Fairwell my four wheeled friend

Yesterday was a very eventful day. A good day of data analysis means that I have perhaps unearthed something very interesting, and potentially publishable. Although, in the true spirit of science, it manifests itself as a small shift in a graph and not the explosion of light and sound that may happen in a blockbuster movie.

The other thing that happened yesterday was the disappearance of my car. Don't worry, it's not been stolen. Lisa and I decided that it would be a good idea, environmentally and financially, to get rid of the car and so the haulage company came along and took it away. I've been thinking about doing this for the past 6 months, and so I pulled my finger out and did it.

I've had a car since I passed my test at the age of 17, which, come September will be a decade of being an automobile user. I have many great memories attached to driving, from the many long drives I've done for gigs and tours, to driving away from my wedding with can's tied to the bumper and foam spelling out Just Married across the back window.

I'm sure I'll get used to taking the bus and train again, and walking the short distances that I used to endanger the planet by driving. And, of course, there will the extra cash at the end of the month which means we might actually be able to start saving.

A wee history of the car's I've owned:

Nissan Sunny: The best car I've ever owned. A G-Reg, sky blue, 5 door saloon 1.4 litre machine. I got this car after I passed my test so that I could drive to university. I'll admit it wasn't the prettiest car ever designed, but it always started (until that fateful day), had lots of space inside for passengers, drums, guitars, amps and more. This was the car that I had when I decided that being in a band doesn't mean you have to just play your own town, city or country, and so we (Dan, Puggs, and Myself) set off on a wee tour of northern England.The following week the exhaust came detached from the engine, at the engine, somewhere under the River Clyde causing a massive noise echoing through the tunnel and a maximum speed of 5mph. It was made in to a metallic cube the following day.

Rover Metro Kensington: While the Nissan Sunny was the best car I've ever owned, this one is perhaps the worst. It was tiny, 1litre engine, 3 doors and had less power than a hamster farting. I could quite easily get the car up to speed in towns, perhaps even to 50mph on a nice slope. However, motorways were a terrifying proposition with many an angry lorry driver being stuck behind this vibrating, floored 65mph monster. This car came to an end when I had parked it outside my flat in Govan. The immobiliser (!) failed, meaning I couldn't start the car, so while it was sitting on the pavement until I could afford to get it fixed, my local friendly neighbour hood Young Team came along and smashed every window and stole the front panel for the CD player. I found it with my CD collection scattered around the road, and a Policeman writing a report. It was towed away to be made in to a metallic cube later that night.

Peugeot 206 : This was the first car I bought new. I had just started my Phd, and decided that I wanted a car again, so signed up for a finance agreement. I've always said that this is the reason the recession happened. Anyone who would give someone like me credit to buy a new car shouldn't be in charge to giving out credit. I had this car when I first started seeing Lisa, and so I have good memories about long drives to Dundee to visit her in the early days. This was also the first car I had that didn't end up as a metallic cube, as far as I know. The terms of the financial agreement meant that I could trade it in for a brand new car after 2 years (see recession comment above), and that's what i did.

Peugeot 207: This is the car we just got rid off. It was all right, nothing remarkable really, 5 door, 1.6 litre engine and good CD player. This, along with the Sunny, is the car I have the most memories attached to. I clocked up around 30,000 miles in two years with this car from driving around the country to play gigs and visit people. Although, one of the best memories attached to it is encapsulated in this video

Ah well, I'll get another car one day.

That was it.

The viva was even more stressful than I could ever have imagined. The day started around 9pm the night before as I couldn't sleep at all. No amount of counting sheep, hot milk or relaxation could knock me out.

Anyways, I took the train in to Glasgow and had a latte in a cafe in order to try and relax, and also to go over my opening statement again. After this I took a walk up to the university and waited to be called in.

After a wee while the covener came out and collected me and so it began. Four hours of questioning and defense later I was back in the foyer waiting on their descision. Unfortunately by this time it was lunch time, and where I was sitting meant a steady flow of old colleagues passing by. Each mentioning that they hadn't seen me in a wee while, and asking how my viva went.

The truth at this point thoughb was that I didn't have a clue. The external examiner had done a very thorough job of going through my thesis, checking equations, figures, references and general science. This meant that while I had concentrated on knowning my own contribution, I had to be on my toes when it came to other peoples as well. Unfortunately in places I fell down, and in one instance had to admit that I just did not know the answer. This was one of the times through the viva that I felt that the examiner was just going to put down his pen and say "i think we'll just stop here".

After 40 stressful minutes I was called back in and made aware of their recommendations. This is when I was told that, yes, there is still a wee bit work to be done and a few corrections to be done, my thesis is good. And that was it.

Dr. Dave.

A nice relaxing next few days I think while I get used to not having the viva hanging over my head. Yeah, I still have some stuff to do, but everything thats been suggested is stuff that I've considered in the past, but just not expanded and put in the thesis.

And at least the dinner and drinks after the ordeal were good, with much laughter had.

Intro, verse, chorus.

I've decided to start up a proper blog thing to use for my thoughts. I currently have a wordpress blog over at my website, but it acts as more of a news feed over there. It's not really suited for rants, reviews or general stuff I want to say.

Anyways, for those who don't know who I am, which I make the safe assumption is the majority, I am Dave. I work at the University of Dundee as a Research Assistant, working in the Cell Biology Department. I have a Physics degree, and hopefully, soon I'll be examined for my thesis in Engineering. I also play punk rock political folk music around the country under the name Dave Hughes (see what I did there). I play this solo and also with a band, which I love very much. I'm married and currently stay in Dundee, but travel to Glasgow every other week for gigs and band practices.

Politically, I identify with the left, but not so left as that I am coming full circle. I think that's a dangerous place to be. My ideal world would have a socialist form of government, built on the principles of respect for each other, and helping those who aren't as able as the rest.

I am a massive Springsteen, Clash, and Mischief Brew fan. I love Steinbeck books, and my favourite films do not have the word "Movie" in the title.

I did have something to write about this evening, but I'll leave it till next time I log in and have more thoughts to put to it.