12 Hours in London

I apologize for not blogging too much this week.  Haven't necessarily had a lot to write about.  Just been plugging away on assignments and thesis investigation.  It's been quite a challenge actually not needing to go to campus.  Very easy to get I guess claustrophobic would be the word here in my room.  I've gone to the gym every day, which of course helps, but it's hard to find places to do some work that don't involve spending money, eating, drinking, or all of the above.  It also means that I've kind of been working on something most of each day, so even though it wasn't a busy week, it feels that way.  So knowing the weekend would bring more of the same, I decided to buy a cheap train ticket to London for Saturday.  For some unknown reason, the NCSU/UNC game was on ESPN America last night, which meant that this place called The Sports Cafe was showing it.  I'm going back next Sunday with some guys to watch the Super Bowl, and was checking out the Cafe.  It's not the best, and I think we'll wind up at a BBQ joint that is showing it instead.  The Cafe is charging 15 GBP just to get in, at the BBQ place 25 P gets you a buffet of chicken, ribs, etc.

I started off pretty early, because I wanted to get to Borough Market early, before the crowds got too big.  I'm glad I did, I think I was there by about 10am, still plenty busy, but easy to walk around too.  There was tons of fresh meat, fish (including authentic Arbroath Smokies), vegetables, baked goods, etc.  here was one soup stand that was cooking an assortment of curries in big vats:

Not the best picture, but it was very cool in person, and they were giving tastes out, which were delicious.  Nearly every stand had free samples, from cheese, to bread, sausages, olive oil, you name it.  It was basically brunch for me by the time I got around through the whole market.  I even finally tried real foie gras!

This was a little wine stand where you could fill your own wine bottles out of the barrels that you can see to the right of the bottles.  Very cool idea!

The french stand where I tried foie gras was serving mulled wine, and had a big pot of duck that was waiting for lunch time duck confit sandwiches.  By the time I'd finished everywhere it wasn't quite lunch time, so I went to a nearby bar called the Rake for a half-pint of Belgian beer to wait for the duck to be ready.  And boy was it worth it, the sandwich was fantastic.  I know you can't really see the duck in the picture, but there was plenty of it in there!

Then I walked a bit to a very small brewery that has been getting rave reviews over here, Kernel Brewery.  I tried a taste of two of their IPA's and bought a bottle of the Black IPA and the Imperial Stout.  All hand bottled, and I really like the labels too.  The other two beers I picked up at Utobeer.  One is a smoked porter that I'd read about and thought I wouldn't find, and the other is Nogne's 100th barrel beer Barleywine/DIPA.

I then walked back across the Thames to St. Paul's Cathedral which was very impressive and then to the free Museum of London.  The Museum was pretty cool, as it has a wide range of exhibits, from modern art and history, to prehistoric natural history.  Didn't realize the Romans called London Londinium.  Sounds like an element to me.  By now I needed to find some dinner so I could get to the Cafe place in time for the game.  The first couple places I had targeted wound up being a bit on the pricey side.  Not terrible, just more than I was looking to spend.  I wound up at a German restaurant that actually turned out to be very good.  I had a small sausage platter and a hefeweissen.  

The Sports Cafe was packed at first, and slowly thinned out after one of the soccer games ended.  It was nothing special, not good beer, but apparently one of the only places to watch the ESPN America channel unfortunately.  Too bad the game wasn't very god, but I kinda knew that might be the case.  There was some Tarheel apparel, and I saw one NCSU shirt come in the door, but have no idea where he went to!  

By the time I got back to MK, it was 1030, so I a very long day, but good to get away for sure.

If anyone is interested, my full set of pictures is below:

29-1-11 London

I'm on the Front Page!

http://www.racecar-engineering.com/

Surprisingly Busy

I thought this week might go really really slowly, but it hasn't so far.  Been  having a good mix of working on assignments, thesis development, going to the gym, and relaxation time.

I did go out for haggis last night, and it was surprisingly....not terrible.  I mean it's far from my new favorite food or anything like that, but would never guess what was really in it.  Unfortunately the place I went did not have the Scottish dessert I'd mentioned, so I got a Black Forest Sundae instead.  I think it should've been split 4 ways, but I'm a student, and I paid for it, so I ate it all.  I'm guessing 2000 calories alone, so it's not my fault I'm withering away to skinniness!  It was also a great surprise to find a really nice IPA on cask too.

Today I had to go to campus to look at a test rig that I might need for my thesis, and to get a picture taken for the RE blog too.  I used the free campus shuttle, which took surprisingly long because of the sequence of stops it made.  But hey, at least it was free, and a comfortable tour style bus, so whatever.  The shuttle exists solely for people living on campus to go shopping in MK supposedly.  Why they feel the need to provide that I have no idea.

Think I'll finish off my pizza finally tonight for dinner, with either salad or vegetable of some kind on the side.

(H)ello!

So despite having no class or specific obligation today, it's turned into quite the productive day.  Woke up at 730 and had a good breakfast, then did some work on my assignments while catching up on some TV in the background.  Had leftover frittata for lunch and did a little more work before heading out to the gym.  Got in a good spin session since I'd lifted the last 3 days straight.  I'm now sitting in a coffee shop (see I don't always go to the Pub) after working on my other blog for a while.  Wait, hold on, other blog, what am I talking about?

Basically on Friday Racecar Engineering will be launching a revised website, and I will have 2 blog entries on there.  They had contacted the school wanting a student to write things periodically, and I guess I was the only one to reply.  Supposedly I'll be one of the 4-5 features that they are launching with.  So, uh, wow, maybe a little intimidated by that.  But hey, it'll get my name out there, which can only really be a good thing unless I really do a terrible job!

We do finally have two more exam grades back.  Not as good as the first one, but I think they should be my two worst subjects (powertrain and aerodynamics).  Still did well though, the equivalent of a B I suppose, though it's not quite the same correlation as I'm used to.

I did go get a cheap Papa Johns pizza last night, which was tasty, and will be dinner tonight again and another lunch this week as well.  Heading to the store to pick up a couple things for the week and then back home.  Probably some PS3 time, dinner, then a little more work later tonight.

The Weekend

Don't think I've said it on here, but other than a few written assignments and some thinking about my thesis that I need to do, I don't know the next time I have anything official to do on campus.  The group project "start" date is February 14th.  So basically I think I will have a very flexible schedule for a few weeks.  Might look into some travel options to take advantage of the time.  I'd just need my computer and an internet connection every once in a while.

Yesterday was pretty relaxing, played a good bit of PS3, got in a great workout, and picked up a neat mini-keg of beer from the local brewery.  It is a super small operation, with really only one employee, the brewer, Dan.  He was really nice and I'm happy to support him (it helps that his beer is very tasty!).

I did head to central MK for a couple beers and some always interesting people watching.  

Been getting a start on my project management assignment and cleaning up a lab report this morning.  I just had lunch, a turkey sandwich and pretzels, nothing exciting.  Gonna go to the gym soon, and then I'm not too sure what the rest of the afternoon will be.  There is a new Papa John's that is running a special for an XL pizza for 4.99, which I might take advantage of tonight.  Also thinking about finding a Burns Dinner somewhere this week.  If not, I at least want to find somewhere to try Cranachan.  

I feel like I had more to say, but that's kind of all I'm thinking of now.  Maybe I'll remember and I'll give you all a bonus second blog post in one day!

Done With Classes!

Can't believe that we're done with our lectures.  Our presentation went pretty good today I think, hope the actual written report goes well too though.  Finally got back to the gym tonight too which was good.

I didn't mention that I got my first produce box yesterday.  It came from Organic Trail.  This week it had a red pepper, potatoes, onions, brussel sprouts, broccoli, mangoes, pears and apples.  I used a sampling of the vegetables to make a frittata for dinner tonight.  The best part is I've got 3 servings leftover for the weekend!

The weather is back to around freezing again.  But the rain has been gone for a couple days too, so that's better.  I don't really have anything planned for the weekend, just getting going on the project management assignment and getting some ideas down on paper for my thesis.  Fun times.

There's a First Time for Everything I Suppose

The morning bus was actually completely on schedule this morning, probably because I was running 2 minutes late, and it was pulling away as I was walking up the hill to the stop.  So I suppose I got in a mini workout this morning walking back and forth...Got a ride from a classmate though.

Lecture was pretty interesting, it was a guy who had worked for McLaren, Ferrari, TWR (Tom Walkinshaw Racing - during the Silk Cut Jaguar days) and various other teams as well.  I guess really the takeaway message of the whole week is just to know what your getting into.  That sounds painfully obvious, but it's amazing how many people really are not aware of the ways to succeed in the environments that they enter.

I'm working a little bit on our group assignment before going to a presentation on the Bloodhound SSC.  There were some pictures of it in my album from the Autosport show too.  Hopefully it is a bit better than the last night presentation from the Renault F1 engineer.  Our assignment is going ok, I think we've finally gotten everyone focused on the task of getting our stuff ready for Friday.  We basically have to present a preliminary business plan, and it is easy to get caught up in the technical details, especially with all of us being engineers!

So it's already been quite a long, busy week, but at least it is our last lecture week, so that is making it a little easier.  I haven't gotten to the gym at all, and probably won't until Friday, which is unfortunate, but anyway.  Well I should get back to work, and I think I'm out of things to tell you for now.  Cheers!

Good Morning

I fell asleep in the second quarter of the Pats game.  Didn't sleep particularly well, woke up at some point in the third quarter, and then again at 3 am when I guess one of our neighbors was in a very heated argument with I suppose his wife.  It didn't sound very good at all.  Anyway, on to better things, Sunday was pretty productive, got to the gym, some more laundry, a bit of shopping, and caught up on reading a few Racecar Engineering magazines.

This week is the Business of Motorsport module, so hopefully it's interesting and difficult so that I don't have even more reason to give my business school friends a hard time!  The lectures seem to be focused most on how to get funding for racing, whether it is through loans or sponsorships.

We still don't have any of our other exam grades back, and still don't know anything more about the group project.  I guess I'll just have to continue being patient, but it's getting harder and harder.

Autosport International Show

Yesterday we all took a field trip to Birmingham, the bus ride was about an hour and 20 minutes.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the show as far as potential job opportunites and networking.  It turned out to be ok for that, got some business cards, talked to some people, but without specific product or service needs it was kind of difficult.  Much more of a sales focus.  There were some really cool cars there though, and some really high tech manufacturing machines too.

14-1-11 Autosport

Today will be spent doing a little schoolwork for the last two modules, getting to the gym, doing laundry, some grocery shoppping, probably some PS3, and then the first NFL game tonight.  I did find out that the next season of Top Gear starts on Sunday, so that is exciting. 

Guess that's it for now, I hope this rain will stay away so my afternoon is easier!

I Hate Coming Up With Titles

Yesterday was easily the best day of the week lecture wise.  Started with an hour from Adrian Reynard, who if you don't know, you can read a little bit about here.  He was very interesting and honest about his experiences.  And amazingly humble for a guy who broke land speed records with home built motorcycles and built Formula Fords in his garage.  The rest of the day was on project management, which was decently interesting.  Today is some more project management and we finish off the week tomorrow with a trip to the Autosport International show in Birmingham.

The last two days have been around 50 F and rainy.  Nice to be out of the cold, and the rain has not been terribly hard, so getting around outside has still been ok.

Had a good meeting with our project advisors about my thesis.  I'll give more details when things get more finalised and official if I can.  Some projects wind up with non-disclosure agreements to protect sensitive information.

Guess What?

I know some of you know what is coming...

2 days is all it took for a bus to not come.  I was at the stop to go home 6 mins early and stayed 20 mins before deciding to go check emails and wait for the next one.

I was unsuccessful in not finding out that Auburn won, because NBC of all things decided to send an email about it.  Why, I have no idea.  Haven't watched it all yet because the internet here is being slow.

The lecture today was on finance, which was just ok.  At least the lecturer was pretty entertaining.  He told us how he worked for about 5 months on cruise ships as a Barclay bank representative, which sounds fun I suppose, he seemed to have enjoyed it :)  You just can't get very detailed in one day of finance, so it was pretty basic, just an overview of things.  Can't say I didn't learn anything, but there was a lot that I'd already heard or knew.

Gonna work a bit on a few things for this week (project ideas, resume for the Autosport International show) and then try to get to bed.  I did get in a quick after dinner workout, some legs and back stuff, but no squats.

6:15

Was early today, but not as early as when I woke up at 4:22 and checked my alarm clock.  I saw 6:35, which is my late, emergency alarm, but it was only there because I had left the clock in alarm set mode!

The lecture was pretty bad.  A big room, quiet professor with bad English and a pretty dry subject (cost engineering) makes for a difficult day.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I think the lack of sleep is finally catching up with me, so I'm heading to bed early today.

I'm going to watch the BCS game on ESPN3 replay tomorrow, so please no one mention anything to me about it, even if Cam Newton goes Beast Mode to win it.  I think the Mario video is my favorite of the two.  It'll be hard enough to avoid on the internet!

I'm Back

The flight went well, I fell asleep before the first movie ended, and woke up a few minutes before the breakfast which was an hour before we landed.  I was somehow able to get much more comfortable than I had before so I think that's why sleeping was more successful.  Customs was super quick and easy, and my bag came out within 5 minutes, obvious we're not at RDU anymore.  The Tube was of course packed, which made carrying 3 bags so much fun.  I took the Tube to Victoria Station with the intention of seeing Buckingham Palace and a few other sights near there.  The cheaper place to pay to leave your bags is at the coach station, so I walked over there - it wasn't far but felt further the first time when I was looking for it, mainly because I wound up taking an unnecessary detour through the main train station.

I got to Buckingham Palace just in time to kind of see the end of the changing of the guard, which I didn't even realize was going on, but it was quite obvious by the crowd.  I could only really see the group march in and hear the music though, the crowd at the gate was pretty large.

8-1-11 London

Well I was going to keep writing, but I've got to go find some breakfast somewhere and probably do a little grocery shopping.  I will try and finish writing when I get back.

So to continue:  I waited for the band to march back away from the Palace and then continued walking down Birdcage Walk and through St. James Park.  It would be a nice place to relax and enjoy a sunny afternoon.  The birds and squirrels around the lake were obviously very used to being fed by humans, and seemed pretty aggressive in coming up to anyone that put their hand out at all.  By now I'd worked up quite an appetite, as the airplane breakfast isn't very substantial.  I had been planning on going into the Churchill Museum and War Rooms, but delayed it for some lunch.  I wound up walking to Trafalgar Square scouting out places to eat.  I was looking for something maybe a little more adventurous than what is around MK, but was ultimately unsuccessful, and wound up at a pub.  I got braised oxtail and of course a pint of beer.

This random new, pretty ugly building was right in the middle of Parliament, Westminster Abbey etc. - stuck out like a sore thumb!

The Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms were pretty interesting.  It is the location where the war operations were run from, and many of the rooms had been left intact from the day they closed.  Of course things had been restored, but much of the furniture and everything else is original.  Maybe the neatest part was the map room, which still had the original map, complete with all of the pinholes from tracking troops and ships.  The museum part was just a vast amount of information and documentation of Churchill's life.  Did you know his mother was from the Vanderbilt family that had Biltmore Estate built?  The most impressive feature might have been the interactive timeline, that went through anything significant that had happened in his life.  I think you could spend a week reading everything available if you wanted.

Then my Tube adventure continued back to my train station.  I did find time to stop in the Euston Tap for a few beers before the train to MK.  I did wait for a bus to take me closer to my place though, I was tired of walking and carrying my bags, even though the bus didn't necessarily save me any time.

Spent the night unpacking and watching the crazy Seahawks game.  Woke up today exactly at the scheduled sunrise time and went out for some groceries so I could eat today.  I didn't know, but the store made announcements that there are laws preventing them from selling goods before 11am.  Guess that's why the grocery stores don't open till 11!  Finished the afternoon with a good workout.  I've been working on a couple of lab reports while watching KC and Baltimore.  My 6:20 wakeup call is going to be a rude surprise I think.