the pod bay door

.: This 30-second commercial about the University of Alberta, where I have worked for 22+ years, will air on CBC television during the upcoming Winter Olympics. Further details here, including who’s in the commercial, and about the host, UA grad and playwright Vern Thiessen. I’m not sure why the commercial was created or of its purpose, other than, as Thiessen says, “if you got it, flaunt it.” Maybe it’s a recruitment ad, but it’s not like we’re wanting for students, with the current number hovering somewhere around 35,000. Blink and you’ll miss three quick shots of researchers working at NINT, where I hope to begin operations early next week,

.: A few very random photos from my Toronto trip.

.: In a few hours I fly to Toronto to attend and present at the OLA Superconference. I will be in Toronto for four days. On Saturday afternoon I fly to Winnipeg to spend a few days there before returning to Edmonton. Time in Winnipeg will be spent visiting relatives, going to dim sum on Sunday morning, watching the Super Bowl with friends over pizza and beer later that day, spending time with my folks, and sleeping.

Tonight I had dinner with seven others at Parkallen Restaurant, which features Lebanese cuisine. Garlic prawns were followed by linguini topped with chicken breast over a garlic-based tomato sauce, and blueberry and vanilla creme brulée for dessert. Most of the others in attendance were members of the Edmonton theatre community. I was invited by one of them to join in, and had a great time.

.: This week is the first of three very busy ones in my life. Tomorrow I deliver the first of six lectures, to a group of 82 4th-year mechanical engineering design students. On Wednesday I fly to Toronto for to attend and present at the OLA Superconference (see Sat 9:05 am, #1722.) Upon my return, I will be teaching five more engineering-related classes, and on Feb 22, perform a concert with Amelia, for which I need to rehearse considerably beforehand. In the midst of all this, I have not had much time to begin working as the NINT Librarian. Last week, I did spend some time there, meeting more people and signing more documents. The office space I will be sharing at NINT will not be available until mid-week, which is when I fly to Toronto. Subsequent to my return, I will settle in and begin more official duties.

.: Do you love Deadwood as much as I do? Then welcome to the motherlode: my pal Debi sent me a link to this totally brilliant site, The Read Deadwood Podcast, which features audio and video clips, a blog, and more. The photos section is great, and includes shots from the Mt Moriah Cemetery, where Will Bill, Calamity Jane, and others are buried, and the Deadwood actors visit. Love it!

Also, here is a link to The Real Deadwood Podcast With Paul Dennis from FeedBurner.

.: It was made official today. Effective immediately, I am now the librarian for the National Institute for Nanotechnology, aka the NINT Librarian. The position is a one-year, half-time secondment from my current position. The new NINT building won’t open until May 2006, but NINT itself has been on campus since 2001, operating out of the sixth floor of ECERF, the Electrical and Computer Engineering Research Facility. Much has yet to be worked out, not the least of which is what kind of services I will be providing, as well as office space, security clearance (this is a federal facility, jointly sponsored by the province and the university), and a breakdown of time between the SciTech Library and NINT. When NINT moves into the new building in May, I will be along for the ride.

This will be exciting. It is a very new development for me, literally – only yesterday the mechanics were put in motion, documents signed, introductions made, etc. What is NINT? An excerpt from its research overview:

The focus of the National Institute for Nanotechnology’s (NINT) research program is integration – the combination of separate nano-scale devices and materials into complex nanosystems that are connected the outside world. NINT explores the integration, at the molecular level, of nature’s most powerful nano-devices such as proteins, lipids, and other biological structures made from ‘soft’ organic material, with crystalline semiconductors, metals, and catalysts made from inorganic ‘hard’ materials. The connection of natural biological or synthetic bio-inspired structures with electronics and information systems will lead to new and extremely powerful tools and technology platforms with broad application in the life sciences, medicine, materials science, and electronics and computation.

Stay tuned. When I know more, I’ll let you know.