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Status Reports
Status: Summary (2012 - September)
(Text as at 28/10/2012 10:24:58)
*** THIS IS NOT THE LATEST VERSION OF THIS NOTE ***
(For the live version and other versions of this Note, see the tables at the end)
Rationale for this Report
This is a summary report with links to my various on-going projects. Detailed progress is shown on the sub-reports. This summary report should highlight whether my focus has become unbalanced or otherwise inappropriate to the achievement of my major goals. As these reports are rather a pain to produce, I now produce them quarterly, rather than monthly.
Projects in Progress
- I am still preoccupied with settling in to my new house, and selling the old one. Hopefully this disruption will be complete by the end of the year. Things will turn around eventually, and producing these reports reminds me that the “infrastructural” aspects of my life must not retain the focus for ever.
- I have ten projects currently on the go, which is too many, especially in my current domestic situation. Consequently, they are divided into two groups. The first group has effort planned, and the second group doesn’t. This is not to say that no time will be spent on the second group, but just that it’ll be minor and ad hoc. I’ve recategorised the projects for the coming academic year, demoting Music and Languages, and promoting Consciousness Studies, to reflect their true importance, and my abilities. Follow the hyperlinks for further details:-
Primary Projects
- Research into Personal Identity1. This is the subject that ought to grab most of my attention, as it is the topic of my PhD. I need to achieve something in philosophy, as this is the only one of my endeavours that promises a professional outcome (in the sense of being one of more than merely personal interest).
- Studies in the Philosophy of Religion2. On and off, this represents the main preoccupation of my adult life (work and family aside). I intend to follow up in some detail interesting topics from the Philosophy of Religion module from the MA in Philosophy and Religion at Heythrop College, London University that I tasted at the end of 2010.
- Development of Web-tools3. This project is intended to assist with the prosecution of philosophical research. It is fundamentally an enabling project, though one I hope will have general metaphilosophical implications. The above two projects are test cases of the method, as well as worthwhile studies in their own right.
- Consciousness4 Studies. A supporting project for both Personal Identity and Philosophy of Religion.
- Bridge5: I’m attempting to become an expert player, and am shifting the focus from club play to weekend tournaments.
Secondary Projects
- Mathematics6: Revive / improve my mathematical competence with a view to the use of mathematics as a tool in my various other projects.
- Languages7: Gain at least a rudimentary understanding of 24 diverse languages – for practical and philosophical purposes.
- Music8: Improve my competence as an oboist, and learn the piano.
- HiQ9: Enjoy and contribute to the intellectual society of ISPE and Mensa (in abeyance, as I’ve allowed my membership of both societies to lapse again).
- Chess10: Improve my standard of play so I can perform acceptably in the Essex, London, Middlesex … leagues (whenever I’m ready).
- These projects are (approximately, in their respective groups) in order of decreasing priority, yet in practise the amount of effort expended on them fails to respect their relative priorities. My intention is radically to prune the lower-priority projects. However, Bridge is such fun – for all its frustrations – that I can’t ever see it occupying its logically lowly place.
- I have ignored the various infrastructural elements of my life in these reports – in particular family life, household management, gym, and general reading, culture, current affairs and such like.
- As these reports are now quarterly, I’m including a link to a brief uncommented list of what I’ve been working on since the last report (ie. this one). It is generated automatically from my time-recording system. Its main utility (to me, at any rate) is as a quick jumping-off point for the various writings in progress or recently completed. It’s here11. The list will, in general, be updated every few days.
- This report and the sub-reports obtained by following the immediate links above show the current status. The report headings show the month the reports are for. Earlier reports can be found by following the links in the “Table of Previous Versions of this Note” further down this report, or in the sub-reports.
Plan versus Actual Effort Summary (Previous Quarter & YTD)
Summary figures against the July - September 2012 plan, and for the full 2011/12 academic year, are as below:-
| Project | Planned Hours / Week | Planned %age | Jul - Sep Actual % | YTD Actual % | Jul - Sep Actual Hours | YTD Actual Hours |
| Bridge | 15 | 28 | 62 | 55 | 228 | 1062 |
| Chess | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Consciousness | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Hi-Q | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 14 |
| Languages | 6 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 95 |
| Mathematics | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Music | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 |
| Philosophy of Religion | 8 | 15 | 6 | 11 | 24 | 203 |
| Thesis | 15 | 28 | 6 | 9 | 22 | 180 |
| Website | 8 | 15 | 22 | 18 | 79 | 349 |
| TOTAL | 54 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 366 | 1929 |
| Comparisons | 92 Days | 366 Days | 52 | 68 | 710 | 2823 |
The bottom row in the above table is non-standard. The first two columns show the number of days in the current reporting Quarter and YTD, and the last two columns show the hours planned (according to the latest monthly plan) for the current reporting Quarter and pro-rata YTD. The middle columns show %age actual vs plan (actuals taken from the Total row). In principle this allows monitoring of total effort vs plan, as well as the distribution of effort across projects.
For the Priority projects, only Web Tools was anywhere near planned time utilisation – and then not always on priority tasks – while Bridge (because it is easy and scheduled) continues to occupy most of my free time.
Summary of Progress during July - September 2012
Like the rest of the year, 3Q12 was very much below plan as far as time expended was concerned (52%, 68% YTD where the year is the full 2011/12 academic year). The excuse remains the same – moving to, and then settling in to, the new house, as noted above. Attention to my Thesis terrible – with no effort at all on core activities – and there was as always far too much of a focus on Bridge. Website developments look on track, but effort remains largely for OBT and Hutton Bridge Club, rather than my own site.
Follow this link for a list of recently purchased books. Some of these are random purchases from charity shops. Others are selectively purchased in support of my various projects. Poverty and lack of space is severely curtailing my purchasing power.
Time Divisions
See the tables above. As last quarter, and most quarters, I didn’t stick to the planned percentage splits. For a detailed breakdown of time spent, by month and study location, follow this link12.
Plan Summary (Next Quarter & Full Year)
The plan for the distribution of effort, in hours / week, for the coming Academic Year is as below. Despite the present domestic distractions, I’ve left the plan as it would be if there were none – we’ll see how things go. As the year goes by, estimates are replaced by actuals, and re-estimates are made. In the light of the above “re-focusing” decisions, Secondary Projects have no time estimated for them.
| Project | Planned Hours / Week | Planned %age | Full Year Planned %age | October - December 2012 Planned Hours | Full Year Planned Hours | Full Year Actual + Planned Hours | Comparison (%ages) |
| Bridge | 15 | 28 | 28 | 197 | 782 | 782 | 100 |
| Chess | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Consciousness | 5 | 9 | 9 | 66 | 261 | 261 | 100 |
| Hi-Q | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Languages | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Mathematics | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Music | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Philosophy of Religion | 7 | 13 | 13 | 92 | 365 | 365 | 100 |
| Thesis | 15 | 28 | 28 | 197 | 782 | 782 | 100 |
| Website | 12 | 22 | 22 | 158 | 626 | 626 | 100 |
| TOTAL | 54 | 100 | 100 | 710 | 2816 | 2816 | 100 |
Actual & Plan Summary (2007-2013)
Below is a table showing the split amongst my various projects of time expended or planned over a 6-year period.
| Subject | 2007/08 (Actual) | 2008/09 (Actual) | 2009/10 (Actual) | 2010/11 (Actual) | 2011/12 (Actual) | 2012/13 (Actual + Plan) | Total | %age |
| Bridge | 776 | 632 | 757 | 796 | 1062 | 782 | 4805 | 35.28 |
| Chess | 0 | 29 | 17 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 66 | 0.49 |
| Consciousness | 0 | 41 | 76 | 30 | 1 | 261 | 408 | 3 |
| HiQ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 32 | 0.23 |
| Languages | 234 | 331 | 232 | 269 | 95 | 0 | 1160 | 8.52 |
| Mathematics | 23 | 28 | 84 | 55 | 1 | 0 | 191 | 1.4 |
| Music | 63 | 132 | 144 | 7 | 18 | 0 | 364 | 2.67 |
| Religion | 91 | 198 | 413 | 849 | 203 | 365 | 2118 | 15.55 |
| Thesis | 608 | 453 | 349 | 477 | 180 | 782 | 2849 | 20.92 |
| Website | 67 | 198 | 181 | 205 | 349 | 626 | 1625 | 11.94 |
| . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Total | 1862 | 2042 | 2251 | 2719 | 1929 | 2816 | 13617 | 100 |
Plans for the Near Future
In the light of the segregation of my projects into two tiers, I’ve dropped any items for the Secondary Projects. There’s still a lot on this list – many of which items have been mouldering untouched for a long time. Attempt (somehow!) to address – in however small degree – each item in the coming quarter.
- Personal Identity13
- Philosophy of Religion17
- Web-tools20
- Hutton Website:-
… Weekly maintenance
… Investigate “Members’ Area”
… Develop site as required
- OBT Website:-
… Look into further possible automation opportunities (eg. for “What’s new”, Meetings, Index page).
... “Bulk Postage Reminders” Investigations & Development
... “eBooks” Investigations & Development
... “Facebook” Investigations & Development
... Complete "Extinct Booklets" Investigations & Development
… December 2012 Search Update
- Educate myself to professional standard in Web Development. Read eBooks (on Kindle):-
… "Lloyd (Ian) - Build Your Own Website the Right Way Using HTML & CSS"
… then others as appropriate, and apply principles to my site.
- General PC Education: Read:-
… "PC Pro - Computing in the Real World",
… "Barnes (Russell), Ed. - Web Designer".
- Start using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
- Ensure FN referencing within Notes and referencing between Abstracts and Notes works for archived Notes.
- Review the effectiveness of the categorised reading lists for both Papers and Books.
- Web Spider:-
… Analyse the results of the data collection exercise and design a plan of campaign to fix broken links and prevent recurrence,
… Complete investigation into broken “External Links”
… Correct the code so the discovered problems don’t recur, and
… Fix the historical data (no simple task to automate).
… Delete “orphan pages” that are never linked to.
- Add “Date Created” to Note-Links (for audit purposes; I’m still not convinced that links disappear when they should).
- Fix bugs in multi-level footnoting in Printable Notes – the referencing is going wrong.
- Determine why very long printable notes (eg. Level 3+ for Note 17021) are being truncated.
- Investigate the use of RTF in memo fields, so that I can get round the 64k character limit.
- Very long pages (eg. Concatenated Notes and Book Paper Abstracts) fail to render correctly in Firefox (mostly OK in other browsers). Investigate whether it’s possible to subdivide them.
- Bridge22
- Practice periodically using Jack Bridge.
- Study books by Victor Mollo in order to improve my declarer play and defence, especially:-
… "Mollo (Victor) - Case for the Defence".
- Read (or complete) a few books recommended by Dave:-
… "Lawrence (Mike) - The Complete Book on Overcalls at Contract Bridge".,
… "Kelsey (Hugh) - Deceptive Plays in Bridge", and
… "Lawrence (Mike) - How to Play Card Combinations".
- Play in local clubs
… Weekly with David
… Monthly with Angie and Russell, as available.
- Read the bridge magazines.
- Move forward the “Joint Project” for a consolidated bridge club in the Brentwood area.
- Play in tournaments, as below:-
… Saturday / Sunday 06-07/10/12: Play with Dave in the Great Northern Swiss Pairs, Leeds.
… Friday 19/10/12 : Play with David (and Mike + Catriona) in the first round of the NICKO.
… Monday 29/10/12 : Play with David (and Gad + Debbie) in the first round of the Gold Cup.
… Wednesday 31/10/12 : Play with David in the Essex Seniors.
… Saturday 10/11/12 : Play with David in the Middlesex Swiss Pairs.
… Sunday 11/11/12 : Play with David (and Gad + Debbie) in the Middlesex Swiss Teams.
… Sunday 25/11/12 : Play for Hutton “B” with David in the Essex Fletcher Trophy.
… Thursday – Sunday, 27-30/12/12) : Play with David in the EBU London Y/E Congress (if family commitments allow).
- Consciousness23
Live Version of this Archived Note
Table of 12 Earlier Versions of this Note (of 52)
Table of 12 Later Versions of this Note (of 53)
| This version updated |
Reference for this Topic |
Parent Topic |
| 28/10/2012 10:24:58 |
512 (Status: Summary (2012 - September)) |
None |
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