work
New job
On April 1st, I started my new job as a software developer at Syntess Software. It’s a pretty big company (at least compared to my previous one) with its software department in Zierikzee.
I will be working on our “newest” application, written in Delphi and with a Firebird database, both of which are new to me. These first few days, I have mainly been busy getting to know the software (and my colleagues of course), but I am very anxious to start programming and do some “real” work!
Family visit
We went away for the weekend, to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Bristol, UK. It had been more than a year since we were there last time. Luckily they come to the Netherlands more often than we go there! 
We had a lovely, relaxed couple of days. On Saturday, we visited Tintern Abbey and made a walk in the surrounding area. On Sunday, we just strolled around through town. Unfortunately, I was a bit sick both days, but that didn’t stop me from walking.
All in all, we had a nice weekend, some time to read a book, chat with each other, and relax.
On the “professional” level: my first month as a software engineer has come and gone. And I’m allowed to stay! I’m very pleased with the job, so far, it’s nice, it’s interesting, and it’s challenging. And with a bit of luck, before long, I will be able to do most of it from home!
@work
After five months, my unemployment days are finally over!
Last Friday – on my birthday! – I signed my new contract, and starting tomorrow, February 1st, I will be working as a software engineer on database (web-)applications, using MS SQL Server, ASP.Net and so on.
Part of the technologies used will be new to me, as well as the database applications that have already been developped and sold. So, it will be quite a challenge, but I’m very much looking forward to it!
Final day @ TU Delft
Today, August 31, is the final day of my contract as a PhD student in Delft.
As of tomorrow, I am unemployed…
Yes, of course, I still have to work on my PhD thesis, but I’ll have to do that in my free time. And next week, I’ll be moving home, so not much free time left then.
I’m not sure when and how often I will be back in Delft, I’ll just have to see.
It’ll be pretty weird.
Since September 1995, I have been here at Delft University. First college, then in 2000 my Master’s project at the Computer Graphics Group, and since September 1st, 2001, my PhD project at the same group.
That’s 36% of my entire lifetime I’ve spent here…
Well, I guess it’s time for something completely different.
You’ll hear from me. Benjamin, signing off from Delft….
Mem: 3104356K total
I just upgraded my work pc!
I added two Kingston KVR266X72RC25/1024‘s. That is, two 1GB 266MHz DDR PC2100 Reg ECC DIMM CL2.5 memory modules, giving me a total of 3 gigabytes of RAM.
Let’s hope this will keep me from running out of memory so often…
ASCI Conference 2004
I just returned from Zeeland, where I attended the Tenth Annual Conference of the Advanced School for Computing and Imaging. I had to present a paper there on Thursday.
The conference was held in Port Zélande, a very nice location indeed.
It was an interesting conference with some great invited speakers, such as Rüdiger Westermann and Andy Tanenbaum!
I’m still alive
It’s been quite some time since my last update… That’s because it has been very busy at work.
I’ve been working on three articles at the same time.
We had a deadline for a conference on April 9, there was a deadline for a final version of an accepted paper on April 19, and I had a conference in the Slovak Republic from April 21 to April 24. On April 12 there was the registration deadline for that conference, and of course, the trip there had to be arranged. The final version of the article I had to present there was on April 5th, and the presentation itself had to be ready on April 22nd, when I had to present it.
Game On
As Charl already wrote, we went to the Game On exhibit in Tilburg, yesterday.
Very nice to see all these old computers, such as the Commodores and Ataris, bringing back fond memories of our own Commodore 16! (BTW, have a look here for more info about these old machines.)
But there was also a PDP-1 with an old vector CRT monitor. “The entire computer occupies only 17 square feet of floor space” (according to the handbook). *GRIN*
They also had a number of arcade machines and of course lots of computer games, starting with Pong (1972!), Space Invaders and Pac-Man, but also Outrun, SimCity and Bomberman, and lots of games I’ve never seen or heard of. I think I’ll be installing MAME too, soon.
All in all, it was very much entertaining, and of course, for us as Computer Graphics “experts”, it should be part of our working knowledge! Hey, maybe we can even reclaim the costs from our employer…
A new tradition
We heard this morning that our survey paper of Feature-based flow visualisation techniques has been accepted for publication in Computer Graphics Forum, the journal of the Eurographics Association. So that was very good news! And quick too, because we submitted our revised version only last Tuesday.
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