Philip K's 2010 Resolutions

Gosh, it is 2010.

My success rate on sticking to my 2009 resolutions was about 50% - so not too bad I suppose. I did build a pair of bicycle wheels, Tara and I did get married in July, and I am triathlon training again. "Capital" however remains unread ...

Let's see how I do with these in 2010:

1) Make the absolute most of my triathlon season in 2010: a training camp in Lanzarote in March, Ironman Lanzarote in May, the Alpe d'Huez triathlon in July with one of my best friends (Jon Holyoak) and possibly an autumn marathon. I have a lot of flexibility with my timetable this year (up until I start work in September at any rate) and this time is precious, so I'm going to make the absolute most of it.

2) Sort out my back problem. It is not very serious, but I have had a niggling problem with my back for about a year now. Believe it or not, it is not related to any activities in resolution number 1. It is actually caused by poor posture, especially when working at a laptop or writing by hand and poor core strength. So resolution number 2 is all about doing my physio exercises at least once a day. It doesn't take long, I just need to roll out of bed 10 minutes earlier each morning and get on with them. It is probably one of the best investments I can make in my long term health so it is madness that I don't do them as often as I should.

3) Implement a positive mental attitude about living in Oxford. I have allowed myself to get really down about the decision to move back to Oxford from Barcelona, and studying law has been dreary to say the least. However, the decision has been made, here I am, and this is where I'm going to be living for at least two and half years. Oxford has lots of good things going for it, I just need to be more positive about finding them. So I'm going to spend more time with Oxford-based, like-minded friends like Pablo and Illan, go to the Phoenix cinema more often, see a foreign language film at least once a month, go and hear some live music every so often (there's often live world music at the Carling Academy), perhaps find a Spanish intercambio, and maybe do a bicycle mechanic's course at the Oxford Cycle Workshop. Watch this space.

Green Astronomy at the AAS Meeting

I'm here in Washington DC for the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society, an enormous zoo of a conference. More than 3000 astronomers attended this year! I have done what I can, and helped organise a splinter session on "Energy, the Environment and Astronomy: Education and Action" this afternoon.

We had a poster up advertising it on Tuesday - I spent the day standing in front of it talking to astronomers, various officials from government agencies, lecturers, students and teachers, and listening (without interrupting!) to their ideas about how we can reduce our energy consumption/CO2 emissions. Actually I did do some interrupting, when one teacher tried to convince me that cycling was as bad as flying. (As we now know, this is only true if you replace the calories you burn on your bike by eating burgers).

After persuading them to calculate their carbon footprints (amazing how many people don't know what theirs is!), most of them came along to the session today. We had about 50 people, and a pretty impressive program of speakers, including Joe Romm from the Centre for American Progress (you may know his blog, http://climateprogress.com, it's very good). An hour of hardcore climate science and stark futurology from Romm was just what was required to shake up the crowd a bit, and then we followed it up with some success stories from the Gemini Observatory (whose staff have significantly reduced their air travel in the last year, among many other things), and from the University of Arizona mirror lab, where they are prototyping low cost, massive scale solar power generators using telescope technology .

The beginning of the week, when I met the other 5 session organisers for the first time, was already pretty special - there are really not that many people around who are as committed as they are - but to leave DC with the email addresses of 50 astronomers and educators who all want to get going and make a difference, well, that's really quite something. Next step: to all get out there and advance the public understanding of science...

Lou's 2010 Resolutions

[Adapted by Phil from Lou's offering in the comments - she's still learning]

Hi all, Lou here!!

1. Phil, I'm stealing your jump out of bed one. It has to happen - it's never that painful as dreaded once I'm up and vertical, in fact quite lovely, so not sure where all the prevarication comes from - so yes leap out of bed at first chirp from the alarm, and smile and yelp with joy whilst mid-leap.
   
2. Second resolution - not to procrastinate. Last 18 months has seen a general decline into some inactivity - described by myself as "relaxation" and "being more balanced" and "not doing more than can be done". But I'm not fooled anymore - I've seen through this thin veneer - it is me still doing these things but at the last minute. So a boring yet essential NYR.
   
3. The last resolution is similar to Jen's. I am committed (do you like the neurolinguitic programming here) to doing 2 new hobbies in 2010 (wall-climbing is one, seeking the other)and to taking advantage of London's happening cultural scene, so an activity every 2 weeks.
   

Good luck to us all!!! xxxx I slightly procrastinated on putting this on the site - does that dash it all? x

Tara's 2010

Hi Everyone, happy new year!

This year I think I'm going to keep things a bit more simple! Here we go...

Numero Uno!

watch LESS TV ... Yes this is actually a bit of an addiction problem for me! I'd rather not know every song the X-factor contestants have ever sung, or how to dog train my non existent dog, or what clothes I should be wearing if i was a middle aged 'slightly' overweight lady.... The only exception I'm going to make is for LOST season 6 bring it on! yey! can't wait! ( i hope this is not my downfall!)

Dos - A:

Get to work before 9.30am! (oh its a hard life being an academic I know!!) - but this is a 2 pronged resolution, if I get to work early, then I can leave early so ...

Dos - B:

Leave work early (ie before 6.30pm and therefore do 8h day!)

Tres:

Boring one ... write some research papers .. but yes I really ought to be writing a few more!

Quatro:

Do more quality things with my free time, this actually links with watching less TV - in the evenings go see friends, go to cinema, plan to do things at the weekend etc!

Cinco:

Grow some lovely flowers and vegetables in my garden! Right now its -5 degrees with about 20cm of snow!! (yes that's quite exciting isn' it!) but basically I can't dig, so as soon as it warms up I'm going to plant some GARLIC! yummm! and other things that I haven't decided on yet will keep you posted!

Is that more simple?? I'm not sure, but there we go anyway!

Are people interested on how I got on last year? Maybe I'll comment on my last years resolutions... just incase!

Txx

Jen's 2010 resolutions

The move made, there's no going back. The only choice in 2010 is to make the most of life here:

Non work (before work - the new me)

1. Have more fun. Do at least 3 new/enjoyable/interesting activities for me this year (additional to 2 and 3 below). Dance, learning something new, dance...

2. One live music gig every fortnight. Free west african music at Momo's on a Tuesday...Jazz at the Vortex or 606...Kings Place for classical...discover new small venues... Make plans with Suzanna, Rose, Meg and Helen.

3. One museum/gallery a month. With budget cuts, these won't be free for ever. The Natural History Museum,Tate, V&A and Tate Modern are all on my doorstep. Head for these after work and meet friends there.

4. Stay connected: visit and host friends from around the world. Travel by train where possible. Visit at least Paris, Rome and The Hague. Cheap ticket weekend aways to Edinburgh, Derbyshire, Warwick, Oxford and Cambridge. And of course Dakar.

5. Saturday mornings at the Farmers' Market and cafe with Stokie/Highbury neighbours.

6. Aim not to spend anything each day. Number 4 alone will be costly.

7. Learn to cook good yaki udon (may need lessons from Hogg and Vera), yaki soba and ramen.

Work-related

8. Only bus to the tube if its raining of REALLY cold. Highbury Fields in the morning are lovely. Ipod on, tea in hand, walk!

9. Perfect the art of the timely, appropriate, intelligent and effective meeting intervention.

10. Make the most of 2010, CJ Cregg. Interesting strategy development, change in government, high level events. I've no idea what will come next so for this year, get in early, with a coffee, cheery smile and productive head on and enjoy it.

Happy new year everyone!

Jen

Phil's 2010 Resolutions

Right then, here we go again! We made it to May last year, which was a pretty good effort I thought. Also, I know for a fact that some people were knocking off resolutions throughout the summer as well (congratulations, Phil and Tara!). Rather than rake over my various failures from last year (still no contacts!) I suggest we make a fresh start, and generate some new resolve! Here goes then:

1. Make a Christmas Pudding. I paid $54 for ours this year! Never again.
2. Listen. I have picked up a very bad habit recently- talking fast and lots and not stopping to hear the other (non self-generated) half of the conversation, especially on the phone. I doubt whether other people find this endearing!
   
3. Do What You Can. This is more words to live by than a resolution, but still. It has two meanings - do everything you can (and there is so much to be done!), but also don't try and do more than you can. I came close to meltdown last year, and still (after 32 years) have failed to find the right balance...
4. Have a Leaving Party. Sounds obvious, but I bungled leaving Santa Barbara and do not intend to make the same mistake again.
5. 10 Days Continuous Holiday plus One Weekend in Six Away. I just about managed this last year (and the year before) and do not trust myself to drop it as absorbed just yet... In fact the next few resolutions are also recycled, or resurrected from previous years. It's a marathon not a sprint.
6. Jump Out Of Bed. I had this in 2008 but not 2009, and I have let myself get pretty lazy in the mornings again. No more!
7. Don't Forget A Single Birthday. This is an old one that I thought I had nailed into habit, but I missed a few last year and felt bad as a result.
8. Play 72 holes off 36. I managed just one round of golf last year, despite acquiring clubs. So, my handicap stays the same, and I'll give it another go. Key is to identify some fellow hackers - I have two signed up now, so there's no excuse.
   
9. If You're Going To Work, Work. I did OK on this last year, but again lapsed a little towards the end of the year. Got to earn those beers.
   
10. Advance The Public Understanding Of Science. Outreach is something I believe strongly in, and I have been arguing for it a lot lately. And yet I have not given a public talk for 3 years! It's embarrassing.
11. Keep It Chipper. Well, last year I had "Smile", which was a good one (that I didn't do well enough at, given how easy it is), and mid-summer my friend Hogg suggested the rule "Never Say You're Busy", which turns out to be a very good way of not getting yourself more stressed. So, I shall combine and expand these ideas and attempt to only ever say and do positive things. This will get especially interesting when I get back to the Yookay in October ;-)
12. See More Of America. I can't exactly go home not having seen the Grand Canyon, can I? I'm thinking a road-trip in a rented Prius. Also, the deal with Hogg is that he'll do a remote video-seminar at Stanford if I go visit him in New York on the train, something Ive been talking about doing for years but have never got round to.
13. Do Something New. This was suggested to me as a last minute addition, and while it seems a little banal, I'm not sure how many really new things I did last year. Trapeze, I suppose - but do I currently have plans to something else like this? No. So I'll stick it last on the list and see what opportunities present themselves during the year!

Happy New Year!