The love story between the France and Britain.

It is well known “a dog and a cat” relations between French and English people.
English call French ones as a Frogs while the French call the British as a Rossbif.

I don’t know the origin for this behavior, but probably it came from the ages when France ruled in England. The hate was so huge that when the famous London fire happened in the 1666 year, French people were blamed for everything. On the statue reminding for the great fire, English people made a writing blaming French ones, but removed the writing couple of years later. (See the missing line on the following picture ?)



This weekend I was to a French party organaised by my Imperial friends. They are undergraduate students. As I though it to happen, it did; I was almost the only one who did not speak French and understood nothing.

Most of the people were from Paris while working in London. Somehow they prefer London and claim it to be cleaner city then Paris. The French nation is beautiful. One of the girls is working for television in a most strange job I have ever heard. She is watching BBC programs and makes summaries of a good ones, to duplicate them for a French market. Can anybody think of a better one ??? :)))

It took me two hours to get home by the night busses and still I don’t believe that French have invented the French kiss …. they seem to be a bit cold for that ….

Frog and Rosbif question

My next post will include the words “Frog” and “Rosbif”.

Is there anybody to guess about what am I going to talk about in the next piece ?

The most significant scientific development within the next hundred years

There is an Imperial Writing Challenge and I have decided to apply. The goal of current challenge is to answer in 800 words: "What scientific development or breakthrough do you think will prove to be the most significant within the next hundred years?"
(http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/pimlico/sciencechallenge)

This is my Master Piece for your judgement. It was submitted today.
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There is a common conception that human scientific knowledge doubles every fifteen years. If this is the case, for the last one hundred years human knowledge has multiplied by a factor at least of six. This gathered knowledge has brought many unexpected inventions including, the Internet, mobile phones, atom energy and space travel. I would say that in the next one hundred years, science will change our understanding of the world beyond our imagination.

There are a few examples which science can anticipate. The world energy crisis will be solved by fusion reactors, process similar to that of energy released by the sun but with energy supplied from water. Most medical problems will disappear due to the developed manipulation of stem cells, the basic cells which can be converted to any other cell, allowing damaged organs to be easily replaced with new ones. An artificial intelligence breakthrough will bring us self-learning and independent thinking machines to help in everyday life and certainly, later on, causing a lot of trouble by their arguing capabilities, a self-developed feature which we would never intentionally give them. However, the most significant development of the next hundred years will definitely be the ability to pick our own brains.

Brain science nowadays mirrors that of medicine one hundred years ago when the detailed human anatomy was known yet some surgical operations were performed without deep background knowledge. Nowadays, a detailed brain map has been devised and some basics of brain information processing are understandable. For example, simple "yes and no" applications from reading brain activity have already been implemented in brain research centers.

The breakthrough in brain picking will be the capability of real time bidirectional brain information manipulation. However, it will require a joint effort from all scientific backgrounds. These real-time brain information manipulation capabilities will revolutionize our world. Passive human senses (like smell) and active senses (like touch) will be overseen by computers, allowing us to develop new sorts of products. The brain information reading capability will allow us to develop speechless products; cars will understand us silently by reading our thoughts and drive us to our destination, but if we insist on manual driving, it will be performed without steering a wheel or using pedals, thinking will be enough for the computer to translate our intention to movements. With products sending information back to the brain, a watch will be only a decoration. You will never need to check it for the time, you would already know it.

The studying and learning processes will be reviewed and changed; most information will be stored on a personal computer allowing you never to forget a thing. New skills will be stored as digital information and learning will be like "changing the cassette", but in the wireless world you will just think of them and the computer will download these new skills to your brain. As regards languages, you will never need to learn a new one, your speech will be translated automatically to the native language, with pronunciation tuning capabilities.

Complicated brain information manipulation will move us one step further, developing a virtual world parallel to the real one, and similar to the idea of the "MATRIX" movie. This virtual world will be generated on a monster computer and provided to our brain in such a realistic way that, without a special reminder, a person would feel the same in the virtual world as in the real one. This will solve a number of educational, economic, ethical and safety issues. You would not need to travel to a business meeting. You would just enter virtual reality, go to your office and meet all of your colleagues. For virtual dating options you would always find somebody to go out with and realistic sensation will give you the joy of a touch and a kiss.

Extremely complicated brain data manipulation can potentially bring endless life; even if the body dies, brain data will be copied to a computer and virtual brain activity will continue inside a virtual life. However, this ethical issue is the subject of another debate. I do not predict it will happen in the next century.

I would say that by end of this century scientific developments will be so enormous that total population transfer to other planets will be possible. This will force green societies to propose a UN earth-saving resolution, transferring the human population to other planets while cleaning the polluted earth and keeping it for holiday purposes. This would allow any person to visit the planet Earth for a holiday; to enjoy the sounds of the sea and smell of clean air, to travel in forests or deserts, to watch real animals, and finally to try to imagine life as it was just a couple of centuries ago.

One hundred years to Imperial.

Couple of weeks ago the celebrations of one hundred years to the university I am studying in, Imperial College, have started.

One hundred years ago, Prince Albert has decided to make a scientific center which will centralize the engineering knowledge. He has recommended buying land, and actually this land area is where the Imperial College, Science Museum and National History Museum are standing, was bought for 50,000 pounds.

All the buildings of Imperial were old and crap. Some rumors tell that the previous Mechanical Engineering building hasnot had a central heating. It was a special working person to arrive early morning and put woods in the fire place of each room.

At fifties, there was final decision made that all this old style is not beautiful and everything has to be rebuild. All the original old buildings in the gorgeous style of National History Museum were taken down fifty years ago. The only thing left is the Queens tower. It was a huge building with this tower in the middle. Very complicated architecture project took down the building leaving only the tower.

thw Queens Tower and my double screen computer ....


For this special event of celebrating one hundred years, we had a special dinner with the old style dishes and waiter dresses.

Witches and Confession

People, help. I need all the modern knowledge about witches and dark side of life. I becoming a true believer of it and I need to get rid of it as fast as possible !

As most of you probably know I am ill already for a week. Weeek in bed ??? I can hardly say when did it happen to me the last time ! Can anybody remember me complaining about feeling bad or about anything ? Please agree with me that it is hardly remembered. Personally I dont remember myself being ill for the last ... hmm .... I just dont remember when was the last time !

I do sometime get food poisoned or hangover but I believe this is not called to be ill ...

Now the confession, I became ill last week after I met some girl. Actually I met her months ago but it was the time when we sat and talked over a glass of wine. She has told me an interesting story, that her mother is a witch. It is funny story and I do like collecting this kind of stories, so for me it was really fascinating.

After I came home, I have waked up at night from a fever and it doesnot relieve. It comes better from time to time but it is really strange. I dont have any sneeze or cough .... maybe I was just cursed ?

I do believe in witches and that in a modern world it is hard to recognize them ... so I need help solving it out. Should I still take medicine or maybe some other anti curse technologies are good ?? Anybody ?

p.s please dont take this story too serious, but the question is.

CCTV - Close Circuit Tele Vision is a great thing ! (isn’t it ?)

It is common known that Britain compared to other countries has the biggest CCTV cameras number for a population ratio. It was calculated that only in London, during a day, each person come across to almost 300 cameras.

My doctor has told me to stay in bed so I did. However I cannot lay all the time so I was traveling in my house and checking things out. In our big house we have eight CCTV cameras located almost everywhere while the funny thing that we thought that the cameras are there but they are not connected, apparently they are !

It was two weeks ago that I have discovered the main computer which all the cameras connected to and after rebooting it, it started working and showing pictures.

Today I have discovered that after fixing it, automatically it has started recording ! Literally, by viewing the video footage, I can travel through the whole two weeks history of the house !!! I was really shocked. Try to imagine that you can follow yourself for the last two weeks, wouldnot it be strange for you ???

But now, if somebody take my big spoon, it will be the matter of seconds to discover the intruder !!!! aaaaa !!!!! be afraid !!! :-)))))))))))

Valentines day in London

Sorry to disappoint you my dear readers, but I did not figure out this idea of Valentines day in London for this year. I was screwed up because of the fever and did not feel like figuring out anything about it.

All I heard from the BBC podcast (radio programs which you can download and listen on the way home) is that it has become an industry and converted to a must to celebrate, which I don’t like. To make my point harder I would say that even in India where Valentine Day was never celebrated, the promotion effect had it effect and for the last couple of years it became very popular teenager celebrated event.

I don’t like this day for a couple of reasons, firstly it has some kind of mass attitude and secondly because it reminds me of the strange feeling of uncertainly you get when you are proposed to buy a flower for ridiculous price while walking the girl on the path walk, should you or shouldnot, I don’t but there are others who do.

For our lab, the situation is more or less like “Huston, we have a problem ….” Check out this picture:

Do's and don’ts for Grechka

Today evening I came home exhausted, I thought that if the fever, body temperature, is back to normal then I can behave as an healthy person and be back working hard … but I was really wrong.
Anyway, I have decided going Grechka again. It is fast prepared dish and probably healthy one. Somehow I don’t know why, certainly was thinking of something, I have decided washing Grechka before cooking. (Do people usually wash it before cooking ?)
After starting washing it, I felt like a hero of the “MISHKINA KASHA” story: Grechka was flowing out with the water and I was trying to catch it from escaping !!!

It is almost ready and I am going to taste it in a minute ……

Fever

Finally it got me. The tube journeys, wet weather and a bit of stress at work the reason to find myself with a 38.5 temperature.

It started in a wired way; evening I went to bed early feeling headache and very tired. At some point it become tooooo worm so I waked up still with a headache. The too worm feeling was strange; usually I turn off the heating at night and enjoy my sleep under a good warm blanket. This night it was so worm underneath that I couldnot fall a sleep.

The morning tube journey was disaster, I could hardly stand, my eyes, muscles and bones hurt.

At the lab, it was still too tiring to stand so I couldnot help others cleaning the lab. It was the day when everybody has agreed making a fundamental cleaning and throw everything unusable.

At some point I understood that I feel strange and started looking for a thermometer but nobody has it! I was suggested going to the university medical services.
After a bit thinking I decided to buy my own thermometer, you know it good to have one. Pharmacy named “Boots” is located 15 minutes walk from the college and thermometer there cost 8 quid !!! (Thermometer is more expensive than the iron, the one I bought for 4.5 quid !!!! thieves …. )

Anyhow, I have checked the temperature, 38.5 … went home and after a bit sleeping and drinking tea with lemon, I feel a bit better so I am typing this lines …..

By the way, the last time I had temperature, it was ages ago. I don’t really remember when was it … maybe six or more years ago ….

And one more thing; I was so busy at work that I did not check the emails for more then two weeks already.

Cult Movie

Saturday evening I was to my friend’s house. He has invited me to watch a very action style movie, told me that it is a Japanese cult movie. I was extremely curious about it; I knew that if Sasha is recommending it, then it should be something must to watch and definitely unusual.
As I have arrived, he has prepared very nice dinner; for the starter it was meat with spaghetti and the main dish was Grechka with milk (or vise versa). Using this opportunity I have asked him for a Grechka pack present and was greeted with one.
The movie presented a couple of years ago, “Battle Royale”, directed by a guy named Tarantino of Japan, was found to be very violent and hard for viewing.
The story behind the movie is ridicules; 40 high school students, girls and boys, are kidnapped to an isolated island by their school teacher. The teacher whom they hated ruled a survival code; only one surviving person will be allowed to return home. If after three days of activity there will be more then one alive, everybody will be killed.
The idea is ridicules, but it is very interesting to see that the group of close friends becomes suddenly to an enemies killing each other.
I just don’t know if to recommend this movie. After watching it I have mixed filings of wasted time and on the other hand of an original idea, maybe these complicated emotions do make a movie to become a cult one. If a tuning to modern life is important for you it definitely worth watching, otherwise don’t bother.



btw, it would be nice to check the Japaniese opinion about it ....

Volunteering

I have decided volunteering. Never done it before, so why not ?

The volunteering project I choose is a ship restoration project. The ship called Robin was built in England in 1860 and considered to be one of the last existing vapor powered ships. The ship is standing in Canary Warf (it is the banking center, not far from my home). The volunteering hunting advertisement was published in our university and between all the assignments like floor painting, decorating and ships name rebuilding was an engineering project which sounds quite interesting; restoration of the ships main vapor engine.
Special non profit organization was opened in order to take care of this old ship. The organization has bought the ship a couple of years ago and couldnot rise enough money to make professional work done, so they have decided to put the projects as an volunteering options.
I have a big passion to ships and as it seems to me it is a great opportunity to be onboard. In addition to that, volunteering record in CV is very important while engineering project done in UK will give me some local experience and hopefully will bring a bit of fun.

For the timing, as I was told, the meeting will be for a couple of hours during the weekends once in two or three weeks. I have decided to give it a try, I can drop it any time I want …

The English language politeness

The English language politeness

I want to teach you some politeness behavior which you have to follow or otherwise it will be clear that you don’t know English.

So lets imagine for a moment that you are to formal meeting, for example tea drinking in Buckingham palace. Queen is going around talks to people and finally comes to your table. Her assistant will introduce you and tell “Your majesty, this is Mr. Bond”, then she will tell you “Hello Mr.Bond, How do you do ?”

The correct answer is “How do you do ?”, the same as the question !

The wrong answer will be anything else, doesn’t matter what. Some people mislead it with the informal question “How are you?”, which will require the informal answer in the style of “I am fine, thank you” or any other.

By the way, just in case you are to Buckingham palace, its not polite to ask Queen of any question, you need to wait till she asks you …

world without internet

I have spent weekend without Internet, frankly speaking it is really strange feeling.

Most of my work nowadays is reading and writing. Writing is very tuff activity which requires a lot of concentration. For me, it is very hard to concentrate in the lab that’s why I have asked my supervisor for a laptop. For my surprise he has got one old at home and he gave it to me a couple of days ago. It is very old one, but for my requirements of a simple word document it is more then enough. I have installed all the sophisticated software needed (Microsoft Word and Lyx) and decided to stay home.

The strange moment of the Interless feeling came to me as soon as I wanted one minute break, the one which comes after you work some time. For my dissatisfaction, pressing the explorer button for a short news/email surf gave me no connection page….. really terrifying feeling not to be connected ... :-))

Greenwich

Saturday morning I was asked by my friend to visit Greenwich for a walk. The weather was great so I decided going. My last time to Greenwich was long ago, something like eight months ago.

Greenwich is famous for its observatory and the fact that the zero meridians is crossing there, but I was really surprised to find more than that.

The first place you can see as you arrive there is the Greenwich University, it is just as you arrive but somehow I have missed it for my previous visit. It is stunning place on huge territory with great architecture buildings in Romains style.

The green parks are so beautiful with enormous grass areas and a lot of tries, really recommended for a walk …

From the observatory hill the London city is spread beneath as on the palm. It is much more familiar after these couple of months.

On the way back, I took the DLR train. It is part of the Tube trains system but was build later on and (as I think) operates by a private company. The main differences are the above ground paths and a driverless motion. I felt really unsafe by the fact that robot is driving the train ….

I would really recommend taking DLR from the Greenwich to Stratford. This path is going trough the new business area, the Canary Warf. It is a new area with huge buildings and a lot of suit dressed men, it reminds me a bit of downtown in New York but in a smaller scale.

More about this area next week, I will visit there again ….

By the way, just for your vocabulary … the informal name for toilet is loo, so if you are in the pub … `I will go to the loo and will be back shortly` …

p.s up there in the text, can I use the word stunning to say that it was very beautiful ?

speeeeeed dating

As far as you probably know, Imperial College is considered to be an engineering school. As it is everywhere, engineering is mostly for man, thats why we have mostly guys here. It is ranked in the ten of the best universities in the world, but somehow it doesnot attract girls to come visiting here. The problem is really felt on the graduate level. For the undergraduate, as I see it, the problem is not so hardly expressed. Thats why the graduate student union are trying to make different social events to bring people together, but it isnot make any sense, it is still the ratio of girls to guys of 1 to 7.

Couple of days ago one of this social events was organised here. This time it was a speed dating. Maybe not everybody is familiar, it was introduced couple of years ago and comes to solve the social meeting problem. The idea is to bring girls and guys together for a short talk, if they like each other they can make it further. It is a sitting and timed event, the talks times are measured for 3 minutes exactly and then you have to change. It is usually the girls sitting and the guys swapping.

In our lab, we are six guys, the talks discussing the idea going this event started long before the actual event. There were a huge amount of jokes about it.

On the evening of the event, suddenly all our lab team had something urgent to do and couldnot make it. One of the guys, my friend here insisted and asked me a favour to join him. I couldn’t make it on time, because of the ball dancing lessons which I am trying to go, so I have promised to go afterwards. Apparently my dance partner, she is not from Imperial, after the lesson decided to join us and check it out.

As we have arrived there, it was an 1£ entrance fee and you got a free glass of wine. There were four tables with four girls and our friend made it five, on the men side, it were something like ten guys.

I was tired by the long day and did not feel like talking so I was enjoying the cheap wine.

My friends enjoyed it but found nobody interesting.

After the event, the reality was discovered. Surprisingly as we were told it by the organisers, it was actually one girl and seven guys which came there by themselves (remember the ratio ?) so to save the situation, a last minute solution was found and thee more girls from the local pub were convinced to join.

By the way, on the way home, my friend started laughing, apparently guys were told that the dating results will be sent my the email, but no emails were taken on the first place.