Jahns Jottings/Numerical Analysis
With my Jahns Jahr (October 2008-October 2009) as the Richard H. Jahns Lecturer in Engineering Geology now ended I offer a few Jahns jottings – some statistics and final thoughts. (If you care to ramble through a tangle of more Jahns-related stuff on this website then do so at your peril by clicking here…) Read more
I Saved the Last Jahns for Me
On Wednesday, October 21, I presented my last Richard H. Jahns Distinguished Lecture in Engineering Geology to the Geoengineering Group at the University of California at Berkeley. Read more
Yoohoo/Yahoo – Where Were My Pages??
For anybody who came to my website today, October 6 2009, looking for Vitae or Motley Views pages or whatever – I am sorry you did not find them. Yahoo hid them. Yahoo hosts my website, by the way. Read more
PE/BE
Like all US licensed civil engineers I have had to take and pass licensing exams. They are not fun: in California a licensed Civil PE (Professional Engineer) has to endure about 21 hours of exams. Read more
Piano Lesson
I have visited Venice often – most recently this year. The city is a magic place for exploring, hunting glimpses of the city behind the tourist facade. I find treasure in golden moments of early morning sunlight and shadow, glimpses of the aged and decrepit city transformed into dazzling loveliness. But suddenly, the flashy moment is gone, the mask drops, the beauty vanishes and reality is revealed. It is often better to leave before the inevitable transformation; and not return later to try to recapture the moment. Read more
Cardboard Hitch Hiker
Hitch hiking was a common way to get around in the UK when I was a teenager, and I was a confident hitch hiker up to my late 30’s. In those 20 years or so, I probably hitch-hiked more than 10,000 miles in the UK, Europe, Asia, North Africa, Canada and the USA. I owed my success to cardboard signs advertising my destinations. Read more
