A meme of one's own

Memes have to start somewhere, so I though I'd have a go at one. The image above is a tag cloud of the song titles in my iTunes library. Of course a meme only works if other people follow suit, so here's how I did it:

1. Fire up your iTunes (or equivalent) and select all your songs and hit Ctrl+C.
2. Open up Excel (or equivalent) and hit Ctrl+V. On most OS's this should just paste your library in text form, with separate columns for song title, artist etc.
3. Select just the song title column and hit Ctrl+C.
4. Point your browser at Tag Crowd and paste into the "Paste text to be visualized" box.
5. Click "Visualize!"
6. Screenshot the results and post them to your blog.

Stuff I'm totally going to do in 2010

I'm not much into New Years resolutions, but there are a few things I hope to do this year, apart from the usual publishing papers and writing grants. In essence these are about digitisation and downsizing.

1) Digitising my DVD collection
Towards the end of last year I purchased a nifty 1-terabyte external hard disk and I've since been ripping my DVD collection onto it using the excellent Handbrake. Most other rippers are actually two programs, but this is really easy to use and does the whole thing for you (with plenty of options for customising the output). I've even set up a separate iTunes library just for this purpose so I can have all the nice DVD covers and everything, but my music remains on my laptop. (There is a trick on the Mac when you load iTunes by holding down alt first that allows you to pick which library you load.) Currently I'm about half way through the ripping, but there are still lots of covers to scan.

2) The great paper reduction
My second, much bigger project, is to try and digitise my entire academic library so that I can take more stuff with me on my (fingers crossed) next post-doc. Being a macroevolutionary type my library is quite large and runs to several feet of books and tens of boxfiles. Again, I have already started this, purchasing a nice Epson multi-purpose device that includes a paper feed scanner allowing automated scanning of multiple pages, so less work in creating the initial digital files for the ones I can't just download a PDF for. I then tend to clean these up in Photoshop, usually by ramping up the contrast so OCR is easier, as well as rotating them so the text is nice and straight and cropping any black edges. Initially each file (usually one or two pages) is saved as it's actual page number(s) in the paper (so I can quickly see if any are missing) and each paper is a separate folder. I then combine them into a nice PDF using Acrobat Pro, OCR it for text recognition and then optimise it for a smaller file size. I have PDFs for several boxfiles already, but what I really want to do is link these up to my Endnote library before discarding the original, in a recycling bin of course. Not sure I'll complete this in a year, but hopefully I will be able to clear some space from under my desk where I keep the boxfiles that I have no shelf space for.

3) Selling stuff
During my years at Bristol I managed to acquire far too much stuff - I took one carload to Bristol and two van loads out. I have had to downsize to some degree already in my move to London, but there is still a lot of superfluous stuff in my room that I really need to get rid of, either by selling or giving it away. I haven't been ruthless enough in my life so far in getting rid of things I don't use anymore, but hopefully I can finish 2010 with just the things I really need or love.

4) Getting back into running
Just before my PhD I ran the Bristol half marathon and enjoyed it. Since then I haven't really done any running at all, but I now really need the exercise and for a while now I have been thinking of doing the New York marathon, although this will likely have to wait until 2011 due to a clash with this year's GSA. The only way I'm going to get back into it though is if I sign up for another half marathon as I need the incentive to get training again and it looks like I might be going in for the Budapest half marathon in September.

5) Bookmark liberation
In my end of year review I mentioned that I am now getting into reading in a big way, but there are still several books on my shelves that I started reading, but for whatever reason stopped. It is my hope that I can finish these off over the space of the next 12 months, and indeed more generally reach a point where I have actually read all the books I own (with the exception of things like reference books and the like).

My 2009

Because I'm so awesome I'm sure you'll all be fascinated to read a recap of stuff I did in 2009.

1) Leaving Bristol
I moved to Bristol in September 2002 and lived there until March 2009, a huge chunk of my adult life. During that time I completed my Masters and my PhD, but most of all it was where I made pretty much all of the closest friends I've ever had and it was certainly a bit of a wrench to leave.

2) Moving to Nodnol
The reason for my leaving was to take up my first post-doctoral position as a research assistant at the Natural History Museum. I was initially hesitant about returning to London, the city where I spent my (much less happy) undergraduate years, but I found somewhere quiet and pleasant to live and the project I'm working on is really great and ought to lead to lots of quality publications.

3) US Road Trip
Although one of the joys of palaeontology has to be the traveling I hadn't been on what I would consider a "proper" holiday since before my PhD so I spent most of the year looking forward to a US road trip with John and Phil. Our starting point was NAPC 2009 in Cincinnati, Ohio, our goal: Seattle, Washington. A good 2,500 miles away. I certainly enjoyed myself and as we never came to blows hopefully my traveling companions did too. We managed to take in Ashfalls, The Badlands, Deadwood, Rushmore, Dinosaur Park, Custer State Park, The Bighorn Mountains, Yellowstone and even Cicely, Alaska clocking up some 3,000 miles along the way. We got to Seattle in under 8 days, just in time for the Independence day fireworks and a whistle stop tour of the city. It was slightly depressing to then fly back across the same expanse in just a few hours.

4) Reading
This was the year I discovered the trick to getting through books more quickly: spend more time reading. This was prompted by a couple of things. Firstly I am now a commuter again after four and a half years of walking to work I now get the tube and hence can read on the way to and from work. Secondly I finally read Harry Potter after seeing the sixth film convinced me it would be worth it. I ordered the paperback box set and plowed my way through them in enough time to go and see the film again before it came off release. I certainly enjoyed them and the process got me back into reading novels and I now read more than ever. A quick scan of my book shelf shows that I managed to finish a minimum of 24 books this year, pretty good for me!

5) Lego advent calendar
December has been all about my Lego advent calendar and I've decided I just don't care anymore if they are supposed to be for kids. Lego is awesome, end of.

6) Footy
Although Liverpool turned out not to claim the Premiership I did manage to make it back-to-back wins in the fantasy football. However this season isn't going well on either front. I did manage to see another live game, but this turned out to contain the now infamous beachball incident. I didn't even get to see this goal as the queue to get in meant I couldn't see the pitch until about 10 minutes in. I'm going off football...

Even more distilled procrastination - animal links

Some more links for your delectation.

It seems that dog torture is doubly popular, as is that traditional pastime of cat-waking. (Although I prefer cat buckaroo.) If you want a guaranteed smile then I recommend this. I have no idea what could have inspired this, but it is just a little bit brilliant.

I recently finished this book about the sadly extinct Thylacine and was directed towards this collection of the only surviving footage of the animal in life. I really liked this gorilla photo and found this bird's appearance amusing.

This appealed to my sense of humour, reminds me a bit of the "Matt Damon" bit in Team America. Finally, didn't someone once say you can judge a nation by the way they treat their animals?

More distilled procrastination

Whilst I wait for some code to run I thought I'd post a little update with some book- and dinosaur-based links partly cannibalised from my stupidly long post. Enjoy, and Happy Christmas!

Dinosaurs

In my limited experience of being interviewed as a "dinosaur expert" I am always asked what my favourite dinosaur is and in all honesty it is still T. rex if for no other reason than our arms are the same length. Not one, but two cartoons make use of this fact to humorous effect. Presumably this is the creationist version of dinosaur extinction. Although this is more season-appropriate. Alternatively this cartoon has an eye on the bigger picture, whereas this is just silly.

Bibliophilia

I do enjoy these lists of books none of us has read most of and found these, what I can only describe as, children's books for adults kind of intriguing. I also shamelessly indulged in this hefty collection of library porn, have now discovered bookstore porn and even ceiling porn. (OK, the latter isn't book-related, but it fits here better than most places.) I found this incredibly useful blog on awful library books as well as this interesting list of things found in second hand books.

I keep finding really cool t-shirt sites, but unfortunately they are pretty much all US-based, like this collection. Other bibliophiles may also appreciate this, this, this and this.

First Lines

OK, I've added a clue to the last one

I haven't done a meme since my first post so thought I'd try this one stolen from A little bit of babbling about nothing. Basically the idea is I pick ten of my favourite books or series and then copy out the first lines. Then you (dear reader) can make guesses as to what they are. I suspect my readership will have encountered many of these before so no googling and away you go.

1. Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita mi ritrovai per una selva oscura, che la diritta via era smarrita. Dante's Inferno, guessed by Mike
2. The late twentieth century has witnessed a scientific gold rush of astonishing proportions: the headlong and furious haste to commercialize genetic engineering. Jurassic Park (I couldn't resist), guessed by Mike
3. Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, guessed by Sarah
4. Idle reader: Without my swearing to it, you can believe that I would like this book, the child of my understanding, to be the most beautiful, the most brilliant, and the most discreet that anyone could imagine. [Clue: windmills]
5. On 24 May 1863, which was a Sunday, my uncle, Professor Lidenbrock, came rushing back towards his little house, No. 19 Konigstrasse, one of the oldest streets in the old quarter of Hamburg. Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, guessed by Carlos
6. They put the behemoths in the hold along with the rhinos, the hippos and the elephants. A History Of The World In 10 1/2 Chapters, guessed by Sarda
7. It was 7 minutes after midnight. The dog was lying in the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs Shears' house. The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night, guessed by Sarah
8. It seems increasingly likely that I really will undertake the expedition that has been preoccupying my imagination now for some days. Remains Of The Day, guessed by Sarah (covertly) and Jenny (via Facebook)
9. The escalator strained slowly upward. In an old station like this what else would you expect? Night Watch, guessed by Rachel
10. You don't know about me, without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but that ain't no matter. Huck Finn (OK, major clue in this one, but not as easy as the opening line from Lolita I almost included), guessed by Sarah

Just some webcomic links

Ages ago I started preparing another post of stuff I found on Stumbleupon, but it got ludicrously large and unwieldy so I've broken it up instead. These are some of the webcomics that I find amusing/interesting/thought provoking etc. Enjoy!:

• This little piggy went into, um, well see for yourself (not exactly a comic).
• I mostly don't get The Warehouse but this really appeals to my - no doubt autistic - sense of humour.
• Apparently only men can be sexist. Ok, it's silly, but it amused me.
• The undisputed champion of the webcomic (at least for geeks like me) has to be xkcd and this is just one of the many that I have enjoyed. (Brings back fond memories of childhood when I built my own sewer out of cardboard and toilet roll tubes for my figures to play in.)
• I have always felt that marking off the days since the moment of birth is a somewhat arbitrary measure of a lifespan and this somewhat encapsulates this.
• Two great novels on dystopian futures battle it out in this really thought provoking comparison between Orwell and Huxley. I am yet to read 1984, but it looks like I've read the more terrifying one.
• Not exactly a comic, but a pretty accurate description of meetings.
• Ever wondered what the truth about opticians is?
• Another one from xkcd, I admit it took a bit of thinking for me to get this. Definitely one for the statisticians amongst you.
• I enjoyed this lampooning of a certain magazine. Some of the covers are just priceless.
• Here is a perfect retort to the kid who wants to grow up too soon.
• I always like scientific jokes such as this entomological one.
• I had to finish with one from my favourite comic of all time: Calvin and Hobbes. No doubt my readers will already be familiar with it, but it will always be worth revisiting and this strip perfectly encapsulates the thoughtful, funny and beautiful nature of Bill Watterson's work. Warning: it may bring a tear to your eye.