New Year's Resolutions / Happy 2012

2011 has been a great year for me, and now its time to make some resolutions for 2012. None of these are very exciting, but I like a public record to encourage me to keep them:

1. I will learn Dutch to level A.2 of the European frame.

2. I will my improve my publication profile.

3. I will visit the gym at least 100 times this year (99 to go)!

4. I will properly train our new dog Penny.

5. I will fix up the garden and finish my vegetable patch.

Happy New Year!

Trip to Paris

Over the Christmas break, I spent a couple of days in Paris with my sister who was visiting from the UK. I've been to Paris many times before, but I never get tired of it.

Kath arrived at Paris Nord on the EuroStar early in the afternoon on the 23rd and after a late lunch, we went straight to the Eiffel Tower. I've been up many times, but Kath had never made it to the top and wanted to challenge herself... and she made it!

Going up the Tower in Daylight

One of the Views from the Top

The Tower at Night

The next day was Christmas eve, and so we decided to do something really Christmasy: visit the Paris Catacombes, a consecrated former stone quarry that houses the skeletons of six million former residents of Paris. The bodies were moved there after the nieghbourhood cemertary filled up and began causing disease.

Stop! This is the Kingdom of the Dead

Endless Skulls and Bones

...and more skulls.

After the catacombes, we visited Sacré-Cœur, a beautiful hill-top church that was just 10 minutes from our hotel. There was a nice Christmas market on and a Christmas Eve mass. I think that the views from Sacré-Cœur are even better than those from the Eiffel Tower.

Sacré-Cœur Seen from Below

Looking out Over the City

...and towards the Eiffel Tower.

One of the great things about bieng in Leuven is that Paris is just 90 minutes away by train; I can't wait to go back.

Middleware 2011 in Lisboa, Portugal

After NESEA'11 in Perth, I flew direct to Lisbon for Middleware'11, where I was chairing the Middleware for Sensor Networks (MidSens'11) workshop. For me this year's stand-out event was Future of Middleware (FOME), which featured 16 short talks from big names in the middleware field. It provided lots of inspiration.

I was pretty tired after my flight from Australia and unfortunately BA lost my bag in Heathrow (I know, predictable) and I came within minutes of having to open my workshop in my sweat-pants and hoodie. Thankfully, disaster was averted. 

 Interesting Statue Outside the Holiday Inn

Caren joined me on Thursday evening and together we had a long weekend of exploring Lisbon's neighbourhoods and restaurants. We had two particularly good meals; one at Tapas 52, a neat little tapas bar and one at Cravo e Canela (garlic and cloves). The latter was a little heavy on sweet flavours for my taste, but the meal was saved by an excellent bottle of fruity white wine called Quinta de Sao Francisco.

My favorite spot in Lisbon was the Santa Cruz do Castelo neighbourhood and the imposing Castle of St. Gerorge, which as panoramic views of the city:

 A Rooftop Cottage in Santa Cruz do Castelo

There was a great sense of community in Lisbon and you can see a little of it, in the photo-art display of the older neighbourhood residents.

Photos of the Older Residents

Every part of Lisbon was covered in art, from traditional displays, to legal street decorations and illegal graffiti. Even though its a stencil, I particularly enjoyed the picture below. My new golden retriever pup certainly gives the orders.

Fun Piece of Graffiti

My favorite spot by far was the Castle, which has a pleasant garden feel ad great views of Lisbon.

I Pose by the Castle Entrance

St. George

Caren by the Castle

Garden-Like Castle Grounds

View of the City Squares

View of the Bridge

Perhaps the nicest part of my trip to Lisbon was the weather; for most of our day it was pleasant and warm; there were even oranges in December!

Oranges in December!

We Have a New Arrival this Christmas

Today I collected Penny, our Golden Retriever puppy from the breeder's. Here are some pics:

 On the Train Home

Napping

Posing for the Camera

Playing Football

I'll post some more photos of Penny's adventures soon.

NESEA 2011 in Perth, Australia (2/2)

Here are the second batch of photos from NESEA'11 (this set were taken with my camera, whereas Kevin Lee took the previous set).

NESEA'11 was held at the same time as the World Sailing Championships and the conference venue was right on the waterfront, so it was easy to catch a race during the breaks:

Windsurfers Racing

One thing that travelling has taught me is that its a really small world. Caren's brother Killian is working in Perth at the moment, and he was able to join the conference social cruise:

Killian on the Boat

The cruise was really great and we had some spectacular views. We even saw a dolphin, but no one was quick enough to get a photo.

Sunset on the River Swan

Perth Skyline at Night

NESEA 2011 in Perth, Australia (1/2)

Its been a busy few weeks. Last week I had work visitors from St. Andrews, Lancaster and Darmstadt as well as my Inaugural Lecture, all of which was good, but left me exhausted.

Then at 7AM on Saturday I hopped on a plane for Perth, Australia where I chaired the NESEA'11 conference. It was a busy week, but everything ran smoothly, which is a big credit to Kevin Lee, who was the local organizer at Murdoch University. The highlight was definately our cruise on the River Swan from Fremantle to Perth. Some photos follow:

 

Doing the Work Thing

 

The Attendees Walk to the Boat

Sailboats on the River Swan

The Setting Sun

After the conference, I had just one half day free, so I hit the beach and then explored Fremantle. Here are a few photos:

Playing Sharkbait

Conversing with a Stoic Fisherman I met

Perth was lovely, but 6 days just wasn't enough, especially as I spent five of them working 12-hour days. I am already planning my return.

Summer Holiday (3/3) New Orleans

We reached New Orleans around 8PM and checked into the Holiday Inn near Canal Street, where we met Caren's friends Dee and Amanda. There was no rest for the wicked as we quickly changed and headed into town. Dinner was red beans and rice with some nice fruit beer from Abita (one of America's best micro-brews and local to Louisiana), and then we hit Burbon street for some drinks and music:

Left to Right: Amanda, Caren, Dee and Me

Flaming Pianos at 'Howl at the Moon'

After a big night out, we needed to recharge, so Dee took us on a short tram ride to a great little restaurant in mid-town called Katie's Sunsday Brunch. The food was excellent; especially the savory Beignets, and the bottomless mimosas weren't bad either!

Dee, Caren and Amanda on a Street Car

Katie's: an Excellent Spot for Brunch

We spent the rest of Sunday exploring the French quarter and walking along the banks of the Mississippi River:

A Mississippi Steam Boat

Jackson Square: the Heart of the French Quarter

Delicious Food at the French Market

French Quarter Streets (1/2)

French Quarter Streets (2/2)

We also visited the New Orleans museum near Jackson Square, which has an excellent exhibit on Hurricane Katrina. The exhibit does a good job of explaining the science of hurricanes and how and why so many people died when Katrina hit. Unfortunately, even now, many of the problems discussed in the exhibit remain unfixed. Perhaps the most poignant display was a real garage door covered with the paint marking of the rescue workers:

Sad Artifacts from Hurricane Katrina

On our next night out in New Orleans was all Cajun. First we had some pretty good Cajun food and more Abita Beers at Mulate's in the Business District, and then we went to watch some Cajun bands on Burbon Street. The music was great, and as you can see the audience got really involved:

A Full House for Cajun Food at Mulate's

A Good Cajun Band on Bourbon Street

Amanda and Dee Take Over the Washboard

The following day Amanda and Dee had to leave for Kentucky and Ireland, so it was just Caren and me for the next few days, which we mostly spent relaxing and taking in the sights, from cemeteries to historic architecture:

The Cemeteries are a Common Stop on New Orleans Tours

Due to Flooding, Everyone in New Orleans is Entombed not Buried

Historic Tombs, including Homer Plessy

Some Graves are used for Voodoo Rituals

Of course, we also spent a lot of time eating and drinking, including a fancy dinner and nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc at Emeril's in the Business District. The following day, we had an even better lunch at the historic Mother's restaurant, on the edge of the Business District, and of course, not trip to New Orleans would be complete without a hurricane at Pat O'Brian's, which is a lovely place to escape for a while from the hustle and bustle of the French Quarter:

Canal Street at Sunset on the way to Emeril's

Caren Has Steak with Shepherd's Pie at Emeril's

Pat O'Brian's Courtyard

One Last Hurricane for the Road

New Orleans was, as always, awesome. I can't wait to go back.