Nick Martin’s Blog

Well, it’s been a while since the last time I wrote on this thing. Thought I should give it another stab. When was the last time I wrote on this? February 4th… thats quite a long time ago.

Anyway, I spent the whole of last week in bed due to illness. No idea what it was, but it felt aweful. On Saturday I went Karting with a few of my mates, and being the professional that I am, came out top! Actually, I am no professional… I’ve only ever been four times before. Westleigh used to race them professionally. He says he was out of practice, but to be honest I think he brags a bit. I might actually have to sign up for Formula Student when I get to rave, would be great to race them professionally and be the next Damon Hill. I would say Hamilton, but I don’t like him.

I’m currently in the middle of writing a book, and unlike the other books I have attempted to write, I think this one might actually be quite good. It will take me a while to write it as I have other commitments to do such as school, and work.

Talking of which, I have a massive project ahead of me for the summer. Much bigger than Bluedoor Villas or any other website I have done. Won’t tell you what it is yet, as it’s all a bit hush hush at the moment. There is also another project of my own currently in the design stage, will let you know about it in my next post.

meanwhile, you may be interested to know that ClickaTell have recently put Text Mate out of business. Yes, my favourite project of 2007 is no longer in service. Sadly, the only way that it can continue is if I raise at least €4000 every month… which I highly doubt I would even make in a year.

Anyway, I must dash as it’s the end of school. Was supposed to have media but the teacher isn’t here today so I had a free instead.

See you around!

Alright guys! It’s been a while since I have posted in my blog…

Firstly, I’m going to Ravensbourne!!!! Yes, I have been given an unconditional offer for the Ba Design for Interaction course, which suits me right down to the ground! Ever since my work experience during the summer of last year, I knew that I wanted to work in the Interactive Design field. Thanks Les!!

Secondly, and most importantly… Club ke has had yet more developments done to it!!!

One of my favourite new features is the Lounge. After only a few hours of coding, and a little tweaking to fix the bugs, there is now a place for members to meet and talk to others! There are still one or two bugs which need sorting, but I can do that later…

Another new feature added is what I like to call Ké Apps. They are applications which you can add to your profile for useful information, or simply a bit of fun.

Updates to come will include KeChanged, a standard application which lets you know of any changes to yours or your friends’ profiles. Not only that, but ManipuPhoto will be implemented into the photo gallery, allowing you to manipulate your photos! Not going to say in what ways you can manipulate them, but we’ll see how it goes first. Oh and another key change will be the ability to change the colours of your profile!

I’ll update you again soon! Cheers for now,

Nick

“Be what you are. This is the first step toward becoming better than you are.” ~Julius Charles Hare

When meeting someone for the first time like course tutors, the general characteristics people tend to stick to are Smart, confident, hard-working, and enthusiastic. These tend to be the characteristics for the majority of people, and they are easily presented just by being yourself. Dress how you normally would, and not to impress. Being who you are is more impressive, and let’s them know more about your personality. Speak up and have confidence in yourself. If you don’t have confidence in yourself, how are people supposed to have confidence in you? It’s easy to portray this image, just by slowing down and relaxing a little. Hard-working and enthusiam are also very easy. Again, be yourself. Got any questions? ask them, don’t let it sit there in the back of your mind. Even the most simple question shows enthusiasm. Better yet, email them the question if you forgot to ask them during the interview.

Most universities want to see this last one, enthusiasm, more than any of the others. They want to know that the course is right for you, and if they don’t think you really want to do the course, they are less likely to accept you. If you know what you want to do in life, great… that makes things a lot easier.

Most importantly, when taking portfolios to the universities, make it as compact as possible. Some portfolios are ridiculously large and unnecessary. If you think your portfolio is too large, it more than likely is. Most of the time, the tutors will not reserve massive tables for you to spread your work out on, and it is also much harder to flick through the pages. My one was only A4 sized but did the job nicely. I’m a web developer though so I didn’t need that much stuff.

One thing that I did learn from my university visits, particularly to arty unis, is they credit those who show the workings out, and not just the final product. They like to see how your thinking works, whether its random scribbles or concept drawings, take it! But remember, keep it down to a good size, preferably showing a variety of your best work. It can’t all be your best can it?

Lastly, first impressions may count, in fact they do count, but does the image of you really stick in their mind? The best way to do this is to actually leave them with some of your work for reference when choosing the best candidates. In my opinion, and most tutors opinions at that, put it on CD. Even if its a painting, take a photo and give it to them in JPEG format (My granddads only technical word he knows). Infact, what my granddad says is so true… “Can’t you send it JPEG?”. Even though he doesn’t know what it means, it is the best advise he has given me. Good old granddad.

And that is where I conclude my rambling speech about university interviews. I guess it has rambled a bit, but some may find it quite useful. I hope it helps, and good luck with your interviews!

Got any questions? Ask some other students also applying to university on the yougofurther website: http://www.yougofurther.com/

Regards,

Nick

Yes, I know I only had two exams this term, with both being IT, but its still something to celebrate!

The first one was a module retake of which I have absolutely no idea how I failed it last time. This time however, I think I have done pretty well. The second was damn hard! I don’t think I have ever done so much revision for an IT test before, but I certainly tried my best with it. Hopefully, I get good results… I get them back in March.

Anyway, I will more than likely be posting in this blog whenever I can, so stay tuned!

Yeah! First Post! (I hate it when people say that).

Anyway, welcome to my blog. Here is where I will post any news and updates on my life and any projects I am currently working on. Obviously, I’m not going to go into any elaborate detail about my blog yet as I don’t think you will be very interested.

At the moment, I am currently undergoing my January A Level examinations, which in fact only consist of two ICT modules; one of which is a retake. I have absolutely no idea where I went wrong the first time! Let’s hope I do well this time round. Read more