For me, one of the most memorable parts of Terry Gilliam's dystopian classic Brazil was the pipes. If you haven't seen the film, go watch it; if you have, you'll remember the way that pipes are everywhere in the built environment. I always thought that was vivid and strange; now, though, I realize that it was one of those pieces of dystopian culture that is an absurd magnification of real life.
This morning, after getting Heather's bike fixed up so it was a little more rideable, we took a short trip to the American Cemetery in Madingley, a cemetery devoted largely to airmen from the Eighth Air Force and sailors who served in the Battle of the Atlantic. I'd read a little about the cemetery, and one of my grandparents had served in the Eighth Air Force, and it seemed like an appropriate destination for a Sunday.
bicycling, via flickr
Today we spent a little time getting Heather settled in-- a friend brought over a bike that she can use while she's here, and we got her signed up at the local gym-- then despite my knowledge of Saturday insanity in town, we bought some lights for the bike and did a little food shopping.
As a result, I cooked my first real meal since I got here: a kind of Asian fusion stir fry tikka masala, with rice. (We had had dinner at an Indian restaurant the night before, so I was kind of thinking about Indian food.)
dinner ingredients, via flickr
Thursday Heather flew into Heathrow, so I took the bus from Cambridge to the airport, and picked her up.
christ's pieces, via flickr
Most of the buses in Cambridge leave from the central station on Christ's Pieces, but the airport buses originate and terminate a couple blocks to the south, at Parker's Pieces. Fortunately, everything's reasonably well marked, and it's not too difficult to find the bus you need. (The Cambridge-to-Heathrow bus seems to be the 797, which also helps.)
I'm off to Heathrow this morning. Decided I didn't like England after all. No, my wife is arriving today. Her flight's a couple hours late, though, so I'll
I'm not exactly sure how much I should document life within the lab, so I'm going to err on the side of opacity rather than transparency. Still, I have to say something.
the lab at night, via flickr
Turns out a second article of mine, on the role of paper spaces in collaborative and creative work, appeared in today's issue of the Parsons Journal for Information
Last week was spent getting oriented, shaking (or drinking or sleeping) off the jet lag, and dealing with logistical stuff; now I'm finally getting down to work, inasmuch
After 6, it seems, the only remaining snacks in the lab are Scandinavian rye crisps. (I suspect there's a late-afternoon run on all the good stuff.) Definitely a reason to get
mayhem, via flickr
After spending much of the day doing laundry and working on an NSF proposal (boy, those people are picky), I got on the bike and went into town-- all of three blocks. As soon as I hit the Magdalen Bridge, I ran into a solid wall of tourists.
My first though was, "Who the Hell are all these visitors?" but of course I'm not really in a position to complain. My bike may have huge wicker basket, but I'm hardly a local yet.