Granada

Today we did some user tests at the university of Granada in Spain. We conducted the tests in a beautiful building of the 'Library sciences' department.

[ to bad we had to catch a plane directly after the tests... ]

For Google earth: Latitude: 37°11'36.82"N; Longitude: 3°35'45.07"W

Window seat

Very convenient to be able to check-in online. No stress at the airport and you can even pick your own seat.

[ so I choose a nice seat by the window... ]

Seat 10A, do not choose that one in a Boeing 747-800

Just my luck, I picked the sole window seat without a window! Where there should have been a place with a view to the outside world, my seat just stared at a blank wall...

Froggs

They drive me crazy... The whole night froggs are busy talking to each other, making it hard to get some sleep. I took the following video from my bedroom balconny.

[ turn up the volume, because they are really loud... ]

Umbrella, salmonella...

Today I was going to meet some old friends (Xander en Ingrid) for some drinks in town. Although I haven't seen them for some time, they still knew me quite well. It was raining cats and dogs and Ingrid was afraid I would cycle through the rain and turn up soaking wet.

I therefore promised to take an umbrella with me...

I found this umbrella in one of my drawers...

I kept my promise. When I reached the terrasses of the Vondelpark film museum I could wave merrily with my umbrella. I did get quite wet on the way there though...

[ I didn't promise to actually use the umbrella now did I..? ]

Sometimes...

Sometimes you wish you were somewhere else. Sometimes you do not want to leave. Sometimes you miss someone. Sometimes you are happy where you are and sometimes you are even glad to be home again.

[ but sometimes you are not... ]

Sometimes it's just the way it is...

Yellow soup

I do not know why, but everytime the soup in the cantine is yellow, I just have to eat it.

Curry soup, sweet corn soup, musterd soup, mmm...

After all this time I work here, this fenomena has been picked up by my colleagues.

[ they now warn me in advance if the colour is right... ]

Bigger in Texas

For the UCD cookie jar I wanted had to bring some local candy. I just had to buy these of course....

If I say everything is bigger in Texas, I mean everything...

Last day of the UPA

Today (friday)was the last day of the UPA conferentie. There were only activities in the morning. Took advantage of the wireless network in the afternoon to answer some e-mail, listen to some music and read some foreign news.

[ you do not get exposed to much non-American news out here... ]

In the evening Kari took us to Barton springs, an open air swimmingpool that is fed from a natural spring. The water was cool and refreshing.

Tjeerd in action: run, jump, boink, airtime, splash...

After the swim, we went to a Tex-Mex restaurant with some of Kari's friends (Brad en Christin), where we were introduced to the 'Mexican Margerita's'.

[ dangerous high drinkability cocktail... ]

After diner and a beer (Heffenweizen) we were of to a vague birthday party. Brad knew someone that was living in a 'condemidion' in the hotel we were staying and was throwing a party. A professional livingroom-DJ took care of the music and there was beer in the double-door fridge (Fat tire). Spend some time talking to Brad and Kari on the balconny before it was time to say goodbye. Tomorrow (or I should say: today) we are flying back to Amsterdam.

[ looking forward to the jetlag... ]

6th street

The most well known street in Austin is 6th street. A semi rough street with just bars and tattoo parlors. Though looking (hatless) cowboys populate the pavement, every bar will ask for your ID, beer is not allowed outside the bar premises, extreme airconditioning (AC) and live music till late.

[ no people are living downtown, so there's no one to complain... ]

A semi-local we met at the conference (Kari) knew a better area: Red River. Indie music, sitting outside on old sofas (no airco!) and a much relaxter atmosphere. No though cowboy wannabees, but regular Texans.

6th street, somewhere between 5th and 7th street...

Bats

In Austin there is a bridge were -so they claim- about 1.5 million bats call there home. When dusk arrives, they will leave in this massive stream of screaming bats. A great spectacle, all these tiny animals that are flying off into the night sky in a seemingly random pattern.

[ cute little animals, but there just to freaky many... ]

Taking a picture is really difficult, this was the best I could do...

Ice, aaaarrrrggghhh

I do not know what the obsession of the Americans is with ice. They have it everywhere, in your water, in your ice tea (duh?), in your coke, big bowls you get get even more ice from, heaps and heaps of ice to cool little cups of yogurt.

[ everywhere I look, I see icecubes... ]

I think I can savely claim I've seen more icecubes here in Austin then I've come across in the last 2 years in the Netherlands.

Ice, ice, ice, all in perfect little melting cube shapes...

And of course it should be my fate to get involved in an ice accident: during as session I was trying to refill my glass from a large pitcher. There wasn't that much water in it anymore, but there was still plenty of ice. A small trickle would come out, slowly filling my glass. I tilted the pitcher just a little more to get some more ice cold water, and tilt it just that crucial little bit when... all of a sudden the whole clump of frozen cubes slides forward from the bottom of the pitcher. Result: a great number of cubes spill out on to the table.

[ right into my lap..! ]

Ice and I will not become best palls, that's for sure....

UPA2007

Today is the first day of the UPA2007. I attended two tutorials, one was very interesting and fun, the other one not quite that useful...

[ temperatures outside are still extreme, so is the airco inside... ]

Patterns is theme of the conference, luckily I've been seeing patterns everywhere...

Austin, Texas

7 hours of time difference, getting up at 8:00 feels like sleeping in...

We had breakfast in a Spanish diner (beans and tortilla's) we then headed in much too hot weather (34 graden) to downtown Austin. Checked out the surroundings with Tjeerd. Saw State Capitol, the seat of government of Texas.

State Capitol, nice green lawns...

We also walked along the river side. We were observed by a lot of curious
href="http://lambcutlet.org/images/gracklestomp.jpg">grackles, squirrels and fresh water turtles. We just registered for the conference, tomorrow we'll start with the workshops and tutorials.

Flying

I'm currently in Austin, Texas to attend the UPA2007 conference. Today we flew from Amsterdam to Memphis, and continued on to Austin.

[ and the weather is very warrrrrrrmmmmmm at the moment... ]

This cute little plane covered the last stretch...