So it’s about time for my blog to have a facelift, so please bear with it whilst things are tidied up. Everything should be look ok, but as I’m developing live on the server, things may look messed up from time to time.

As for posts, I have a few lined up for this summer, as well as some interesting screencasts and videos.

Aberystwyth University, possibly the best University ever, but I might be bias, as I’m currently a student there and having the time a whale of a time there studying for a degree in Business Information Technology.

I’m writing this post about the Accommodation that Aberystwyth has to offer. Although I will be mentioning the University’s accommodation practices, this will only be brief, as the bulk of this article will focus on the private accommodation that’s available.

To start off with, there are two types of accommodation at Aberystwyth. These accommodation types are:

• University Accommodation: This is accommodation that is managed by the University
• Private Accommodation: This is accommodation outside of the University, for example by Landlords or Letting Agents

OK, so now we have the definitions out of the way, let’s talk about accommodation practices.

First Year Accommodation:

Aberystwyth University has in place an accommodation guarantee This basically means that if you you are a going into your first year, and apply before a certain date (August 1st), then you are guaranteed an accommodation place within the University. This is helpful for new students as they are on campus, and can build new friendships with new people, some of whom you may go on to share accommodation with in the 2nd year.

It is not unheard of for first year students to find private accommodation – indeed this was the case with one of my friends, who started University a year after myself and shared a house with me in when I was in my 2nd year.

Second Year Accommodation:

When you are in your 2nd year, it is common practice for students to find private accommodation. There are two main types of private accommodation available in Aberystwyth, and they are:

• Letting Agents
• Landlords: This is where you deal directly with a landlord, cutting out the letting Agents.

Accommodation Costs:

Costs for private accommodation can vary at Aberystwyth. This section gives an overview of these costs.

The basic weekly rate:

For example, in this academic year, our contract with a Letting Agent sets us back £65 per week, excluding bills. This is the basic rate for student accommodation, and is set to rise for the next academic year to £70 per week.

The amount a student pays when they take a house directly with a landlord is usually the same price, but can be a bit lower, or higher.

Utilities:

Utilities is a cost that you must factor into your budget. You should check to see whether your contract comes with utilities included, or whether they are separate.

From personal experience, it would seem that there is a higher chance for utilities to be included when a contract is taken out with a landlord as opposed with a letting agent.

Deposit:

No matter whether you take a contract out directly with a Landlord, or with a Letting Agency, you will be required to pay a deposit. The deposit is normally around the £300 mark for letting agencies, whilst it may be lower if you go with a Landlord.

All Letting Agents & Landlords should immediately place your deposit with the DPS (Deposit Protection Service):

As part of the Housing Act 2004 the Government is introducing tenancy deposit protection for all assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) in England and Wales where a deposit is taken. From April 6th 2007, all deposits paid under an AST have had to be protected within 14 calendar days of receipt by the landlord.

The legislation aims to ensure that tenants who have paid a deposit to a landlord or letting agent and are entitled to receive all or part of it back at the end of that tenancy, actually get it.

Always check your contract to see what you will have to pay.

Summer Rent:

Summer rent is, simply put, a rent you have to pay to pay to keep the property over summer. It currently stands at 50% of your monthly rent, but is set to increase this year. Always check your contract to see what you will have to pay.

Accommodation Quality:

The quality of private accommodation in Aberystwyth can and will vary. The earlier you typically find your accommodation, the better the quality of your accommodation.

Most houses come with the basics, such as:

• Bedroom: Bed, desk, chair, wardrobe, cabinet.
• Kitchen: Basics, but you might need to provide your own kettle, toaster, microwave, dishes & utensils.

You can find out all of these details when your talking either with the Landlord or with the Letting Agent.

You should also remember that the Landlord or Letting Agent are bound by legislation to keep the let (house, flat, whatever you want to call it) in a decent state. If they do not keep their word, then you have the right to take things further. The Citizens Advice Bureau or Student Guild can help you with any issues you may have.

Finding Accommodation:

Finding your accommodation at Aberystwyth is not really hard. No matter which street you walk down, you will be in sight of either an Estate Agent or some form of student let house.

Estate Agents will normally have signs up in their windows notifying when student property lists are released, and when all the properties they have are let out.

If you are interested in pursuing the landlord route, then there are several ways of doing this. The easiest way is to just walk around the town, looking in windows. Houses will normally have the contact details of the owners, or adverts for student properties in them. The second way is to use a website provided by the University – AberAccom. This website lets you easily search private accommodation, but the emphasis is down to you to contact the owners for more details. I must point out one weakness here, and that is the fact that some properties are still left on the website even when they have actually been let out – so that is something to bear in mind.

Conclusion:

To summarize, question everything. Query how much you will have to pay, question when issues will be fixed (if there are any). Question if they are registered with the DPS and if they are licensed to let properties.

If you feel if I have left anything out, or want to know anything more, then feel free to comment.

This blog post, simply put, is somewhere I can post ideas, write some background information and most importantly, gather user feedback about my new project – Combat Your Psoriasis.

Background:

So, as some might, and as some might not know, I suffer from psoriasis. It sucks. It knackers your self confidence, and well, it isn’t a pleasant thing at all. I’ve become fed up of suffering and also fed up of the lack of simple, concise information about psoriasis that’s targeted towards young sufferers. But, the main thing that’s getting on my nerves, and has become apparent not only to myself, but also my mother, is the elitist attitude taken by many in online psoriasis communities towards the use of natural products, with the main emphasis being placed on commercial, prescription products.

What is Combat Your Psoriasis?

OK, such a simple question, yet such a hard question to answer.

My initial plans are to develop CYP as a website driven by a community, not just by a single entity. A simple list of features that I brainstormed include:

• Individual pages for important issues (such as types of psoriasis, emotional impact e.t.c).
• A blog section, where I, and possibly future authors would blog about psoriasis issues, awareness days e.t.c.
• A reviews section, where products that I, and possibly community members have used are reviewed (NO BIAS REVIEWS).

I am also planning on making a couple of videos and uploading them to youtube, giving users a first hand view of how psoriasis effects people, and most of all, to add some personal touch to the website.

Now it’s your turn!

I could easily set up CYP tonight, put up some articles, and promote it. But I don’t want to do that.

A website is only of use and value if the users (you people) like the content and feel comfortable using it. So the two main questions that I pose to you the readers are:

What would you like to see on a psoriasis oriented website?

What do you think of the current ideas that I have come up with?

Thanks!

From the bottom of my heart, I would be grateful if you could respond with any suggestions/feedback. It would mean alot to me, and could also be of use to new users down the line when the website is launched.

This blog has been left in the dark ages for too long. My fault, I know. I keep promising myself to blog, may it be to write tutorials, articles or anything that takes my fancy.

Now that university’s finished for the year, I have all summer to write, and that’s what I’m aiming to do. I’m intending to re-publish one of my first ever tutorials, about creating a simple web layout. This was a popuar tutorial over on pixel2life, and I’m hoping to make it popular once again. Other tutorials that I’m hoping to write will revolve around wordpress and general development on the Internet. I’m also planning on writing some articles, incorporating ideas and issues that cropped up during my lectures. These will be based around such things as usability, project management and more.

Finally, I’m hoping to start screencasting. Tutorials (or screencasts) by CSS Tricks and Nettuts will hopefully help me along the way.

Over the past day or two, James McDonald and I have been working on a project called Logolize. Quite simply, it’s a daily collection of 9 inspirational logos. Within each post there is a written section, detailing the logo name and who designed them. So why not check out some inspirational logos?

I’ve recently started doing weight training at home, I thought it was time to do something about my appearance, starting with my upper body. Just so you can sort-of picture it, I’m 6ft1″ (give or take), and big built, and I’ve decided to start out with my biceps / triceps. 

As for my gear, it’s simple. I’ve got a 35kg dumbbell/barbell set, and I’m currently using 10kg on each dumbbell. I feel that using dumbbells allows me to work each arm to a greater extent, rather than using a barbell. Also, by using dumbbells, there’s no slacking. I felt when using my barbell that my right arms did more work than the left, whereas this doesn’t happen with dumbbells. 

Now onto my schedule. I’ve come up with this after reading through several articles and websites found via google, and by chance, I’ve found that this regime is the same as one posted in a article by a weightlifter. Anyway, here goes:

• Alternate Dumbbell Curls (Biceps)
• Hammer Curls (Biceps)
• Concentration Curls (Biceps)
• Overhead Presses (Triceps)
• Kickbacks (Triceps)

I currently do 2 sets of 15-20 per workout. Although I am new to this, a couple of tips if you decide to do weights. If you are going to start weights, check out this article – it covers a lot of good safety points.

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