I have made some cosmetic changes to the website. It turns out I like programming in HTML and CSS instead of adding content to the blog. I decided to go with a lighter colour scheme, using the undoctored image of the lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove. I have also taken the date format from the blog Mother by Nature and created from scratch a similar style for this site.

I should also update everyone on the changes in my life since the last posting — nine months ago! First, we found a place to live in Fredericton. We are in an excellent location for church, school, and play, and not too bad off for work and shopping either. It seems a bit smaller then our last place, having only three bedrooms instead of four, and the rent and utilities are considerable more than in Saint John.

At work, my contract turned out to be only ten months long, ending at the end of May, though it is likely it will be renewed. I have been having a lot of fun teaching. I taught one new course in the fall, and I have two new courses this term. If you are interested, you can check out my work website.

On January 6, our family expanded to five, adding a lovely daughter, Honour, weighing in at 7lbs 15oz. Her big sisters are quite taken with her. Honour is now letting us sleep for six hours in a row. Pictures of my daughters can be found by following the links in the sidebar.

We still do not have a vehicle, but God has been good to us, allowing us to live without one. I am also looking for permanent work. There is a position available, starting in July. The deadline for application is April 3rd. Please be in prayer for this. Thanks.

Well, that is all for now. I will going to to try to add content regularly, but might only succeed in changing the style.

Yesterday I upgraded WordPress (the software that runs this website) to version 2.5.1.  It was fairly easy, and the online instructions helped a lot.  This is not the only upgrade I have done recently.

My desktop computer was running Fedora Core 6, a version of Linux that is several years old now (the current version is Fedora 9).  With the latest round of Linux releases came the new KDE desktop environment, which is a lot faster and has a smaller memory footprint.  The new releases also included Firefox 3 and OpenOffice.org 2.4.

Instead of installing the newest version of Fedora, I decided to switch to Ubuntu 8.04.  I had some experience installing it at the university for the computers in the math lab, and I found that more things worked out of the box with Ubuntu than with Fedora.  I also had some experience with dual-booting Ubuntu and Vista on my new laptop, and Ubuntu is working perfectly.  The new KDE is a bit rough, but I believe the next upgrade (from 4.0 to 4.1) will fix some of the minor annoyances.

A good friend of mine has been learning LaTeX to redo his class notes and he is becoming a believer in the typesetting package.  There is still a bit of clinging to Math Type for Microsoft Office, but he is turning around.  LaTeX will run under Windows, but it is more commonly found in Unix/Linux environments and in math departments.  Its main purpose is typesetting mathematical papers (like my thesis).  Besides LaTex, he is also getting more interested in Linux.  Maybe when I move back to Fredericton, we can work on getting his machine dual-booted.

It has been a while.

I submitted my thesis to the readers in late December/early January.  My external examiner was changed to Dr. Jonathan Block, from the University of Pennsylvania.  My oral defense was April 9th, and my graduation (at the 179th Encenia) was May 29th.  So I am now, officially, Dr. Jones.

Early in 2008 I applied for several academic positions.  I got one interview, at UNB Fredericton, and the offer of a one-year limited term position, starting August 1.  So we are making plans to move back to Fredericton.  Prayers are appreciated in terms of moving and finding a new place to live, and finding a vehicle to meet our transportation needs (since number three is due January 11, 2009).

Natalya is starting school in September.  She participated in a pre-kindergarten pilot-programme at Prince Charles School, just three minutes walk from our house.  It was for two hours each Friday, and it lasted six weeks.  Natalya was very excited to be going to school, just like Daddy!  We are kind of sad to move, since it will mean finding another school for her, but hopefully her enthusiasm will not abate.

The two girls have been visiting their grandparents for the past three weeks.  I just finished teaching Intersession courses in Fredericton, traveling back and forth each week by bus, so I only saw my family on weekends.  Laura has been quite tired with her pregnancy, so her mom and dad were kind enough to come up and help during the last few weeks of the course.  She and the girls went home with them for the final week of the course.  Laura came home last Thursday after trading off the kids with my parents.  Natalya and Samantha are having a great time getting to know their many cousins.  We are going down tomorrow to pick them up, and to celebrate my mom and dad’s birthdays.  All my brothers and sisters (and -in-laws) and nephews and nieces will be there.  It is going to be lots of fun.

I received comments back from my supervisor this week. They were mainly stylistic changes, but there are a few things that have to be added or expanded. I have made most of the changes and am working on the other details. My supervisor phoned yesterday to let me know that I now have an external examiner, Dr. Harold Donnelly, from Purdue University. My supervisor also said that I can defend in mid-January. This is good news for a couple of reasons: first, if my thesis is defended before the end of January, I do not have to pay tuition for the winter term, and second, when I successfully defend, I can put that in my cover letter in my job applications, making a better impression on potential employers.

In other news, I have finished my marking and the classes made out as expected. I have two courses for next term, Calculus I and Linear Algebra I. The linear algebra course will give me a new course number to add to my CV.

If the weather holds, I have a ride to Fredericton for Monday. It would be a quick trip, but it would allow me a chance to meet with my supervisor face-to-face.

At 16:19 AST I sent off the completed draft of my thesis. Now I have a few days to get ready for the rewrites. The total page count currently stands at 87, properly formated. On the bus drive home I started thinking about how to get some articles out of the thesis. I think there are two papers and maybe another short article. Have to start thinking about publications since I will be looking for a job soon.