Gaaaaaah! The pox is upon me!!

I've had a few days off work this week whilst I recover from an evil lurgy that has rendered me, amongst other things, with a much quieter voice than usual.

On top of this, I had my Yellow Fever vaccination yesterday, so this afternoon I'm feeling slightly below par. To be honest, I don't actually feel any worse for the jab, despite the dire warnings of the nurse, so maybe the cold has somehow cushioned the blow?

The end result is that I've not been shaving recently, and when I did come to shave I decided, "what the hell" and simply neatened it all up, so I am currently sporting a minor beard.

Other than the fact that it appears to be ever-so-slightly ginger, I'm actually quite fond of it. It gives me something to stroke in seminars other than the person next to me, and I feel quite lecturer-esque. I suspect that I'll be fed up with it before the end of the week, but I'm getting in as many chin-rubbing "ahhhhhh - I see what you mean"s during meetings as possible in the mean time.

Robot Localization

I've been setting up the robot localization software on my Pioneer today. I'm using the code supplied by MobileRobots with the robot, namely a class called ArLocalizationTask.

Localization software simply allows the robot to figure out where it is standing in the world, given it's current sensor data and a map.

I'm using it because I assess how well my new classification algorithm is working by comparing what it thinks is "dangerous" with a map, where I've marked all the places where it should be able to see "dangerous" obstacles. The original software got more and more lost as time went on, and the results got worse and worse as a result.

I was disappointed with the supplied code for a number of reasons. Firstly I got a couple of declaration errors for files that should have been included by the localization code. I had to manually edit the file so it could find them, (update: that may have been a result of a library argument issue to the compiler). Secondly the documentation really wasn't that great. In fact, I found the most useful help in the comments of the code. Strangely these comments weren't carried over by doxygen into the help file, so I assume that they have been mis-labelled. I didn't bother looking into it in too much detail - I was just happy to get it working!

The first run has just completed, so hopefully the results will be better, (or at the very least a better reflection of what is _actually_ going on!

Rage

The BBC news ran THIS story today, about Pirates of the Carribean III, (which I'm off to see tomorrow.) One thing that angered me a great deal was this quote:

"On Chinese web forums, many people have criticised the film's image of Chow's character - who is bald, has long nails and is dressed in Qing dynasty style.

They have said it is the image of the Chinese in the eyes of Hollywood producers."

Yes, of course PotCIII is a realistic depiction of the various nationalities depicted, I for one am rarely seen without my tri-corner hat and pantaloons. Excuse me, I must help a friend of mine into a basque... (that is, I'll be tying a tight fitting, uplifting top, not engaging in dubious activities involving someone who lives between Spain and France...)

Puns, particles and procrastination

Now I know that we've all heard of this outrage that threatens the civil liberties of every upstanding englishman and woman in this fair isle, but so angered am I at the horror of it all, I feel it is worth raising here. I am of course discussing THIS censorship. I love the fact that people are so nervous about what happens in forums that they would even consider banning the word "cock", never mind from a bird-watching website. I'm also particularly entertained by the ferocity of the response from the users!

Anyhoo I've been looking at particle filters recently, to help get a handle on some nasty errors that my robot odometry, (the robot's concept of where it is in the world by measuring how far it's travelled from a known point) has been throwing up. Dead-reckoning, (the simple algorithm that just counts how many revolutions the wheels make) is notoriously unreliable, even over relatively short distances, but by tracking certain objects in the world and by trying to model how big the error really is, it is possible to compensate for it. This is a common problem in robotics called "localization" and one which is so heavily researched, that particle filters have almost become the norm.

Anyway - I've found that there is some particle filter software that comes for free with the robots, which will save me a couple of days of coding. I just need to add it. Sadly my motivation is running a little low at the moment and a combination of hayfever, and the drugs which keep it in check, have left me feeling a little sedated.

But I shall move to backup energy, (by providing my tea-based fuel cells with the drink of champions) and push on!

Nurse - get the syringe, he's waking up again....

Punning Heroes

Now most people who know me, know that I love a good/bad/ugly/innapropriate pun.

But who were my punning influences? Why, when talking about "ghetto computer scientists" did I threaten to "pop a Caps in someone's ASCII"?

For me the top three punners of all time are:

Dangermouse - I watched and rewatched this religiously everyday as a child, and it is likely to be a greater influence on who I am as a person than a substantial part of my family.

Penfold: Have you got something clever up your sleeve, D.M.?
Dangermouse: Only my arm, Penfold, and that's no cleverer than the rest of me.
-----

Fozzie Bear - I still have an urge to follow some of my poorer gags up with a "wokka wokka wokka". Never too ashamed by a terrible gag to stop himself, this man is a true punning hero.

Kermit [navigating]: Fozzie! Bear left!
Fozzie [driving]: Right, frog!
-----

Horatio Caine - Whilst technically a dramatic character from CSI Miami, he's not adverse to the odd innapropriate pun. As this WEEBL AND BOB cartoon illustrates nicely.

Quentin:"The club was grandfathered in -- built pre-code."
Horatio:"Yeah, I bet you those chained exit doors were grandfathered in, too, huh?"
Quentin:"What'd you expect me to do? People were sneaking in."
Horatio:"And dying to get out."
-----

Who else should join these kings of paronomasia?

and in breaking news... misery loves company

The BBC news ran THIS ARTICLE today. It basically states that the secret to a happy relationship is to acknowledge that misery is a part of life and that you are going to be disappointed if you're waiting for the perfect partner.

This is obviously a good thing, as I've always said, Disney is responsible for a lot of unhappy single people waiting for that "tale as old as time" to come true, and for someone to show them a "whole new world" and "kill all the innocents". Ok so that last one wasn't a proper Disney lyric, but it is basically what runs through my mind when I hear "Under the Sea" (and does anyone else think that "A Whole New World" is frighteningly close to some kind of facist agenda? What's in this "Whole New World"? Who runs it? "Don't you dare close your eyes" - why not? What's going to happen? Who's there? What are you doing with that axe? Why are my family reporting this rant to the secret police?)

Ahem, sorry.

So remember, if you have kids, don't brainwash them with unrealistic fairy tales of wedded bliss. Show them double-bills of Eastenders. It's for their own good!