The week's haps

Hello loyal readers, :) This has been an interesting week! Setbacks, exhaustion and breakthroughs. It looks like the move has really messed with Zachary's sleep; he had gotten on a routine and now that's blown out of the water; new place, no consistency = restless sleep. Which means *we* don't sleep. I think it was Thursday when me, Andy and mom were ALL worn out!!! But, we've contacted our "sleep expert" and she's helping us with some strategies to help our little guy get some rest. If you know me, you know that my life revolves around how well Zachary sleeps, so I hope it doesn't sound like I'm "whining", but ... hey, what do ya do. But in other news, I've finally had a breakthrough in my research, which involves Java programming for Blu-Ray. This GD thing! The technology and tools are about 4 years old, but no one really uses it, so there is zero support out there on the web. Fortunately, I have talked with some AES gurus which have provided some well-needed insight. On the cultural exchange side, I met two drunken racegoers on the way back from Ascot. He was hitting on every woman within four seats, including me and my mom! He had been "chatting up this bird" from somewhere or another, which was fine, but she left the train about four stops before us. I knew we were in for it when I heard "Oy! 'ave you seen the Desmonds?" He meant the TV show. I replied, "yes, actually, the show about the Jamaican hair shop" and he picked up on my accent. Then it was really on. "Ah! Are you from Iowa?? OH! IOWA AY! IOWA OOH! IOWA AH AH AH" (Or something) and he and his brother sang together. It was ... yeah. And then he explained that he spoke a dialect called Geordie. (They were from Newcastle.) And he tried to teach me a phrase, which I think was "I'm no wee in shite". I asked him what it meant, and he said he didn't know, but it's something that you say when you disagree with someone. Our other "cultural activity" was a little more civilized. :) We joined Catherine and Helen, who work at the Uni. They took us on a fantastic tour of Castle Howard, and prepared a lovely tea for us afterwards. I shall provide pictures, as soon as I fine the cable for my camera! That's it for now, but in the meantime, I'll leave you with this gem: "Gizza brun jack and dinna blaw the top off!"

Induction week at U. of York!

Ah, today was the day I was waiting for! A chance to meet the new students, and learn about their backgrounds. I think I counted four students from China, one from the Ukraine, one from New York (!), one from North Wales, and three from the Yorkshire area. Out of about 11, four students are female! Go girls. :) Many backgrounds: Electrical engineering, music production, and composition. This means that some students know about audio technology and some /don't/. As my fellow instructors know, this can be a challenge; but since they're all postgrad, they should pick up on things quickly.

On the home front, it was great to see my sister Kellie and nephew Ryan! They "blew into town" last week. We went to the races, which was great since I'm right next to the racecourse -- we just walked over. Kellie was the big winner that day! We got to see some VERY rowdy racegoers on the bus to the pub afterwards, and had a very nice meal there. It's called the Royal Oak and has gotten great reviews on Trip Advisor. Thanks to Dave Malham for the recommendation!

Unfortunately, little Zachary had the 24-hour flu (or something!). Andy stayed at home with him. But he is much better now, eating more than ever (tuna melts! tomato soup! cheese-on-toast!), and getting better at walking. When he feels like it, that is!

Well, I'm at the Uni as I write this, so I'm going to get back to work. Sorry - no pictures this time around, but if you're on Facebook you can always see the latest gwan's on.

-TA