Terrible headache last night due to long wranglings with the MCR box. Got it booting off the read only FS in the end (thank god) although the solution is literally[1] a sticking plaster over the FS. I spent a long time tracking down where pgp writes its temporary files so I could special-case them. I'm pretty sure its all up and working now. Just need to find a way to get NoCatAuth to log via syslog, all logging is redirected to another box, and I can start hardening it.

Anyhow -- I went to bed early with the headache and had a good couple of hours nap waking up feeling tired but a bit better. Had a drink and went back to bed and woke up 7:40am feeling fine -- woohoo!

Wanted to get Jennie proof-reading the paper today but forgot to give it to her. Oh well. This morning I think I'll hone my Matlab skills in an attempt to improve one of the diagrams. That and maybe comment the script I use to build the MCR box's filesystem as it is somewhat cryptic at the moment.

[1] I naturally mean 'metaphorically literally' here :)

Gah my head hurts so much! I've been really tired recently and always appear to be sleeping. Getting into work will probably help though. Tasks for today -- work on the (ever present) paper and e-mail supervisees.

The hardware for the MCR router box arrived today. Its a lovely little embedded PC + wireless NIC that I've been spending most of today setting up.

Currently its netbooting into a nice little kernel I compiled + a customised Debian image built from a little script. I'm using NoCatAuth for the WiFi stuff and a good thing it is too.

Just got it feature complete (logged into the network and am browsing away now!). Tomorrow is security hardening.

Jennie got her may-ball dress through today and god she looks hot :)..

Woohoo! I can breathe again. A nice relaxing Monday gave me the ability to think straight once more. Also went to improv today. Was quite funny although all of us seem to have lost our initial zeal. I think we're a lot better when we have something to work towards.

Have ordered the stuff for the embedded MCR wifi box. Been playing around attempting to get something bootable onto my USB stick except I can panic the kernel quite repeatably when I insert it. Damn 2.6 :).

Apparently the stuff is in Ipswich and takes 24 hours to get here from there. Should be interesting. I've been working on a cunning script (TM) which builds a custom Debian install image ready for copying onto the Compact Fash. Was going to test with said USB stick if it would ever work. Doing one last kernel compile to test...

Woot! Jennie bless her little cotton socks got me a /. subscription out of the DM donations. I've been having fun pondering the stories from the mysterious future.

Am feeling worse today too. Head all swimmy and nose blocked. Unable to concentrate. On the up side my foot has stopped hurting. Made lunch for Jennie today and she is making dinner in return. I think it's Kiev's with proper chips. How basically wonderful :).

Been trying to get 2.6.3 to work on my box. Gentoo wonderfully provides all manner of scripts and things to help you but that doesn't stop it appearing to get stuck in a loop somewhere constantly reading data from the HD. I suspect a kernel bug. Just trying the -mm sources now to see if that is any better.

Just come back from a strange improv practise in Alex W's room. Only myself, Jennie, Richard and Alex were there and we were all feeling a little below par so we decided to play Crossbows and Catapults instead and much fun was had by all. Saw James Ross and his parents (I presume) in town so that probably explains at least his absence.

There is a possibility of doing some charity shows soon along with another improv curry (partially) funded by the bar show. Yay!

Finally, I am feeling worse today, if that were possible. Just off to lemsip myself up :).

Urgle. Up early this morning and it hurts. Couldn't sleep last night 'cos of coughing etc so feeling really knackered.

On the plus side I was exceptionally 1337 with the bus this morning so not too long standing in the cold.

I'm really tempted to go back to bed though.

Gah! Feeling really bunged up today. Printed out my paper to scribble on so feeling a little more organised than usual. Supervising at 5 this afternoon(!) so no rest for me then :(.

I seriously want to just go to bed at the moment so come six o'clock I'm definately going home for a snooze.

Damn girlfriends with their illnesses :).

Just finished having Hall. The food was pretty poor tonight, big slab of fatty Lamb -- which I don't like at the best of times. Had a good chat with some people though. Decided to pop into town to get something bad for me to eat and meet Jennie.

Big hug later, and I'm sitting in her living room typing away on my lappy (once I fixed the firewall's DHCP server to give the right DNS servers over Airport).

Time to be terribly English and get a nice cup of tea :).

Well the Iceberg were good as ever last night. Jennie and I agree that its a bit wierd seeing them on stage since, as they are so polished, they are just the same as in workshops. The ICE guys OTOH (the 'amateur' amateur improv group) which Jennie and I are with are still rookies so we get 15 times better when actually on stage.

Got two suggestions played out (rapping cola can and interlocking ridges, sorry Rich and Alex respectively) :). I think all the Iceberg could've killed James Ross when he shouted 'Trebuchets!' though.

Only one superivision today, yay! Its funny but you never think when having them as an undergrad the supervisor might hate them more than you.

Its MCR/Fellows Hall tonight so get to dress up, have a (moderately) good dinner and definately not get pissed again *groan*.

Right -- now to read the examples paper I'm supervising in an hour. Update: Phew all over -- time to go home.

OK well Jennie, my dearest girlfriend, was bickering on at me last night to update/start my blog. Opposed as I am to blogger/livejournal and friends, I suppose /.'s Journal system may be the way forward. Comments are disabled for the moment for no other reason that I'm a nasty boring old fart :). Update: OK, I'm not such a fart now, comments enabled.

Today was pretty boring (so far). Got up at silly-o'clock to have a shower and get into work early for once. Jennie, bless 'er, is ill and stayed in bed snoring away in a disarmingly cute manner.

Managed supreme cunningness wrt the bus and got in before 9am. Been working on The Paper all day, tweaking this that and the other -- I reckon its almost in a state to take away with a pen to make final changes now :)

The Comedy Iceberg [my comic mentors] are doing a show in the ADC tonight -- of course I am going and shall be shouting a variety of silly things to try and make them do. Most emphatically am not going to mention the Welsh, Trebuchets, Lasers or CompScis.