TomRed's blog & stuff

Afternoon. The last time I posted was the end of my first term at uni, a couple of weeks ago I came back home from my second term. Don’t get me wrong, as far behind you may perceive Coventry we do actually have internet there, it’s just that in the midst of skipping lectures, assignments, and daylight hours in general, I still can’t find the term or effort to throw some words together and make a post. I have three more weeks off and if I find something to talk about I will.

Anyway, it’s not been a bad term. I had a couple of exams in January and got 60% in both (I was expecting something in the 40s). I aim to do better in my ten exams this summer, and I might if I learn (not revise) the material this Easter. My work ethic passed away recently after battling a long illness. It’s very difficult to get out of bed at 8 a.m. when no one in administration cares where you are. It’s surprisingly difficult to get out 2 p.m. as well. I suppose it’s the hard way of developing self-motivation and hopefully I’ll grow out of it.

Just out of interest, I went to Geneva at the end of term. I was there for two days, primarily to visit CERN. The trip was good but living in 2010s airport security being unable to bring back a CERN Swiss army knife broke my heart. Here’s some pretty pictures:

Anyway, back to business. I’m uploading A-level stuff updates now, to avoid an inevitable broken promise this term. I might upload stuff for people on my course if it’s worth it. Oh, and if you want to contact me about a mistake or a request or anything else that I need to reply to, please e-mail me. I read all the comments eventually, but I don’t login and approve them for ages, so I don’t reply any more as it’s unfashionably late. If you just want to send love or hate mail, comments are fine.

Evenin’ all. To the three people still following this, you would’ve noticed I haven’t posted in like two months. Uni life has been good, and I could talk to you about my course as well if I was actually doing some work (I’m just suppressing the thought of my two January exams).

I’m not going to shove empty promises about new features for this site – all I hope is that I keep it going for the moment. As for the heavily prized A-level stuff, I’ll add the 2011 papers and do necessary updates soon (hopefully before New Year’s), so please stop asking. If you have any requests, please e-mail me via the e-mail on the sidebar as, as you know, I have an annoying habit of not replying to requests in blog comments (it’s laziness, not spitefulness, I promise). If you‘re still waiting on a reply, just repeat your question as an e-mail please.

Back to me, I’ve been home now for about ten days after a ten week term. I’ll be back sometime between the 3rd and the 9th. It’s been a fulfilling experience, packed with anecdotes that tend to always involve our much loved character, protagonist or antagonist, The Bottle.

Oh, get this: I did stand-up. Like hell I’ll let you watch the video, though.

It’s Christmas Eve, isn’t it? Merry Christmas to all, I’m getting a nice new suit. I was browsing Wikipedia this morning (or 2 p.m. as I like to call it), and only just found out about the Christmas truce in World War I, one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard of in history.

Much love.

Over the last two weeks my priorities were:
To ensure my blood-alcohol level doesn’t reach a dangerous low,
To stay alive,
To enjoy the company of the lovely people here,
To sort out what I need for everyday life,
To procrastinate on Facebook,
To do my work,
To update this blog.

Warwick’s been great, but with one exception. Lectures and Freshers’ mix like heroin and cocaine. The Freshers’ was two weeks but was dimmed by 9 a.m. lectures the next morning and related assignments (that actually mattered). Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take any excuse to avoid clubs but getting in the way of a pub night is a big no.

The academic material is thankfully more interesting than A-level, but obviously I have to do more work. The experience in general is different, but overall better. It really is freedom.

I don’t have much else to say as I’m still getting used to it. Oh, I can cook now*.

*We’re getting there.

What a productive year! So much accomplished!

…Wait, what?

Okay. As you most certainly know, thomas-reddington.com was launched on 12th September so this post is almost two weeks overdue. I’ve scrapped weekly videos. I didn’t post comics despite promising I’ll put some up this summer. By the time you read this, there will be no podcast section, and at this rate you can expect two weeks between posts if you’re lucky.

There’s not even awards like the past two years.

There is one front I’ve conquered. Unfortunately for me it’s the old A-level stuff section, attracting thousands in exam time and preparing a hostel for tumble weed in the intermediate period. I assure you, it will remain through university (I start on the 2nd, by the way). I’m currently on Weebly Pro, which allows 100MB file limits (so I can have ZIP folders), but I don’t know if I’ll keep Weebly Pro (as I originally wanted them for podcasts). I’ll update the sections as well (bearing in mind how busy I’ll be and how lazy I am with anything to do with this site).

I should stop making promises, but I promise to post more. We’ll see next year, dearies.

I haven’t posted in a while, and part of that is because I’ve been playing with my new phone. It’s been over two years since I got one, so I’m pleased to say I now own a smartphone, the HTC Sensation.

It’s top of the range at the moment. I actually bought it and will get a SIM-only deal soon. It’s great to have a phone that can surf the internet comfortably, can text quickly without straining my fingers, and is plain sexy. It runs on Android, so it has tonnes of apps to download (a lot of which are free). I went over the top, and now have over 120. I can’t exactly give a full review as this is the only smartphone I’ve owned, and I’m still in the honeymoon with it. Just to mention, there’s no Weebly app (and I can’t post from Weebly on the phone’s internet as the keyboard doesn’t come up when I try to write one – it’s something Weebly can fix if it wants to I’m sure).

As to why I bought it, I was promised a smartphone from my results. I found the iPhone unnecessarily pricey, and had a look at HTC Android phones as I wanted apps and HTC had a good reputation from my peers. I was thinking of the Desire Z because of the physical keyboard, then the Desire HD for the larger 4.3 inch screen (as opposed to the 3.7 inch screen), then finally the Sensation (after some self-debate) due to the 1.2 GHz dual core processor (as opposed to the 1 GHz single core processor).

This should get me through a few years at uni, depending on Moore’s law and the price of baked beans.

The final round. The deciding round. Here they are:

Maths: A*
574/600 UMS
Physics: A*
567/600 UMS
Chemistry: A*
571/600 UMS

I’m absolutely delighted, and into my course of Mathematics and Physics at Warwick. I did an AS in further maths this year, and got an A, so that takes me up to A*A*A*abb overall with the lower case being AS-levels. Unfortunately a fair few of my friends didn’t get what they needed, and were thrown out even with a differential of one grade. Well done to everyone and best of luck to those sorting it out!

And I understand the rules, my results make me officially a wanker.

The attacks on London by rioting youths was thought to be a minor problem that could be dealt by a large number of riot police. This was underestimated, and the army was ordered to be called in by the leader, David Cameron, who returned from a retreat in Italy to a heavily guarded bunker under the House of Commons. No army arrived, and the increasing momentum of the rioters will encircle London in a day, two days at the most. The revelation to the leader, David Cameron, is recorded in the following text:

Clegg: The enemy has made a breakthrough. They took Tottenham, Wood Green and Enfield in the north, Brixton in the south, and are advancing to the centre.
Cameron: The army’s assault to take care of things.
Clegg: My leader…we…
Hague: We couldn’t mobilise enough men. The army wasn’t deployed.
**A noticeable silence occurs as Cameron takes in this information.**
Cameron: These men will remain: Osborne, Hague, Clegg, and Johnson.
**All members of the cabinet leave the strategy room in the bunker except those listed.**
Cameron: That was an order! The deployment of the army was an order! Who do you think you are to disobey an order from me? So this is what it has come to. Everyone’s been lying to me! Even the Metropolitan Police! Our officers are a bunch of contemptible, disloyal cowards!
Johnson: My leader, I cannot permit you to insult the police.
Cameron: They are cowards, traitors and failures!
Johnson: My leader, this is outrageous.
Cameron: Our officers are the scum of the British people. Not a shred of honour! They call themselves officers! Years at a police academy only to set at the desk filing paperwork and fire the odd rubber bullet! For years the Metropolitan Police has hindered my plans! They’ve put every obstacle in my way! What I should have done was to cut every high ranking job in the police force, as Sarkozy did!
**A brief pause as Cameron appears to calm.**
Cameron: I never went to a police academy. Yet I managed to bring order in Britain all by myself. I’ve been betrayed and deceived from the very beginning. What a monstrous betrayal of the British people. But they’ll pay, they’ll pay with their own blood! They will drown in their own blood!
**Outside the room, a crying Mrs Cameron is told to calm herself. Mr Cameron’s tone is distinctly quieter.**
Cameron: My orders have fallen of deaf ears. Under these circumstances, I am no longer able to lead. It’s over. The war is lost. But, gentlemen, if you think I’m going to leave London, you are seriously mistaken. I’d rather blow my brains out. Do whatever you like.

Three guesses why. They clog up the blog and I spend five seconds picking out something each week only I seem to like. I’m also getting so lazy that I’m not hitting the basic deadline.

At least you’ll see only normal posts now, right?

I’m afraid it is. See the next post.