About

I'm Sam Brooke, an earth science student, part time programmer and general misadventurer who enjoys searing hot food, beer, drawing pretty pictures and wasting time on real-time strategy games.

I currently live between Rutland and Liverpool UK.

Geoscience

As a budding geoscientist, I'm interested in computer modelling the environment and climate.

Philosophy-wise I believe that, as a race, we're going to kibosh ourselves unless we keep ahead with clever ideas and technology.

My overriding goal is to try and position myself such that I can contribute to the field.

Programming & Tech

I've always enjoyed tinkering with computers and I now make content management systems and front end websites with a local marketing firm.

Fond of making money and paying off my student loan, I'm also involved in my own little business schemes and web startup.

May 24, 2012

Earth Science

A Quick Distraction

Taking a break from a pretty arduous revision period. A serious of 5 exams begins tomorrow and I'm about 70% ready for all of them. Got a weekend to get where I want to be. Aside from the annoyance of having to revise, the fact that many of my peers have graduated, the weather is really nice, most other students (mainly humanities) have already finished for the summer and I have only two weeks off before I have to head off to Spain for my dissertation project, makes this a particularly frustrating period.
Overall I'm not that bothered about not having graduated, the economy has entered another recession, the Eurozone is on the edge of a cliff and youth unemployment is on a perpetual rise, so I'm glad to be hidden away in higher education still. Hopefully in two more years things may be about to turn the corner, but at the moment that seems unlikely!
Most of the annoyances are purely circumstantial, in a weeks time I'll be down the pub without a care. I'd much rather be programming my various little projects all the same though, I'm really eager to make something of all the time I've spent programming both for work and my personal money making schemes. It's really difficult to focus on particularly dry geology and geographical subjects when you feel that you could have completed and debugged a really good system in exactly the same amount of time. Just feels like I'm treading water.
I know it's not the case, and I'll definitely try at least to make something of all the technical knowledge I'm accruing as the years trundle by. If nothing else I'm much more aware and circumspect of the amazingly complicated and astonishing world we inhabit and how remarkable we as a species are in the context of what came before us.
It's tough though, and I needed a little distraction in writing a blog to keep things in perspective - it's always good to make a list of all the things that bother you, it helps clear the mind. Personally I believe that hard work is the only way to achieve the best in life so I'm not sure I'd have in any other way but the work-life balance is certainly out of whack at the moment. No different from any other exam period however.
This science degree better pay off!
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