Upon hearing that the London Times had an article today that cited the Wassenaar Arrangement, I thought, “maybe now we can start getting some properly researched journalism on the Arrangement.” Maybe, but not likely. (more…)

On this continent at least. For the time being. Naomi, after much thought over the past few months, has decided to turn down the full scholarship from Columbia. And the full scholarship from Stanford. And the the one from Oxford. And has instead decided to take up a full funded PhD position in the Classics department at UC Berkeley! As my supervisor said, “she’s too smart for you, Sam.” While she’s planning on moving out there in August, I will likely be staying on in Oxford until I have my final viva (oral exam) for my DPhil. . . probably around Christmas. If anyone knows of good postdocs in the Bay Area focusing on international affairs and technology, do let me know!

I will miss Oxford, but I am looking forward to getting out for a while. As I have mentioned before, Oxford is the longest I have lived anywhere, and I gladly call this city of dreaming spires ‘home’. Intellectually and culturally, this environment fits like a well-made leather driving glove for a TR4. I’ve never had a place that I would like to come back to like Oxford. Minnesota certainly endeared itself to me during my years there, and of course the 2- and 3-year stints in Hawai’i were quite enjoyable as well (though the first one is a little hazy, as we left when I was 5). I have always wanted to get back to Washington State, the place of my birth, as from all accounts I would love it there too. But Oxford holds a very special place.

So. America. Bring it on.

As many friends and family (ok, two) have pointed out, the New York Times today is running an article about Oxford Pubs.  I do love the pubs in Oxford, and can say that I have been to all of these!  I don’t have a favourite. . . it depends on my mood.  If you’re ever in town, I’d love to show them to you.

What a beautiful sight - to wake up and not be able to see out of my skylight because it was covered in inches of snow! In my six years in Oxford, I have never seen this much. So I did want any reasonable person would do - I turned into a 5-year-old with my friend Eve and we made a snowman. I also took lots of pictures.

That was a good break. Now back to the thesis.

There’s been a discussion going on between some of my old college friends recently about the fact that Women’s Ski Jumping is not an Olympic sport. This, I find ludicrous. As Mercedes put it, “BMX is now an Olympic summer event, but women can’t ski jump in the Winter Olympics???”

In the video above (obviously biased) there are some interesting quotes from some of those that seem to be involved in the decision making process.

So why aren’t women allowed in? This, I don’t know. But I would be interested in your opinions. If you think women should be included, go sign the petition. I did.

. . . May have ended!  As many of you know, I have a slight aversion to making yeast bread.  It just doesn’t work.  That is, until today.  Since I am cooped up in my house writing my thesis, I have taken to a number of (small!) distractions from the 12-14 hour days that I am putting in.  I make a big pot of soup every few days that sees me through, and I have now taken my first step into the world of James Beard’s Beard on Bread.  There is a definite satisfaction in kneading bread in between writing - it’s almost like I’m kneading my thoughts.  Today’s accomplishment?  Dark Herb (Rye) bread.  It turned out. . . stunningly.  Now let’s see if I can repeat it!

P.S.  I can’t believe I haven’t created a cooking category for this blog yet.  So much of my life is taken up with cooking.  I look forward to sharing some more exploits with you.