Introduction

Welcome to the personal website of David Bates. You can find more about me in the About section. Otherwise, if you know me, feel free to read my ramblings below and please contact me at davidbates01@btinternet.com. I do not wish to provide a comments section as such, but it would be great to get some response to some of the content here, what you think of the site or just to get in touch.

25th June 2009 - for those without Facebook...

Degree done. Passed.

(c) Puzzler, whoever that is.

David

18th May 2009

With the lack of last.fm, a dynamic rererevision top 50 (in morning to midnight order).

1. Franz Liszt: Réminiscences de Don Juan (after Mozart- Don Giovanni), S.418 - (performed by Olga Kern)
2. Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No.1 - 3rd Movement (performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy & The Concertgebouw Orchestra)
3. Clannad: Robin (the Hooded Man)
4. Alan Parsons: Return to Trunguska (featuring David Gilmour)
5. David GIlmour: Remember a Day (Live on Later...with Jools Holland
6. The Alan Parsons Project: Lucifer (instrumental)
7. Morrissey: The World is Full of Crashing Bores
8. The Nice: Intermezzo Karelia Suite
9. Aaron Copland: "Hoedown" from Rodeo: Four Dance Episoides (performed by the Czechoslovak Radio Symphony Orchestra)
10. Jeff Healey Band: While My Guitar Gently Weeps
11. Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Toccata
12. Rick Wakeman: Anne of Cleves
13. Thom Yorke: Harrowdown Hill (The Bug remix)
14. Frank Zappa: Nanook Rubs It
15. Joe Satriani: The Eight Steps
16. Oscar Peterson: Cakewalk
17. Franz Liszt: Isoldens Liebestod (after Richard Wagner) (performed by Daniel Barenboim
18. Claude Debussy: Tocatta (from Pour le Piano) (performed by Zoltán Kocsis)
19. Peter Gabriel: San Jacinto
20. Ozric Tentacles: There's a Planet Here
21. The Avalanches: Frontier Psychiatrist
22. Jeff Wayne: Brave New World
23. Rick Wright: Runaway (R. Wright's Lemonade mix)
24. Belle & Sebastian: Sukie in the Graveyard
25. Mike Oldfield: The Lake (instrumental)
26. Jean Michel Jarre: Oxygene (part VI)not part IV
27. Rodrigo y Gabriela: Take 5 (Fok-ing Version 9)
28. Dave Brubeck: Blue Rondo a la Turk
29. Roxy Music: More Than This
30. Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band: Leavin' Trunk
31. Sky: Tuba Smarties
32. Sky: Vivaldi
33. Gustav Mahler: Symphony No.1 in D major, 'Titan': 2nd movement (performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra)
34. Gustav Mahler: Symphony No.1 in D major, 'Titan': 3rd movement (performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra)
35. The Stone Roses: Fools Gold
36. Air: La Femme d'Argent
37. Béla Bartók: Sonata for two pianos and percussion: 1st movement (performed by Martha Argerich, Nelson Freire, Peter Saldo & Edgar Gueggeis)
38. Paul Dukas: The Sorcerer's Apprentice (performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra)
39. Aram Khachaturian: Gopak (from Gajaneh) (performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra)
40. Niccolò Paganini: Caprice No.24 (performed by Gerald Garcia)
41. Sergey Rakhmaninov: Liebesfreud (transcribed from Kreisler)
42. Jean Sibelius: Symphony No.2 in D major, 4th movement (performed by the London Symphony Orchestra)
43. Alexander Skryabin: Piano Sonata No.9 in F major, 'Black Mass' (performed by Olga Kern)
44. Carl Maria von Weber: Clarinet Concerto No.2 in Eb major, 1st movement (performed by Thea King and the London Symphony Orchestra)
45. Blur: This is a Low
46. Ash: Cantina Band
47. Desmond Dekker: You Can Get It if You Really Want
48. Marianne Faithfull: Incarceration of a Flower Child
49. Jane's Addiction: Price I Pay
50. Creedence Clearwater Revival: Long as I Can See the Light

All grammatical errors in the titles and artists names are all as described by the track listing of the original recording.

David

7th May 2009

Img processng + Fst Fourier Trnsfrm = Havok

Who needs Twtr?

David

5th May 2009

It is a while since last time. I wanted to share some advice regarding stereo, which I read earlier today:

stereo recordings have drawbacks in that:

• 1) They are heavier
• 2) They are mechanically more complex, which means higher costs.
• 3) Unlike torque converters, not all of the power you send through the clutch winds up in your transmission - some is wasted churning and heating up transmission fluid.
• 4) Worse gas mileage; see #3
• 5) Worse acceleration: see #3
• 6) Higher maintainance.
• 7) Less control; there is a risk of unwanted downshifts causing wheelspin and loss of control in low-traction conditions.

David

5th December 2008

Small update: Project going well at the moment. Stuart, a communications engineer who lives in Manchester and comes in to work in the department, has been incredibly helpful in getting me through this project. I have been in regular contact with him, but this last week has involved becoming familiarized with various pieces of equipment, as well as gaining a better understanding of where my project is going. I am now able to program the DDFS test board easily to produce a variety of useful radio frequency (RF) waveforms. At the moment, I am using a keypad to change the parameters which have been directly coded into a chip. The next stage is to use the keypad instead to directly program the required parameters. Once I have done this (which may take some time - VHDL coding can be slightly horrendous looking, particularly because you have to think in terms of a digital logic circuit, rather than a computer program). The point of this is to be able to use this to program an FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave, rather well described by Stuart as a "polite way of producing a chirp signal") signal which can be used for channel sounding. This is a way of analysing how an RF wave propagates with respect to parameters such as direction of received signals, time delay and Doppler shift components. In terms of my project, this relates to MIMO technology by allowing measurements to be taken when setting up systems, so these can be designed to remove as much interference and multipath as possible.

After the above, my programmable logic chip will also be designed to program a PLL (phase locked loop) to desired possibilities. This will require serial programming and will be used as a stimulus source for a harmonic radar. I'll go into further detail when I move onto this part of the project, most probably after Christmas.

Also, I was very surprised on Monday when Stuart was talking to me and suggested that I apply to study for a PhD. The major shock was the fact that this had come from my project supervisor: I am pleased that she is obviously happy with the work I have done so far and the progress I have made. I've got to admit that I had never really considered it before, particularly at Durham, where I have already spent nearly four years. It is something that I am certainly going to think about seriously, although I am still clarrifying my thoughts about it. On one hand, it would be good to learn more and achieve a higher qualification, but I also feel that it is probably time to look at the job market and begin non-academic work. Nevertheless, there is no harm applying to these things. It does give me an opportunity to keep my options open, if job applications do not go as well as I would hope.

I have a job interview on Monday which I hope will go well. The company is very impressive and covers work that I am interested in: it is primarily a communications and software based company. However, it is competitive to get in - I hope I can stand out enough, do well in the series of tests which they plan to give me and do an impressive interview.

Finally, congratulations to Rachel, who will be working for a few months at the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge. It is great that hard work has finally paid off, particularly as the work and timescale is exactly what she wanted. More good news after passing her driving test two weeks ago.

David