Updated Spreadsheets

I've made a few updates to my spreadsheets.

I completed my passport renewal and my visa application, so I crossed those items off. I also crossed off pre-reading and applying to the University, since I don't anticipate finishing any more of my textbooks prior to departure. Other items that weren't accomplished in time have been highlighted in red.

I made a few updates to my "Current Plans" spreadsheet to reflect items that have been purchased, and changes in the Dollar-to-Pound exchange rate. At this point, the number of items I've purchased or will purchase is a bit out of hand for the current version of the spreadsheet to track, but at this stage that's not really important. It's helped me to forecast for the last couple of years, and will help me to forecast some general costs into the future.

My Training sheet has been updated to reflect the books I've finished reading, the books I won't finish reading before I leave, and the books that have been added to the syllabus. I've accordingly updated my Readings slide with the same information. While this may seem redundant, the Readings slide has helped me keep to some semblance of a reading schedule while the Training slide has helped me to keep the readings into the larger context of my overall personal training plan.

I've done some work on my dissertation bibliography worksheet, and I'll likely do some more soon. The segments of this sheet are divided by topic, and include the author, the title of the item in question, the publisher, the location published, the year, the type of publication (book or article), the retail price, the price on Amazon, whether it's available on Kindle, and the URL (mostly Amazon). Although it may cost me some serious coin, I'm going to try to get a number of books for my several dissertation topics on Kindle to reduce packing and shipping weight. I generally prefer traditional "dead tree" books, but for this particular occasion weight and bulk will be at a premium, so it's worth it to me to replace at least some of my current books for ease of carry en route, and ease of use once I get to Aberdeen.

In addition to a few other updates, the next order of business will be to make out a sheet that schedules the tasks I need or want to complete while I'm in Scotland. When I came home from the Middle East, I made out a spreadsheet that tracked, week by week, what I wanted to accomplish. I was either far too ambitious, or nowhere near disciplined enough. I'll have a year to work with in Aberdeen, and all of the pre-reading I've done thus far will help to reduce the overall workload. I'll still be ambitious, but I'll try to be a bit more realistic, and a bit more disciplined. I've listed my other projects previously, and when I've put the spreadsheet together, I'll post some of the specifics.