Returning Home

The visit to Shenzhen is nearly over. Well, it is over, I am in Hong Kong Airport, waiting for my (delayed) flight home. I left Shenzhen Saturday morning and spent the last weekend before going home in Hong Kong. They organized a driver to take me from the University to my Hong Kong hotel. I won't get used to that luxury but I won't get tired of it either! The sister of a friend of mine back in Vancouver lives here and I met her and some of her friends on Saturday evening. The original plan was that I would join them for a hike but the weather was against us, we have had storms recently as the fallout of a nearby typhoon. I think they would have gone out in the pouring rain but the threat of lightning led to cancellation -- fuelled by the recent death of a teenager here to a strike. Anyway, the hike was cancelled and I got invited out to the consolation dinner and went along. It was on a nearby island that you could get to by ferry, and dinner was at a rustic (but good) restaurant and one of us was a local that could order and be understood. Interesting side trip, one that I would not ever have know about without this group. It was fun to meet this woman, the older sister of my friend. There are certainly family resemblances and a shared set of mannerisms even though they have not lived in the same city for years. I guess you always carry your upbringing with you. She has a very interesting career as a life coach -- but also with some corporate clients, so even though I asked it was hard to nail down exactly what she does. Far from mathematics, anyway...

The group is interesting. They are ostentatiously a hiking group and they have a web site that invites anyone along who wants to join. I think it might have been good that the hike was cancelled, I am not sure I would have been able to keep up with them, they sounded pretty serious about it. They have been around long enough they pre-date Meet-ups. So it is a mix of visitors and ex-patriots and local hiking enthusiasts that organize outings every week. Seems like a loose relationship but I can say that the ties from this group run deep: There was a couple at dinner that had met hiking and they talked about travelling to Germany to meet friends that had been in the group but moved back home there. As I started to write this I thought it was an odd way to form a social group, but then I realized some of my closest friends are the ones I play Magic the Gathering (a nerdy card game) with, and my Gin Friends. I would visit them if they left Vancouver!

In Hong Kong I had a mission to buy Veronica a purse. She sent me detailed instructions -- which was either good or means my failure will be even more pronounced. I did find two purses which I think are "OK", and will offer to buy her one in Canada if they are both duds. It is interesting that the male "purse buying for your partner" dilemma transcends cultural differences and I got a sympathetic laugh from my Chinese colleagues about it.

The last week in Shenzhen was full of social events. I had had a number of people I met say they wanted to take me out to dinner. I thought some of them were just talk but they all came through. I had some great meals there. Shenzhen is formed from immigration from all over China. From my point of view the ethnic diversity is not high and it was a bit of a shock coming from Vancouver. But if you consider people from all over China as diversity then Shenzhen has that, and certainly the food I had that last week was all very different.

My lecture series concluded and I enjoyed having the excuse to type up some notes on material I have been refining over the years. There might even be a research problem coming from some of the things I looked at on the quadrature errors from the Finite Element Method. I have a colleague that is more of a FEM expert that I am (not hard) that I contacted and will meet with her when I get back to Vancouver.  I will miss the short commute to work (5 minutes walk up the hill)  and the lichee park walks -- another view from them below. Because of the Chinese flag in the front, they conjectured this was a government building or official residence.

I did not do much in Hong Kong besides that dinner and purse shopping. Although the food I had in China was good I did indulge in Western food here. Yesterday it was yoghurt for breakfast, waffles and ice cream for lunch with a big cup of real coffee!, and a burger for dinner. My Hong Kong recommendations: "Burger Lab", very small place near the Jordan metro station; and "Beef and Liberty" in the airport where they have gin and tonics with both good gin and superior tonic. Because my plane is delayed, I had two! Another small tip is that if you are in the airport here through security, come and sit in the Gate 1-4 area. Lots of space, nice chairs, and plugs for your electronics. I am here right now as I write this comfortable and plugged in. 

South University of Science and Technology (Shenzhen) visit #2

You can see from my blog post last year about this time that I have visited SUSTech before. I came over then from a conference in Hong Kong for a few days, gave a talk, and checked out the campus. I had in mind previously that I might spend my whole sabbatical year here, that it might be good to get out of town for a while as a change of pace after the divorce. Anyway, I pursued it with the people here as an option, and I think they were open to the idea. Life on campus here is very facilitated and it is not so easy for someone that doesn't know the language to move around in China (I guess that's probably true everywhere I just know less Chinese and tend to travel in places where English is common). Anyway, expenses would be low (and I think they are generous to long term visitors although I did not get that far in the discussions) and I would have got a lot of work done. This whole plan fell apart when I met Veronica. I would not want to be away from her for a whole year, so am here for a month, which seems too long as it is. I don't think they were counting on me to be here a whole year, but I probably confused them with my sudden change in how long I wanted to stay. I will apologize here, but I don't think anyone here will read this blog.

Shenzhen is an amazing city of 15 million people, almost all built starting in 1980. Construction is booming on and off campus. My colleagues here say they cannot afford the apartments across the road. That sounds familiar coming from Vancouver. You can see the activity from my guest room:

The room (well suite really) has lots of space with two balconies. It is almost as big as our apartment back home. 

The campus is built on a series of hills and I had not realized on my visit last year how extensive and beautiful the campus grounds are. There are trails into the hills and I followed one before dinner.

 
Those are lychee trees in the background. One of my hosts here, Jingzhi Li, brought some to my room after dinner. He looked after me on my last visit, a friendly and helpful guy.

     

There is a Communist flavour to the way certain things work here that Veronica (originally from communist Bulgaria) recognizes when I describe them to her. There is a huge exercise room in the guest house complex, but mostly empty. It has only five machines (but good ones). There is a full time attendant, and I had to make a reservation even though I was the only one there that morning (possibly the only one there all day). It will sound next like I am joking, but I am somewhat serious when I say that a communist system can deal with a transition to an AI economy better than we will in the West. Here, everyone has a societal role.

A couple last pictures to end with. Speaking of communism, I thought this notice board was catchy. I do like red. On the right you can see amongst the high rise apartments that none of us can afford a collection of shacks (I think people live there, correct me if I am wrong). Even here, an example of the inequity in living standards so close together.

Short visit in Hong Kong before crossing the border

I have been in Hong Kong for the last few days, visiting Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. A former colleague from UBC, Dong Li, moved here last year. We still have a joint PhD student at UBC so it was a chance to talk about his project and then we moved on to other things we might do together. I reminded him of a problem (the Oxygen Depletion Problem) that I tried to interest him in before. I had worked with some others on computational methods for this problem and related ones but there are analysis questions about the character of solutions that he and our student might be able to answer. We will see if it stays on his radar this time.

The campus is on the outskirts of the city, on a hill. The campus is quite attractive and the views are great. I enjoyed my short stay here, as I worked to get over jet lag. I stayed in the University Lodge.

   

It could be my last blog post for a while. My next stop is across the border in Shenzhen, where I will be at the South University of Science and Technology for a month, beginning my sabbatical year. In China, I will be behind the Great FireWall, which blocks google pages, including this blog site. It is possible that my UBC VPN will get me past the Wall... I will see later today when I settle in there.

They cancel shows (sci fi and fantasy) that I like

There are television shows that go on for season after season and reach a satisfying conclusion. However, they are few and far between in the science fiction and fantasy genre. It all began with the original Star Trek. Watching it now it seems dated, but it was quite innovative at the time: a united earth, and a Russian, a Japanese, and black American woman were command officers on the bridge. Stories varied in the quality of the writing, and the acting was -- well, what it was. It ran three seasons, from 1966-69 and had a large cult following then and for decades afterwards. I remember watching an episode in reruns shortly after it was cancelled, at age seven or eight. I didn't understand exactly what it was all about at that age, but it was fascinating. A geek was formed.

This tragic early cancellation was the first of many. I know there were many other shows cancelled before their time, I am only listing the ones in this genre that I was sad did not get to see out their potential.

• Star Cops 1987 (one season, nine episodes). Policing in the near future in-system space travel. Really interesting BBC drama. 
• Babylon 5 1993-97 (four seasons, eighty eight episodes, some TV movies of side stories).  It starts pretty slow and cheesy, but builds into a magnificent space opera. The threads are pulled together starting in the middle of the third season, and the breakneck drama is just wonderful. Strong supporting cast and enough space battles, evil telepaths, and unusual aliens for anyone. The fifth season was cancelled and so they rushed to finish the arc at the end of season four. It was successful enough that they then had a fifth season, but pretend they didn't and stop after season four (really). You will have to suffer a bit through the early seasons, but the later seasons are the best science fiction television there is.  
• Strange Luck 1995-96 (one season, seventeen episodes). A charismatic guy has unusual things happen around him, both good and bad, but it usually ended well. Filmed in Vancouver. One episode was at the gas station just down the block from where I lived at the time in East Vancouver. 
• Farscape 1999-2003 (four seasons, eighty eight episodes). A modern day Earth pilot goes through a wormhole and ends up embroiled in galactic empire politics. The show re-uses every over-used science fiction plot with a space ship and crew but does something great with every one. Enjoyable characters. Well written and acted. A satisfying on and off again romance. Cancelled right before the beginning of shooting the fifth and final season. There was a follow up made for TV movie: do not watch it. 
• Firefly 2002 (one season, fourteen episodes). This was a real heartbreaker. Gritty "western in space" show with an underdog spaceship crew fighting the corrupt system. Well written, well acted. Cancelled because they could make two reality TV shows for the same price. Regrettable follow up cinematic movie. 
• Wonderfalls 2004 (one season, thirteen episodes). A woman in Niagara Falls gets verbal instructions from inanimate objects that help people around her. There is a very sweet romance. Although it was cancelled, they did manage to wrap it up nicely. It is a very fun way to spend a rainy weekend. 
• Charlie Jade 2005 (one season, twenty episodes). A multiverse plot, with three parallel Earths and a select few, including the title character, that can travel between them. Got distracted with fight and sex scenes but then had an interesting arc going right before it was cancelled. Beautiful Cape Town scenery. 
• Pushing Daisies 2007-09 (two seasons, twenty two episodes). A man has the power to bring things back to life, but with some interesting conditions. Very lighthearted and fun show. They manage to wrap most things up when they knew the show would be cancelled, with a few loose ends. 
• Dark Matter 2015-17 (three seasons, thirty nine episodes). Canadian production of the space ship with motley crew variety. Not actually that good, but it had some of the feel of Firefly. Some good writing and a quite attractive main female character. I haven't watched the third season yet, don't know whether it wraps up well or not. 
• Sense8 2015-17 (two seasons, twenty three episodes). Very innovate show with eight people around the world telepathically linked. There is a plot involving evil sensates hunting down free groups, but the focus is really on the sharing of cultural  and sexual orientation differences. I really liked the first season, have been too sad to watch the second. 

Of course, there have been shows I have enjoyed that have seen it through to the end of five+ seasons that are worth watching: Doctor Who (since 1963 with a hiatus between the classic and new series, 840 episodes!); Buffy the Vampire Slayer (same writer as Firely); Xena Warrior Princess (transcends its cheesy roots); Highlander (variable quality but some great orgasmic arcane power scenes shot in Vancouver and a title song by Queen); Lexx (innovative science fiction that loses focus sometimes in soft core porn); Blake's 7 (interesting that Blake was not in some of the seasons and it was still good, but it really did finish because everyone died in the last episode).

Current shows I am watching that I hope they do not cancel include: Mr. Robot (only watched the first season so far -- wow, gritty!); Westworld (really well written and acted); the 100 (surprising good); Travellers (some suspension of disbelief required for the method of time travel, but very consistent with it after that, well acted with another quite attractive woman); Altered Carbon (one season so far that had a little too much combat, but a solid future universe with issues, and another quite attractive woman that our hero is going to try and rescue in season 2). 

Back in Exciting East Lansing Michigan

I have come to East Lansing every year now for the last seven years. It started just before the beginning of my last sabbatical and I have a sabbatical again starting this July. I come for a month to visit Keith Promislow at Michigan State University. We have been colleagues since 1998 when we started working on a fuel cell project with Ballard Power Systems. He was at SFU at the time, moved here eleven years ago. We have different skills but enough overlap we can talk about problems and bring new ideas to the table. We have also become friends. I came a bit early this year and hit the end of their winter.

That is the bicycle I rented from the MSU bike store on the left, part of the routine I have when I am here. I have a hotel suite with a kitchen when I come, favourite stores I shop at for food (Oriental Mart, Meijer, Whole Foods, Quality Dairy), Thursday Gin&Tonic Nights when I invite people over to the suite. There is a great movie theatre, Cinema C, in nearby Okemos. I saw "Pacific Rim #2" there my first weekend. Not great but by no means the worst movie I have seen here (the worst was probably "Valerian" last Summer, the best "Ex Machina" a few years ago). I usually try to time the movie for lunch but I got the time wrong that weekend and had lunch in the nearby Meridian Mall food court. I tried a new fast food place, but it was anything but "fast". I guess it was OK, I had time to kill. 

Last weekend there was an ice storm. I did manage to get to the Mall by bus, but just did food shopping rather than watch a movie in freezing wet clothes. I rented "Ragnarok" instead, which was quite entertaining. This week I noticed they had an "indie" series and I plan to see, "Oh Lucy". I hope my one small contribution to the idea of showing non-mainstream movies will help keep it going. 

It is interesting to think through why I come here every year. I guess the top reason is that I like working with Keith and in general the visit sparks my work productivity, which has been low the last few years. I think the productivity challenge comes from the big changes in my personal life, but my inner workings are not always clear to me. I like seeing Keith and his family, who have become close friends. Being here really feels like camping in a way. Although I have a roof and a bed I have to "make do" with limited clothes and cooking equipment. It is interesting to see that you can make out fine with less material things. There is a little gym in the hotel and it makes it easy to work out. It used to be an escape from my failing marriage, but now that has turned around and it is a drawback to be away from Veronica (she misses me as well). I do have time to sort myself out in various ways, so I guess it was a good idea to come. 

Recommendation: the Flower Box on Commercial Drive

My daughter worked there as a teenager. It was her first job. She started as a volunteer and then they decided to start paying her. It was work, but a pretty supportive group and it gave her a lot of confidence. It is still run by the same woman (whose name I am blanking on, but I have trouble with names in general). I really like her arrangements. She still remembered me when I went in a few months ago to get flowers for Veronica for Valentine's Day. We both like daffodils, one of the many things we found we have in common when we were first dating. The owner made this bouquet to fit in the vase I had brought (one of my own creations).

The Un-Blogged Winter

Someone asked me recently why I blog. I guess I have always interested in writing a diary/journal and have a bunch of half filled books where I recorded ideas and thoughts by hand.  It is just easier to keep track of this stuff online and you can edit and add graphics. I am also using it as an exercise in creative writing. I have a back-burner interest in writing novels, although the recent developments in machine learning are making some of my science fiction plots obsolete. I think the fact that it is public makes me take it a bit more seriously. I think it also makes me a better person, as I wonder what people would think of me if I wrote about what I was doing here. I don't need everyone to like me (luckily!) and I don't always do the right thing (I do try) but I want to live my life without hiding my actions or feelings.

There has been a gap in the blog this Winter. I have had a hard time finding the mental energy over the last few months. My professional work suffered as well, at least the research I had to motivate myself. I am just coming out of that funk now. Sometimes it is hard to recognize your own inner workings, but in this case it is pretty simple: the divorce was finalized this past November. Although the relationship was clearly dead quite a few years ago, and everyone is happier now, and I have a relationship with my son again, and a new and quite wonderful romance... having a 30+ year partnership end is something that takes some time to wrap your head around. I was with her most of my adult life. I guess I am just coming to terms with it now, or trying to.

But I did have some things this winter worth blogging about and I will collect them in this post. I made some pottery at UBC (left) and at the class I often take at Britannia (right). This was in the Fall, I kind of lost my way for a few months in there and then picked up again just a few weeks ago.

       

Over Christmas I visited my Dad in Kamloops. He was 90, 91 now, still healthy and sharp. I was glad to spend the time with him. He lives in a townhouse complex in the Aberdeen neighbourhood. If you walk up the hill from his complex there is a wonderful walking trail loop. I thought these frost covered stalks were worth taking a picture of.

I took up cross-country skiing. Well, that was the plan. I went once and tried and failed to get lessons and ended up falling and hurting myself. I went back and did show-shoeing instead, with no falling. This was all at Cypress Mountain in North Vancouver, which is easy to get to from our apartment. I went a second time with Veronica.

    




The beautiful hat is from the time I went on my own. This is the hat that made Veronica remark, "I could never sleep with a man that wore that hat".  I hope it is OK that I wore it but she didn't see.

For Veronica's birthday her daughter organized a trip to an Escape Room. As it was described to me (a room full of puzzles you solve with a time limit) I wasn't really into it, but went along because it was the right thing to do. Anyway, it was really fun. The one we went to (in International Village) had a magic/time-travel aspect so that really hit my buttons. We didn't finish but got through some puzzles. Veronica's daughter was our power player.

One of the most exciting things to happen was that Veronica's daughter had her own daughter just a few weeks ago. She and her husband live in the same building as us, so Veronica gets to spend a lot of time with the new baby and is pretty happy about it. Veronica is a grandmother now, but a sexy grandmother.