[ohs-lc] Reintroduction...

[Lee Iverson <leei@telus.net>]

About time I got off my butt and let everyone know what's up.  First
things first.  Hello from wet and rainy Vancouver B.C.  For those who
haven't been following the saga (and I'm definitely to blame for
making that difficult) Alison, Maxwell and I moved back to Canada at
the end of August.  Alison has a new Faculty position at the
University of British Columbia, and we've always said that we'd head
back.  Seemed like a good time for it, and we were happy to be coming
home again.    (01)

We are living on campus at UBC, so most everything is ridiculously
convenient.  Alison walks to work (about 7 minutes), Maxwell and I
walk to his daycare (about 5 minutes) and there are cafes and even a
golf course just around the corner (sweet). Maxwell has transitioned
well into his new life here (a wonderful daycare and a very lively
bunch of kids to play with in our apartment complex) and is busy
making every effort to learn how to read.  Alison has been busy
writing grant proposals and teaching a (can you believe this) a
hands-on nursing skills lab for this first semester.  The only thing
that can really be said is that almost anything else will be easier.
But she is generally pretty excited and exhausted.    (02)

Comes to me, I guess.  The plan when I left SRI was that I would
continue to work on a part time basis on existing projects and any new
opportunities that came up.  Seemed like a fine idea at the time and I
actually spent the last two weeks in CA writing a proposal for
continuation of some of the Digital Earth work.  To make a long story
short, that arrangement hasn't worked out.  The AIC is in a pretty
deep financial hole, progress in getting money out of Washington
drastically slowed down in September, and a big NSF proposal that we
submitted in February was just rejected.  I'm still officially on
leave, but it does seem as if my time with SRI is really pretty much
over.    (03)

That said, I haven't been sitting on my hands.  I've been doing a lot
of reading, research and coding.  I'm continuing work on the NODAL
design and prototype(s) (see http://nodal.sf.net if you're curious)
and been making a lot of contacts here in town.  At this point, I've
submitted applications to both UBC (Dept. of Elec. and Computer Eng.)
and SFU (CS).  I've been in contact with a number of local companies,
given a couple of talks, and established a relationship with the New
Media Innovation Centre (an brand-new kind of Media Lab Canada). In
fact last week I had a very productive visit with the CS Dept. at SFU,
on Tuesday I had a full day interview for a faculty position at UBC,
and yesterday a sit down with NewMIC executives regarding funding and
interaction opportunities.  So, I'm actively moving forward and things
are actually looking pretty good.  With the kind of work I'm
interested in doing, I'm pretty happy at the possibility of a faculty
position and the people I've met up here, both in industrial and
academic settings, have been very interesting and (luckily)
interested.    (04)

All that said, we had a blast on Halloween yesterday and all three of
us were complemented on our costumes and willingness to get right out
there.  I was a red-headed, kilted Viking, Alison a biker chick and
Maxwell a mischievous little monkey (a real stretch).  Pictures will
have to follow, I imagine.    (05)

So, I'm ready to re-engage with the world now, and am becoming a
little desperate for some good, stimulating conversation both online
and in person.  Anyone interested in visiting, please feel welcome.
The ski hills will be opening soon and the golf courses stay open all
winter.  And since we've found a willing baby sitter now (not to
mention the relative proximity of my relatives), some of the night
life is open to us as well.    (06)


-- 
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Lee Iverson                    
leei@telus.net                 #105-2700 Acadia Rd., Vancouver B.C. V6T
1R9
http://www.ai.sri.com/~leei/   (604) 222-9312    (07)