Admittedly, Oxford University is no MIT in terms of putting curricula and other stuff online, but the new site on iTunes is an excellent resource for those who cannot attend the many talks and lectures in person. The Light Blues are there, too.
I used a pint of gin (Tanqueray, export strength), half a litre of sloes, and 150 grammes of sugar. Now, it is time to sit back and wait (impatiently) for at least three months, interrupted only by the weekly shake of the bottle. Once properly infused, it will take on the colour of port.
A central perk of joining the corporate tribe is that you get to go places. I am currently finding my way back from the most impressive wooden building I have come across for a long time. Beautifully situated between mountains, lakes and fjords, the all new Preikestolen Fjellstue is one of the tangible outcomes of the sustainable architecture project, Norwegian Wood, and Stavanger’s status as the 2008 European Capital of Culture.
Impressive as it is, the lodge is made entirely without nails, and boasts so many innovative features that it would be impossible to list all of them here. The place is well worth a visit, not least because of the superb food. Both the cod and the reindeer were to die for.
In addition to this, there is of course Preikestolen itself – the Pulpit Rock – which is Norway’s best known natural site, and for good reasons (do click here to get a sense of the beauty of the place). Unfortunately I did not make it there due the first serious snowfall of the season – that did not prevent me from going up the mountain with the other partners, though.
Pictures and further descriptions available here as soon as I reach home, sweet home.
…but I still get excited when I strike a good deal on eBay.
Never before has one man (and his entourage) created such a boost in confidence from one day to another. I work quite a bit with Americans (in America) at the moment and the otherwise relatively ‘cold’ business conversations have turned into highly personal exclamations about the present and the future. I find it fascinating to receive emails like the ones below from people I hardly know.
From the Bay Area:
I can’t even explain to you the joy happening here! This man has created a whole new experience of America. He joined so many people together in these months. Everyone was working for Obama. The amount of community organization was beyond all expectations. It became such a bonding factor. People were out in the streets celebrating till the A.M. hours in Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco. Even when I went to bed in the early hours of 11/5/04, I could here the music and gaiety.
I can proudly say, for the first time in so many years, that I am an American. I feel no shame, guilt or other. I am finally proud to be an American. Wow!!!
From NYC:
We are estatic, elated, thrilled, stunned and relieved! We believe that there is a huge mess to clean up but we are up for the challenge. Hoping Gore will be appointed to the EPA.
What is the reaction in London? I’m hearing everyone around the world feels as we do.
In terms of the next steps, Wired ran a feature a while back, asking various experts about their advice to the incoming president: The 2008 Smart List: 15 People The Next President Should Listen To.
My institute director (and examiner), Steve Rayner, suggests that Obama should take climate change seriously and consider it a driver of innovation:
The outgoing administration failed to come to grips with climate change out of fear that reducing greenhouse gas emissions would damage the economy. But the decision to deal with climate change doesn’t lend itself to cost-benefit analysis. It is a strategic choice, like the decision to get married. You have an opportunity to define the nation’s character and upgrade its infrastructure — and bold action would be consistent with America’s historical role as a leader in innovation.
Climate change aside, restoring America as a leading country is indeed a daunting task.
Sainsbury’s, packed full of kids, on a rainy Sunday in November.
Now official; Russia backs Palin.