Fireworks Competition in Oman

Looking forward to seeing some of this:
http://www.wfchampionship.com/
Altogether now...ooooooooh...aaaaaaaaahh etc.

Farewell, Ark...

I just found this on BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11701826

HMS Ark Royal is to be decommissioned as part of the latest defence review in the UK....I first met the Captain on board back in 1994 so I've always had a soft spot for this beautiful (yes, I find ships beautiful, alright...) flagship.

I will dig out and post a photo taken of her when I was onboard.

I was a little concerned to read that as a result of this latest review the harrier will be axed and so no aircraft will be flown from British aircraft carriers until 2019. Yep, that'll do it David.

Further reading: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/05/queen-ark-royal-navy

http://www.arkroyal.org.uk/

Music update and Sultanate celebrations

I still haven’t come up with a solution to my musical demands. I’m downloading podcasts but forgetting to listen to them!  I need to get in to the habit I think! Maybe that would be one benfit (read: THE SOLE benefit) of having a Mac; access to iTunes…I would be always downloading though!

Anyway, a new musical discovery to delight my discontented ears! One of the radio shows I found whilst listening to Zane Lowe was ‘Mumford and Sons and Friends’. It looks like it is not available anymore but some clips are available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00v4srp#clips

It was a two hour concert hosted by 'new acoustic heroes Mumford and Sons, performing alongside their contemporaries Laura Marling, The Maccabees and Bombay Bicycle Club'. 

Laura Marling and Mumford and Sons

Laura Marling has a superb voice and, like Mumford and Sons and Admiral Fallow, is genuinely talented and makes beautiful, original and fresh music. Check out her website too   http://www.lauramarling.com; hover over the small pics/video icons and choose Goodbye India Vodcast. I think I really enjoyed this video because of the Indian musical addition, particularly with living here with a variety of Indian influences.

Other musical update: I’ve rediscovered Alex Lester on Radio 2. He has that shift in the very early hours. I used to listen to him on my way to work at the Beeb years back.

The Dark Lord

A morning drive through the country lanes of East Sussex and Kent listening to his dry humour and a brilliant eclectic playlist made those 4.45am starts so much more bearable. I was usually one of the first in the office at that time and I would carry on listening to The Dark Lord online. It was my hour of tranquillity and, dare I say it, sanity before the rest of the newsroom filled up with technical peeps and news-hungry journalists.

Other news in the Mitchell house: we have been allocated two tickets to attend the horse show that will be held during the visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh at the end of the month. The Sultan has invited Her Maj to the Sultanate to help celebrate the 40th Anniversary of his reign and the strong relationship between Oman and the United Kingdom.

There are two events that the public are able to have access to. The Official Welcome is an opportunity to line the route as Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh drive past on their way to be greeted by His Majesty. This will mean standing by the side of the road for around an hour and a half (I had in mind that it would be Bear and I and so not ideal for her and actually quite dull I’d say, to stand there and watch the dignitaries whizz by I suspect!). The second event is the Horse Show. “The Sultan’s horses and some of the best horsemen and women in the country will perform for Their Majesties for just over an hour. All members of the audience will be seated, but will need to be in place for at least an hour before the show begins. The show will take place in the afternoon.” A bit more like it, I think. Space is limited with only 300 tickets for the Horse Show so I applied to go in to the draw. And actually, to my surprise, we were successful!

Ball fatigue...

It was, as far as we were concerned, the Ball of the season. However, it became apparent that it wasn’t significantly different to the others we had been to over the last year or so. However, I can never say no to a bit of glam, some heels, frills and lippy and a good chat and a dance with the girls. And this one was no different.

And maybe that is the cause of said Ball Fatigue…are they as special anymore if they almost merge?
 The Trafalgar Ball was our Ball. I love the Naval ceremony and tradition and am very pleased that they maintain this at this event. Although it was a little stretched out it still made it distinguishable from the others. The parading of the Barron of Beef and the ceremony of the chocolate ships of the line. (Two big hunks are still in my fridge!)
 Domestic Goddess and I talked about this; she is of the same mind as me – it’s all about the company you share the event with. I had a super time that night regardless of duration or the DJ’s failed new system, because of the crew we had on the table.
 And of course I would probably say yes to the next invite!!!! Any excuse for afore-mentioned frills and heels! I always thought I had hung up my ball dresses for good when the Captain left the Mob.

Staying on the subject of Trafalgar, or military balls here in general – why are they not deemed as proper mess functions here? Maybe that would create more of a distinction between each. I would have worn my mess dress at the drop of the hat. And I’m sure the serving personnel would be fairly proud to as well. There is obviously a reason behind this broad decision.
 Talking of Domestic Goddess – sad news….no extension to her posting has been given. And so another wonderful buddy of mine is to leave to head back to the UK. I know I’m new to this expat life but I do not think I will ever get used to the transient lifestyle. We are here indefinitely, as in no fixed term contract but most of our friends here are on fixed posting…serves us right for being Loan Service Lovers…and so we must endure this heartache probably every year! I still miss The Other Mrs. M so much…a month after she was gone I was getting all excited that she would be back off her hols soon! But no. Facebook has been great as I’ve seen pics of them in their new life…I’m such a wuss sometimes. And so we have Geordie Family leaving this December and then DG and troop next summer. We will be kicking the arse out of the next 9 months, that’s for sure.
 Thank the stars we love this country so much, otherwise I’m not sure what I would do without the company!

Illness and weather....

It seems to have been a while since I wrote. It’s been a funny week or so…a wicked flu bug caught the Captain and it was Migraine Time for me. The worst one I’ve had for a few months. Quite a scary one actually, I couldn’t even think how to get the kids ready for school, let alone physically carry it out. I couldn’t focus on many things and definitely not the computer!

The trouble with not writing for a while is that I now have lots to write about. Which is no bad thing, I guess! I’ll just condense it in to a few sections so as to avoid you glazing over and skim-reading! :-p
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“There’s nothing quite like a summer’s day…

and today is nothing like a summer’s day!” That was always my favourite quote from my weather days!

So, I know I stated I would never write a topical blog as this was for the benefit of my friends and family…however, I couldn’t NOT comment a little on the peculiar goings on in the BBC Weather Centre at the moment.

It all started when I was forwarded a link to a job advertisement which happened to be for the job I used to do back in the day. So I joked that I would apply for it and maybe commute from Muscat to the UK! The Other Mrs. Mitchell told me not to and to just keep living the dream! I, of course, like this idea more!

I digress. On a serious side now, the job has become vacant due to one the presenters ‘being snapped up’ by national television. Good luck to her, it’s a super opportunity.

It seems that three of the BBC’s national weather presenters have been pushed to behind the scenes. All male. All excellent meteorologists and, just as important, all fantastic people. So of course, rumour is that glamour is the word – it’s going to be all about what they look like, not what they know. It could be that the future of weather on television (in the UK) will be made up of trained presenters, not specialists with the ability to understand the science and reasoning behind what they are talking about. I always thought that weather presenting was not an area of media presentation that can be scripted and it’s more than just telling a story. I think all this could have started with the ‘new’ graphics for instance, that were introduced back in 2005. Bulletins were pre-made and it was the presenter’s job to just add a few more charts and then tell the story. A former weather centre chief hits the nail on the head: “Whereas forecasters previously used their own experience to take information from the [scientific forecast] model, they now had to talk through what was on screen”. This will be easy for non-meteorologists. Probably cheaper too.

But if glamour is the key-word here, why have other national weather presenters, this time female, been moved aside? So this might explain the paring-down and the cost-cutting. And yet recruitment is taking place in my neck of the woods. Obviously budget reduction (if this is the case) does not have to be mirrored regionally. It’s all a bit odd...

BUT just to be seen as taking into account both sides, here’s the Met Office’s statement: “Our new contract requires us to deliver continued high standards of accuracy and consistency within revised affordability levels. To achieve this we have employed a fair and open process to change staff roles within the BBC weather centre.”

All that aside, these BBC weather presenters were re-interviewed for their broadcasting roles. However, they were told that would not be allowed back on air as their ‘team leadership' skills failed to impress. SO…..they will become 'weather duty managers'. Isn’t this team leadership? In my opinion and experience, if meteorology is their passion and what they have been doing for all this time, then being shoved behind the scenes in a production role seems to be quite a slap in the face… Then again, it’s a slap in the face also if being in front of a TV camera is their thing. Good luck to them, they will be missed I’m sure.

Omani Women's Day

Today is the first Omani Women's Day as established by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos:

“We call upon Omani women everywhere, in the villages and the cities, in both urban and Bedu communities, in the hills and mountains, to roll up their sleeves and contribute to the process of economic and social development…We have great faith in the educated young Omani women to work devotedly to assist their sisters in their local communities to develop their skills and abilities, both practically and intellectually, in order to contribute to our Omani Renaissance which demands the utilization of our entire national genius, for the realization of our country’s glory and prosperity. We call upon Omani women to shoulder this vital role in the community and we are confident that they will respond to this call.”

-His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.


This is one of many articles in recent local press, courtesy of Khaleej Times Online : http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/October/middleeast_October43.xml&section=middleeast

"Oman’s women are preparing to celebrate their first annual day this month and the country’s 40th National Day in unmatched style — by presenting their leader with the longest message of greetings in the world.

The two-km-long, 1.25-metre-wide letter, carrying messages of gratitude, loyalty and affection from more than 100,000 Omani and expatriate women to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, is sure to find an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records, promoters of the project said.

The sultanate is set to mark the first ‘Omani Women’s Day’ (OWD) on October 17 as decided by a high-profile national symposium held last year coinciding with Sultan Qaboos’ annual ‘Meet the People’ tour to acknowledge women’s contribution to the country’s social, political and economic progress.

Social Development Minister Dr Sharifah bint Khaflan Al Yahyaiyah launched the ‘My Message’ initiative during a Press conference here on Saturday, saying it would focus on three major themes – safety and security, equal opportunities, rights and social justice.

She added the letter, a 375-kg paper roll made of special ‘tyvak’ material that is resistant to tear and water, would give a new impetus to women, encouraging them to play an even more active role in the country’s development.
......

Sharifah said other activities planned for the first OWD included an exclusive women’s forum and an operetta showcasing women’s accomplishments in the past four decades, an art exhibition, an open day for sports and a literary evening. “The observation of OWD is a significant step in translating the vision of His Majesty the Sultan for sustainable development in the social sector and reflects His Majesty’s initiative on development in building the country according to its potential and abilities,” she added.

The minister also praised a newly-launched women’s campaign, ‘Oman 2010’, by a group of youngsters to acknowledge the advances made by women in the sultanate. A not-for-profit effort, the campaign aims at direct interaction with the community through various events, such as competitions, networking and electronic capacity-building programmes at the national level.

Eman Al Rafay, who heads the project, said the goal was to provide a national platform for women to develop self-confidence, expand their participation in community development and education and highlight the opportunities available to them".

Although the best quote has be to from Gulf News: "The day will be celebrated at the Al Bustan Palace Hotel, where participants will present ideas on how to develop personality traits in women and change stereotypical concepts about women's abilities".

Happy First Omani Women's Day!

A sad week in the Maths World…

Benoit Mandelbrot, the father of fractal geometry passed away on Thursday.

 
He was a French-American mathematician, who explored a new class of mathematical shapes known as ‘fractals’. His main works, Fractals: Form, Chance and Dimension and The Fractal Geometry of Nature, were published in 1977 and 1982. He argued that what might be seen as random mathematical shapes in fact followed a pattern if broken down into a single repeating shape and that irregular mathematical shapes were a reflection of nature. The concept has been used to measure previously immeasurable objects, including the coastline of the British Isles, the geometry of a lung or a cauliflower, clouds and other natural phenomena.

"If you cut one of the florets of a cauliflower, you see the whole cauliflower but smaller," he explained at the influential Technology Entertainment and Design (TED) conference earlier this year.

"Then you cut again, again, again, and you still get small cauliflowers. So there are some shapes which have this peculiar property, where each part is like the whole, but smaller."

At university, Maths and I really didn’t enjoy each other’s company. We really should have gone our separate ways after A-Level. But the one area I do remember enjoying was fractals. I never understood the theory (what better time to read up now…) but they thoroughly fascinated me. I became more aware of fractals in the world around us.

  

 

Dr. Mandelbrot traced his work on fractals to a question he first encountered as a young researcher: how long is the coast of Britain? On a map an island may appear smooth, but zooming in will reveal jagged edges that add up to a longer coast. Zooming in further will reveal even more coastline.

 “Here is a question, a staple of grade-school geometry that, if you think about it, is impossible,” Dr. Mandelbrot told The New York Times earlier this year in an interview. “The length of the coastline, in a sense, is infinite.”

While the ideas behind fractals are ancient, it was finally given the term "fractal geometry" in 1975 and the publication of The Fractal Geometry of Nature in French in the same year gave Mandelbrot’s work an identity. As Mandelbrot put it, "to have a name is to be" — and the field exploded.

 

The ironic thing is that THIS is what I see when I have a migraine...! *shudder*

The Sciency Bit:
Fractals and their History The name "fractal" arises from the concept of a fractional dimension. What this means exactly is a difficult to say in simple language and we will simply try to give a feel for what fractals are and what sorts of behaviours they exhibit.
 Generally fractals are the result of some which is procedure repeated again and again. One of the most basic examples of a fractal is obtained in the following way. Start off with an equilateral triangle which has sides of length 1. Now on each edge of the triangle, add a new equilateral triangle with sides of length 1/3. Now in the middle of each side of this new shape, add a triangle with sides of length 1/9. Continue this process, each time adding new triangles to each side which are 1/3 the size of the triangles added in the last stage. When you are done (infinitely many steps later!) you have the desired fractal. 

Now let us take a moment to examine some of the properties of this strange new "shape." The area of this object can be calculated by adding up the area which we added at each stage. It is not difficult to see that this sum is actually a geometric series which converges to some finite area. One can also check that, after adding the new triangles at some stage, the perimeter of the shape is four-thirds what it used to be. Thus after repeating the process n times, the perimeter of our shape is (3)(4/3)ⁿ. After repeating this process infinitely many times to get our fractal, the "perimeter" becomes infinite. Some of you may be uneasy about this last part since it is not really easy to tell how to define the perimeter of such an object. It turns out though that there is a way to define a notion of perimeter for such a shape and that we come to the same conclusion when things are handled with a bit more care.

Another interesting thing to note is that if we magnify our fractal along its edge, it looks the same, no matter how large the magnification is. This is another property typical of fractals. It turns out that fractals occur frequently in nature. This is often due to how nature performs its own iterations. For instance, as a tree grows, new branches grow from old branches. As these branches mature, they sprout new branches of their own. It is possible to implement a relatively simple algorithm on a computer and have it produce a remarkably accurate rendition of a tree. The shore line of a lake or large body of water also tends to exhibit fractal behaviour. One can tell by comparing aerial photos of shore lines to the contours of certain fractals whether or not the shore is natural.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11560101

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/oct/17/benoit-mandelbrot-obituary

http://www.math.toronto.edu/mathnet/questionCorner/fracthist.html