Mikael Fernstrom

>Today, Sunday, I was at UL for a few hours, trying to help Colm to finish building the new lab for the B.Sc. in Digital Media Design and BSc in Music, Media & Performance Technology. It’s great to see 36 Imacs (dual core, Intel chip) in a room. As I a read an article in Sound on Sound magazine over breakfast, I realised that we now have the most powerful and excellent studio in Ireland, perhaps Europe, if we use our studio with this lab as Protools Nodes ;-). What sounds will we make…?

>It’s been a very intense day. The MetaMusic project is finishing. Handing over a full software system in just a day or so is unreal. But, let’s hope for the best. Justin and I had a few sentimental moments while everybody else were hacking. It’s about four years since this started. Thanks to Andrea Deverell and Paul Dillon, we got it started. Now, it’s finished, thanks to Eoin, Ian, Tony and Brian. I need a holiday.

>So, last week week we examined all I-media and MusicTech stundets. Exciting and exhausting. When I got home Friday night I felt like “I need to get another job”, but today having met the new students I think I’ll give it another year. Our postgrad programmes are, from faculty’s point of view, insane. We don’t get ANY time off. Just when we finish, we start again. Still, I love what the stundents produce – new interesting work and ideas.

>Thanks to Digiweb, www.digiweb.ie we have watched the Swedish Election TV coverage on-line this evening, This is just the start of a new media trend (even in bally-go-backwards contries like Ireland). I want my video iPod – iTV, thingy for Xmas!

>After 2 weeks research, discussions and writing, I’m finally finished with writing a new research grant proposal to Enterprise Ireland. The project RE-NABLE aims to enhance and improve post-stroke rehabilitation, using inertial sensors motes and novel multiplatform software systems. Now, it’s finally bed time.

>I went through a serious dental surgery experince yesterday. The valium didn’t work. Unfortunately, I have a microfracture at the floor of the tooth, hence a full root canal job will not provide a long-term solution. So, I’ve started to research how and what to get for an implant.

This is a titanium screw that they drive into ones jaw, and put a nice and well-working crown on top. As they say, “It’ll last you for life”…

>So… I’m due for the final and ultimate root canal job. This time with a specialist in Ennis! I was up there during the week for examination, and he sure has the right gadgets, but IMHO that’s what I’d expect. While he explained the procedure fairly straight, I’ve decided I’ll need some extra sedative to actually go through with this. I’m picking them up tomorrow morning. Annette has agreed to drive me there, and Mona has agreed to support me. They both suspect that post-surgery, I’ll ask them to stop at every pub between Ennis and Limerick for a pint, as sedatives, they tell me, has this effect on me. Let’s see…

>I went up to Ennis today to see the specialist who’d sort out my root canal problem. After examination, and yeee this guy had the widgets, we agreed that next Tuesday, I’ll take my sedatives and he’ll drill through my jaw for 2 hours. If we’re lucky, it’ll work. If not, I won’t be able to talk about it.

>I have the most amazing neighbour, Donal. He’s a mechanical engineer, making prototypes for all and everybody. I gave him a drawing yesterday afternoon and today he called in with the finished design, in triplicate! Top quality, exactly to spec, just fantastic…

>After all the troubles with air travel through the UK in the past week or so, I think we may have discovered the ultimate plot. It is suspected that the Queen of England, Elisabeth the II, is in fact an Arab in hiding! The name Elisabeth (or Elizabeth) is in fact the English form of the Hebrew name, El Isheva. So, our best advice to MI5,6 and whatever numbers they are using nowadays is – go arrrest the Queen. She might not be whom you think she is…