My family arrived today from Anchorage. Over the next two weeks, we’re going to try to see a lot of Scotland, and maybe some of England too. American culture is not that far removed from British culture, but I expect we’ll focus a lot on the differences: Con-TRO-ver-sy versus CON-tro-ver-sy; biscuits and tea versus coffee and doughnuts; Toyota Yarises versus Toyota Tundras.
I’ve been here long enough that I don’t notice a lot of the differences any more. I don’t hear the accents of people I know well. Even better, I don’t hear my own, sticking out like a flat vowel. continue reading »
My job has just taken me to new and exciting frontiers: Filmmaking.
I borrowed a snazzy webcam from SIE headquarters to take some footage of the Enterprise Expo, which was held in June. We’d worked for months to put the event together, to showcase 50 companies founded by University of Edinburgh students, staff and alumni. I was determined to get some of it on film so we’d have a record of how it turned out. continue reading »
My bicycle was stolen on Monday while I was at work. I walked around the corner of the physics building to find my lonely front wheel still locked to the rack with my severed cable lying next to it on the ground.
I was grief-stricken. How long had the poor wheel been sitting there, humiliated and alone? And why had some jerk stolen the rest of the bike? Who doesn’t have better things to do than to deprive me of my uninsured, primary mode of transport? And what was I supposed to do now, standing next to a single wheel in my dorky bicycle outfit? continue reading »
I recently stayed at the Stirling Highland Hotel. Stirling is a small, quaint town built around a castle-topped hill with houses and farmland stretching out below. I was there for team-building with the other SIE interns.
We had the benefit of hot, sunny weather all weekend long, and the hotel was snazzy enough to host a wedding on Saturday afternoon. But that did not stop the food from being terrible. The worst offence was the oatmeal.
Though the staff made a game effort to provide appropriate food for a group with two vegetarians, a vegan and a celiac, they failed completely when it came to breakfast grains. I eat oatmeal nearly every morning for breakfast, so I know something about the subject. Here’s my two cents about how it should be properly made: continue reading »
Edinburgh hosts many thriving communities of entrepreneurs—student groups, tech groups and business groups meet regularly, and there are a host of events for anyone who is interested.
I go to loads of these events for work and personal interest. This week has been the busiest so far this year. I met tons of people and learned about dozens of interesting companies.
One highlight: Patrick Hickey and his company Nipht (pronounced “nifty!”).
Patrick has explored many commercial endeavours, from homemade firecrackers to custom LED displays. His current work is perhaps the most fascinating: Making grow-your-own mushroom kits. continue reading »
