n = 2000;
u = rand(n,1);
u = u * (2 * pi);
v = rand(n,1);
v = v * 2;
v = v - 1;
x = cos(u) + v.*cos(0.5*u).*cos(u);
y = sin(u) + v.*cos(0.5*u).*sin(u);
z = v.*sin(0.5*u);

It’s far from perfect and only creates a rough strip, but for a version 0.1 it’ll do.  No DR technique so far can detect the fact that the strip is infact a plane stretched out and twisted in 3D space, could be a case that parameters need tweaking, or it could be that most DR techniques aren’t suited to identifying underlying topologies.

Another thing worth writing about is that on Tuesday I finished my undergraduate degree, 4 years summed up in 4 exams.  It’s not the end of my Uni career though, if I get a 2:1 or above I’ve been awarded APRS funding to do a PhD in high dimensional data analysis.  Another 3 years in Aber, another 3 years in the department, another 3 years of scary maths.

On another academic note, I’m off to Dundee at the beginning of July to present a challenge abstract about some of the work I did in my dissertation to the MIUA conference.  It should be a good few days and it means that I will have had my first publication and conference presentation out of the way before I graduate.

…it would make me smile. I was browsing through ebay last night and I came across this beautiful 1960 MG A located not too far away in Ruthin. Why do I not have £6000 to spare (and a whole lot of time to care for it)? I think it’s the perfect academic car, in fact so much so I think I might keep an eye out for one next year. Although Murphy’s law says that when I have the money to purchase one none will be available, fingers crossed!

A German farmer has asked for his marriage to be annulled after discovering that his bride is a man.  “I don’t meet many women as I am often out in the fields working all day, so a friend suggested I try internet dating,” said W—-g Z—-r, 55, from N—-g.  “I was delighted when I contacted Randy Victoria.  We only had a kiss and a cuddle before we married.  But on my wedding night she told me she had a penis and that her real name was Ralf.  I was devastated”

Did the fact that her name was Randy not arise supsision?  I do feel genuinely sorry for the guy, but that’s got to be one of the more awkward social situations that you can find yourself in.  “Darling, there’s something I need to tell you….”

Their method provides a mathemaitcal model and representation of music theory by translating the basic concepts into geometrical forms. It really is a good, and not too intensive, read. I won’t go into too much detail here but you can read the paper here, or what appears to be the full pre-published version here.

Accompanying the paper is a program called ChordGeometries which allows you to play with the ideas presented in the paper. It really is fun to play with, and it helps if you’ve got some MIDI gear hooked up to your computer.  Here’s an example of C perfect 5th in Dyadic space:

and also a  D sus 7th in circular space

To get the full effect you really need to download and play with it and see the animations between chord changes.  It’s written in MAX/MSP/JITTER and so should work on Windows and Mac no problem.

It’ll be interesting to see what follow up work takes place.  Watch this space, or rather, watch this space.

The picture shows part of the dimensionality reduction review.  I love how Latex rendered the text and mathematical figures.  I couldn’t have done the diss without it.

The spine printing turned out to be a bit of a mess, but this was the best that the Union could do

I’m gonna spend the rest of the day playing Mario Kart =)  Next week I’m planning on writing a post about how to approach your dissertation.  It’ll outline all the mistakes that I made and the things that I wish I’d done differently.  Hopefully it’ll help others when they come to do theirs.

On Sunday I went out and bought that lead.

It’s suprisingly difficult to put pen to paper when you’ve got Mario breathing down your neck.  Just one more level is the motto of a procrastinator.  At the moment I’m about a 3rd of the way through, which pays homage to how little dissertation work I’ve done over the last day or so.

The second thing you do when you’re trying to complete said dissertation is to make a list.  This way at least you feel as though you’re doing something constructive.  Even if the list contains such unhelpful points as ‘write code’, ‘check’ and ‘finish’.

Of course the final straw, when you’ve played the game, made the list, tidied the room, is to write the blog post.  After that though there’s nowhere else to hide.  Nowhere else to go.  Except perhaps to bed for an early night.

I’ll get started on finishing it tomorrow I’m sure…..