On our 'Vacation'

I hurry to use this image on my blog before Mary Lou uses it on hers. We took fresh horse pictures yesterday - perhaps those will distract her for a few days. In this image I see us enjoying time together in a beautiful location, amidst turbulence and uncertainty.

As we departed Eden St for the rail station, the taxi driver gave us a fresh and friendly send-off, inquiring about our journey and interested in our plans. At the station we met, to our surprise, N.O., dressed, to our further surprise, for Ascot: top hat, tails, grey waistcoat, pressed shirt and pink tie, special Ascot trousers, polished plain-toe black oxford shoes. On the train he explained this mandatory apparel with good humour before we launched into an enjoyable discussion of the the periodic table and IPY chart. What will you do in Oregon?, he asked. I dissembled: friends, our kids born there, chance for some time together. But hadn't we already told the taxi driver about our job interview?

We flew Heathrow to Chicago, and then on to Portland. We had nice views of Greenland, but the flights, especially the second leg, seemed endless. We did have good leg room thanks to preferential seating on United. The immigration agent in Chicago also asked about our plans. Oregon, he asked? Middle of nowhere. Rather, we agreed, edge of nowhere. (Edge visible in the picture above.) Helpful driver to the car agency, drove the rental car to a hotel in central Portland, sleep. End of a long day.

Awake, exhaustion not withstanding, by 3 am. We opened the laptop, checked emails (particularly to find information about our accommodations in Newport, which we had not, until that point, received), and then explored. We identified the nearest Whole Food grocery and noted its opening time. We used our browsers and Google Earth to find the locations of horse boarding stables from a list sent to us, and we searched for additional equestrian centers. Planned our day's activities. I worked on my presentation. Arrived at Whole Foods as the doors opened for business. Should we eat breakfast first, or buy food supplies first? Too tired and hungry to make a decision, I think we did both.

We drove through quiet Sunday-morning Portland, noting of course the bicyclists, into the rich farmland and varied crops of the Willamette and Yamhill valleys, across the forested coast range, and finally down to the coast. We stopped for a view (picture above), a stretch, and a deep inhalation of the fresh fresh air. We continued through Newport south toward Waldport, to explore one possible horse boarding location, all the time enjoying the views, the trees, the hills, and the smooth roads. We toured the Aquarium together (as paying customers), picked up our access card for the guest condo, bought some food at the local coop, and arrived, finally, at our destination.

For the next three days we explored, primarily by car but occasionally on foot, Newport and its surroundings, assessing bike routes, bike stores, libraries (as we have not had one in Cambridge for nearly 3 years!), horse boarding possibilities, housing possibilities, and the beach and coast range environments. Oh, and I did two days of interviews, including a very positive (I felt) presentation to Aquarium staff. We felt welcomed and well-treated, and we enjoyed very nice weather. We visited friends in Corvallis and reminded ourselves of the long drive back to Portland. A couple tens of hours of travel and back to Cambridge.

What did you do on your 'vacation'?, people may ask. Enjoyed some time together in a beautiful location, rediscovered a part of Oregon that we knew only casually, and, perhaps, got a job.

A lowly sign

We had substantial rain during the morning, as forecast.  Mary Lou, developing the radar skills of a nowcaster - someone who predicts weather within the next 30 minutes to 2 hours, tracked the storm movement carefully, watched the trailing echos edge past Cambridge, and predicted the end of the rain and sufficient clearing for an afternoon at the barn.

So on our bikes we went, but following the paved route through the city rather than the gravel path along the river.  At about the fourth or fifth substantial turn, near the end of Izaak Walton Lane, I saw it.  A sign, an omen.  A slug, yellowish-green, on the wet pavement.

To the casual eye, unnoticeable amidst the abundant debris and garbage.  Even to the observant, just a slimy invertebrate.  But I, consumed with hopes and speculations while trying desperately to avoid too high hopes and wild speculations, saw the portent and meaning immediately.  Answer D: It is written.  You can tell which movie we enjoyed last evening.   

We did get to the barn un-dampened, although we crossed through some big puddles along the curbs and in the underpasses.   It rained briefly as we unpacked, donned boots, and set out the horse gear.  And we heard thunder often during the afternoon.  But overall, as Mary Lou predicted, we had a dry and pleasant afternoon.  It is written.  

High Expectations

Months ago, after I had written a modestly pessimistic assessment of IPY progress toward its original goals (I and several others considered my evaluation accurate and realistic), the Joint Committee concluded that I had "too high expectations".  Their assessment of me comes to mind lately, as I consider the remaining tasks of IPY and as I consider future jobs.  

I consider all human endeavors and systems improvable - constantly and relentlessly.  We don't, individually or collectively, always pursue the improvements, of course, but they always, in my mind, beckon, occasionally as linear paths but more often as unexplored possibilities.  I may have picked up the language of this line of reasoning from Isaiah Berlin, but the fundamental motivation of personal improvability probably arises from my nature and nurture, the latter particularly from my mother.  In its best form that motivation should, I hope, translate into humility, empathy, generosity, and tolerance.  In my case it also results in high expectations, applied personally and inherent in my leadership of these grand projects.

I get positive feedback on the improvability theory from bicycling.  Despite modest talent and advancing age, I can see, as favorable weather, reduced travel, and long hours of daylight allow more and more kilometres of riding per week and per month, increased endurance and speed.  Not as much as I would like, of course - room for more improvement!  But Saturday I had a surprisingly good ride, even though I felt tired at the time.  Sunday I came back with not quite the result I hoped for, but with a very good ride nonetheless.   Today, after a day of rest, I went back to work on the improvements by riding in the local hills.  Four times up the steepest local hill I can find within an hour's ride, with a rest on the descent.  The image shows those four loops, elevation (55 metres minimum, 110 metres max) in green and heart rate (85 beats per minute low and 160 bpm high) in red.  Four times, working hard, at a high but not maximal effort, and each time repeatable - same recovery heart rate, same exertion heart rate, even as the speeds stayed the same and in fact got slightly faster.   Hard work but in control, pushing myself, feeling very good on the bike, confident that this workout will help me ride my measured courses at a reduced, or should I say improved, time next week or next month or certainly by the end of the summer.  

Often, working with a new partner provides unexpected improvement.  After recording the interview with Kirsten Murphy for the CKLB show 'Ends of the Earth', I thought I had not done a very good job on the science questions and that we spent too much time on my personal attitudes and behaviours.  Listening to the broadcast, I know that I did overstate - I said we had doubled carbon dioxide when I should have said that we would soon double CO2.  But in the way Kirsten edited and mixed the material, I think the point about science as an honest line of inquiry, free (largely) from political bias, came through surprisingly well and that she helped me, big scientist guy, sound like a rather human, partly funny and partly foolish, fellow.  She helped me present an improved view of science generally and an honest (generally a form of improvement!) impression of myself.  Thanks, Kirsten!

Improvements needed, how do I get them?  In the whole Oslo 2010 conference planning processes.  I have to work with Research Council of Norway to get some influence, perhaps even control, over OO.  I have very high expectations for that conference, expectations that follow directly from what we have achieved and the partnerships we have formed during IPY.  I can't watch those expectations, mine and others, fall and fail.  And as I think about next jobs, about application letters and interviews - how do I convey this sense of improvability not as criticism or arrogance but as optimistic and motivating and enabling?  To cynical, funding-starved groups of employees. 

I found both comfort and motivation in the 'Sleep Furiously' movie.  Even as the community declined, as the population aged and the culture changed, essential human qualities of friendship, compassion, curiosity and humor persisted; the substance and stimulus for improvement.   High expectations founded in the persistent (although unfortunately not pervasive) positive facets of individuals and communities.