I am currently in my third year studying MEng Software Engineering at the University of Southampton.
My current interest include security, autonomics and distributed systems. I have always been intrigued by security and have recently started a security society focussed on physical security but including the digital area for those who are interested such as myself. For anyone in Southampton that wishes to join the signup sheet is available here. My personal project is to create an Autonomic Local Cloud for backup purposes using the existing infrastructure of a site. The user submits a file to the system which will then replicate it on the fly to as many other nodes as required (a node being a regular machine with my software running) it will also automatically detect the loss of a node and re-replicate any and all files that are no longer stored in sufficient quantities.
I have always enjoyed gaming on computers from an early age but had no real interest in the hardware side of things. I will always be grateful to my father for giving my life some direction by introducing me to computers. My father believed that I should at least try to build my own PC but I steadfastly refused. When I was 14 I asked for a new computer for my birthday as my current one could no longer handle the games I was playing but instead I received a pile of components and a book on how to build a computer. Naturally I was more than a bit annoyed but in the end I attempted to build the PC. Much to my surprise I found it was not only easy but fun too. This was the starting point of my real interest in computers and all their inner workings. I decided that I would go away and learn more about computers and see what else was possible.
That year was GSCE options year so I decided to go for the huge Intermediate GNVQ in ICT worth 4 GCSEs. It was a lot of hard work but after I had finished the programming course I was certain that programming was what I wanted to do. Shortly after this work experience began and thanks to my mother who was dissatisfied with my assigned job as a chef assistant, I found a company in IT that was willing to give a work experience placement Triple Software Ltd. After a short time due in part to my hard work and dedication I was promoted to the support department then to an assistant programmer. At present I still work for them remotely as lead programmer and remote support technition.
I have other digital interests one of which is anime. I really enjoy watching Japanese (English Subtitled) animation. This has gradually taught me some Japanese and I hope one day to know enough to watch Anime without the subtitles. My favourite Anime is currently Gintama and my favourite Anime Movie is Paprika. Anime that I have watched or continue to watch include:
- Gintama
- DBZ
- Dragonball
- Air Gear
- The Law of Ueki
- Death Note
- Time of Eve
- Naruto
- Mitsudomoe
- Sket Dance
- One Piece
- Hunter X Hunter
- REBORN!
- Fairy Tail
- Deadman Wonderland
- Gosick
- Tegami Bachi
- Shangri-La
- Black Jack
I watch these Anime episodes on a site called CrunchyRoll which I would reccomend to anyone who likes Anime. It is a site which is partners with most of the major studios in Japan and so can release full quality episodes at the same time as they broadcast for the first time (Simulcasts). They can do this as they get sent the episodes direct by their parteners in Japan. Not only does this mean that it is a free hobby but also watching Anime on this site actually supports the creators of the Anime and the best part is that it is fully legal. Some shows can't be watched in this country because of legal issues and Crunchyroll does not let you watch these but usually gets sorted out eventually. In the mean time you could just watch one of the many other Anime available. If anyone would like to visit this site here is a link: http://CrunchyRoll.com/
Besides anime I also love interesting and innovative technologies perticularly obscure interfaces such as neural impulse actuators (Control your computer with your mind!) and NVidia 3D vision. I am a strong advocate of NVidia's technology becuase it not only provides a less expensive way into the 3D world but also provides far more in my opinion than competing technologies. With NVidia 3D Vision I am able to watch any film I desire in 3D regardless of whether it was filmed in 3D allowing me to watch movies such as Equlibrium (My favourite film) in stunning 3D. I am very impressed with the technology and while it cannot yet upscale games using OpenGL instead of DirectX this is rarely a problem as most major games are written in DirectX and still provides a far greater range of 3D playable games than any other technology I know of. The NIA (Neural Impulse Actuator) on the other hand is very tricky to use. It works quite well but is very hard to get used to. On the other hand playing DOOM while sitting back and enjoying a coffee is a rather surreal experience though it is rarely practical to map all controls to the NIA and I usually settle for a sub-set.
I enjoy other things besides just digital entertainment. I am also an avid reader in the 'Space Opera' and the 'Fantasy' genres. My favourite authors are David Eddings, Brian Jacques and Alastair Reynolds. In terms of sport I have been doing Jiu-Jitsu since the age of 7 and I still enjoy attending this martial art at the University of Southampton, I have achieved Black Belt in this martial art and am very interested in the culture of the Samurai and Feudal Japan. It was one of my life long ambitions to visit both China and Japan. In 2007 I finally visited China on a school trip and I loved every second of it, the food, the culture, the language, the magnificent vistas, the people and of course the tour guides which made the full day on the bus to get to Tibet bareable. While in Tibet I gave my hat you see in the photo to a monk who seemed to like it so that is my one and only picture of my hat.
Here are the pictures that I have put into albums on Facebook. I have provided these public links so that you don't need a facebook account in order to see my photos.
