The place where lost socks go...

In Newspeak[*], today was "double plus good." Translated into any worthwhile language, I mean that today was frackin' awesometacular! To be fair, though, the "double plus good" description was not inaccurate... seeing as today had two individual parts -- each rather distinct but also quite excellent! I was wholly unproductive -- probably the last day that I can be for a few weeks -- and it was delightful. Just what the doctor ordered, really. That is to say, this doctor!

I started the day by waking up at too bloody early seven something and making my way down to the top of Shiplake for an all-day ringing course. I had been placed in the class for Cambridge Surprise Minor. The surprise was all mine, as I have never looked at -- much less rung -- this method before! This was my first all-day ringing class and I am rather convinced about the value of such things. I had assumed to do no more than practice my treble bobbing -- the simple motion of the #1 bell, around which the other five bells work. Then I got pushed up to trying part of the actual method. By the end of the day, I had rung the plain course multiple times, on multiple bells. Spiffy! If none of this makes sense to you, look here. Effectively, I memorized the blue line in this diagram and learned how to ring it.

The bell ringing class ended at about nineteen o'clock, after which point I went into London to attend the BiCon Recon party. A most fabulous evening, surrounded by many excellent people. Twas great to connect with old friends -- especially those who I had not spent enough time with at BiCon -- and to meet some very lovely new people. Additionally, I did two things that I am rather proud of this evening.

When the party ended, at just before four, I rode my trusty steed back into Oxford and am now returned to the Flat With No Name. Time to grab a few hours of sleep before I rise and shine to meet tomorrow's challenges!

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[*] The language of the unambiguous.

Greetings, Gentle Readers! I regret to inform you that today's journal entry promises to be relatively boring. After recent ups (i.e., BiCon) and downs (i.e., kidney stone), today was really just a fairly ordinary day in the life of your friendly neighborhood Nomad!

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Walked through Kensington Gardens on the way to work this morning, listening to Chess In Concert on my MP3 player. Still getting used to the various nuances of this version, like how some lines have been changed or re-allocated to different characters. As I approached the Southern side of the park, I realised that I was right near the Royal Albert Hall... where the soundtrack was recorded last year. That was a tad odd... especially since I am stiff wishing that I had become a fan of the musical before that concert took place! Ah well.

The other musical on my mind a lot of late is Sondheim's Into The Woods. cheshcat and I have a DVD of a staged performance at home, but I would really like to see it live again. It's such a brilliant show! I've seen it performed three times, but the last was in 2004 or 2005 so it has most definitely been awhile. Only problem is... I don't know anywhere that is producing it right now! Oi!

When I got to work, the usual chaos resumed. I can't believe that there are just over three weeks left before I head back to Japan for the next meeting. Collaboration meetings two months apart? What madness is this?? One of my students is on holiday this week, but I spent a good part of the day working with the other one.

Despite the crazy-busy atmosphere, I am rather excited about the upcoming Japan trip because, when the meeting at Tokai is over, I will be flying to the other side of the country to spend a week at Super-Kamiokande. In the world of experiment particle physics (and astrophysics), Super-K is my first and best love. Besides being a world class neutrino detector, the experiment is aesthetically quite beautiful. See here if you don't believe me! Working inside the tank in the Summer of 2001, I would sometimes marvel at how I was standing in a gorgeous and gigantic cup of water... situated underneath a mountain... located in the Japanese Alps... that happened to be a famous experiment. Cue up the sense of awe! In any case, I have not been in the Kamioka area since June 2003, so it will be quite good to return to this place where I have spent about two years of my life!

Meanwhile, I am currently riding the coach back to Oxford. This evening, there is a post-BiCon get together with folks who are local to Oxford[**]. Looking forward to it! I met many awesometacular people last weekend... and a surprising number of them live locally! Am quite excited about this and very happy to get to know them better! All of them are good fun to spend time with... and some of them are quite, quite cute! ;-D

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[*] Still not explaining this just yet. Longtime readers know what I'm talking about. To the rest, it shall be made clear shortly.

[**] For whatever definition of "local" works -- if you want to come here and are willing to do the transport, then come on over!

cheshcat and I returned from our 15^th anniversary trip to Wales a couple of days ago; we are leaving tomorrow for BiCon. In the interim, much has been going on, especially at work as RT and I prepare the group that we lead for the meeting in Japan next month.

There is no way that I have time to make a proper trip report right now, so I won't even try. In brief, then, I should just comment that our first trip to Wales was a big success. Having only five days, we limited our scope to South Wales, leaving the North for our next trip. This was a good decision, as the smaller focus gave us the time to cover South Wales reasonably well. In five days, we visited two cathedrals, two (and a half) castles, two national parks, five beaches, two extreme geographic points, one waterfall, one ruined abbey, Offa's dyke[*], and more. Not too shabby, I suppose.

In the absencee of a proper trip report [yet??], I hereby add the equivalent of two thousand works to my write-up:

Introducing... the Norman keep at Cardiff Castle! (cue a drum roll, please)


Returning from a jet boat trip around Cardiff Bay, Flat Holm, and Steep Holm


In addition to our travel adventures, we also had time for some private anniversary celebrations, of course! I won't say much about those in a public forum... but I will mention that one of the many anniversary gifts exchanged was a two-disc CD of Chess recorded at the Royal Albert Hall last May. I have been waiting for this album to be released for quite some time now, so it is very good to have a copy in my grubby lil' hands[**]. On the drive back from Wales to Oxford, we listened to the full recording.

( NOTE: The rest of this entry may be quite boring for anyone who is not a fan of Chess: The Musical )

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[*] Which is somewhat analogous to Hadrian's Wall, in the North. Except that one was build in the second century to keep out Scots (and is a wall), whilst the other was built in the eighth century to keep out Welsh (and is a dyke). I will leave figuring out which is which as an exercise to the reader.

[**] Or, as the case may be, now on my grubby lil' MP3 player.

Back in Oxford now, after spending the weekend in Leicester at BiCon.[**] Twas my first BiCon and, overall, I had an absolutely wonderful time!

BiCon was... intense. Indeed, to my surprise, the intensity level affected me more than I had expected[***]. Being a regular at sci-fi conventions and Pagan festivals for well over a decade now, I had felt quite prepared for something like BiCon... and I must confess that I was not. It may not be quite as intense as a festival like Starwood, but the flavour of the intensity -- while similar -- was just different enough to catch me off guard.

That's okay, though, because I might be just a wee bit of an intensity junkie.

Speaking of Starwood, I have to say that my BiCon summary is very similar to this year's Starwood summary: Apart from one snafu, the weekend was utterly fantastic! Adding a touch of irony, it seems that, while I was at BiCon, I managed to undo the Starwood snafu[****]. Go figure!

Finally, anyone who knows me personally[*****] is aware that a big goofy grin can often be found on my face. Nonetheless, I want to give a special thanks to one person -- you know who you are -- for making that grin even wider!

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[*] To be sung to the tune of John Lennon's Happy Christmas, of course!

[**] Hmmm... I don't think that I have spent a weekend -- or at least not a full one -- in Oxford since the end of May! And the next two are going to be no exceptions, either!

[***] That's where the surprise bit comes in, yes?

[****] This is fun to say, actually! "Undo the Starwood snafu." Go on -- try it! Five times fast, if you can!

[*****] Which is the entirety of my f-list except for that oddball blur01.