I should be working on my thesis

[tubeswell]

But I find myself doing IRU instead

[Enzo]

Perhaps if we BECAME your thesis...

[tubeswell]

Okay then - how much have you and Wring contributed to atmospheric CO2 emissions on a daily basis for the last 10 years compared to the previous 10 years, and the 10 year period before that?

[tubeswell]

Okay I'm back in my thesis writing cubbyhole - just been to a 3 hour seminar on 'Writing to Think". I have sort of defined my thesis topic, real world problem, research problem, and not quite so clearly (but certainly clearer than I was 1 month ago) the research method, and a bare bones sketch of my Lit Review and a vague sense of my conclusions. The main thing is I'm getting more confident with the bibliography software (Thomson-Reuters Endnote 6). Now all I need to do is more reading and writing. I expect it'll take all of just under 2 years (so hopefully by February 2015). Time will tell.

[Enzo]

Most wednesdays wring and I stop into local eatery Zeus - a Greek restaurant - for their split pea soup. Good fiber and by thursday, we are increasing the atmospheric emissions of something, not sure just what.

I have suggested she not exhale anymore to reduces CO2 emissions, but apparently she has no concern for the environment.

[tubeswell]

Thank you for the research data. Explanation noted.

[tubeswell]

I'm going to turn this thread into a blog about my thesis.

Today (Saturday for all you die-hard thesis writers out there) I attended a 3-hour seminar called 'Keeping on Track' run by the University postgrad department. It was at Vic Uni Kelburn Campus in one of the newer lecture theatres in a supposedly quake-proof building, and it was full of people having a similar 'keeping on track'-experience. Oh the bonding!

It joins a list of have-done seminars in this vein, thus:

'End Note Webinar' (1 March 2013) - run from some guy's laptop in the States

'Managing the Research Journey' (15 March 2013) run at the Railway Station campus - this was another handy seminar - if only from the point of view of keeping my spirits up by feeling like I was managing the research journey by my attendance.

'Qualitative Research' (22 March 2013) - run at the Piptea Campus across town - in the old Central Railway Station building (not earthquake proof)

'Research Proposals' (5 April 2013) - also run at the old Railway Station (incidentally - I've done my proposal and the thesis topic has been approved. Maybe I'll blog about that l8r)

'Thesis Argumentation' (12 April 2013) - also run at the Railway Station building (I'm lucky to still be alive. THis was a handy seminar topic but the hour we spent listening to someone present a powerpoint was somewhat superficial)

'Thesis Structure/Editing (19 April 2013) - also run in the Railway Building (this was probably the handiest seminar and should have been 1st in the series IMHO)

'Writing to Think' (20 April 2013) - a 3-hour effort (referred to in an earlier post - see above) in the Kelburn Campus earthquake-proof seminar room (I felt more comfortable thinking about what I was writing)

'Abstract Presentation' (8 May 2013) - this was in the Cotton building (where I later experienced a 6.6 magnitude quake - happy days! I successfully presented my abstract - maybe I'll blog about the l8r toooo)

'Reference Management' (26 July 2012) - again at the earthquake-prone Railway Station Campus building - one occasion I think where the website portal failed on me and ruined my total appreciation of the seminar.

'Literature Reviews' (2 August 2013) - again at the Railway Station Campus (I think they're trying to cull the numbers of thesis students). This was the best seminar yet from my point of view. Only the shitpile of work ahead remains.

So this afternoon I'm back in my thesis writing cubby hole. I'm the only one here. That's why I'm on IRU people!

[tubeswell]

Newsflash! - Another thesis candidate walked in here (the thesis writing cubby hole for 2nd-year MSc thesis students) briefly and fumbled around on his workstation for a minute, and then left. The place is like a desert again. If I could just focus a bit more...

Edit. 2 & 1/4 hours have elapsed since I finished my last seminar ('keeping on track' - remember) and I've managed to avoid typing a single word on my thesis. Never mind (I tell myself) - I did a few hours yesterday. Maybe I should come back to it tomorrow morning with a fresh mind.

[Мастер]

Okay then - how much have you and Wring contributed to atmospheric CO2 emissions on a daily basis for the last 10 years compared to the previous 10 years, and the 10 year period before that?

Can't answer for them, but I suspect my 2010-2013 CO[sub]2[/sub] emissions are substantially lower than my 2000--2010 levels.

Not much measurement there, mostly guesswork.

[Arneb]

Can't answer for them, but I suspect my 2010-2013 CO[sub]2[/sub] emissions are substantially lower than my 2000--2010 levels.

Not much measurement there, mostly guesswork.

Less flying?

[Мастер]

Less flying?

No, but no car - I take the bus and train. And I went from about 400 sq. m living space to more like 150. The latter requires no heating at all, although it does get air conditioned more. But if the $$$ cost is proportional to the energy consumption, the total consumption is less than a third. That said, I don't know where this energy comes from, and what its marginal CO[sub]2[/sub] contribution would be.

[tubeswell]

Most energy (in electricity supply terms) around the world comes from a combination of renewables and non-renewables. The bulk of NZ's supply is from renewable generation sources in the form of hydro, geothermal and wind energy, with non-renewable (gas-fired) plants contributing to a lesser (but fairly constant) extent (and with peaks supplemented by coal-fired plants). (There's no-nukes in NZ)

The NZ Government's present stated goal is to get to 90% renewable energy by 2025, however this objective has recently been modified (following NZ's reluctance in 2012 to recommit to phase 2 of the Kyoto Protocol) with the caveat 'providing this does not affect security of supply'. This is plainly been driven from the perspective of economic development http://www.med.govt.nz/sectors-industries/energy/pdf-docs-library/energy-strategies/nz-energy-strategy-lr.pdf. This approach is not helping NZ to transition to a low-carbon future unfortunately.

[Arneb]

no car - I take the bus and train. And I went from about 400 sq. m living space to more like 150. The latter requires no heating at all, although it does get air conditioned more. But if the $$$ cost is proportional to the energy consumption, the total consumption is less than a third. That said, I don't know where this energy comes from, and what its marginal CO[sub]2[/sub] contribution would be.

You get 150 square meters in SINGAPORE? That is more than our family of four has in Potsdam, and we think we live spaciously. You really have arrived.
Re. flying and driving, they say that flying has a fuel consumption of about 3 l/100 km per person in modern jet filled to capacity (which is better than even a Prius in inner city traffic), but of course the 10,000 km distance between, say, Singapore and Los Angeles is what you'd typically drive in half a year or a year living and commuting in New Jersey or Chicagoland. So I'd suspect that your more cautious communiting habits are easily trumped by your contiued frequent flyer existence.

[Мастер]

You get 150 square meters in SINGAPORE? That is more than our family of four has in Potsdam, and we think we live spaciously.

Well, out in the country (relatively speaking) here, so it's a bit easier. In town, it would be quite $$$$.

And then, these days in the US, there are whole neighbourhoods where every single house looks like something a European king would live in.

[tubeswell]

Anyone here familiar with Jurgen Habermas' work "Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere"?

[Enzo]

Is that the one with Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow? Or am I thinking of the Jodie Foster one?


That is to say... no, I am not.

[tubeswell]

Before any of their times

[tubeswell]

Good morning blog

I know I've had plenty of thoughts about my thesis and what I should be writing on this, my weekly thesis-dedication day, as I sit here in the thesis-writing cubby hole at the University. However I just can't seem to get to the initial hurdle of opening the case study word document, let alone starting up microsoft word, until I've been on Ampage, Facebook and IRU, amongst other sites.

I am however enjoying my morning large latte in a paper cup. The sun is shining outside and the sky is blue. But I have put myself behind an office screen at a workstation where I can only see a grey windowless wall in front of me, and of course my laptop. The icon to start microsoft word is perhaps 5cm away from the cursor insertion mark.

If I keep typing in my blog it will get closer to the bottom of the window, where it won't be so much effort to shift the mouse pointer and click on the starting icon.

If I hit the Return key a few times as I type, it will bring me closer to bottom of the editor window where The insertion point is now only about 2cm away from the 'Word' icon. Oops, I'm already at the bottom line of the editor window and running out of space. The icon is 1cm away.

But if I hit the Return key again and keep typing, behold! the editor window scroll function kicks in and saves me from getting any closer to the Word icon! But now I have to scroll down to click the "Submit" button, which will bring me even closer to the Word startup icon.

[Мастер]

The icon to start microsoft word is perhaps 5cm away from the cursor insertion mark.

Use LaTeX.

[tubeswell]

Is that like Endnote and Word combined?

[Мастер]

Is that like Endnote and Word combined?

It would perform both of those functions (if I understand what Endnote is), but in a very different way.

[tubeswell]

So far this week I've made good progress on eating into my case studies of district plan regulations for managing wind farm development.

I've given myself three case studies to complete, as part of the 'on the ground' end of the wedge of a multi-level governance analysis of global climate change management policy. I'd say I'm about 1/4 of the way through writing up my case studies. I have like easily-typed 30,000 words and there's a limit of 40,000 for the whole thesis, so I've got a lot of crunching to do yet. Be interesting to see how many words I get to before I have all the concepts and ideas spelled out, before I have to start pulling it back.

That is all for now. I'm off to meet my daughter for coffee.

I'll come back to this l8r IRU peeps

[tubeswell]

Progress on this has been sketchy today. I sent a longish email to a renewable energy scientist who is working with the Japanese Energy Agency on their alternatives to Fukushima. I attended a seminar where he told everyone that Fukushima is worse than the local power company will admit, and that nobody knows how far the reactor core has sunk into the ground because no-one is willing to get close enough, because the lethal dose of radiation is reached in a couple of hours or less.

[Enzo]

As long as it doesn't wake up Godzilla...


Come on tubes, you can't be an amateur, I'm going out on a limb to suggest, this needs to be a...pro's-thesis.

[tubeswell]

My prosthesis will be long and crooked by the time I'm finished at this rate.