Face-Book

I have a problem with Facebook, you see its a social site and I'm not very social. The amount of rubbish that people were sending me was getting out of control, so I posted a message telling people to stop wasting my time. And it worked.

Every time I log into Facebook, this would happen.

So and so wants to hug you, so and so whats to be your friend, so and so whats to tell you that a virus is loose on facebook and if you open the e-mail the world will end, so and so wants you to drive there car, so and so has sent you a plant, Christmas tree, snow globe, fish tank...., so and so has sent you more useless crap then you know what to do with.

ENOUGH! STOP! I CAN'T TAKE THE HAPPINESS ANYMORE! The problem is that some mindless idiot sends this person something and they add a new application, but rather then pressing the skip button they send an invite to all of there so called friends. Think before you click!

I mean how many people on your friends list can you actually class as friends, by friends I mean the people who you really want in your life, those that you do, or have trusted your own life with....lets see I think 9 out of a possible 26, one of them is my mother and another my sister and the rest are real friends, but the other 17 who knows.

Of course what it comes down to is this:

"Facebook is currently experiencing technical difficulties."

Dam right it is, my boot up its ass!

I'm living in a nightmare

Sorry I've not posted in a while. I've not had much need to, and nothing has really happened. I'm now in my third year and by god don't I know it. A brief run down of my current work load is in order.

2000 word literture review - for disstertation
2000 word essay - DONE
Group Presentation - DONE
1500 report on how to stop flooding
Various array of stuff to do regarding disstertation.

We had a field trip to Exeter on the wettest day of the year, combined with getting exposued well caving now means I have a heavy head cold. I just want this year to be over so I can get on with my life, but it seems a never ending nightmare that I'm not gonna wake up from.

Its Monica I feel sorry for, she's the one who has to put up with my bad mood and has to keep running around after me doing all the little jobs that keep life going. Bearing in mind that she has both a full time job and a second job - money is not an issue, never has been. I guess its just better herself.

Anyway lots of stuff is going on and has gone on, we spent a week in Brittany, France with University which was really good. I do have photo's but don't have the time or energy to post them.

Thats it, short and sweet.

So the end has come, lets face the final curtain

Yep, that's it I've finished. 31st of August the season finishes and so do I. So how did I feel driving away from Cheddar.

Well...Sad actually. You see despite the way the place is run, the managers on the floor are great, they take a group of fast living, fast talking, fast drinking guides and direct them so the best comes out. And there best is good, you see the caves are an attraction as are the cliffs but it's the guiding staff that make it all.

Despite what the mystery shopper say the 1,600 customers we feed, water and entertain each day over the 3 months of summer are glad we are there. And I use the term 'we' because after working the summer, there really is no 'I' in team, thanks for that Rox!

We had our high points, we had a low points but we came out the other side a-okay. One of the high lights was when a bird of prey dropped a head-less pigeon right next to a guy who just brought an ice cream. I was off that day, but it would of been funny to watch. Another high light is when a member of staff tried to turn out company car into a water borne vehicle which meant the engine blow up. The down side, well this time there was no down-side, providing you don't count the abusive customers and the comments you have heard a thousand times.

Here's to you guys at Cheddar, have a drink on me and enjoy your winter!!

I'm sick :(

I went to the doctors this morning. Hears me thinking I had sun stroke, turns out it's viral flu. A bit like flu but without the head cold. According to the doctor, I was the fifth case he had seen this morning, the other people in the waiting room must of been at the same stage I was yesterday, with the crippling pain in the back, because they all looked rough. That, at least accounts for my low mood. Me being ill coupled with my mood in my last post has really knocked me.

There are people who take issues in their lives and let them stack up and they just carry on, they kind of bury their head in the sand, and don't seem to care about anything, or anybody. At the time it seems not to effect them, but somewhere deep down it most knock, twist and rub until they reach the point where they have had enough.

It's going to get better, at least for a few weeks I'll be in the real world and then back to uni to start the round of dead-lines and stress again. To re-use a quote from last year: Nobody puts themselves in the position where they have to write to dead-lines, not year in year out, the stress crushes you, like titter-tatter the stress crushes you.

Whats this feeling?

There is a guy at work who has been taking a group of new staff caving. I started it by taking them to Goatchurch, but he took over taking them to harder more technical caves.

Very quickly they progressed to Sumping: Now sumping is a bit like ducking, only far more scary for me. Ducking requires a caver to enter into a small water filled hole, normally with a breathing space. Sometimes you can get away with just putting your chin in the water, sometimes you have to put your mouth in the water and breath your nose. In the worse case you have to lie on your back with your nose in the roof. I once took on a duck in a cave called Water Wheel Swallet. The first duck I passed with just my chin in the water. The second duck required me to go lower, I took my helmet off but still I couldn't get my head through without putting my face fully in the water, it would of only lasted a second but I just couldn't bring myself to do it, in effect I froze. Now water is ten times more heat conductive than air, I am sitting in a water filled hole getting colder and colder with my partner shouting at me to come out, it took me two days to feel warm again!

Now the sump or to give it tis correct name sump1 in Swildons hole is a short under water section-a sump is a gap that is completely full of water, so you have to take a deep breath and go under the water and pull a guide rope to bring you up the other side- I looked at the sump closely but just couldn't bring myself to do it.

I'm just too scared, when somebody runs out of air underwater, there bodies enter a trace like state you feel warm and safe. After a while your body takes a breath, this is an action you cant control, it just happens. You suck in water and either your throat closes up to protect your lungs or the water enters your lungs and destroys the small sacks which aids breathing either way you die. Ive got every right to be scared, but you do need to be underwater for a long time and sump1 only last a few seconds.

So this guy has taken these 6 people, they have never done any caving before until they came to work and within 4 weeks they are caving at a higher level than me. Because they can do the sump and I cant.

So what is this feeling: jealously! my inability to push myself beyond my own safety limits, me laughing at myself because I am such a complete and utter failure, a realisation and I cant control my fears and that maybe I ve picked the wrong sport or maybe I am not actually a caver and Ive been joking myself all along. On the plus note my data loggers are already in the cave and they will come out on Saturday then will see if my experiment will work or if I'm barking up the wrong tree.

Funny how

It's funny how different people view different things in their lives. There is a film called 'Sliding doors' which follows a lady as she goes about her normal day. The film starts with her running down the stairs attempting to catch her train.

See if you follow this:

At first, just as she is about to catch her train, she trips over a small child and as a result she misses her train, which makes her late, she goes to get a taxi and ends up getting mugged, she then goes to hospital, what she doesn't know is her husband is sleeping with somebody else, at the time she was in hospital the husband was actually sleeping with this other women.

At the point she goes into hospital, the film starts again and this time she catches the train, which means to gets into work on time and as a result she gets home early to find her husband in bed with the other women, and of course she leaves. One half of the film follows this new women as she begins to rebuild her life after finding out her husband is cheating on her, the other half of film follows the old women as she continues her 'normal' life with her husband continuing to cheat. But it's the same women!

So what has this got to do with my post:

Well you see I finish at Cheddar on the 31st of August, and I can't wait, I really can't wait to get out of this place. A friend of mine said that it's good that I'm leaving Cheddar as I need to rebuild my life, and need to target what I want to do and get on with it. And that's what I'm doing, that's why I can't wait to leave, but there is a down side. On the 31st of August my good Spanish friend Beggo will be leaving us, going back to Spain to continue where she left off. But she does not really want to go, she doesn't want to leave, Monica doesn't want her to leave. I like having her here. So it's a tail of two halves, well I'm happy to be leaving, Beggo is un-happy to be leaving. Your dammed if you do and your dammed if you don't.

I PASSED

My transcript said:

Sustainable energy resources: 47% PASS
River Catchment Dynamics: 47% PASS
Soil and Water Conservation: 50% PASS

I am very happy, even so I'm just climbing up the middle.

:)

Look, see, they really are everywhere

This is a photo that I took in Combe Martin in Devon, it's Monica's shop.
Sadly I had the rubbish camera with the bad zoom, but this little yellow boat is also called Monica. Docked in a small harbour in Combe Martin.

This is the small Harbour in Combe Martin, Devon. This is where the little yellow boat was anchored.

This is the North Alantic crashing aganist the Devon coast line and also the view from the Devon coast towards Canda and Ireland.

And this is what happens when a storm hits a small tent. The wing on the right side is being blowen out by the wind as the photo was being taken. The radio had warned of bad weather and it was.

Isn a Tomato a fruit or a Vegetable?

The main prompt of this post is that my girlfriend is pretty sure that a tomato is a vegetable. Her mother thinks the same thing to. Well I got news for you:

You see the problem is, that the Spanish have lived in a closed society for so long, that what they are told by friends and parents has to be true, and there is no way that it can be challenged, because what ever 'real knowledge' is, it's not the same as Spanish knowledge. Read and weep!!

"Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?

"The confusion about 'fruit' and 'vegetable' arises because of the differences in usage between scientists and cooks. Scientifically speaking, a tomato is definitely a fruit. True fruits are developed from the ovary in the base of the flower, and contain the seeds of the plant (though cultivated forms may be seedless). Blueberries, raspberries, and oranges are true fruits, and so are many kinds of nut. Some plants have a soft part which supports the seeds and is also called a 'fruit', though it is not developed from the ovary: the strawberry is an example. As far as cooking is concerned, some things which are strictly fruits may be called 'vegetables' because they are used in savoury rather than sweet cooking. The tomato, though technically a fruit, is often used as a vegetable, and a bean pod is also technically a fruit. The term 'vegetable' is more generally used of other edible parts of plants, such as cabbage leaves, celery stalks, and potato tubers, which are not strictly the fruit of the plant from which they come. Occasionally the term 'fruit' may be used to refer to a part of a plant which is not a fruit, but which is used in sweet cooking: rhubarb, for example. So a tomato is the fruit of the tomato plant, but can be used as a vegetable in cooking."

http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutother/tomato?view=uk

So get over it, your wrong!

Exam time

Okay, Exams start today - one today, one on Thursday and one on Friday - then roll on the summer!! Why not really because I got to work. But it will mean I can get some caving done, providing I can pull myself away from RuneScape for long enough. I also have a Spanish Course to do and have promised myself I'll do around 3 hours a week.

Anyway a lot of people have exams at this time of year so GOOD LUCK.

We got you, good!!

I considered writing about my trip to Spain, but so much happened in a short space of time. That I think I'll do it in picture.

FRIDAY:

My face says it all really!! Somewhere over the channel My friends! Sofia - My newest Friend

SATURDAY:

David and Aran - It's beach day!! Monica and Me, look at the sand, sun and sea. The water was bloody cold!! Bego - looking like she belongs in Spain's 3rd largest city


Katie and Habi - Habi speaks French, English and Spanish!! Maribel and Pedro and Rake and Sofi

SUNDAY:

Monica in her red dress, where did I find her!! Us, looking like we belong in Spain's 3rd largest citySpanish beer - keeps you young!

You could be in Cuba

Monica could of done with a step to help her reach the big candle

Monica's mother and boyfriend

MONDAY:

The smallest Spanish dog - who's poo I stood in twice. Sadly not house trained!! And if you have made it this far: Read on.

''As we left the house, Monica's mother sprayed water onto the front wind-screen. I watched as the last drops raced down the window - it was almost as if the city was crying a final tear for it's absent daughter. We were whisked was towards the air port, away from friends and family and that feeling of belonging that we have when we are in Valencia city. It's funny the mind set people get into - me for instance instead of saying 'goodbye' to my friends. I find myself saying ''see you next time''. It's not intentional ''bye'' would be a far better word to use, but then ''see you later'' is actually, I suppose true. ''bye'' seems so final.''

Last of all I would like to thank, Aran, David, Bego, Rake, the lady with the baby, Katie, Habi, Maribel, Pedro and of course Monica - thanks for a lovely time and see you all soon.

A new game

I have found a new multi player game and it's great!! I cant stop playing it which is driving Monica mad. Basically you create a character in a 'virtual' world and then walk around this virtual world mining cooper and tin to make into weapons and catching fish to feed yourself and selling stuff to earn money.

May not sound like much but it's so addictive. I reckon now I'm doing well I could play all day, but don't tell Monica. I suppose it keeps me off the streets and out of caves, at least till my elbows better.

KEEP PLAYING THATS WHAT I SAY, DON'T LET THEM STOP YOU!!

Grant - Explained

QUESTIONS:

I'm aiming to start taking measurements in July, depending if I can secure the equipment quick enough. I'm hoping to take measurements from July until about April of next year, maybe earlier depending on how much data is created. As for publishing, the dissertation its self is not published however the equipment, data and out come will be published in a caving journal as part of the conditions set out by the grant awarding organisation. I may have to go to a conference and tell them about the experiment, depending on how successful it is. Anymore questions just ask!!

As promised:

At the end of our third year, the student body has to undertake a massive individual project called Dissertation. Caves have always been a love of mine, so obviously that was going to be the main element of my dissertation project. While I was working in Cheddar as a Cave-leader I noticed that on certain days there seemed to be more 'wind' coming out the cave, as time went on I noticed that this some how worked with the weather. So during warm summer days when the outside pressure was high the 'wind' or draught was going past me as I walked into the cave, during the winter when the outside pressure was low the draught was going with me as I walked into the cave. After carrying out some research into this draft effect, it turns out that there a set mechanism which causes this to happen, named cold theory.

So if this pressure change could be measured, both on the outside and inside then in theory the weather could be predicted!! But how do to it. After some further research I found I would need a pressure sensor which could measure atmospheric pressure and a temperature sensors, along with two data-loggers (A data logger is a bit of hardware that just keeps a record of the information that the sensors pick up). And that is where I needed the Grant, the pressure sensors cost £300 pound each, I have managed to find some very cheap data-loggers for £20 and the temp sensors can be borrowed from University. I will put the equipment into a chamber in Goughs Cave, Cheddar and one outside.

In the mean time I'm collecting sources, books and articles on the subject. I hope that explains it. If you have any questions feel free to ask them.

Look who's doing the washing-up now

I went to the hospital today, because I hit my elbow caving on Wednesday night. The whole elbow is covered in a huge bruise!! They took one look at it and sent me to X-Ray.

When the X-ray came back, it turned out that Ive not broken anything, or chipped anything. This amazed the doctor somewhat as she was sure I would of at least chipped the bone. They gave a sling and told me to rest and take lots of painkillers. If its not right in a week I have to go back.

However it does get me out of doing the washing up, should of hit the wall harder!! :)When I'm feeling up to it, Ill give the full story.

To all my friends

When life throws up it's little surprises, we can always rely on our friends to pick us back up again.

As we students rush to finish all our work and begin to look forward to summer, it's easy to forget that real life does go on. People in the real world they achieve, they fail, they hurt, they get sick and better again, they fall out and make up, they get married, they have children. This rose is for all my friends both student and non-student. Just keeping going no matter what. :)

Monica,Beggo,Rake,Bex,Holly,Mike,Aran,Mama,John,Jess,Job,Hayley,Katie and others what would I do without you all!!

X

Meetings

I had a meeting today with my personal tutor, just to catch up and check my progress and such like. I also spoke to him about the grant funding and my worries regarding that. I must really get around to telling you a

bout what the grant is for.

As you can see, I have added a ribbon to support the parents of the little Maddy, we just hope that she gets home safe and send our support to her parents and the rest of her family, to try and remain strong during this nightmare.

She's feeding me fruit!!

I seem to be eating more then ever and most of it is fruit and veg, my stomach is...up-set to say the least.

Anyway, I have a meeting with my personnel tutor tomorrow, and I'm going to bring up the grant subject with him. The grant organisation has asked that I join there organisation, that's gonna cost me £30.00 and I think the reason being is so that they can claim rights to the data and information and any conclusions that the study finds. All I want to do is get my dissertation done, I'm not worried about publishing the results or going to conferences to discuss it. I kinda feel I am in over my head

Is kind of how I feel. My other concern is that dissertations is one of 4 other heavy modules that I will take next year. We went to see a cattery today, of course you have probably not met my little kitten Tusca:

I don't think I 'really' loved an animal until Tusca came along, she's a year old now. Of course getting her meant that if we ever went away one of us would have to stay. In September I'm hoping to go to Spain, mainly to see my friends but also to have a holiday and it's gonna at least be a week and I don't want to put that responsibility on my parents, so we went to cattery it was a nice place. Each cat gets it's own house, they feed them, cuddle them and provide nice warm bedding, I would certainly leave Kitten Tusca there in the future.

Grant Awarded

I'm sure if you have had anything to do with students, you know about the yearly dissertation that occurs. Most students seem to look on this as a horror and try and do everything to get out of actually doing work.

I decided that I would try and do something that has never been done before, at least not at Bath Spa. I decided to use my caving knowledge and weather knowledge and will sent out to forecast the weather by internal cave pressures. I've not really got the time right now to talk about how cave pressure effects weather. The main point of the post is to tell you that today I was awarded a grant to carry out the work, it can be uncommon for undergraduates to secure funding, I applied to the British Cave Research association to obtain the grant, and there are some conditions attached which will come to light later, I'll discuss these at another time.

But for know everything is firing on all cylinders.

Caving Days

I thought I would start my first post talking about a hobby of mine, a hobby that gives me enjoy and at the same time scares the hell outta me. I have been caving for about 3 years now and I love every minute of it. I don't go enough these days, it's finding the time with University. But part of me will always be tied to a love of the Underground.

In this picture for instance which was taken by my long suffering caving partner, I'm standing under an arch way. The white stuff is calcite flow-stone. The next picture is a group of Gour polls which are found in some really wet caves.

I hope to up-date my blog often and not just based around caving but also other areas of my life.

Rocksport1