I changed my flight for Calgary today. Flying back from Paris on June 22nd, at 10:30am, via Toronto with a 3:45 stopover (I chose it that way for Customs purposes), continuing to Calgary to arrive at 6:19pm on the same day.

I'm sitting in front of my petite Maison in Paris, surrounded by daffodils, basking in 24*C sunshine, and listening to the twittering of dozens of birds. It's "Black Thursday" in France, and the country has come to a stand still once again.

Oh the French...

Dear all ( Read more... )

I've been told that even if the rest of the World is IRISH today, the French are NOT. I'm wearing green, no one else here is. I think they'll get black and blue by the end of the day if I have anything to do with it. In any case...

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March 19th is another country-wide strike against the economic crisis. This time the University students are getting in on it. Once again, there will be no transportation. This time though, I will WALK to work and get my stuff done.

More information (in French) here: http://www.19mars2009.fr/

...played tour guide to cousins visiting from Belgium!( Read more... )

I've seen some interesting and often scary toilets in my adventures. Probably the most eye-raising were the metal basins in a metro station in Vienna. But the ones I have to deal with here at the University on a daily basis are another matter entirely. ( Read more... )

When I first came to France, I was excited and surprised how inexpensive cheese was. Especially fresh mozzarella cheese. I love a good Caprese salad and was quite looking forward to eating it quite a bit. If only I could find fresh basil...( Read more... )

Just caught wind that there's going to be another "General Strike" on March 19th.

Details here: http://www.19mars2009.fr/

The fun just doesn't end...

On Monday, Ben Shneiderman came to the research lab where I'm working. For those of you who don't know him, he's one of the top experts in Human Computer Interactions (HCI) - kind of how Freud is to Psychology, Ben Shneiderman is to HCI. And I had to present our project to him. ( Read more... )