Parents Visited

They liked it I think.

It was a treat to have them visit. I got to show them the town I study the universe from. They had time to do their own exploring, and they went on a canal cruise, and saw stuff that I still have to see.

There wasn't enough time to do all the thing I wanted to do with them, but I don't mind. The doing of things isn't important. I was just happy to see them.

We did get to visit some bars, the market, some restaurants, parts of the city, and they bought me groceries.

Good times.

A bar where me and my dad tasted some good peaty, smokey scotch.

Weather

Birds like it.

A small lake has opened up behind my house. It rains here often. The wind can also be horrendous. They would be classified as a hurricane sometimes if the storms originated in tropical waters, but by meteorological definition they originate in the north Atlantic. There was a flash hail the other day. I was about to go for a walk because it was beautiful out, but then it started raining ice bullets.

Leiden Relief

Ya I forgot to update this is a while! Leiden Relief was Oct 3 and it is now Nov 11. As you can see it was a merry time in the town.

It is the only day that people are allowed to drink in the streets in Leiden. In fact, Leiden is the only place in the Netherlands where normally, one is not allowed to drink in the streets. They have to make an exception for this party!

 The story goes that way back when the Spanish controlled Leiden and  finally there was a liberation. This day celebrates that. The streets are shut down all day but the real party happens at night. There are concerts ALL over the place; drinks a' flowin'.

The dutch love to party. There are so many rowdy people all over the place that they have to kettle people. That's a term from the hippy days when police on horses would funnel hippies into small areas to control them. The people roil like popcorn in a kettle.

It's impossible to coordinate anything when you leave your home. Once in the streets you just go with the flow.

Everyone is pretty docile though and there was no violence that I saw. I did see a lot of mischievous behaviour though.

I'm curious how they clean up so quick. One night there is three feet of plastic cups in the streets and the next morning it's gone as if no one was there. Likely lot's of volunteers.

Fireworks were a nice touch in the end.

The canals also receive a lot of litter, which I didn't like.

Dinner With My Research Group

We went out to an Indonesian restaurant where I'm sure we ordered more food than the average Indonesian village eats. We couldn't finish it all although it was the tastiest thing I've eaten in a long time!

Ju Jitsu

Designed by the samurai to combat an armed opponent. It uses the opponents own energy against them essentially letting them maim themselves.

How to Keep Fruit

Check out how the fruit is
scattered around. It really
works to keep the fungi from
setting in.

It's been a busy few weeks. I have at every given moment too many papers to read concerning my research. Some papers are about the history of a problem, and others are about past attempts at solutions to a problem. Some papers are over 700 pages long and detail specific methods for tackling a problem. In the same bin we have course work. In fact, the most appealing thing about my course work is that it actually relates to my research!

Finally, after five years of undergraduate I find a use for all that knowledge. It all finds a use, from making my understanding of a problem more solid, to good party chatter. Let me detail for you the usual going-ons in my day to day life.

I keep a small array of chow at home consisting mainly of rice, vegetables, cheap meat, herbs, and cheese. Occasionally, I find fruit and run the risk of mold forming.

I wake up at 7:40 and check my schedule for the day. If I can afford it, I sleep for a bit more. I finally make the short bike ride to the astronomy building, where I drop my bag off in my office and head up to the Kaiser Lounge for free coffee. It's a God send. Depending on the day I either tackle the reading that needs to be done, meetings to be attended, or lectures to sit.

There are always colloquiums, talks, symposiums, faculty parties, coffee breaks, birthday cakes, and other chances to postpone things that need doing. Beyond all that there is the need to socialize with non -astronomers, -physicists, or -mathematicians.

Fridays, after the weekly faculty party fraught with beer, snacks, and good conversation, I head to Music Club. It's a jam session with other Leiden musicians of all walks of style. It is usually too loud to hear yourself play and I'm slowly loosing passion in that weekly event. Apparently, acoustic jams are unheard of. Tuesday, Thursdays, and Sundays is Ju-Jitsu. It's woefully fun.

Leiden Market

It seems about time that I post some of the things seen at the fresh market found in the heart of Leiden on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Some of them are the normal expected things such as over priced nick-nacks and very smelly cheese. Other things like Anonymous showing up, wearing their infamously-adopted masks, are special events.

Markets are a hallmark of civilization, where
people come to share their goods and meet friends.

As the weather get colder and colder I wonder how the market turn out with hold up. The real reason people go to these is not for the wonderful prices, which aren't so wonderful at all, but for the warm and cozy feeling they get from seeing old faces of friends. It is a pell-mell of scampering children, strolling paramours, the curious, and foreign tourists. There is a constant mumble of voices in the air as everyone is avidly chatting about something they see and want, or did over the past week.

Anonymous makes an appearance. I note that one
or two are missing masks so I try to avoid revealing
their identities.

The cafes are bustling centres of all sorts of folk. The vibrations reach a creacendo mid-afternoon as the sun starts it's descent and people start scrambling for the best deals as vendors try to get rid of their last items. By 17:00 the city verges on desserted once again and things return to normal.