Norman Ralphhttp://www.normanralph.com Musings, News and AchievementsSun, 18 Dec 2011 11:00:00 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1What I have been up to this week 2011-12-18http://www.normanralph.com/2011/12/18/what-i-have-been-up-to-this-week-2011-12-18/ http://www.normanralph.com/2011/12/18/what-i-have-been-up-to-this-week-2011-12-18/#commentsSun, 18 Dec 2011 11:00:00 +0000Normhttp://www.normanralph.com/2011/12/18/what-i-have-been-up-to-this-week-2011-12-18/
  • Awesome times @ShinyPyroGirl and @theblindking have rocked up :)#
  • Hitting up #Wendy with @MR_OJR @chrisworfolk @TeeEssEll @thealchemist88 @elanlei and some new faces :)#
  • How hungover do I need to be to get out of Christmas shopping? #
  • Why is no one awake to entertain me :-(#
  • Off to Xmas party. In shorts. #
  • Work done for the week. Time for a nice chilled out weekend with the #wendy crowd @ShinyPyroGirl @chrisworfolk etc #
  • So it looks like @O2 are screwing over my Christmas plans. #
  • Last call of the day now done :)#
  • Looks like work massif has found me on twitter – say hi to @chandler_liz and @jamiex #
  • Fun night out with @leedsatheistsoc and always a bonus to see @christopherowen and Cara :) it is however 2am on a school night. #
  • Do I risk it and watch series 9 of scrubs? #
  • Got a present for @elanlei today. #
  • Didn't know that Stephen Jay Gould was an honorary Doctor of Science at university of Leeds. #
  • Just seen that I've got 9 and a half weeks leave next year (inc bank holidays). Sweet. #
  • First Christmas card of the season. Thanks Janette! http://t.co/FuohrS3d #
  • I think I'm going to have to risk another brothel finding a physio to look at my shoulder. #
  • Better dig out the loose pants for tomorrow as I'm hitting Spice Quarter with @leedsatheistsoc . #
  • #mindblown @elanlei is using leg warmers to actually warm her legs… #
  • No Chinese for me :( @chrisworfolk @elanlei and @BinaryMage forgot about me. The D it is then. #
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  • So @BinaryMage found £20 so kebabs on him #
  • Doing the #safetydance at @fabcafeleeds with @binarymage #
  • Cara getting her grin on. http://t.co/3lx1RLNo #
  • Big bag of chillies for tea tonight :)#
  • I do love finding random pics of folk I don't know on my phone. Give me a shout if this is you? http://t.co/AyzONzIs #
  • Today's advice: Do a little dance. Make a little love. Get down tonight. #
  • Oh god. http://t.co/IZWPb8ff #
  • Beer good. Food good. Company good. Work Christmas do is over and now time for me and @BinaryMage to hit up @fabcafeleeds #
  • My first official Christmas pint :) taken with Pencil Illusion as recommended by @kieranohea http://t.co/I8ET2WQl #
  • Twitter crowd, is there more than 1 pub in Leeds referred to as 'the taps'? #
  • Work Christmas lunch today. Traditional Christmas Thai food. Tho Liz missed the bus. Was it wrong for me to leave anyway? #
  • At least I will be able to get bit more excited about itv4's Europa League coverage. #
  • Only half way through the day and im counting down to home time. Not feeling at all well :(#
  • My twitter topics tonight… Teen promiscuity, fave geometric shape, @ProfBrianCox and integration (calculus) #
  • Mind blown. @ProfBrianCox and @timminchin duet!!! #
  • A little bit emotional after the space shuttle video montage. #
  • At @O2 Apollo for #uncagedmonkeys with @aislinfrancis and @theblindking . @timminchin playing some ambient music. #
  • So excited about #uncagedmonkeys :)#
  • Tickets for tonight printed :) now @theblindking and @aislinfrancis better remind me to bring them home :p #
  • Also got tickets to Beauty an the Beast ballet at Leeds Grand for 30th December #
  • Excited about #uncagedmonkeys tomorrow with @aislinfrancis and @theblindking #
  • Today has just been shocking. Started badly with me pulling a hammy running for the bus the got worse! #shouldhavestretched #badday #
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  • Steak slash ribs tonight :)#
  • Survived til 4pm at work today :) which is very good going seeing how I felt at 8am when I got up! #
  • Not a good morning today. Should probably have worked from home. #
  • Rocking out at Fab for @BinaryMage birthday. Prime number birthdays ate the best!!! #
  • Out with @chrisworfolk and @BinaryMage at Stick or Twist but the freezers are broken so no food. #
  • Bus driver is playing carols and Christmas pop :(#
  • Queue for KFC is out the door. #
  • Less than a week til seeing @ProfBrianCox @timminchin @robinince and the rest of #uncagedmonkeys #
  • Hmm, think the BBC are wrong to look at voting system for SPotY. Why should there be gender balance in list method?Same furore if all women? #
  • Gah, missed the bus. Does that justify KFC for tea? #
  • Anyone out there with mad massage skills want to give me my Xmas present early? Neck is stiff as a board today. #signsofgettingold #
  • 2nd Christmas present is now purchased and ready to go :)#
  • Not sat at the back of the bus for ages. What once was a sign of status is now a massive inconvenience. #signsofgettingold #
  • What is it with gearboxes? First Vettell and Hamilton and now my bus home from work… #
    • ]]>    http://www.normanralph.com/2011/12/04/what-i-have-been-up-to-this-week-2011-12-04/feed/0    What I have been up to this week 2011-11-27http://www.normanralph.com/2011/11/27/what-i-have-been-up-to-this-week-2011-11-27/ http://www.normanralph.com/2011/11/27/what-i-have-been-up-to-this-week-2011-11-27/#commentsSun, 27 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000Normhttp://www.normanralph.com/2011/11/27/what-i-have-been-up-to-this-week-2011-11-27/
  • Finally sorted out my coffee issues http://t.co/bsbltF5T #
  • It appears that @chrisworfolk is involved with the crazy hippy types…. #
  • Apparently today is kick Norm day. #
  • According to the Bbc I don't get my money's worth out of taxes. In fact I pay 5k more than I get. Hope you hippies appreciate the subsidy? #
  • Bjork is crazy!! #laterjools #
  • Hate it when the weekend ends and I know I've got a long week ahead. Next weekend just seems so far away #
  • Home Alone 2 is soo ridiculously bad it's just too funny :-D#
    • ]]>    http://www.normanralph.com/2011/11/27/what-i-have-been-up-to-this-week-2011-11-27/feed/0    What I have been up to this week 2011-11-20http://www.normanralph.com/2011/11/20/what-i-have-been-up-to-this-week-2011-11-20/ http://www.normanralph.com/2011/11/20/what-i-have-been-up-to-this-week-2011-11-20/#commentsSun, 20 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000Normhttp://www.normanralph.com/2011/11/20/what-i-have-been-up-to-this-week-2011-11-20/
  • 7 of my 8 hours in work today were spent in meetings. Only got 4 things off my to-do list done. It's now 56 lines long :(#
  • Spent the morning explaining XML to non-techies. Not the most fun I've ever had. Got an SQL session this afternoon to finish me off. #
  • Wish I had some mtg friends to test decks on between Friday night magic. Need to sort out my win ratio lol #
  • You know it's going to be one of this days when you order a 4 shot latte at 9.30!! #
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  • At O2 Academy to see Evanescence with @chrisworfolk #
  • Lol just found @GodwinsLawyer #reverbnation page http://t.co/5xiKRuUE #
  • Just got out the office :) now to go raise money with @leedsatheistsoc for #NonProphetWeek #
  • Haven't been able to stop giggling since @chrisworfolk gave me his news earlier #
  • Its official, @binarymage is a superhero! Read my mind and ordered chinese food :-)#
    • ]]>    http://www.normanralph.com/2011/11/13/what-i-have-been-up-to-this-week-2011-11-13/feed/0    Some charitable stuffhttp://www.normanralph.com/2011/11/12/some-charitable-stuff/ http://www.normanralph.com/2011/11/12/some-charitable-stuff/#commentsSat, 12 Nov 2011 02:51:39 +0000Normhttp://www.normanralph.com/?p=1159As part of the AHS’s Non-Prophet Week activities I sponsored some of the current leadership team to do some wacky stuff. Jess, the Head of Membership sang me a song and Jenny, the President, drew me a picture. These are below:

    Iris – Goo Goo Dolls Cover

    "Just Say No" by Jenny Bartle

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  • So apparently my migraine and general illness at weekend were symptoms of a virus :(#
  • An afternoon of metaphorical milf spanking #thethingsweendure #
  • We are living the dream people! #startrek BBC News – Nasa examines 'tractor beams' for sample gathering http://t.co/lV85Pvo3 #
  • 10pm bedtimes for the win. #recovering #
  • Just been in a training session with a an Israeli. Only lives there 2mths a yr but still maintains his house on wrong side of border #
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  • Thai food was not my greatest idea #
  • NINJA LEGO!!!!!! #
  • At the cinema to see Johnny English:Reborn. Loved the 1st one, so big hopes for the sequel. With @chrisworfolk and @elanlei making babies #
  • Just paid 10 pounds for cinema tickets #
  • Any one fancy entertaining me whilst I'm I'll? #
  • Off out for steak/ribs for @chrisworfolk birthday. #
  • W00t back in Leeds. Hot chocolate then bed I think. #
  • Apparently we're getting busses and it's going to take 90mins :(#
  • All the fucking trains to Leeds are delayed cos somebody did something stupid. #
  • Good night in Sheffield. Their president is lovely and knows @shiningpalace apparently. #smallworld #
  • At Sheffield Atheist Society to give talk on Humanism. #
  • At Leeds train station waiting on the train to Sheffield. Apparently its a fair old walk from station to uni. #
  • This job would be so much easier if I wasn't restricted to a windows laptop :(#
  • Gah, the insomnia is back. Been wanting to sleep since about 9.30. #
  • Spent the last hour catching up on blizzcon. WoW stuff is underwhelming to say the least :( I need a new game to play… /quit wow. #
  • Just about beat my hangover :) thou now less than 7 hours til I'm up again for work. #
  • Food based nightmares due to our @xilo Internet being flaky #
    • ]]>    http://www.normanralph.com/2011/10/30/what-i-have-been-up-to-this-week-2011-10-30/feed/0    Sheffield Atheistshttp://www.normanralph.com/2011/10/26/sheffield-atheists/ http://www.normanralph.com/2011/10/26/sheffield-atheists/#commentsTue, 25 Oct 2011 23:34:43 +0000Normhttp://www.normanralph.com/2011/10/26/sheffield-atheists/Having spent the last ninety minutes on the coach back from Sheffield due to trains being delayed or cancelled I thought I’d throw a few lines together about the trip.

    I was in Sheffield as I had been presenting a talk on the atheist and humanist world view to the Sheffield Atheist Society based at the university. I had been booked via the AHS so had agreed to waive expenses, something I would like to see catch on.

    The talk was a relatively short one at about forty minutes but I think it went down relatively well with the exception of a couple of audience members that took the Q&A section a little personal. I will be doing a fuller post on the actual content of the talk so keep an eye out.

    It is difficult not to draw comparisons between societies when you see as many as I do and I have to say that Sheffield are up there with the friendliest. It is obvious that the society under its current leadership is still searching for their identity but I have every confidence that they will be successful.

    With regards to the city itself, I rather liked some parts of the centre (they have a Ribshack), it felt clean and well organised but felt rather devoid of any character. Having said, the current trend of glass facades and generic branding means it is harder and harder to get a sense of the local heritage.

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