A highlight of our road trip through Western Europe has been my daughters singing along to Lucinda Williams’ “Car Wheels on a gravel Road”, the Mekons’ version of “Wild and Blue”, and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” as well as songs from “Hamilton” (along with, yes, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran).
Spent the night with the family in the Frassenhütte at the top of an Austrian Alp…
… followed by our trek down the mountain in pouring rain, hail, thunder and lightning (and inappropriate clothing).
Spent the night with the family in the Frassenhütte at the top of an Austrian Alp.
Cornhole is “American pétanque”.
We left our home in London exactly a year ago for my sabbatical abroad. After stints in Japan & New York, tomorrow we depart from our last long-term stop — a temporary but already much-loved home — in Leiden, the Netherlands, with still a few weeks to go before our final return.
Congratulations to Imperial’s Professor Michele Dougherty, the UK’s new Astronomer Royal!
15% still seems like a lot.
@ppfideas.bsky.social Thanks to the Past Present Future podcast episodes on the American Revolution, trial of Charles I & English Revolution, I finally understand the American Revolution against the tyranny of the King despite the British constitution’s weak monarch and strong Parliament.
The latest from Lisa Lucas at the Guardian! Freewheeling family fun in the Netherlands: a cycling and camping trip along the Maas river. With special guests!
U.S. abandons hunt for signal of cosmic inflation
Now-canceled CMB-S4 project would have searched the afterglow of the Big Bang for signs of cosmic exponential growth spurt.
This is mildly clever, very slimy, and a little bit funny (since it only works against other slimy — or at least lazy — people).
It seems that olive oil, cheap balsamic vinegar, greek yogurt, miso paste and garlic make a good chicken marinade. (Also, this is a Wordland test.)
Always impressed that Stockholm Arlanda airport has eduroam WiFi.
Very impressed that Apple’s autocorrect knows that it’s apostrophes and not quotes in “rock ’n’ roll”.
Flat tire in the Biesbosch (Holland, near Dordrecht).
From “aether” to “Zwicky, Fritz”, The Random Universe now has an index.
My morning bicycle commute (Leiden, NL)
I love the Netherlands, and I especially love cycling in the Netherlands. I don’t love the various motorized vehicles that are allowed to share the cycle lanes in the Netherlands.
Well, now I have a story about the time I went to see The Mekons but accidentally saw a very loud hardcore band with two drummers instead. This was not my desired outcome. (The Mekons were upstairs. I am kind of bereft.)
Going to Amsterdam, in the fourth country over 35 years in which I’ve seen The Mekons, a band whose music and shows and philosophy of life, art, and politics have meant more to me than almost any other.
The latest from the amazing Lisa Lucas at the NYT!
Apparently, my fingerprints are almost worn down (according to biometric scans of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND).
First Parkrun out of the UK.
My book, The Random Universe, is due out in November. It discusses how we build models of the world, even under conditions of radical uncertainty.
(It was finished last year, but it turns out that there is still a lot of work to do even after the text is complete…)
I’m not completely sure this is something to be proud of.
For Embattled Starmer, U.S.-U.K. Trade Deal Will Count as a Win
Starting the final leg of my sabbatical — back in Europe for the first time since leaving last July. A quick stop through Madrid and then Leiden through most of the summer.
R.I.P. Dave Thomas of Pere Ubu, crazy pre-, proto-, art-, and somehow even post-punk post-rock band. Only saw them once, in the late 80s, at the beginning of their second phase, but regularly returned to their beautiful noise.