reflections on january 2023

I'm writing a bunch of research proposals. It's not always fun.

We have four plants in our home.

The nematodes seem to have finished the job. We observe a dramatic decrease in the number of fungus gnats. Dagmar is not doing well, she is wilting. I think the gnats may have gotten to her.

1. Paper Thin, In: Lianne La Havas (2020) by Lianne La Havas
2. Firuze, In: Firuze (1998) by Sezen Aksu
3. Coal, In: Bottles and Bibles (2011) by Tyler Childers

Adrián was in Brunswick, working with Cordula and me on wildfire modelling using an advection–diffusion–reaction equation. He has implemented the solver and preliminary results seem to be sensible. Cordula has worked out some really interesting mathematical results on the behaviour of the PDE. Cordula, Boris, and I are writing a proposal on wildfire modelling.

Mikael, Franziska, Matthias, and I have submitted an abstract to the EGU 2023 on an interdisciplinary framework to identify and explain urban ecohydrological functional units.

Matthias, Franziska, and I are digging up the Gaußbergpark to investigate a historical landfill in that area.

Felix, Michael, and I are working on an interdisciplinary proposal that focuses on merging urban economics and urban ecohydrology.

We have submitted three abstracts to the EGU General Assembly 2023. Daniel has submitted an abstract on urban hydraulics, Zhi submitted his work on a GPU-accelerated Richardson-Richards solver, and Mikael has submitted an abstract on identifying urban ecohydrological functional units through an interdisciplinary approach.

On another note, our session with Ralf, Conrad, and Daniel didn't get enough submissions and was cancelled.

I've read The Secret History by Donna Tartt. It chronicles the life of a small group of students in Classical Studies at a university in Vermont. As the murder plot progresses, secrets are revealed and group dynamics change. It was an exciting read. I really liked the first half. The second part was fine. The ending fell flat for me.

Despite its shortcomings, this book is a very good read. It's very atmospheric and all characters are interesting with their snobbish and intellectual mannerisms. I think if I was younger it would have affected me more deeply.

The story itself reminded me of HBO's The White Lotus series, of Rian Johnson's Knives Out, and to some extent of ABC's How to Get Away with Murder and the great Search Party series.

I like stories that use shift of perceptions: the protagonist in The Secret History feels one way about a certain situation. Then, it's revealed how the other characters felt. A similar device is used in Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami and in The Castle by Franz Kafka. It's also a common motive used by the Coen brothers.

D. Tartt, The Secret History, 30th anniversary edition, Penguin Random House, London, UK, 2022 (First edition on Viking Press, NY, USA, 1992).

I've read Catherine House by Elisabet Thomas. I was expecting something different and did not like this at all.

E. Thomas, Catherine House, Custom House, Worthington, OH, USA, 2020.

Impressum