses/451847204987478016">April 3, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" type="text/javascript"></script>Although campaigners are worried that parking will be limited to an hour, Ferguson has replied saying that there will be three and five hour parking bays available a short walk from businesses:<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
We have <a href="https://twitter.com/CSwinscoeHair">@CSwinscoeHair</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Paulnuk">@Paulnuk</a> there is 3 hours within 3 minutes walk. Campaigners fail to mention this for reason best known to themselves<br />
<br />
— George Ferguson (@GeorgeFergusonx) <a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeFergusonx/statuses/452003911441088512">April 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
Proposal maps released by the council show different restrictions on each road, with some roads only catering for residents or traders with permits.<br />
<br />
However, people on the streets of Clifton are unhappy about the proposed changes:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Soa99Hc56J8" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
The new parking measures will be introduced in Clifton Village on Thursday 1 May. A review of the scheme will take place six months after it is launched, which will give the council the opportunity to change the scheme to make sure it still meets the needs of the community.<br />
<br />
The following area will be covered by the Clifton Village residents’ parking scheme:<br />
<br />
<iframe height="384" src="https://mapsengine.google.com/map/u/0/embed?mid=zescbrQ_dRuQ.kmQEaUouUJ18" width="512"></iframe><br />
<br />
It is clear that traders in Clifton Village are unhappy about the introduction of a residents’ parking scheme, but it remains to be seen whether the changes will actually impact the area negatively.<br />
<br />
<i>Objections to the proposals can be made in writing or sent to the council <a href="mailto:tro.comments@bristol.gov.uk" target="_blank">via email</a> until Friday 11 April. Please quote reference CAE/NMT/P/888 and include your name and address.</i><br />
<h4>
Related links:</h4>
Bristol City Council: <a href="http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/transport-and-streets/residents%E2%80%99-parking-schemes-rps-how-new-schemes-work-residents" target="_blank">Residents’ parking schemes (RPS): how new schemes work for residents</a><br />
<br />
Bristol City Council: <a href="http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/transport-and-streets/residents%E2%80%99-parking-schemes-rps-how-new-schemes-work-businesses" target="_blank">Residents’ parking schemes (RPS): how new schemes work for businesses </a><br />
<br />
<i>Story by Rajitha Ratnam</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-90791915382194286792015-06-20T17:45:00.001+01:002015-06-20T17:48:31.253+01:00Clifton Residents' ParkingHello!<br />
<br />
I'm catching up with my backlog again. Last year there were a number of protests around the Residents' Parking Scheme proposed for Clifton Village in Bristol. I went along to one and covered it for my Multimedia Journalism coursework.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/18370013233/in/dateposted-public/"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/341/18370013233_c34d3093c1.jpg" /> </a><br />
<br />
Local business owners and residents believed that the changes would be the death of Clifton Village's character and vibrancy as people would no longer be able to get to the area easily without being able to park. <br />
<br />
<a dateposted-public="" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3234540199728496405" https:="" in="" missionverdana="" photos="" www.flickr.com=""><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3931/18802986950_23a6358608.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
As part of the assignment I also made a video package:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uaecxCc0yR8" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
I've just spent the day on a stall for the University of Bristol's open day so my brain is a bit melty and not wanting to write words, so I've uploaded the <a href="http://blog.missjith.com/2015/06/residents-parking-clifton-traders-march.html" target="_blank">full article I wrote about the parking protests</a> back in 2014 instead. Enjoy!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-8236905807282605832015-04-26T15:57:00.002+01:002015-04-26T15:57:50.357+01:00Bristol ZooHello!<br />
<br />
It's been a while since my last post as I've had some very busy weekends, including going to my first multiday LAN! (A++ would go again.)<br />
<br />
My gloriously cheap student Adobe CC subscription ran out last month so I've bitten the bullet and got a Photographer CC subscription (which comes with Lighroom and Photoshop) so I can continue editing photos. I was tempted to go for the full CC suite but my free time is limited and it was expensiiiiive.<br />
<br />
I've got a <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/sets/72157652128468776/" target="_blank">tiny batch of photos</a> to show you this time, from another trip to <a href="http://www.bristolzoo.org.uk/" target="_blank">Bristol Zoo Gardens</a>. There were baby meerkats but I couldn't get any good photos since they were basically being sat on by larger meerkats. Never mind, have a golden lion tamarin instead:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/17250976776/in/set-72157652128468776" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8757/17250976776_4f32e87164.jpg" /></a><br />
<span id="goog_189670275"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_189670276"></span><br />
Check out <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/sets/72157652128468776/" target="_blank">the full set on Flickr</a> or look at <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/" target="_blank">my photostream</a> for photos of other things (both zoo and non-zoo related).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-72357776026773408842015-02-22T19:23:00.002+00:002015-04-11T09:56:01.484+01:00Digimakers: Technology outreachHiiii,<br />
<br />
I'm getting through the photo backlog still - now in 2014! I've actually already processed some of the larger sets from last year because I used the images for my Master's degree, but there's some new stuff to get through as well.<br />
<br />
This first set of photos is from a <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCMQFjAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fdigimakersbristol&ei=2inqVOySIpLe7AaW_oAg&usg=AFQjCNGQKbOb7l5m9JdArq1AwTK71_iA2g&sig2=osVejOeDa4Wg94x1mgRKtg&bvm=bv.86475890,d.ZGU" target="_blank">Digimakers</a> event that took place in March 2014. Digimakers is a series of workshops that aims to get more people (particularly children) using technology to make exciting things. To find out a bit more, take a look at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0MgcstgW_I" target="_blank">this video package I made about the workshops</a> for a piece of coursework.<br />
<br />
And now on to the photos! This picture is the one I used as the main image for my <a href="http://missjith.com/robots-and-raspberry-pi/" target="_blank">final master's project</a>. I took a lot of close up shots at the two Digimakers events I attended, but this one shows a bit more of what is going on. These two boys are being taught to use <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CEIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.raspberrypi.org%2F&ei=mirqVMjoBYzraOfhgYAK&usg=AFQjCNEBMoebclm0Gk0LCZIStJbF04U1cQ&sig2=xgwjpHRAsmW0V23aVf61sg&bvm=bv.86475890,d.d2s" target="_blank">Raspberry Pi</a> computers. Raspis are small and cheap and you can use them to do all sorts of things, so they work well for computing outreach. <br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/16407170497/"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8588/16407170497_229d8ff119.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Students from the <a href="http://bristol.robogals.org.uk/" target="_blank">Bristol chapter of Robogals</a>, an organisation that does STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) outreach mainly aimed at young women, also run workshops as part of Digimakers. They use LEGO Mindstorms robots.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/16427440250/"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8629/16427440250_dbb5c4b38b.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
The robots can be programmed in different ways. Robogals run robot dance-off workshops for more advanced participants. A more basic way to program the robots is to get them to follow a track, which is what the child in this photo has done. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/16428644449/"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8580/16428644449_d272dcd7c0.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
You can see <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/sets/72157650969337871/" target="_blank">the full set of photos from this event on my Flickr page</a> or <a href="http://missjith.com/robots-and-raspberry-pi/#bristol" target="_blank">find out more about computing outreach in Bristol at the online feature I created</a>. The <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/digimakers-saturday-28th-february-2015-tickets-15201494078" target="_blank">next Digimakers event is on 28 February, so go sign up and have a go at something new</a>! You don't need to be accompanied by a child to take part.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-7382290104959814682015-02-15T15:34:00.002+00:002015-02-15T15:34:35.982+00:00Bristol Zoo in the winterHello everyone!<br />
<br />
I've been going through my (very large) photo backlog and I've nearly finished 2013...yes, I've got a ways to go.<br />
<br />
When I was doing my master's I did a piece on ways people improve their mental wellbeing. As part of that, I interviewed <a href="http://noely-g.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">the lovely Sara</a>, who volunteers at <a href="http://www.bristolzoo.org.uk/" target="_blank">Bristol Zoo Gardens</a>. Volunteering is a great way to get back into doing work when you may have had a bit of a break, and if you<a href="http://www.bristolzoo.org.uk/volunteer" target="_blank"> help out at the zoo</a> you can get in for free, which is quite handy, especially in the summer!<br />
<br />
We decided to do the interview at the zoo - managed to find a place with ducks for some nice atmospheric noise - and then wandered around looking at the animals.<br />
<br />
It was pretty close to Christmas so they had some reindeer visiting, which was pretty exciting! There were lots of small children getting very excited so it was a bit tricky to get a good shot so I thought I'd frame the picture with the kids.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/16526265221/" target="_blank"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7408/16526265221_54f111abd5.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Sara volunteers in the lemur walkthrough so we spent a bit of time watching them. This little guy was chowing down on a sweet potato, while his buddies had cucumbers and bananas and all sorts of other goodies.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/16501960826/" target="_blank"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7342/16501960826_bb48cd3630.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I seem to have quite a few photos of capybaras from this visit to the zoo, so here is one just chilling out.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/16340295558/" target="_blank"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7420/16340295558_b23365ef96.jpg/" /></a><br />
<br />
And finally, we found this rather happy frog. So pleased! It can be quite tricky to get shots of animals in enclosures as there's stuff like glass or netting in the way, so I'm happy with how this turned out.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/16501967526/" target="_blank"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7422/16501967526_cf47a73995.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Check out <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/sets/72157648480822494" target="_blank">the rest of the zoo collection</a> or have a look at my <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/missionverdana/" target="_blank">Flickr photostream</a> for more pictures.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-7234237236868086352014-10-11T15:14:00.002+01:002014-12-02T19:42:43.280+00:00Goodbye Master's, hello job!Hello!<br />
<br />
I've been oh so quiet because I now have a job and things and when I get home all I want to do is veg instead of write blog posts and I've had a lot of very busy weekends...but guess what, I'm ill again! Totally bored of watching TV and not in the mood to read, so that clearly means it's time to update this.<br />
<h4>
Robots & Raspberry Pi</h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missjith.com/robots-and-raspberry-pi/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCm1Ce3RfhobG-IpUMD5nSBGWBCQWWxkQlKKn4fPhPmyuArIuzag2sLLfI8j5ee13qWD7RZGrD5ZDqKE-jkW0cDjzbOE9FfCPLQ2OmT0PGQqmaNQUwY1ReFw75kiWG9W4kS5iY8YlPsCA/s1600/projectsplash.png" height="276" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://missjith.com/robots-and-raspberry-pi/" target="_blank">Final Master's project is online</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So a summer's worth of work is now done and handed in! My <a href="http://missjith.com/robots-and-raspberry-pi/" target="_blank">multimedia feature about the new Computing curriculum</a> is complete, so please do take a look and let me know what you think.<br />
<br />
I was really pleased to get an email interview with the amazing <a href="https://twitter.com/maggiephilbin" target="_blank">Maggie Philbin</a>, formerly of Tomorrow's World and current leader of the UK Digital Skills Taskforce. It made writing the dreaded intro so much easier! Thanks to all my other contributors as well (in order of appearance): <a href="http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk/home/nigel/" target="_blank">Nigel Smart</a>, Collette Denley, Elena Hensinger, Matt Rawlings, Laura Sharp, <a href="http://www.computingatschool.org.uk/" target="_blank">Claire Davenport (CAS)</a>, <a href="http://bristol.robogals.org.uk/" target="_blank">Thomas Hancock (Robogals)</a>, <a href="http://bristolgirlgeekdinners.com/" target="_blank">Maria Felice (Bristol Girl Geek Dinners)</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/SheCodesBath" target="_blank">Hazel Ho (She Codes Bath)</a>, Ben Marshall, <a href="http://you.flangle.me/press/index.php" target="_blank">Mark Wonnacott</a>, <a href="http://kwmc.org.uk/" target="_blank">James Kennaby (Knowle West Media Centre</a>), <a href="http://www.aardman.com/" target="_blank">George Rowe (Aardman Animations)</a> and last but not least, <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/engineering/schools/mven" target="_blank">Caroline Higgins at MVSE</a> (thanks for all your support during my undergrad and the help with this project!). I couldn't have done it without your help!<br />
<h4>
Employment, job, real person</h4>
A deluge of applications and one job interview later, I found myself in the rather bizarre job of Website & Digital Coordinator at the <a href="http://www.ubu.org.uk/" target="_blank">University of Bristol Students' Union</a>. Bizarre because it's half coding and tidying up the website and half commissioning/writing content for the website. I must be one of the few people in the world strange enough to have done a BSc in Computer Science followed by an MA in Journalism, so this post is basically perfect for me.<br />
<br />
I'm working in a small marketing team and while wrangling with a website that has had such a fragmented past can be frustrating (anyone who has ever sat down at a programming project and bemoaned the lack of comments pointing out why Mr X from several years ago decided doing something in a strange roundabout way will understand), it's a nice place to work and everyone is friendly.<br />
<br />
It is a little bit weird working at the union which formed a large part of my life as a student at UoB, but I think my insight into how things were done in the past is a great help - I know what not to do and what has worked well in the past, from a student's point of view!<br />
<br />
It's also great to see the (ahem) outdated 60s carpark building transform into a modern space that less engaged students will actually want to make use of. The renovations are scheduled to be completed in early 2015, but there are brand new rooms already refurbished and open to students. <a href="http://www.cogsbristol.co.uk/" target="_blank">COGS Bristol</a> will be holding their first overnight LAN there today, and while I'm feeling wayyyy too grim to make it through the night, I am hoping to pop in to get some photos of the event.<br />
<br />
Right, I think that's about it for now, so I'll go back to dying in bed for another couple of hours. That seems to be an ongoing theme with this blog. Hopefully I'll update again soon when I'm NOT ill!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-32683792389784444092014-07-31T12:13:00.000+01:002014-07-31T12:21:21.020+01:00Guardian and 'fluHey friends!<br />
<br />
I've been in London over the last couple of weeks doing work experience at the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk" target="_blank">Guardian </a>as part of their <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/workforus/equality-and-diversity-positive-action" target="_blank">Positive Action Scheme</a>. I was meant to start another week of work experience in Bristol on Monday, but I got struck down with the 'flu and spent the weekend in bed, instead of on trains to Bristol ): Mum kindly drove me back to Bristol on Monday, where I proceeded to collapse in bed for another couple of days. Ugh. I'm hoping to start my work experience at <a href="http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/" target="_blank">Who Do You Think You Are?</a> magazine tomorrow (perhaps armed with a pile of paracetamol since my head is refusing to stop aching).<br />
<br />
Anyway, let's talk a bit about the Guardian! So over the two weeks I spent a couple of days at five desks (G2, Multimedia, Society, Travel and Culture) doing a variety of things. My personal highlight was cutting up clips of Edward Snowden for use as syndicated content. It was a pretty simple task, but being able to watch all that footage (four hours!) was an incredible insight into Snowden's life.<br />
<br />
I also got to do some writing and had a little piece about the cabinet reshuffle published in last Wednesday's Society section (eee, a byline!), as well as some little bits in Saturday's Travel pull-out. It was pretty fun getting to write content on such a wide range of topics - from surfing to salamanders to Sinead O'Connor. Not all of it got published but I got some really useful feedback.<br />
<br />
Here's some of the words I got published (the bits about CitizenM and Z Glasgow), from a feature on <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/jul/26/commonwealth-games-glasgow-travel-guide" target="_blank">Glasgow</a>, home of this year's Commonwealth Games: <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/jul/26/commonwealth-games-glasgow-travel-guide" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqatpWU84lW8lu8l8P23E-B9BMaOdg2BV0RDOIzvzLIVMKNpSw5lpSE8k_-TBBw3rp4Vc3tguEBkpsj7PPDUvuRl-2484KSH6HZyQqPF2B7-Y1bZqYFCUyq4dcwv8p8oa_lBgJR2HiHiY/s1600/glasgow-hotels.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/jul/26/commonwealth-games-glasgow-travel-guide" target="_blank">CitizenM and Z Glasgow reviews by me - I claim no credit for the Grasshoppers one!</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-25099211436711965042014-07-10T22:20:00.001+01:002014-07-10T22:20:31.657+01:00What is Computer Science?Hello everybody!<br />
<br />
I've been hard at work on my project, which I am very close to making public - just waiting on the last couple of interviews to be done before I release the site for testing.<br />
<br />
I really wanted to share some of what I've done with you all, so I've put a video up on Youtube. To give you a little bit more context, my final project is about the new Computing curriculum in English schools and the outreach that is being done to get kids interested in Computer Science.<br />
<br />
I wanted to keep the feature quite general, so it would be the kind of piece that could slot in to the features section of a national news website, rather than being specifically tailored to a technical audience. In order to achieve this, I had to explain what CS is. Throughout my undergrad degree, I often had people asking me what I even learnt...so who better to explain than crytographer extraordinaire, Nigel Smart?<br />
<br />
Nigel is a Professor at the <a href="http://www.bris.ac.uk/" target="_blank">University of Bristol</a>, doing research into cryptography as a means of securing systems. Here's his take on CS:<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4KbEddBGnys" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
One of the important things with a large multimedia feature is to have a variety of page elements - I didn't want it all to be text, but I also didn't want every section to have the same format. I thought I'd experiment and try making an audio slideshow - a great way of showcasing some photos and getting Nigel's point across without making people read swathes of text.<br />
<br />
If you're interested in checking out some more audio slideshows, I would recommend the Guardian's <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/audioslideshow/2014/may/02/van-gogh-london-house-artangel-audio-slideshow" target="_blank">poetic piece about Van Gogh</a>. My tutor suggested looking at <a href="http://www.ciaraleeming.co.uk/" target="_blank">Ciara Leeming</a>'s work, which is simply beautiful, definitely worth viewing!<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-49884157142149483402014-06-28T16:51:00.001+01:002014-06-28T16:51:11.893+01:00Work, work and more workHihi!<br />
<br />
So I'm finally totally moved in to my new flat, oh so exciting! Beyond that, nothing particularly noteworthy has happened.<br />
<br />
I've decided to set myself mini-deadlines for the first drafts of each section of my project, so this week's piece is about outreach for females in technology. I'm finding it a lot easier to edit video/audio - just not particularly in the mood to write at the moment. That said, I have managed to make some words appear, so here is a sneak preview so you can see what I've done so far...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZGpKnelhDxBLr2tFTGSfsOdEHCwDYBARhPQqEK8an_qhsx5qpezsaPmygw1G4cOVXUGsWjjm5VGcsRoaQMiNrHWXlHzRtGfIW5pAEB0hpFLItvs1W77zV4g6hg5QKsYLLfkF95DXKbk/s1600/rrr-screencap2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZGpKnelhDxBLr2tFTGSfsOdEHCwDYBARhPQqEK8an_qhsx5qpezsaPmygw1G4cOVXUGsWjjm5VGcsRoaQMiNrHWXlHzRtGfIW5pAEB0hpFLItvs1W77zV4g6hg5QKsYLLfkF95DXKbk/s200/rrr-screencap2.png" height="201" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The whole deadline thing actually seems to be working, though - I've already got a draft of a complete article done and this one is fairly close to being finished. Except I've got to write words now since there's no audio/video for the missing section. Boo. I think it's really helping me to think of the 'pages' as self-contained articles - before I was floundering trying to randomly complete tasks from a gigantic list, but now I have some focus and work is happening. Yay!<br />
<br />
I'm going to leave it at that for now - need to get some words written before I head off to catch up on the Game of Thrones TV series...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-60610078170617837942014-06-19T12:52:00.001+01:002014-07-11T12:00:38.004+01:00General updateHello everyone!<br />
<br />
Right, there are various reasons I've been quiet since the massive design update to the blog - the main one being that I've started work on my final project.<br />
<br />
As part of my MA, I have a project unit which consists of a couple of essays, three weeks of work experience and a production in whatever media we prefer. I've gone for multimedia aka online. Since I've got some (a fair bit of) front-end web dev knowledge, I decided to code my own website rather than using a CMS. I gained Wordpress experience from the multimedia module so I figured it would be cool to try something different! The website is just a static page, but it's going to have tons of content on.<br />
<br />
I really liked the layout Riot Games used on their <a href="http://promo.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/lunar-revel-2014/" target="_blank">Lunar Revel</a> minisite, so I thought I would go for a similar look. Having done the research and checked out some multimedia features (like the amazing <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2012/snow-fall/#/?part=tunnel-creek" target="_blank">New York Times coverage of the avalanche at Tunnel Creek</a>), I've designed something that is a lot simpler than the Riot Games page in terms of design elements, but more suited to the purpose - I want readers to focus on the content, not the layout.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMe3KE2alpa5kERJOqNO8FY41tq4PzhXnuNQewpMIg3fu8ERykYIRKPGT4rxjGVmNtLK6CIV68bqmbSpn9K2_PsDyM9eU0VjoLWcKcVP_kaClGe3-sRPFxb5IEa16Azf-1TtYhylDHnck/s1600/rrr-screencap.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMe3KE2alpa5kERJOqNO8FY41tq4PzhXnuNQewpMIg3fu8ERykYIRKPGT4rxjGVmNtLK6CIV68bqmbSpn9K2_PsDyM9eU0VjoLWcKcVP_kaClGe3-sRPFxb5IEa16Azf-1TtYhylDHnck/s1600/rrr-screencap.png" height="377" width="640" /></a></td><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's a screencap of what I've got so far - it's a work in progress so I won't link to it just yet!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Well, I say readers, it's a multimedia project so there will be video, audio and (hopefully) some interactive graphics. I've not done anything fancy with SVG and JavaScript so I figured this would be a good opportunity to give it a go.<br />
<br />
So I've been busy coding and interviewing and writing...I'm also in the process of moving to an exciting new flat, which is a bit painful in the current hot and humid weather. The IKEA delivery guys had fun tramping up three flights of stairs in the heat to bring me my bed yesterday. Yup, I'm in an unfurnished place so had the added fuss of getting furniture. Managed to score a ridiculous desk/shelf combo for free off Gumtree, so I'm sorted for storage!<br />
<br />
I wanted to do another photo blog post as I've shot a couple of exciting things since my last update, but I need to get the pictures up on Flickr first, so stay tuned for that. I have a few more weeks of just working on project before I start two weeks of work experience at the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk" target="_blank">Guardian</a>. I'm really looking forward to it - they do some amazing stuff with multimedia and data. Plus I've never been behind the scenes at a national newspaper, so that in itself will be a great learning experience. After that I'm back in Bristol for a week at <a href="http://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/" target="_blank">Who Do You Think You Are? magazine</a>, then back to finishing up my production and writing reflective essays. So I'll hopefully find some time to sort out those photos soon!<br />
<br />
I shall leave you with a cat, because this is the internet and everyone loves cats. This little lovely is a neighbour cat at my new flat and likes to relax outside in the evening sun, waiting for attention from besotted humans!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50T_8r5Q_VFIeIpufHMDgfCq82SWcnXJutySkVfQpwBh_dYTgo9akOwbxlNtILb9GtigyWXqd7kgvdplMkziSGvNno3cCOqyRT50acd09YF1qHhH3L4RVzZPb2cjD_kssDiOUpiC3cPI/s1600/WP_20140611_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50T_8r5Q_VFIeIpufHMDgfCq82SWcnXJutySkVfQpwBh_dYTgo9akOwbxlNtILb9GtigyWXqd7kgvdplMkziSGvNno3cCOqyRT50acd09YF1qHhH3L4RVzZPb2cjD_kssDiOUpiC3cPI/s1600/WP_20140611_002.jpg" height="320" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cat wants attention. Attentions please!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-17939081021783850442014-05-09T14:33:00.002+01:002014-07-11T12:02:13.079+01:00New layout!Hihi,<br />
<br />
I'm currently in the process of redesigning <a href="http://www.missjith.com/" target="_blank">my personal website</a>, so I thought I'd update this blog to match.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, Blogger doesn't make this easy if you want to use custom CSS (which I do, since I want pretty webfonts). It would be a lot easier if they just gave you a list of the classes and ids and you could edit that way, but if you add CSS you get a blank box and you have to work out whatever it is you want to do. At least it updates a preview automatically though, so you can see exactly what you have changed.<br />
<br />
Alternatively, you can edit the HTML (which includes scripting and CSS) for whatever template you're using, which allows you to see the actual CSS that Blogger's template uses. However, you then have to hit "Preview" every time you make a change, which isn't ideal. I guess you could copy the CSS to the custom CSS editor and make changes in there to take advantage of the automatically-updated preview, but that's still fiddly and inconvenient!<br />
<br />
I'd like to have control over the layout and everything myself, but a) I don't have my own server, which I would need to efficiently implement a blog (no, I am NOT doing it in JavaScript) and b) I'd have to spend a lot more time doing server maintenance and filling in the gaps in my knowledge (especially when it comes to security issues). So, I suppose I will have to continue wrestling with Blogger to customise the layout. I'm fairly happy with Blogger overall; the interface for creating/updating posts themselves is clean and easy to use. Wordpress just feels a lot more cluttered to me.<br />
<br />
Anyway, let me know if you encounter any hideous technical issues with the blog (not that I expect there to be any)!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-55373617352583362552014-05-06T22:38:00.002+01:002014-07-04T14:38:35.245+01:00Belgium: Leuven, Brussels, Oostende<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7TwZmDL9iKlPIZ2azIsrpuf6sPnnIxRTRIw_wFr0qBH5llTcWWgzdPD60ib4N1yEeR5899pXebTPqSj8zs9zlJvnMN8SkY2sq8Yt79u-fFdt3DkrEzNTi3KrJduuB3Ogkm_It4GxRBIg/s1600/IMG_0730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7TwZmDL9iKlPIZ2azIsrpuf6sPnnIxRTRIw_wFr0qBH5llTcWWgzdPD60ib4N1yEeR5899pXebTPqSj8zs9zlJvnMN8SkY2sq8Yt79u-fFdt3DkrEzNTi3KrJduuB3Ogkm_It4GxRBIg/s400/IMG_0730.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grand Place</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>A (very) belated post about my trip to Belgium last year...</i><br />
<br />
One of the few good things about my (awful) first year accommodation was that it's very popular with students doing a year abroad in Bristol, which meant I made a lot of friends from other countries. Last year, I visited musicologist <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ruben-laureys" target="_blank">Ruben</a> in <a href="http://www.leuven.be/en/tourism/" target="_blank">Leuven</a>, a university town rich in history.<br />
<h4>
<b>Getting there</b></h4>
I opted for the Eurostar from Kings Cross St Pancras, which was a lot cheaper than flying. You can currently get a <a href="http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/calendar/find-your-69-return-brussels" target="_blank">return to Brussels for just £69</a>. Conveniently, this ticket is also valid for up to 24 hours after you arrive at Brussels for onward travel to other Belgian stations, so I took a short train ride to Leuven station. Planning rail journeys in Belgium is really easy; <a href="http://www.belgianrail.be/" target="_blank">Belgian Rail has an informative website</a> that caters for multiple languages, including English.<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>Accommodation and travel</b></h4>
I was lucky to be able to stay in the spare room at Ruben's in Heverlee, which is a <i>deelgemeente </i>of Leuven (equivalent to a borough). There are plenty of hostels in Leuven but a quick search seems to indicate that a night in a hostel is around €20 - €25, which is the same price range as a hostel in Brussels itself. So, you may as well stay in Brussels if you've not been there before. <br />
<br />
If you can find cheaper accommodation in Leuven, it's only 15 minutes on the train from Brussels. You can get <a href="http://www.belgianrail.be/en/travel-tickets/tickets/go-pass-1.aspx" target="_blank">cheaper train tickets for €6</a> if you're under 26. If you're staying a bit longer and want to explore other parts of Belgium, the discount train tickets are pretty useful!<br />
<br />
There are plenty of <a href="http://www.stib-mivb.be/index.htm?l=en" target="_blank">buses </a>in Leuven so getting around is easy. If you buy <a href="http://www.stib-mivb.be/10-voyages-ritten.html?l=en" target="_blank">10 tickets in advance</a> it's cheaper and you can split them up between you if you're travelling with other people so you don't end up buying more than you actually need.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2AJOkRHe4dhphI64myantA0v2MLu6Yry2GkRqRKu13wEBD3PVqQq1ulCwt9W-0JXjDpytMdzVwYZiskWkKa_UGsfJ4sIGN_tpCqlQDesvpOyTAv75W440ndd7pER2CrVvUHklXEYNNIg/s1600/IMG_0687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2AJOkRHe4dhphI64myantA0v2MLu6Yry2GkRqRKu13wEBD3PVqQq1ulCwt9W-0JXjDpytMdzVwYZiskWkKa_UGsfJ4sIGN_tpCqlQDesvpOyTAv75W440ndd7pER2CrVvUHklXEYNNIg/s1600/IMG_0687.JPG" height="320" width="177" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palais du Coudenberg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h4>
<b>Brussels</b></h4>
Right, on to the fun bit! I was in Belgium for six days, which gave me plenty of time to explore a small part of it. First, Ruben and I took the train to Brussels to spend the day being massive tourists there.<br />
<br />
We mostly wandered around looking at landmarks, like the <a href="http://www.coudenberg.com/en/a-bit-of-science/to-be-seen-today" target="_blank">Palais du Coudenberg</a>, which is a former palace of Brussels. It houses a museum and there are archaeological ruins to explore, but we didn't actually go inside since we were trying to pack as much as possible into a single day.<br />
<br />
Ruben works part-time at the <a href="http://www.mim.be/en" target="_blank">Musée des Instruments De Musique</a>, so I got my own personal tour of the museum! It's packed with different instruments from all over the world. Admission includes an audio-guide, which I would definitely recommend using, because it plays music from a selection of the instruments on display. It's really interesting to hear what some of the odder-looking things sound like. Once you've finished looking at the exhibits, you can go up to the roof terrace to see amazing views of Brussels.<br />
<br />
The rest of the day was taken up by walking around Brussels and looking at the beautiful architecture. If you're like me and you enjoy taking photos, there is plenty to see. There are lots of little shops and market stalls as well.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>Leuven</b></h4>
Back in Leuven, there is lots to see and do. Heverlee itself is home to a <a href="http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/55000/HEVERLEE%20WAR%20CEMETERY" target="_blank">War Cemetery</a> that contains nearly 977 Commonwealth burials from the Second World War. The cemetery is right in the middle of the countryside, which makes for a nice walk on a summer evening.<br />
<br />
Leuven has <a href="http://www.leuven.be/en/tourism/activities/events/" target="_blank">all sorts of events</a> on throughout the year. When I was there in June, there was a music festival in Oude Markt, which is known as the longest bar in the world. Oude Markt is a big square with tons of bars and cafés surrounding it - appropriate for a country well known for its quality beer!<br />
<br />
Not being much of a beer drinker (being in Bristol has converted me to the cause of cider), Ruben suggested I try Kriek, which apart from being "a drink for 14-year-olds and women" as he (er) eloquently put it, is a sour beer made from cherries. Definitely worth trying, but be aware that different brands may balance out the sour flavour with additional juice after brewing, so there are some varieties that may be a bit more of an acquired taste!<br />
<br />
As with Brussels, Leuven is packed with ornate Gothic-style architecture. There's also some interesting art installations which are worth looking at.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibO3kkqa9RkIM8k1z6Mmvr7MQi97RDth3ZttXMf2o8PZuQIGdXWoQCvwo94fSJKb1pk5DCaXmM-VqFPWBU8IR9MvD6oVplviVpPSo4Z9iLaTOHy5HCB1mbxqmPAN-h7RKaxow-B0ExgV0/s1600/IMG_0819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibO3kkqa9RkIM8k1z6Mmvr7MQi97RDth3ZttXMf2o8PZuQIGdXWoQCvwo94fSJKb1pk5DCaXmM-VqFPWBU8IR9MvD6oVplviVpPSo4Z9iLaTOHy5HCB1mbxqmPAN-h7RKaxow-B0ExgV0/s1600/IMG_0819.JPG" height="222" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stadhuis van Leuven </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiico6EwtUGtXDcG0FfqiPQdtD_eqXMsWbNkbaYIvHWpNxP4fh6n2Bi6WgsJnWZmGeItIe5gG7sOJa1x91DCg10clQQ2nEQM2XR7hLRfycMZmWsHH8Yd6RzDmzUH0q7TaFzrcZWAJNPUWA/s1600/IMG_0880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiico6EwtUGtXDcG0FfqiPQdtD_eqXMsWbNkbaYIvHWpNxP4fh6n2Bi6WgsJnWZmGeItIe5gG7sOJa1x91DCg10clQQ2nEQM2XR7hLRfycMZmWsHH8Yd6RzDmzUH0q7TaFzrcZWAJNPUWA/s1600/IMG_0880.JPG" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Universiteitsbibliotheek KU Leuven</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizptI75fs_RCUvtygjA9lumBKq2bj2t04tnF-VVX5knsfQo2cDeyzD6GfD77WfMUULcHGPYLvJrJ6JXD3Lzi8pwgO8_7LsoDO9scbgK0N1TM9gZruOqUqsS04qJGxJCfMwa-h3kH1LcXw/s1600/IMG_0814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizptI75fs_RCUvtygjA9lumBKq2bj2t04tnF-VVX5knsfQo2cDeyzD6GfD77WfMUULcHGPYLvJrJ6JXD3Lzi8pwgO8_7LsoDO9scbgK0N1TM9gZruOqUqsS04qJGxJCfMwa-h3kH1LcXw/s1600/IMG_0814.JPG" height="200" width="111" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is not art. This a friendly octopus telling you<br />
children may be crossing the road.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h4>
Oostende</h4>
Instead of doing more sightseeing, we decided to make the most of the sunny weather and took a train to Oostende, a city on the coast. One hour and forty minutes later, we found that half of Belgium seemed to have had the same idea (unsurprisingly) and the beach was full of people. On the bright side, it was a lovely sandy beach and I had a good book to read, so it was a nice rest from all the walking I'd done during the rest of the trip!<br />
<br />
You could easily spend an enjoyable week in Leuven without going on any excursions, as there's plenty more to check out - from the <a href="http://www.scoutsmuseum.be/scouting-museum/index.php" target="_blank">Scouts and Guides Museum</a> to the <a href="http://www.breweryvisits.com/stella.php" target="_blank">Stella Artois Brewery</a>, or even the nearby <a href="http://www.rockwerchter.be/en" target="_blank">Rock Werchter</a> festival.<br />
<br />
<i>For more information, check out the <a href="http://www.leuven.be/" target="_blank">official Leuven Tourism website</a>.</i><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-49037401636431762752014-04-30T23:17:00.000+01:002014-07-11T12:06:38.245+01:00Recent gigs rambleHello lovely people!<br />
<br />
I've just come to the end of the assessment period of my second term of the MA, which is a huuuuge relief. We only had one exam, but there was also an investigative and a multimedia portfolio to hand in this week, so I'm glad it's all over and done with.<br />
<br />
That said, I still have my final project to do, but the pressure is off (at least until the panic of getting everything handed in in September happens).<br />
<br />
<b>Ramble!</b> <br />
<br />
Anyway, I went to a couple of gigs recently to break the monotony of revision and coursework. First was <a href="http://www.hitthedeckfestival.com/" target="_blank">Hit the Deck fest</a> - I totally managed to fail here, I bought the ticket, realised it was the same day as a hen do, panicked, went "Ah **** it, it's Brand New" and decided I'd skip most of the festival and just see Saves the Day and Brand New in the evening to maximise my time at the hen party. I've seen both before but...it's Brand New! In my defence, I tried to get tickets to the London show but that sold out so fast (do I need to say it again? probably not, but, BRAND NEW).<br />
<br />
Unlike many critics, I did enjoy the two newer Saves the Day albums, even though they're just not as good (in my mind) as Sound the Alarm, which is the record that got me into the band. They do lack that vibrancy that the older stuff has, so it's great to see the band play newer tracks live - I feel like if they'd recorded them with that much passion, people probably wouldn't have whined so much about the albums. Speaking of whining, I don't know what it is, but Chris Conley's voice gets higher and higher every year, I swear. So, Saves the Day were ok, but unfortunately not as fun as when I saw them a couple of years ago. 3/5, if you want me to give them a score.<br />
<br />
Then Brand New came on and played a song I honestly didn't recognise, but <a href="http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/brand-new/2014/o2-academy-bristol-bristol-england-6bc3e212.html" target="_blank">setlist.fm</a> tells me it's a NIN cover. Fair enough. I would have preferred something like Sowing Season to kick off the set, but that's not really much of a complaint. They played a pretty good mix of songs from all four albums and it was basically just as good as the last time I saw them (which was bloody fantastic) but better in that I stood halfway up the stairs in the O2 Academy so I could <b>actually see things</b>. It does boggle my mind a bit that their last record came out in 2009, but nobody seems to care too much about the band bringing out new material because their back catalogue is just that good. My rating: Brand New out of Brand New. (Make of that what you will.)<br />
<br />
Ahem. Enough of the fangirling and on to the next gig!<br />
<br />
This was pretty special - Funeral for a Friend doing a tour in which they play the Hours album in full. They were supported by some shouty fun men, More than Life (3/5), who I probably would have enjoyed way more if my ears hadn't gone all old lady on me and begged to be let outside into the quiet. Then Boysetsfire (4.5/5) played - I actually only know one of their songs but my goodness, this is a band that knows how to rock a stage. I don't think I've ever enjoyed a band I didn't really know live this much, so stacks of hats off to Boysetsfire!<br />
<br />
Now, Hours is a pretty special album for me. It came out in 2005, back when my music collection was tiny, so I listened to it a lot while I was working on my Art & Design GCSE and dealing with a lot of bad (like, actually bad, not just teen angst bad). As singer Matt Davies-Kreye said, tracks from Hours are fairly neglected in FFAF setlists, so them playing it in full was just lovely. They finished up the set with a few classics and a new song that wouldn't have sounded out of place of Hours, in my opinion. I'm going to go with a solid 5/5 here. I'm biased. This is just a ramble, I am allowed to be biased.<br />
<br />
Right, I've probably got my gig quota sorted for the year now, so I think next on the agenda is some comedy...(telepathic note to Russell Howard, please play in Bristol soon, thanks).<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-27600814738488707242014-04-14T16:56:00.001+01:002014-05-14T14:51:13.017+01:00Mental Health Campaign voice concern over policy change<!--[if !mso]> <style>
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style> <![endif]--> <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtKt-wC5vw52cXQP6duGzL5u_WuCajRZeYcppJFwvtHRWoYgsQ2gA10PUGSMgmYtMc51gqFBFn5rpHML61TN_3A7aW4ei3zp5I55y0NiUVnCqc39IpFiQfex3ZAK3_aUBqRi_GHFeJXk/s1600/2488694307_fbbdd9be27_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtKt-wC5vw52cXQP6duGzL5u_WuCajRZeYcppJFwvtHRWoYgsQ2gA10PUGSMgmYtMc51gqFBFn5rpHML61TN_3A7aW4ei3zp5I55y0NiUVnCqc39IpFiQfex3ZAK3_aUBqRi_GHFeJXk/s1600/2488694307_fbbdd9be27_z.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">A student under the pressure of exams</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">(<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sveinhal/2488694307/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Photo by Svein Halvor Halvorsen</span></a></span>)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Students with problems that
could cause them to fail assessments are being urged by a campaign group to
voice their concerns following a proposed change to assessment policy. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Will Anderson
and Siân Hampson from UWE Mental Health Campaign, wrote a letter
to the university that said: “If a student with a mental health issue is
unaware of this policy and sits the exam when unwell they will not be able to
have extenuating circumstances and we fail to see how this is fair.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The University of the West of
England published a draft document on 14 March detailing the proposed changes,
which mean if a student submits an assignment or attends an exam, they are
“declaring themselves fit to do so”. If they fall ill during the exam, they can
submit an extenuating circumstances application to retake the assessment or
have it marked again, but this wouldn’t cover students with ongoing mental
health issues.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Mental Health Campaign is
urging students to share their thoughts with student representatives to combat
the alleged lack of consultation with students. Rachel Cowie, Director of
Academic Services at UWE, responded to these claims stating: “we are still in
the process of working through the implementation with the students’ union and
other student representatives.</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"> “We do
everything we can to avoid disadvantaging any student and want to make sure we
get this right.”</span></b></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Following discussion at the
recent academic board we have invited the current VP welfare (and hopefully the
chair of the mental health group) to meet with us to work through some case
studies so we can see what implications it might have on students with mental
health difficulties. We do everything we can to avoid disadvantaging any
student and want to make sure we get this right.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ms Cowie also clarified that
students had been consulted at a council meeting in November 2012, where no
issues were raised.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">At the moment, students can
submit an <a href="http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/students/academicadvice/assessments/extenuatingcircumstances.aspx" target="_blank">extenuating circumstances</a> form which
could let them re-take an assessment where this wouldn’t normally be allowed.
Some of the reasons that extenuating circumstances may apply include
“unexpected deterioration in an ongoing illness or medical condition” or a “major
household problem” like a fire.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Under the “Fit to Sit”
extenuating circumstances proposal, if a student had trouble completing work
due to either of these reasons, or various others covered under the current
policy, they would not be able to apply for extenuating circumstances if they
decided to submit an assignment anyway.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Vice-President for Community and
Welfare, Tom Renhard noted: “The proposals are of huge concern to the Students’
Union as well as to the Mental Health Campaign and other students that have
provided feedback so far given the potential negative impact the introduction
of ‘fit to sit’ could have on students. These are being considered as part of a
package of proposals of changes to academic regulations and would call on the
university to not to continue to pursue trying to introduce ‘fit to sit’ as
part of this package. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Some students when going
through difficult periods will attempt to ‘soldier on’ and sit assessments,
believing it shows dedication to their degree; why would we then try and stop
this student from submitting extenuating circumstances post-assessment should
there be a realisation that perhaps that student wasn’t in the best place to
submit the assessment in the first place?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“As a Students’ Union we do not
believe ‘fit to sit’ should be implemented and instead thrown out. The majority
of student feedback gathered so far on the proposed fit to sit regulation shows
that the view of the Students’ Union is reflective of its membership.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Similar proposals for changes to
extenuating circumstances and the introduction of ‘fit to sit’ were <a href="http://keelesu.com/yourunion/yourimpact/education/" target="_blank">rejected by the Students’ Union at Keele
University</a> in November 2012.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>A <a href="http://www.westerneye.net/news/2014/04/uwe-extenuating-circumstances-policy-change-raises-mental-health-concerns/" target="_blank">version of this story</a> appeared on
Western Eye.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-42028960885839036002014-03-30T11:46:00.000+01:002014-03-30T11:46:05.354+01:00BirdieJust a quick update - it's Mother's Day today so I painted mum a card, as I've been doing since the watercolour painting class I took! Instead of botanicals, I thought I'd try something different and went for a robin.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdss_ACDC7ftpQ1jok_MDzCbKgiiQiKp_AKIgBe9vktM_wLvD5GwX1ahvAMG953w3r-ZcgH16esNB7_7tX6WL1JmY2PFBiB6ue0igbIyykUF_3GrogRKI1deJAbp2vxV5h584I7ItmWN0/s1600/WP_20140325_004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdss_ACDC7ftpQ1jok_MDzCbKgiiQiKp_AKIgBe9vktM_wLvD5GwX1ahvAMG953w3r-ZcgH16esNB7_7tX6WL1JmY2PFBiB6ue0igbIyykUF_3GrogRKI1deJAbp2vxV5h584I7ItmWN0/s1600/WP_20140325_004.jpg" height="640" width="356" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_800835618"></span><span id="goog_800835619"></span>I've not painted a bird in watercolours before - in fact, the only time I can remember painting a bird was in acrylics and it wasn't realistic - so this is pretty different. I had no idea what techniques I should be using so I just treated it like a drawing, but less scribbly than my actual drawings!<br />
<br />
The biggest challenge were the pale colours. The robin in the reference photo I used had white feathers and was standing in snow. I don't even own white watercolour paint because it is bad and wrong - I was taught to use the white of the paper to represent the purest white shades. I mixed up a light grey and used that to suggest the shape a bit better on the robin itself, and diluted it to use for the snow as a wash. The textured paper works well with this technique.<br />
<br />
I think this turned out quite nicely, but I'd definitely like to practice drawing birds more before I try painting them again. That way I can experiment more with different ways of shading to get a better idea of what works for feathers.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3234540199728496405.post-9046089622891416292014-03-26T22:04:00.002+00:002014-03-26T22:06:31.159+00:00Oculus team up with Facebook - but why? <br />
<br />
<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AOculus_Rift_-_Developer_Version_-_Front.jpg" title="By Sebastian Stabinger (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="Oculus Rift - Developer Version - Front" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Oculus_Rift_-_Developer_Version_-_Front.jpg/512px-Oculus_Rift_-_Developer_Version_-_Front.jpg" width="512" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Facebook have announced plans to acquire virtual reality firm Oculus VR for $2bn.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oculus set up a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset back in 2012, describing it as “<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Designed for gamers, by gamers”. So why has social media giant Facebook snapped up Oculus? </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/03/facebook-to-acquire-oculus/">The Facebook announcement</a> said: “</span>Virtual reality technology is a strong candidate to emerge as the next social and communications platform”. With <a href="http://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2012/4/26/saupload_0412-SlowGrowth.png">the rate of user growth continually falling</a>, Facebook is clearly out to find new ways of enticing people to sign up for the service. But is virtual reality really the way to do that? <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And why did Oculus think it was a good idea to team up with Facebook?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.oculusvr.com/blog/oculus-joins-facebook/">A blog post from the Oculus team</a> reveals vague notions of creating a “platform for interaction” in partnership with the Zuckerberg crew. One could guess that the technical experience Facebook’s engineers have with large-scale delivery of services is something Oculus were interested in. If they want the Rift to reach as many people as possible, they need the help of someone like Facebook to achieve this, especially with the looming threat of PlayStation creator <a href="http://www.sony.com/SCA/company-news/press-releases/sony-computer-entertainment-america-inc/2014/sony-computer-entertainment-announces-project-morp.shtml">Sony’s venture into virtual reality</a>.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">However, with increasing concerns over privacy, something <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/jan/11/facebook-privacy">Zuckerberg believes is no longer a “social norm</a>”, the acquisition of Oculus by Facebook is being met with worry and even anger by members of the gaming community. Responses to Oculus founder <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/21cy9n/the_future_of_vr/">Palmer Luckey’s post on Reddit about the acquisition</a> were overwhelmingly negative.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Minecraft developer Markus “Notch” Persson has stated that he will <a href="http://notch.net/2014/03/virtual-reality-is-going-to-change-the-world/">no longer be exploring the possibility of bringing Minecraft to the Oculus Rift</a>. The key point he makes is “</span><i>I don’t want to work with social, I want to work with games.” </i><i><span style="font-style: normal;">This may well be true for multitudes of other developers who originally backed the Rift on Kickstarter with the intention of developing games for it, not social experiences.</span></i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">This also raises the issue of the unwritten contract of Kickstarter. As game developer Bennett Foddy put it: <a href="https://twitter.com/bfod/status/448887962072514560"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The grassroots enthusiasm that funds Kickstarter is at odds with intentions to either sell out or use the Kickstarter money to bootstrap traditional investors”</span></a></span></i>. <i><span style="font-style: normal;">While Oculus have by no means violated the terms of their Kickstarter funding, going from a platform for indie projects to being bought out by the biggest social networking company leaves a bad taste for followers of the Rift project. </span></i></span></div>
<br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267"> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style> <![endif]-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0