We’ve got an exam in which we’ve got to write a load of Perl script by hand… with a pen/pencil…
Hand-written Programming Exam
Posted by Kate Glover on January 16, 2013
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Why DO I drive in the snow?
Posted by Kate Glover on January 14, 2013
Every time it snows around here – people freak out, public transport freaks, out, businesses freak out, it all goes a bit mad. Then there’s me, offering lifts, to go get shopping etc. and people tell me it’s madness.
My reply? Well someone’s got to – and who better than someone who routinely prepares for the zombie apocalypse!
My “snow-ocalypse” kit consists of:
- a wind-up torch and a cheap flashing tube light,
- a ration pack,
- 4 litres water (sealed),
- 1 quilted loo-roll (good for clearing windscreen/spills!)
- a folding shovel,
- mobile phone/ipod charging cables (my lighter socket has a USB adaptor),
- a jump-start pack AND jump-start cables (in case battery in pack dies),
- 2 rubber mats in case of getting stuck,
- sleeping bag
I also keep in my bag:
- Nintendo 3DS and at least 1 Pokémon game,
- snacks,
- spare change,
- alcohol hand-gel,
- a notebook and pens,
While not everyone needs to be quite that well-prepared – I find it a comfort to know that if I try to drive to Hastings and the road grinds to a halt in the middle of nowhere – I have no need to abandon my vehicle. In fact – even if I get stuck on a motorway – I should be good where I am for a few days at least – which is usually long enough for them to get it moving again! I also now have new tyres and keep a full tank of diesel to help to stick it to the road.
If I had to narrow this down to a few basic items, I’d say make sure you’ve got:
- means of charging your phone,
- something to do,
- a way to keep warm,
- something to eat and drink (long life snacks etc).
If I am on public transport further than walking distance from home, I also try to make sure that I have access to enough cash to pay for a hotel room in case the weather prevents me from getting home. If I can end up at a friend’s house – then so much the better and at least I can afford to buy them a pizza in gratitude!
Of course – the best idea tends to be to stay indoors and avoid travel if possible. If you can’t avoid travel however – do at least make sure you can survive and be comfortable in the event that you can’t get home!
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How I learned to stop worrying and love programming…
Posted by Kate Glover on January 11, 2013
18 months ago: I wasn’t a programmer. I started my degree course, terrified of programming. I’d been rubbish at A-Level, and hadn’t got any better since. If at enrolment you’d have offered me a D on a free-pass – I’d have bitten your hand off for it.
Now: It’s my favourite thing. I think about little else. If I’m not coding, I’m thinking of coding, or planning coding. At work, rest and play. I wait for my train to Uni, eyeing up the flashy ticket machine. I can “see through it” like a software x-ray. I look at the departure boards. I’ve never seen the system, but I almost certainly know how they work. What talks to what and how.
My lecturer still finds it amusing when I tell him that I was so rubbish at it. I’m not sure he quite believes me. He asked what it was that made the difference. I think it was the structure of his lectures. The only way I can think to describe it follows (my thoughts at each stage in red):
- Here is an example of a concept.
Okay. - Play with it.
I think I’m getting it. - Try breaking it a bit and putting it back again.
What the..!? What does that error even mean?! AAAAAGH! Oh hold on, fixed it… - Add to it.
Cautiously confident now. - Put it to one side and use it as a base to create your own example, based on something you personally already know about and understand.
Wait a minute – it’s virtually the same thing but with parrot rather than dog words… - Make it a bit more interesting.
Haha! Check this out! This instance of a parrot now has eight legs and a small corner shop! - Recap questions.
Got it! - Next week: a concept which usually utilises and builds on the one we did this week.
GOTO 10…
I hope it makes sense. The fact that he’s infinitely patient and always takes the extra time to provide a thorough explanation, even when a short one would have done. helps too.
I’m no longer terrified. I’m excited. I sometimes have so much stuff in my head when I’m thrashing something out that I end up with nose-bleeds. I don’t even care…
Break over… back to my coding…
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Everything is under control…
Posted by Kate Glover on January 9, 2013
With three coursework deadlines in the next seven days, followed by three exams in four days shortly after – I left this on the whiteboard in one of our lecture rooms at Uni tonight. Hopefully it will amuse whoever uses the room after us tomorrow.
(If you’re having trouble reading it, you can click on the image to enlarge it)
Posted in Drawing/Painting, University | Leave a Comment »
Walkies
Posted by Kate Glover on January 6, 2013
Finally managed to meet up with my friend and her little’un (for whom I’ve made a dinosaur hoodie!) to walk the dog. Bob and little’un are best buddies when they get together, and now she likes to hold the lead when we go out together. I’m still not sure who is walking who however!
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A few thoughts on gender balance in IT
Posted by Kate Glover on September 7, 2012
There is a lot of effort being put into getting more females into IT at the moment, both academically, at school, college, University etc. and into the industry as a career choice.
On one hand – I understand where this is coming from. I have had it explained to me that there have been studies which have shown that mixed gender teams work better and are more productive, and that it will therefore be of great benefit to the industry, and probably to the nation economically if a better gender balance can be achived. Brilliant – no problems there.
On the other – I worry a lot about where this is all going for a number of reasons.
1) I worry that I will be given a job because a company is short on female team members rather than because I am the most suitable candidate. While this would of course be of benefit to me personally in the jobs market and therefore potentially financially – I don’t want this. This isn’t equality. I want to know that I’ve earned my place and that I got to where I am because I’m the best – not just because I lack Y chromasomes and “will do” for the role.
2) Ever more “girls-only” stuff is appearing. Girls only coding-events. Pink themed websites which are set up “just for girls”. Girls only “Geek Girl Dinners” Stuff like that. I don’t want this either. It’s like the pink PlayStation malarkey all over again. It isn’t equality. It’s well-intentioned, but personally I find it patronising. If there were coding events, dinners, etc. from which women were barred access as men are to some of these “girls only” things – there would be media outcry and rightly so. Equality has to work both ways – otherwise it isn’t equality at all. As far as I can see – there is nothing positive about “positive discrimination”.
3) So much is being made of the “male-culture” in the IT industry in the media (the Microsoft “Big Boobs” hex code thing being an example) that men are going to start (if they are not already) tiptoing around female colleagues as if they are a media-storm waiting to happen. Does anyone want to work in an environment where they inspire nothing but the fear of disciplinary proceedings – just because they have breasts? I worry that I’m going to step into my next office and find an atmosphere so tense that the whole team is on the verge of snapping – because they’re worried about saying the wrong thing and worried about accidentally excluding me, etc etc. all at the same time. We won’t have mixed teams if this carries on. We’ll have female teams and male teams, and each will be terrified of saying the wrong thing or making the wrong gesture or whatever in front of the other.
There will be more another day, however I’m tired after a long day of bumping library books around in bulk! I will also write a separate post on what I think I would do to help to rectify the gender balance while avoiding what I see as the pitfalls in the current attempts. I know that, as a female who has spent my academic and working life in IT – I am something of a “solved problem” and so may have a different perspective on it to some. In the meantime – I’d be interested to read your thoughts and comments on the above! Thanks.
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BT and Biscuits
Posted by Kate Glover on July 11, 2012
I’ve just filed another fault report with BT. I’m hoping that humour, goodnaturedness and chocolate biscuits are the way to their operatives’ hearts. The story so far is covered, in brief, at the beginning of the report…
Details of the issue:
My ISP is PlusNet, however the BT OpenReach saga has been ongoing since I switched to a Fibre connection.
The first guy came to fit it for us – great job, lovely bloke, went above and beyond to get the job done – no problems there and really appreciated the good service.
Then a second guy came about 4-5 days later, and broke it while I was out. Bit miffed with this one.
The third guy came and found that the second guy had plugged us back into the copper system – and that’s why my fibre kit wasn’t connecting at my end. He then plugged us back into the Fibre line. All seemed fine, he checked it was working, and left. Fair enough.
Now while it is pretty stable most of the time, when the wind and rain get up (particularly the wind we think) the line drops and I can’t even get an external IP address. This annoys the hell out of us, as all 3 of us have occasion to work from home – one of us all the time, and while he can’t work he doesn’t get paid! Only working when the weather is nice isn’t a great thing, nor is only being able to watch iPlayer when the sun is shining outside.
We even waited when the weather started to deteriorate over the past couple of days to test our theory before reporting it. It’s definitely the weather, and this makes us sad 🙁
I’m sure you can understand our disappointment and concerns with the current arrangement. If can make one house of geeks very happy this week, we’d really love it to be ours. Please can Jim (or whoever you are) fix it for us to have working internet 🙂
Many thanks,
Kate Glover (yes, I am The Account Holder 😉 )
PS: We have chocolate biscuits. Nice ones.
Do you think that’ll work? I do hope so…
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Dan’s Baptism Present
Posted by Kate Glover on July 9, 2012
Personally, I consider myself agnostic/non-committal when it comes to religion – however my mate Dan from Uni invited me to his full-immersion baptism at the end of last week. I’d seen one before, but it was quite different. He seemed happy and comfortable with the event, and happy in what he was committing to for the future. He’s my mate. I’m proud of him, and I’m glad that I drove over there to support him on his (and his cousin’s) “big day”.
As I had no idea what one should buy one’s adult friend as a baptism gift, I asked if he’d like me to do a painting. I knew he was quite into angels and often felt temptation getting in his way – so I suggested that I paint him an angel for his room, so that he had one watching over him at home. He liked the idea and I set to work.
While he didn’t want “spoilers” – I did make sure that I ran ideas past him (such as the anime style) so that I’d be sure there would be a chance that he’d like it! I started by spraying the canvas with silver/chrome car-paint, then using house paint (plus acrylic for the black) to paint the wings, Kaworu (from Neon Genesis Evangelion) as the angel, and the verse on the wings. I wanted to pick something I thought might give him strength – and the wording of 2 Samuel 22, verse 33 – taken specifically from the New International Version – I felt did a good job of putting across the sentiment I was trying to convey.
I also wrote a personal note (including the date) around the back of the frame, as a memory for him, and to tell him that I was proud of him as a friend.
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Idea: USB Resource Sticks
Posted by Kate Glover on June 30, 2012
I’m not claiming that it’s a “new” idea, just an idea – but I’m thinking of getting some sponsorship together and creating some resource sticks to send out to get teachers loaded up with a range of basics at home. Examples include
- A range of browsers (and links to the sites for the latest versions)
- A range of free programming environments [BlueJ, Scratch, etc] (and links to the sites for the latest versions)
- OpenOffice.org (and a link to the site for the latest versions)
- List of free and useful apps on common mobile platforms
- Links to the RethinkingICT Wiki, tutorial sites, Computing At School etc. with explanations as to what they are etc.
It is just a half-baked idea which I have a pretty decent idea of how to finance. Would this be of any use? Would you be interested in having one? Would a USB stick be more useful/memorable than, say, a website linking to the same (I’m thinking the USB storage element might at least keep it in people’s pockets/minds)?
I’d really appreciate some feedback on this idea 🙂 Thanks.
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Musings: Women in the IT Industry
Posted by Kate Glover on June 29, 2012
I’ve had a couple of rants on Twitter lately, regarding what I consider to be unhelpful (although well-intentioned) attempts to get more women into STEM areas.
The first one was the #GirlScienceThing storm on Twitter. The YouTube video which sparked it [link here] seems to be more like someone’s Film Studies project rather than a serious/credible attempt to get more women into science – and yet, it was comissioned and published by the European Commission [girl-science-thing site].
The profile videos, while a little better, still irk me somewhat. Marieke Huisman [profile video] who teaches Computer Science/Infomatics at the University of Twente tells us that maybe 3 out of her 50 students are female, that the perception of the subject is that it is full of “nerds” and then finishes by saying that studying a technical subject gives you a good opportunity to “meet some nice guys”. If I wanted to meet guys – I’d go out socially, not sign up to a 3-year (or more) degree course.
The second thing I started firing off about, was the @womenwhocode twitter account – who were advertising their women-only hack night. Face it ladies – if the event was reversed and was exclusively for men instead – you’d be outraged. A couple of my tweets follow:
Personally think that the exclusion of men risks creating/promoting a Greer-esque superiority divide. Equality/balance surely can’t benefit.
— Kate Glover (@lifson) June 28, 2012
It makes me annoyed when people identify as “female programmers”, “female scientists” etc.Do breasts enhance your coding/science ability?
— Kate Glover (@lifson) June 28, 2012
I had a bit of a debate with Dr. Tom Crick on Twitter a few months ago about the relentless drive to get more “female programmers” and “female computer scientists”. I contended that gender should be completely irrelevant (that women CAN get into ICT/CS and if they don’t that’s their problem, not the industry’s), and I didn’t understand why I had to be a “female programmer” when all I wanted to be was a “programmer” like the rest of my coursemates. He then gave me the first sensible answer I have ever had, despite many similar discussions with others on the topic – that studies show that mixed-gender teams are more productive. The lack of women CS (and other STEM) graduates means that mixed-gender teams are harder to put together in industry and this therefore has a negative effect on productivity and efficiency. That one piece of information has soothed my raging annoyance and has helped me to accept that perhaps, for the time being at least, it is a necessary campaign rather one driven by political correctness.
For your amusement, another of my tweets:
Genuine convo at previous job. “Hi, I’m Kate, I’ve come to fix your phone” / “Oh wow! A female technician!” / “Nope – just an IT technician”
— Kate Glover (@lifson) June 28, 2012
At the #RethinkingICT conference on Monday, along with various other observations, I voiced the idea that maybe we should be pitching ICT/CS as “creative” rather than “technical”. The perception of Computer Science, programming, etc. is that it is a cold, technical, mathematical, logical discipline – whereas in fact I find it a lot more like creating a sculpture or building something out of wood. The answers are not right or wrong. There are efficient and inefficient ways to do things, some simple, some complex, and some which don’t work at all. Websites, applications, mobile apps – why settle for what other people have made or paying someone a fortune to make what you need when you can write your own?
I don’t know how best to pitch this yet, but I’m going to start by getting a haircut and make some videos explaining why I’m doing a CS-based degree and what excites me about the skills I’m learning, the people I’m around, and the opportunities it is opening up for me already. The following video was taken at the BlackBerry10 Jam – World Tour developer conference in London, where I ended up doing a lightning pitch in front of around 500 BlackBerry developers and RIM staff. How many 1st year degree students (of any gender!) can say that?
Maybe my irritation grows (at least in part) from the fact that I am something of a solved problem. I did A-Level Computing AND AVCE ICT at college. I’m doing a CS-related degree now. I spent 8 years as a Technician in a Network Services department between the two. I own ties. I wear trousers with many pockets down the sides. Perhaps these things aren’t aimed at me, and maybe that is why I feel more patronised than I should?
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