Sunday 11 March 2012

Spring is springing

 Well, I hate to say that time is going so fast I haven't even posted for a month. It has been so busy!!

The allergist didn't have much to say, no one knows why I am so sensitive now I have to take millions of antihistamine a day, to try to be "normal". They are also testing me for a severe wasp allergy as something stung me in summer, and it was a bad reaction. In hind sight I should of gone to hospital and not self medicated on anti histamines. Oh well, I live!

Also we went to the Finland Air Force Museum, for a presentation I had to give in Finnish about a museum. I had been to the museums in the city so we went a short drive away. Pretty fun museum, dad wants to visit there next time he comes. 

Fighter Plight Eero =P

Uni has been so busy between working full time and studying full time, may it is the reason why time has gone so much quicker than normal. My degree is almost all finished off, it was nice to see it there all in black and white, the end is near!!! 

I have been pretty bust networking, the hardest jump I will have to make for life here in Finland is the what next jump. Work is hard as the work language is Finnish and I still have a way to go before I can claim fluency. The Finns are always at fluency before they say they can speak a language properly until then they speak a little, hence a rarely claim to speak anymore than that with Finnish. Swedish is coming along too, I really don't have the time to spend on that now until summer but I keep practicing what I remember so I don't forget it =) 

Work is complete the end of March, so then I have most days to plough into writing my thesis. The title is now cofirmed as "Techno-economic comparison of biogas upgrading in Europe". The general information for my thesis is "The thesis will compare the technical, economic and energy requirements for three different scales of biogas upgrading for vehicle and/or grid injection use. The biogas upgrading capacities selected for the study are < 50 m3/h (small scale), 100-200 m3/h (medium scale) and > 250 m3/h (large scale). The work will include literature review of the upgrading technologies currently being used in Europe, system characteristics such as feedstocks, pre-treatment requirement etc., the energy requirements and cost of biogas upgrading. Data on the investment costs and energy requirements will be collected from the literature and by contacting various upgrading units. The three scales of upgrading for a single biogas upgrading technology will be compared based on parameters such as Investment cost (€/yr), Maintenance cost (€/yr), Energy requirement (kWh/m3 of upgraded biogas), upgrading cost(€/Nm3 biogas upgraded), methane slip, methane yield and purity, waste-streams, post-treatment etc." It will be published as part of a project so there is a lot of pressure to be correct and write a useful report. 

Also, I attended my first conference in Finnish language on bioenergy in February, was very interesting, I understood most of it so I was happy! I even got some information in Finnish and some PDF books from a link so I can read more.

The beginning of March, I had a post grad course in Aalto for 3 days. I really loved this course it was Energy, Environment and the community. However, here is where you can tell it is a PhD course, for 3 credits I need to write a 20page technical in depth report on something from the 3 day seminar. Attending the seminar counts for nothing! lol 

The seminar itself was good, Jarkko and Roshan were also there, sometimes it is nice to have friends around! Networking went well, and I have found 2 potential Professors for my PhD, along with a project from VTT that should have space for me. Anyway, I have emailed about those so we shall see! 

I love this VR selecting your own seats! I always try to get these two seats alone on the intercity trains. hehe On the way back from Helsinki, I was on the pendolino, took the seat alone at the back with 2 other seats by the side. Ah, oh my days, two drunk men who just wanted to talk, so first being tired, I pretended I didn't speak much Finnish. Then they said something funny and I couldn't help but laugh, cover blown. I then spoke Finnish with them for 2 hours... I never wanted to get to Tampere so quickly for the train change EVER! Then in Tampere to Jyväskylä, I was back in my little bubble... =) Northern lights were meant to be strong that night, I missed the bus so carried myself and my luggage home... no lights, they always evade me. 


2 seat rooms on the train, heaven

As for the other secrets, I still cannot say anything yet! But summer will be interesting to say the least!!! =P

Snow is starting to melt, the ice is EVIL! our street is bad, worst I have walked on yet. My allergy weird weight gain is still happening, more slowly and now I think I have removed everything it can be, no sugar no, low fat... let's see! it's pretty depressing!

Now it's off to the gym and then to finish off my work =)

Oh yeah! Eero and me both have Kindles now! We read too much anyway but now we read even more!