My old high school friend Rip Gordon is now a US Navy pilot. He was one of the last pilots to fly [link requires free registration] what is in my opinion one of the world’s greatest and sexiest fighter planes, the F-14 tomcat.

He’s now flying F-18s, and in the video below, he discusses what it’s like to land on a carrier in the middle of the night. There’s also an article about it in the local paper.

I am once again in limbo-land with my status at the University of Oxford. While for some people, getting an extension of status as a student to finish writing up is an easy matter, I never seem to be quite so lucky. So here I am, a week away from dropping off the books, and I find the following email sent from the Business School to the central administration:

Dear XXX,

As per our previous discussions I am writing to confirm the arrangements for Samuel Evans:

Before the Research Committee will approve Samuel’s extension application (for three terms) Samuel is required to present some work to the 1st Research Committee the date of which is October 21st 2008. Obviously this date is 8 days after the start of the new term and so I am writing to confirm that Samuel’s student status will not lapse in the period between the end of Trinity Term 08 and us confirming (should Sam’s work satisfy the committee) that his application for extension of time has been successful.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions about this. You can expect to hear from me again about this immediately after the meeting on the 21st October.

Kind Regards

XXX XXXXX
Doctoral Programme Co-ordinator
Saïd Business School
University of Oxford

Does anyone else hear the chimes of yester-year ringing? The “work” that I am to submit is a draft of my conclusion for the thesis, which is well on the way to being ready by the RC meeting. May the gods shine kindly upon my plight and vanquish the procrastination tendencies that plague my soul so that this thesis (aka “the beast”) may be drawn, quartered, and tidily wrapped up.

[UPDATE: I got the extension!  Now I have to adhere to a very strict timeline, though.  Next due date: Chapter 5 draft on 14 November.]

It is satisfying to grow your own food. Christian and I use it as a therapy from our thesis-writing, and recently some of my housemates have pitched in to help too. Yesterday, the carrots were dug up and the runner beans picked. Today, the apple tree met its fate. I’m not sure what type of apples they are, but they are on the tart side and make for perfect baking, as evidenced by the crumble the house just finished off. I have a pie crust waiting in the fridge for tomorrow’s study-break. Yum yum.

I was able to watch bits and pieces of the Paralympics amidst my thesis work lately. It receives so little media attention, but is so. . . fascinating to watch. There were so many scenes of humbleness, and I could not help pausing to reflect on any hidden prejudices I might have about people with disabilities. It was a remarkable fortnight for remarkable people, and not the least because China seemed to embrace these games as it did the Olympics. I hope it is helped break the taboo of people with disabilities in that country, and I look forward to watching the Paralympics again in London in 2012.

The BBC has a wonderful review of the games, and I think it deserves watching by all (though I’m not sure if you can get it outside the UK).

I’ve been having a lot of discussions with family and friends lately about the presidential race and the structure of American politics in general. I am sure many of you have been doing the same. As this comic says, one thing I’ve not enjoyed is the development of the scripted and rehearsed presentation of ideas by the candidates. Not that I don’t like a show. Nor is it that I want the candidates to speak before they have thought about the issues. I think what I’m after is a chance for them to engage in debate — with a wide array of actors, both domestically and internationally — and have to think on their feet and, well, not know what the next question may be. Perhaps then we will see more of their internal logic, and thus their true stripes.

One thing I certainly like about British politics is the Prime Minister’s question time. It’s a chance for Parliament to ask the PM anything, and s/he needs to be able to answer. While sometimes the questions are provided to the PM beforehand, the direction the questioning will take is not set. How might have Bush stood up to such questioning? Need I ask? How might either Obama or McCain stand up?

Another point that the comic makes, though, is that the line between what is real and what is imagined is increasingly blurred. Is this new, or is it history repeating? There has always been theatrics in politics, and games have often involved the loss of life (gladiator fights or bull fights) or have helped determine political clout (the recent Olympics for China). An excellent play on the game/reality divide is Sleuth, a stage play turned into 1972 movie with Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier (recently redone with Caine and Jude Law), which I saw this week.